Audio Video News

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Audio Video News
Bringing Flat Plasma Screens to More Homes
Jon Iverson  |  Sep 03, 2000  | 

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.fujitsu-fme.com">Fujitsu Hitachi Plasma Display Limited</A> (FHP) announced that it has succeeded in developing what it calls the world's first 32- and 37-inch high-definition plasma display panels (PDPs). The new displays, which join FHP's existing lineup of 42-inch PDPs, use the company's proprietary ALIS (Alternate Lighting of Surfaces) drive-circuit technology and are intended for use as household television sets.

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Audio Video News
Universal Pictures in Promo Deal with ReplayTV
Barry Willis  |  Sep 03, 2000  | 

New movies from <A HREF="http://www.universalpictures.com/">Universal Pictures</A> will soon be advertised through an untried channel: interactive television.

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Audio Video News
DTV Defined at Last: CEA Issues Guidelines
Barry Willis  |  Sep 03, 2000  | 

What's in a name? If it's a "Digital Television," no one has been quite sure, and the resulting confusion over basic nomenclature has been one of many factors inhibiting market acceptance of the new format. Now, the <A HREF="http://www.ce.org/">Consumer Electronics Association</A> (CEA) has decided that clear definitions are needed to cut through the fog.

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Audio Video News
BigBand Networks Formed to Offer Audio/Video Services
Jon Iverson  |  Sep 03, 2000  | 

Last week, digital video and networking companies Optibase, Lucent, 3Com, DiviCom, ECI Telecom, and Siemens announced that they have formed <A HREF="http://www.bigbandnet.com">BigBand Networks</A> in an effort to provide "a new network platform to deliver entertainment-quality content and services combining video, voice, and data over multiple broadband networks including cable, DSL, satellite, and wireless."

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Audio Video News
Parasound Updates AVC-2500 and HCA-2205A
HT Staff  |  Aug 31, 2000  | 
San Francisco-based Parasound, long noted for making great-sounding products at affordable prices, has announced updates for two of its most highly regarded home theater products, the AVC-2500 preamp/processor and the HCA-2205A power amp.
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Audio Video News
Mitsubishi Introduces Industry's Largest DLP Big Screen Set
HT Staff  |  Aug 27, 2000  | 
The biggest television set ever made with Digital Light Processing technology is on its way from Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America Inc. On August 24, the company announced the retail debut of the WD-65000, said to "mark a new era in multimedia entertainment."
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Audio Video News
Disney Will Release Fantasia Series on DVD
HT Staff  |  Aug 27, 2000  | 
One of the most ambitious projects in the history of animation will celebrate its 60th anniversary this fall, and Walt Disney Home Entertainment plans to make it something special. Fantasia, the groundbreaking film that debuted in 1940 and has astounded generations of kids and adults ever since, will be released on DVD this coming November 14.
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Audio Video News
Affordable HDTV and Datacasting on the Desktop?
Jon Iverson  |  Aug 27, 2000  | 

Last week, 14 companies announced that they have joined to create the <A HREF="http://www.pcdtv.org">PC DTV Promoters Group</A>, for "the purpose of marketing and accelerating adoption of digital broadcast receivers and DTV technology for the PC." Members of the group say it was formed to help raise awareness of the PC as the "ideal platform" for receiving Enhanced Digital Television programming, HDTV, and high-bandwidth Datacasting services.

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Audio Video News
Tuvalu
 |  Aug 27, 2000  | 

A while back, we <A HREF="http://www.guidetohometheater.com/shownews.cgi?269">reported</A> on the small island of Tuvalu in the South Pacific, which, as fate would have it, was assigned the international domain of ".tv." It didn't take long for a company called <A HREF="www.tv">dotTV</A> to make a deal with the Tuvalu government to administer and sell the ".tv" domains. Last week, dotTV announced that they have auctioned off three high-priced domain names&mdash;free.tv, china.tv, and net.tv&mdash;each selling for initial annual registration fees of $100,000.

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Audio Video News
Bringing Dogma to the DVD Masses
Wes Phillips  |  Aug 27, 2000  | 

B<I>en Affleck, Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino, Salma Hayek, Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, Alan Rickman, Chris Rock, Kevin Smith. Directed by Kevin Smith. Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 (anamorphic). Dolby Digital 5.1. 130 minutes. 1999. Columbia TriStar 04891. R. $24.95.</I>

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Audio Video News
Blockbuster Facing Class-Action Suit for Late Fees
Barry Willis  |  Aug 27, 2000  | 

The world's largest video rental chain has been slapped with a class-action lawsuit over what plaintiffs' attorneys are calling "excessive late fees." Asserting that late fees are punitive and exceed any real costs incurred, Santa Monica law firm O'Neill, Lysaght & Sunn, LLP filed suit against <A HREF="http://www.blockbuster.com/">Blockbuster Inc.</A> Wednesday, August 23, in Los Angeles. The plaintiff: one Monica Rocha of Hollywood, and a "class" of other Blockbuster customers.

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Audio Video News
Actors' Strike Unlikely, Says Guild President
Barry Willis  |  Aug 27, 2000  | 

A strike next year by the <A HREF="http://www.sag.org/">Screen Actors Guild</A> (SAG) is not likely, according to a recent statement by the organization's president, William Daniels. "I'm optimistic that we can work something out with the industry," Daniels told reporters after a meeting with industry heavyweight Lew Wasserman at Universal Studios on Wednesday, August 23. Wasserman, the former head of MCA, is now a consultant at Universal, and is known throughout the industry as a shrewd negotiator and dealmaker.

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Audio Video News
Manufacturers Pumping Up DTV Output
 |  Aug 20, 2000  | 

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.

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Audio Video News
The Green Mile Not the Usual King Fare
Thomas J. Norton  |  Aug 20, 2000  | 

T<I>om Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan, David Morse, James Cromwell, Michael Jeter, Bonnie Hunt, Graham Greene, Doug Hutchison, Sam Rockwell, Barry Pepper, Jeffrey DeMunn, Patricia Clarkson, Harry Dean Stanton. Directed by Frank Darabont. Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 (anamorphic). Dolby Digital 5.1. 188 minutes (dual-layer). 1999. Warner Home Video C2579. R. $24.98.</I>

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Audio Video News
An HDTV Kick in the Pants
Jon Iverson  |  Aug 20, 2000  | 

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.

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