LATEST ADDITIONS

It's that time of year again. A nip in the air. The trees changing color. Well, OK, September is a bit early for either of those annual events, and in any case we rarely experience them in LA, but you get the idea. Fall is coming, and with it thoughts of new high definition programs, new formats, new video displays, new audio gear, and all that other indoor stuff that was pushed into the background by beaches, barbecues, and way too much of that unhealthy fresh air and sunshine.

I love surprises. Ok, that's a lie. I hate surprises. How is giving me an attack of tachycardia (learned that one on House) anyone's idea of a good time. But, in the HT world, surprises are usually good. Take this $3,000 projector, for instance. By all accounts, it should be an average performing mid-to-low-priced HD projector. Then you look at the contrast-ratio measurement and see it's better than every other projector we've ever reviewed. Surprise!

<B>The Big Monkey Of High-Def</B><BR>

HD DVD player owners (and the format itself) are getting an early Christmas present on November 14th when Universal will release Peter Jackson's smash remake of <I>King Kong</I> on the fledgling HD disc format. The suggested list price is $29.98. Few details on the release are available, and it's not known if Peter Jackson's extended cut, scheduled for release on DVD on the same day, will be included on the HD DVD.