LATEST ADDITIONS

 |  Aug 05, 2001

The world's largest video rental chain wants to renegotiate its video supply agreements with Hollywood film studios. In late June, <A HREF="http://www.blockbuster.com">Blockbuster Inc.</A> chairman John Antioco announced to Wall Street analysts that his company is reassessing its distribution deals with the studios&mdash;including possibly letting some deals lapse when renewal time comes.

 |  Aug 05, 2001

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.samsung.com">Samsung</A>, <A HREF="http://www.sears.com">Sears</A>, and <A HREF="http://www.cbs.com">CBS Television</A> announced a partnership that will allow fans to watch a full season of college football games in HDTV. The agreement marks the first time a full season of college football will be broadcast in HDTV, as well as the first time a retailer, broadcaster, and manufacturer have joined forces to jointly promote HDTV usage.

Steve Guttenberg  |  Jul 31, 2001  |  First Published: Aug 01, 2001
M&K's K-5 proves that a small speaker doesn't have to deliver a small performance.

Miller & Kreisel Sound has a habit of being there at the very start of things. The company's timeline stretches all the way back to 1973, when Steely Dan's Walter Becker wandered into Mr. Kreisel's shop and asked him to design a subwoofer and monitoring system for his Pretzel Logic mixing sessions. The rest, as they say, is sub-history. OK, you probably already knew that M&K is synonymous with badass subwoofers, so here's another cool bit of trivia. In 1976, long before the words "home" and "theater" were ever used together in a sentence, M&K introduced their first subwoofer/satellite system. Their pioneering spirit in the pro-sound world is legendary; so, naturally, Dolby Labs depended on an M&K MX-5000 system during their developmental work on Dolby Digital in the early '90s. M&K's list of achievements could easily fill this entire review, so I'll stop myself right now and move on to the subject at hand: their brand-new and most affordable satellite speaker, the K-5 ($149). This little guy, measuring a scant 7.375 by 4.875 by 5.875 inches, can serve with distinction as a front, center, or surround speaker.

Kevin Miller  |  Jul 31, 2001  |  First Published: Aug 01, 2001
Proof that plasma technology is evolving, Marantz's PD5010D plasma display is a solid HD monitor that's perfect for your wall.

In the last couple of years, plasma displays have become increasingly popular. The technology has also come a long way in terms of picture quality. Initially, plasma's biggest performance pitfalls were in the areas of black level and color accuracy. Thanks to recent technological advances, black-level performance has improved significantly, but it still has a long way to go. Another performance issue with plasmas is something called "false contouring," which manifests itself as crawling patches or blotches of noise.

Geoffrey Morrison  |  Jul 31, 2001  |  First Published: Aug 01, 2001
When it comes to home theater, sometimes you can take it with you.

It happens to the best of us. You've just plunked down your hard-earned money to buy a dream home theater system, and you have to leave it. Maybe it's the vacation that, after months of planning, you suddenly want to cancel. Maybe it's the business trip you knew was coming and couldn't pawn off on a junior partner. Even worse, maybe your half-uncle, third removed, has passed on and left you his venomous-bee collection, which the terms of the will require you to pick up in person. Whatever the case may be, you're leaving, and your home theater is staying behind. Well, maybe not.

Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jul 31, 2001  |  First Published: Aug 01, 2001
Put away that charcoal. Here's a different kind of grille for your patio.

My, how times have changed. Back when vinyl records were king and a 25-inch-diagonal TV screen was considered big, here's how you had a good time in the backyard: a keg of beer, burgers on a charcoal grill, and your roommate's big, ugly speakers (carted out from the living room) blasting Rush (Geddy Lee, et al) until the conservative neighbors call the cops. A decade or so goes by, and the fun gets more sophisticated: a cooler of imported beer (maybe a margarita machine), steaks on a gas grill, and a big, ugly boombox belting out Rush (Limbaugh) until the liberal neighbors call the cops. Today, it's likely to be takeout from a local BBQ joint, a mini-fridge full of hard lemonade, and steam from the hot tub mingling with big-band music from outdoor speakers hidden somewhere in the (twice-monthly manicured) foliage.

HT Staff  |  Jul 30, 2001
What's incredibly bright, compatible with almost any video format, and weighs only about eight pounds? Answer: Canon's new LV-7345, a high-performance portable projector with a price tag under $5000.
HT Staff  |  Jul 30, 2001
Sony is taking "home theater in a box" to the next level. Upscale all-in-one home theater systems may be the next big trend; with a few notable exceptions, the electronics industry follows Sony's lead.
Gary Frisch  |  Jul 29, 2001

<I>Robert DeNiro, Ben Stiller, Teri Polo, Blythe Danner, Owen Wilson, John Abrahams, James Rebhorn. Directed by Jay Roach. Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 (anamorphic). Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS. 108 minutes. 2000. Universal Home Video 21133. PG-13. $26.98.</I>

 |  Jul 29, 2001

According to figures recently compiled by the <A HREF="http://www.dvdinformation.com">DVD Entertainment Group</A>, DVD hardware and software sales continued on a strong upward curve in the first six months of 2001. In the first half of the year, the DEG reports, more than 5 million DVD players were shipped to retailers (not all have sold through to consumers), bringing the total units shipped since the format's launch to 20.4 million. Just over 3 million players had been shipped by the same time last year.

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