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Audio Video News
Home Theater Lite
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Mar 08, 2005  | 
Imagine the number of people in the world for whom the intricacies of a setting up and using a home theater system are just about as inscrutable and mysterious as the Federal tax code. Then add those individuals who either have limited space or desire to keep the system as minimal in form and function as possible. Throw in a few more folks who simply like to set (and forget) things on top of the television, and you've got the makings of a giant market for two-speaker (or one-box) "surround sound" systems.
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Audio Video News
Hollywood's Digital Workflow
Thomas J. Norton  |  Mar 06, 2005  | 

It's no news that Hollywood has gone digital in a big way in the production, post-production, and, to a lesser extent, theatrical presentation of films. In fact, the day may yet come when the term "film" itself will be nothing more than a generic, but not entirely accurate, description like Scotch tape.

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Audio Video News
Home Theater Magazine Announces RAVE Award Winners
HT Staff  |  Mar 04, 2005  | 
The editors of Home Theater magazine are proud to announce the winners of the 2005 RAVE Awards. The RAVE (Recognition of Audio and Video Excellence) Awards are open to all manufacturers whose components have been reviewed in Home Theater magazine over a 12-month period.
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Audio Video News
Voom Soap Opera
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 04, 2005  | 

Earlier this week, it looked like the Voom HD satellite service was dead, but it now seems that reports of its demise were at least slightly exaggerated. On <A href="http://www.ultimateavmag.com/news/030105voom/">Tuesday</A>, we reported that Cablevision, Voom's parent company, decided to pull the plug after founder Charles Dolan failed to meet a February 28 deadline for purchasing Voom's remaining assets. (The Voom satellite and FCC licenses to operate at its orbital location are being purchased by rival EchoStar, subject to regulatory approval.)

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Audio Video News
Latest Software Reviews
HT Staff  |  Mar 04, 2005  | 
Get Shorty Collector's Edition—MGM/UA
Fresh off his success in Pulp Fiction, John Travolta cemented his mid-'90s comeback with Get Shorty, a fun, clever adaptation of Elmore Leonard's novel about a loan shark who decides to get out of the business and into The Business, aka movie-making. Travolta so thoroughly inhabits the character of Chili Palmer that it's hard to believe he initially turned down the role. It was Quentin Tarantino who ultimately convinced Travolta to take the part. (Where was he when Travolta decided to take Battlefield Earth?)
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Audio Video News
Coming Attractions
HT Staff  |  Mar 04, 2005  | 
Fujitsu
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Audio Video News
Voom Goes Ka-Boom
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 01, 2005  | 

As Michael Fremer discussed in his <A href="http://ultimateavmag.com/michaelfremer/205mf/">February 2005 column</A>, Cablevision recently agreed to sell the primary assets of its Voom HD satellite service&mdash;including the satellite itself and FCC licenses to operate DBS services on 11 frequencies from the satellite's orbital location as well as ground facilities in South Dakota&mdash;to EchoStar, the company behind competitor Dish Network, for $200 million in cash. Apparently, Cablevision founder and chairman Charles Dolan opposed the sale, while his son James, CEO of the company, supported it. The elder Dolan and another son, Tom, then signed a letter of intent to purchase the remaining Voom assets from Cablevision.

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Audio Video News
Circuit City's Rough Road
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 28, 2005  | 

This certainly has been a busy couple of weeks for Circuit City, the #2 retail outlet for consumer electronics in the U.S. No less than three separate events are bound to have an major impact on the company.

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Audio Video News
Coming Attractions
HT Staff  |  Feb 28, 2005  | 
Genelec
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Audio Video News
Latest Software Reviews
HT Staff  |  Feb 28, 2005  | 
DVD: Mary Poppins 40th Anniversary Edition—Buena Vista
Everyone wanted Mary Poppins to be their nanny when they were kids. Rosy cheeks, cheery disposition, and never cross? That's just ideal. However, lucky Jane and Michael Banks were the two children who got to enjoy her company, and this fine presentation of the classic musical will make you jealous of those two kids all over again.
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Audio Video News
High-Def Shuttle
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 27, 2005  |  First Published: Feb 28, 2005  | 

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) recently took delivery of 30 Panasonic AK-HC900 high-definition video cameras to monitor the launch of <I>Discovery</I> this May as the space shuttle program finally returns to flight after the <I>Columbia</I> disaster just over two years ago. A number of the cameras will be positioned at two launch pads in shielded enclosures close to the orbiter to provide NASA with real-time, high-definition images of the launch for scientific-image analysis as well as vehicle-safety and status assessment.

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Audio Video News
HE 2005 In New York
HT Staff  |  Feb 27, 2005  | 
See, touch, and demo the next generation of personal media players, home networking solutions, HDTV, digital music, and more—all under one roof.

The stage is set and the curtain will rise on April 28 for a return engagement of the popular Home Entertainment Show—the high-performance sound and imaging event of the year. HE-2005 will take place April 28–May 1, 2005, once again at the Hilton New York Hotel, only steps away from Broadway, marking the seventh time the event has been held in New York City.

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Audio Video News
HE 2005 In New York
Ultimate AV Staff  |  Feb 27, 2005  | 

<I>See, touch, and demo the next generation of personal media players, home networking solutions, HDTV, digital music, and more&mdash;all under one roof.</I>

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Audio Video News
Anna Morph and Her Silicon (Optix) Enhancement
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Feb 27, 2005  | 
High-end home theater owners may already be familiar with Silicon Optix, Inc. The company's Image AnyPlace video scaler provides a great deal of flexibility for installers when choosing where to locate a front-projection monitor in relation to the screen. The scaler's Image Geometry Correction circuitry adjusts the image for off-axis projection in two dimensions (two-dimensional Keystone Correction), so for nightmare-installation rooms the projector may be mounted at the top, bottom, or either side of the projection screen. The scaler also makes it possible to project images onto cylindrical, spherical, or completely irregularly shaped objects. (Imagine the thrill of watching movies on the top of your brother-in-law's shiny bald head.)
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Audio Video News
If You've Got It, Shake It
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Feb 27, 2005  | 
It used to be that you had to be an astronaut or a fighter pilot in order to experience first-class motion simulation. D-BOX Technology, Inc., changed that when they introduced the high-end Odyssee Motion Simulator that included a dedicated controller and set of actuators that move your favorite chair or (a platform holding several chairs) in synchronization with a number of Hollywood movies for which D-BOX had slavishly encoded motion commands. (Read about Chris Chiarella's stimulating experience with the Odyssee simulator here .) Now D-BOX has lowered the price of admission for motion at home with Quest chairs and loveseats.
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