Thomas J. Norton

At a press event in Pittsburgh, PA, last week, Sony announced two new rear-projection SXRD televisions. Previously available only in the company's upscale Qualia line, SXRD now enters a wider market. The 60-inch KDS-R60XBR1 and 50-inch KDS-R50XBR1 Grand Wega designs, at $5000 and $4000 respectively, are still priced toward the high-end, but they are now in direct competition with top-of-the-line sets using other digital display technologies.

<I>Directed by Katsuhiro Otomo. Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 (anamorphic). Dolby Digital 5.1 (English, Japanese), Dolby Surround (French, Spanish, Portuguese). 126 minutes. 2004. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment 05503. PG-13. $49.95.</I>

If you're familiar with the look of Yamaha's last two flagship DLP projectors, this latest version will definitely give you a case of d&#233;j&#224; vu. But that's true of the latest projectors from most manufacturers. The world of home video projection is moving too fast to design new cosmetics for every new model.

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/headshot150.tjn.jpg" WIDTH=150 HEIGHT=194 HSPACE=6 VSPACE=4 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>So many little things have flown over the transom this month (does anyone even have a transom anymore?) that a lapse into blogging mode seemed the best way to clear them out.