Audio Video News

Caving to competition from direct broadcast satellite operators, Time Warner Cable plans to offer its customers a digital set-top box (STB) that will let them record, pause, and play back live television programs, much like the devices made by TiVo, Inc. and SonicBlue's ReplayTV division.

When Tom Norton reviewed the <A HREF="http://www.guidetohometheater.com/showarchives.cgi?19">Toshiba 50H81 HD-ready 16:9 rear-projection television</A>'s 40-inch baby brother, he raved about the picture quality. In the May 2002 issue, Norton sets out to see if the 50-inch upgrade continues the Toshiba tradition.

<A HREF="www.thomson-multimedia.com">Thomson Multimedia</A> announced July 12 that it has joined the Motion Picture Engineering Group Licensing Authority's (MPEG LA) LLC MPEG-2 patent pool as of July 1. The MPEG LA LLC licensing program was launched in 1997 to assure the growth and interoperability of digital video by "providing fair, reasonable, non-discriminatory access to worldwide patent rights that are essential for the MPEG-2 Video and System standards," the announcement stated.

They say a rising tide lifts all boats. It appears that the popularity of the DVD format is having a tremendous impact on sales of home theater components, according to the latest sales figures released by <A HREF="http://www.npdtechworld.com">NPDTechworld</A>.

<A HREF="http://www.echostar.com">Echostar Communications</A> has been planning to merge its popular Ku-band TV satellite service with Ka-band spectra that could add two-way broadbrand and interactive satellite Internet services, just like its competitors DirecTV and <A HREF="http://www.Direcpc.com/">DirecPC</A>have done. Operating on the 17.7 GHz, 21.2 GHz, 27.5 GHz and 31 GHz spectra, the KA-band slots would enable EchoStar's satellite to cover large areas with broadband service.