Ultra Resolution, a digital process used to restore old Technicolor movies, has succeeded in making the newer prints sharper and more realistic than the originals, the Hollywood Reporter observed today (Wednesday). The process, which has been nominated for a Scientific and Technical Academy Award this year, can correct registration glitches that occurred in making the original prints, the trade paper noted. Technicolor used a printing process -- rather than a chemical-developing process -- similar to the one used by magazines and newspapers to produce color prints; three separate rolls of film were exposed in the huge Technicolor cameras to produce the color-separation negatives that were used to make the prints, with one color laid over the other. Ultra Resolution, devised by sisters Keren and Sharon Perlmutter, lines up the images of each frame precisely, something that was not always possible when the original prints were produced.

The Sony Blu-ray high-definition version of Lionsgate's horror flick The Descent plays fine on Sony's new PlayStation3 game device, but those who attempt to watch it on an ordinary Sony Blu-ray player will see only a blank screen, according to reports that have emerged over the past few days on several websites devoted to high-definition video formats. A similar problem was reported with Pioneer Blu-ray players. The Descent disc features numerous "extras" produced exclusively for the Blu-ray format, including a picture-in-picture video commentary. And therein lies the problem, according to the HD websites. Lionsgate used BD-Java technology for the extras, which is not compatible with the Sony BDP-S1 and Pioneer Elite Blu-ray players. Sony says it is aware of the problem and is working to provide an update to the operating system of its players by early this year.

Samsung may be about to get a jump on Apple's ITV device (Apple says that ITV will have a different name when it is released) that will allow consumers to watch videos stored on their PCs on their TV sets instead. In Samsung's case the device, featuring a wi-fi receiver, will be built right into a new HDTV set that Samsung reportedly plans to unveil at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week. The set will also feature a digital recorder.

The British wireless phone service Orange has extended a deal with major movie houses in the U.K. to provide two tickets for the price of one on Wednesday nights for anyone who dials the numbers 241 and sends a text message on their cell phones to their local theater. The promotion by the cell-phone company, which is owned by France Telecom but headquartered in the U.K., has been highly visible in movie theaters during the ad blocs that run on screen prior to the features. Orange said that more than 90 percent of British theaters are participating in the Wednesday-night offer. Traditionally, Wednesday night is the slowest night of the week for movie ticket sales.

Diane Sawyer has reassured ABC News executives that she plans to remain as cohost of Good Morning America until at least early summer, the New York Times reported today (Wednesday), citing one executive briefed directly on Sawyer's status. The newspaper's source said that Sawyer gave her reassurance to ABC News President David Westin during a meeting before Christmas and that she also met with Disney CEO Robert Iger. (Disney is the owner of ABC.) There had been considerable speculation that Sawyer was planning to quit the show following the departure of Charles Gibson to anchor the network's evening newscast, World News.

While ratings for the Rose Bowl Game on ABC New Year's Day were absolutely rosy, with a 14.5 rating and a 24 share, another BCS (Bowl Championship Series) game Tuesday proved to be a different color in more ways than one. The Orange Bowl game between Louisville and Wake Forest never made it above second place any time during the night, starting off with a third-place 5.9 rating and a 9 share at 8:00 p.m., then moving up to a 7.0/11 at 9:00 p.m., then dropping to a 6.3/11 at 10:00 p.m.

In what could very well turn out to be a case of shooting the messenger -- or something close to it -- a security guard who used his cell phone to produce the video of the execution of Saddam Hussein that was broadcast throughout the world has been arrested by Iraqi authorities. The Washington Post, which reported the arrest, identified its source as Sadiq al-Rikabi, the political adviser to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who told the newspaper that the release of the footage was "not something proper or acceptable. ... We needed just a small piece [of footage] about the execution, just to show the people this is Saddam." On Tuesday, former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw, appearing on the Don Imus program, observed that until the execution, Saddam had "disappeared, in effect, as some kind of a symbol over there." But the video, Brokaw said, changed all that. "He's able to stand up there with the hood off and invoke prayer and even invoke the Palestinians, and go out in the eyes of his people at least as a martyr." Brokaw agreed with Imus's comment that it is "difficult to imagine how this could have turned out worse." Meanwhile, CBS on Tuesday defended its decision not to show the actual execution either on the air or on its website. "Consumers are starting to realize that what television standards may deny them, the Internet readily provides," the CBS News blog Public Eye acknowledged Tuesday. Asked about the availability of the execution video at other websites, CNSNews.com Senior Producer Dan Collins replied, "Anyone with a mouse can get to pornography, too, but we're not going to show that, either."

More than a month after U.S. military officials denied a widely broadcast and published A.P. report that described how a group of Shiite militiamen grabbed six Sunni worshipers as they left a Baghdad mosque and burned them alive as Iraqi soldiers stood by, the A.P continues to refuse to provide further details about the source of its story. Originally, the wire service said that the source was an Iraqi police captain named Jamail Hussein, who, it said, had been the source of more than 60 stories during 2006. But military officials have maintained that there is no record of the existence of the police captain, and the New York Times has reported that it was unable to find anyone who could corroborate the reported incident. A spokeswoman for the A.P. told Editor & Publisher Tuesday that it stands by its story and that "it would be highly unusual for any news organization to provide sources on the demands of critics." But Paul McLeary, who has reported from Iraq for the Columbia Journalism Review, observed Tuesday that this is an unusual case, and that the A.P must produce the source that it has already named "or provide documentation that he exists, or tell us why no one can find a record of his employment by the Iraqi police." McLeary commented in conclusion: "The A.P. is hurting itself every day it refuses to acknowledge its critics."

Time Warner Cable, the nation's second-largest cable company behind Comcast, said Tuesday that it has agreed to carry the new Fox business channel in the New York market when the channel launches, Broadcasting & Cable reported Tuesday. News Corp has said that it plans to launch the news channel when it has deals with cable companies that would allow it to reach a potential audience of 30 million. The Time Warner cable deal would bring it 13 million viewers. News Corp has already reached a deal with Comcast, which has 24 million subscribers.

Kids won't be able to smile and say "cheese" in front of the TV cameras in Britain anymore under the latest advertising rules adopted for children's television. Cheese is among the products listed as junk food by the Food Standards Agency, which has cited its high fat content -- some 900 calories from fat in a typical serving, according to the agency. But the British Cheese Board and the National Farmers' Union have expressed outrage over the ruling. The Cheese Board said that a typical portion of cheese contains 270-360 calories and is actually one of the most "nutritionally complete" foods. Interviewed by the BBC, Mary Quicke, a Devon cheesemaker, summed up her reaction to the regulation: "Frankly, it's bonkers," she said.