video-magazine-1991-03

VIDE~ WORLDS°gee VIDEO PUBLICATION EASING INTO SUPER SOUND | 8 Audio Experts Soeak Out VIDEO TOASTER _ Home-Editing _ Breakthrough _ OaVNIDETOHEeVARNO-IATDIES: ELECTRONIC HEARTH: VIDEO MADE T0 ORDER UUSYBY Sonlonnecs VHS/VHS-C VCR, F/X Camcorder, meee amas

Music byMozart. Dont get us wrong.Wewouldnt presume to So we created the M5010, the worlds first tamper with something as perfect as Eine Kleine _cassette deck with on-screen commands. Its Nacht Musik or The Magic Flute. We just wanted _the newest part of Mitsubishi's Home Theater system, designed to make your audio and video to make them easier to play. The M-T5010 dual cassette deck. The M-R8010 Home Theater receiver. © 1990 Mitsubishi Electronics America, Inc. For the name ofyour authorized dealer, call (800) 527-8888 ext. 145. Dolby is a registered trademark ofDolby Laboratories Licensing Corp.

ee MITSUBISHI Words byMitsubishi. components work together as one cohesive, new toy for videophiles. Ithas all the technical Fai1NRScCoodineaenr.rdfraciovdldrti.eemicraoetniaoln, easily-controlled unit. perks youd expect from state-of-the-art audio, including dual amorphous tape heads, Dolby” No more straining to see those tiny little LED HX Pro, and Dolby B & C noise reduction. Add displays on your audio components, or guessing to that functions like blank skip and intro-scan, whether youve done something right. This tape and you get a cassette deck that makes playing deck has on-screen menus for every function, your favorite music easier than it’sever been. from recording to scanning. And visual displays that confirm what youre doing every time you We like to think Herr Mozart would approve. press a button. a’ MITSUBISHI Of course, the M-T5010 is more than just a TECHNICALLY, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE®

TAPES & DISCS EASING INTO SUPER SOUND 28 VIDEOTESTS Design your home theater to pack a sonic wallop—audio experts share their secrets. DEPARTMENTS By Bob Barlow, Stan Pinkwas, Brent Butterworth and Steve Daly 36 INSTALLATION OF THE MONTH: ONE FROM THE HEARTH 40 Like an electronic fireplace, a family theater that warms a home’s hearts and minds. 44 By Stan Pinkwas THE JOY OF TOASTING 47 A dazzling new Amiga board brings home video editing into the ’90s. 57 By Brent Butterworth 16 VIDEO VANITIES A custom car specialist puts Hitachi on the highways—Hollywood style. Cover: By Brent Butterworth 6 Audio experts share REVIEWS their secrets for fitting Wild at Heart, The Freshman, Flatliners, The Witches, Raging Bull, Quick Change, 9 home theaters with irre- Kiss of Death, Darkman, Carousel, The Women, more DIRECTORY / The latest releases on tape and disc 11 sistible super sound systems. Photograph by PANASONIC PV-7000 VHS/COMPACT VHS VCR, 12 Jay Brenner Canon H-850 Hi8 camcorder with graphics and music chips, Hitachi CU-4601B rear-projection monitor/receiver, 14 Radio Shack Realistic MD-1000 combination player. By Berger-Braithwaite Labs 24 Video Magazine CHANNEL ONE / All decked out Volume XIV FEEDBACK / Letters from readers Number 12 LAST MINUTE / Six wild-at-heart video showstoppers GAZETTE / Spider wrangling, birth of a brewmaster, more 96 TECHNICALLY SPEAKING / How still printers turn tapes into snaps NEW PRODUCTS / RCA 35-inch direct-view TV, Hitachi combi player, tapeless VCR head cleaner, more COLLECTOR’S CLEARINGHOUSE / Global requests from World War II to the World Series ky the VIDEO Magazine (ISSN 1044-7288) is published monthly by Reese Communications, Inc., 460 W. 34 St., New York, NY 10001. Second-class postage paid at New York, NY and additional mailing office. © 1991 Reese Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. © under Universal, International, and Pan American Copyright Conventions. Reproduction of editorial or pictorial content in any manner Audit is prohibited. Single copy price $2.50; $2.95 in Canada; £2.50 in U.K. One-year subscription (12 issues) $15.; Canada, $21 U.S.; foreign, air mail, $40 U.S. Address subscription orders, change of Bureau address, correspondence and inquiries to: VIDEO, Box 56293, Boulder, CO 80322-6293. Change of address takes 60 days to process: send old address label, new address, and zip code. All material listed in this magazine is subject to manufacturer's change without notice, and publisher assumes no responsibility for such change. Printed in the U.S.A. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to VIDEO, Box 56293, Boulder, CO 80322-6293. For microform copies of issues or articles, write to: Serials Acquisition Dept., University Microfilms, Inc., 300 North Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48106. 4 VIDEO MARCH 1991

LETHAL WEAPON 6308062 b(ealineneivYerstary OEfaatOizn«) 1 awTRohmae A0f5ri1c1a0n22Queen BATMAN (1989) 6425042 DRIVING MISS DAISY 9822072 >2 A SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE 0013052 BONNIE & CLYDE 6072002 THE COLOR PURPLE 6301032 0012062 BLAZING SADDLES 6082082 6028052 GREMLINS 6015002 THE ROAD WARRIOR (5150072 9535052 SUPERMAN II 6146022 6043062 BLUE VELVET * | 6397002 HARD TO KILL SUDDEN IMPACT THE RIGHT STUFF DANGEROUS LIAISONS ONCE UPON A 6058082 TIME IN AMERICA ALTERED STATES 6265072 An American Tail AUNTIE MAME 6122002 2184042 AMERICAN GRAFFITI 2113002 BACK TO THE FUTURE I * 9213042 BACK TO THE FUTURE III 4970082 THE DEER HUNTER 2124072 FIELD OF DREAMS 9203062 JAWS 1000082 PARENTHOOD 5841022 PSYCHO 1013032 THE BLUES BROTHERS 2117062 NATIONAL LAMPOON’S 2115082 ANIMAL HOUSE DUNE 2111022 Lethal Weapon Il * Back To The Future Born On The Fourth SCARFACE (1983) 2168042 6427022 2114092 Of July * 6810072 4891042 BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED 2134052 \"| REAR WINDOW 0025012 Here's a great way to build a collection mail the response card always provided | 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY 0551032 of your favorite movies—on laserdiscs! by the date specified. And you'll always | FIDDLER ON THE ROOF 0910092 Just write in the numbers of the 3 have 14 days to decide; if not, you may 3547042 laserdiscs you want for $1.00 each, plus retum the selection at our expense. RETURN OF THE JEDI 3676072 shipping and handling. In exchange, you DIE HARD 3649012 simply agree to buy two more laserdiscs There's a money-saving half-price 0002082 Bonus Plan. If you continue your PREDATOR 3609092 in the next year, at regular Club prices membership after fulfilling your 3722012 (currently as low as $29.95, plus obligation, you'll be eligible for our ) THE MUSIC MAN 0747082 shipping and handling)—and you may EXCALIBUR 0043092 cancel membership at any time after Bonus Plan. With each selection you 6147012 doing so. buy at regular Club price, the plan 6021022 currently allows you to take another Every four weeks (up to 13 times a selection of equal value or less at 50% MAD MAX BEYOND 6089012 year), you'll receive a Club mailing, off...so you'll continue to save money for THUNDERDOME reviewing our Director's Selection—plus as long as you remain a member. scores of alternate choices, including TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE 6034072 many lower-priced laserdiscs. And you And there's a 10-day risk-free trial. BULLITT 6197002 may also receive Special Selection We'll send details of the Club's mailings up to four times a year. (That's operation with your introductory up to 17 buying opportunities a year). package. If not satisfied, return everything within 10 days for a full You buy only what you want-when refund and no further obligation. you want it! If you want the Director's Selection, do nothing-it will be sent For fastest service, use your automatically. If you'd prefer an credit card and our toll-free number. alternate selection, or none at all, just Call 24 hours a day: BUTCH CASSIDY AND 1-800-538-2233 THE SUNDANCE KID 0517062 Columbia House LASERDISC CLUB COCOON 3553052 Dept. J3A P.O. Box 1112 , Terre Haute, Indiana 47811-1112 THE DAY THE EARTH 0576042 Yes, please enroll me under the terms outlined. in this advertisement. As a member, STOOD STILL |need buy only 2 more selections, at regular Club prices, within the coming year. Send me these 3 laserdiscs for $1.00 each plus $1.50 each shipping and handling(total $7.50) THE BIRDS 1027072 SPARTACUS Pal 2108072 AROUND THE WORLD 6036052 Please Check How Paying: My check is enclosed 2HJ/2HK IN 80 DAYS LADYHAWKE 6234052 Ci Charge my introductory laserdiscs and future Club purchases to: THE EXORCIST 6003042 MasterCard [)DinersClub [AMEX CIVISA THE INCREDIBLE MR. LIMPET 9524082 THE MAN WHO Acct No. Exp. WOULD BE KING * | 0858032 Signature THE KING AND | * | 0347022 ROMANCING THE STONE * | 0894092 Name PINK CADILLAC 6422072 Address Apt. TEQUILA SUNRISE 6389082 TANGO & CASH * | 6474042 City State E.T.: THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL * | 6811062 Zip Phone No. ( ) * ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN 2897022 Note: Membership is limited and Columbia House Laserdisc Club reserves the right to reject or cancel any Letterbox membership. Offer limited to continental U.S. (excluding Alaska). Applicable sales tax added to all orders, THE ABYSS * =| 8811022 ©1991, Columbia House

ACDRiOTabVSc6CMiEse NOC: CHANNEL ONE HOTO WBUY... All decked out Audio/Video Receivers Since fashion and other cultural artifacts seem bent on dancing a retro twist, allow me to in- ib should prevail when buying an voke yesteryear with this slightly altered version of a 1960s anthem: “Where Have All the VCRs audio/video receiver. Use common sense, ask Gone?” questions, and buy Dolby Pro Logic. The recent Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show was alive with creative new video ideas, Dolby Pro Logic achieves the best possible ranging from exotic multimedia products to viv- id color LCD TV screens, with a few advanced Surround Sound. But all Dolby Pro Logic camcorders thrown in for good measure. receivers are not created equal. Newer units But new VCRs, particularly those more de- luxe models sporting sophisticated features, feature IC chips that are quieter than earlier were noticeably absent. Granted, most manufac- turers stage major VCR introductions at the chips and include original Dolby Pro Logic June CES, but past Winter shows have seen at least a few significant debuts. analog circuits. Listen carefully in the demo Not this time. There are plenty of bells and whistles waiting in the wings; you need go no further than your nearest professional/industrial video dealer room; you shouldn't hear hiss. Also look for to see the delectable array of editing and other advanced VCR features now available. digital signal processing or ambience features. That professional/industrial sector of the VCR industry is, in fact, part of the problem. Profit margins are higher for non-consumer equipment, and no Don’t underestimate the importance of one connected with that lucrative end of the business wants to see low-mar- gin competition coming from the discount-oriented consumer VCR sector. power. Consider the efficiency of your speakers, Give us a break. We're getting tired of being denied the goodies now ac- cessible only to the pros. (For those too young to remember, the 60s anthem the size of the room, was “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”) and the volume @ If spiffy VCRs didn’t make it to Vegas, some exciting new video equip- tA levels you will be ment did. One notable example was the NewTek Video Toaster, a torrid piece of post-production video gear priced in the $1,500 range. Take a look at Asso- achieving. Look for ciate Editor Brent Butterworth’s hands-on review of the Toaster on page 40. We think you'll agree with us that it represents a significant new direction in APurdoifoeVsisidoenoal receiavuerts with at home video's future. Retailers least five or six Can’t win the lottery? Always lose at cards? Try changing your luck by en- Association separate channels of tering our Second Annual Scotch/Video Magazine Video Contest. We’ve expanded it this year, and entrants can now win in any of three categories: 1) power for front (left, right), rear (left, right), Vacation, 2) Family Events and 3) Video Art. The Grand Prize is an all-ex- penses-paid trip for two to Germany, with a stop at Berlin’s fabulous center and subwoofer. The center channel's Funkausstelung audio/video fair. Better do it right away, since entries must be postmarked no later than March 1, 1991. power should equal the front left and right; it Art Levis carries vital dialogue information. A powered Editor-in-Chief subwoofer significantly lessens the drain on the receiver's available power reserve. Receiver power depends on a balanced ratio of the room size and the efficiency of your speakers. If the dealer doesn’t know your speaker models, then haul one into the demo room to hear firsthand how well the receiver. drives the speaker. The remote should have its own volume control for both front and rear speakers. Look for front panel inputs so you can easily transfer your camcorder tapes to VCR without ripping out the rack. For dubbing, make sure to have at least two VCR and two audio tape inputs. Make sure you have at least four audio and three video inputs so you can accommodate current and future component needs. S-video inputs are especially important for laserdisc users since they offer visible picture improvements, while they also prepare you for future S-VHS system additions. Information for this column was provided by Ford Montgomery, owner /president of four Chelsea Aud/iViodeo stores in thePortland, Oregon area. To find your local PARA dealer, call: 816-444-3500 6 VIDEO MARCH 1991

The VIDEO TRADER is the SBWUAYP $50 FREE ADVERTISING? monthly newsletter for buyers For a limited time, your $15 and sellers of everything in SUSEALVLEL subscription entitles you to $50 home or professional video. in free ads. We'll run your ads until your credit is used up or WHO NEEDS IT? you write to tell us to stop. You do! To turn your extra gear into cash. To be the perfect WHAT DO YOU GET? source for locating that special Camcorders, VCRs, TVs, edi- program you're longing for. To ting equipment, disc players, save you money by giving you tripods, lights — you'll find it access to pre-owned hardware all. But that’s only half the story. for a fraction of the cost of new The TRADER also runs ads from gear. And, if you’re a collector of collectors seeking or selling mov- hardware or software, to be your ies and TV shows from “All in only national reference and the Family” to “Zorro.” monthly value guide. DO IT NOW! HOW DO YOU GET IT? Order your one-year subscrip- 1. Subscribe for one year by tion to the VIDEO TRADER filling your name and address in today. The sooner you do, the the coupon below and mail it in sooner you can turn your gear along with your $15 payment. into cash and locate the stuff 2. If there’s something you your dreams are made of. want to buy or sell, write your ad, using the form below or a SAMPLE ADS separate sheet of paper. (See the FOR SALE—Toshiba MSO9X VCR. Flying sample ads for some ideas.) Erase Heads, Jog/Shuttle, 2 years old, 3. Sit back and enjoy the list- light use. Call Bill. (212) 000-0000. ings each month — or act by contacting readers who've placed WANTED—Episodes of ‘‘American Band- ads you're interested in. stand” from 1950s featuring Bob and Justine, Kenny and Arlene. Pay or trade. Call Bill. (212) 000-0000. --- Mail subscription order and ad to: VIDEO TRADER, 460 West 34th Street, New York, NY 10001- VIDEO TRADER Ad Form Please check the section your ad is to appear. Equipment 7 For Sale 4 Wanted Programming 7 Offered 4 Wanted 71 VCRS 4 Camcorders 7 Portable VCRs 7 Current Movies 4 Classic Movies TVs 77 Video Discs 4 Accessories 7 Current TV 4 Classic TV © Sports 13 Antiques /Collectibles 3 Other How To 0 Rare/Collector's 4 Other Phone Number: ( ) Please PRINT your ad legibly below. YES, sign me up for a Charter Subscription to the VIDEO TRADER for only $15.00. I’m sending my first ad—part of the $50.00 in free advertis- ing reserved for me. Name (please print) Address City State Zip Rates: Up to 15 words, $5.00; each additional word, 25 cents. Phone number counts as one word. If you prefer name and address, name counts as one word, address counts as one ~ word, city/state/zip counts as one word. Phone will be used unless otherwise instructed. ‘J My payment of $15.00 is enclosed (payable TOTAL WORD COUNT: to VIDEO Magazine) For longer, or additional, ads, attach sheet of paper; same rates. MARCH : For additional information, circle No. 2 on Reader Service Card.

