LATEST ADDITIONS

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.2netFX.com">2netFX</A> reported that its ThunderCastIP technology was used successfully in a recent HDTV-over-IP live demonstration conducted by the government's NASA Research and Education Network (NREN). ThunderCastIP is a multicast server for high-definition video streaming over ordinary IP-based networks; it was also <A HREF="http://www.guidetohometheater.com/shownews.cgi?968">used last March</A> to send HDTV from Hawaii to California.

Is there still some video quality to be wrung out of the DVD format? Will you buy yet another version of <I>The Fifth Element</I> on DVD? <A HREF="http://www.cthe.com">Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment</A> (CTHE) thinks so, announcing last week the launch of "The Superbit Collection," slated for release starting October 9. CTHE says that the Superbit titles will utilize a special high^#150;bit-rate digital encoding process which "optimizes video quality" while offering a choice of both DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio.

Life is short. Why shouldn't you treat yourself to a porterhouse and a bottle of merlot now and then? And why not enjoy decent speakers, too? In a world of surround sound speaker systems priced around $1,000, it's easy to forget that there's a parallel universe populated by people who spend a little more money and get a lot better sound.