Audio Video News

Satellite receivers with HDTV capability are big news here in Las Vegas. Several companies have followed in the wake of RCA's announcement of its $649 DTC100, an HDTV-ready DirecTV satellite receiver, among them Hughes, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, and Toshiba. Now Samsung Electronics America has announced a set-top box with all the latest technology.

Early predictions for 2001: prices will decline, and products will improve. That's the upbeat message delivered at pre-show press conferences held consecutively on January 5 by frequent partners <A HREF="http://www.philips.com/">Philips Electronics</A> and <A HREF="http://www.sony.com/">Sony Corporation</A>.

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.faroudja.com">Faroudja</A> announced that it will introduce its new flagship DVP5000 Digital Video Processor/Scaler at the Consumer Electronics Show this week in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company claims that the DVP5000 is the first processor to automatically upconvert 1080i (interlaced) high-definition signals to 1080p (progressive) resolution, "improving on the best that HDTV currently offers by removing the interlace stairstepping and motion artifacts found in the 1080i signal." The company also adds that standard 480i sources can be upconverted to 1080p.

Film fans in Thailand won't get a chance to see <I>Anna and the King</I> in theaters. Censors in that country have banned the Jodie Foster film because of what they call its "disrespect" toward Thai nobility. The film was released worldwide a few weeks ago.

The upswell in the popularity of DVD, and its low cost per disc, would seem to be a good thing for all concerned&mdash;movie fans, video stores, and film studios. But the very aspects of the new format that are making it grow so huge so fast may cause permanent changes in the business of video rentals and sales, especially for the studios.

Australians will have the maximum number of choices when digital television broadcasting and datacasting begin on the first day of 2001, according to guidelines announced December 21 by Senator Richard Alston, Minister for Communications, Information Technology, and the Arts. Alston told the press that considering the interests of consumers has been his government's "guiding principle" in the implementation of new forms of technology. "Australians will be able to choose the viewing option which best suits their individual circumstances" on the day DTV debuts, Alston said.

Last week, JVC Americas announced that it has consolidated its projector operations&mdash;both JVC-branded projection systems and Hughes-JVC-branded systems&mdash;into <A HREF="http://www.jvc.com/pro">JVC Professional Products Company</A>, and will develop and market all future projection systems under the JVC brand. The company says that this consolidation will result in the creation of a new Visual Systems Division, effective next month. JVC says it hopes that the reorganized company will grow its projection-display business by more than 15% in the year 2000.