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Audio Video News
3D Cable Television to be Premiered at the Western Show in Los Angeles
Jon Iverson  |  Dec 12, 1999

Every few months we receive news that someone else is trying to bring 3D TV to consumers (see previous stories <A HREF="http://www.guidetohometheater.com/shownews.cgi?408">1</A> and <A HREF="http://www.guidetohometheater.com/shownews.cgi?362">2</A>). Last week, <A HREF="http://www.ddd.com">Dynamic Digital Depth</A> announced that it will preview its version of 3D cable television, delivered through a <A HREF="http://www.gi.com">General Instrument</A> DCT-5000+ advanced interactive digital consumer terminal, at the Western Show this week in Los Angeles.

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Audio Video News
Thomson Invests in Geocast Network Systems
Jon Iverson  |  Dec 12, 1999

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.thomson-multimedia.com">Thomson multimedia</A> announced a major investment and development partnership with <A HREF="http://www.geocast.com">Geocast Network Systems</A>, in an alliance that the company claims is intended to deploy a comprehensive terrestrial broadcast-based digital television datacasting system and service to millions of homes from coast to coast. Thomson says it is making a $15 million investment in Geocast Network Systems, and that "the result will be seamless, high-quality playback of rich-media content at a moment's notice from home entertainment and information devices."

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Audio Video News
Thomson's NYC Demo "Proves" Viability of DTV Broadcasts
 |  Dec 12, 1999

A demonstration of digital television broadcasting in New York City last week may have laid to rest fears about the viability of the Advanced Television Standards Committee's transmission technology. The technique, known as 8-VSB, has been under attack from some quarters, particularly Sinclair Broadcasting, as being inadequate to prevent severe multipath distortion, which results from reflected signals arriving at a receiver slightly later than direct signals. In digital TV, multipath can cause a screen to go blank.

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Audio Video News
Sharp Ups the Ante with $50k LCD Rear Projector
 |  Dec 05, 1999

The video-display war got a lot hotter on December 3. That day, <A HREF="http://www.sharp-usa.com/">Sharp Electronics</A> debuted its SharpVision LC-R60HDU CG-Silicon rear projector, the first such display to incorporate the company's revolutionary continuous-grain silicon (CG-Silicon) LCD technology. The 60"-diagonal display has more than 3.93 million pixels, and is said to offer unprecedented brightness, clarity, and color accuracy from any viewing angle. Perfection doesn't come cheap, however. The new projector costs a cool $50k.

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Audio Video News
HDTV Rollout Not Slowing Big-Screen TV Sales
Barry Willis  |  Dec 05, 1999

The popularity of DVD and home theater is driving sales of big-screen television sets to new heights&mdash;despite the fact that the rollout of digital television may make them obsolete in the near future. Sales of big-screen sets are up 13% over 1998, according to the latest statistics from the <A HREF="http://www.cemacity.org/">Consumer Electronics Association</A>. Ninety percent of the approximately 1 million units sold in 1990 were equipped to display only NTSC analog signals&mdash;or "legacy video," as industry insiders call it.

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Audio Video News
The Best and Worst Cult Movies of All Time Exposed
Jon Iverson  |  Dec 05, 1999

In addition to the predictable numbers generated by megabuck-grossing films like <I>The Matrix</I> and <I>Titanic</I> (see <A HREF="http://www.guidetohometheater.com/shownews.cgi?587">related story</A>), we figure that <I>SGHT</I> readers might also be interested in what's at the opposite end of the list. After rummaging around, we discovered the website for <A HREF="http://www.awcm.com">The Amazing World of Cult Movies</A>, self-described as "the Internet's definitive reference source for the celebration of alternative cinema."

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Audio Video News
Actress Madeline Kahn Dies in New York
Barry Willis  |  Dec 05, 1999

Madeline Kahn, the comic actress whom Mel Brooks described as "one of the most talented people that ever lived," died in Manhattan on Friday, December 3, of ovarian cancer. She was 57.

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Audio Video News
DVD Software Breaks Greatest Weekly Sales Record
 |  Dec 05, 1999

Last week, we announced the <A HREF="http://www.guidetohometheater.com/shownews.cgi?583">stats on DVD players</A>, which have proven to be one of the hottest format launches in consumer-electronics history. This week, we follow up with recent numbers on DVD software. The results show that, four weeks before the all-important Christmas holiday shopping season, shoppers spiked DVD software sales as they snapped up movies and music videos over the Thanksgiving weekend.

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Audio Video News
Five Classics Newly Released on DVD Deal with the Struggle of War
Lawrence B. Johnson  |  Nov 28, 1999

A<B>ll Quiet on the Western Front</B> (DVD)<BR><I>Lew Ayres, Louis Wolheim, John Wray, Slim Summerville, William Bakewell. Directed by Lewis Milestone. Aspect ratio: 1.33:1. Dolby Digital mono. B&W. 130 minutes. 1930. Universal 20510. NR. $24.98.</I>

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Audio Video News
CEA: DVD Hottest Product in History
 |  Nov 28, 1999

Rockets launched into space move slowly at liftoff, but with thrust continually applied, they gain momentum until they break free of Earth's gravity. The Digital Versatile Disc has done something similar, according to the latest figures from the <A HREF="http://www.cemacity.org/">Consumer Electronics Association</A>: As of November 23, the DVD is the hottest-selling consumer-electronics product in history.

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