VIDEO magazine WITH MILLIONS INVADING OUR HOMES, President and Managing Director, THE PUBLIC IS FACING A NEW REALITY. Jay Rosenfield Their superior technology makes movies 60% sharper than Editor-in-Chief, Art Levis on ordinary videotape. Their CD soundis almostindistinguish- Managing Editor, Stan Pinkwas able from life’s own music, voices and noise. And, now that Technical Editor, Lancelot Braithwaite they're landing in home after home, only one thing is clearer Senlor Editor, Kenneth Korman than the laserdiscs themselves: if you want to escape reality, Associate Editor, Brent Butterworth you'll have to move to another planet. lasentilice Assistant Editors, Brian Clark, April P. Bernard @ PIONEER: Contributing Editors: Bob Angus, Mavis Arthur, Bob Barlow, Ivan Berger, Warren The Art of Entertainment Berger, Bob Brewin, James Caruso, Steve For a store near you, call 800-421-1404. Daly (Directory), Bruce Eder, Mark Fleischmann, Ty Harrington, Lawrence B. ©1991 Pioneer LDCA, Inc., Long Beach, CA. Johnson, David Lachenbruch, Frank For additional information, circle No. 4. on Reader Service Card. Lovece, Gordon McComb, Marianne Meyer (Kidvid), David Ranada, Murray Slovick, Mike Ueda (Japan), Roderick Woodcock Editorial Assistant, Lily Schwartzberg Art Director, Lonnie Heller Associate Art Director, Kristina Juzaitis Art Assistant, Luis Ramos Jr. Production Manager, James LoGrasso Production Assistant, Janet Barrett Typesetting, Janet M. Holland Vice President, Circulation and Special Projects, Rena Adler Newsstand Sales Director, Gerald Levine Circulation Assistant, Elizabeth Moss Financial Officer, Albert Mineo Business Manager, Janette Evans Assistant to the President, Leslie Dionicio Publisher, Eric C. Schwartz National Advertising Director, Linda DeRogatis Marketing Director, Luanne Rao East Coast Sales, Dina Redding-Berrigan, Annette Y. Schnur Classified Sales, Mary Au Midwest Sales, Milton Gerber, Carolyn Bowman West Coast Sales, Cynthia Gallivan West Coast Advertising Assistant, Caryn Cannova Ad Coordinator, Maria Sozio National Editorial & Sales: 460 West 34 Street, New York, NY 10001; 212-947-6500, 212-947-6727 (fax) Midwest Sales Office: Gerber/Kamikow, 60 Revere Drive, Suite 915, Northbrook, IL 60062; 708-291-8900, 708-291-8905 (fax) West Coast Sales Office: 1453 Third Street, Suite 490, Santa Monica, CA 90401; 213-393-5057, 213-393-5538 (fax) Japan Representative: Yasuo Tachibana, CES International, New Nishishin Building, 1-18-2 Nishi Shinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105; 03-3592-1531 (phone), 03-3592-1532 (fax) REESE COMMUNICATIONS @. INCORPORATED

FEEDBACKEDITED BY BRIAN CLARK LaserViewss America's Laser Disc Magazine Taking aim zine deserve the fullest evaluation of Laser Disc Reviews at the shootout camcorders. But I urge that the next Up-To-Date New Re- “shootout” be based on real-world usage lease Information This letter may be seen as defensive in as a video product designed to capture Informative Articles nature since I have engineering respon- motion, rather than still life. And Interviews sibility for the RCA Pro850 8mm cam- corder. But I feel the “Subcompact A.J. Schick LaserViews® is published Shootout” article in the January issue of Manager, Video Engineering, Americas six times per year, and if Video Magazine is misleading to your you act now, you can receive readers and requires comment. Thomson Consumer Electronics Inc. aFREESUBSCRIPTION. First, the essential element of play- December: January 1991 Our Seventh Year back performance was not evaluated. A disclaimer indicated this was better left Better Dead Than Red?: Michael Caine as spy a to the “Videotests” department. Our Harry Palmer in 1967’s Funeral in Berlin. areve n: 2 viewpoint is that, aside from compact size, the main reason to choose one Making America #8 camcorder over another is overall pic- safe for cinema ture quality. No “shootout” can be com- plete without this parameter. Bruce Eder’s “Seeing Red, Hollywood Now for your eyes- and hands-on Style” (“Gazette,” Dec. ’90) has some tests. If the subject of your evaluations had been 35mm still cameras, we would poorly thought out assertions regarding have no argument. The problem is that camcorders are used to capture moving films as they relate to the collapse of targets, not still subjects, and this differ- communism. First, he ridicules ‘‘red ence must be taken into account during product design and subsequent evalua- scare” films. If these films did not have tion. some elements of truth, then why did Our market surveys covering the pri- communism collapse? Second, he states mary reasons for buying a camcorder show the majority of consumers take that viewers in the future will have diffi- pictures of family memb—eesprecisally children growing up. With this in mind, culty understanding the significance of YES! |want the latest issue right our camcorder designs give primary im- away, and and a free subscription portance to moving targets at all light anti-communism movies. Why? It has for future issues. levels. Focus systems using infrared (IR) technology are the acknowledged lead- been a half-century since Nazism was a Name ers under these conditions. We had the option of using through-the-lens (TTL) threat, and Hollywood still turns out technology in the Pro850, which would have made possible an even smaller “Nazi scare” movies. These films appear camcorder, but we opted to give our cus- tomers the best performance we know to be understood. how under the condition of majority use. If future generations do not recog- A very thorough reader of Video nize the significance of movies about Address Magazine’s article might well have un- derstood that the RCA Pro850 is best communism and fascism, then they for all-around recording. My concern is the casual reader would perceive that could be doomed to repeat both political TTL is the way to go in autofocus, which is not consistent with the best tragedies. Mary Anne Johnson City photography of moving targets, such as an active family. Yorba Linda, California I believe that readers of Video Maga- Getting out the vote State Zip Address correspondence to Feedback, Video Regarding Timothy Huskey’s letter sup- mail to: Magazine, 460 West 34 Street, New York, porting Alabama District Attorney Jim- NY 10001. my Evans and his censorship crusade LaserViews® (“Feedback,” Dec. 90), I believe Evans is a vote seeker. Since a lot of people 561 Bloomfield Ave seem to get apoplectic whenever some- thing of a sexual nature is shown, he’s Verona, NJ 07044 FaiNc3RSCodnioeaenrdf.raciovdldrtie.emicaoretniaoln, found the perfect vehicle to make it 1 800 872-3472 1 201 239-1474 (24 Hr. FAX) MARCH 1991 VIDEO 9

seem he’s for the moral good of the peo- 1990, is our most recent combo TV/ ment formats becoming obsolete as new ple. Get wise, friend. Evans is just a glory VCR and is available in three- and five- and improved formats arise, and stated he would save his money to buy a better seeker who is trampling over the First inch versions. It was the first multistan- dard combo with an LCD screen. All Amendment by denying people access our combos are multistandard. casket, as it would be a one-time buy. to programs for which they have already Charles Azar, Please assure Mr. Tokmakian that many paid, under their own volition with no President of us could recite a similar story if we Instant Replay one holding a gun to their heads. This is had his delightful writing style, but urge how totalitarianism starts. Evans and his him to defer the purchase of a casket. I ilk should not be allowed to get away hear JVC is developing a “beam up” de- with this and similar intrusions into our Cheers and jeers vice that will make the casket obsolete. private lives. Kenneth Hall If the first model is successful, engineers Highland Park, Michigan Cheers for mentioning Panasonic’s WJ- will work on the second phase, one pow- AVE5 A/V mixer and NewTek’s Video erful enough to get him through the Van Combos continued Toaster in your special awards issue Allen belt. Elwood A. Wheatley In reference to “Dynamic Duos” by Mi- (“ViVa Gold!,” Jan. ’91). Jeers for not re- Haddonfield, New Jersey chael Alexander (Dec. ’90), I was disap- pointed that our Business Traveler, for viewing and/or videotesting either prod- iz which we won the CES Design and En- gineering Award in 1985, was not men- uct. I would like to see more creative TECH TIP tioned. The Business Traveler is available in 13- and 20-inch sizes. It was post-production equipment reviewed in preceded by our nine-inch Jet Setter, the first multistandard combo TV/VCR pro- your magazine. Brian Holt duced by our company in 1983. This was some time before other manufacturers Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania mentioned in your article thought of the concept or were even in business. Editor’s reply: Look for a feature on Easy erase NewTek’s Video Toaster in this issue, The LCD1 Traveler, which won the and watch for a ‘“Videotest” of Pan- To remove all remnants of video and au- CES Design and Engineering Award in dio signals from a recorded videocas- asonic’s mixer in an upcoming issue. sette, duplicate a new (blank) cassette onto the old one. This method is much Hold that casket more thorough than using a bulk eraser. In your December ’90 “Feedback,”’ John R. Beideman Aram Tokmakian complained of equip- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania MFJ Super MAKING A GREAT VIDEO Color Video PROCESSOR INCLUDES QUALITY SOUND TOO! —_ {6 Sbiapeancesymeoraccesen Your camera’s microphone is omni-directional, = 68PS alval aw wf wf % meaning that it picks up all sounds, even those you don’t want. And, when shooting from a distance, you MFJ-1452 You can correct poor videos of weddings, sporting events or the won’t pick up the voice of your subject. Azden, the leader in quality audio for video, makes a $29995 kids at dance recital and make plus $6 s/h great copies for everyone! The full line of mics, wireless, zoom, and narration. Here MFU-1452 is the most sophisticated (and are our best-selling models. fun) Video Processor available today. Why? Because you get complete control of contrast. You can expand or compress > ECZ-660 $100 whites to save faded or contrasty videos and increase or decrease blackness of videos that are over or under exposed. You can convert film negaitves to // positives for recording or viewing. You can datdl) invert chrominance and invert luminance for special effects. You can use the enhancer i i r/, and a white ‘‘blob’’ becomes a face with iitiN} | individual eyelashes! Split screen feature — Cty Top of the line ECZ-660 zoom mic. HS-7V headphone gives you side-by-side unenhanced/ “Un - WMS-Pro. enhanced comparision. AVHF wireless sys- w/boom mic. hte tem with over 300 ft You can correct weak colors, color shifts Add narration as you ™N @ i\\ range. Comes with 2 Uni-directional mic and brighten faded videos. Brightness con- f mics, 2 frequencies, record. Picks up trol improves too dark or too light scenes ANY IN *) shoe mount. allows you to zoom in and allows fading in or out. Luminace meter \\\\\\\\i }qq] Gh mI Iil some ambient sound helps you accurately set brightness level. on subjects voices, q ml for ‘‘presence’’. Or reducing side noises. use headphone to monitor sound. v Call today for free catalog or to order 2 positions—narrow & wider. v Full 1 year unconditional guarantee! ii \\| 5 1-800-647-1800 \\ 147 New Hyde Park Rd. MFJ ENTERPRISES, INC. QpUAWLITY 4YO0U )CAN 3HE)AR (516) 328-7500Franklin Square, NY 11010 J|‘OZJUS‘ODU/O}dPO4OUN/IPHJOADDO}JDUEEJWY9SPJ2POD1JU) Louisville. Rd., Starkville, MS 39759 Phn. (601) 323-5869; FAX: (601) 323-6551 For additional information, circle No. 6 on Reader Service Card.

LAST MINUTEBY BRENT BUTTERWORTH Six wild-at-heart video showsto ppers | Magnavox Mighty Mite: Scene Squeezer: Sleek Small Screens: screens, audio/video in- Philips Consumer Elec- puts and improved The 1991 Winter Consumer Electron- tronics jumps into the Explore Technology has Sony's latest additions sound through dynamic ics Show in Las Vegas marked a 8mm camcorder field devised a fast way for to its Watchman line bass boost. The milestone for video. With last year’s this year with two new film fans to access vid- feature stylish curved FDL-370 is a basic TV advanced features becoming this Magnavox camcorders. e0 libraries from their designs, three-inch ac- set, while the FDL-380 year’s standards, camcorders, VCRs The CVM720 (above) tive-matrix color LCD (above) includes an and monitor/receivers displayed a ma- boasts 8x zoom and homes. Its system AM/FM stereo radio. turity undreamed of even two years full-range digital auto- ago. And the supposedly staid audio focus. It weighs just digitally compresses Palm-Sized Preview: field found itself playing catch-up, 1.61 pounds. The any video signal and driven by new demands for better CVM710 is similar, but transmits it via satellite, Don't let the number home theater systems. with a 6x zoom. cable or high-capacity eight on the side of this camcorder fool you—it's The show opened as this issue Super VHS phone lines. A receiver a Compact VHS ma- closed, but we were able to collect With Digital Audio: records the transmis- some of its hottest new products and Now on sale in Japan, sion in minutes, even if chine with an 8x zoom prototypes for Sharp’s Super VHS its a feature-length lens. This spring, GE this special preview. VCR is one of the first movie. On playback, and Panasonic will in- Look for full cov- with digital audio. The the receiver decom- troduce this recon- erage of CES in digital audio is recorded figured, slimmer version | next month's issue. underneath both the presses the signal so it of the Palmcorder with analog hi-fi tracks and can be displayed on a a menu control system Future Fun: the video signal. Sharp accessed through two Nintendo showed off its says the digital tracks Standard monitor. buttons on the left side. | long-awaited 16-bit vid- offer usable frequency eogame system, the response up to 20 kilo- NSMPSLKABSIKHAHOAYSNTAEOGNRPSTREMTYNRLIPEVOPYAS,NESNVTNDN:EOORDX,, Super Famicom, now hertz—well above the on sale in Japan. With performance ceiling of sophisticated graphics, 8mm digital audio, a sleek new design and enhanced sound that includes digital sam- ples, the Super Famicom is one of Ja- pan’s hottest products. Expect a U.S. version | this fall.

sATEIIEEDITED BY KENNETH KORMAN ——— Tangling with tarantulas Big Bob gives the performance of his life Pet Shop Boys: Arachnophobia's professional spider-wranglers show off their stable of talented octopeds. in the horror-comedy feature Arach- into the comfortable plastic condo 503-683-1400) is more an overview of nophobia (Hollywood Pictures Home where he'll likely remain until Holly- the world of home beer brewing. It starts Video), even though he'was shunned by wood beckons once again. with a short segment that clearly dem- his co-stars and forced to spend his time onstrates the basic process, then investi- not in a trailer like the other actors, but —Jami Bernard gates the workings of one of the many in a plastic condo. Birth of a small breweries that have sprung up re- Big Bob is a bird-eating Amazonian brewmaster cently across the country. Next, Charlie tarantula. The film’s human stars, which include John Goodman, Jeff Daniels and Instructional videos of all types cross our Papazian, a noted authority on home Harley Jane Kozak, met Bob at what desks here at Video Magazine— from brewing, launches into a lecture on the | came to be known as Spider Orienta- napkin folding to skateboarding, we've subject’s technical points. The tape tion. The actors fondled the other octo- seen them all. But one recent release, builds up a good head toward the end by peds— such as the smaller spiders used The Video Guide to Homebrewing, showing how to build your own draft to shoot the movie's “crowd” scenes— caught our eye as few how-to cassettes beer setup. but steered clear of Big Bob. Kozak, in ever do. We immediately felt confident particular, was put off by the insects, we had the skills needed for a thorough The real test of The Video Guide to eventually overcoming her fears in time evaluation of the tape. Homebrewing is whether it can actually to play the one character who isn’t teach someone how to whip up an inex- | afraid of them. But all the actors had While it does give specific instruc- pensive brew loaded with that indefin- | unanimous praise for the spiders’ acting tions on making beer, The Video Guide to able, elusive gusto. So in the spirit of abilit—ideespsite the fact that virtually Homebrewing (Producers Studio, all the.cast members had to endure a serving our readers, we gave it a try. spider or two (or ten) walking across The first two-case batch costs be- their faces. tween $50 and $100 to brew, and each “It’s hard to motivate spiders,” con- fides Steven Kutcher, an entomologist who specializes in helping Hollywood deal with insects, and who worked on Arachnophobia. But unlike human ac- tors, spiders will hit their marks when blasted with hot air-or lemon Pledge, both of which make the creatures skitter away. Another spider wrangler for the film, Jules Sylvester, explains that different scenes in Arachnophobia required special types of spiders. The orange-kneed ta- rantula looks good in silhouet—ttehe John Barrymore of the spider set. The Thai bird spider rears up frequently, waving his forelegs in the air, while the Sotiles tarantula from Peru runs very ast. “It’s hilariously easy to make a spider get on his hind legs,” Sylvester admits. He'then puts a paintbrush in front of the stone-faced spider, who pounces on it, then rears back and stays there. To mol- lify.the creature, Sylvester blows gently on his back, and down go the legs. “They don’t do much,” the trainer says cheerfully, paintbrushing Big Bob back 12 VIDEO MARCH 1991

batch after that costs around $15. The first step is to stir a can of malt/hop mix- ture into a gallon of boiling water. This is no job for weak stomachs —the mo- lasseslike mixture smells like the floor drain at Cheers. Add corn sugar and yeast, and pour the results into a five- gallon pail capped with an airlock. After a week or so, siphon the beer into bot- tles and cap them. In three days, you'll have enough beer to get a party of ten singing “Muskrat Love.” Touchstone film releases. Image has also obtained the right to release disc edi- To judge our lager, we conducted a tions of any Disney or Touchstone films currently in the videotape catalog and, blind taste test. A panel of ten experts, according to Bruce Venezia of Image En- selected for their discerning palates and experience in beer drinking (not to tertainment, the laserdisc company plans to meet with Disney to discuss the mention bravery), sampled our beer idea of reissuing past Disney laserdiscs that are currently on “moratorium.” against Guinness Gold, Brooklyn Lager Projects that Venezia indicated Image would look into include letterboxed ver- and Miller High Life (we wanted to beat sions of such wide-screen Disney classics somebody). The cups were marked only as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Lady with letters, and testers ranked the beers and the Tramp and Sleeping Beauty. in order of preference. Dream Discs: Sleeping Beauty and Lady and the One side effect of this new agree- Tramp may be headed for special laser editions. ment with Disney, however, is that Im- The results surprised us. Most testers age has abandoned its release of adult Disney inks films on videodisc, a field in which it was picked our beer, now dubbed Butter- laserdisc pact by far the biggest producer and distribu- tor. “We left the adult movie business worth Gold, as their second or third fa- Image Entertainment and Walt Disney two weeks ago,” Venezia explained dur- Studios have signed an agreement that ing the second week of December. In- vorite. One ranked it first, and only one may prove a boon to Disney disc collec- dustry observers expect another compa- tors but a bane to fans of adult movies ny to fill the gap left by Image’s depar- ranked it last. on laserdisc. ture from the X-rated field sometime in 1991. —Bruce Eder Using a hydrometer, we measured Effective with the recent disc re- leases of Dick Tracy and Pretty Woman, our beer at just over 5 percent alcohol. Image Entertainment has assumed ex- But at Video Magazine, we never rely clusive laserdisc rights to all Disney and solely on measurements when testing a product. Our panel sampled several more bottles while watching the Gi- ants-’49ers game that night, and all agreed the beer’s actual performance was as good as its test numbers indi- cated. —Brent Butterworth War is Hell. As part of a $4 billion economic aid pac’ age, the Japanese government sent 2,000 TV sets and _ VCRs to Saudi Arabia for use by the troops. But when the U.S. requested thousands of Walkman-style radios, major diplomatic snafu occurred. “We cannot find any Flashes case where any government has provided Walkmen (to troops) with its own budget,” a Japanese official told The — Wall Street Journal. It seems that video equipment, un like | the Walkman, is classified as “interior furnishings” and, therefore, carries a wartime precedent as necessary cquipment. At presstime, however, Japanese corporations were expected to pick up the slack with es vate Walkman donations. Free at Last. Sony is giving away a custom-made sampler laserdisc wie any purchase of one of the company’s laserdisc players. Titled Take Five, the © disc contains more than 50 one-minute clips from programs in cach of five categories: blockbusters (including Rain Man and Look Who's Talking), classics. (Ben Hur, North By Northwest), music (The Last Waltz), specialty (For All Baptism of Beer: Staffer Butterworth became the Mankind) and cartoons (Tex Avery's Screwball Classics). The disc will be avail- Sultan of Suds with Guide to Homebrewing. able “as long as supplies last,” according to Sony. JLPGMKBUEROHEZSIGROLEASOTRDIT:IOTIL:INLSAO; MARCH 1991 VIDEO 13

