Audio Video News

A new country has taken the lead position in the modern media world. Is it in Europe or Asia? Africa? Australia? Nope, the newest media moguls on the block reside on the small South Pacific group of atolls known as Tuvalu.

Build it and no one will come. That's been the broadcasting industry's worst nightmare since discussions about high-definition television began more than 10 years ago. Many executives have expressed dismay over the fact that the <A HREF="http://www.fcc.gov/">Federal Communications Commission</A> mandated their compliance with HDTV's launch---an effort that costs each station millions of dollars in new equipment and technical training---when there is almost no audience to see it. Dozens of stations are ready for the official nationwide launch of HDTV in just two weeks, but the few people who will see the first broadcasts will be engineers, journalists, and a handful of customers and salespeople in electronics stores.

High-resolution video technology leader <A HREF="http://www.faroudja.com/">Faroudja, Inc.</A> announced October 6 that Glenn W. Marschel, Jr. has been named its new President, CEO, and Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors. Mr. Marschel is replacing Michael Moore, who resigned "to pursue other interests." Chief Technical Officer and company founder Yves Faroudja will become the board's other Co-Chairman. William J. Turner will step down as Chairman, but will remain as a Director of the company.

Tele-Webbers---almost sounds like a mindless new children's TV show, but instead describes what a new report claims is the next big revolution in home television. According to the report from <A HREF="http://www.inteco.com">Inteco</A>, Tele-Webbers are the eight million adults in the US who use the Internet and watch TV simultaneously at least once a week. (So do another five million, but less often.)

There's nothing else in home theater like a cinematically stunning film transferred to HDTV videotape and displayed at 720p or 1080i/p. The only problem is that the frame rates for the two formats are not the same, creating a syncing nightmare for the transfer studio. Solutions have involved running a single film frame through more than one scan of the faster DTV format to create a seamless presentation. As networks begin DTV transmission this fall, the ability to transfer film---a major source of primetime programming---and to create original high-definition content in a variety of DTV formats has become even more critical.

Home-theater fans are excited by HDTV, and the first display products are hitting the shelves right now. But how long will it be before high-definition signals become common as a broadcast medium? The answer to this question involves not only the television to receive the signal, but the entire broadcast chain, from camera to transmitter.

In what they've billed as their continuing commitment to the growth and development of the DVD marketplace, <A HREF="http://www.universalstudios.com">Universal Studios</A> announced 20 DVD titles with DTS audio tracks to be released in the first half of 1999. The opening volley, which includes <I>Dante's Peak</I>, <I>Waterworld</I>, <I>Liar Liar</I>, and <I>Daylight</I>, is expected in January. Other titles to follow are <I>The Shadow</I>, <I>Babe</I>, <I>The River Wild</I>, <I>The Getaway</I>, <I>The Nutty Professor</I>, <I>Apollo 13</I>, <I>Happy Gilmore</I>, <I>12 Monkeys</I>, <I>Dragonheart</I>, <I>The Jackal</I>, <I>The Frighteners</I>, <I>Born on the Fourth of July</I>, <I>The Boxer</I>, <I>For Richer or Poorer</I>, <I>Blues Brothers 2000</I>, and <I>Primary Colors</I>.