Audio Video News

Digital television (DTV) sales to dealers exceeded 50,000 units at the end of August, according to figures released last week by the <A HREF="http://www.cemacity.org/">Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association</A> (CEMA). At CEMA's recent DTV Summit, the organization's fifth, CEMA president Gary Shapiro stated that "DTV is moving forward at a promising pace, and we expect continued success in the third and fourth quarters."

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.warner.com/">Warner Home Video</A> announced North American shipments to dealers of 1.5 million DVDs of <I>The Matrix</I>, generating $23.4 million in revenues and establishing yet another benchmark in DVD's market acceptance. Setting another industry record, <I>The Matrix</I>, released on DVD September 21, generated sales to consumers of approximately 780,000, or 52% of the shipment totals mentioned above, making it the most successful DVD in first-week sales. According to VideoScan, first-week consumer sales of <I>The Matrix</I> on DVD were three times greater than the next-highest-selling title to date.

J<I>imi Hendrix, The Who, The Doors, Free, Joni Mitchell, Jethro Tull, Joan Baez. Directed by Murray Lerner. Aspect ratio: 1.66:1 (widescreen). Dolby Digital stereo. 120 minutes. 1995. Sony/Legacy LVD 49335. NR. $19.95.</I>

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.motorola.com">Motorola</A> and <A HREF="http://www.mds.com/">Momentum Data Systems</A> announced that the THX Surround EX (see <A HREF="http://www.guidetohometheater.com/shownews.cgi?277">previous story</A>) audio technology, co-developed by <A HREF="http://www.thx.com">Lucasfilm THX</A> and <A HREF="http://www.dolby.com">Dolby Laboratories</A>, will now be available to THX licensees with their Symphony digital signal-processing (DSP) technology.

Actor George C. Scott was found dead at his home in Westlake Village, California, on Wednesday, September 22. Medical examiner Dr. Janice Frank said the 71-year-old film star died of an abdominal hemorrhage. Scott had been in ill health in recent years; Frank characterized his demise as "a natural death."

People love to watch movies at home, a fact verified by a recent report from the <A HREF="http://www.cemacity.org/">Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association</A>. Almost 20 million American households now have home-theater systems, according to CEMA. Statistics show that during the first half of 1999 sales to dealers of home-theater products rose 6%, to $3.9 billion, up from $3.6 billion during the same period last year.

P<I>atrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spinner, Levar Burton, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, F. Murray Abraham, Donna Murphy, Anthony Zerbe. Directed by Jonathan Frakes. Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 (anamorphic). Dolby Digital 5.1. 108 minutes. 1998. Paramount 335887. PG. $29.99.</I>