Audio Video News

In an effort to dominate the potentially huge set-top box market, both Sun Microsystems and Microsoft announced deals with cable provider TCI at the recent CES in Las Vegas. Coming within one day of each other, the two announcements illuminate the struggle about to take place between rivals Sun and Microsoft to place their operating systems in consumers' homes.

D<I>VD. Anna Magnani, Aldo Fabrizi, Marcello Pagliero, Maria Michi. Directed by Roberto Rossellini. Aspect ratio: 4:3. Dolby Digital. 105 minutes. 1945. Image Entertainment ID4102DSDVD. Not rated. $29.95.</I>

Mother always said TV would rot your brain. Now there's proof.

The holiday season was a big one for the Digital Versatile Disc. VideoScan, which tracks the sales of more than 16,000 video retail businesses, reports that almost three million DVDs were sold in the five weeks leading up to the New Year, accompanied by equally brisk sales of players. The new format entered its second official year as the fastest-growing new medium in history.

D<I>VD Farley Granger, Ruth Roman, Robert Walker, Leo G. Carroll. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Aspect ratio 4:3. Dolby Digital. Two sides: Side A, Hollywood Version, 101 minutes; Side B, British Version, 103 minutes. 1951. Warner Home Video 15324. Hollywood version: not rated; British version: PG. $24.98.

L<I>aserdisc. Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyo, Masayuki Mori, Takashi Shimura, Minoru Chiaki, Kichijiro Ueda, Fumiko Homma. Directed by Akira Kurosawa. Aspect ratio 4:3. 87 minutes. 1950. CLV. The Voyager Company Criterion Collection CC1149L. Not rated. $49.95.</I>

Enough DVD movies have been sold this year to compile a top-ten list. <I>VideoScan</I> reports that <i>Twister</i>, the big-budget thriller in which no-name actors chase tornadoes and get chased in turn by tumbling barns and flying cows, was the best-selling DVD through November 30. The film, on disc, is hugely popular; a surplus of spectacular visual effects apparently compensates for its mediocre acting, clunky dialog, and almost total lack of story.