Audio Video News

J<I>odie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine. Directed by Jonathan Demme. Aspect ratio: 1.85:1. Dolby Surround (3.1). One side. 118 minutes. 1991. Image Entertainment ID4069ORDVD. Rated R. Price: $29.95.</I>

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.intertainer.com/">Intertainer, Inc.</A> announced that both <A HREF="http://www.uswest.com/">USWest Communications</A> and <A HREF="http://www.sony.com">Sony Corp.</A> have invested in the company, which provides a broadband entertainment-on-demand programming service of the same name. The two investors join <A HREF="http://www.intel.com/">Intel</A>, <A HREF="http://www.comcast.com/">Comcast</A>, and Sterling Ventures in committing capital and technological resources to Intertainer. As part of the agreement, <A HREF="http://www.uswest.com/interprise">USWest !nterprise Networking</A>, the data-integration arm of USWest Communications, will supply the Interprise service to its customers via Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) wire centers in 40 cities starting in June 1998.

On April 13, <A HREF="http://www.warnerbros.com">Warner Bros. Home Video</A> announced a program intended to introduce the DVD to a new generation of movie fans. WB will bundle DVD players and discs for video dealers to rent to their customers. "The rapid growth of DVD now makes rental a viable business opportunity for rental retailers," says Thomas Lesinski, Warner Home Video senior vice president for marketing.

Lately, there's been a deafening buzz in the high-tech community: Developing digital networks for consumers' homes is going to be the Next Big Thing. There are <A HREF="http://www.zdnet.com/chkpt/adem2fpf/www.anchordesk.com/story/story_1961.... skeptics</A>, but the clamor has caught the attention of every big computer company out there; everyone from Sun to Apple to Microsoft to IBM is getting in on the act. However, there hasn't been much noise from the consumer-electronics companies---until now.

Digital Satellite System dish owners could soon be enjoying Dolby Digital surround sound. Next month, DSS dealers will start taking delivery on RCA's new DS5451 receiver. The new receiver will incorporate an optical Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format (S/PDIF) jack that sends a Dolby Digital signal to an appropriate surround decoder or A/V receiver.

J<I>ames Cromwell, Magda Szubanski. Animatronic creatures by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Directed by Chris Noonan. Aspect ratio: 1.85:1. Dolby Surround. Two sides. 92 minutes. 1995. CLV. MCA Universal Home Video 42692. Rated G. $34.99.</I>

In Shanghai, <I>Titanic</I> was available on Video Compact Disc last November, a month before it appeared in theaters in the United States. According to <I>New York Times</I> correspondent Seth Faison in a story dated March 28, illegally copied discs are flooding into China at the rate of half a million per day, primarily from Macau, a Portuguese colony near Hong Kong. China has no legal jurisdiction over Macau, which is not a signatory to the World Trade Organization's International Treaty on Intellectual Properties. Both the US and China signed the pact to control piracy.