LATEST ADDITIONS

The Consumer Electronics Association recently kicked off a “Convert Your Mom” campaign to advance the transition to digital television. One thing your mom will probably never want is a surround receiver. Sure, no home theater buff in her right mind would relegate audio functions to TV speakers. But, although the receiver is the nerve center for many systems, it’s also a stumbling block to many potential users. Receivers just do too many good things—entailing setup and adjustment hassles along the way. Make them simpler, and you lose capabilities. Make them full featured, and you get an instruction manual that’s like War and Peace (minus the literary merit).

There are plenty of high-def-capable camcorders available for under $1,000, but in my experience, it's not so easy to find one that meets all your expectations. Up to now, my problem with the new breed of HD cams has been fear of the AVCHD format.

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/batmanbegins.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>After his parents' murders, disillusioned heir Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) travels the world seeking the means to fight injustice. With the help of his trusted butler Alfred (Michael Cain) and Wayne Enterprises R&D wizard Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), Wayne returns to Gotham as his alter-ego—Batman.