Audio Video News

<I>Bigger, better, more.</I> That's the future as envisioned by technological giants Zenith Electronics Corporation and Royal Philips Electronics, which kicked off this year's edition of the world's largest trade show with huge flatscreen television sets and plans to make technological interconnectivity deeper and more seamless than it has ever been for the average citizen.

Thomas J. Norton gets his hands on the <A HREF="http://www.guidetohometheater.com/showarchives.cgi?76">Krell Home Theater Standard 7.1 surround processor</A> and explains all the pluses and minuses of what you get for your $8000.

In the ongoing battle between small-dish satellite and cable, the ability to broadcast local channels was a decided advantage for the wired approach. But the direct broadcast satellite (DBS) companies <A HREF="http://www.guidetohometheater.com/shownews.cgi?582">successfully petitioned</A> the FCC for the right to carry local stations on their system; early in December a federal appeals court ruled that they must carry "<A HREF="http://www.guidetohometheater.com/shownews.cgi?1171">all or none</A>" of those stations to comply.

<I>Voices of Adriana Caselotti, Harry Stockwell, Lucille La-Verne, Scotty Mattraw, Roy Atwell, Pinto Colvig, Otis Harlan, Billy Gilbert, Moroni Olsen. Directed by Ben Sharpsteen. Aspect ratio: 4:3. Dolby Digital (mono). Two discs. 84 minutes. 1937. Disney 22254. G. $29.99.</I>

Philips Electronics has thrown its weight behind "SmartRight," a digital content copy-protection technology developed by Thomson Multimedia, according to mid-December reports from Paris and Geneva. Originally called XCA, SmartRight is a smart-card&ndash;based technique that could allay Hollywood's fears about offering hit movies over the Internet or via high-definition broadcasts.