Audio Video News

Some consumer-electronics manufacturers are plunging ahead with increased production and new models of digital television sets, despite continuing controversy about broadcasting standards and a scarcity of high-definition programming.

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.cbs.com">CBS Television</A> and Thomson multimedia's <A HREF="http://www.rca.com">RCA</A> brand announced that they have entered into an advertising agreement for Thomson to underwrite the costs of producing high-definition coverage of Super Bowl XXXV as well as the four AFC playoff games. CBS reports that all NFL HDTV programming will be broadcast in 1920x1080i, the highest-definition widescreen digital television format.

With the slow but sure move toward providing consumers with digital television and other services via cable, the set-top box manufacturers have been aggressively jockeying for a position in the audio video system. In a deal sure to give Philips' market share a boost, <A HREF="http://www.att.com/">AT&T Broadband</A> and <A HREF="http://www.philips.com">Philips Electronics</A> announced last week their plan to market Philips' digital cable set-top boxes to US consumers beginning in 2001.

Simplify, simplify. Hitachi has applied this wise old adage to high technology, with a new product that should tweak the interest of movie and music fans everywhere.

Never say Aiwa doesn't pay attention to the market. Noting the widespread popularity of MP3 audio downloads, the company has included the ability to decode and play MP3s in its new XD-DV370 DVD player. Music fans can now make compilation CDs of their favorite MP3 audio tracks on CD-R or CD-RW discs and play them back over their home theater systems.

It seems that <I>Star Wars</I> fans can never get enough. In March 1999, more than six million of them downloaded the QuickTime trailer for <A HREF="http://www.lucasfilm.com/">Lucasfilm</A>'s <I>Episode I: The Phantom Menace</I> in the first three weeks it was available. QuickTime is <A HREF="http://www.apple.com/">Apple Computer</A>'s streaming-media technology, and it has been selected to deliver behind-the-scenes views of <I>Episode II</I> as it develops on location in Australia.

Makers of personal video recorders (PVRs) like <A HREF="http://www.tivo.com/">TiVo</A> and <A HREF="http://www.replaytv.com/">ReplayTV</A> have been fighting an uphill battle to get consumers to understand and purchase their products. This reluctance has caused some marketing executives to question whether there is much of a market for personal video services. But consumer apathy toward unknown technology shouldn't be confused with the potential for such services, according to a recently released report from market analysts <A HREF="http://www.techtrends.net/">TechTrends</A>.