Audio Video News

We've moved to the Alexis Park, home of specialty audio. Traffic here is light, and there aren't many home theater demonstrations. We have seen some compelling new products, however&mdash;such as <A HREF="http://www.niro.net">Niroson</A>'s prototype surround-sound system consisting of only two small speakers and a compact subwoofer.

Samsung is making a major push on several fronts, including DVD, hard disk, and flat screen technologies. One of the more intriguing prototypes on display at the LV Convention Center is the company's DVD player/hard-disk recorder combo, whose 50GB drive can accommodate up to 20 movies. The films can be saved in a compressed video format directly off DVD and watched as often as you like. There is no digital output on the machine (it does have analog component video out) so there is no easy way to make digital copies. Like TiVo's PVR, the Samsung recorder will require deleting some recordings when the disk is full. The fact that the recordings are not transportable helps Samsung skirt copyright issues, according to a representative.

The animosity is heating up between the <A HREF="http://www.disney.com">Walt Disney Company</A> and direct satellite broadcaster <A HREF="http://www.echostar.com">EchoStar</A>. Following EchoStar's removal of Disney's ESPN Classic from its offerings, the DBSer is now trying to drop the ABC Family channel, another Disney operation.

No doubt about it, the markets for video projection systems for home theater use is a hot one, and two new companies are preparing to jump into the fire. The first is Accurate Imaging Technologies, which will be launched officially at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week by James Wellnitz, former president and CEO of Vidikron of America, and Bob Rosser, president and owner of custom installation retailer, Ultimate Entertainment.

Other than cable companies' refusal to carry digital television signals, the biggest obstacle to growing the DTV market has been reception problems.

Despite competitive pressure from direct broadcast satellite (DBS) services, cable providers have managed to push subscription rates up faster than the pace of inflation, according to a report issued by the Federal Communications Commission at the beginning of January.