DVD: Scarface Two-Disc Anniversary Edition—Universal
Video: 3
Audio: 2
Extras: 2
Don't be fooled by the silver packaging. Scarface is still five years shy of its quarter-century anniversary, but it remains one of the most unsettling crime dramas ever—the rise and fall of iconic tough guy Tony Montana, played with mucho gusto by Al Pacino.
Dwin
We won't even begin to suggest that $10,500 is just pocket change that everyone has lying around. However, when you realize that Dwin's TransVision 3 projection system features both a projector and a video processor, the word value might come to mind. The company says that the separate-component design offers greater installation options and reduces double video-signal processing. The 720p DLP projector uses Texas Instruments' Mustang/HD2 DMD technology and Prism Free Optical light-path architecture for maximum picture contrast. The Carl-Zeiss zoom lens allows for a throw distance from 1.41 to 2.1 times the screen. Meanwhile, the digital video processor accepts 10 video inputs: two DVI with HDCP, two RGB, two S-video, two component, and two composite. It also delivers 720p DVI signals to match the projector's native resolution.
Dwin Electronics
(818) 239-1500 www.dwin.com
Photos by Tony Cordoza Take a good look at the Yamaha MusicCAST system: it just might be a glimpse into the future of home audio entertainment. The MCX-1000 server (above), essentially a CD recorder on steroids crossed with a digital music server, provides two main improvements over traditional playback devices.
Barry Willis | Sep 22, 2003 | First Published: Sep 23, 2003
The nation's biggest video rental chain and biggest movie club are reportedly discussing a merger. Blockbuster could join forces with Columbia House as a hedge against falling video rental revenue, according to mid-September reports in <I>The Wall Street Journal</I>, <I>The Hollywood Reporter</I>, and elsewhere.
Photos by Tony Cordoza You know a recording medium is going in or out of fashion when you can't find any blanks on the store shelves. Such a revelation hit me in the aisle for blank DVDs and CDs at a Best Buy here in New York City. There were shelf labels for all five recordable DVD formats - DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, and DVD-RAM - but precious few of the discs.
Marantz When you've got the Marantz DV8400 DVD player, you can stop worrying about format incompatibility. This THX Select player attains "universal" status by playing DVD-Audio discs and Super Audio CDs and is said to provide full bass management for both formats.
Little noted in the hubbub about AOL Time Warner dropping the "AOL" from its corporate moniker is the news that Time Warner Cable has delivered over 150,000 TiVo-like devices to its customers—without the extra expense.