Audio Video News

File-sharing enthusiasts are rejoicing with the news that Sweden's Pirate Party has captured a seat in the European Union's Parliament.

Would-be merger mates DirecTV and EchoStar Communications may not be the only television action in the Western sky if European satellite operator SES Global can win approval to beam its signals to American dishes.

Despite the fact that financial analysts remain nonplussed by VOOM, the HD-content leading satellite service (provided by Rainbow DBS, a subsidiary of Cablevision System Corp.), those of us on the receiving end of the small-dish system see big promise in such a large selection of HD channels from which to choose. That's why the recent announcement that Rainbow DBS has selected Lockheed Martin to build five more geostationary telecommunications satellites to provide direct broadcast services across the continental US (conus) should make all HDTV owners smile. The first of the five satellites is expected to be completed and launched before the end of 2007. VOOM anticipates an ultimate capacity of over 5,000 HD channels.

It's the dream of home-theater fans and TV addicts everywhere: Video-On-Demand, better known as VOD. The concept is simple: Viewers pick movies or shows from a list and watch them via their cable, satellite, or Internet connection when they want to—no waiting for the program to start at the top of the hour, or recording something that is broadcast only while you're on vacation. But getting VOD to work, especially in anything approaching DVD quality, is another issue altogether, and has become something of a Holy Grail for VOD developers in the broadcast industry.

Are you frustrated by the lack of information available through your onscreen program guides? Or bothered by the visual intrusions they create? Evolve Communications has the solution for you.

Everyone should have these. A collection of movies and music that you use as references for video and audio systems. As a professional audio engineer, I have a collection of music that I use so I can tell how a speaker system is coloring the...