video-magazine-1994-07

$2.95 » JULY 1994 5 Myeydyoh }} {{}| 6 Super $40¢ IWATE | Receivers .ee_e — \"4 i ere ‘ |{ 9» on ‘| a , \\| | ©6 Sizzling $1 1} of {} | Sanin COIRSEREINEETNIIN GODRERETREE one YE | Speakers . }} |} CD-ROMS & VIDEO Breaking Down _The Barriers gna enema Mer essays POWER/STANDBY PHONES A SPEAKER 6 V 0m more ‘SVIDEOTE $ His VCR o& e

RCA CinemaScreen': The Television Made for Movies. \\ east. A television that’s as big as all outdoors. With RCA CinemaScreen TV, the new state of the art 16 x 9 screeon 25 _ the same panoramic view you used to find only in the theatre—or quality sound and images. the picture isn't fenced in. MA 1994 Thomson Consumer Electronics, Inc. TV Ppicture simulated, Dolby) is a registered trademark of Dolby Labeoe rateorties Ligerising: Corp.F

FEATURES BUDGET HOME THEATER, RECEIVERS: 34 POWER FOR PENNYPINCHERS Six bargain-priced Pro-Logic speakers face off in a battle of the budget. By Brent Butterworth BUDGET HOME THEATER, SPEAKERS: 38 HIGH-END SOUND FOR A SONG Can you get five great speakers for $500? Yep. By Corey Greenberg ROM REVOLUTION 42 Multimedia means nothing less than rebirth for home video. By Ron Goldberg PRO TODAY, YOURS TOMORROW 46 Digital advances and plunging prices shake up NAB '94. By Frank Beacham TAPES & DISCS ©REVIEWS /Short Cuts, In the Name of the Father, Ace Ventura, Orlando, More 54 EDITOR’S CHOICE / Deep Blues. By Kenneth Korman 55 60 DIRECTORY / The latest releases on tape and disc VIDEOTESTS SONY EV-S7000 HI8 VCR, 20 Panasonic PV-S64 S-VHS-C camcorder, Sony CCD-TR700 Hi8 camcorder, MSB Gold LS-1 Laserdisc Transport and MS-1 D/A Convertor, Samsung SCX953 8mm camcorder. By Berger-Braithwaite Labs DEPARTMENTS CHANNEL ONE / New improved Videotests 4 FEEDBACK / Letters from readers 6 FAST FORWARD / Digital VCRs, Mike Leigh's Naked, Late Breaking News 8 NEW PRODUCTS / Compact cams, speakers and a titler 14 Cover: HOME THEATER / How to get the light right for big-screen viewing Fisher's RS-737 A/V CAMCORNER / Can Hi8 cut it for broadcast? A cable station finds out. 16 Receiver flanked by READER FORUM / Round 2: Debating THX OFF THE AIR / What drives you crazy? Your top 10 video complaints 18 B&W's $99 2001 19 speakers, and Sony's 27-inch KV-27XBR95S 90 TV. Photograph by Dan Wagner Video Magazine Volume XVII Number 4 ky 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. © 1994 Reese Communications. Inc. All rights reserved. © under Universal. International, and Pan American Copyright Conventions. Reproduction of editorial or pictorial content in any manner is prohibited The Single copy price $2.95; $3.50 in Canada: £2.50 in U.K. One-year Subscription (12 issues) $15.; Canada, $22.47 (includes GST #R125938423) U.S.; foreign. air mail. $40 U.S. Canadian international publication Audit Bureau permit #546488. Address subscription orders, change of address. correspondence and inquiries to: VIDEO, Box 56293, Boulder CO 80322-6293, or call toll-free 800-365-1008. 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. 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. JULY 1994 VIDEO 3

