Audio Video News

DVD has done more than change the way people watch movies at home. It's also changed their rental habits. The format is so superior to VHS tape, and so affordable, that many movie fans are choosing to buy rather than rent.

<I>John Payne, Preston Foster, Coleen Gray, Lee Van Cleef, Jack Elam, Neville Brand. Directed by Phil Karlson. Aspect ratio 4.3 (full frame). Dolby Digital Mono. 99 minutes. B&W. 1952. Image Entertainment DARD1450DVD. NR. $24.99.</I>

Consumer interest in home theater has grown by almost 1000% in the past year, according to figures published by the Consumer Electronics Association. But how to make sense of the bewildering array of audio and video products out there? Which ones offer the best performance or most features?

<I>Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn, Eugene Pallette, Martha O'Driscoll, William Demarest, Eric Blore. Directed by Preston Sturges. Aspect ratio: 4:3 (full frame). B&W. Dolby Digital mono. 93 minutes. 1941. The Criterion Collection 103. PG. $39.95.</I>

EchoStar Communications Corporation and Hughes Electronics Corporation, parent company of DirecTV, are still hopeful of a merger, despite regulatory opposition. The two would-be partners are working on concessions that could win over officials at the Federal Communications Commission and the US Justice Department.

The film community is mourning the death of actor Richard Harris, who passed away Friday, October 25 at London's University College Hospital, where he was being treated for Hodgkin's disease. He was 72.

High-definition television will get a big push this season and next with sports programming from ABC and ESPN.