TEGHNIGALLYSTATE OF THE ART OPEAKING How still printers turn tapes into snaps BY STAN PINKWAS virtually any video sourceT—V sets, lution, and to a greater degree in the camcorders, VCRs, laserdisc players, special effects they offer. Depending on When television anchorman Larry Rob- computers and a growing family of still- erts founded the Home Video Network, video components. the model at hand, users can split, mul- an organization for camcorder news- hounds, he publicized the group and a Although video prints cannot match tiply, sequence, reduce or otherwise ma- related videotape by sending editors a the finest film-based prints, they are nipulate the images they capture— packet of disaster photographs made more than merely acceptable. Assuming before printing. from on-the-spot videos shot by mem- a good video source, the printers yield bers. But the photos weren’t conven- clear, vivid images with bright, well-sat- More important, the printers share tional glossies. The images had been urated colors. And their amazing flex- a maturing technology known as ther- captured and processed by a color video ibility makes them suitable for dozens of mal sublimation printing. While the printer in less time than it takes to fully applications. Wallet and passport pho- process is not new, its ability to produce develop a Polaroid print. tos, inventory records, scrapbooks, satisfying and affordable prints is an un- homemade greeting cards and fast sou- heralded technological triumph. Roberts took attention-grabbing ad- venirs of family visits come quickly to vantage of a product just beginning to mind. Even a shelf of old movies be- To achieve it, the printers exploit break out of the professional equipment comes a visual library. Need a picture of advances in digital processing, dye ghetto. Only a short time ago, the most a chimp for a school project? Just plug in chemistry, paper maki—negven the me- economical video printers (known also a VCR and run a Tarzan film. chanics of paper handling. The process as electronic still-image printers) cost several thousand dollars. Pro models still Three companies — Sony, Mitsubishi starts with a video source, either in the start at more than $2,000. But the new- and Hitachi— offer consumer-grade vid- form of a TV show or tape from one of est printers are economical enough for eo printers, at prices ranging from $999 the consumer formats. The signal is fed video enthusiasts to consider seriously. to $1,599. A fourth printer, for $1,300, through the printer, which includes an will be introduced by Panasonic within output jack so that users can visually Not only have video printers the next couple of months. All take achieved breakthrough prices, they’ve from 70 to 100 seconds to produce color “proof ” images on a TV set and adjust done so while improving the resolution images approximately three by four them using the standard hue and tint and richness of the prints they produce. inches in size, framed by white borders. controls on the printer. Most exciting in this new generation of The cost of the prints runs from about printers are the pictures themselves, in- 80 cents to $1.50 each, a range compara- “This gives video photographers an stant paper prints of images pulled from ble to the cost of Polaroid prints. advantage not available to film photo- graphers—30 potential prints per sec- 14 VIDEO MARCH 1991 The printers vary somewhat in reso- ond,” notes Carl Laufer, Panasonic’s national marketing manager for special A audio/video products. “From the stand- point of image accuracy, a person has a Video Printshop: lot more choices available before com- The author pulls his mitting to a final print.” portrait (reproduced above) from the Mit- Once a print order is given, the deck subishi CP10U still captures and stores a single frame or video printer, which is field of video (Mitsubishi’s deck can grab fed by an 8mm cam- either). A decoder breaks the signal into corder (not shown) and its red, green and blue constituents. connected to an NAD monitor for color adjust- Next, a digital-to-analog converter ments. changes the image into digital form. (An analog-to-digital converter reverses the process for the monitor feed.) Just as photographic prints depend on the quality of the negatives from which they're made, the quality of video prints depends on the quality of the vid- eo signal. Prints taken from a live cam- corder feed, for example, look sharper than prints snapped from VHS movies because of the relatively poor resolution of prerecorded tapes. Each printer applies its own process- ing system to the signal information. Sony’s CVP-G500 printer, for example, MLEOSRSIL

| uses six-bit sampling to create 64 con- need for a fourth color pancl. ———f trast levels for each primary color, for a A command to print starts the rib- The heated printing head trans- total of 260,000 colors, the same level bon moving forward, as circuits clse- forms, or sublimates, each dye from a Hitachi claims for its VY-ISA. Mit- where in the deck transfer the digitized solid directly to a gaseous state. One subishi’s CPIOU boasts a slightly higher color signals to a line memory. The color at a time, the evaporated dyes | resolution level and 210,000 colors. Pan- memory circuit regulates the tem- penetrate the special plastic that coats asonic says its PV-VP1 will have 256 perature of a thermal printing head that the print paper. As soon as they hit the contrast levels and 16.8 million colors. will soon be pressed against the heat-re- paper, the dyes solidify. sistant side of the ribbon. During printing, the primary colors One of the attractions of thermal are converted to complementary colors Several hundred individually heated that correspond to dyes layered onto points, each representing one pixel of printing is that it’s a continuous proccss. one side of a removable ribbon that image information, comprise the print- Both the amount of dye a ribbon trans- locks inside the printer. The ribbon is ing head. This is the heart of the proc- fers and the density of a final print are made of a thin, transparent plastic ess —getting cach point to the right directly proportional to the energy known as PET, for polyethylene tele- temperature for the right amount of channeled to the thermal head. This phthalate. Its back is coated with a “slip- time, because it’s the temperatures of creates the potential for high-resolution ping layer’ of resin and lubricant the printing points that determine the images with strong colors. designed to withstand temperatures up accuracy and the density of the colors to 572 degrees Fahrenheit without the dyes deposit. The temperatures, in In Japan, where video printers are a abrading or sticking to the printing turn, are controlled by precisely meas- little more familiar, they’re catching on head. ured pulses of electric current. fast. According to Laufer, this is happen- ing partly because Super VHS equip- The colors, known as sublimal dyes, The ribbon passes between the ther- ment, which can supply printers with are mixed with a heat-resistant binding mal head and a platen roller, vr drum, better source images, is more popular, chemical and arrayed on the ribbon in around which the print paper is and partly because the printer is seen as | groups of three successive pane—lcsach wrapped. As the cartridge slowly sends an extension primarily of the camcorder. one as large as the final prin—tof yellow, “They're looking for more satisfaction | magenta and cyan. Because the printer its ribbon of dye from the main reel to a from their equipment and still printers uses what’s known as a subtractive color receiving reel, the platen rotates three give it,” says Laufer. process, the black that appears in final prints is created by combinations of yel- times, pressing the paper in turn against Will they do the same here? Video | low, magenta and cyan, climinating the each of the three dye panels and the printers are already acquiring sophisti- heated printing head on the other side cated features—Panasonic’s will be able to zoom and crop—a sure sign that ma- of the ribbon. jor manufacturers believe they will. = Guu Macro Terminator Micro Script IV S=eat .& Video Enhancer = oy Fe =@©x New Design = for 1991 Copy Protected Movies. i3oe) (pprlineta)se © The MACRO-TERMINATOR II i7©®7e))s is aprecision digital/analog de- 2a vice that completely eliminates streaks, jitters, color flashing aa caused by Macrovision and 332©re other copy protection. Our exclusive lock indicator light lets you know when itis eliminating a jamming signal. Works on 9 rae) volt battery or wall adaptor, adaptor included. 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VIDEOTESTS ancgor WHS)/(VASTS Panasonic viswus-c Twin system VIDEOTE MBER 577 speed search/play, index, intro and even remaining counter. The T-120 position Panasonic VHS/ / one for finding blank spots on a tape. works for TC-20 cassettes, the T-160 po- VitS-C: VCR sition works for TC-30s and a new auto- There is even direct access to tape seg- matic position lets the machine make its best estimate. ments by counter number and, hidden in the second layer of amenu system, re- A notable absence is the LP record speed, which follows the trend over the peat playback for a segment or the last few years. The deck carries many standard Panasonic features, such as Panasonic is the second to deliver a whole tape. The menu system reduces auto programming of the tuner scan se- quence, onscreen programming, four VCR that accepts Compact VHS cas- myriad setup features to four buttons, video heads and a real-time counter. settes without an adapter. The PV-7000 cutting clutter on the remote and the Description. At 17 pounds, the uses a slide-out drawer with a tilted tem- front panel, but the user must remember PV-7000 is a bit heavier than most cur- plate to position a VHS-C cassette. It is what features exist and how to find rent VHS machines. The upper two- not equipped to record or play Super them. If not, the adage “out of sight, thirds of the front panel has a power VHS cassettes or hi-fi sound. It has the out of mind” holds true. button and indicator at the far left, fol- The PV-7000 also boasts unusual lowed by a large area that slides out to appearance of an uncomplicated, no- features like a video stabilizer to reduce frills machine. Appearances are deceiving in this vertical jitter, and V-lock, which stops case. One look at the remote reveals picture rolling. Another new wrinkle is many search systems, including multi- the three-position switch for the time- Panasonic DATA Video Heads: 4 nel up and down, index—auto mark, 87 channels, Suggested Price: rewind/search, play, search up to 99 marks unspecified PV-7000 $400 Variable Speeds: stop, fast forward/ in either direction; VHS/VHS-C VER no audio—1/30x, 1/24x, search, pause/still, re- counter go-to Timer: Weight: 1/18x, 1/12x, 1/6x, 2x, cord, variable search 8-event/1-month VMPLEIOHSDROESTOIOTLGELRSOATPHS: 17 pounds 3x, 5x (SP), 7x, 11x, speed up and down, Linear Audio: 16 VIDEO MARCH 1991 18x (SLP), 21x (SLP), skip/blank, intro mono Special Features: Dimensions: 31x (SLP) (search), index, VCR 4-1/4 x 17-1/4 x 15-1/8 menu, select, set minus Tuning Method: auto play speed select, inches (h/w/d) Cue & Review and plus, (record) frequency synthesis still frame, counter (Search): speed, day, timer, can- memory, auto rewind, Power Requirements: locking—7x, SP; 21x, cel, counter memory Channel Selectors: separate eject (open/ 120 VAC, 60 Hz SLP; non-locking—7x, and reset, input, add, programmable scan on close), AFT, channel SP; 13x, SLP delete, go-to and 10- VCR; scan plus direct Power Consumption: digit keypad; TV—pow- access on remote lock, auto channel- 21 W Fast Forward/ er, volume up and change Rewind Time: down, channel up and Preset Method: Tape Formats: about 2-1/2 min. for down, mute and sleep auto preset and manual Absent Features: | VHS/VHS-C T-120 add/delete flying erase head, Counter Digits: Tape Speeds: Remote: 5—hrs:mins:secs Broadcast Tuning frame advance, remote record—SP, SLP; play- IR wireless with buttons shared with date dis- Range: pause, audio dub, video back—SP, LP (no for VCR power, open/ play 2 to 13, 14 to 69 dub, insert edit, hi-fi au- effects), SLP close, VCR/TV, recall, monitor, display, chan- Program Start Cable Tuning Range: dio Locator/Index/Cue: Accessories: remote control with bat- teries, antenna cable

No Adapter Required: VIDEOTEST NUMBER 578 grip is the battery compartment and The tape tray on Pan- asonic’s PV-7000 Canon H18 camcorder sports viewfinder, which has a large with graphics and hood and a focusing magnifier that lets.a accepts VHS and Com- music chips user see the screen at a distance. The pact VHS cassettes. run/stop button and zoom rocker occupy Canon’s H850 is the first camcorder the usual spots, and the battery release accept either a VHS or VHS-C cassette. with plug-in chips that generate graphics catch sits at the front. A catch on the In the cassette compartment, a sloping and sound. Some of the graphics are body locks the viewfinder/grip position. flap holds VHS cassettes at an angle un- even animated. The current chip selec- A column at the back contains jacks for til the drawer closes. A hole in the flap tion includes seven for graphics and four LANC (Control L) remote control, ster- lets VHS-C cassettes sit flat and centers for music. The TA-1 graphics chip sup- the tiny cassette’s rewind reel over the plied with the camcorder has superim- eo audio output, S-video in/out, mono rewind spindle. The drawer is best posable graphics for demo mode, “3-2-1 audio in/out, DC out for the RF adapter closed using the open/close button, but Start,” “The End,” “Happy Birthday,” and video in/out. gentle pressure on the top of aVHS cas- an animated helicopter, paint wash and “To Be Continued.” Other chips, with The cassette hatch occupies most of sette, the flap or the drawer also works. seven to ten graphics each, use such themes as kids, events, holidays, wed- the rear left side. At the front, a micro- The remainder of the front panel’s dings and sports. The music chip themes phone power jack sits above three rows top band holds indicators for VHS, of buttons. In the top row are buttons VHS-C, auto tracking and the video include kids, classics, events and Ameri- stabilizer, plus a multifunction display. can favorites. for date/time, color and character dis- The lower third of the panel has a win- play. The middle row contains buttons dow for the remote sensor and buttons The H850 also generates two lines of for open/close, stop and play. It also for autofocus/auto tracking (ATF)/man- 16 characters each in eight colors, and a continued on page 82 memorized digital title captured through ual focus, plus select on and off for the the lens. The digital title may be used in graphics chip. At the bottom are but- RESULTS SP—100 Hz-10 kHz, -3 normal or reverse mode, in 16 density levels with or without a see-through ef- tons for fade, music select and music on. dB; SLP—100 Hz-4 fect. Date and character graphics may Horizontal Resolution: | kHz, -3 dB be combined with either chip graphics A compartment at the bottom holds or digital titles, but chip graphics and a switch for music low/music high/music 240+ lines digital titles may not be combined. Oth- only, and buttons for digital memory, er camcorder features include tracking white balance lock and shutter speed. Linear Audio S/N: autofocus, a self-timer with ten- or 30- Between the buttons and the cassette second delay and an interval timer that hatch sits the chip compartment, which accommodates two chips. The cam- records 0.5-second bursts every ten, 20 corder can use one graphics and one or 60 seconds. music chip, or two of one type at once. At the front is the lens with manual fo- Description. Within the H850’s cus ring and zoom lever. The power and eject buttons sit on top, along with the accessory shoe and the stereo mic. The rear panel has buttons for char- acter title/date/set, shift and self-timer. Two buttons offer plus and minus adjust- continued on page 78 Unweighted: padioDistortion: ane ie Video S/N, Weighted: RATINGS SaBP—51 dB; SLP—50.6 Picture Quality: very good Chroma AM S/N: Audio Quality: SP—46.3 dB; SLP— average 45.2 dB Operational Ease: good Chroma PM S/N: Overall Performance: SP—40.9 dB; SLP— good : 39.6 dB Audio Frequency Response: Tasty Chips: Plug-in chips give Canon’s H850 computerlike graphics and sound. MARCH 1991 VIDEO 17

“FREALISTIC.. 000i osc paver ON SCREEN =digital EDIT RANDOM PLAY PHONES ——-———~ LEVEL PROGRAM x tea SKIP/ASMS, Pt tt SEARCH ome 4 TIMES OVERSAMPLING + LAST SCENE MEMORY Radlo Shack Goes Round: Radio Shack’s first laserdisc player, the Realistic MD-1000, features digital audio with 4x oversampling. VIDEOTEST NUMBER 579 turn a laserdisc manually to see the sec- Radio Shack ond side. However, it offers a bounty of combi player features, including still, step and multi- Radio Shack’s entry into the marketing of laserdisc players brings to the format speed play from CAV discs; search, skip an accessibility that is sure to enhance its popularity. Radio Shack has a single chapter/track, intro scan of chapter be- REALISTIC model, the Realistic MD-1000, which plays 12- and eight-inch laserdiscs, five- ginnings, random play for up to 99 inch CD-Videos and CDs, and three- inch CDs. Like other combination play- tracks, programmed playback for up to ers, the MD-1000 reduces the number of components needed to accommodate 20 chapters or tracks, and a variety of headphone jack and a headphone level | the several varieties of video and audio repeat play options. discs now available. | control sit below. The large central area | The MD-1000 is a basic model that Users can also directly access any has a comprehensive display, a remote plays one side at a time. You have to chapter/track, time on CLV discs and sensor and buttons for ten digits, ten- CDs, and frame on CAV discs. The deck plus and clear. can even select which tracks will give The display has symbols for digital the best fit on a videotape you're making audio, CX, LD and CDV; digits for if you specify the length of the cassette. chapter, track, time and frame; a chap- Description. The MD-1000 is ter/track readout and legends for edit, black and simply styled. A door for discs memo, intro, I/L, 2/R, random, repeat, and buttons for open/close, stop and A-B, chapter/track, all side and over. All play run across the top of the front pan- the symbols light when power is on but el. The power button, a quarter-inch | no disc is in the machine. Realistic MD-1000 and CLV discs; 5-inch or chapter; CLV, CD-V Separate Eject: stereo cables, antenna | +0.8/-0.7 dB; analog— | Combi Player CD-Vs; 5- and 3-inch and CD—by time and open/close CDs chapter/track transformer and 75-ohm | 20 Hz-20 kHz, DATA Counter Digits: cable with F-connector | +0.5/-2.3 dB Suggested Price: Disc Speeds: Cue & Review frame—5, time—4, min- CAV—1,800 rpm; (Search): utes and seconds, 5 chelate Digital Audio | $500 CLV—600-1,800 rpm; maximum end-to-end chapter/track—2 CD-V—2,700-1,800 1 min. RESULTS | Doynnamiisc Range: Weight: tpm; CD-V audio and Counter Memory: 19 pounds CD—1.2-1.4 m/sec Remote: A and B Horizontal Resolution: |ansiog Audio SIN: | | Dimensions: Play Speed Select: IR wireless with buttons 63.2dB | 4-7/8 x 17 x 15-1/2 automatic for power, open/close, Program Start inches (h/w/d) auto-digital/analog, au- Locator/Index/Cue: Masel Audio Distortion: | Power Requirements: Still Frame: dio monitor, repeat A-B, frame, time, chapter/ || 120 VAC, 60 Hz CAV discs only repeat one/all, TV/disc, track, program 46.7 dB - digital—0.03%, Power Consumption: display, still/step for- 36 W Frame Advance: ward and reverse, AFM Audio: analog—0.4% Formats: CAV discs only program, clear, 10-digit stereo/dual mono 8- and 12-inch CAV keypad, 10+, search Video S/N, Weighted: RATINGS Multispeed Play: frame/time, skip/ASMS Digital Audio: 54.4 dB bidirectional—3x, 2x, (chapter/track) forward stereo/dual mono 4C8hrdoBma AM S/N: Picture Quality: 1/2x, 1/4x, 1/8x, 1/16x, and reverse, search for- good/very good 1/30x and 1/90x; CAV ward and reverse, intro Accessories: Chroma PM S/N: |_| discs only scan, stop, pause, play, remote control without Audio Quality: ist and multispeed, forward batteries, video and ab2.08 very good || Rapid Search: and reverse CAV—by frame number Audio Frequency Operational Ease: Response: | very good digital—20 Hz-20 kHz, Overall Performance: good/very good VIDEO MARCH 1991

