Audio Video News

The battle of the giants continued in late October as <A HREF="http://www.disney.com/">Walt Disney Company</A> filed another complaint with the <A HREF="http://www.fcc.gov/">Federal Communications Commission</A> over a proposed merger between Time Warner and America Online. This time, Disney is protesting that the companies will keep competitors from using AOL/TW-controlled interactive-TV services

If <A HREF="http://www.c-3d.net/"> Constellation 3D, Inc</A>. succeeds with its ambitious plan to develop a high-density optical disc, "FMD" will be the next acronym to enter the technophile lexicon. The letters stand for Fluorescent Multilayer Disc, a recordable format under development that promises 100 gigabytes of storage on a disc no bigger than an ordinary DVD.

Video projectors are massive and cumbersome, right? Think again. How about a projector the size and weight of a desktop telephone, with full HDTV capability? That's what Wilsonville, Oregon-based InFocus Corporation is promising with its new UltraLight X350, part of its Proxima line of products.

At only three pounds, the X350 is among the most portable projectors ever made. That alone would be sufficient incentive for most corporate buyers. The UltraLight, however, is aimed at a bigger market: the millions of movie fans who have the enthusiasm but not the space for a traditional projector. Proxima makes its incredible performance: weight ratio possible by incorporating the latest "smart" electronics and Texas Instruments-developed Digital Light Processing technology.

Canada's consumers may have a bigger per-capita appetite for high technology than the US, according to recently released statistics. The northern nation is one of the world's strongest markets for televisions and related technology, representing a $1.1 billion market annually for such products. DVD players, for example, are the hottest consumer-electronics products in Canada. More than 202,000 machines were sold in 1999, a 121% increase over 1998, with approximately 500,000 expected to be sold by the end of this year.

Now that e-cinema&mdash;using a non-film, digital projector in a movie theater&mdash;has started to take off, several companies are offering new technologies for getting the high-resolution data to the movie house. Last week brought news of the new <A HREF="http://www.guidetohometheater.com/shownews.cgi?837">FMD 100GB disc</A> from C-3D, while this week we focus on news concerning the use of a high-bandwidth satellite to do the job.

Korea's Daewoo has something for movie fans with small home theater rooms: a 30" diagonal direct-view HDTV for under $3000.

Have you been curious about 6.1 channel surround sound, but reluctant to overhaul your entire system just to try it? San Francisco-based Parasound has the answer with its new CSE 6.1 Center Surround Expander.