Audio Video News

French-speaking Canada's premier A/V, home theater, and new technologies publication, <I><A HREF="http://www.quebecaudio.com">Quebec Audio-Video</A></I> has once again offered its readers an opportunity to attend <A HREF="http://www.homeentertainment-expo.com/">Home Entertainment 2002</A> in New York City for free! Franco Moggia, editor of <I>Quebec Audio-Video</I>, says, "After the tragic events of September 11, we had to support our American friends and colleagues by repeating last year's contest."

Home theater fans will enjoy perusing <A HREF="http://www.jvc.com">JVC</A>'s new video products&mdash;especially its combination digital TV decoder and high-def&ndash;capable hard disk recorder, due at dealers this fall.

<I>Marcello Mastroianni, Claudia Cardinale, Anouk Aim&#233;e, Sandra Milo, Barbara Steele, Guido Alberti. Directed by Federico Fellini. Aspect ratio: 1.85:1. Dolby Digital mono (Italian, English subtitles). Two DVDs. 138 minutes. 1963. The Criterion Collection 140. NR. $39.95.</I>

While the music business is experiencing harrowing declines in CD sales (12% down in the first quarter of 2002, compared with last year), DVD movie sales are growing at a fantastic pace. According to figures released by the <A HREF="http://www.dvdinformation.com">DVD Entertainment Group</A> (DEG), more than 120 million DVD movies and music videos shipped in the first three months of 2002, which represents an impressive 74% increase over the same quarter last year.

The <A HREF="http://www.ce.org">Consumer Electronics Association</A> (CEA) has reacted strongly to a recent federal court order that would force consumer electronics manufacturer <A HREF="http://www.sonicblue.com">SonicBlue</A> to develop and install information-gathering software in its ReplayTV personal video recorders (PVRs).

Plans by the entertainment industry to control the distribution of digital programming could have dire consequences for consumers, a <A HREF="http://www.philips.com">Philips Electronics</A> executive told US congressmen in late April.

New Year's Day, 2003 may be a day of special celebration for sports and movie fans. Ten of the nation's biggest cable providers have pledged to begin delivering digital signals by then, according to a May 2 report by Bill McConnell in the trade journal <I>Broadcasting and Cable</I>.