LATEST ADDITIONS

Barry Willis  |  May 23, 1998

Known for ultra-high-quality analog and digital audio electronics, <A HREF="http://www.sonicfrontiers.com">Sonic Frontiers</A> will soon enter the home-theater market. The Oakville, Ontario company announced its intentions less than two months after being acquired by the Lenbrook Group, which also owns <A HREF="http://www.psbspeakers.com">PSB</A>. In addition, Sonic Frontiers recently joined the growing group of companies represented by public-relations firm <A HREF="http://www.jbstanton.com">JB Stanton Communications, Inc.</A>

Barry Willis  |  May 23, 1998

Home theater just keeps getting better. New products from <A HREF="http://www.toshiba.com">Toshiba,</A> <A HREF="http://www.meitca.com">Mitsubishi,</A> and other companies promise huge improvements in picture quality and greater system flexibility. For example, Toshiba's ColorStream PRO technology in its Platinum Standard SD7108 DVD-Video player preserves the MPEG-2 480-line progressive video scanning inherent in DVDs and outputs it directly to one of the company's new Cinema Series projection TV sets, such as the 71-inch TP71H95.

Paula Nechak  |  May 17, 1998

J<I>ennifer Tilly, Gina Gershon, Joe Pantoliano. Directed by The Wachowski Brothers. Aspect ratio: 1.85:1. Dolby Digital. Two sides. 109 minutes. 1996. Republic ID4628DSDVD. Rated R. $29.95</I>

Barry Willis  |  May 17, 1998

Like its nymphet namesake, <I>Lolita</I> seems to create nothing but trouble for those who fall under its spell. Director Adrian Lyne's cinematic interpretation of Vladimir Nabokov's still-controversial novel about a middle-aged man's obsession with a teenage girl spent a year in the Hollywood revolving door because no major studio was willing to risk a distribution deal---until now. <A HREF="http://www.viacom.com/press.tin?ixPressRelease=40000482">Showtime Networks</A>, a cable-TV unit of <A HREF="http://www.viacom.com">Viacom</A>, has picked up the film's US rights.

 |  May 17, 1998

On May 14, <A HREF="http://www.hitachi.co.jp">Hitachi</A>, <A HREF="http://www.panasonic.co.jp/corp">Panasonic</A>, <A HREF="http://www.sv.philips.com">Philips</A>, <A HREF="http://www.grundig.com/">Grundig</A>, <A HREF="http://www.sharp.co.jp">Sharp</A>, <A HREF="http://www.sony.co.jp">Sony</A>, <A HREF="http://www.thomson-multimedia.com/">Thomson Multimedia</A>, and <A HREF="http://www.toshiba.co.jp">Toshiba</A> announced that they have compiled a core home-networks specification for AV electronics appliances. The eight companies plan to actively promote this spec, called HAVi (Home Audio-Video interoperability), as a home-network standard for the AV electronics and multimedia industries.

 |  May 17, 1998

On May&#160;18,&#160;James D. Dunning, Jr., Chairman and CEO of the Petersen Companies, Inc., announced an agreement to acquire <I>Stereophile Magazine</I> and <I>Stereophile Guide to Home Theater</I>---two of this country's leading high-end audio and home-theater publications---as well as HI-FI '98, The Home theater & Specialty Audio Show.

Couch Potato  |  May 17, 1998

Maybe somebody should invent an exer-couch: According to a recent national survey commissioned by <A HREF="http://www.blockbuster.com">Blockbuster</A>, popcorn and soft drinks top the list of favorite foods and drinks that people consume when watching videos at home.

 |  May 17, 1998

Several manufacturers will be demonstrating state-of-the-art home-theater products at <A HREF="http://www.hifishow.com">HI-FI '98</A>, some of which have never been seen by the public before.

Paula Nechak  |  May 10, 1998

H<I>arrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos, Daryl Hannah, Joe Turkel. Directed by Ridley Scott. Aspect ratio: 2.35:1. Dolby Surround. Two sides. 117 minutes. Theatrical version, 1982; director's cut, 1991. Warner Bros. Home Video 12682. Rated R. $29.95.</I>

Barry Willis  |  May 10, 1998

Plans by the NBC and CBS networks to transmit 1080i HDTV this fall are "suicidal," according to John Malone, chairman of <A HREF="http://www.tci.com/">Tele-Communications, Inc.</A> On May 5, at the <A HREF="http://www.ncta.com/">National Cable Television Association's</A> annual convention in Atlanta, Malone vowed that TCI won't carry HDTV in its ultimate form. A single channel of full-bore HDTV occupies the same transmission bandwidth as 12 low-resolution channels or several standard-resolution channels.

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