Audio Video News

Software titan <A HREF="http://www.microsoft.com">Microsoft</A> has big eyes <I>and</I> a big stomach, as evidenced by the company's announcements at the Western Cable Show in Anaheim, California, last week. It's no secret that the software giant has been eyeing consumers' living rooms for years, hoping to get Windows CE (WinCE), a junior version of the ubiquitous Windows operating system, into portable devices and TV sets.

Two new satellites, 28 new digital broadcasting frequencies, and a new broadcast-operations center are among the trophies <A HREF="http://www.echostar.com/">EchoStar Communications Corporation</A> will take home in a stock-swap agreement with Rupert Murdoch's <A HREF="http://www.newscorp.com/">News Corporation</A> and <A HREF="http://www.mci.com/">MCI WorldCom</A>. The agreement with News Corp. brings litigation between the two companies to an end, and it is expected to substantially strengthen EchoStar's position as a leader in direct broadcast satellite (DBS). <A HREF="http://www.directv.com/">DirecTV</A> and <A HREF="http://www.ussb.com/">USSB</A> are the only other serious contenders in the North American DBS market.

Next month, <A HREF="http://www.divx.com/">Divx</A> is planning to test the widescreen waters. The company behind the pay-per-view alternative to "open" DVD recently announced that two films will be released in the widescreen format in December. "We want to see how much demand there is among our customers for widescreen," says a company spokesman.

A picture density four times higher than standard 480i images and a resolution of 2500x2000 pixels are specifications worth bragging about. That's exactly what <A HREF="http://www.sel.sony.com/">Sony Electronics</A> is doing with its new CRT graphics projector, the VPH-G90U. The projector features new high-resolution, electromagnetically focused 9-inch CRTs and brightness up to 350 ANSI lumens. Sony is calling the VPH-G90U "the projector of choice for installation in large and medium venues, conference rooms, home theaters, and virtual-reality applications." Sporting a list price of $35,000, the new projector will make its debut at selected dealers next month.

Networks of computers and digital peripherals in office buildings are becoming old hat. Most organizations have hired a specialist to maintain the network and install new equipment as it comes in. Such an environment makes it possible to add complex new systems and software along with infrastructure (wiring) upgrades on a regular basis.

The world's "number one book and CD retailer" is now in the movie business. Last week, <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/">Amazon.com</A> officially launched its video-sales division, offering more than 60,000 titles on video tape and more than 2000 on DVD. Prices are discounted 25-30% from the suggested list price.

Imagine a dozen alley cats, who would normally claw at each other incessantly, purring happily together in a box. This gives you an idea of what's so remarkable about the <A HREF="http://www.1394ta.org">1394 Trade Association</A> (TA) Theater Demo this week at <A HREF="http://www.comdex.com/">Comdex</A> in Las Vegas. Several consumer-electronics giants, such as <A HREF="http://www.sony.com">Sony</A>, <A HREF="http://www.mitsubishi.com/">Mitsubishi</A>, <A HREF="http://www.samsung.com/">Samsung</A>, <A HREF="http://www.NEC.com/">NEC</A>, and <A HREF="http://www.yamaha.com/">Yamaha</A>, as well as computer titans <A HREF="http://www.intel.com/">Intel</A>, <A HREF="http://www.compaq.com/">Compaq</A>, and <A HREF="http://www.microsoft.com/">Microsoft</A>, are pulling together to support the 1394 (FireWire) standard. It is hoped that FireWire will unite the consumer-electronics and computer worlds with a common digital interface. A recent agreement between the consumer-electronics and cable industries has established 1394 as the standard link between digital television sets and DTV set-top boxes.