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Hi everybody, I’m Cerris Morgan-Moyer of the Actors Reporter and welcome to the TradeVine, where we help you stay informed with some of the entertainment news you may have missed in the Trades, such as Backstage, The Hollywood Reporter, and Daily Variety.

Daily Variety, Tuesday, March 13th – Walmart unveils ‘disc-to-digital’, by Andrew Wallenstein. Walmart announced a new in-store service that will allow consumers to create digital versions of DVDs they own through deals with five of the top studios. The “disc-to-digital” feature will be available in stores starting April 16. Consumers will be charged $2 to convert standard definition, high-definition or Blu-ray discs to digital. Upgrading discs to high definition will cost $5. This really is a digital world.

Back Stage, March 7th – In the Advice section, Secret Agent Man gives tips on how to make Pilot Season Madness less stressful for all. Pilot season always starts the same way. Breakdowns begin to pour in, clients start begging for auditions, and, in order to convince casting directors to see clients for those high-paying series-regular roles that can turn unknowns into stars, the actors must be prepared. Here are some tips. 1. This is not the time of year to surprise your agent with new headshots. The smart move is to take them in the fall, so they’ll be ready for pilot season. 2. Post your reel so it is available for casting directors to see. And, 3. A pilot-season week is usually six days long. This allows casting directors to have pre-reads on Saturdays. If you want to be a successful actor, you have to be available, especially during pilot season. It’s just that simple.

The Hollywood Reporter, March 13th – Chip Maker Intel Working on Online TV Service, by Georg Szalai. Intel Corp. is developing a Web-based TV service, or “virtual cable operator,” in the U.S. that would compete with pay TV operators. Intel has pitched content companies on the plan that would see the company offer TV networks in a bundle similar to cable, satellite TV and telecom operators. Intel hopes to launch the service by the end of the year, but has cited high content costs and bandwidth issues as key challenges. We’ll have to wait and see if television has a new rival.

Well, that’s it for the TradeVine this week. I’m Cerris Morgan-Moyer. Thank you very much for watching. And remember, You heard it through the Tradevine!