Monday, February 23, 2004

The William Hung Phenomenon (Update) 


NBC Dateline, February 22. The ZVUE! is a contest prize on Williamhung.net.

William was born in Hong Kong, but now, after an appearance on the TV show "American Idol" back on January 27, he's one of the hottest singers in this country.NBC Dateline Transcript/Video (4meg, wmv)

Sampled versions of his performance, remixed with hip-hop and techno music, have made the top 10 request list at Chicago's WKSC-FM radio. LA Times Article

William Hung MP3 Remix (ZVUE! Download)
"Music My Living" with DJ Aurora 99

Friday, February 20, 2004

First DivX Hardware Video Encoder 

The Plextor ConvertX PX-M402U Digital Video Converter (MSRP:$159) is the first official DivX Certified(TM) hardware encoding and editing device to hit the market. The video encoder enables users to convert video from TVs, VCRs, DVD players and camcorders to the DivX format in real time using a Windows-based PC.

The new ConvertX device allows users to edit DivX video content, making it faster and easier for users to cut unwanted scenes and add titles, transitions and special effects. The PX-M402U permits users to store up to 90 minutes of video on a 128meg SD card.

Thursday, February 19, 2004

William Hungs Lands Record Deal and $25K 


Last night, American Idol castoff William Hung was presented with a $25,000 check from the Fuse music channel and a record deal from Koch Entertainment.

The deal reportedly includes Hung making a music video that will air on Fuse.

The presentation was made at the UC Berkeley volleyball game that included backup dancers for the UC Berkeley students' performance.

Fuse
Fuse, a network of Rainbow Media Holdings LLC, is the nation's only all-music, viewer-influenced television network, featuring music videos, exclusive artist interviews, live concerts and specials -- all rooted in the music experience. Fuse reflects the rapidly changing interests and attitudes of its 12-34 year-old audience by uniting the media platforms that are at the center of their communication and entertainment -- TV, online, and interactive games -- and by incorporating their opinions and suggestions into its on-air and online programming.

KOCH

KOCH Entertainment is the leading and fastest-growing independent music company in the U.S. KOCH's operations encompass record and video labels, music publishing, as well as distribution companies in the U.S. and Canada. KOCH Entertainment is the market leader among independent labels and distributors in both the U.S. and Canada and its record labels had the largest number of Billboard charting albums among independents in 2002/2003.

Tuesday, February 10, 2004

American Idol: William Hung 

Last summer, UC Berkeley civil engineering student William Hung and 70,000 other singers auditioned for a chance to become Fox Television's American Idol for 2004. Fox featured William's performance, "She Bangs," by Ricky Martin on the number one show in the country a couple of weeks ago in front of judges: Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul. Hung failed the audition but left with his head high.

Within hours of the broadcast, William Hung fan sites were created: www.williamhung.net

Today, Will is featured on the Hollywood insiders TV show "Entertainment Tonight" singing in LA karaoke bars and he was also written about in the The Oakland Tribune. Bill is a hot property. An Instant American Phenomenon!

People are selling T-Shirts with his image online. Hung is threatening these profiteers with legal action.

Fans are making amusing audio/video remixes of his summer audition performance.

San Francisco Chronicle - February 11, 2004
TV Zap2it - William Could Return to AI3. February 13, 2004

ZVUE! owners can download MP3 tunes, JPEGs and soon MPEG 4 video of the UC civil engineering student rise to stardom into their pocket multimedia players and share these experiences with anyone, anytime, anywhere.