Pioneer is not a huge company by Japanese mega-corp standards, so when they hold a line show, we don't expect dozens of new products. But they're big in the areas of importance to home theater enthusiasts, namely plasma displays, DVD players and recorders, and AV receivers. So when they invited me to attend their 2005 west coast line show, there was no question about my response. I were there.

Genesis Microchip, the parent company of Faroudja, has completed a licensing agreement with UK-based Meridian Audio Limited, giving Meridian the right to promote Genesis' Faroudja technologies, products, and brands worldwide. The agreement authorizes Meridian to incorporate, manufacture, and distribute Faroudja's video technologies and home theater solutions as part of its audio/video product line. Meridian will also work with Genesis to develop advanced video processing algorithms for use in future Meridian products.

At a recent press event held at Genesis Audio in Irvine, California, Linn launched two new lines of speakers—the Artikulat and the Komponent. The Artikulat is Linn's latest entry in the increasingly crowded, price-no-object category of audio and video kit, as they say in the UK, where Linn is based (Scotland, actually).

Even as DVI and HDMI were being adopted by video manufacturers as the digital links of choice, one limitation of these connections was already well known: they don't like to be used in long lengths. The generally accepted limit for an unassisted digital video cable of this type is about 5 meters or just over 16 feet, particularly with high-definition sources.