Henry Kloss, whose prolific hi-fi design and manufacturing career spanned a half century, died of a subdural hematoma on January 31, three weeks before his 73rd birthday.
<I>Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Walter Brennan, Edward Arnold, James Gleason. Directed by Frank Capra. Aspect ratio: 4:3 (full-screen). Dolby Digital mono. 121 minutes. 1941. Image Entertainment B000007SFA. NR. $19.95.</I>
The music industry may be in the dumps, but the home video business is soaring, according to a January report from trade journal <I>Video Business</I>.
Looking for a elegant way to mount your plasma display? Draper Inc. has announced a new series of stands and mounts for flat screen monitors that offer a solution for almost every conceivable installation.
<A HREF="www.dlp.com">Digital Light Projectors (DLPs)</A> are clearly coming into their own this year, based on what we saw at the recent Consumer Electronics Show. Joining Sharp and its groundbreaking XV-Z9000 ($10,000)—and also based on Texas Instrument's 1280 x 720 DLP chip—are the new Sim2 HT300 ($14,995), the DWIN TransVision 2 ($12,999), and the Marantz VP12S1 ($12,499).
FireWire, or IEEE1394, as it is technically known, has been bandied about as a leading contender for transmitting digital video for several years now. HDTV FireWire demos started popping up as <A HREF="http://www.guidetohometheater.com/shownews.cgi?189">early as 1998</A>, but to date, little actual product has emerged for the consumer to buy.
With the advent of DVD, the death of videotape has been widely predicted. Standard VHS may be going the way of the dinosaur, but tape is re-emerging as a format for high definition movies. Some folks are even predicting that DVD may be relegated to a "mid-fi format."
<I>Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson, Nigel Havers. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Aspect ratio: 1.85:1. Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Surround 2.0 (English, French). 152 minutes (film). 1987. Warner Bros. 89391 17532. PG. $24.98.</I>
Too many home theater enthusiasts have an arsenal of remote controls. The arsenal—not the remotes themselves—can be the cause of everything from minor annoyances to full-scale domestic battles.
The recent Consumer Electronics Show was a good one for Zenith Electronics Corporation. The company appears to have strong faith in the future of the flatscreen market, having debuted four new plasma display panels (PDPs) in Las Vegas, ranging from 40" to 60" diagonally. The flat, thin monitors can be hung on the wall for an elegant installation solution.
Any home theater or audio sales consultant will tell you that large speakers are among the biggest obstacles to closing a sale. There's a certain category of customer who wants big sound without the big boxes.
Flatscreen TV is on almost everyone's wish list. It's a product category that cuts across all demographic boundaries. From home theater enthusiasts to casual TV viewers, everyone agrees that flatscreens are "way cool."
<I>Mark Wahlberg, Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Clarke Duncan, Estella Warren, Paul Giamatti. Directed by Tim Burton. Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 (anamorphic). Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1 (English), Dolby Surround (Spanish), THX. Two discs. 124 minutes (film). 2001. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 24543 02896. PG-13. $29.98.</I>
As evidenced by the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, plasma screen television sets are steadily gaining market share, with every major consumer electronics manufacturer showing a variety of sizes and features. The thin displays look poised to dominate the market in coming years, providing resolution continues to increase and prices continue to drop.