Audio Video News

DVD: X-Men 1.5—20th Century Fox
Audio: 4
Video: 5
Extras: 4
X-Men 1.5 is a sneaky way to squeeze a few more dollars out of the public's hands and get X-Men back in their minds for the sequel, which hits theaters in May. X-Men, based on the comic of the same name, is about a group of mutant humans who fight other mutant humans to decide their place in society. The disc's audio and video quality seem to be no different from the first DVD release. The 2.35:1 anamorphic video is excellent, with lots of fine detail. One new addition is the DTS soundtrack, which is just as good as the original Dolby Digital 5.1.

DVD-Audio: The long and winding road to the future of music?

DVD is a hit. Lauded as the most successful format launch since—well, I guess nothing has had this overwhelming level of acceptance in a long, long time. I wish I could say the same about DVD's younger sibling, DVD-Audio. Introduced three years ago, it's just now starting to gather some momentum. On the hardware side, DVD-Audio offerings run the gamut from saucy little $200 players to budget-busting state-of-the-art machines. New DVD-Audio titles are still just trickling out, but even a cursory glance at a typical disc's fairly lengthy production credits might explain the relative paucity of releases. I counted 13 DVD-Audio-related producers, engineers, and mixers on R.E.M.'s Reveal disc and a crew of 21 on Queen's epic A Night at the Opera. Releasing a DVD-Audio reissue or brand-new title is a labor-intensive effort.

Long known as a leader in digital audio and video technologies, Meridian Audio Limited has taken digital signal processing (DSP) into a new realm with the introduction of the DSP420, an "architectural" in-wall speaker that applies the British manufacturer's expertise to the problems of built-in designs.

Michael Fremer wires up the <A HREF="http://www.guidetohometheater.com/showarchives.cgi?87">Cambridge SoundWorks Newton Series T500 surround speaker system</A> and sits down to a full schedule of movies and music. MF reveals that the Cambridge engineers had their audio hearts in <I>most</I> of the right places.

Telecommunications conglomerate SBC Communications may be next in line to attempt an acquisition of Hughes Electronics' DirecTV satellite television service, according to several reports the first week of February.

A buck per watt is a bargain in anybody's book today. It's an especially good value when those watts feature audiophile specifications, and plenty of dynamic headroom.

Joel Brinkley sets up the top-of-the-line <A HREF="http://www.guidetohometheater.com/showarchives.cgi?84">Sony DVP-NS999ES DVD/SACD player</A> to see what the latest in a long line of great machines can do. AJB finds that they may have reduced the price, but not the quality.