Scorpions: Crazy World Bette Midler: Heart: Brigade Anita Baker: Compo- Steve Winwood: Cinderella: Heartbreak ' (Mercury) 14795 Some People’s Lives (Capitol) 64305 sitions (Elektra) 00921 Refugees Of The Heart Station (Mercury) 73694 (Atlantic) 53568 Neil Young: Ragged Billy Idol: Charmed Life (Virgin) 54232 M.C. Hammer: Please Glory (Reprise) 34621 (Chrysalis) 62264 Jon Bon Jovi: Blaze Of Hammer, Don’t Hurt Bruce Hornsby & The Garth Brooks Sinéad O’ Connor: | Do Clint Black: Put Glory (Mercury) 44490 ‘Em (Capitol) 34791 Range: A Night On The (Capitol) 33963 Not Want What | Haven’t Yourself In My Shoes Town (RCA) 63689 Diana Ross & The Got (Chrysalis) 33512 (RCA) 24690 Jeff Healey Band: Hell Traveling Wilburys: Supremes: 20 Greatest The Who: Who’s To Pay (Arista) 00544 Volume One Janet Jackson's Hits (Motown) 63867 Better, Who’s Best Stevie Wonder: (Warner Bros.) 00711 Rhythm Nation Anderson, Bruford, (MCA) 00790 20 Love Songs Keith Sweat: I'll Give Wakeman, Howe Lynyrd Skynyrd: (Motown) 43886 All My Love To You Jeff Lynne: (ASM) 72506 (Arista) 01115 Skynyrd’s Innyrds (Elektra) 51603 Armchair Theatre Marvin Gaye: 15 Pat Metheny: (MCA) 01150 Deep Purple: Slaves & (Reprise) 00803 Greatest Hits Question And Answer Masters (RCA) 11145 The Judds: Love (Motown) 53534 (Geffen) 73522 Guy!: Guy!...The Future Keith Whitley: Greatest Can Build A Bridge Tom Petty: Full Moon (MCA) 14875 Hits (RCA) 10728 (RCA) 24549 Fever (MCA) 33911 Billy Idol: Vital Idol Chicago: Greatest Hits Pretty Woman/Sdtk. (Chrysalis) 54038 1982-1989 (Reprise) Lionel Richie: (EMI) 34631 Poison: Flesh & Blood Roy Orbison : 63363 The Composer (Capitol) 50207 A Black & White Night Dave Grusin: Collection Kentucky Headhunters: (Motown) 24700 Barry Manilow: (Virgin) 64495 (GRP) 00929 Pickin’ On Nashville Cher: Heart Of Stone Live On Broadway Quincy Jones: (Mercury) 24740 (Geffen) 42874 (Arista) 24805 Back On The Block George Harrison: Best Stevie B: Love And Horowitz At Home Acoustic Alchemy: (Warner Bros.) 64116 Of Dark Horse Emotion (RCA) 00539 (DG) 25211 Reference Point Boogie Down Produc- (Dark Horse) 80307 Bon Jovi: New Jersey (GRP) 82967 tions: Edutainment Replacements: Miles Davis: (Mercury) 00516 Soul Il Soul: Vol. Il- (Jive) 63675 All Shook Down Dionne Warwick Birth Of The Cool 16 #1 Motown Hits 1990-A New Decade Chuck Berry: The Great (Warner Bros.) 83585 Sings Cole Porter (Capitol ) 54138 From The Early ‘60s (Virgin) 00567 28 (Chess) 64137 (Arista) 53326 (Motown) 74336 Best Of Robert Palmer: Best Of Buffalo Randy Travis: Paul Simon: Graceland Bonnie Raitt: Nick Of Addictions Springfield: Retro- Heroes And Friends Gershwin, Overtures/ (Warner Bros.) 72315 Time (Capitol) 54410 (Island) 10819 spective (ATCO) 00844 (Warner Bros.) 74597 McGlinn (Angel) 70391 Neil Diamond: The Jazz Madonna: I’m Guns N’ Roses: Singer (Capitol) 32877 Hank Williams, Jr.: Breathless (Sire) 00572 Morrissey: Bona Drag Allman Bros. Band: Appetite For Destruc- World Party: Goodbye Lone Wolf Vixen: Rev It Up (Sire) 00578 Eat A Peach tion (Geffen) 70348 Jumbo (Chrysalis) 33536 (Warner Bros.) 64311 (EMI) 54615 (Polydor) 63353 Eagles: Greatest Hits, Bird/Original Megadeth: Rust In Clint Black: Killin’ Time Vol. 2 (Asylum) 63318 Recordings Of Charlie The Best Of Sheena Peace (Capitol) 11053 Mermaids/Soundtrack (RCA) 01112 Don Henley: Building Parker (Verve) 01044 Easton (EMI) 01000 (Geffen) 14856 The Perfect Beast Best Of Dire Straits: Jasmine Guy Marc Ribot: Rootless (Geffen) 50129 Money For Nothing Daryl! Hall & John (Warner Bros.) 54384 Def Leppard: High 'N’ Cosmopolitans (Warner Bros.) 00713 Oates: Change Of Dry (Mercury) 43601 (Island) 53794 The Very Best Of Season (Arista) 00543 The Beach Boys: Pet Connie Francis The Police: Every Sounds (Capitol) 00513 (Polydor) 23434 Breath You Take—The Singles (A&M ) 73924 The Best Of Little Frank Sinatra: Capitol Anthony & The Collector’s Series Imperials (Rhino) 33581 (Capitol) 64362 The Robert Cray Band: Larry Carlton: Midnight Stroll Collection (GRP) 00838 (Mercury) 73659 Grateful Dead: Built To Last (Arista) 72230 Air Supply: Greatest Kronos Quartet: Black Hits (Arista) 34424 Angels (Elektra) 62287 Ratt: Detonator Concrete Blonde: (Atlantic) 63335 Bloodletting (I.R.S.) 84212 Nelson: After The Rain (DGC) 74079 Bobby Brown: Dance! ...Ya Know It ZZ Top: Afterburner (MCA) 73660 (Warner Bros.) 64042 Highway 101: Greatest Hits Norrington: Beethoven, (Warner Bros.) 83480 Symphony No.9 (Choral) (Angel) 00467 John Denver: Greatest Hits (RCA) 13777 Van Halen Jimi Hendrix: Kiss The (Warner Bros.) 14620 Sky (Reprise) 61349 Lee Ritenour: Color Rit The Platters: Golden (GRP) 53959 Hits (Mercury) 01129 Best Of Eric Clapton: Time Pieces (Polydor) 23385 Best Of The Monkees: Then & Now (Arista) 53183 Kenny Rogers: Greatest Hits (Liberty) 50019 Paula Abdul: Forever Your Girl (Virgin) 00933 You get 50%- off bonus savings with every CD you buy at regular Club prices...right with your very first purchase...unlike other clubs that first make you buy 4,6 or more.

Al B. Sure!: Private Aerosmith: Pum Faith No More: The Real | Times And The Whole 9 (Geffen) 63678 . Thing (Reprise) 63719 (Warner Bros.) 64332 : Depeche Mode: Violator Vince Gill: Jane’s Addiction: Ritual (Sire) 73408 When | Call Your Name de lo Habitual (MCA) 63474 (Warner Bros.) 10020 Tesla: The Great Radio Controversy Simon & Garfunkel: The The Time: (Geffen) 00839 Concert In Central Park Pandemonium (Warner Bros.) 44006 (Paisley Park) 52225 Prince: Graffiti Bridge (Paisley Park) 34107 Pebbles: Always Cat Stevens: Classics (20 Greatest Hits) Sting: Nothing Like The (MGA) Abs (A&M) 44551 Sun (A&M ) 73965 Van Morrison: Jethro Tull: GinleTnhne MDiilglietralOrMcohoedstra: © eaaeeatleeetde 53574 Original Masters (Chrysalis) 63846 (GRP) 43293 Motley Criie: Dr. Feelgood Extreme: Pornograffitti Steve Winwood: (Elektra) 33928 (A&M) 43557 Chronicles (Hits) (Island) 34501 Bell Biv DeVoe: Poison Monie Love: Down To (MCA) 00547 Earth (Reprise) 44752 Johnny Gill Atlantic Records Hit (Motown) 00738 Singles (1958-77) (Atlantic) 10514 Ralph Tresvant (MCA) 14889 Quincy Jones: Classics (18 Greatest Hits) The Waterboys: (A&M) 04895 Room To Roam (Chrysalis) 74255 Def Leppard: Pyromania Garth Brooks: No Boston: Third Stage ‘ (Mercury) 70402 Fences (Capitol) 73266 (MCA) 73392 Whitney Houston: M.C. Hammer: Fleetwood Mac: The Big Chill/ Sdtk. I''m Your Baby Let’s Get It Started Greatest Hits (Motown ) 33970 Tonight 10663 (Capitol) 01143 (Warner Bros.) 00796 Marcus Roberts: Deep Tommy James & The Best Of The Doobie In The Shed (Novus) Shondells: Anthology 73646 (Rhino) 44185 Brothers (Warner Bros.) 43738 Technotronic: Pump Up Elton John: Greatest The Jam-The Album Hits, Vol. 1 (MCA) 63322 Bing Crosby: Greatest Hits (MCA) 04709 (SBK) 34781 Beach Boys: Made In U.S.A. (Capitol) 64143 Bryan Adams: Reckless (A&M) 51540 Pat Benatar: Best Shots (Chrysalis) 44319 Rod Stewart: Sing It Again (Mercury) 00942 Kenny G: Live (Arista) 64505 The Moody Blues: Start with COMPACT DISCS NOW Greatest Hits pay only shipping & handling with membership (Threshold) 34284 Rippingtons: Welcome Buy just smash hit in one year's time To The St. James’ Club Then get CDs of your choice, FREE* (GRP) 74613 YES, please accept my membership in the BMG Compact Huey Lewis & The Enjoy #4 CDs for the price of one Disc Club and send my first four selections as | have News: Sports indicated here under the terms of this offer. |need buy just (Chrysalis) 44448 START WITH 4 COMPACT DISCS NOW! one more CD at regular Club prices during the next year— Yes, start with any 4 compact discs shown here! U2: Rattle And Hum You need buy just 1 more hit at regular Club after which | can choose 3 more CDs FREE! That's 8 CDs (Island) 00596 prices (usually $14.98—$15.98), and take up to for the price of one...with nothing more to buy, ever! (A one full year to do it. Then choose 3 more CDs shipping/handling charge is added to each shipment.) The Mamas & The FREE. That's 8 CDs for the price of 1...with Papas: 16 Greatest Hits nothing more to buy...ever! (A shipping/handling (MCA) 80183 charge is added to each shipment.) The Winans: Return (Qwest) 00530 John Cougar Mellencamp: Big Daddy (Mercury) 80064 RUSH ME Jimi Hendrix: Electric Ladyland THESE CDs NOW (Reprise) 23362 (indicate by number): Eric Clapton: Journeyman HOW THE CLUB OPERATES (Warner Bros.) 53940 You select from hundreds of exciting CDs 1am most interested in described in the Club's magazine which is | the following type of 1 0 EASY LISTENING (instrumentals/Vocal Moods) Tone-Loc: Loc-Ed After music-- Dark (Delicious) 01033 mailed to you approximately every three weeks 20. COUNTRY 3(C1) HARD ROCK but | am always free to Foreigner: Records (19 times a year). Each issue highlights a Fea- choose from any category 4 OC POP/SOFT ROCK 5 O CLASSICAL (Atlantic) 53317 tured Selection in your preferred music cate- (check one only): R.E.M.: Eponymous (I.R.S.) 00701 gory, plus alternate selections. If you'd like the Featured Selection, do nothing. Itwill be sent to Richard Marx: Repeat you automatically. If you'd prefer an alternate Offender (EMI) 01118 selection, or none at all, just return the card First Name Initial Last Name (PLEASE PRINT) Dwight Yoakam: If enclosed with each issue of your magazine by There Was A Way Apt. (Reprise) 64310 the date specified on the card. You will have at Address The Sundays: Reading, least 10 days to decide or you may return your Writing And Arithmetic (DGC) 63175 Featured Selection at our expense. Cancel your membership at any time after completing your enrollment agreement simply by writing to us, or City State Grateful Dead: remain and take advantage of bonus savings. American Beauty Telephone ( FREE 10-DAY TRIAL t (Warner Bros.) 34539 Listen to your 4 introductory selections for a full Area Code Cat Stevens: Classics 10 days. If not satisfied, return them with no fur- (20 Greatest Hits) ther obligation. You send no money now, so complete the postpaid reply card and mail it (A&M) 44551 today. eS IWS CS. Signature Elvis Presley: 18 No. 1 *A shipping/handling charge is added to each shipment. Hits (RCA) 72190 COMPACT fr %fe reserve the right to request additional . = F.4=< s Steve Winwood: Roll Sisc information or rejectanyapplication.Limitedto With It (Virgin) 54633 new members, continental only.One d Peter Gabriel: Security |” (Geffen) 53801 CD706 BMG Compact Disc Club, 6550 E. 30th St., —fotT)- 4 erga per family. Local taxes, if any, will be ACTFF Indianapolis,IN46219-1194. TRADEMARKS USED IN THE ADV'T ARE THE PROPERTY OF VARIOUS TRADEMARK OWNERS

a> TMACULATE MImamdaocnunlaa:teThCeollection Vanilla Ice: To The Fine Young Cannibals: (Sire) 54164 Extreme (SBK) 24689 TGhee eRawce& eThe Cooked Edie Brickell and New Lynch Mob: Bohemians: Ghost Of A Wicked Sensation Debbie Gibson: Dog (Geffen) 73923 Winger: In The (Elektra) 11076 (AAntylatnhtiicn)g 2I4s 8P1o5s= sible Emmylou Harris: se Heart Of The Young Wilson Phillips Heart: Brigade Bill (Atlantic) 00:570 (SBK) 00726 ee —\" Dog’sOeala In (Cap3 itol) 64305 Sue‘00 kaSihorts: e Short (Ch C1h0,e0s0t0 (MEalneiktarcas): 4H4o3p4e0 Asia: Then & Now NGeliolryYou(nRge:priRsaeg)g3e4d621 (Geffen) 93:358 ee ae: Sin Garth Brooks T(Ih.eR.SA.)lar2m4:76S5tandards Scorpions: Crazy World Bette Midler: Diana Ross & The — I (Mercury) 14795 Some People’s Lives Supremes: 20 Greatest (MC . Y SIE itarmer: Please (Atlantic) 53568 Hits (Motown) 63867 ‘HEammme(rCa,pitoDlo)n’t347H9u1rt RBarnucgee: HoArnNisgbhyt &OnThTehe Atreat aBrufy wa Sa>o E 1 I Traveling Wilburys: Town (RCA) 63689 (Arista) 01115 (MC ec | si Ca = Volume One Janet Jackson's Pat Metheny: Qn ate Us Ii (Warner Bros.) 00711 Rhythm Nation Question And Answer o w =z 5 Jeff Lynne: (A&M) 72386 (Geffen) 73522 ° o \"ie Armchair Theatre Marvin Gaye: 15 z= z I (Reprise) 00803 Greatest Hits = ' Tom Petty: Full Moon (Motown) 53534 I Fever (MCA) 33911 Billy Idol: Vital Idol | Se Oriieon : (Chrysalis) 54038 ar A(ViBrglianc)k 6&44W9h5ite Night (DGaRvPe) Gr0u0s9i2n9: Collection » _== 4 George Harrison: Best Stevie B: Love And ——=—s pe | © “= | (M_C —————— Of Dark Horse Emotion (RCA) 00539 mom fe) “= 4 | enim —= 1 (Dark Horse) 80307 Miles Davis: NE <q 5 Nm The f=aa) (o>1 ) ' Dionne Warwick Birth Of The Cool a = Sings Cole Porter (Capitol )54138 ———. coal oDO (Arista) 53326 Paul Simains Grassland Chicago: Greatest Hits re =< tH “== iIT 613938623-1989 (Reprise) Zz n O QeoI) Po= | GMecrGslhiwninn:, (AOnvgeerlt)ur7e0s3/91 G(Wuanrsnerlt BRreosw.:e)c: 72315 Act f<al 7wpi) Kentucky Heedhunters: O st == J Allman Bros. Band: Appetite For Destruc- (ar >wal z~ | o8c tion (Geffen) 70348 ren noaranne, a. < ” =I Eat A Peach Clint Black: Killin’ Time, pit ‘ Sor D zm (RCA) 01112 niche Sica q > == 1i ie (DG) 25 199 lus fo = me -Mermaids/Soundtrack (Vir Qa (Geffen) 14856 Marc Ribot: Rootless Bon Jovic New seca : ~ ee Bes = : (CIosslamnod)pol5i3t7a9n4s (MMercury) \"00516 y Adi a..7oO = O22faN} (wdep) —I (Isk D_Dreyf L(eMpepracrudry:) Hi4g3h601'N’ 16 #1 Motown Hits iZzad tq — a_—4 From The Early ‘60s Hat oaO--O | w~) = ay S © o. = | (LWore = ar o 1I : pt Ox = (Motown) 74336 Birt dp) aT O02 Bonnie Raitt: Nick Of PRaerc a = x =| Time (Capitol) 54410 Bes LU lu O ao. s e= e Neil Diamond: The Jazz 6 pea 4(/p)) 9 a @) Q | Singer (Capitol) 32877 ™ < a<e oat‘ — (Po World Party: Goodbye Tmpm) 2 | Jnuembo ‘(ChryYsalis) A3s3536 You get 50%-: off bonus savi;n.gs wit: h vor |Aavun) Gant o) Oo. i every CD you buy at regular Club eas ane —_ & I prices...right with your very first eee aa} oc | (Geffen) 50129 i purchase...unlike other clubs that first iL 4 make you buy 4,6 or more.

