Audio Video News

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.zenith.com">Zenith Electronics</A> and <A HREF="http://nxtwavecomm.com">NxtWave Communications</A> announced they have finalized their agreement to jointly develop compatible enhancements to the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) DTV standard. The companies had previously responded separately to the ATSC's "VSB Enhancements" Request for Proposals (RFP).

KEF’s April 30, 2022 “An Evening with Satchmo” event, featuring special guest Grammy winner Ricky Ricciardi, Director of Research Collections at the Louis Armstrong House Museum and Archives, marked the first time that I wore a suit since the pandemic’s start. Although the manufacturer events that I’ve recently attended have each raised the bar on luxury, this one promised to significantly up the ante. It featured not only a semi-formal dress code, but high-end food and spirits and Louis Armstrong music and video clips in an elegant setting—KEF’s Marlboro, New Jersey Music Lounge, which the company describes as an “idea, training, and experience center” that’s physically attached to its U.S. corporate headquarters.

Spectre's new Chrome HDTVs are shiny. That's the biggest thing that can be said about them. Shiny. Chrome. Blinged out. Reflective. Besides their shininess, the Chrome screens are basically just relatively small HDTVs (or relatively large...

The dance has begun. The first moves are subtle. One partner dances slowly around the other, the other shows a vulnerable side. Certain moves are expected, others a surprise. In the world of corporate takeovers, actions speak volumes when it comes...

Microsoft is going up-market with its Xbox 360 gaming console, unveiling the Xbox 360 Elite. At $479 the Elite is clad in black, which undoubtedly looks trick, adds an HDMI interface, and sticks a thumb in Sony's eye with a 120GB removable hard drive. The $299 Xbox 360 basic (like the $499 Sony PS3) features a 20GB hard drive. There is no integrated HD DVD drive, which means that having an Xbox 360 Elite and HD DVD playback is now $679, just about 80 bucks more than the $599 Sony PS3, which is a full-on Blu-ray Disc player. And even more curiously, Microsoft isn't including integrated Wi-Fi, which is a huge plus for the $599 (60GB hard drive) version of the PS3.

A new study by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) reveals that only 33.6 million (12%) of the 285 million television sets in the United States are used to watch over-the-air (OTA) programming. CEA issued its data in a letter delivered to the leadership of the Senate and House Commerce Committees to assist them in "their deliberations on how to ensure the needs of all Americans are addressed when analog broadcasting ceases." The House Commerce Committee is preparing to consider legislation currently under development by Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX) that will set a hard cutoff date for analog broadcasts. The Senate Commerce Committee is poised to release draft DTV legislation later this month.

The nation's analog broadcast television standard, known as NTSC, died today after a long illness. It was 68 years old and should have died years ago.