Audio Video News

Lack of HDTV programming and uncertainties about interface standards have caused Hitachi to hold off on introducing any new fully integrated HDTV sets. In late May, <A HREF="www.hitachi.com">Hitachi Home Electronics America</A> announced its new UltraVision Digital line of television products, including 9 new rear-projection HDTV monitors, but there are no fully integrated sets or set-top boxes (STBs) among them.

Austin Powers, the swinging secret agent, is too risqu&eacute; for Malaysians, censors in that country have decided. The International Man of Mystery's latest comic misadventure, <I>The Spy Who Shagged Me</I>, is too full of sexual innuendoes for the conservative Muslim nation. The ban applies not only to the theatrical release, but to videotapes, discs, and TV broadcasts as well.

The film industry's yearlong pursuit of DVD hackers has hit a roadblock. On Thursday, December 14, the California Supreme Court issued an order that may result in the dismissal of charges against several defendants accused of promulgating a DVD decryption code known as DeCSS. Developed last year by a 16-year-old Norwegian computer hobbyist to allow DVDs to play on Linux-based PCs, the code also defeats copy prptection. CSS (copy scrambling system) is built into DVD movies and software to prevent illegal copying.

We've been hearing the rumors. Word on the street was that MOJO was leaving Cox. And, it turns out, the rumors were right. MOJO HD will officially cease scheduled programming on October 29, permanently pulling the plug on Cox customers. Documents...

Just say no to black, brushed aluminum, and dark wood veneers. Tigard, Oregon-based EdgeAudio is betting that movie fans will do exactly that when they seen the company's new line of home theater speaker systems. Conceived by award-winning Ziba Design, EdgeAudio's entire line of home theater speakers and subwoofers will get the color cabinet treatment later this year. Prototypes were displayed at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

Don't you hate it when people come over to your house and they get their grubby hands all over your perfectly clean touchscreens? Or if they grab your brand new iTouch and start. . . touching!!! I mean, you don't know where their hands have been!...

If companies like <A HREF="http://www.nCUBE.com">nCUBE</A> have their way, hard-disc-based PVR manufacturers such as TiVo are going to have a tough time finding customers. nCUBE announced last week that it will demonstrate its scalable "network-based" personal video recorder (nPVR) systems at Cable 2001, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association's (NCTA) Convention in Chicago, June 10&ndash;13.