Traveling Wilburys, The Cure: Mixed Up Pavarotti, Carreras Al B. Sure!: Private Aerosmith: Pump Faith No More: The Real Volume 3 (Elektra) 74190 & Domingo: Times And The Whole 9 (Geffen) 63678 Thing (Reprise) 63719 (Warner Bros.) 24817 Live In Concert (Warner Bros.) 64332 Depeche Mode: Violator Anthrax: Persistence Of (London) 35078 (Sire) 73408 Vince Gill: INXS: X (Atlantic) 64378 Time (island) 83468 Don Henley: The Jane’s Addiction: Ritual Tesla: The Great When | Call Your Name End Of The Innocence de lo Habitual Radio Controversy (MCA) 63474 Styx: Edge Of The Spyro Gyra: Fast (Geffen) 01064 (Warner Bros.) 10020 (Geffen) 00839 Century (A&M) 74498 Forward (GRP) 00829 Eagles: Their Greatest Prince: Graffiti Bridge Simon & Garfunkel: The Hits, Vol. 1 (1971-75) The Time: (Paisley Park) 34107 Concert In Central Park Styx: Classics Paula Abdul: Shut Up (Asylum) 23481 Pandemonium Sting: Nothing Like The (Warner Bros.) 44006 (14 Greatest Hits) And Dance (The Dance (Paisley Park) 52225 Sun (A&M) 73965 (A&M) 14822 Mixes) (Virgin) 80326 AC/DC: The Razor's Glenn Miller Orchestra: Pebbles: Always Edge (ATCO) 33379 Cat Stevens: Classics In The Digital Mood (MCA) 11001 Jimmy Buffett Live!: Slaughter: Stick It To Ya George Benson/Count (20 Greatest Hits) (GRP) 43293 Feeding Frenzy (Chrysalis) 42308 Basie Orch.: Big Boss (A&M) 44551 Steve Winwood: Van Morrison: (MCA) 24853 Band (Warner) 13519 Chronicles (Hits) Astral Weeks The Best Of Steely Dan: Pump Up The Volume/ Jethro Tull: (Island) 34501 (Warner Bros.) 53574 The Steve Miller Band: Decade (MCA) 54135 Sdtk. (MCA) 44606 Original Masters Greatest Hits (1974-78) Rod Stewart: Greatest (Chrysalis) 63846 Garth Brooks: No Motley Criie: (Capitol) 33199 16 #1 Motown Hits Hits (Warner) 33779 Fences (Capitol) 73266 Dr. Feelgood From The Late ‘60s Peter Gabriel: So Extreme: Pornograffitti Fleetwood Mac: (Elektra) 33928 The Bonnie Raitt (Motown) 64334 (Geffen) 14764 (A&M) 43557 Greatest Hits Collection Marcus Roberts: Deep (Warner Bros.) 00796 Bell Biv DeVoe: Poison (Warner Bros.) 00569 Roy Hargrove: in The Shed (Novus) Monie Love: Down To Best Of The Doobie (MCA) 00547 Diamond In The Rough 73646 Earth (Reprise) 44752 Brothers Take 6: So Much 2 Say (Novus) 14893 Mystery Of The (Warner Bros.) 43738 Johnny Gill (Reprise) 53580 Bulgarian Voices, Vol. 2 Atlantic Records Hit Bing Crosby: Greatest (Motown) 00738 The Cars: (Nonesuch) 54525 Singles (1958-77) Hits (MCA) 04709 Great Love Songs Of Greatest Hits Bob Marley: Legend (Atlantic) 10514 Ralph Tresvant The '50s & ‘60s, Vol. 1 (Elektra) 53702 (Reggae Classics) (MCA) 14889 (Laurie) 20768 (Island) 53521 Quincy Jones: Classics The London Muddy Lita Ford: Stiletto (18 Greatest Hits) The Waterboys: John Williams/Boston Waters Sessions (RCA) 63893 (A&M) 04895 Room To Roam Pops: Pops In Space (MCA) 24746 Best Of Mitch Ryder & (Chrysalis) 74255 (Philips) 05392 The Detroit Wheels: Rev Def Leppard: Pyromania INXS: Kick Up (Rhino) 64188 (Mercury) 70402 Boston: Third Stage David Benoit: Inner (Atlantic) 53606 Najee: Tokyo Blue (MCA) 73392 Motion (GRP) 64286 (EMI) 44482 M.C. Hammer: Jeffrey Osborne: Only Queensryche: Let's Get It Started The Big Chill/ Sdtk. Twin Peaks/TV Sdtk. Human (Arista) 00545 Operation: Mindcrime (Capitol) 01143 (Motown ) 33970 (Warner Bros.) 63540 (EMI) 54451 Night Ranger: Live In Bon Jovi: Slippery When Tommy James & The Marcus Roberts: Deep Dirty Dancing/Sdtk. Japan (MCA) 34306 Wet (Mercury) 43465 Shondells: Anthology In The Shed (Novus) (RCA) 82522 Billy Ocean: Greatest (Rhino) 44185 73646 Solti: Tchaikovsky, Hits (Jive) 24510 James Brown: The CD 1812 Overture Elton John: Greatest Technotronic: Pump Up Of JB (Polydor) 43431 (London) 25179 Hits, Vol. 1 (MCA) 63322 The Jam-The Album (SBK) 34781 Fleetwood Mac: Pixies: Bossa Nova Beach Boys: Made In Behind The Mask (Elektra) 53773 U.S.A. (Capitol) 64143 Bryan Adams: Reckless (Warner Bros.) 43766 (A&M) 51540 Buddy Holly: From The Pat Benatar: Best Shots Supertramp: Classics Original Master Tapes (Chrysalis) 44319 Rod Stewart: Sing It (14 Greatest Hits) (MCA) 20069 Again (Mercury) 00942 (A&M) 04891 Kenny G: Live Elvis Presley: The (Arista) 64505 Start with COMPACT DISCS NOW Black Crowes: Shake Great Performances Your Moneymaker (RCA) 60752 The Moody Blues: pay only shipping & handling with membership (Def American) 52142 Greatest Hits Stairway To Heaven, (Threshold) 34284 Buy just 1 smash hit in one year's time Kitaro: Kojiki Highway To Hell (Geffen) 43758 (featuring Bon Jovi, Rippingtons: Welcome Then get 3 CDs of your choice, FREE* Motley Crile, others) To The St. James’ Club Etta James: Sticking To (Mercury) 44573 (GRP) 74613 Enjoy 8 CDs for the price of one My Guns (Island) 81646 Linda Ronstadt: Cry Huey Lewis & The Nothing more to buy...EVER! Kathy Mattea: A Like A Rainstorm, News: Sports Collection Of Hits Howl Like The Wind (Chrysalis) 44448 START WITH 4 COMPACT DISCS NOW! (Mercury) 10791 (Elektra) 52221 Yes, start with any 4 compact discs shown here! U2: Rattle And Hum You need buy just 1 more hit at regular Club Taiking Heads: The Neville Brothers: (Island) 00596 prices (usually $14.98—$15.98), and take up to Brother’s Keeper one full year to do it. Then choose 3 more CDs c00Stop Making Sense (A&M) 63513 The Mamas & The FREE. That's 8 CDs for the price of 1...with (Sire) 24560 Papas: 16 Greatest Hits nothing more to buy...ever! (A shipping/handling Breathe: Peace Of Mind (MCA) 80183 charge is added to each shipment.) (A&M) 73384 The Winans: Return HOW THE CLUB OPERATES Crosby, Stills, Nash (Qwest) 00530 You select from hundreds of exciting CDs & Young: Greatest described in the Club's magazine which is Hits (So Far) John Cougar mailed to you approximately every three weeks | (Atlantic) 30230 Mellencamp: Big Daddy (19 times a year). Each issue highlights a Fea- (Mercury) 80064 tured Selection in your preferred music cate- Patsy Cline: 12 Greatest Alice Cooper: Carly Simon: Have gory, plus alternate selections. If you'd like the Hits (MCA) 53849 Greatest Hits You Seen Me Lately Jimi Hendrix: Featured Selection, do nothing. It will be sent to (Warner Bros.) 70296 (Arista) 20912 Electric Ladyland you automatically. If you'd prefer an alternate The Doors: Live At The (Reprise) 23362 selection, or none at all, just return the card Hollywood Bow! The Harper Brothers: James Taylor: Greatest enclosed with each issue of your magazine by (Elektra) 42851 Remembrance Hits (Reprise) 23790 Eric Clapton: the date specified on the card. You will have at — (Verve) 14896 Journeyman least 10 days to decide or you may return your — King's X: Faith, Hope, The B-52’s: Cosmic (Warner Bros.) 53940 Featured Selection at our expense. Cancel your | Love (Atlantic) 74229 Metallica: ...And Justice Thing (Reprise) 14742 membership at any time after completing your For All (Elektra) 00478 Tone-Loc: Loc-Ed After enrollment agreement simply by writing to us, or Dee-Lite: World Clique Scorpions: Best Of Dark (Delicious) 01033 remain and take advantage of bonus savings. — (Elektra) 52050 Dread Zeppelin: Un- Rockers ‘N’ Ballads Led-Ed (|.R.S.) 63594 (Mercury) 63492 Foreigner: Records FREE 10-DAY TRIAL John Coltrane: My (Atlantic) 53317 Listen to your 4 introductory selections for a full Favorite Things Robert Plant: Little Feat: Waiting For 10 days. If not satisfied, return them with no fur- (Atlantic) 61587 Manic Nirvana Columbus R.E.M.: Eponymous ther obligation. You send no money now, so (Es Paranza) 54122 (Warner Bros.) 53296 (I.R.S.) 00701 complete the postpaid reply card and mail it James Ingram: It's Real today. (Warner Bros.) 70635 Led Zeppelin IV (Runes) Richard Marx: Repeat (Atlantic) 12014 Offender (EMI) 01118 *A shipping/handling charge is added to each shipment. Talking Heads: Little Creatures Damn Yankees Dwight Yoakam: If = race. CD706 BMG Compact Disc Club, 6550 E. 30th St., (Sire) 53839 (Warner Bros.) 14852 There Was A Way Indianapolis,IN46219-1194. TRADEMARKS USED IN (Reprise) 64310 THE ADV'T ARE THE PROPERTY OF VARIOUS Tracy Chapman: Cross- Guns N’ Roses: GN’R TRADEMARK OWNERS. roads (Elektra) 42496 Lies (Geffen) 00805 The Sundays: Reading, Writing And Arithmetic Christopher Hollyday: On (DGC) 63175 Course (Novus) 34372 Grateful Dead: American Beauty (Warner Bros.) 34539 Cat Stevens: Classics (20 Greatest Hits) (A&M) 44551 Elvis Presley: 18 No. 1 Hits (RCA) 72190 Steve Winwood: Roll With It (Virgin) 54633 Peter Gabriel: Security (Geffen) 53801

At the right end are buttons for edit, 800-558-0003 random play, pause, program, CX, for- ward and reverse search, and forward =< Computgthility11AM-5PM |VISA and reverse skip/ASMS, which is short- ” maaanP.O. Box 17882 Consumer olectronics hand for the player’s auto-search music system. 53217 The top and sides are bare, and the AUTHORIZED DEALER: base sports gold-trimmed feet. The rear panel has.the AC cord and RF input and Canon JVC SONY. output jacks, a channel 3/4 output selec- TOSHIBA PIONEER’ tor, and RCA-type pin jacks for video and stereo audio. Panasonic ise Panasonic The remote control is relatively Industrial small, with buttons grouped by function. Nikon RIGO The frontal buttons are for power, open/ close, audio selection, repeat, TV/disc 4 VIDEONICS and display. A white border contains bi- VO870 - 20 Watt Light ...czcnssonessensnnsonn $44 DGirraepchtieEsd LPilbursa . directional buttons for still/step, multi- V008361010 - -CLliogshet u&p/Bwaitdteeryvi.e. w . COLE speed and direction. Outside the frame are buttons for program and clear, a ten- uJve V0341 - Hemispheric Len: wes digit keypad, ten-plus, a frame/time HR-S5800U V0313 - 2 X Telephoto...... CALL search, search, skip/ASMS, intro scan, stop, pause and play. The power and SUPER VHS VO345 - 4 X Telephoto. play buttons are highlighted. JOG SHUTTLE 0387 - AF/Sony TR Se Operation. Using the MD-1000 is 03100 - Autofocus Se very easy. Connect it to a monitor via audio and video cables or to a TV set 0990 - Lens Guard .... CV 208 Auto ... through an RF cable. Power it up, press qisae $24 open/close, and the disc tray slides out. V0611 - Telecine converter .. Center the disc in the appropriate de- 0612 - Telecine w/macro.... pression and press either open/close and V0617 - Print Transfer ..... A 4. ieee38La1 hViadveeo tLieghnt .. $49 play, or just play. The picture will come up on the screen. AZDEN’¥0680 - SupDuper Stereo 3sm pathoMi ; Understanding scan, skip, stop and septs Peds, pause is intuitive; however, skip reverse returns a disc to the start of the selec- tion that is playing. To get back to a pre- vious chapter or track takes two pushes, one push plus another for the number of chapters you want to skip. Still, step and multispeed work only with laserdiscs at the CAV speed. Other buttons let users program out- of-sequence playback by chapter or track for up to 20 selections; search CAV discs by frame or chapter; search CLV, CD-V and CD discs by time or chapter; and repeat a current chapter, track, side, program or segment the user selects. On audio, users can select either automatic digital audio, if it is present, or analog and listen to the two channels as stereo, or either channel separately. An onscreen display may be called up at any time to confirm operating con- ditions and settings. Our only beef is that using the scan cancels the previous motion setting. Still or fast play search always puts a user back in play mode. Otherwise, ease of operation is very good. Performance. The player has a horizontal resolution of 425 lines with an unweighted video signal-to-noise ra- tio of 46.7 decibels and a weighted video S/N of 54.4 dB. The chroma AM S/N is 48 dB and the chroma PM S/N is 38.2 continued on page 69 For additional information, circle No. 41 on Reader Service Card. MARCH 1991 VIDEO 21

VIDEOTESTS Hitachi 46-inch Big and Bright: At 460 footlamberts, rear-projection the picture of Hitachi's CU4601B is the bright- monitor/receiver est of any rear- projection monitor. Hitachi’s CU4601B 46-inch monitor/re- above a skirt covering the casters. tool for the rotary controls is stored in a ceiver lives up to its billing as the bright- To the left of the power switch is a hole further right. est set in that size. It is only 27 inches compartment with duplicate S-video, The right end of the compartment deep, so it should fit in most rooms, as video and stereo audio jacks for input 1, holds buttons for video/S-video switch- long as the user can watch it from at a button to call up convergence cross- least eight feet away. The optimum hairs and four rotary controls for hori- ing of input 1, antenna, menu, minus, viewing distance is ten to 15 feet. It zontal and vertical adjustment of the red and blue images. On a black background plus, sound mode, picture mode, func- boasts ten watts per channel for its ster- are additional rotary controls for vertical eo front amplifiers, a matrix/hall/Dolby sync and input balance. An adjustment tion, volume up and down, and channel decoder and five-watts-per-channel rear up and down. The buttons are dupli- amplifiers, but the user must supply the rear speakers. cated on the remote, except S-video, Its horizontal resolution is rated at which is labeled AVX. 825 lines. It sports one video/S-video in- put with jacks on both the front and the rear, so it accommodates high-resolution picture sources. Two additional video in- puts on the rear panel, and switching from the set or the remote, make it a fit- ting centerpiece for an audio/video sys- tem. The multipage remote controls the TV set, a VCR, a cable box and one ad- ditional device. Description. The CU4601B looks almost squat because the picture size is large relative to the cabinet and the height of the pedestal. Below the bottom bezel is a shiny strip with a power button and indicators for power, stereo and SAP. Lower down sits the speaker grille, Hitachi CU46D1B Speaker Size: learn, a TV/VTR/CATV/ Auxiliary Stereo Audio | RESULTS nals—20 Hz-15 kHz, -3 Projection 2 each—6-inch woofer user switch, 12 multi- Output: Monitor/ Receiver and 3-inch tweeter function buttons, and 1, variable level Horizontal Resolution: |98; fear speaker termi- buttons for power, a rated—825 lines; veri- | \"als—20 Hz-12.5 kHz, DATA Type of Tuning: 10-digit keypad, 100/en- External Speaker fied to 700 lines +0/-2.6 p frequency synthesis ter, channel up and Connectors: Suggested Price: down, volume up and for rear channel only, Snowiness; Audio S/N: $3,000 Method of Tuning: down, mute, last chan- built-in surround de- programmable scan on nel, AVX and recall coder Luminance S/N: 67.3 dB Weight: set; scan plus direct 220 pounds access on remote Video/Stereo Audio Internal Audio 55.2 dB Total Harmonic Dimensions: | Inputs: Amplifier Power: 48-1/2 x 42-1/2 x 27 Broadcast Tuning front—10 watts per pla hain : fDiixsetdoratinodn:variable— (h/wi/d) Range: 3, with duplicate of in- channel; rear—5 watts Power Requirements: 2 to 13, 14 to 69 put 1 on front panel per channel : 0.6%; speaker—1.1% 120 VAC, 60 Hz c PM SIN: RATINGS Power Consumption: Cable Tuning Range: S-Video Input: Absent Features: ay as 2 298 W max; 230 W av. 125 channels—2 to 13, 1, with duplicate on tuner output, head- 4A, A to |, A-5 to A-1, front panel phone jack Accuracy of Colors: Picture Quality: Screen Size: J to W, W+1 to W+28, very good/good very good 46 inches W+29 to W+84 Video/Stereo Audio Accessories: Output: remote control with bat- | Audio Frequency Audio Quality: Remote Control: 1, selected input, fixed teries, antenna Response: good IR wireless with indica- audio level transformer tors for ready and kfiHxze,d +l0i.n1e/-—12.01 HdzB-;20vari. |Operational Ease:i. able line—20 Hz-20 g kHz, +0.03/-2.7 dB; Overall Performance: front speaker termi- very good 22 VIDEO MARCH 1991

The rear jack panel has F-connec- menu lets a user adjust balance, bass, hertz, + 0.1/-1.1 dB. At the variable-level tors for VHF/UHF, plus output and in- treble, rear volume, main/SAP audio, line output, it is 20 Hz to 20 kHz, put for a cable converter. A depression auto stereo/mono, matrix/hall/Dolby/off +0.03/-2.7 dB. At the speaker termi- holds a single S-video connector for in- surround, speakers off, reset, preference nals, it is 20 Hz to 15 kHz, -3 dB. At the put 1 and rows of RCA-type pin jacks, and preference set. rear-channel speaker connectors, it is 20 each with video and stereo audio, for in- The main menu button controls set- Hz to 12.5 kHz, +0/-2.6 dB. puts 1, 2 and 3 plus output. There is also up functions like air/cable tuning, auto The audio S/N is 67.3 dB and the to- a variable-level stereo audio output. program, station (call letters) memory, tal harmonic distortion is 0.6 percent at Spring-loaded clips for rear-channel channel memory add erase, date/time the fixed- and variable-level outputs, speakers sit near the bottom. At the bot- set, program list, off (sleep) timer, all/ and 1.1 percent at the speaker terminals. tom is the power cord. program/easy scan and child lock. Easy Audio quality is good. The remote control comes pro- scan lets a user store up to four favorite Conclusion. The Hitachi grammed for most VCRs and cable channels. CU460IB is the brightest rear-projection boxe—syou just have to press one but- One notable nuisance is that con- monitor we’ve seen. It can be easily ton to tell it what brand you have. vergence must be adjusted at the set in- viewed even in a brightly lit room. Pic- There is also one user-programmed page stead of from the remote. Working at ture quality is very good and both audio that may be programmed for an addi- arm’s length, it is sometimes difficult to quality and operational ease are good, so tional device. Up front are the power judge how the picture looks at normal overall performance is very good. At a button, ready and learn indicators, plus viewing distance, so unless you have suggested price of $3,000 it is certainly 12 buttons with functions that change as a helper, you'll have to move back and competitive, but you must see the pic- a user switches between devices. Some forth a lot. Unless you’re very finicky, ture before you choose. With monitors, though, it does not require frequent ad- the measurements should support your multifunction buttons are labeled. choice, not determine it. a Nearer the user sit a ten-digit key- justment. Operational ease is good. pad and buttons for channel up and Performance. The horizontal res- down, volume up and down, mute, 100/ olution of the CU4601B is rated at 825 TECH TIP enter, last channel recall, AVX source lines and verified to more than 700 lines, switching and display recall. On the with a luminance signal-to-noise ratio of back is the battery compartment and a 55.2 decibels. On a full red field the slide switch with positions for learn, use, chroma AM S/N is 63.1 dB, and the and use with confirming beep. chroma PM S/N is 61.7 dB. Accuracy of Go natural Operation. Using the CU460IB is colors is good to very good, but whites straightforward— just push the appropri- have a more yellow tinge than some An easy way to get natural shots of shy ate button for most operations. How- competing TV sets. Rated at 460 foot- people and children is to use a 90-degree ever, a menu system controls picture lamberts, this is the brightest rear-pro- or right-angle adapter, an inexpensive and sound. The system requires many jection set we’ve ever measured. As with device available from several accessory pushes for each adjustment, making all display devices, we strongly recom- manufacturers. It screws onto the front tweaking tedious. mend you see a demonstration of all the of a camcorder lens, and lets the cam- The picture mode menu offers op- sets you're considering because color corder shoot at a right angle to the di- tions for picture, color, tint, black level, preference is a matter of personal taste. rection in which it is pointed. You are sharpness, auto color, dynamic noise re- Picture quality is very good. the only one who will know you’re duction, notch filter, reset, preference The audio frequency response at the | shooting. A. Bala and preference set. The sound mode | fixed line output is 20 hertz to 20 kilo- Rochester, New York | LOOK MA! NO WIRES | Set comes complete with one With Innvision you don't need wires to send a Highest Quality transmitter& one receiver. crystal clear picture from your VCR, Cable box, One Year Warranty $99.00 + $5.00 Shp& Hndl. Laser disk player or Video camera to any room in | 30 Day Trial Period the house. Innvision also allows you to watch one Easy To Use [Fe] KEE S3\\c.o.p. video source while transmitting a different source Satisfaction Guaranteed to another TV. Innvision transmitts up to 120 feet TO ORDER OR REQUEST through walls, floors, etc. 11-800- 624-1150OUR FREE CATALOG CALL Model #2020 Dimensions 41/2X4 FAX (402)'392-0991 INNY:1SION’ Or Write “[4J[U‘BE1‘OPDDE0UNI/4UPODADYIDJEDO\\WYSJIPOPJDU) M.D. ELECTRONICS MARCH 1991 VIDEO 23 875 So. 72nd Dept. V Omaha, Ne. 68114

