Last week, the <A HREF="http://www.hrrc.org">Home Recording Rights Coalition</A> (HRRC) issued a statement condemning the encryption of terrestrial broadcast television programming, which the organization says will threaten established home recording rights. The HRRC made its comments in a letter sent to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Michael Powell in response to issues raised in a letter sent to Chairman Powell last week from members of Congress. In its letter, the HRRC expressed concerns that television programming producers may decide to provide content only to channels with strong copy protections.
Last week, <A HREF="http://www.thomson-multimedia.com">Thomson Multimedia</A> announced what the company terms "an aggressive new effort" designed to bring HDTV within reach of more American consumers. Thomson, which manufactures and markets the RCA brand of television and video products, says it will be trimming suggested retail prices of RCA HDTV sets by 20%, effective in April.
R<I>ichard Carlson, Julie Adams, Richard Denning, Antonia Moreno. Directed by Jack Arnold. Aspect ratio: 4:3 (full-screen). Dolby Digital 2.0. 80 minutes. 1954. Universal Home Video 20760. NR. $29.98.</I>
Decreasing losses are often greeted as gladly as increased profits. <A HREF="http://www.echostar.com/">EchoStar Communications</A> has reported that its net operating loss decreased from $792.8 million in 1999 to $621.2 million in the year 2000. Total revenue for the year ended December 31 amounted to $2.7 billion, an increase of 70% over 1999's $1.6 billion. The direct broadcast satellite operator reported revenues of $805.1 million for the final quarter, up an impressive 56% from the same period in the previous year.
Bucking a proposal by the film and television industries to incorporate a non-recordable digital transmission standard, <A HREF="http://www.mitsubishi-tv.com/">Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America</A> (MDEA) announced in mid-March that, later this year, it will introduce high-definition television sets equipped with IEEE 1394 ("FireWire") connectors. The official timetable for the delivery of the new products, and a schedule of projected retail prices, will be announced in May.
You've got a gorgeous new 16:9 CRT or plasma display. Sleek and modern, it looks totally at odds with your old wooden furniture. Now, you need some sturdy high-tech apparatus to put it on.
Not too long ago you couldn't find progressive video output on any DVD player for less than $2000. Ditto for 96kHz or 192kHz digital sampling rates in the audio section. Now you can have both for substantially less than a grand.
Loudspeaker designer Paul Barton of Canada's PSB Loudspeakers has been at his craft a long time. In his more than 25 years of research, a good part of it at the National Research Center, l he has reached some compelling conclusions about what sounds good. His latest creations, the Image Series, offer a solution for almost every home theater---from those created in old libraries with shelving on all the walls, to those custom-built from the ground up. No matter what size your room, some combination of Image loudspeakers is likely to work for you.
J<I>ames Coburn, Dana Andrews, Cary Grant, Gene Tierney, Henry Fonda, Bette Davis, Julie Andrews. Directed by Kevin Burns. Aspect ratio: 4:3 (full-screen). Dolby Digital stereo. 129 minutes. 2000. Image Entertainment ID767FSDVD. NR. $29.99.</I>