The concept of "plug and play" is a starry-eyed consumer-electronics fantasy. In my experience, almost all home entertainment devices - at least the kinds covered in this magazine - need some sort of setup to achieve optimum performance. Heck, even my first childhood record player had to have the volume adjusted.
A DVD player is already a terrific bargain - an inexpensive black box that can play discs full of razor-sharp images, immersive surround sound, and fascinating extras. But what if you could wed a DVD player with another popular entertainment device like, say, a TV, VCR, or game console? Well, it's already being done.
Digital surround receivers are by far the most complicated products we test. Not only do they have two primary modes of operation - two-channel stereo and multichannel surround sound - both using their digital inputs, but today they may also be called on to handle multichannel high-resolution analog signals from a DVD-Audio or Super Audio CD player.
Be sure to come back to our web site for Sound & Vision's exclusive coverage of the annual International Consumer Electronics Show, January 8th to 11th in Las Vegas.
Is your video system installed in a small room? If so, you've probably wrestled with the problem of generating great bass without crowding yourself out.
Lightweight video projectors are the hottest tickets in home theater. Marantz has taken the concept to a new level of performance with the HDTV-ready VP-12S1.
Canadian HDTV fans got a boost when <A HREF="http://www.rogers.com">Rogers Cable</A> announced last week that it has launched the largest high definition television offering by a cable operator in Canada to date. Rogers provides services to 2.3 million customers in Ontario, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland.
Not too long ago, executives of the nation's only two makers of personal video recorders (PVRs) were talking about joint ventures. Now they are locked in a legal battle over patented technology.
Direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service <A HREF="http://www.echostar.com">EchoStar Communications Corporation</A> and French multimedia conglomerate <A HREF="http://www.vivendi.fr">Vivendi Universal, SA</A> have entered an alliance that should benefit both of them.
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