Audio Video News

Money changes everything. <A HREF="http://www.circuitcity.com/">Circuit City</A>, parent company of <A HREF="http://www.divx.com/">Divx</A>, has enjoyed a stock run-up recently due to rumors of a possible equity partnership deal with video-rental chain <A HREF="http://www.blockbuster.com/">Blockbuster</A>. In the deal, Viacom-owned Blockbuster would buy into Divx, considerably strengthening the pay-per-view startup's financial footing and giving it instant credibility in the video-rental market. Blockbuster has more than 600 stores nationwide.

T<I>he staff of </I>SGHT<I> would like to thank reader <A HREF="mailto:davidh@rochester.rr.com">David Henderson</A>, who provided this spreadsheet file in response to an article about room acoustics written by Russ Herschelmann in the March/April 1999 issue. Below are Mr. Henderson's notes for using the file.</I>

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.platinument.com/">Platinum Entertainment</A> and <A HREF="http://www.pioneer-ent.com/">Pioneer Entertainment</A> announced plans to jointly develop and create <I>Animetronic</I>, a series of multiple-format music and video releases that combine Japanese animation with original, new electronic-music compositions. Terms of the partnership were finalized at the Winter Music Conference in Miami by Steve Devick, Platinum president and CEO, and Yosuke "James" Kobayashi, president of Pioneer Entertainment.

Eventually, a few multinational conglomerates will own 90% of the world's businesses. Case in point: Cable companies <A HREF="http://www.comcast.com/">Comcast</A> and <A HREF="http://www.mediaone.com/">MediaOne</A>, already among the largest in their field, made a move in that direction last week when they announced a merger valued at between $53 and $60 billion. Comcast will acquire MediaOne, described by the <A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/"><I>New York Times</I></A> as "the sole surviving independent cable company." The resulting company will be the nation's third largest.

T<I>oshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima, Ko Kimura. Directed by Akira Kurosawa. Aspect ratio: 4:3. Monaural (Japanese with English subtitles). Two layers. 203 minutes. 1954. Criterion Collection #2. Not Rated. 39.95.</I>

According to the March 15 edition of <A HREF="http://www.wsj.com/">The Wall Street Journal</A>, satellite broadcaster <A HREF="http://www.directv.com/">DirecTV</A> will stop beaming network signals to ineligible customers and offer to install terrestrial antennas at a discount as part of an agreement reached with several TV networks. The satellite service has been <A HREF="http://www.guidetohometheater.com/shownews.cgi?239">wrangling</A> with four major networks---ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox---over rights to deliver network programming to customers in areas served by local broadcasters.

Stanley Kubrick's death on Sunday, March 7, stunned the film community and millions of the director's fans worldwide. He was in the process of completing the finishing technical touches on his last film, <I>Eyes Wide Shut</I>, and editing a trailer for it. His family reported that he died in his sleep, just five days after the film's first private screening for Warner Bros. executives.