Audio Video News

Two thousand bucks buys a lot of technology these days. Yamaha's RX-V3000 is a good example: with seven channels of amplification, auto-detect surround sound decoding, and a learning touchscreen, it's hard to beat.

Scientists at the Department of Energy's <A HREF="http://www.lanl.gov/worldview/">Los Alamos National Laboratory</A> say they have developed a technology that could make the coming transition from current analog television to high-definition television a whole lot easier. The scientists describe the technology as a new transmission algorithm capable of compressing a HDTV data stream to the point where the HDTV and analog TV signals can be broadcast over the same channel.

M<I>ichael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, Martin Sheen, Daryl Hannah, Hal Holbrook, John C. McGinley, James Spader, Terence Stamp, Sean Young. Directed by Oliver Stone. Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 (anamorphic). Dolby Digital 5.1. 126 minutes. 1987. 20th Century Fox 2000633. R. $24.99.</I>

L<I>ouis Armstrong, Anita O'Day, Thelonious Monk, Chuck Berry, Mahalia Jackson, Dinah Washington. Directed by Bert Stern. Aspect ratio: 4:3 (full-screen). Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround (remastered). 84 minutes. 1958. New Yorker Video 16500. NR. $29.95.</I>

There's some good news and then there's some bad news for video manufacturers so far this year. According to figures released last week by the <A HREF="http://www.ce.org">Consumer Electronics Association</A> (CEA), DVD sales were up 55% last month over those from January 2000, with sales of 570,000 units. The trade organization says that sales of DVD players seem poised for another year of record growth in 2001, as the "fastest selling consumer electronics product of all time".

The theater glut has claimed its latest victim. New York-based Loews Cineplex Entertainment, the second largest movie exhibitor in the US, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Thursday, February 15 in US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The theater giant simultaneously brought an application under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for its Canadian units, including Cineplex Odeon Corporation, with whom it had merged three years ago.

Continuing its tradition of high-value products, Adcom has introduced the GTP-760, a tuner/preamp made with home theater fans in mind. Its ability to handle DVD-Audio discs in either 5.1 channel surround sound mode or traditional two-channel stereo mode will attract music lovers, too. Movie soundtracks can be decoded by the GTP-760 in both DTS and Dolby Digital formats.