Audio Video News

L<I>ouis Armstrong, Anita O'Day, Thelonious Monk, Chuck Berry, Mahalia Jackson, Dinah Washington. Directed by Bert Stern. Aspect ratio: 4:3 (full-screen). Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround (remastered). 84 minutes. 1958. New Yorker Video 16500. NR. $29.95.</I>

There's some good news and then there's some bad news for video manufacturers so far this year. According to figures released last week by the <A HREF="http://www.ce.org">Consumer Electronics Association</A> (CEA), DVD sales were up 55% last month over those from January 2000, with sales of 570,000 units. The trade organization says that sales of DVD players seem poised for another year of record growth in 2001, as the "fastest selling consumer electronics product of all time".

The theater glut has claimed its latest victim. New York-based Loews Cineplex Entertainment, the second largest movie exhibitor in the US, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Thursday, February 15 in US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The theater giant simultaneously brought an application under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for its Canadian units, including Cineplex Odeon Corporation, with whom it had merged three years ago.

Continuing its tradition of high-value products, Adcom has introduced the GTP-760, a tuner/preamp made with home theater fans in mind. Its ability to handle DVD-Audio discs in either 5.1 channel surround sound mode or traditional two-channel stereo mode will attract music lovers, too. Movie soundtracks can be decoded by the GTP-760 in both DTS and Dolby Digital formats.

The latest holiday season numbers are now in, and the <A HREF="http://www.ce.org">Consumer Electronics Association</A> (CEA) is reporting that manufacturer-to-dealer video products sales in December, 2000 grew by 15% over last year's figures, giving a total of more than 6.4 million units shipped, and culminating a year of strong growth. The CEA reports that total sales of video products in 2000 reached 67.8 million units, representing a 12% increase over total sales for 1999. The trade group adds that the year finished with sales increases in almost every category.

Last week, <A HREF="http://global.hitachi.com">Hitachi</A> announced that, on April 10, it will release what it describes as the world's first 32-inch HDTV plasma TV, the W32-PD2100. The company says that this will be followed by the release of a second version of the set with a built-in BS (Broadcast Satellite) digital receiver on June 11. Both TVs will intitally be released in Japan. Hitachi says it is also planning to introduce a 37-inch HDTV plasma TV at a later date. Pricing for all models is to be announced.