Another DVD hurdle is jumped: 10 million DVD-Video players have now officially shipped to market, according to the <A HREF="http://www.dvdinformation.com">DVD Entertainment Group</A> (DVDEG). The announcement was made last week at the annual DVD Forum meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Autumn's shortening days and cooling temperatures bring people inside, where they can enjoy sports, the latest movies, and new network programming. Sony Electronics has introduced several new products to enhance the home theater lifestyle.
Onkyo continues to carve a name for itself as a maker of affordable home theater receivers. The company's new THX Select-certified TX-DS787 is the only 6.1-channel Surround EX receiver in the under-$1500 price class. The receiver's suggested list price is $1099.95.
Last week, EchoStar Communications Corporation announced that, starting this week, its <A HREF="http://www.dishnetwork.com">Dish Network</A> will begin showing HDTV versions of popular motion pictures, beginning with the James Bond film <I>The World Is Not Enough</I>. EchoStar claims that the Dish Network currently serves more than 4.3 million customers.
High-Definition Television is getting a big boost this season, thanks to a partnership between <A HREF="http://www.panasonic.com/">Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company</A> and the <A HREF="http://www.cbs.com/">Columbia Broadcasting System</A>. Seventeen of the network's 18 weekly comedy and drama shows will appear in the new format, according to a schedule released Wednesday, September 27. A sponsorship from Panasonic is making possible an almost-complete schedule of primetime HDTV programming from CBS, a unit of media conglomerate <A HREF="http://www.viacom.com/">Viacom, Inc.</A>
P<I>aul Newman, Robert Redford, Katherine Ross. Directed by George Roy Hill. Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 (anamorphic). Dolby Digital mono. 110 minutes. 1969. Fox Home Entertainment 2000043. PG. $29.98.</I>
Last November, <A HREF="http://www.flatdisplaysystems.philips.com">Philips</A>' flat-panel display division and <A HREF="http://www.rainbowdisplays.com">Rainbow Displays</A> announced their agreement to jointly develop large, "tiled" LCDs for a variety of next-generation consumer and business applications. Making good on that promise, last week the companies announced that they will showcase the industry's first 37.5-inch "tiled" flat-panel display at the Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies (CEATEC) Japan 2000, to be held October 3–7, 2000, in Tokyo.
Sales and rentals of digital video discs (DVDs) are exploding this year and will lead to a resurgence of growth for the overall retail movie market in the decade to come, according to a series of reports prepared by <A HREF="http://www.adamsmediaresearch.com">Adams Media Research</A> (AMR), and published in the bi-weekly <I>Hollywood Aftermarket</I> newsletter. The report adds that, after just three years on the market, DVD players are on track to penetrate 12% of US homes by the end of this year, making this the fastest rollout of a consumer entertainment technology since black-and-white television in the 1940s.
TV addicts, rejoice. If scheduling conflicts prevent you from watching all the programs you want to see, Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company has help for what ails you. The consumer electronics giant has announced the PV-HS3000, its first 60-hour-capable "ShowStopper" hard disk recorder.
If the first week of Olympic Games coverage is any indication of <A HREF="http://www.nbc.com/">NBC</A>'s performance in Sydney, the best the network can hope for in the race for viewers is a bronze medal. The network's carefully orchestrated tape-delayed broadcasts aren't pulling in sports fans the way live action from Atlanta did in 1996. Even the Barcelona games in 1992 attracted more viewers, according to polls conducted during the first week of the Sydney Games.
Factory shipments of video products reached 4.9 million units for the month of August, an 8% increase from last month, according to figures released recently by the <A HREF="http://www.ce.org">Consumer Electronics Association</A> (CEA). The organization says that year-to-date growth resulted in double-digit gains that boosted dealer sales to 38.7 million units, a 13% increase over 1999 figures.
Direct-broadcast-satellite service <A HREF="http://www.echostar.com/">EchoStar Communications Corporation</A> will be first in line to buy Hughes Electronics Corporation, if parent company General Motors decides to spin it off. Hughes operates EchoStar's competitor, <A HREF="http://www.directv.com/">DirecTV</A>. The acquisition would create a virtual monopoly in the skies, according to analysts who attended the <A HREF="http://www.sbca.org/">Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association</A>'s SkyForum conference in New York on Thursday, September 21.
E<B>lvis: Aloha from Hawaii</B><BR><I>Elvis Presley. Directed by Marty Pasetta. Aspect ratio: 4:3 (full-screen). Dolby Digital 5.1. 72 minutes. 1973. Warner Bros. A54086-2. NR. $24.99.</I>
Home theater fans almost universally agree that multichannel sound is great, but not all agree on how best to achieve it. Most find that incorporating five large box speakers---plus subwoofer and all the necessary cabling---into a typical home is difficult at best, and a point of contention that can strain even the most solid domestic relationships.
Say "MartinLogan" and most home theater fans immediately think "electrostatics." The Lawrence, Kansas-based company has built a solid reputation on its beautiful and great-sounding speaker lines. The elegant translucent panels grace the homes of thousands of movie lovers and music fans.