Meyateoata NEW PRODUGTSEDITED BY BRIAN CLARK C SPECIALISTS FORMORE INFO: CONVENIENT FAX # (201) 696-6531 (201) 633-1476 WE WILL MATCH OR BEAT ANY LEGITIMATE PRICE TOLL FREE:.... 1 (800) 444-6300 FAST SERVICE BEST PRICES! 8mm DIGITAL PALM SIZE STEREO PALM SIZE RCA produces 35-inch direct-view TV ¢8:1 ZOOM RCA’s 35-inch ColorTrak 2000 stereo monitor/receiver features its largest ever di- e HI-FI STEREO rect-view picture tube. The set, model G3531CP, employs Invar shadow mask tech- e@ WIRELESS REMOTE nology to maintain the tube’s color purity at high temperatures. A color picture-in- BEST picture feature permits alteration of the inset size, as well as zooming and panning. DIGITAL The channel guide gives still pictures from a dozen different channels, any of which EFFECTS can be zoomed in on. Other features include digital stereo signal processing, an on- screen graphic equalizer, Dolby surround sound capability, commercial skip and a 15- jack audio/video panel. A VideoLink universal remote control is included. Price: $2,899. For additional information, circle No. 150 on Reader Service Card. @HITACHI «. @8:1 ZOOM Hitachi announces first combi player ¢@ HI-FI STEREO © 180° FLEXIGRIP Hitachi’s first combination player, the VIP-RX6EX, is unusually adapted to the needs of audiocassette decks. An auto program feature and a compu program edit PRICES ALWAYS COMPETITIVE function make it easier to record from CDs in the player to an external audio tape deck. Auto program decides how many tracks will fit on each side of a tape. Compu $3) —==. aE C.0.D. program edit arranges CD tracks to fit the remaining time on the tape. The player uses an 8x oversampling digital filter, a 20-bit signal processing circuit and a one-bit We ship within 24 hours. digital-to-analog converter. The signal-to-noise ratio is rated at 48 dB by Hitachi, PJS|IU“BO‘OIOfO/UBFjNODOUPAYDYODJODHEOWISYIPAOPlJDlU}prices quoted include manufacturer's standard and horizontal resolution is 425 lines. Other features include direct program search, intro scan, variable-speed search, still and random play. accessories & U.S. Warranty. All units are factory sealed. We are an AUTHORIZED DEALER for ALL Price: $629.95. NAME BRANDS WE SELL! 10 DAY EXCHANGE. For additional information, circle No. 151 on Reader Service Card. S & H NON-REFUNDABLE!

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Slaatevase ~NEW PRODUCTS~ C SPECIALISTS FOR MORE INFO: CONVENIENT FAX tt (201) 696-6531 (201) 633-1476 WE WILL MATCH OR BEAT ANY LEGITIMATE PRICE TOLL FREE:.... 1 (800) 444-6300 faeSERVICE VHS: Eight-segment assembler automates editin Wireless transmitter operates on FM band chores, placing desired scenes in any order. Ha Circuitry and digital auto- The Videopath broadcaster from HTS uses the FM band to transmit audio and video tracking ensure quality video signals. It is the first wireless system to do so. It transmits signals up to 150 feet and and fuss-free playback. uses a proprietary antenna design. Additional receivers may be purchased separately. S-VHS: Feature-laden deck offers the utmost in Price: $169.95. scene-finding convenience. Full-featured remote with display dupli- For additional information, circle No. 154 on Reader Service Card. cates on-screen programming capabilities. Combination wide/tele lens new from Raynox S-VHS: Hi-Fi stereo, VHSC & VHS combo, jog shuttle, digital A/V track with The Flip-II is a combination telephoto and wide- dual screen programming. angle accessory lens from Raynox. The lens holder has a 49mm screw thread, and adapter rings for 46mm and 52mm camcorder lenses are included. The telephoto lens has a 1.5x reach, while the wide-angle side is .65x. / Price: not available. For additional information, circle no. 155 on Reader Service Card. S-VHS: Title/date recording adds personal Trackmate develops tapeless head cleaner touch. Bargraph-style “tape time remaining” display eliminates recording Trackmate’s TM271 is an automatic, tapeless, maintenance cassette for the | surprises. Synchro-edit VCR. Trackmate’s patented system uses three brushes, wider and more absorbent feature simplifies dubbing. than tape, that reach where tape does not. The cassette times the cleaning cycle, while a counter keeps track of the number of times the cassette is used so the brushes can be removed and washed as needed. Price: Under $25. For additional information, circle No. 156 on Reader Service Card. S-VHS: Optical scanner digitizes graphics for Sony adds new Mega watchmMaEGnA superimposition. Other digital tricks include Watchman ‘ faa |88Bh +4 109\" 108108 | Mi color correction, fades, wipes, Sony’s FD-510 Mega Watchman TV set oo Wo| features a 4.5-inch black & white tube negative/positive, titles, and and an AM/FM radio receiver. Sony’s eS { rie ee | MegaBass sound delivers audio through noise reduction. a four-inch top-mounted speaker driven by a two-watt amplifier. Aside from a PRICES ALWAYS COMPETITIVE telescopic antenna, the FD-510 has an external antenna input for improved in- Zz 686h.,_—«& [aS eval door reception. The unit measures about 6 by 9 by 6 inches, and weighs VISA’ | ce C.0.0. about four pounds without batteries. a | ary Price: $149.99. We ship within 24 hours. For additional information, circle no. 157 on Reader Service Card. All prices quoted include manufacturer's standard accessories & U.S. Warranty. All units are factory “GJGUJ[ZPOU/tDOII4NO9UODHOAODODHGONsU/eWYAPaUMlOPeJDEdU.] We are an AUTHORIZED DEALER for ALL BRANDS WE SELL! 10 DAY EXCHANGE. S&H NON-REFUNDABLE!

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inEASING INTO SUNN Design your home theater to pack a sonic wallop—audio experts share their secrets. (. ce | hat becomes a movie legend most? The answer’s easy: a darkened room, a big, bright picture —and super sound. And as more darkened rooms are designed for homes instead of malls, yesterday’s modest TV dens are becoming boldly planned home theaters. New monitors deliver the visual impact, but what convinces many “wannabe” cineastes are today’s powerful audio options. Home audio components can actually outperform the boomboxlike sound cham- bers frequently found at multiplexes. Surround sound systems, flexible speaker placement, custom layouts and the like give movies a kind of magic realism that makes them more exciting —and more emotionally charged. We usually look at home theaters from a visual point of view. This month, we're looking at how to make them sound terrific. And we’re doing so by listening to a group of experts deeply involved with the design and installation of home theater sound systems. Our experts bombarded us with down-to-earth advice about room configuration, surround sound components, speaker placement, budget options, planning for growth and movies with dynamite audio tracks. (After all, once a great system’s up and running, no can resist showing it off.) Where they disagree, such as on the question of a room’s acoustical liveliness, we share both sides of the issue. Whatever your plans for a home theater may be, you'll find in the following pages a range of thought-provoking ideas you can’t afford to overlook. 28 VIDEO MARCH 1991

SUPER*SOUND SPECIAL John Owens: “People often think a home theater has to be installed in a big room, but nothing could be further from the truth.” Set the stage by shaping an ideal room he room itself is among the most important components of any home theater. Video buffs typically tinker with a room’s lights and seats to heighten the impact of projection screens, yet frequently neglect the impact that room characteristics have on audio performance. To set the stage, we asked John Owens, sales and marketing director for the Shure Home Theater System, how to prepare a room for theater-quality sound. “The first step is to think about the size of the room,” says Owens. “People often think a home theater has to be installed in a big room, but nothing could be further from the truth. A large room may not even be desirable, for the simple reason that, as arule of thumb, the cost of achieving a high level of acoustic performance doubles each time a room’s volume doubles. Moreover, up to a certain point, the amplifier power you'll need quadruples as the size of a room doubles. “Tf you have the option, don’t use a square room. Go for one with rectangular dimensions. Ideally, look for a relationship of 1 to 1.6 to 2.5 among the height, the width and the length. For example, a room with an eight-foot ceiling would imply a LBELEIUROSGTTMRAANTION: width just under 13 feet and a length of 20 feet. > MARCH 1991 VIDEO 29

Tomlinson Holman: Front speakers “should be aimed at the ear height of the people seated in the main lis- tening area.” “The point is to avoid a room in ucasFilm’s Home THX Audio System tight speakers should be ‘toed in’ a bit. which the dimensions are multiples of is considered by many experts to be “The surround speakers should be at each other, like one that’s 8 by 16 by 24 the creme-de-la-creme of three-di- feet,” Owens explains. “Square rooms mensional audio for video, bringing the sides of the listening area, at least create sound waves that pile on top of movie theater surround sound to living two feet above seated ear height. The each other. Some spots in the room will rooms across America (well, affluent liv- front grilles of the speakers should point have too much bass; others will have vir- ing rooms). But there’s more to good forward—toward the screen. Rear grilles tually none. Rectangular proportions surround than taking components out of (present in the Home THX System) spread the waves out so they don’t all boxes and hooking them up. should point toward the back of the peak in the same place. room. The subwoofe—ror subwoofers— THX, like other serious surround can be placed anywhere in the room, al- “Another important concept, which sound systems, relies on proper setup though putting it closer to the front not everyone embra—ctheousgh I be- and room acoustics to work its magic. speakers makes the response more lieve they will in time —is that the room But what does this entail and do its les- should be acoustically dead. A good sur- sons apply to other home theater situa- even.” round sound system is excellent at cre- ating every kind of sound you will want. tions? To learn the answers, we spoke Excessive reverberation in the You do not want reflections from struc- with Tomlinson Holman— LucasFilm’s tures in the room itself interfering with corporate technical director and all- room, says Holman, can cloud the dia- program material. around THX guru. logue and its positional accuracy. “For- tunately, typical home theaters don’t “If you can’t acoustically deaden the “There really aren’t a lot of stringent have this problem because they’re small whole room, then at least treat the front acoustical requirements for the Home relative to movie theaters and the re- third. The materials don’t have to be ex- pensive. Carpeting, drapes and other THX System,” says Holman. “In fact, verb times are short. But short echoes fabrics will do most of the job, although I the acoustics should follow established can bounce between parallel walls, caus- think acoustic absorption panels are practices, with one exception. ing bright, zingy sounds we call ‘slap going to become more popular. echoes.’ “As far as the room goes, it should “Avoid architectural features like be less than 6,000 cubic feet, and it “These can be eliminated by simple should not be square. The front speakers absorption or diffusion materials— picture windows and French doors, should be arranged to the left, the right drapes, fiberglass panels, bookcases, which are prone to rattles that can be and the center of the screen. A screen even unevenly placed furniture. Reflec- set off by low frequencies. Pay attention larger than six feet should have the left tions from side walls can also create un- to objects like track lights inside canis- and right speakers just off the edge of natural-sounding dialogue and a loss of the screen. Smaller screens can have the ters. They can buzz just enough to sound localization, but these problems can be speakers a bit further out. solved the same way. like a distortion in the speaker system. “We recommend putting all three “Pick a room that’s relatively iso- “A completely dead room is going to front speakers at the same height and cause problems of its own,” Holman as- lated from the rest of the house. If you under the screen. They should be aimed serts. “One problem specific to THX sys- can’t, reduce sound leakage by closing at the ear height of the people seated in tems is that upper side and back walls up baseboard gaps and other open the main listening area. The left and that are too absorptive reduce the diffu- spaces with weatherstripping or caulk.” sive characteristics of dipole surround Owens’ last tip? “Don’t put the theater next to the bedroom.” —Stan Pinkwas 30 VIDEO MARCH 1991

SUPER*SOUND SPECIAL speakers. This starts to localize the speakers because they rely on room re- flections to propagate the surround sig- nal. “But no one should have any prob- lems if he follows two basic acoustic rules: Put absorptive or diffusive mate- tials in the lower and frontal areas and diffusive or reflective materials in the upper and rear areas. “One other problem that can affect any room’s system is standing sound waves, which can either overemphasize or reduce lower frequency sounds. The solution is to move speakers and sub- woofers around until the standing waves cerned. “The speakers alone would cost that much,” says Alvez, of Columbia even out. Your ears will tell you when Joe Maniloll: “Full Dolby Pro-Logic is the only way Audio/Video in Highland Park, Illinois. it’s right.” —Bob Barlow Pagdecode if you like to watch movies.” “And if you’re talking about doing with- out a subwoofer and a center channel, $1,000 Surround: reality or pipe dream? you're not talking about true surround ome theater audio doesn’t have to of great surround for less than $1,000. sound. gouge a trench in your finances. A “Tt’s easy,” Manioli asserts. “Pick up an good system can be assembled for Onkyo TXSV-50 audio/video receiver “If you’re bound by budget con- modest amounts. How modest? We with Pro-Logic. It’s priced at around straints, you should build the system in stages, instead of compromising on qual- asked two high-end retailers in the Chi- $600, but can be bought for a lot less. ity. Start with a fairly good surround de- cago area to take a budget-saving chal- Next, buy five Boston Acoustics HD5 coder, with a rear-channel amplifier lenge: specify a great-sounding surround speakers. They cost about $150 a pair. built in. If you must, buy a surround re- system for $1,000 or less. We received Now you have a system that not only ceiver with built-in amps for front, rear two very different responses. sounds great, but offers full Dolby Pro- and center channels. Add speakers as Joe Manioli of the Hi-Fi Hutch in Logic, which is the only way to go if you you go along. The down side to this ap- Villa Park, Illinois, says he has the per- like to watch movies.” proach is that the system is not going to fect prescription for consumers in search Down the road, notes Manioli, “you sound as good as a one that uses a dedi- can always move up to better front ster- cated decoder —like systems from Fos- eo speakers, like those from Klipsch, gate, Lexicon and Shure — to process the which start at about $300 a pair. But the surround.” HD5s will be adequate for the rear and Alvez allows that it’s not impossible center channels permanently.” to have passable surround: “Start with a Budget-minded video lovers can Yamaha RX-830 surround receiver, save a little by using a pair of speakers which has front- and rear-channel am- from an existing stereo system for the plification. This costs about $600. Hook rear channel. “And they don’t have to it up to a couple of pairs of Mirage be the greatest speakers in the world, ei- M-260 speakers, for $260 a pair. Now ther, because that rear channel is mostly you're just over $1,000 and you have de- for effects,” adds Manioli. As for the no- cent sound.” tion of trying to save money by buying a However, Alvez prefers a five-chan- lesser surround processor, Manioli con- nel system built around a Yamaha tends this is a false economy. AVX-700, priced at $649. “It has front-, “Don’t get caught in the trap of con- rear- and center-channel amps, and an fusing what some people call ‘surround’ output for a powered subwoofer. A real with the real thing. As far as I’m con- nice setup would use ADS 300-CC cerned, Pro-Logic is the only way to de- | speakers up front (at $500 a pair) and in code movies. Fortunately, it’s within the | the rear, a single ADS 300-CC speaker reach of most consumers—without | for the center channel, and an M&K spending an arm and a leg.” VX-4 100-watt powered subwoofer Anyone who thinks he can buy great | ($475). It’s a good medium-priced sys- Brad Alvez: “If you're bound by budget constraints, |surround sound for under $1,000 is fool- | tem. Unfortunately, it’s more than dou- build the system in stages instead of compromising.” |ing himself, as far as Brad Alvez is con- | ble the ‘under-$1,000” budget.” > MAPNALANVUTIEKLOZIL:NI, MARCH 1991 VIDEO 31