New improved VIDEO “J Videotests Videotests of new equipment have been the cornerstoneof Video Mag- President and Managing Director, azine since our inaugural issue in 1978. Over the years the tests by Jay Rosenfield Berger-Braithwaite Labs have become known as the industry standard, and we know from your feedback they are consistently one of the best- Editor, James M. Barry tread departments in the magazine. With this in mind, we don’t make changes to our Videotest format lightly or often. But when we do, as Managing Editor, Stan Pinkwas we have beginning this month, the changes are designed to make the Technical Editor, Lancelot Braithwaite tests more useful, the presentation more accessible, and the informa- Senior Editors, Kenneth Korman, tion more valuable for our readers. Brent Butterworth Assistant Editors, Josef Krebs, Videotests are designed to report on and judge product perfor- Stewart Applegath mance from the user’s standpoint, to give you a basis for comparison to Contributing Editors: Bob Angus, Bob make an informed buying decision. Our Videotests combine laboratory Barlow, Frank Beacham, Bruce Eder, M. bench tests to confirm manufacturers’ assertions about product specifi- Faust, Corey Greenberg, Ty Harrington, cations, and comparative usage tests that put products through their David Lachenbruch, Timothy Liebe, George paces so they can be fairly evaluated against comparable components Mannes, Marianne Meyer, Cliff Roth, Tom and against a set of standards established in our test center. Soter, Jonathan Takiff, Rich Warren, Stewart Wolpin, Roderick Woodcock We've designed the new format to be both more concise and more complete. You'll find in each test a new quick-read scorecard featuring Art Director, Marshall Moseley a new overall “V Rating” using a scale of one to five Vs, with five de- Assistant Art Director, Nadira Abdul-Kadir noting excellence. You'll also find a snapshot of each product’s Production Manager, Gary M. Krystofiak performance in bargraphs that indicate the product’s rating on a one- Production Assistant, Kim Lau to-five scale in four key quality areas— picture, sound, features and Typesetting, Janet M. Holland value. A second box will continue to delineate key specifications, and other relevant data. The accompanying text spells out the details of Group Publisher, Eric C. Schwartz the testing procedure and its findings. Associate Publisher, Linda DeRogatis Continuing our longstanding tradition, the bench tests will be con- Vice President, Business Development, ducted by Berger-Braithwaite Labs. However, many of the test reports Alan Deitch will be written by staff editors and contributors who have studied the Editor, Video Pro, Tim Wetmore lab reports and performed additional hands-on evaluations of the prod- National Advertising Director, Video Pro, uct’s features, functionality and ergonomics. Equally important, we are Annette Schnur increasing the number of Videotests from four to five each issue to Circulation Director, Rodney Bell better cover the influx of new home theater and videomaking equip- Circulation Assistant, Rosemary Y. Paver Newsstand Sales Director, Gerald Levine ment arriving on the market, and to better address our readers’ need Marketing Director, Luanne Rao to know what’s new and what's good. To assure consistency in our test Financial Officer, Mark C. Spector, C.P.A. procedures, we’ve also updated our Videotest protocols. Business Manager, Janette Evans Assistant Business Manager, The core products that created the home video era— VCRs, laser- Lily Schwartzberg disc players, TVs and camcorde—rhasve evolved greatly during the Advertising Coordinator, Karen Pellino decade and a half we’ve been testing and reporting on them in these Assistant to the President, pages. The next 15 years promise to be every bit as exciting, and we’re So Hee Kim ready to continue bringing you the best new product tests you'll find anywhere. If you have comments or suggestions about our revised for- Corporate Offices, Editorial & Sales: Linda mat, we’d love to hear them. Futterman, Christine Barbieri, 460 West 34 St., New York, NY 10001; James M. Barry 212-947-6500, 212-947-6727 (fax) Editor West Coast Sales Office: Linda DeRogatis, Kirstin Hartenbower, Marc D. Minasian, 4 VIDEO JULY 1994 1453 Third Street, Suite 490, Santa Monica, CA 90401; 310-393-5057, 310-393-5538 (fax) Chicago Sales Office: Milton Gerber, Kristene Richardson, Media Plus, 135 N. Arlington Heights Road, Suite 106, Buffalo Grove, IL 60089; 708-913-5400, 708-913-5403 (fax) Editor-in-Chief, Art Levis (1936-1991) REESE re COMMUNICATIONS @. INCORPORATED PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.

