Audio Video News

The <A HREF="http://www.fcc.gov/">Federal Communications Commission</A> was correct when it formulated rules preventing cable operators from offering integrated security and channel-surfing features in cable set-top boxes, a District of Columbia appeals court has declared. The regulations, which will take effect in 2005, are derived from a proper interpretation of provisions in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the court found.

J<I>ames Belushi, Kylie Travis, Shannon Whirry, Frank Whaley, Jesse Borrego, M. Emmet Walsh. Directed by Louis Morneau. Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 (letterbox). Dolby Digital 5.1. 91 minutes. 1997. MGM 907788. R. $24.98.</I>

Information and entertainment technologists have long predicted that reels of films will eventually disappear, replaced by digital datastreams delivered straight to theaters. On June 6, the first such event took place---from Los Angeles to a theater in the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta.

R<I>obert Arkins, Michael Aherne, Angeline Ball, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Johnny Murphy, Andrew Strong, Colm Meany. Directed by Alan Parker. Aspect ratio: 1.33:1 (pan&scan). Dolby Digital 2.0. 119 minutes. 1991. 20th Century Fox 112892. R. $28.99.</I>

According to the results of the "PVR and Enhanced TV Potential" study, released last week by <A HREF="http://eBrain.org">eBrain Market Research</A> in cooperation with the <A HREF="http://www.ce.org">Consumer Electronics Association</A>, despite the continuing popularity of videocassette recorders in the US, the number of Americans who own hard-disk&ndash;based personal video recording devices (PVRs) is likely to increase significantly in the next 12 months.

Home-theater equipment continues to be one of the fastest-selling segments of the consumer electronics market, according to the most recent figures from the <A HREF="http://www.ce.org/">Consumer Electronics Association</A>. How good is it? Try $2 billion in factory-to-dealer sales of video equipment in the first quarter of this year. That's a 20% increase over the first three months of 1999, according to the May 31 report. The figure is even more astounding in light of 1999's growth, in which home theater revenues increased by 11% over 1998's totals.