Audio Video News

The buzzword "Digital" is on everyone's lips at the <A HREF="http://www.nab.org/">National Association of Broadcasters</A>' NAB 99, which opened Saturday in Las Vegas. Most of the noteworthy goodies on display at the convention are designed for the digital-television market. Demonstrations feature high-definition video courtesy of Las Vegas television station KTVN (Channel 41), which will be broadcasting 720p material all week long.

Don't leave home without it---home theater, that is. You can now take your movies on the road, thanks to <A HREF=http://www.panasonic.com/>Panasonic</A>'s mobile DVD theater. The complete package---in-dash DVD player, surround processor, video monitor, and 5.1-channel audio system---was unveiled at a <A HREF=http://www.cartoys.com/>Car Toys</A> store in Seattle on Friday, April 9. Car Toys specializes in aftermarket automotive sound.

The swingingest cat of them all is 35 years old this week. Monday, April 12, marks the birthday of The Pink Panther. The urbane feline made his first appearance in the Blake Edwards comedy of the same name back in 1964.

If you want to be the first on your block to see <A HREF="http://www.starwars.com/"><I>Star Wars: Episode I---The Phantom Menace</I></A>, you'd better get in line soon---if you can figure out which theater is going to show the film. Theater allocations for the long-awaited May 19 debut hadn't been decided as of last week, but exhibitors eagerly agreed to some strict requirements for running the film. One restriction---that no tickets be pre-sold---will thwart ticket scalpers and deprive ticket agencies of sizable fees.

Industry leaders met in Virginia last week to discuss convergence trends in the consumer-electronics, telecommunications, and computing industries, and how these trends are affecting manufacturers, retailers, and consumers. The Convergence Forum, hosted by the <A HREF="http://www.cema.org">Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association</A>'s Communication and Information Technology (CIT) and Integrated Home Systems (IHS) divisions, took place at the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) Spring Conference.

G<I>ary Oldman, William Hurt, Matt LeBlanc, Mimi Rogers, Heather Graham, Lacey Chabert. Directed by Stephen Hopkins. Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 (anamorphic, 16:9 enhanced). Dolby Digital 5.1. 139 minutes. 1998. New Line Cinema N4667. Rated PG-13. $24.99.</I>

The legal wrangling over television broadcasting got much more complicated last week with the introduction of a bill to the US House of Representatives that would allow direct broadcast satellite (DBS) services to beam local TV stations' signals into the stations' own territories. The practice is currently banned by <A HREF="http://www.fcc.gov">Federal Communications Commission</A> regulations, despite the fact that cable companies have carried local signals since the beginning of the cable industry.