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LASER Disa FEEDBACK BY STEWART APPLEGATH New Movies Deadheads properly. I started looking for a new TV, since our 26-incher was six years old and Old Movies Your “Channel One” (April ’94) was close, but just missed the mark. You I didn’t want to waste $200 on a repair. I and all the shouldn’t have been surprised to see few TV and VCR people at CES— that stuff purchased a new VCR. Then I read your Classics is on the way out. Those people are dead; they just haven’t fallen over yet. article and sure enough, when we shut We Have CD-ROM and _ he computer that con- Them All! trols it is “now.” Your TV is your com- off those lights, the problem disap- puter CRT. Cable service plugs right in. 0 47-19 VCRs are for long, real-time programs peared. When I called my sister, she was only. Around the corner is a Cray Super- 2516 Cobb Parkway computer, which could provide services overjoyed: She had also been contem- Smyrna, GA 30080 like instant sports betting, 24 hours a plating a TV purchase. Thanks again for day. You could bet on each play, and on Ph 1-404-955-8909 yardage won and lost. Are over-the-air the article and the hundreds of dollars Fx 1-404-984-2178 broadcasters and TV and VCR people scared? You bet. No one should be sur- you saved us! 10:00 - 7:00 EST MON - FRI prised at what is about to happen. VISA - MASTERCARD - DISCOVER Bob Constantino, Conrad J. White, C.0.D. - CHECKS Dept. of Instructional Media Services, East Greenwich, Rhode Island * CONTINENTAL ONLY - UPS GROUND Harvard University, Beta EDucation Circle 2 on Reader Service Card. Cambridge, Massachussetts Reader Steven Staples (‘‘Feedback,” March '94) is not entirely alone in his passion for ED Beta. I have used both VHS and Hi8 equipment, and only be- latedly discovered Beta. A used HF-1000 SuperBeta quickly became my favorite for editing. I was fortunate enough to find a second ED Beta VCR, a used EDV-9300. It is a joy to use and the pic- ture is outstanding; I have never seen a single dropout. I still use the TR-101 camcorder for acquisition, but wish I could find a EDC-55 ED Beta camcord- er. I have no trouble buying tape—sour Sony dealer stocks them and other deal- ers are willing to order. Hail ED Beta in- deed! Al Bieck, Toronto, Ontario Free from jail Tube Trouble: Energy-saving fluorescent bulbs can We'd like to correct an error in “Late cause operating glitches in some A/V components. Breaking News” (April ’94) about a dealer in Ohio who corrects vertical “jail Fighting phantoms... bars” on the left side of projector screens. Unlike other models cited, the I really appreciate your article on “Phan- AmPro HD-1100 projector is already fac- tom Frequencies” (April ’94). I had pur- tory-modified at our facility to eliminate chased four of the bulbs your article the ringing to which you refer. cited as suspect. I gave two to my sister and, before long, we were both having Eric M. Geller, Vice President, major problems with our remotes, TVs Prosumer Systems Division, and VCRs. I assumed the culprits were Ampro Corp. our TV receivers or VCRs. My wife told Woburn, Massachussetts me our VCR Plus was not operating Video Magazine welcomes your comments. Please include a phone number, but not a return envelope as the volume of mail does not permit replies. All letters may be edited for clarity and space. Address queries to Feedback, Video Magazine, 460 West 34 Street, New York, NY 10001. 6 VIDEO JULY 1994

To see amovie ... you had to drive }to the theater find a parking spot buy an expensive ticket, 4a>> Linfeor| Theater | then stand 2 in line, while they attempt to clean the itetee, | es then on the way to your seat, you step on the one piece of gum they missed ... only to have with big hair sit right in front ...all of this just to see a movie. The HR-VP612 allows you to enjoy your favorite movies in one of the world’s most comfortable theaters, your EROroom. The HR-VP612- Let it entertain you. . ey + ¢ Digital AV tracking _ © AvAalO-val-ccutu eDkAo-r4aead headsysMtsyaestem Se eeeFE ¢ Multi-Brand Remote Control — ¢ VCR Plus programming — | * Multi-Speed Search HR-VP612 AV Compulink* ws The Inventor of VHS GaViews . With JVC’s exclusive AV Compulink, simply place a Instant ReView offers the ultimate in user convenience. After a pre-recorded tape into the VCR. Automatically, your theray TV recording has been made, simply press the Instant ReView TV and Receiver will turn on and their volume levels button ... The VCR will turn on and rewind to the beginning of will wiset for you. All of this by just inserting atape. the last recording, and then start to play - automatically! bso oled wok hon prs Technically Perfect. Perfectly Simple.

