Audio Video News

If you count yourself among the legions of action movie fans who can't get enough of earth-shaking sound tracks, but also enjoy the occasional string quartet, B&K has just what you've been looking for. The Reference 7250's five channels each put out 200 watts of high-resolution power---one kilowatt total, enough to bring the police to your door with a request to cease and desist.

M<I>arlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra, Vivian Blaine. Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 (letterbox). Dolby Digital 5.1. 159 minutes. 1955. MGM 908093. NR. $19.99.</I>

If you subscribe to a cable system or direct broadcast satellite service, you probably need a set-top box (STB) hooked up to your television. Where would you prefer to get your STB? According to a recent study, most TV viewers still prefer to buy retail.

Among the many accolades being showered on the Loewe Aconda line of high definition televisions are "elegant styling" and "unsurpassed performance." The line was recently introduced by Sensory Science Corporation. With 1080i capability and RS-232 computer interfaces, the new sets are pushing the limits of CRT design.

In an effort to place the cable set-top box at the center of the home entertainment universe, <A HREF="http://www.scientificatlanta.com">Scientific-Atlanta</A> last week unveiled its new Explorer 8000 set-top, which is expected to begin shipping during the summer of 2001. The company also announced that Time Warner Cable has signed purchase orders, commiting them to buy sufficient numbers of the device to satisfy most of the cable operator's forecasted requirements for calendar years 2001 and 2002 for this class of digital set-top.

Films as physical commodities have begun to disappear, thanks to companies like <A HREF="http://www.harmonicdata.com/">Harmonic, Inc</A>. Eventually, most films shown in theaters&mdash;and many films viewed in homes&mdash;will be delivered not as film reels or video discs but as digital signals beamed from satellites.

In a few years, many computer users will have DVD-ROM drives, DVD burners, and Internet connections with sufficient bandwidth to make the sharing and copying of full-length movies a real possibility. The emerging prospect for what some are calling "Napster for movies" has film studios exploring movie downloading and streaming technology, or "video-on-demand."