Latest news with #DVDs
Time of India
4 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Court dismisses PMLA case against Moser Baer, Ratul Puri & 11 others
NEW DELHI: A Delhi court has dismissed a money laundering case against industrialist Ratul Puri , Moser Baer India Ltd, and 11 others, holding that the predicate corruption offence registered by CBI had already collapsed. The money laundering case stemmed from alleged bank frauds worth Rs 1,101 crore involving Moser Baer Solar Ltd (Rs 747 crore) and Moser Baer India Ltd (Rs 354 crore), once a leading manufacturer of CDs and DVDs. CBI accused Puri and others of siphoning loans sanctioned by a consortium of banks, with the purported connivance of bank officials who failed to monitor the funds. Special Judge (CBI) Sushant Changotra ruled Thursday that no offence under Section 3 of PMLA survived in the absence of proceeds of crime, which is a sine qua non for prosecuting under the law. "Accordingly, the present complaint is dismissed. The proceedings of this complaint case stand closed," the judge said, but left the door open for future action if a higher court overturns the May 24 discharge order. ED had said CBI discharge was not final until challenged and pointed to a pending Supreme Court review in a separate matter. But the court said such arguments had already been "exhaustively dealt with" by Delhi high court. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Find out: this is how you clean your yoga mat! Kingdom Of Men Undo Advocate Vijay Aggarwal, representing Puri, said once the predicate offence had been quashed, the laundering charge could not legally continue. "Under Section 3 of PMLA, the existence of proceeds of crime is an essential condition for prosecuting a money laundering offence," he said in court.
New York Times
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
When Streaming Won't Cut It and You Need the DVD
Last month, a young man walked into Night Owl, a store in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn that sells Blu-rays, DVDs and even a few video cassettes of movies and television shows, and browsed for several minutes. Eventually he plucked a case from a shelf: A handsome Criterion Collection release of 'The Royal Tenenbaums,' the first Wes Anderson movie he had ever seen. 'I had a ton of DVDs growing up,' Noah Snyder, 27, said. But reading about the way contemporary conglomerates treat films and television programs on their streaming services had prodded him to acquire physical media again. Snyder cited the actress Cristin Milioti's recent comments about 'Made for Love,' her show that was not only canceled, but removed altogether from the HBO Max streaming platform. 'The stuff the CEOs do, they're bad decisions,' Snyder said. 'I don't want something I love to be taken away like that.' In the last decade or two, the story of physical copies of movies and television has been overwhelmingly one of decline. Blockbuster is essentially gone, streaming is ascendant, Netflix no longer sends DVDs through the mail, and Best Buy no longer stocks them in its stores. Many manufacturers have ceased making disc players. Retail sales of new physical products in home entertainment fell below $1 billion last year, according to the Digital Entertainment Group, an industry association. Yet amid the streaming deluge, there are signs — small, tenuous and anecdotal, but real — of a rebellion. Alex Holtz, a media and entertainment analyst at International Data Corporation, compared Blu-rays to vinyl albums. Holtz, an audiophile, gladly streams new music while on walks, but he buys records he loves. 'We're in a back-to-the-future moment,' he said. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Japan Times
08-07-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Bookoff plans to step up recycling of unsold CDs and DVDs
Secondhand goods retailer Bookoff Group Holdings will step up its efforts to recycle CDs and DVDs into daily items. Bookoff annually disposes of 1,700 tons of unsold discs and cases from some 800 outlets across the country. In January, the company started selling storage baskets and other items made from plastic recycled from such waste. The company, based in the city of Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, plans to offer a wider variety of daily items and increase related sales with the aim of recycling all unsold discs and their cases from its outlets, officials said. Bookoff outsources the tasks related to making finished products from the plastic waste, including crushing, washing and processing, to other companies. Items made from recycled plastic, such as storage baskets, smartphone stands and business card holders, are sold at some Bookoff outlets and at shops handling products aimed at tackling social issues. Bookoff also sells recycled resins, including polypropylene, to manufacturers. Going forward, Bookoff plans to buy items made from recycled plastic from customers at outlets for reuse. "We hope our efforts to recycle plastic, rather than trying to get rid of it, will provide (consumers) an opportunity to think about the environment," an official for the company said.