SUPER °SOUND SPECIAL Alvez counsels against economizing by using existing gear. “Sure, anyone can use an old receiver or speakers from col- lege, but remember: A system’s only as good as its weakest link.” He also warns against using the speakers built into monitor/receivers to deliver center channel information. “It’s not going to work, because the sound coming out of these speakers is not a decoded center channel. It has all the signal information and will confuse the steering logic of a surround decoder. Besides, TV set speakers are just not up to par for cen- ter-channel sound, which contains very important information for dialogue and effective sound staging.” —Bob Barlow Picking a decoder? Look out for leaks heodore Kalomirakis earned his Theodore Kalomirakis: “As long as a decoder connects the dialogue firmly to the screen, I'm happy.” wings in home theater by building his own (“Basement Bijou,” June essential. “This is where the Pioneer de- cost equipment. He says that as long asa ‘89). Now he’s installing lavish thea- coder fails and the Shure does not. Level decoder uses a Dolby Pro-Logic chip, ters in mansions of the rich—and mar- controls compensate for badly recorded the decoding will be accurate. “What keting modular home theater kits that you may not get in a $400 decoder are can be installed in three hours. He of- soundtracks. For example, in Indiana quietness and extra features.” Jones and the Last Crusade, the dialogue fered us advice on choosing a decoder, is drowning in the effects, so you need to He considers audio/video receivers a the heart of any surround system. good compromise, and installs them in bring the center channel up. his modular system. But he offers a few Kalomirakis judges a decoder chiefly words of caution: “When you use audio/ “On the remote control, however, I video receivers with built-in decoders, by one characteristic: whether it leaks. only need overall volume and surround you lose power. The problem is they usu- “As long as it connects the dialogue volume controls,” he says. “Before you ally have less wattage for the center watch a movie, you’re going to set the channel, which carries about 80 percent firmly to the screen, and the dialogue channel level and mode adjustments at of the audio information. The center channel should get the same power as doesn’t leak to the rear channels, I’m the decoder anyway.” the left and right front channels.” happy,” he says. “But few decoders leak Most home theater buyers can’t af- any more because almost everything has —Brent Butterworth Pro-Logic circuitry. One exception is the ford cost-is-no-object systems like those Shure decoder, which has circuitry of its Kalomirakis installs, but he feels they |oe own that is also effective. Leakage is can achieve acceptable results with low- only a problem with non-Pro-Logic de- coders.” Kalomirakis dismisses extra modes, like hall simulation, as frivolous. “A Pro- Logic decoder should decode a movie soundtrack realistically,” he explains. “Why would I want to hear the same sound as if it were coming from a cathe- dral?” He also dismisses adjustable delay. “I put in side speakers for every row of seats,” he says. “The sound arrives at the same time for everyone, so I don’t need to fool around with delay.” On the other hand, Kalomirakis considers level controls for each channel KFBAOLBRORMEISRTAKIS: 32 VIDEO MARCH 1991

he key to planning for future growth in a multiroom audio/video system lies in a component that is rarely seen or even considered: the wiring. At least, that’s the way Vince Taylor sees it. Taylor is a custom installation expert with V. Frederick International, an audio/video systems firm based in Palm Desert, California. “Wiring is the most important part Vince Taylor: of any system. In fact, building a home without installing audio/video wiring is “The best way to plan like building it without line voltage. It for a system's growth if doesn’t make any sense. The best way to you're installing one plan for a system’s growth if you’re just room at first is to run installing one room at first is to run wire to the likely satellite rooms. If you’re wire to the likely satel- building a house —even if you’re not lite rooms.” planning a system yet—the construction stage is the perfect time to put in wiring. rooms to the main system. For connect- advice: “In areas where the technology Believe me, it pays off in the long run.” ing an amp to main speakers, use noth- is still developing rapidly, buy something ing less than 12-gauge, 259 strands less expensive while you wait for the But there’s wiring and then there’s minimum.” whole category to plateau. For instance, wiring, says Taylor. ‘Remember, the if you don’t have the money to buy a wires are what’s taking the signal from If you don’t feel like worrying about top-of-the-line surround sound proc- those big expensive amps to those big all these numbers, make sure you choose essor now, that’s okay, because the tech- expensive speakers. Yet, this is an area an installer who understands the impor- nology is changing fast. Buy a deck that where people tend to skimp. There’s a tance of proper wiring, says Taylor. will do the job for now, and sit back and tendency to think that you can get away “Choose carefully, because there are an wait for the technology to improve.” with using 18-gauge wire from room to awful lot of inexperienced installers out there. I call them trunk slammers.” Conversely, “in amplifiers, little real- room, but it just doesn’t work. A good ly has changed since the transistor came rule of thumb is to think of 14-gauge as As far as buying components with an along, and no major changes are on the the minimum for connecting satellite eye toward the future, Taylor offers this Sonic tonics: 10 films to test-drive surround sound at home More than 2,000 movies recorded in lapses into rechanneled Dolby Stereo have made it to video mono, the Harold Arlen/ with their matrixed soundtracks intact. Ira Gershwin score radiates But not all will put the sonic equiva- lent of a tiger in your home surround lushness. Judy Garland’s belted renditions of “The system’s tank. Some Dolby films are Man That Got Away” and disappointingly monophonic, thanks to “Born in a Trunk” seem to Blue Velvet widen the whole sound- lazy sound mixes or botched transfers. To give your decodera true multichan- stage through sheer lung power. Listen, too, for across- nel workout, try fueling your VCR or Temple of Doom laserdisc player with one of the high-oc- the-screen dialogue pans as the actors move around—a subtle enhancement that mixers rarely bother with today. tane films below. Each features an astonishingly intricate soundtrack guaran- e American Graffiti (1973, MCA). As a cast of early-’60s high school teed to send music, dialogue and sound effects swirling continually around the characters discusses moving on to col- roo—mnow right, now left, now straight - lege, director George Lucas provides a past your head. Greek chorus in the surround track by filling it with poignant reminders of @A Star Is Born (1954, Warner). De- spite distorted patches and occasional small-town teen-age life. Squealing continued on page 86 MARCH 1991 VIDEO 33

horizon. Prices aren’t going to change ‘Front & centertant thing to consider is that the front much either, so get a good amp now.” three speakers should be identical,”’ | Similarly, Taylor notes that “‘ad- Donald says. “If you use a different vances in loudspeaker technology are in- speaker for the center, you'll end up channels should cremental these days, so it makes sense with strange timbral shifts when objects have much more to buy good speakers now. You don’t move across the soundstage.” want to be buying new ones every two or dynamic range.’ three years, so don’t ski—emspecpially Although many people use a small on front speakers.” —Bob Barlow speaker for the center channel, Donald Giving speakers thinks they’re losing impact. “The cen- extra dimension ter channel is very important. Many As sales manager for Sonance, the think it’s just for dialogue, but it actually company whose flush-mount wall speak- ers have become a fixture in decor-con- carries all the sound that’s supposed to | can’t hurt. “Side speakers help, because scious home theaters, Dave Donald has be coming from the center of the rear sounds shouldn’t come from a spe- learned much about the demands of screen.” theater sound. We asked him for tips on cific spot. But Dolby Pro-Logic does not putting together a surround sound speaker system that can withstand the Smaller speakers can work in the separately decode side channels, so the extreme dynamic range of movie sound without bankrupting the buyer. rear channels, Donald feels. “With Dol- need for side speakers depends on per- Donald says the major difference be- by Pro-Logic, rear-channel information sonal taste and the size of the room.” tween choosing home theater speakers and music speakers is that each channel is limited to a range of 100 Hertz to Once a basic system has been assem- of surround sound places its own de- mands on a speaker. “The most impor- seven kilohertz, so there’s less demand bled, Donald strongly recommends one on the speakers. The rear speakers don’t more speaker. ‘Without a subwoofer, have to be the same as the front ones. you're missing a lot of the home theater As long as they have decent frequency experience. In movies, sounds like ex- response, they’ll be fine. You can get plosions and engine noises are as low as away with 30- to 60-watt speakers in the 16 Hz. Very few conventional speakers rear, but front- and center-channel go this low. Even though they may be speakers should handle at least 100 rated at 20 Hz, the level you're getting watts, because these channels have at such low frequencies is very small. If much more dynamic range.” you're going to spend the money for a | For most rooms, Donald considers home theater, you’re crazy not to in- | the typical five-speaker surround sound clude a subwoofer.” setup adequate, but he says more sound —Brent Butterworth 1990 WINNER OF: ViDEo Maaazine's VIVA Awarb & Vineo Review's Best Propuct oF THE YEAR—SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCT INNOVATION. Smooth moves are the aim No longer stuck on the sidelines as every videographer. We've an observer, you can now follow the incor-porated our Oscar® and Emmy®-winning action intimately, capturing moving technology into a images in their natural state. Free to be your most creative, you produce Steadicam® for 8mm, ‘traveling’ shots as smooth as any Hi-8, VHS-C and you've seen in films or on TV. SVHS-C camcorders. Whether you shoot documenta- Steadicam JR ries, travel, industrials, sporting lets you move events, weddings, real estate your camera with uncanny \\. presentations, or the family at smoothness while play, Steadicam JR is the ideal gently guiding the tool for professional Hollywood camera in any direction— smooth, moving images. panning, tilting, booming. Because Life Doesn't Stand Still. Steadicam JR and your camcorder seem to become an 1-800-955-5025 extension of your arm and body. You can walk...you can run...you can climb stairs—and your camera never shakes! Q4) From PRODUCTS CINEMA “J|‘BBUJPOUDOLPO/ZNIOUPDADYODJDOYEOWJSYJPOPJDU) MAKER OF THE OSCAR® & EmmY®-WINNING STUDIO STEADICAM.® 3211 SouTH LA CiENEGA BOULEVARD Los AncELes, CA 90016 @ 213-836-7991 C.E.S. BOOTH #6869 34 VIDEO MARCH 1991

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TM STAN PINKWAS INSTALLATION: OF THE MONTA UNE HOM TH HEARTH Like an electronic In the days before central heating, audio. Doug Mann, vice president of homes built without hearths could hard- fireplace, a family ly be called complete. These days, the Behrens Audio Lab and a member of the same can be said for electronic hearths, theater warms a at least among video buffs. Increasingly, Custom Electronic Design & Installa- home’s hearts homeowners are looking at audio/video and minds. systems with the same philosophy usu-. tion Association (see box), created the ally applied to such necessities as plumb- 36 VIDEO MARCH 1991 ing and electrical systems: build it in system for builder Ron Coppenbarger. while the house is being planned. Behrens was asked to design the the- As a result, a few builders and sys- tem installers are designing homes with ater as construction plans were nearing | family theaters already in place. One re- cent example is at the Deer Creek completion. Working with a set of blue- | Country Club near Jacksonville, Florida, where the nine-room model home for a prints by the Orlando architectural firm | group of new residences includes a fully functioning home theater. of Evans & Company, Mann started by | The elegant system consists of a 45- dividing the space into three entertain- | inch projection TV set, a bank of audio ment zones: the family room, a suite | and video components, a transmission system to service other areas of the comprising the master bedroom and | house and remote keypads to access the bath, and the living room, which in- cludes an adjoining sheltered porch, or veranda. The system’s nerve center went into | the family room, at a right angle to a large, marble-clad fireplace. The theater had originally been intended for the far end of the room. However, Mann point- ed out that large windows in that area would interfere with installation. KIKEEVRI eere.

Zoned for A/V: System designer Doug Mann in the family room (left) of a home he wired for three sep- arate entertainment areas, one of which in- cludes a sheltered porch (above) with speakers built into the ceiling. Wall-mounted Audioaccess keypads control the action. Mann suggested installing the sys- tuner, DCM444 multi-CD player, CEDIA | DRR680 audiocassette deck and a quin- tem along the side of the room, and tet of POA800 amplifiers. Two of the The Custom Electronic Design & In- F1NacISRCoio5ndeaenr.frdacovidldrit.eemciareotniaoln, | moving the exterior wall in that area amps serve speakers in the other rooms. stallation Association is a nationwide A CP2 Lexicon surround sound proc- non-profit trade organization made outward 2.5 feet to create a nook that essor feeds its signals to KEF surround up of companies that specialize in in- would allow adequate space for the TV speakers and a Velodyne subwoofer. stalling electronic entertainment, au- set and the other components. Since the tomation, security and communi- plans were still being adjusted, this was The rear-channel speakers are in the cation systems in the home. CEDIA may be contacted by telephoning easily accomplished. ceiling near the wall, just behind the lis- 1-800-CEDIA30 or by writing: The basic layout in place, Mann CEDIA, 10400 Roberts Road, Palos tening area. Since the ceiling is vaulted, Hills, IL 60465. wired the rooms with speaker cable and it slopes in at an angle that points the 20-conductor cable to accommodate the speakers directly at the seating area. For additional information, circle no. 144 on Reader Service Card. remote controls. He also designed a AUDIO AS YOU LIKE IT tiered cabinet to house and display the Mann chose Audioaccess compo- system unobtrusively. The white cabi- net, built by Coppenbarger’s cabinet nents to distribute the audio signals in a way that lets users enjoy a different maker, holds the Pioneer Pro 72 TV set, source in each of the three zones. The four of the six speakers in the surround video signal is not distributed, but easily sound system and a rack of components. could be, says Mann. Each zone includes Its video elements include JVC’s HRD one or more of Audioaccess’ KPI key- 860U hi-fi VCR and Pioneer’s pads. By communicating through a cen- CLD-1080 laserdisc player. tral processor, each keypad can control The audio components, primarily by Denon, include the company’s TU550 MARCH 1991 VIDEO 37

any activity in any zone. each other. Mann used KEF’s CR160 | have seen the house and bought the The living room zone has two KEF | speakers in the bath because their round |A/V system instead, or one similarly CR200F speakers mounted flush in the | grilles better complement the room’s re- |configured. “Model homes are places ceiling. A second pair is similarly | cessed lights. people shop for ideas,” he says. “They're mounted in the adjoining veranda. Since the system was created as a | looking for ways to improve their cur- Since the veranda is sheltered, the |model for homes in a new development, | rent home, or for features to put into a speakers are shielded from the weather. |home buyers can elect to go with the |dream house, even if they’re not ready The master bedroom and bath also | system as it was designed, simplify it to | to start building.” . have separate sets of in-wall speakers. |hold down the approximately $20,000 However, while each pair of speakers in |cost or add video distribution capa- Be 2 the living room/porch zone only has sep- | bilities. The prewiring makes any num- arate volume controls, the bed/bath | ber of options relatively casy. TECH TIP speakers can operate independently of Ironically, Mann says, several people PUT FULL POWER ou Calling all ipsters BACK IN YOUR | ORY. ||Vcks, TVs,camcorders andother CAMCORDER <<am withoyuoctaretha BATTERY (a 4%, : ‘ i, petbefaoemalcie mal ||a “Tech Tip.” We'll also give you credit .> the point. Please include your name, ad- dress and phone number —and a self-ad- Introducing: |. x dressed, stamped envelope if you wish your submission returned. Send submis- —_ :. -“ sions to Tech Tips, Video Magazine, 460 CAMCHARGER™ ss — West 34 St., New York, NY 10001. Advanced AUDIO/VIDEO Camcorder SELECTOR Battery Charger & Reconditioner Turbo Camcharger not 2755 9|9-sloap only charges but also & Automatically recondi- reconditions batteries to MODEL AVS-20 tions and 1OO% recharges eliminate the memory build- your camcorder batteries. up that occurs in nicd bat- The new Azden AVS-20 allows you to link all teries used by camcorders. your video components (VCRs, TV, Video Disc Eliminates “battery “Memory build-up” prevents Player, Camcorder) through a single memory” for longer your battery from receiving component. battery life. a full charge, causing it to go dead in a short period By pressing one button you can dub from any &Quick-charge mode for of time. By using Turbo one of these sources, and at the same time fast, turbo charging. Camcharger, you will in- you can watch a program from any of the crease the life of your bat- components. Italso has mic mixing so you can &Works from vehicle teries. It’s that simple. add narration to your dubbed tape. cigarette lighter socket or AC wall outlet with power Turbo Camcharger also Compatible with all formats (ithas separate supply. offers the convenience of jacks for S-VHS), the AVS-20 has 4 audio/ AC/DC operation so you video line inputs, 1a/v line output, and 1 Provides overcharge can use it away from home. monitor output. One set of input jacks is located protection for battery. on the front panel for convenience in recording ARKON RESOURCES, INC. or viewing directly from your camcorder. Model Numbers: 11627 Clark St., Ste. 104 Suggested retail price is $139.95. TC200-6PS AC/DC Charger/Reconditioner Arcadia, CA 91006, USA (Also available without mic mixing as AVS-10 for 6V Sony and Canon-lype... .Sug. Retail $119.95 Tel: (818) 358-1133 at a suggested retail of $119.95. FAX: (818) 303-6157 TC200-12PS AC/DC Charger/Reconditioner, AZDEN for 12V Panasonic/RCA-lype. . .Sug. Retail $129.95 COROONGRAT GEo PEON TC200-6 DC Only (for 6V DS/JUJ‘B6BOIUZ/DOdN4ODUDPH/UDODAD 147 New Hyde Park Rd., Franklin Square, NY 11010 ‘JB“UO|9PD}OUOD/FNI/UOPDAODODJYWOEJYSPOPJSDUo]ny and Canon-Type : (516) 328-7500 TC200-12 DC Only (for 12V Panasonic/RCA-Type) ...........05 38 VIDEO MARCH 1991

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BY BRENT BUTTERWORTH EJOY OFTOASTING A dazzling new Amiga board brings video editing into the ‘90s NewTek’s Video Toaster replaces mil- video production device. Toaster comes packed with three lions of dollars worth of video produc- The rumors about the Toaster’s BNC-to-RCA adapters, and an 4 tion equipment, outperforms $100,000 inch-thick illustrated manual. digital video effects units, lets anyone availability are definitely false —-NewTek produce network-quality programs, has been shipping Toasters for months. Amigas require at least doesn’t work and will never be shipped. The questions about its performance re- five megabytes of RAM to At least that’s what we heard after New- main, though, so we decided to put one run the Toaster; expect Tek began demonstrating the Toaster through the paces. And shortly after we to pay about $2,500 last year. But you can expect a flurry of began working with the Toaster, we be- for the computer rumors when a small company from and the extra gan experiencing some of our most joy- memory. We Topeka, Kansas, claims it can combine a ous video moments. We created the went a step fur- video switcher with more than 100 digi- slickest graphics and titles yet to emerge ther, using an from an editing suite we’ve been assem- Amiga 2000 tal effects, a character gen- bling in our office, and enjoyed switch- with the A3033 ing and effects capabilities we never expander kit from erator, 3-D rendering and thought we'd achieve with such rela- Great Valley Products animation, a video tively inexpensive equipment. in King of Prussia, Penn- paintbox and a lu- The Toaster is a board that fits into sylvania. The kit runs about minance keyer in the video slot of a Commodore Amiga $1,700, and includes a 33- one $1,600 2500 computer, or an Amiga 2000 with megahertz accelerator (a step up an accelerator and a hard drive. This from the 2500's 16-mHz accelera- board is a separate computer that digi- tor) and four megabytes of RAM. As tizes incoming video, provides NTSC output and performs most of the Toast- NewTek recommends, we expanded the er’s tricks. The board’s six BNC con- A3033 to eight Mb RAM. This configu- nectors (four inputs, two outputs) ration is ideal for the Toaster, as it dou- emerge from a slot in the rear of bles the Amiga’s speed and offers loads the Amiga. The Toaster’s of memory. software fills cight floppy The Toaster installs easily in the disks, and includes pro- Amiga —just remove the top and pop the board into the video slot. Be careful grams for graphics when replacing the Amiga’s top, though, and manipula- because there’s a fragile copper heat sink tion of digital along the Toaster’s side. Copying the video. The Toaster’s software onto the Amiga’s hard drive is virtually foolproof. Insert the first disk, click a couple of icons, and the program tells you when to insert the other disks. Turn off the computer and restart it, and the Toaster should boot up automatically in about one minute. Now it’s time to wrestle with the Toaster’s toughest problem: choosing ap- propriate video sources to use with it. Unless the Toaster receives an ex- tremely stable signal at its inputs, it fills its outputs with digital artifacts and bits

