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HDTV SetupHDTV Tech
Home Theater Boot Camp: Receiving HDTV
Mike Wood  |  Sep 04, 2001  |  First Published: Sep 05, 2001
A three-step guide to receiving HDTV signals.

You used to be able to buy a TV, plug it into an antenna or cable outlet, and start flipping channels. It was an amazingly simple system. Digital television and its high-resolution subsystem, high-definition television, aren't quite as plug-and-play . . . yet. Antennas only pick up high-def signals in some markets; cable usually doesn't pick them up at all. Satellite seems like a good bet, but it doesn't offer everything. Plus, certain DTV tuners don't work with certain displays. It's enough to drive any self-respecting videophile to drink (not that we'd fault you for that). But there is hope. The following three-step guide is intended to make setting up an HDTV system easier than following that other multistep program. First, figure out what sources are available to you, then find a tuner that works with those sources. Finally, buy a high-definition display that works with that tuner.

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Philips 34PW9815 34-Inch HD Monitor
Ron Williams  |  Sep 04, 2001  |  First Published: Sep 05, 2001
Trying to make room in your life for HDTV? Philips has the answer.

If you're searching for a TV that offers the latest technological advances and will fit in the same space as your old NTSC TV, you've probably realized that finding one is no easy feat. As new widescreen HD monitors have begun to replace the standard 4:3 TV, some space issues have resulted. If a great wall unit or TV console is part of your room, you probably just want a new TV, not a decorator. Well, the wait could be over for those who are in the market for a small CRT HD monitor. Philips has introduced the 34PW9815 34-inch 16:9 HD monitor that incorporates several fun, new technologies into one small package.

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Audio Separates Buying Tips
To Separate or Not to Separate?
Chris Lewis  |  Sep 04, 2001  |  First Published: Sep 05, 2001
Pondering an age-old home theater question.

Simplicity, where have you gone? Let's be realistic for a moment: This little home theater hobby of ours, circa 2001, is usually confusing, occasionally mind-boggling, and flat-out intimidating to the uninitiated. Do we love it any less as a result? We certainly shouldn't. While we should always expect the equipment manufacturers and software providers to make things as simple as they can, the bottom line is that, in the A/V realm, confusion is often only a temporary state, brought about by increased opportunity, quality, and flexibility. These are confusing days because they are evolutionary (and occasionally revolutionary) ones. Granted, it may not be easy to get a grasp on several new soundtrack-processing formats, two entirely new audio formats, new video formats and technologies, and a radical overhaul of our television system—all at the same time. However, if you can't see some good in all of this (and if you don't find it all to be at least as exciting as it is perplexing), maybe you'd better find a new hobby.

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Tower Speaker Reviews
PSB Image Series Speaker System
Michael Trei  |  Sep 04, 2001  |  First Published: Sep 05, 2001
With the Image Series speaker system, PSB proves that you can cut corners without compromising performance.

Quick, which do you think would be more difficult to do: design a cutting-edge, no-compromises speaker or design a speaker that gives the best possible performance for a very affordable price? While coming up with a mind-blowing design without any cost boundaries is undoubtedly a daunting challenge, I would argue that producing a loudspeaker that can deliver killer results for a very affordable price is much harder. Making great budget speakers involves the art of compromise, knowing where you can save money without sacrificing the sonic results you're after.

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Audio Video News
DVR Interest Rising, Says CEA
 |  Sep 02, 2001

Pioneering work by companies like TiVo Inc. and ReplayTV has had some measurable results, according to a recent study by the <A HREF="http://www.ce.org">Consumer Electronics Association</A>.

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Audio Video News
What's in a (Brand) Name?
Jon Iverson  |  Sep 02, 2001

Last week, Faroudja's parent company, <A HREF="http://www.sageinc.com">Sage</A>, announced that it has launched a "video quality certification program" that authorizes the use of the Faroudja "Flying P" logo and trademark to certified licensees for product placement, literature, and packaging.

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Audio Video News
The Return of ReplayTV
Barry Willis  |  Sep 02, 2001

Almost a year after exiting the digital video recorder business, <A HREF="http://www.replaytv.com">ReplayTV</A> is returning with a line of new products.

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Audio Video News
Lilies of the Field On DVD
Michael Metzger  |  Sep 02, 2001

<I>Sidney Poitier, Lilia Skala, Stanley Adams, Lisa Mann, Isa Crino, Francesca Jarvis, Pamela Branch, Dan Frazer. Directed by Ralph Nelson. Aspect ratio: 1.66: 1. Dolby Digital mono. 94 minutes. 1963. MGM 4001857. NR. $19.99.</I>

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Audio Video News
Rosebud Goes Digital
Jon Iverson  |  Sep 02, 2001

It ranks as many movie buffs' best film of all time, and has landed at the top of the American Film Institute's list of the 100 Greatest American Movies, but until now, you could not get it on DVD. The film, of course, is <I>Citizen Kane</I>, Orson Welles' Academy-Award-winning masterwork credited with expanding film-making frontiers like no other movie in history.

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Audio Video News
Dynaudio Joins In-Wall Movement with New IP 24
HT Staff  |  Aug 27, 2001
Not content to simply repackage some of its many models of drivers for in-wall applications, Danish loudspeaker manufacturer Dynaudio went back to the drawing board to come up with some totally new designs.
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