LATEST ADDITIONS

Jon Iverson  |  Jan 10, 2002

Only home theater Neanderthals watch movies with a two-channel audio system, the standard wisdom has it. 5.1, 6.1, 7.1—will surround sound formats ever stop expanding?

Fred Manteghian  |  Jan 10, 2002

<B>On the Kouch</B> <BR> Actually, Dr. Melfi has a chair and a couch. Her expression is noncommittal as I choose between them&mdash;the psychoanalysis has already begun. Right away, she suggests a word game: she'll say something, I'll respond with the first thing that pops into my head. I've used the technique myself to out disloyal employees in the, uh, refuse recycling business. I guess that semester and a half of college was money well spent.

Jon Iverson  |  Jan 09, 2002

We continue to roam the Alexis Park complex, our antennae tuned for innovative home theater products. Among the most interesting: Legacy Audio's "Harmony" loudspeaker, perhaps the first truly high-performance in-wall we've ever heard. This unique design features a rigid back plate that's screwed into place in a sheetrock cutout between two studs on standard 16" centers. The fully assembled front baffle then slides into place and is secured by two screws. Unlike other in-wall designs that attempt to disappear, the Harmony actually protrudes about two inches from the surface of the wall. Its craftsmanship matched its sonic appeal&mdash;it was surprisingly deep and dynamic, but very natural sounding through the midrange and highs.

Jon Iverson  |  Jan 08, 2002

We've moved to the Alexis Park, home of specialty audio. Traffic here is light, and there aren't many home theater demonstrations. We have seen some compelling new products, however&mdash;such as <A HREF="http://www.niro.net">Niroson</A>'s prototype surround-sound system consisting of only two small speakers and a compact subwoofer.

Jon Iverson  |  Jan 07, 2002

Samsung is making a major push on several fronts, including DVD, hard disk, and flat screen technologies. One of the more intriguing prototypes on display at the LV Convention Center is the company's DVD player/hard-disk recorder combo, whose 50GB drive can accommodate up to 20 movies. The films can be saved in a compressed video format directly off DVD and watched as often as you like. There is no digital output on the machine (it does have analog component video out) so there is no easy way to make digital copies. Like TiVo's PVR, the Samsung recorder will require deleting some recordings when the disk is full. The fact that the recordings are not transportable helps Samsung skirt copyright issues, according to a representative.

HT Staff  |  Jan 07, 2002
Want to do seven channels the right way? Denon has debuted a new A/V surround sound receiver claimed to bring "new levels of sonic realism to the home theater experience." The AVR-5803 features advanced dual Analog Devices Hammerhead SHARC 32-bit processors and Burr-Brown 24-bit/192kHz audio DACs, as well as THX Ultra2 7.1-channel processing, Dolby Pro Logic II decoding, Dolby Headphone output, built-in video conversion and many other attractive functions.
HT Staff  |  Jan 06, 2002
Digital Light Processing is one of the hottest buzzwords in home theater. Sim2 Seleco USA, Inc., has incorporated the Texas Instruments technology into a sleek attractive projector claimed to be optimized for both high-definition and legacy video displays.
 |  Jan 06, 2002

The animosity is heating up between the <A HREF="http://www.disney.com">Walt Disney Company</A> and direct satellite broadcaster <A HREF="http://www.echostar.com">EchoStar</A>. Following EchoStar's removal of Disney's ESPN Classic from its offerings, the DBSer is now trying to drop the ABC Family channel, another Disney operation.

Hilary Lynch  |  Jan 06, 2002

<I>Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Alexa Vega, Daryl Sabaras, Cheech Marin, Alan Cumming, Teri Hatcher. Directed by Robert Rodriguez. Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 (anamorphic). Dolby Digital 5.1 (English), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround (French, Spanish). 88 minutes. 2001. Walt Disney Home Video B00003CXWJ. PG. $29.99.</I>

Jon Iverson  |  Jan 06, 2002

No doubt about it, the markets for video projection systems for home theater use is a hot one, and two new companies are preparing to jump into the fire. The first is Accurate Imaging Technologies, which will be launched officially at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week by James Wellnitz, former president and CEO of Vidikron of America, and Bob Rosser, president and owner of custom installation retailer, Ultimate Entertainment.

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