Audio Video News

<B>Program Your TiVo From Your Cel Phone</B>
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It was only a matter of time until someone rolled out this killer app: TiVo and Verizon have struck a deal that will allow TiVo subscribers to program their DVRs using a Verizon cel phone. Called TiVo Mobile, this service will be offered later this year. No pricing has been announced yet.

<B>HD DVD Player Launch To Synchronize With Warner Software Launch Date</B>
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As anticipated, Toshiba has officially announced it will delay the launch of its HD DVD players to synchronize with the availability of HD DVD software from Warner Bros. Toshiba has been touring the country with HD DVD demonstrations for several weeks in support of the hardware and software launch originally scheduled for March 28th. Warner Home Video, the only studio with titles officially scheduled to support the format's launch, recently announced that it would not be able to make that date with its HD DVD software. Warner is currently scheduled to release three titles on April 18th, and apparently Toshiba will have players ready on that date.

<B>Blu-ray Movies Scheduled For Release On May 23rd- Will There Be Anything To Play Them On?</B>
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Can there be a format war if neither side shows up? Samsung officially announced this week that its BD-P1000 Blu-ray Disc (BD) player will not be released in time for the currently scheduled BD software introduction on May 23rd. The company will now launch the player on June 25th, claiming the delay is necessitated by a lack of software needed for compatibility tests of the players.

<B>The Optoma HD7100</B>
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Optoma's latest flagship projector has me playing Old Man River again. I remember a time (not long ago) when a single-chip DLP front projector with a high-def pixel count and premium-ish feature set cost a lot more than the $3499 that's pegged for Optoma's new top-of-the-line HD7100. And don't get me started on CRTs!

<B>The Force Will Be With You- For Three Months</B>
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The Lucasfilm Empire has announced that on September 12th of this year it will release the "original unaltered" <I>Star Wars</I> Trilogy- <I>Star Wars</I>, <I>The Empire Strikes </I>, and <I>Return of the Jedi</I>- on DVD. Each film will be available as a two-disc set with the 2004 digitally remastered DVD versions that have already appeared. Taking a page from Disney, these original trilogy releases will only be available until December 31st.

The burgeoning market for digital television is being hindered by an increasing number of reports of radio-frequency interference from DTV transmitters. Although DTV is a "technology that is finally beginning to boom," according to a July 16 report from Reed Business Information, some broadcasters, in particular Paxson Communications, have complained about interference problems. Consumers who buy digital televisions are still disappointed by the skimpy high-definition programming offered by their local broadcasters. DTV's picture for the near future therefore remains unclear.

So far, 2002 has been a better year than 2001 was for most large electronics manufacturers, according to the July 31 reported first-quarter results. For most members of the electronics industry, the first fiscal quarter runs April 1 through June 30.