Audio Video News

DVD has taken off like no other format in consumer-electronics history. At the end of these first five years of stellar growth for DVD, <I>SGHT</I>'s editors rate the good, the bad, and the ugly in "<A HREF="http://www.guidetohometheater.com/showarchives.cgi?37">DVD: Five Years and Still Sizzling</A>." More than 55 DVD reviews in one place, with ratings for sound, picture, and content.

Although most consumers think ultra-flat-panel TVs and monitors have a high "cool factor," rear-projection televisions (RPTVs) continue to be very popular. The trend could determine the future for microdisplay makers, as big-screen RPTVs move away from CRTs and toward microdisplay image sources such as LCDs and DLP chips.

The past year has been a boom time for the home theater industry, with business exploding at all price points. From January to May of 2002, DVD-based home theater sales grew by 988 percent during the past year, according to a study by NPD Techworld. One huge growth area has been so-called "home-theater-in-a-box" (HTiB) systems, typically a package with disc player, surround sound receiver, five speakers and powered subwoofer---typically priced at under $1000. Such systems are intended for use with Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS films.

Live sports broadcasts are one of the driving forces for high definition television. On September 5, Samsung Electronics, Sears Roebuck, and CBS Television announced a partnership that will significantly boost public exposure to the format by expanding HD coverage of college football and basketball.

July 2002 wasn't a great month for electronics retailers, but it sure was for some manufacturers who supply them.

San Francisco, California will open its Golden Gates to welcome the Home Entertainment 2003 Show, June 5-8, 2003. The event will take place at the Westin-St. Francis Hotel in the heart of downtown San Francisco. HE2003 marks the fourth time this event has been held in San Francisco. Previous events were held in 1989, 1993, and in 1997.

<I>Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Paul Bettany, Adam Goldberg, Judd Hirsch, Josh Lucas, Anthony Rapp, Christopher Plummer. Directed by Ron Howard. Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 (anamorphic). Dolby Digital 5.1 (English, French). Two discs. 136 minutes. 2001. Universal 21450. PG-13. $29.98.</I>