Audio Video News

Home theater products continue to get better and cheaper. One example is <A HREF="http://www.panasonic.com">Panasonic</A>'s new PT-AE500, a high-definition widescreen LCD projector. The PT-AE500 incorporates several advances, including integrated cinema quality circuitry, full 10-bit digital processing and gamma correction, and new "smooth screen technology." Many of these advances derive from research and development and collaborative work done at the Panasonic Hollywood Laboratory in Hollywood, California, with top Hollywood studio colorists who helped ensure the projector's color fidelity.

Vidikron's PlasmaView family has a new sibling. Officially introduced at the recent Consumer Electronics Show, the VP-42HD is a high-resolution 16:9 plasma display monitor ("PDP"), boasting a native resolution of 1024x768. The VP-42HD is "a high-resolution alternative to the enhanced resolution VP-42," states a company announcement.

Robert Deutsch and Thomas J. Norton provide us with follow-ups on a pair of classic HT products with <A HREF="/videoprojectors/1103dlp">Take Two: Marantz VP-12S2 and SharpVision XV-Z10000U DLP projectors</A>. Two different reviewers and two different systems. Will they get the same results as noted in the original reviews?

St. Louis&ndash;based <A HREF="http://www.charter.com">Charter Communications, Inc</A>. has become the first cable provider in the US to rollout an all-digital network, according to a January 16 announcement. The new service was implemented without the use of analog set-top boxes, using an existing HFC (hybrid fiber-coaxial) network. The service, in Charter's Long Beach, CA system, combines digital programming with basic analog programming. The bandwidth-intensive service is made possible by use of a digital compression system consisting of "<A HREF="http://www.harmonicinc.com">Harmonic</A> DiviCom MV 50 variable bit-rate encoders and third-generation DiviTrackXE closed loop statistical multiplexing system," according to the announcement. For Charter subscribers, the new digital service can be activated "remotely and instantly" without the need for in-person service calls, said Charter vice president of engineering Wayne Davis.

Rotel
We usually don't believe that old adage about looks being deceiving. More often than not, things are exactly as they appear. So imagine our surprise when we heard about Rotel's new RSDX-02, an all-in-one DVD receiver with a 5.1-channel digital surround amplifier. This sleek component features 80 watts per channel for its five speaker outputs. The RSDX-02 offers Dolby Digital and DTS multichannel decoding; Dolby Pro Logic II and DTS Neo:6 for two-channel sources; and an All-Channel Stereo mode for evenly spreading the sound. The internal DVD player also plays CD-Rs/-RWs, MP3- and JPEG-encoded CDs, and DVD-Audio discs. The RSDX-02 has coaxial and optical digital audio inputs and wideband component video input/output facilities that allow you to integrate your source components with the newest TVs, including HD-ready sets. This deceptively simple-looking piece is yours for $1,499.
Rotel
(978) 664-3820
www.rotel.com

Primedia has announced <I>The Connected Guide To The Digital Home</I>, the first consumer magazine dedicated entirely to adopting and integrating audio, video, information, telecommunications, security, and other personal and home technologies. Formerly known as <I>Audio Video Interiors</I> (<I>AVI</I>), the standard-bearer for the home theater revolution, <I>The Connected Guide To The Digital Home</I> is being introduced as the natural evolution of <I>AVI</I>.

Want to get excellent 5.1 sound in your room with minimal visual impact? Magnepan plans to offer an option that will motorize its MGMC1 planar speakers so they can fold back against a wall. Because the speakers sound best at around a 30 degree angle from the wall, some folks may want to push them flat when not in use. The motorized option is currently in prototype and should be ready later this year. Expect a true ribbon version of the MGCM1 sometime in 2005.