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Audio Video News
Study: VOD/HDTV Bode Well for Cable Companies
 |  Feb 16, 2003

High definition television (HDTV) and video-on-demand (VOD) services will help push the cable industry to the next level in the coming years, according to a study recently released by Boston-based technology research firm <A HREF="http://www.tracestrategies.com">TRACE strategies</A>.

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Other Source Component Reviews
Samsung SIR-TS160 DTV/DirecTV receiver & SIR-T151 DTV receiver
Joel Brinkley  |  Feb 15, 2003

Anyone in the market for a digital television receiver in recent months might have found them hard to come by. Manufacturers stopped making older models early this year when they began working on newer ones with updated features and receiver chips. Because most digital receivers these days also double as DirecTV tuners, one factor motivating this retooling was DirecTV's decision last year to make DVI the official digital-connection format for the service, forcing manufacturers to provide new receivers with DVI outputs.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Unfaithful: Special Edition
Dan Yakir  |  Feb 15, 2003

<I>Richard Gere, Diane Lane, Olivier Martinez, Erik Per Sullivan, Chad Lowe. Directed by Adrian Lyne. Aspect ratio: 1.85: 1 (anamorphic). Dolby Digital 5.1 (English), Dolby Surround 2.0 (French, Spanish). 124 minutes. 2002. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 2005899. R. $27.98.</I>

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Audio Video News
Coming Attractions
HT Staff  |  Feb 13, 2003
Ellula
Some things in life are just so much fun that they hardly need explanation, and Ellula's HotAir inflatable multimedia speaker is one such thing. The HotAir is compatible with any type of computer or portable music source, including personal CD players and MP3 players. With a little help from a connection kit, gameheads can even use these speakers with most gaming consoles. Do the HotAirs sound good? At $49 each, why not grab a couple and find out?
Ellula
(646) 935-0912
www.ellula.com
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Audio Video News
Software Reviews
HT Staff  |  Feb 13, 2003
DVD: X-Men 1.5—20th Century Fox
Audio: 4
Video: 5
Extras: 4
X-Men 1.5 is a sneaky way to squeeze a few more dollars out of the public's hands and get X-Men back in their minds for the sequel, which hits theaters in May. X-Men, based on the comic of the same name, is about a group of mutant humans who fight other mutant humans to decide their place in society. The disc's audio and video quality seem to be no different from the first DVD release. The 2.35:1 anamorphic video is excellent, with lots of fine detail. One new addition is the DTS soundtrack, which is just as good as the original Dolby Digital 5.1.
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Other Tech
S&V Valentine's Day Picks
SV Staff  |  Feb 11, 2003
Edited by Michael Gaughn Photos by Tony Cordoza Share Wear lap2 Like a lot of couples, these two products don't appear to have much in comon.
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Music Reviews
Northwest Passages
Ken Richardson  |  Feb 11, 2003

Click here for the article in PDF form.

Audio Video News
Athena Hits the Big Time
Jon Iverson  |  Feb 11, 2003
Having a great product at a fair price is mandatory practice in the ever-competitive audio business. But getting the word out and placing those products in front of the customer is just as critical—some might argue, even more important. If this is true, then Canadian speaker company Athena has just made the score of a lifetime.
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Audio Video News
Come Together
Steve Guttenberg  |  Feb 11, 2003  |  First Published: Feb 12, 2003
DVD-Audio: The long and winding road to the future of music?

DVD is a hit. Lauded as the most successful format launch since—well, I guess nothing has had this overwhelming level of acceptance in a long, long time. I wish I could say the same about DVD's younger sibling, DVD-Audio. Introduced three years ago, it's just now starting to gather some momentum. On the hardware side, DVD-Audio offerings run the gamut from saucy little $200 players to budget-busting state-of-the-art machines. New DVD-Audio titles are still just trickling out, but even a cursory glance at a typical disc's fairly lengthy production credits might explain the relative paucity of releases. I counted 13 DVD-Audio-related producers, engineers, and mixers on R.E.M.'s Reveal disc and a crew of 21 on Queen's epic A Night at the Opera. Releasing a DVD-Audio reissue or brand-new title is a labor-intensive effort.

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Projector Reviews
PLUS Piano Avanti HE-3200 DLP Projector
Mike Wood  |  Feb 11, 2003  |  First Published: Feb 12, 2003
The upright gets upgraded to a grand.

You'd think there would've been a flood of entry-level DLP projectors since PLUS came out with their HE-3100 last year (see our review in the December 2001 issue). PLUS has even dropped the original Piano's price to $2,700. Usually, this would entice or force others to do likewise. There have been some new entries in the sub-$10,000 price range, but few projectors have reached below $5,000 (except for projectors aimed at the business market). This makes PLUS's step-up model, the $3,299 Piano Avanti HE-3200, even more interesting.

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