S<I>igourney Weaver, Holly Hunter, Dermot Mulroney, William McNamara, Harry Connick Jr., J.E. Freeman, Will Patton. Directed by Jon Amiel. Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 (anamorphic). Dolby Digital 5.1 (English), Dolby Surround (French). 123 minutes. 1995. Warner Home Video 14168. Rated R. $24.98.</I>
Build it and no one will come. That's been the broadcasting industry's worst nightmare since discussions about high-definition television began more than 10 years ago. Many executives have expressed dismay over the fact that the <A HREF="http://www.fcc.gov/">Federal Communications Commission</A> mandated their compliance with HDTV's launch---an effort that costs each station millions of dollars in new equipment and technical training---when there is almost no audience to see it. Dozens of stations are ready for the official nationwide launch of HDTV in just two weeks, but the few people who will see the first broadcasts will be engineers, journalists, and a handful of customers and salespeople in electronics stores.
Recordable DVD is on its way to the home-theater market. <A HREF="http://www.tdk.com/">TDK</A> has announced two breakthroughs in high-density recordable media that will likely cause an epidemic of apoplectic fits in the film industry.
High-resolution video technology leader <A HREF="http://www.faroudja.com/">Faroudja, Inc.</A> announced October 6 that Glenn W. Marschel, Jr. has been named its new President, CEO, and Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors. Mr. Marschel is replacing Michael Moore, who resigned "to pursue other interests." Chief Technical Officer and company founder Yves Faroudja will become the board's other Co-Chairman. William J. Turner will step down as Chairman, but will remain as a Director of the company.
S<I>teve Railsback, Peter Firth, Frank Finlay, Mathilda May, Patrick Stewart. Directed by Tobe Hooper. Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 (letterbox). Dolby Digital 5.1. 116 minutes. 1985. MGM Home Entertainment 907017. Rated R. $24.98.</I>
Tele-Webbers---almost sounds like a mindless new children's TV show, but instead describes what a new report claims is the next big revolution in home television. According to the report from <A HREF="http://www.inteco.com">Inteco</A>, Tele-Webbers are the eight million adults in the US who use the Internet and watch TV simultaneously at least once a week. (So do another five million, but less often.)
For decades, <A HREF="http://www.disney.com">Disney</A> has dominated the animated feature-film business. Recently, Dreamworks SKG, which scored a hit with this summer's <I>Saving Private Ryan</I>, jumped into the fray with the film <I>Antz</I>, about the life of an idealistic ant who feels trapped amoung his colony's soldiers and workers. Considered better than any other animated feature released so far this year, <I><A HREF="http://www.antz.com/">Antz</A></I> needed an early start out of the gate, as Disney had planned a big splash for their own insect story.
There's nothing else in home theater like a cinematically stunning film transferred to HDTV videotape and displayed at 720p or 1080i/p. The only problem is that the frame rates for the two formats are not the same, creating a syncing nightmare for the transfer studio. Solutions have involved running a single film frame through more than one scan of the faster DTV format to create a seamless presentation. As networks begin DTV transmission this fall, the ability to transfer film---a major source of primetime programming---and to create original high-definition content in a variety of DTV formats has become even more critical.
High-Definition Television will make its broadcast debut next month, and television stations in most parts of the country will participate. The <A HREF="http://www.nab.org/">National Association of Broadcasters</A> announced last week that 42 stations are good to go for the November 1 launch of 21st-century television. The first HDTV stations include the original 26 volunteers in the 10 largest US markets, as mandated by a schedule agreed to by the NAB and the <A HREF="http://www.fcc.gov/">Federal Communications Commission</A>; and an additional 16 that have completed their equipment upgrades ahead of time.
Home-theater fans are excited by HDTV, and the first display products are hitting the shelves right now. But how long will it be before high-definition signals become common as a broadcast medium? The answer to this question involves not only the television to receive the signal, but the entire broadcast chain, from camera to transmitter.