LATEST ADDITIONS

Theta David II DVD/CD transport
Fred Manteghian  |  Mar 29, 2001

Only three years after their debut, the prices of budget DVD players have dropped below $200. That paltry sum wouldn't even cover the Connecticut sales tax on the Theta David II. If you're already seeing red, come back next month, when I'll undoubtedly review something that won't have you gagging as if a Chinese pepper has gone down the wrong pipe. On the other hand, if you've always wondered why caviar from the Caspian goes for more than the Rhode Island variety, stick around.

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Audio Video News
Edge Audio Powered Subs: Big Impact, Low Cost
HT Staff  |  Mar 29, 2001
Let's face it. The bottom octaves don't convey much information. Neither music nor dialog has any real need for ultra low bass, but no movie fan would argue that it doesn't make a huge difference in the impact and realism of a film.
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Audio Video News
Energy Veritas Series Speakers the Result of Long Reseach
HT Staff  |  Mar 29, 2001
Twenty-five years of research and development by Canada's Energy Speaker Systems have culminated in the company's new Veritas series loudspeakers. Refinements have been made in every aspect of their design, from driver materials and cabinet construction to power handling and dispersion.
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Audio Video News
Plasma Prices Plummet
Jon Iverson  |  Mar 25, 2001

Flat screen fans will be pleased to hear that, last week, <A HREF="http://www.plasmavision.com">Fujitsu</A> announced that it is lowering the suggested retail prices on its PDS-4222 and PDS-4214 Plasmavision Slimscreen 42-inch widescreen plasma display monitors. Effective immediately, the suggested retail price for the PDS-4222 has been reduced from $13,999 to $9999, while the PDS-4214's suggested retail price has been reduced from $9999 to $7999.

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Audio Video News
Tweeter Home Entertainment Group Adds Four Stores
 |  Mar 25, 2001

Audio and video retailer <A HREF="http://www.tweeter.com/">Tweeter Home Entertainment Group</A> announced last week that it has reached an agreement in principle to acquire Big Screen City, located in the greater San Diego and Temecula, CA areas. Big Screen City is a four-store specialty consumer electronics retailer with annual sales over $15 million, and has been in business in the San Diego market for 20 years. The companies say that they expect to complete the transaction on or about May 1, 2001.

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Audio Video News
Rediscovering the Carnival of Souls
Dan Yakir  |  Mar 25, 2001

C<I>andace Hilligoss, Sidney Berger, Frances Feist, Art Ellison, Stan Levitt, Herk Harvey. Directed by Herk Harvey. Aspect ratio: 4:3 (full-screen). Dolby Digital mono. 78 minutes (original version), 83 minutes (director's cut). 1962. Criterion Collection 63. NR. $39.95.</I>

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Audio Video News
Video Recording of Over-the-Air Television Under Seige?
 |  Mar 25, 2001

Last week, the <A HREF="http://www.hrrc.org">Home Recording Rights Coalition</A> (HRRC) issued a statement condemning the encryption of terrestrial broadcast television programming, which the organization says will threaten established home recording rights. The HRRC made its comments in a letter sent to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Michael Powell in response to issues raised in a letter sent to Chairman Powell last week from members of Congress. In its letter, the HRRC expressed concerns that television programming producers may decide to provide content only to channels with strong copy protections.

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Audio Video News
HDTV and DirecTV On the Cheap?
Jon Iverson  |  Mar 18, 2001

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.thomson-multimedia.com">Thomson Multimedia</A> announced what the company terms "an aggressive new effort" designed to bring HDTV within reach of more American consumers. Thomson, which manufactures and markets the RCA brand of television and video products, says it will be trimming suggested retail prices of RCA HDTV sets by 20%, effective in April.

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Audio Video News
The Creature from the Black Lagoon
Gary Frisch  |  Mar 18, 2001

R<I>ichard Carlson, Julie Adams, Richard Denning, Antonia Moreno. Directed by Jack Arnold. Aspect ratio: 4:3 (full-screen). Dolby Digital 2.0. 80 minutes. 1954. Universal Home Video 20760. NR. $29.98.</I>

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Audio Video News
EchoStar Reports Record Growth
Barry Willis  |  Mar 18, 2001

Decreasing losses are often greeted as gladly as increased profits. <A HREF="http://www.echostar.com/">EchoStar Communications</A> has reported that its net operating loss decreased from $792.8 million in 1999 to $621.2 million in the year 2000. Total revenue for the year ended December 31 amounted to $2.7 billion, an increase of 70% over 1999's $1.6 billion. The direct broadcast satellite operator reported revenues of $805.1 million for the final quarter, up an impressive 56% from the same period in the previous year.

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