Audio Video News

M<I>ark Bourchardt, Mike Schank. Directed by Chris Smith. Aspect ratio: 1.33:1 (full-screen). Dolby Digital 5.1. 104 minutes. 1999. Sony Pictures 04702. R. $27.95.</I>

Testifying last week before the House Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer Protection, <A HREF="http://www.ce.org">Consumer Electronics Association</A> (CEA) president and CEO Gary Shapiro described what he called a "successful consumer transition" to digital television (DTV), this characterized by broad product offerings, increased programming from alternative media sources, steady sales, and high consumer satisfaction with DTV products. But all is not rosy: According to Shapiro, broadcast-industry delays in delivering significant HDTV programming and the industry's potential misuse of the DTV spectrum to provide subscription data services could seriously slow the transition's current momentum.

Not too long ago you had to fork over a grand or more for a high-performance DVD player. Pioneer has just sliced that ticket by more than half with their new DV-525, a player sporting 10-bit video processing and internal 24-bit/96-kilohertz digital-to-analog converters. The $425 player is said to offer "twice the picture quality of a VCR" and options "usually reserved for players costing much more."

Are stratospheric equipment prices bumming you out? Onkyo has something guaranteed to cheer you up: a new home theater receiver with multiple inputs, Dolby and DTS surround processing, five channels of high-current power, and an incredibly low price. How low? Try $330.

Owners of digital television (DTV) products are extremely satisfied with their performance, but are unhappy with the lack of available programming in the new format, according to a survey conducted by the <A HREF="http://www.ncl.org/">National Consumers League</A> (NCL) and released July 21, 2000.

A study released last week claims that in the next five years, smarter TV devices and content will dramatically change how viewers consume television programming. The result, according to a new report from <A HREF="http://www.forrester.com">Forrester Research</A>, will be a significant shift in the business model for television: "Even as they drain $18 billion in ordinary TV advertising revenues, smarter devices will create $25 billion in new revenues from viewers interacting with their TV screens."

Many home theater fans believe Theta Digital Corporation is primarily an audio company, but Theta also makes excellent digital video gear. Case in point: the company's new Carmen DVD transport.