Audio Video News

A cheaper, better future: New microprocessors from <A HREF="http://www.intel.com">Intel Corporation</A> could revolutionize the market for flat-panel and slim-profile big screen televisions, according to a December 17 <A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/17/technology/17chip.html?th">report</A> by John Markoff in the <I>New York Times</I>. Leveraging large-scale integration, the company's chips and design expertise could yield big bright high-definition displays at prices far below today's. In what is perhaps a misquote of Intel executive Richard Doherty, Markoff predicts 50" liquid-crystal-on-silicon (LCoS) rear-projection "engines" selling for $1000 by the next winter holiday shopping season.

Primare

From the November 2003 issue, Thomas J. Norton scrutinizes the <A HREF="/speakersystems/1103sonus">Sonus Faber Cremona surround speaker system</A>, noting that although SF speakers are generally known as very expensive, the compnay "has followed a different strategy with the Cremona, making sure from the get-go that the speaker is home-theater friendly."

URC
What could be better than a remote control that works up to 100 feet away? How about a remote that can send commands through walls and household structures and costs only $499? Universal Remote Control's Home Theater Master MX-800 does just that. Users can control all of their A/V equipment from one remote, regardless of where that equipment is located. The MX-800 sends commands to the included MRF-200 Base Station, which converts them to infrared signals to control the components. Using macros, you can program the MX-800 to operate up to 20 A/V units. It can create 900 macro buttons with 199 commands each. The LCD screen measures 1.4 by 2.1 inches and features text-editing capabilities.
Universal Remote Control
(914) 835-4484
www.universal-remote.com

The buying public can't seem to get enough of new flat-panel televisions. The coming months should be good ones for manufacturers and retailers, according to a December 9 report from DisplaySearch, a research firm specializing in the flat-panel market.

Screener ban blocked: A federal judge in New York has sided with a group of independent film producers in their effort to overturn a ban by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) on issuing preview copies of potential nominees for the annual Academy Awards. On Friday, December 5, US District Chief Judge Michael Mukasey found in favor of the plaintiffs, ruling that the ban runs counter to US antitrust law. He granted a preliminary injunction to lifts the ban, after hearing testimony from filmmakers who claimed that it could severely damage their ability to reach critics and viewers. One filmmaker estimated that the ban could reduce box office sales for independents by as much as 75%, a potential loss claimed to constitute "an unreasonable restriction of trade."

Federal regulators appear to have few objections to the proposed buyout of the satellite broadcaster by News Corporation&mdash;which makes for a completely different scenario than last year's aborted acquisition of DirecTV by rival Echostar.