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Audio Video News
Pioneer Heads for Where the Action Is
Jon Iverson  |  Jul 02, 2000

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.pioneer-america.com/">Pioneer North America</A> announced plans to open the newest addition to its North American operation: Pioneer Research Center USA (referred to as PRA), which the company describes as a new research-and-development unit. Pioneer says that PRA will open in San Jose, California on July 5 and will develop both digital television and digital network technologies to be incorporated into audio-video products sold primarily in the US market.

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Audio Video News
HDTV: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
Barry Willis  |  Jul 02, 2000

Two years ago it was widely predicted that, by summer 2000, high-definition television would be pretty well established. At mid-year of that target date, the industry is still bickering over technical specifications and terminology, receiver prices are still high, and there is only a token amount of HD programming available.

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Audio Video News
Comic Actor Walter Matthau Dies at 79
Barry Willis  |  Jul 02, 2000

Walter Matthau, the gruff-voiced, droopy-faced master of deadpan comic acting, died early Saturday morning, July 1, after suffering a heart attack. He was pronounced dead at 1:42am, shortly after being taken to St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California. Matthau was 79.

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Audio Video News
It Happened One Night in 1934
Michael Metzger  |  Jul 02, 2000

C<I>lark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly, Roscoe Karns, Jameson Thomas. Directed by Frank Capra. Aspect ratio: 1.33:1 (full-frame). Dolby Digital mono. 105 minutes. 1934. Columbia 03949. NR. $24.95.</I>

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Audio Video News
IFILM and AMC Theaters Team Up to Boost Short Films
Barry Willis  |  Jun 25, 2000

Ever wonder how all those short films you never heard of get nominated for Academy Awards? They have to run for a weekend at theaters in Los Angeles or New York in order for <A HREF="http://www.oscars.org/">Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences</A> members to get a chance to view them. Those are the rules, the Academy stated on June 13, after deciding to exclude from Oscar consideration any film debuting on the Internet.

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Audio Video News
The Iron Giant: An Overlooked Gem
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jun 25, 2000

V<I>oices of Jennifer Aniston, Eli Marienthal, Harry Connick, Jr., Vin Diesel, Christopher McDonald. Directed by Brad Bird. Aspect ratios: 2.35:1 (anamorphic), 1.33:1 (full-frame). Dolby Digital 5.1. 99 minutes. 1999. Warner Home Video 17644. PG. $24.95.</I>

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Audio Video News
EchoStar DISHes Out HDTV
 |  Jun 25, 2000

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.dishnetwork.com">EchoStar Communications</A> announced that the DISH HD Model 6000, an integrated satellite television receiver with the ability to receive high-definition television (HDTV) signals, is now available at select DISH Network retail outlets. The 6000 is the company's newest high-definition satellite TV receiver and is priced at $499.

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Audio Video News
If Dogs Run Free, Why Can't DTV?
Jon Iverson  |  Jun 25, 2000

It's a DTV jungle out there, with manufacturers, broadcasters, consumers, and other market forces fighting for their ecological niches. Always an aggressive participant in the struggle, the <A HREF="http://www.ce.org">Consumer Electronics Association</A> (CEA), in comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission last week, stated that "ensuring that today's viewers continue to enjoy free, over-the-air service should be the primary focus of the digital television (DTV) transition." While new services should be "permitted and encouraged," argued the CEA, they should be consistent with broadcasters' "continued delivery of free over-the-air programming in the digital era."

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Audio Video News
Internet TV Venture Attracts Investments Worth $87 Million
 |  Jun 25, 2000

In the long term, interactive television (ITV) may not be the joke it has been so far. On June 21, Los Gatos, California&ndash;based <A HREF="http://www.ictv.com/">ICTV</A> announced that it has pulled in $57 million in investments from financial sector and telecommunications industry heavyweights. ITCT describes itself as the "leading provider of the cable industry's most robust solution for delivery of broadband Internet TV services to digital set-tops."

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Audio Video News
DTS Announces DTS-ES Discrete 6.1 Surround Format
 |  Jun 25, 2000

In mid-June, <A HREF="http://www.dtstech.com/">DTS</A> announced a new version of its DTS-ES Extended Surround Format for home theater. Designated DTS-ES Discrete 6.1, the system is a "new, proprietary technology for the playback of discrete, 6.1-channel content from DVDs and CDs," according to a company press release. The innovation is said to "elevate the performance standard for playback of the DTS 6.1-channel Extended Surround format introduced in motion picture theaters last year."

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