Audio Video News

The format war is heating up. <A HREF="http://www.circuitcity.com/">Circuit City</A> has enlisted a third ally as it prepares to go nationwide with the launch of Divx. On August 11, Denver's 30-store <A HREF="http://www.ultimateelectronics.com/">Ultimate Electronics</A> chain threw its weight behind the pay-per-view format. California-based retailer <A HREF="http://www.goodguys.com/">The Good Guys</A> has been a Divx partner since early in the game.

In the comic books of the 1960s, "X-Ray Specs" were hot commodities in the back-page ads. The mail-order eyeware supposedly enabled users to see through walls, doors, and ordinary clothing---a compelling motivation for millions of adolescent males who saved their lunch money for weeks to buy them. In what was probably their first introduction to marketing hype, the disappointed boys discovered that the specs were a fraud.

Sandor Hasznos of Denver, Colorado, purchased a television on July 31, and it was delivered last week. This might not seem like a big deal---unless you consider that this was the first HDTV officially sold in the US. The set, a <A HREF="http://www.panasonic.com">Panasonic</A> PT-56WXF90, was the first one bought at <A HREF="http://www.ultimateelectronics.com">Ultimate Electronics</A> during an HDTV preview event that drew over 4000 digital-television enthusiasts.

A lawsuit filed Friday, July 31, in a Los Angeles US District Court could delay by many months <A HREF="http://www.seagram.com/">Seagram Ltd.</A>'s widely publicized takeover of <A HREF="http://www.polygram.com/">PolyGram NV</A>. The international mega-merger, valued at $10.4 billion, has ground to a halt because of a $100 million suit brought by <A HREF="http://www.image-entertainment.com/">Image Entertainment Inc.</A>, a video distributor based in Chatsworth, California.

The set-top box could eventually become the center of your attention, which is why several turf wars have broken out to win control over this part of the home-theater market. With DTV on the horizon, cable and satellite companies will be upgrading the services that feed your TV with some mix of standard and high-definition digital audio and video. And as movie distribution moves toward a pay-per-view future, the gateway to these services---the set-top box---will have more prominence in most home-theater systems.

On July 30, Thomson Multimedia announced a five-way agreement with a consortium of high-tech companies to produce its next generation of interactive TV software and hardware. <A HREF="http://microsoft.com/">Microsoft</A>, <A HREF="http://www.nec.co.jp/">NEC of Japan</A>, <A HREF="http://www.directv.com/">DirecTV</A>, and <A HREF="http://www.alcatel.com/">Alcatel SA</A> of France will each take a 7.5% stake in the company to start the new venture. The nation of France, which owns parent company Thomson SA, will hold the remaining 70% of Thomson stock.

The lack of local programming has long been perceived as an obstacle to the growth of Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) television. However, this assumption might be in error, according to two studies recently conducted by the <A HREF="http://www.strategisgroup.com/">Strategis Group</A>, a communications marketing research organization with offices in Washington DC, London, and Singapore.