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Audio Video News
Enron and Blockbuster Launch Entertainment On-Demand Service
Jon Iverson  |  Dec 24, 2000

It has repeatedly been predicted that video rental stores are heading for the graveyard, most recently with the advent of small satellite services and online rental competitors such as Netflix. The latest foe that, pundits claim, is likely to deal the fatal blow to rental stores is video-on-demand over high-speed networks.

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Audio Video News
Strike Potential Darkens Hollywood's Horizons
 |  Dec 24, 2000

The year 2000 was a box office record breaker for the film industry, but the chance of repeating that feat in 2001 is being dimmed by the possibility of labor strikes that could halt film production for months.

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Audio Video News
Anchors Aweigh Sparkles On DVD
Robert Deutsch  |  Dec 24, 2000

F<I>rank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Gene Kelly. Directed by George Sidney. Aspect ratio: 1.33:1 (original full-frame). Dolby Digital 1.0. 140 minutes. 1945. Warner Bros. 65070. NR. $19.99.</I>

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Audio Video News
Ben Hur DVD Due in March
Barry Willis  |  Dec 24, 2000

One of the most honored films in the history of the movie business, <I>Ben Hur</I>, will make its DVD debut this coming March, 42 years after its theatrical release. On December 18, <A HREF="http://www.warnerhomevideo.com/">Warner Home Video</A> announced a March 13 street date for the disc. The film has been digitally restored and has a new Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. The suggested retail price will be $24.98.

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Audio Video News
Sony Flatscreen Monitors Offer Multiple Viewing Angles
HT Staff  |  Dec 21, 2000
Improvement wrought by Sony and other manufacturers is bringing flatscreen monitors into territory they weren't originally intended to serve. First developed for commercial signage and public information display, flatscreen monitors---especially the type known as plasma display panels (PDPs)---have seen huge advances in contrast ratio and reduction of motion artifacts, to such an extent that they can be seriously considered by even hard-to-please home theater fans.
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Audio Video News
Meridian 596 Pushes CD/DVD Performance Envelope
HT Staff  |  Dec 20, 2000
As former Chrysler chairman Lee Iococca used to say in the television ads, some companies lead and others follow. British manufacturer Meridian Audio Limited is one that has always lead in the effort to squeeze the most out of any given digital entertainment format.
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Audio Video News
Accusonic MDB1000: Space-saving Workhorse
HT Staff  |  Dec 20, 2000
Modular multichannel amplifiers solve plenty of problems for home theater fans: freeing floor space tops among them. An interesting new offering in this product category is the MDB1000 from Pennsylvania's Accusonic. A "Class H" amplifier weighing 60 lbs., the MDB1000 puts out 200 watts/8 ohms x 5 channels, ideal for almost all traditional surround sound systems.
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Audio Video News
Sundance Film Festival Will Showcase Web Works
 |  Dec 17, 2000

Competitions and awards usually indicate that an art form has reached some degree of commercial viability. By that standard, movies made for the Internet have attained maturity: The <A HREF="http://www.sundance.org/">Sundance Institute</A> has announced that it will host parallel festivals this winter, one concentrating on traditional films and the other showcasing films made for the Internet. Both events begin January 18.

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Audio Video News
NetFlix Signs Revenue-sharing Pacts with Warner, Columbia
 |  Dec 17, 2000

In a deal said to be the first of its kind, online DVD rental service <A HREF="http://www.netflix.com/">NetFlix</A> has entered revenue-sharing agreements with Columbia Tristar and Warner Home Video. The agreement, announced December 7, will allow NetFlix to buy movies in larger quantities and at deeper discounts than previously. NetFlix is the first DVD Internet dealer to have a revenue sharing agreement with major motion picture distributors.

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Audio Video News
No Green Light for Hollywood in DVD Copy Suit
 |  Dec 17, 2000

The film industry's yearlong pursuit of DVD hackers has hit a roadblock. On Thursday, December 14, the California Supreme Court issued an order that may result in the dismissal of charges against several defendants accused of promulgating a DVD decryption code known as DeCSS. Developed last year by a 16-year-old Norwegian computer hobbyist to allow DVDs to play on Linux-based PCs, the code also defeats copy prptection. CSS (copy scrambling system) is built into DVD movies and software to prevent illegal copying.

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