L<I>aserdisc. Mel Gibson, Julia Roberts, Patrick Stewart. Directed by Richard Donner. Aspect ratio: 2.35:1. Dolby Digital. 3 sides. 135 minutes. 1997. CLV/CAV. Warner Bros./Image Entertainment Widescreen Edition WB 115091. $39.95.</I>
According to statistics released January 20 by the Arlington, Virginia-based <A HREF="http://www.cema.org">Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association</A> (CEMA), sales to dealers of projection televisions, TV/VCR combinations, VCRs, and camcorders each climbed in 1997 to record-setting levels. The new Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) players also showed well, selling nearly 350,000 units since the product's inception in April.
January 27, <A HREF="http://www.lumivision.com">Lumivision Corporation</A>, released what it claims is the first film on DVD that uses all eight available audio tracks in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. Lumivision was also one of the first companies to release DVDs for sale in the Western Hemisphere.
In a move intended to broaden its home theater product line, <A HREF="http://www.projectavision.com">Projectavision, Inc.</A> of New York announced January 21 that it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase substantially all of the assets of <A HREF="http://www.vidikron.com">Vidikron Industries, S.p.A.</A>, including its US subsidiary, Vidikron of America. Vidikron, a privately held company founded 18 years ago and headquartered in Milan, Italy, is a manufacturer and marketer of high-end projection systems for the home-theater consumer and commercial markets, and serves customers in over 30 countries worldwide.
The <A HREF="http://www.cema.org">Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association</A> (CEMA) this week expressed concern over cable provider TCI's plans to transmit only signals that fall below the threshold of HDTV.
Just in case you were planning to use your computer for watching and possibly copying DVD movies in the near future, Compaq Computer Corporation, Gateway 2000 Inc., Hewlett-Packard Company, IBM Corporation, Micron Electronics, Inc., and Packard Bell/NEC are now licensed to incorporate Macrovision's DVD analog copy-protection technology in their personal-computer products.
In an effort to dominate the potentially huge set-top box market, both Sun Microsystems and Microsoft announced deals with cable provider TCI at the recent CES in Las Vegas. Coming within one day of each other, the two announcements illuminate the struggle about to take place between rivals Sun and Microsoft to place their operating systems in consumers' homes.
A<B><I>ustin Powers: International Man of Mystery</B></I><BR><I>Laserdisc. Mike Meyers, Elizabeth Hurley, Robert Wagner, Michael York, Mimi Rogers. Directed by Jay Roach. Aspect ratio: 2:1. Dolby Digital. Two sides. 90 minutes. 1997. New Line Home Video/Image Entertainment 3965LI. PG -13. $39.95.</I>
D<I>VD. Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt, Friedrich Feher, Lil Dagover. Directed by Robert Wiene. Aspect ratio 4:3. Dolby Digital. 72 minutes. 1919. Image Entertainment ID4099DSDVD. Not rated. $29.95.</I>