<A HREF="http://www.nec.com">NEC</A> announced last week that it will begin sales in Japan on July 23 of what it describes as the industry's largest plasma display monitor, with a panel size of 61 inches (155cm diagonal) and a 16:9 aspect ratio. The introduction of the PX-61XM1, NEC says, will make it the first company to take the jumbo-size screen from the prototype stage to mass production. The suggested retail price of the plasma monitor is initially expected to be $27,995.
It's no secret that plenty of commodities cost more in Europe than they do in the United States. Gasoline, for example, is typically two to three times more expensive on the eastern side of the Atlantic.
<I>Joe Mantegna, Joan Allen, Max Pomeranc, Ben Kingsley, Laurence Fishburne. Directed by Steve Zaillian. Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 (anamorphic). Dolby Digital 2.0. 109 minutes. 1992. Paramount 32673. PG. $29.99.</I>
Video projectors keep getting smaller, lighter, and better looking—especially from companies like <A HREF="http://www.infocus.com">InFocus Corporation</A>. InFocus choose the recent INFOCOMM show in Las Vegas, held June 13–15, to debut the new LP530 digital video projector, which incorporates Sage's FLI2200 deinterlacer. The FLI2200 is the world's first 10-bit single-chip motion adaptive deinterlacer, with Faroudja's deinterlacing and post-processing algorithms to convert standard interlaced video signals into progressive scan signals. The resulting image is said to be among the best available, with an absolute minimum of motion artifacts, flicker, or color irregularities.
Many home theater fans use in-wall speakers for rear/side channels. Some even use them for the front channels as well. It's a space saving strategy, but one fraught with acoustic problems, the most prominent being the unpredictable nature of the "bay" into which the in-wall speaker is installed. Is it big or small, empty or stuffed with insulation? These factors make a huge difference in the performance of typical open-back in-walls.
Convergence has taken another step forward with the newest offering from Princeton Graphics Systems. On June 13, the display and monitor maker introduced its Ai3.2HD, a 32" flatscreen CRT with HDTV compatibility and interactive television features.
There may be more than one way to skin the HDTV cat. Last week, <A HREF="http://www.viagate.com">ViaGate Technologies</A> announced what the company is terming "a major breakthrough" with what it says is the successful delivery of High Definition Television (HDTV) over an existing fiber network through its ViaGate 4160 Access Switch utilizing standard copper telephone wires. ViaGate, in conjunction with CompleteTV and <A HREF="http://www.artel.tv">Artel Video Systems</A>, says that it has introduced this potential service to complement a host of broadband entertainment and connectivity services that are being field tested in Tennessee.
Microsoft must still be smarting from a blow delivered by AT&T Broadband. On June 6, the telecommunications giant announced that it was scaling back its plans to implement Microsoft's interactive television software in its next generation of digital set-top boxes (STBs).
<I>The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!<BR> Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, George Kennedy, O.J. Simpson, Ricardo Montalban. Directed by Jerry Zucker. Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 (anamorphic). 84 minutes. 1988. Paramount Home Video 32100. PG-13. $29.99.</I>
Film director John Waters will lead off the <A HREF="http://www.dvdconference.com">DVD Entertainment 2001 Conference & Showcase</A>, to be held August 22 & 23, 2001 at the Hilton Universal City & Towers, in Universal City, CA. Conference organizers announced on June 5 that Waters would give a keynote presentation entitled "From the Lens to Plastic: A Typically Unorthodox View of DVD," detailing how the format has brought his work to a new audience.
Passive radiators fell out of favor with loudspeaker manufacturers in the early 1980's, but the technology always showed promise for extending the low-end response from small cabinets. Tigard, OR-based Aperion Audio, formerly known as EdgeAudio, has revived the design with the introduction of a new 150-watt powered subwoofer selling for just under $400.
If companies like <A HREF="http://www.nCUBE.com">nCUBE</A> have their way, hard-disc-based PVR manufacturers such as TiVo are going to have a tough time finding customers. nCUBE announced last week that it will demonstrate its scalable "network-based" personal video recorder (nPVR) systems at Cable 2001, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association's (NCTA) Convention in Chicago, June 10–13.
In the wake of Napster, movie studios are even more gun-shy about releasing new content without a digital chastity belt in place. Responding to calls for additional copy protection security from content owners and content providers concerned about the potential unlimited distribution of digital files over the Internet, <A HREF="http://www.thomson-multimedia.com">Thomson multimedia</A> says it is re-introducing its SmartRight system, which the company describes as a method of "robust content protection that could possibly operate as a secure layer to supplement less complete current approaches."
<I>Sean Connery, Daniela Bianchi, Pedro Armendariz, Lotte Lenya, Robert Shaw. Directed by Terence Young. Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 (widescreen). Dolby Digital mono. 115 minutes. 1963. MGM Home Entertainment 1001093. PG. $26.98.</I>
Lack of HDTV programming and uncertainties about interface standards have caused Hitachi to hold off on introducing any new fully integrated HDTV sets. In late May, <A HREF="www.hitachi.com">Hitachi Home Electronics America</A> announced its new UltraVision Digital line of television products, including 9 new rear-projection HDTV monitors, but there are no fully integrated sets or set-top boxes (STBs) among them.