On Wednesday, September 10, the Federal Communications Commission approved a package of standards designed to make digital televisions compatible with a wide range of digital and high definition cable television programs. The "plug and play" agreement will allow consumers to connect digital televisions directly into cable systems, without a set-top-box.
High-definition television has certainly moved along in fits and starts since the first digital-TV stations came on air in 1997. There's been a steadily increasing flow of prime-time programming and movies, a tantalizing season of Monday Night Football, increasing amounts of sports coverage, and numerous PBS documentaries and nature programs. Along the way, there have also been some compelling programs, including the 2002 Winter Olympics, the Masters and U.S. Open tennis, the NCAA Final Four, and three Super Bowls. More than a few prime-time shows have grabbed us by the throat, including NYPD Blue, C.S.I., JAG, Alias, ER, and Law & Order.
The Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (<A HREF="http://www.cedia.com">CEDIA</A>) Expo is increasingly the venue for new product debuts. Among the hot new home theater products on display in Indianapolis are the world's first cable-ready HDTV, from Panasonic and the world's first combo DVD/DVD-A/SACD player with high definition multimedia interface (HDMI), from Pioneer.
DENON College kids, listen up! Have you been trying to re-create your home theater's sound in the dorm room, only to realize that a "closet" measuring 15 feet wide by 20 deep isn't nearly enough room for all of the equipment you'll need? Denon's new D-M71DVXP DVD receiver system may be able to help you out. The system incorporates Dolby Virtual Speaker surround technology, which uses just two speakers to deliver a 5.1-channel surround sound experience. Features include an integrated DVD/receiver unit, two satellite speakers, and a subwoofer. To achieve quality sound and picture reproduction, the D-M71DVXP uses Analog Devices' Hammerhead SHARC 32-bit DSP audio processors. The two-way speakers each offer dual 2-inch midbass drivers and a 0.5-inch dome tweeter. A 100-watt subwoofer rounds out the audio component. The receiver has an aluminum faceplate; the subwoofer has a wood finish; and the satellite speakers are housed in aluminum with wood-finished end caps. The system retails for $999, and a two-channel version is also available for $699. Now you know what to ask for this holiday season. Denon (973) 396-0810 www.denon.com
DVD: Ararat—Buena Vista Video: 2 Audio: 3 Extras: 4 An overlooked historical tragedy—Turkey's genocide of its Armenian population during World War I—is at the heart of this drama by Atom Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter). The atrocities that occurred take on new resonance for members of a contemporary Armenian-Canadian family involved in the filming of a movie about the holocaust, as each grasps for meaning in the events that lead to the deaths of their ancestors and, indirectly, their own fathers. The film-within-a-film structure, combined with a plot device in which one character explains the genocide to a jaded customs agent sniffing for smuggled heroin, creates a complex but oddly dispassionate canvas for this powerful story. Expect to think, even if you can't fully relate to the second-hand oppression these people feel.
Many home theater experts assert that a center channel loudspeaker belongs <I>behind</I> the screen—which is what commercial theaters do with them. Yet many acoustically-transparent perforated screens contribute moiré interference to the image when used with fixed-pixel (LCD, DLP, and D-ILA) projectors.
Railroads once defined the US transportation industry, but by the late 20th century, they were all but obsolete, having succumbed to competition from airlines and trucking companies. Television networks may be headed for a similar fate, having lost 18% of the summer audience to cable channels.
Televised gridiron realism will move up a level this season. More college and professional football games will be broadcast in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, according to an August 28 announcement from San Francisco-based Dolby Laboratories.
One of the electronics industry's dirty little secrets is that plasma display panels (PDPs) can exhibit all kinds of problems at higher altitudes. Home theater fans in places like Vail, CO (altitude 8500') have been plagued by buzzing noises and other strange behaviors when trying to enjoy films or television programs on PDPs.
DVD: Animal House: The Double Secret Probation Edition—Universal Video: 3 Audio: 3 Extras: 4 National Lampoon's Animal House may be a comedy classic that you can watch again and again, but does that also mean you have to buy it again and again? The new Double Secret Probation Edition is the third version of Animal House to hit DVD shelves, and even the gullible girls at Emily Dickinson College wouldn't fall for this scam, would they? There's no denying the greatness of the film itself, but most fans would likely already own the Collector's Edition released in 1998. Is this new version really worth buying Animal House for a second or even a third time? Surprisingly, it is.