CNA
28-05-2025
- General
- CNA
Did not 'feel right': Yale-NUS students say they were asked to destroy DVDs
SINGAPORE: Yale-NUS students who worked as student associates at the college library said they were asked to render DVDs unusable by library staff in April - about a month before the final cohort graduated. Two of them who spoke to CNA on condition of anonymity said they had not known beforehand that they were to scratch DVDs until they were assigned to do so during their respective shifts. Both recalled using penknives to scratch the discs. One of them, Janet (not her real name), said a librarian had instructed her to make four cuts on the discs so they could no longer be read. The student, who is from the last cohort, estimated scratching about 80 to 100 discs or around two full shelves of DVDs. She said that most were films in various languages, including several notable titles from the Criterion Collection - an American home-video distribution company that gathers the "greatest films" from around the world and publishes them in various editions at the highest technical quality. While she said she simply did what she was told, she felt "really sad" and that it did not "feel right" to destroy DVDs that were still in good condition. She told CNA that she had not questioned why the DVDs had to be scratched but did ask the library staff if she could excuse herself from helping out. "I (didn't) feel comfortable doing so. But the library staff (member) told me to help her still as they were running short of time," Janet said. Yale-NUS College, which is scheduled to close this year, had been preparing for renovations ahead of the relocation of the National University of Singapore (NUS) law faculty and its library to its premises. Another student associate, Ben, who is also from the graduating batch, said that he was told the discs had to be scratched "for security reasons". He too made cuts on two rows of DVDs on a library trolley, though he could not give an exact number. The destroyed DVDs were later thrown into a big trash bag along with their cases, Ben added. Asked how he felt during the process, he said: "(I) thought it was odd but plausible given that the school library had some DVDs that were not intended for mass distribution or at least restricted in Singapore. "But (I) also wondered if we had that many DVDs that were restricted." Responding to CNA's queries, Associate Professor Natalie Pang, University Librarian of NUS, said the rehoming of audiovisual collections involves different considerations compared to books. "Audiovisual materials are governed by licensing and copyright regulations, which restrict redistribution. We have integrated the DVDs we need into our collection. The DVDs which we were unable to rehome were those which could not be redistributed," she said. The university did not say how many DVDs were destroyed. "PHYSICAL STILL MATTERS" This latest revelation comes shortly after it came to light that 500 library books were recycled due to what NUS described as an "operational lapse". About 9,000 books had initially been earmarked for disposal. Circulated images of books being packed into rubbish bags and loaded onto a recycling truck sparked an outcry from alumni and students. Around 8,500 books were eventually salvaged after library staff learnt of students' interest in them. The titles have since been put up for book giveaways. Associate Professor Andrew Hui, who had previously expressed to CNA his disappointment in the handling of the library books, said the destruction of DVDs left him "stunned and heartbroken". The literature professor, who is also a founding faculty member, first found out about the matter last Friday afternoon, after quotes and screengrabs of DVDs were circulated on a Yale-NUS Telegram group. "I've never encountered such a literal act of destruction carried out in peacetime, at a university no less. It was a quiet, almost mundane directive that resulted in a small but real loss to cultural memory," said Assoc Prof Hui. He added: "The manner of their disposal felt unnecessarily punitive - especially involving student labour. The act of scratching felt symbolic: not just deletion, but cultural desecration." He recalled curating a list of films during the early days of Yale-NUS College when the library was being built from scratch, and making an "impassioned case" together with a colleague to acquire the entire Criterion Collection. The head of literature studies added that streaming platforms were unstable, with titles frequently disappearing and algorithms favouring popular content over what is essential. On the other hand, physical DVDs represented curated, lasting access to works of global significance, he said. He described them as tactile and archival, adding that they often come with scholarly materials, commentaries and interviews. "For students, they offer a way to encounter the canon of world cinema as something preserved, not fleeting," said Assoc Prof Hui.
Daily Mail
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Experts reveal the retro DVDs that are now worth a FORTUNE - with Carry On films topping the list
Many of us have old DVDs gathering dust in the attic or hidden away in cabinets. And while clearing them out might seem a gargantuan task, it could land you with a tidy profit. Experts have revealed the top 15 DVDs that could make you the most money. Topping the list is the complete DVD box set of the Carry On collection, containing all 31 films that were made over their 34-year span - which could sell for £350. Meanwhile if you have the limited edition castle box set of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, you could be in line for a £300 payout. The Blade Runner Ultimate Collector's Edition Briefcase could also fetch you £300, as well as a limited edition box set of The Godfather. Collectables expert Tracy Martin, enlisted by online gambling site Bally Casino, shared her expertise. She said: 'Collectable value can be due to rarity, different variants to the norm, oddities - misspelling on DVD cases or books - nostalgia - people buying back their memories, limited edition and basic supply and demand. Topping the list is the complete DVD box set of the Carry On collection, containing all 31 films that were made over their 34-year span - which could sell for £350 Meanwhile if you have the limited edition castle box set of Monty Python and the Holy Grail (scene from the film pictured), you could be in line for a £300 payout Anyone who owns 'The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration Limited Edition Blu-ray Box Set' could sell it for around £300 'There are so many reasons things are collectable. 'People don't always recognise they have things of value which is why they turn to valuers like me or do their own research online. 'Always research to ensure you get the best price achievable for your collectable by looking to see what similar items have sold for in the past.' Next on the list is The Avengers '62-64 Emma Peel Mega Set, which is worth about £275, while the wooden box limited edition of 1973's The Wicker Man could fetch £225. Others that make the top 15 include the ultimate restored blu-ray edition of The World at War, The Beatles Anthology DVD box set and the 'Just the Shows' DVD box set of Red Dwarf. For those who do have any of the DVDs mentioned, Ms Martin provided advice on the best way to get the best price. 'Find the perfect selling platform, that could be an auction selling site or a retail site,' she said. 'I prefer an auction with collectables as there is the option for worldwide visibility and also is more likely to encourage people to bid before the item expires, people love a deadline. The Blade Runner Ultimate Collector's Edition Briefcase could fetch £300, according to a collectibles expert Meanwhile anyone who has the 'Twin Peaks: The Entire Mystery Blu-ray Box Set' hiding in a box in the attic could sell it for about £225 The 'The Avengers '62-64 - Emma Peel Mega Set' is also worth digging out if you think you have a copy at home, experts said 'Start at a reasonable price and have a reserve in place so the item won't sell for less than you want. End the listing at the right time and day - Sunday night between 8 and 9pm is perfect as people are home relaxing browsing the internet.' Previously, experts have revealed the retro gadgets that are now worth a fortune, including phones, cassette players, and gaming consoles. Topping the list is the Sony Walkman TPS-L2 (1979) which fetches an average of £728.76 on eBay. Meanwhile, if you have a Motorola Microtac 9800X knocking about, you could be in for a £669.14 payout. 'Nostalgia sells—and when it comes to retro tech, some devices are worth a small fortune,' Protect Your Bubble explained.
