Audio Video News

Jeannie Kane, publisher of <i>Stereophile Guide to Home Theater</i>, is very pleased to announce the appointment of Maureen C. Jenson as Editor at Large, effective March 9, 1998. This appointment coincides with the launch of the <i>Guide</i>'s new custom-installation section, which will debut in the June 1998 issue.

<B>TiVo Making Headlines: First, The Good News</B>
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Already recognized as a household name, TiVo continues to make news on a practically daily basis, for good and for ill. Starting with the good news, TiVo announced a new spate of Internet powered features for subscribers with a Series 2 DVR connected to a home network, including the ability to share photos, check traffic and weather, listen to podcasts and Internet radio, and even buy movie tickets online right from your television.

<B>LG Electronics Introduces Two Big LCoS RPTVs For 2006</B>
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LG Electronics' 2006 lineup of RPTVs will feature two large screen microdisplays powered by LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) imaging panels from SpatiaLight that feature full 1920x1080 resolution. Counting pixel for pixel, a 1920x1080 display contains over two million pixels- twice as many pixels as the 900,000 and change a 720p display puts up on screen.

<B>iPod Continues To Take Over The World</B>
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Apple's earnings for the holiday quarter of 2005 beat Wall Street's expectations as the iPod continued to work miracles by tripling (and then some) the number of players sold in 2004's holiday season. According to Apple's Steve Jobs, 14.5 million iPods were sold on the fourth quarter of 2005, compared to 4.5 million in the same period of 2004. Overall sales for Apple in Q4 of '05 were up 63% from the previous year, to $5.7 billion and for the first time sales from Apple's retail stores topped $1 billion for a quarter.

<B>Marantz Becomes Preferred Brand Of Juilliard</B>
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Marantz has entered into a strategic marketing relationship with New York's prestigious Juilliard School, and will be recognized as "the preferred audio/video brand of The Juilliard School." Announced in December of 2005, the relationship coincides with Juilliard's yearlong 100th anniversary celebration, and will see Marantz serving as the performing arts conservatory's Official Audio/Visual Sponsor and donating its AV products for educational use and world premier performances at the school throughout the year.

<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.