LATEST ADDITIONS

Sony's first Super Audio CD players were audio-only machines that did not play back DVD-Video discs. Fair enough—those machines were aimed at the top of the high-end audiophile market, and were priced accordingly. But with the DVP-S9000ES—the first DVD player to carry Sony's upscale "ES" badge—we have not only a first-class SACD player, but one priced within the reach of many home-theater enthusiasts.

Last week, several companies announced what they describe as a "unique, innovative project which will demonstrate the future of home entertainment." The project, named "CompleteTV," is intended to enable 20 families in Raleigh, North Carolina to take part in a pilot program beginning during the second quarter of 2001, giving them access to a home entertainment "experience" which will attempt to combine the worlds of broadcast HD programming and Internet-based information and entertainment.

Want to build a <I>real</I> home theater? With a film projector and a really huge screen? You may get your chance to buy some excellent theater equipment at bargain prices in the coming months. Hundreds of theaters nationwide will be closed to cope with the current oversupply, according to January announcements from some of the biggest theater operators in the US.

Speaking last week at a meeting of the Association of Local Television Stations (ALTV) in Las Vegas, <A HREF="http://www.ce.org">Consumer Electronics Association</A>'s Gary Shapiro announced that actual unit sales to dealers (not to end consumers) of digital television (DTV) displays and integrated sets reached 648,429 in 2000, surpassing earlier industry estimates and accounting for $1.4 billion. Shapiro says that these figures represent more than 400% growth over 1999 sales. In addition, 36,794 stand-alone set-top receivers were sold to dealers in 2000, says Shapiro.