Audio Video News

What the best-looking video displays at HE 2002 were showing wasn't HDTV—New York is still crippled by the loss of the World Trade Center transmitter—and it wasn't DVD. In fact, it made DVD look broken. It's D-VHS, which outputs 1080i, and which has a total catalog, if you count the sampler included with the player and the five titles scheduled for release next week, of six titles.

But cawabunga! What clarity! If you're lucky enough to live near an HDTV transmitter, or if your satellite provider offers HDTV, you already have access to a high definition source, but if you're stuck without either, D-VHS just might be the answer to your high-rez prayers.

Paradigm used D-VHS in a system debuting their Reference series loudspeakers, which now include an active center channel, the Studio/CC, and active surrounds, the Studio/ADPs. The sound was gigantic, but almost paled next to the picture when the company ran a Spanish travelogue D-Video. The images were so clear and filled with detail, we could immediately differentiate Seville's light from that of Barcelona.

Upstairs, Runco was demonstrating its brand-new $27,000 VX 5000C High DLP projector with D-Videos of T2 and The Fifth Element. The presenter defended the choices' lack of originality, saying, "They're references—and now you can see what they're supposed to look like!" And they were revelatory, even though the projector was set up at a severe angle to the screen. It has a lot of placement flexibility built in.

That system also featured Arcam's new $4599 AV-8 7.1 Surround Pre/Processor, which seemed particularly impressive for a British HT product—most seem almost Calvinist compared to the sybaritic luxury of the average Japanese piece.

Naim was showing a no-holds-barred center channel, the Axess, a $5000 three-way design that sounded magnificent. Anthony Gallo was showing a 5.1 speaker system based on his $599/each dual-woofer, controlled dispersion Due. Five of them, mated with his $750 Sub 1 subwoofer, enveloped the room with sound out of all proportion to the size of the loudspeakers.

Another little wonder was Plus Corporation's new $3299 HE3200 DLP projector. While most critics thought highly of the HE3100, many did have various small objections. Plus listened to them and has addressed most criticisms in the new model, which includes a 1.24X zoom lens, the ability to accept 480p, 720p, and 1080i sources (though 720p and 1080i signals are downconverted and displayed as 480p--the new model uses the same 848x600 dual-mode chip as the original, and therefore cannot present HDTV in full resolution), as well as component inputs and a progressive scan converter. The HE3100, far from being discontinued, remains in the line at an groundbreaking price of $2600, making it the least expensive DLP projector aimed at the domestic market.