Audio Video News

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Audio Video News
When You're Hot You're Hot
Jon Iverson  |  Jan 20, 2002  |  0 comments

We know that DVD is hot, but few could have predicted that the video format would become the fastest growing in the history of consumer electronics. The latest statistics reveal that, in 2001, consumer spending on DVD purchases and rental combined were $6 billion, 2.4 times more than the previous year. This represents an increase that put DVD purchases ahead of VHS purchases for the first time, despite an installed player base of 25 million DVD households versus a VCR installed player base of 96 million households.

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Audio Video News
Sharp Launches Hi-Def Plasma TVs
HT Staff  |  Jan 19, 2002  |  0 comments
Plasma screens are still one of the hottest commodities in the video marketplace. Sharp Electronics Corporation has added two new models to its new line of High Definition Plasma Televisions: the 43" PZ-43HV2U and the 50" PZ-50HV2U. The larger model was recently honored by an International CES Innovations 2002 Design and Engineering Showcase Award.
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Audio Video News
Pioneer DVD Recorder Features Progressive Output
HT Staff  |  Jan 14, 2002  |  0 comments
Following the successful launch of its DVD-R/RW computer drives, Pioneer has released its first DVD recorder for the US market, the Elite DVR-7000. Camcorder inputs, progressive video output, and instant one-touch recording are among the recorder's attractive features.
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Audio Video News
The French Connection: Special Edition on DVD
Tank Menzies  |  Jan 13, 2002  |  0 comments

<I>Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey, Roy Scheider, Tony LoBianco, Marcel Bozzuffi. Directed by William Friedkin. Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 (widescreen anamorphic). Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0. Two discs. 104 minutes. 1971. Fox 2002065. R. $26.98.</I>

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Audio Video News
In-House TV Station: Terk WaveMaster 20
HT Staff  |  Jan 11, 2002  |  0 comments
Let's suppose you have a nicely installed home theater system and a TV upstairs in your bedroom. Let's further suppose that sometimes you'd like to watch a movie playing on your home theater system's DVD player in your bedroom. Without taking the player upstairs, or snaking a dedicated cable between the two, you can't do it.
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Audio Video News
2002 CES Day Five
Jon Iverson  |  Jan 10, 2002  |  0 comments

Only home theater Neanderthals watch movies with a two-channel audio system, the standard wisdom has it. 5.1, 6.1, 7.1&mdash;will surround sound formats ever stop expanding?

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Audio Video News
2002 CES Day Four
Jon Iverson  |  Jan 09, 2002  |  0 comments

We continue to roam the Alexis Park complex, our antennae tuned for innovative home theater products. Among the most interesting: Legacy Audio's "Harmony" loudspeaker, perhaps the first truly high-performance in-wall we've ever heard. This unique design features a rigid back plate that's screwed into place in a sheetrock cutout between two studs on standard 16" centers. The fully assembled front baffle then slides into place and is secured by two screws. Unlike other in-wall designs that attempt to disappear, the Harmony actually protrudes about two inches from the surface of the wall. Its craftsmanship matched its sonic appeal&mdash;it was surprisingly deep and dynamic, but very natural sounding through the midrange and highs.

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Audio Video News
2002 CES Day Three
Jon Iverson  |  Jan 08, 2002  |  0 comments

We've moved to the Alexis Park, home of specialty audio. Traffic here is light, and there aren't many home theater demonstrations. We have seen some compelling new products, however&mdash;such as <A HREF="http://www.niro.net">Niroson</A>'s prototype surround-sound system consisting of only two small speakers and a compact subwoofer.

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Audio Video News
Denon Launches New Surround Sound Receiver At CES 2002
HT Staff  |  Jan 07, 2002  |  0 comments
Want to do seven channels the right way? Denon has debuted a new A/V surround sound receiver claimed to bring "new levels of sonic realism to the home theater experience." The AVR-5803 features advanced dual Analog Devices Hammerhead SHARC 32-bit processors and Burr-Brown 24-bit/192kHz audio DACs, as well as THX Ultra2 7.1-channel processing, Dolby Pro Logic II decoding, Dolby Headphone output, built-in video conversion and many other attractive functions.
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Audio Video News
2002 CES Day Two
Jon Iverson  |  Jan 07, 2002  |  0 comments

Samsung is making a major push on several fronts, including DVD, hard disk, and flat screen technologies. One of the more intriguing prototypes on display at the LV Convention Center is the company's DVD player/hard-disk recorder combo, whose 50GB drive can accommodate up to 20 movies. The films can be saved in a compressed video format directly off DVD and watched as often as you like. There is no digital output on the machine (it does have analog component video out) so there is no easy way to make digital copies. Like TiVo's PVR, the Samsung recorder will require deleting some recordings when the disk is full. The fact that the recordings are not transportable helps Samsung skirt copyright issues, according to a representative.

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Audio Video News
Sim2's Dual Mode DLP Projector
HT Staff  |  Jan 06, 2002  |  0 comments
Digital Light Processing is one of the hottest buzzwords in home theater. Sim2 Seleco USA, Inc., has incorporated the Texas Instruments technology into a sleek attractive projector claimed to be optimized for both high-definition and legacy video displays.
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Audio Video News
EchoStar Strikes Back at Disney
 |  Jan 06, 2002  |  0 comments

The animosity is heating up between the <A HREF="http://www.disney.com">Walt Disney Company</A> and direct satellite broadcaster <A HREF="http://www.echostar.com">EchoStar</A>. Following EchoStar's removal of Disney's ESPN Classic from its offerings, the DBSer is now trying to drop the ABC Family channel, another Disney operation.

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Audio Video News
Spy Kids on DVD
Hilary Lynch  |  Jan 06, 2002  |  0 comments

<I>Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Alexa Vega, Daryl Sabaras, Cheech Marin, Alan Cumming, Teri Hatcher. Directed by Robert Rodriguez. Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 (anamorphic). Dolby Digital 5.1 (English), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround (French, Spanish). 88 minutes. 2001. Walt Disney Home Video B00003CXWJ. PG. $29.99.</I>

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Audio Video News
New Projectors Debut
Jon Iverson  |  Jan 06, 2002  |  0 comments

No doubt about it, the markets for video projection systems for home theater use is a hot one, and two new companies are preparing to jump into the fire. The first is Accurate Imaging Technologies, which will be launched officially at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week by James Wellnitz, former president and CEO of Vidikron of America, and Bob Rosser, president and owner of custom installation retailer, Ultimate Entertainment.

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Audio Video News
2002 CES Day One
Jon Iverson  |  Jan 06, 2002  |  0 comments

The 2002 Consumer Electronics Show officially opens Tuesday, January 8th, but several major manufacturers took advantage of the relative peace to host press conferences on Monday.

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