Ready To Cook: s4atlsgy The Video Toaster (left), its main screen B= 1ES724 ED) (right), manual, soft- ware and BNC-to-RCA DV ETIRY: y adapters (below). Af2]Hae 3)4 for vere Td eo AT9 | “hg aa tEAG of other images. TK-880U, and by connecting the Digital’s signal into Toaster input 1 and The Toaster works TK-880U's output to Toaster input 2. the sync input of the Model 50, and the with video cameras output of the Model 50 to Toaster input and laserdisc players; Wedding videographers could use 2, then connected a Toshiba SV-F990 this setup to switch between a wide shot S-VHS VCR to the Model 50’s input. signals from VCRs (and from the back of a church and close-ups We were then able to switch between camcorders in playback of the ceremony. Of course, they would the camcorder and the VCR. mode) must be run through a have to haul the Toaster along on the full-frame time-base corrector The Toaster can be used with two (TBC), which converts a shoot. monitors, but is easier to use with three. VCR’s unstable video into a nearly One monitor displays the toaster’s user perfect signal. Another method is to use a TBC. interface screens, one displays the pre- We tried the Model 50, a $2,995 unit view output and one shows the program The ideal mate for the Toaster is from Prime Image in Saratoga, Califor- output, which can be used for recording. Sony’s $2,700 CCD-V5000 Hi8 cam- nia. The Model 50 worked especially well with the Toaster because it not only The main screen of the Toaster looks corder, which has a built-in TBC. In ad- cleans up VCR signals, it syncs them to like the control panel ofabroadcast vid- dition, NewTek recommends Hitachi's another video source. We ran the Al eo switcher. And indeed it is—the Toaster performs 120 scene transition ef- professional VL-S100 VCR, a $4,000 Per fects, which use digital processing to pix- Super VHS portable VCR that has a elize the picture, bounce images around TBC. VCRs with partial-frame TBCs, the screen, roll them off, draw them such as Philips’ VR6995 and Panasonic’s away like curtains—you get the idea. PV-4990, won’t work. All the effects look just as good as With a suitable video source, you'll those on network news programs. It also has SMPTE color bars, nifty digital trail be able to grab frames from ‘video and mix incoming video with graphics and effects and a mode that simulates text. However, most Toaster buyers will the transporter effect on Star Trek. want to use its switcher to perform flips, The top of the screen displays fly-aways, dissolves and wipes between graphic representations of 32 ef- two video sources. To perform these fects. Three more effects banks tricks, the video sources must be syn- may also be called up. Under- derneath sit buttons for Pref- . chronous, or else horizontal and vertical erences (which sets one black bars show up in the monitors. of nine background colors and other The least expensive way to do this is to use a video camera such as JVC’s VIDEO 41 $900 TK-880U, which accepts external synchronization. We set up a two-cam- era shoot by plugging the output of a Canon Al Digital Hi8 camcorder (used in camera mode) into both input 1 of the Toaster and the sync input of the LMEOSRSILLO

TOASTING Keyed Up: The Toaster’s lumi- parameters), Chroma FX, Toaster Paint, Texture nance keyer super- the character generator and LightWave, a la Toaster: imposes one image a 3-D rendering and animation program. With the Toaster’s 3-D onto the lightest or rendering program, a darkest parts of anoth- The lower left corner of the screen user can give objects a er. The subject at left displays the switcher itself, with rows of worn, grimy look, reflec- was shot with the sun tive chrome surfaces, at her back, providing a buttons to control the program output, surface ripples and oth- bright background the preview output and the overlay for er realistic textures. which the Toaster re- the luminance keyer. Each row contains placed with the computer graphic be- buttons for sources 1 through 4, frame hind her. buffers 1 and 2 (which hold text, graph- ics or still frames) and background. Just Popped Out: These scenes were Operating the switcher is simple. produced with Chroma Once the effect and video sources are FX (left), the switcher’s digital trails effect (be- selected, just click on the T-bar and drag low left) and the the mouse down. The switcher ex- character generator changes what's in program for what’s in (below). preview, using the selected scene transi- tion. Clicking the “auto” button exc- BVPRIUDIETENT cutes the transition at one of three speeds. All switcher functions can also be controlled from the keyboard. We were tremendously impressed with the Toaster’s image quality, but de- cided to get a second opinion. Technical editor Lancelot Braithwaite ran some numbers on the Toaster. He came up with a horizontal resolution of at least 625 lines, an unweighted luminance sig- nal-to-noise ratio of 62.2 decibels, a weighted luminance S/N of 66 dB, a chroma AM S/N of 72.8 dB and a chroma PM S/N of 50.1 dB—all out- standing measurements. The luminance keyer superimposes an overlay source on the program source, which is similar to the way chroma keyers put computer-generated maps behind TV weathermen. It dis- cards the lightest and darkest parts of the overlay video and substitutes the program video. It also supcrimposes graphics on video if the graphics have black or white backgrounds. This effect works best in carefully controlled lighting conditions, with a brightly lit wall behind the subject. Oth- erwise, parts of the scene underneath leak through the brightest parts of the subject's face and clothing. The lower right corner of the main screen displays the frame store controls. A user can store a frame from any video source to use as a still frame or as clip art for the paint program. Because the Toaster is a 24-bit board capable of re- producing more than 16 million colors in high resolution, its frame store is cleaner than that of a conventional Amiga dig- 42 VIDEO MARCH 1991

itizer, which produces 4,096 colors in Objects with varying levels of transpar- stock Amigas. Toaster Paint convin- low resolution and 16 in high resolution. ency can be created, cut, reshaped and cingly shows that 24-bit graphics are the pasted, images from the frame store can way to go in multimedia. TOASTER TOOLS be added and manipulated, and parts of With the amazing capabilities of the a picture may be colorized or blurred— The Toaster’s character generator all in any of more than 16 million colors. (CG) produces text that looks like it Toaster switcher, it’s easy to ignore the came from a Chyron broadcast CG. It other programs included. Any can be Toaster Paint gencrates text using accessed from the main screen by click- standard Amiga fonts. Using Toaster offers ten fonts with shadows, outlining, Paint, a picture ofabride and groom can scrolling and crawling. It also converts ing on the appropriate icon. be cut out and pasted onto the top of a Amiga fonts for its own use. Text may be First from the left is Chroma FX, picture of a wedding cake, or into an keyed over incoming video or saved as a opening screen filled with flowers and frame store. Unlike many CGs, it only which performs color filtration and a va- hearts that almost look painted. takes about 20 minutes to learn. riety of effects keyed to the luminance values of an incoming video. NewTek After an hour of practice, we were LightWave, the Toaster’s 3-D mod- includes 32 preset effects. Some tint the able to create images that rival those of picture, some change light or dark areas professional video paintboxes, with little eling and animation program, creates of the picture to other colors, and some of the flicker or rough edges that plague images with adjustable lighting, camera produce color stripes. A T-bar on the angles and such texturing options as Chroma FX screen varies the effects. continued on page 84 A user can also program custom ef- fects, but the concept behind Chroma Toaster In a nutshell, here’s what a home videographer can do FX won't be familiar to many. Appar- ently, even NewTek’s technical support with the Video Toaster: staffers are just figuring out how to use it. It’s a powerful program, and the pre- e Switch between up to four synchronized, time-base set effects are great. Learning to create your own effects will require many hours corrected video sources, using digital effects similar to of experimentation, though. those on TV shows. The Toaster Paint feature alone may e@Key one video image over another, provided the be worth the price of the product. Any- top image is shot under certain lighting conditions. one who has used graphics software e Digitize scenes from a video camera or a time-base should feel at home with Toaster Paint. corrected VCR. e Access preset and user-designed digital effects. e Create network-quality titles and realistic two- and three-dimensional graphics. —BB SOUTHEAST'S LARGEST LASERDISC DEALER MAIL ORDER SALES: * OUER 4,000 TITLES IN STOCK * 20,000 DISCS AUAILABLE FOR SALE * ORDER 1-2 DISCS FOR 10% DISCOUNT OR ORDER 3 OR MORE FOR 15% DISCOUNT * WE CAN TELL YOU WHAT IS IN STOCK WHEN YOU CALL * ALL IN-STOCK TITLES SHIPPED SAME OR NEXT BUSINESS DAY * ALL NEW RELEASES AUAILABLE ON STREET DATE * FREE CATALOG UPON REQUEST iN GEORGIA OUTSIDE GEURGIA 404-439-8580 1-800-347-1948 THE HOME THEATRE SYSTEMS SPECIALISTS ATLANTA AREA RETAIL STORES: * QUER 4,000 DISCS AUAILABLE FOR RENT * OUER 4,000 DISCS IN STOCK FOR SALE AT 10% OFF RETAIL PRICE HOME ENTERTAINMENT EQUIPMENT Audio Laserdisc Speakers TU Projection * Pioneer * Pioneer * Tangent by Klipsch * Elite * Sony * MB Quart * Pioneer * Monster Cable * Yamaha * Jamo * Sony * Fosgate * M@K * Yamaha 7* Audio Source * Pioneer * Hitachi * DVidikron For information on equipment, call the Loehmann'‘s Plaza store at 404-955-8909. Loehmann’s Plaza Mail Order Store MLasRterCRerSd Hammond Square N1RcICSaoF9ioneaedonr.frdacovdildri.etemciraeotniaoln, 2430 Cobb Pkwy. 390 Main Street NO 5942 Roswell Rd. Smyrna, GA 30080 Hiram, GA 30141 Atlante, GA 30328 404-955-8909 404-439-1580 404-256-1822 FAX 404-439-0969 MARCH 1991 VIDEO 43

BY BRENT BUTTERWORTH VIDEO Installer to stars puts Hitachi on the highways— Hollywood style In an age when leisure hours are in- creasingly eroded by commuting times stretched over two hours or more a day, it makes sense for videophiles to take their hobby on the road. Vehicu- lar video is shifting into high gear, thanks in large part to Hitachi’s $2,590 car video system, which consists of the tiny VP-F1 hi-fi VHS VCR, the MCM-5 five-inch LCD monitor and a unified infrared remote control. Fittingly, the trend centers in Los Angeles, maiden city of the movies and capital of the clogged freeway. Setting the pace is Electronic Entertainment — car sound specialist to such stars as Mi- chael Jackson, Barbra Streisand and Movies in Motion: and theaters. A techni- The Range Rover (be- cian smoothed the M.C. Hammer —and creator of the sys- sound inside the car low) contains a Hitachi with a parametric tems shown here. The vans on these monitor, VCR and Lin- equalizer, then used ear Power amp (above) those settings to create pages mate the Hitachi system with a custom, fixed equal- mounted on a console izer that compensates Linear Power amplifiers that pump out between the front for the van’s acoustics. seats. Electronic Enter- hundreds of watts of theater-quality tainment tuned the sound. Rover’s sound system using a method nor- Don’t expect a rash of video-re- mally applied lated accidents, though. Most states to studios prohibit positioning a video monitor where a driver can see it. But Holly- wood’s high rollers have a simple solu- tion to the problem—they hire chauffeurs. P| 44 VIDEO MARCH 1991

Muscle Car: This La Forza (left), an Italian import, has its monitor mounted on the front panel, a position that’s legal because the screen points away from the driver. With 500 watts of power, the La Forza can hold its own with L.A.’s loudest. | Games To Go: Highway Harmony: | The Mazda MPV To pacify his two kids (above), owned by Mr. during trips to the fami- Belvedere producer Jeff ly's weekend home, Stein, includes a Nin- the owner of tendo game system this Chevrolet and a Hitachi monitor Suburban (right) had it outfitted | mounted along the with separate, | van’s interior side wall. headphone- equipped video | Stein and his son often | play videogames while systems for each child. a third person drives. MARCH 1991 VIDEO 45

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TAPED 6 FEATURE FILMS Wild at Heart Rockin Good News: Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern turn up the heat in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart. 1990. Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern, Willem Oz references don’t work. The cropping arriving in New York City to begin his Dafoe, Diane Ladd; wr./dir. David Lynch. of the wide-screen image also hurts, with first semester as an NYU film student, some shots actually squeezed to make has all his belongings stolen by a street Hi-fi stereo surround, cc. (R) 125 min. them fit. Lynch works his magic anyway. hustler (Bruno Kirby). Broderick’s at- $89.98. Media. Not for the timid, Wild at Heart remains tempts to get his stuff back lead him an example of how a film can take us deeper and decper into Kirby’s world, David Lynch has turned the youth- away —as long as it’s in the hands of and eventually to Kirby’s boss, an elderly people who aren’t afraid to fly with it. Sicilian gentleman with puffy checks exploitation movie into an apocalyptic and a raspy voice who, although Kirby vision in Wild at Heart. Sailor Ripley —Sol Louis Siegel sweats he’s just a “local businessman,” | (Nicolas Cage) and Lula Fortune (Laura appears to wield great authority. As a Dern) hit the road in a T-bird convert- The Freshman matter of fact, he looks remarkably ible, stopping only to dance and make like...could it be? Nah, it couldn’t be. fiery love, while the world goes nuts 1990. Marlon Brando, Matthew Broderick, around them. What Sailor and Lula Penelope Ann Miller; wr./dir. Andrew It is. Marlon Brando, in a perfor- seek is a place where they can live to be Bergman. Hi-fi stereo surround, cc. (PG) mance that should qualify him for the grown-ups and still have fun. 102 min. $92.95. RCA/Columbia. good-sport-of-the-year Oscar—a wick- edly funny riff on his famed role in The Everyone else is out to stop them, This light comedy will one day serve Godfat—hbreeezrily steals the picture as starting with Lula’s crazy mom (Diane mainly as a giant asterisk in the world of Carmine Sabitini, a Brooklyn “importer” Ladd, Dern’s real-life mother), and fin- movies, a feature-length in-joke for film with a somewhat elaborate plan for ishing with Bobby Peru, at once the buffs. Matthew Broderick stars as a col- Broderick’s future. That plan involves slimiest and most charming denizen of lege freshman who, within minutes of Big Tuna, Texas. (His verbal rape of Lula is as brutal as the physical act would have been.) The supporting characters are crazy or corrupt; the good ones are horribly murdered. Lynch turns up the heat in the first shot and keeps it there, giving respite only when Sailor and Lula are alone together. The tenderness of their dialogue scenes belies their youth- ful ribaldry. At first glance, Lynch seems to have made up the picture as he went along, with the sex, violence, and weird and comic incidents and characters merging into an unique and intense lyricism. Re- peat viewings reveal a formal design in which the elements of Lynch’s American mindscape play against each other to maximum effect. Cage and Dern emote with wild and unashamed abandon; Willem Dafoe, as Bobby, makes the screen smolder. On the debit side, Ladd is too much even for this picture, and the Wizard of MARCH 1991 VIDEO 47

his own seemingly ditzy daughter, a ko- nition video to Super-8 film, Schu- modo dragon (an enormous tropical liz- ard), Broderick’s creepy stepdad, a pair macher puts us in a completely altered of goofy government agents and a mys- state where anything is possible. terious society that gathers occasionally No matter how amazing or scary for a dastardly purpose. Flatliners becomes, it wins us over with But nobody in this movie seems to its emotional power. Schumacher (The try very hard. Broderick makes good use of his patented slack-jawed look of be- Lost Boys) once again gets terrific en- wilderment; Kirby is fine playing the same sort of character he always seems semble performances from his hot young to play. And, of course, Brando didn’t have to dig too deep to come up with his actors, especially Kiefer Sutherland as characterization. But film buffs will de- light in the many subtle gags, as well as a the all-too-sane team leader. It doesn’t take long before the characters realize there are things man wasn’t meant to know, yet Flatliners keeps us wanting to take the voyage, no matter how perilous it becomes. —Daniel Schweiger Leapin’ Lizards: Matthew Broderick (right) has The Witches enough dark, subversive wit to keep it trouble with a komodo dragon in The Freshman. from turning sappy. 1990, Anjelica Huston, Mai Zetterling, Ja- few less-than-gentle jabs at film school sen Fisher; dir. Nicolas Roeg. Hi-fi stereo This was the last movie Muppct surround, cc. (PG) 92 min. $92.95. LD master Jim Henson worked on (he was inanities. —Chris Cornell $24.98. Warner. executive producer); some of the make- up and special effects are overdone, but Flatliners In the opening scenes of The the mouse Luke is an adorable creation. Witches, director Nicolas Roeg creates The action is amusing, and the cast- 1990. Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts; dir. an air of dark, creepy menace as a wise, ing — especially Anjelica Huston, who Joel Schumacher. Hi-fi stereo surround, cc. cigar-smoking grandmother (Mai Zetter- has a grand time as the Grand High ling) tries to teach her grandson Luke Witch—is dead on target. A good deal (R) 114 min. RCA/Columbia. (Jasen Fisher) how to deal with child- of fun for both children and grown-ups. Life’s greatest mystery may be death, hating witches. The tone changes con- siderably when woman and child go ona —SLS but don’t expect Flatliners to provide seaside vacation and stumble upon a easy answers for the afterlife. The film’s convention of the hags. Luke then has Darkman group of wayward medical students sees to try to stop them from changing all the death as the ultimate yuppie tool for children of England into mice, which 1990. Liam Neeson, Frances McDormand, fame and power, stopping their hearts to isn’t so easy after he’s been turned into Larry Drake; dir. Sam Raimi. Hi-fi stereo learn God's secrets, then getting jump- one himself. The film becomes a benign, started back to existence before it’s too Americanized sort of fantasy, but Rocg surround, cc. (R) 95 min. priced for rental. late. charges the Roald Dahl story with MCA/Universal. Visiting these unholy experiments is Black Magic Woman: |n The Witches, Anjelica Darkman is part Batman, part Phan- like entering an emergency room on Huston tries to turn England's children into mice. tom of the Opera, part Terminat—oarnd LS—dDirector Joel Schumacher creates damned if director Sam Raimi could an incredibly tense and visually dazzling make up his mind what he wanted. Liam atmosphere for the clinical proccedings. Neeson is about to perfect artificial skin Every plunge into death becomes in- when a gang of thugs barges in on unre- creasingly hair-raising, the camera whirl- lated business and blows up his lab, with ing about sweaty, shouting faces. This frenetic activity is balanced by the test him in it. Disfigured, he uses his inven- subjects’ hallucinogenic journeys as they tion to disguise himself and get even. glide over mountains, are caressed by beautiful women or reach back to the In his first big-studio movie, womb. Using every trick from high-def- Raimi manages some nifty visual effects. The picture works best in its action scenes, which are often ferociously funny. Frances McDormand is a noble and endearing love interest, and Larry Drake is a memorably nasty villain. But the picture keeps shifting be- tween drama, violent comedy and hys- 48 VIDEO MARCH 1991