The VCR reborn DIAMONDS ARE NOT FOREVER The specs for the VCR of the fu- ‘Sean Connery and friend in Goldfinger. ™ All sixteen James Bond films will be un- ture have finally been formalized. The available on videocas- 50 companies that make up the Digital sette for at least a year VCR Conference (which includes prac- when current store sup- plies run out. Distributor tically every electronics company you MGM/UA plans to re- can think of) have settled on a digital launch its highly success- VCR design much like the one detailed ful Bond video line some in our February article, “Designing the time in 1995, probably to First Hi-Def Deck.” coincide with the pro- jected theatrical release The large tape will measure 4.9 by 3 of the first new 007 pic- by 0.57 inches and will record 4-1/2 | ture since 1989's Licence hours of NTSC, 2-1/4 hours of HDTV. to Kill. (Timothy Dalton The smaller tape, intended for camcord- ers, will measure 2.6 by 1.9 by 0.48 has bowed out, so the inches, and will record one hour of search for a new Bond is currently in full swing.) NTSC, one half-hour of HDTV. (This is sure to disappoint the many Video Maga- All the current Bond zine readers who have written to com- tapes go for $19.95, in- plain about the relatively short cluding all-time Bond recording times, which we reported in ') best-seller Goldfinger. February.) | MGM's popular laserdisc editions, such as the two These new decks are sure to blow recently released Connery away any consumer VCRs currently on Collection boxed sets, will the market, but you'll probably have to not be affected by the wait about two years to buy one. Pan- asonic is the only manufacturer with surprise moratorium on firm marketing plans —it says it will in- troduce a professional version early next Bond videocassettes. year. At a recent press conference, Phi- —KK lips said it hoped to introduce decks un- der the Magnavox brand in early ’96. —Brent Butterworth searching services, was launched this ning to enhance the service as it gains The total couch potato spring by Prodigy and TVSM, publisher experience. Audio will be added later of Total TV, a weekly printed cable this year, to be followed by still photos It’s official: TV guides have gone guide. Total TV Online is available to | and, eventually, full-motion previews. interactive. Total TV Online, the first of Prodigy’s 2 million subscribers as part of —Stan Pinkwas a promised flock of two-way program- | the regular $14.95 monthly charge. TU Listings Viewers will find a week’s Playin’ around worth of programs updated T i Lo eer 2.coal Ashah Search Apr 12 daily, and can search through Who's playing videogames these REL Listin iseeae the database by day, hour, days? For a start, it’s not just kids and it’s listings by not just guys, according Sega of Ameri- genre or any of the 41 net- General Gi OO PM FOX, SOUTH CENTRAL NBC, THE SECOND BALE Category works it chronicles. Program Network aCReS ¢ PATED BY MURDER. summaries, printouts, key- word searches and links to M300 PH WBE, THE JUWWUARROGUETTE [Setect another — Prodigy’s longer movie reviews ekae AMiedicescoaa are available and easy to use. =TST>SEHERIN NMENT 30oH000 PN ASEu,t CRACKER: é OWE BAeY iA Barty tie tings | And yes, it will carry advertis- PLEWNTNG WILL FLY | HOE, BIOGRAPHY ing. aoe a What it can’t do yet is run WCBS, SANE DIFFERENCE y Sport on your TV screen or program jm) your VCR. But Prodigy is plan- ry 34 PM Nr' THE WORLD OF STRAWBERRY SHORTEAKE Vital Statistics: Total TV sends program listings through cyberspace. 8 VIDEO JULY 1994

shares the bleakness in his soul with the TIMESHIFT other unmoored people he encounters. Leigh recently turned 50, and Naked expresses his fears about the world that TEN YEARS AGO IN VIDEO MAGAZINE his children will inherit. Still, he doesn’t “I’m not sure people feel that it is a hopleless story. “I may be are going to want to a pessimist about the future, but I’m an \"The Japanese are working ona interact. When in optimist about people, and there are ele- ‘high-band’ color process for both doubt, don’t invest. ” ments of compassion, even of love, lurk- Beta and VHS, hoping for 400-line ca. The game giant flung a flock of fig- ures at video store owners meeting ing in Naked,” he argues. “The film has horizontal resolution by 1986. This recently in Chicago. Here are the high- lights: to be seen in terms of people’s poten- would substantially improve the e Nearly 40 percent of all game cus- tial—the waste of intelligence and of current standard tomers are female. 250-line resolu- talent, yes, but also the potential to use tion. Engineers Nick)Holmes Videc e Half of all Sega Genesis players are older than 18. them.” —M. Faust e One-fifth of all videogamers live in Sooo SSO E SSH HHTEHE SEHR EHH EEE EEEEESEEES also expect a households without children. The ultimate TV dinner e Americans will spend more than $1.5 billion just renting videogames this bb What's “America’s newest cook- much-improved year. —SP ing appliance”? General Electric hopes it will be the TVCR, especially a 13-inch 50-55 dB signal- Video KitchenVision combo the company to-noise ratio HimOIlciyompiSiad rushed to stores in time for Mother’s Day. KitchenVision, unlike other (as opposed to ag TVCRs, comes with a Frugal Gourmet recipe tape —‘‘Fancy Chicken Dishes” 40-45 dB). JVC jig by chef Jeff Smith—and an exclusive catalog of cooking videos. After all, and Matsushita have the upper ~~ “Learning to cook in the living room is a hand in. R&D...Good news for those of JULY 1984 you who tum up your noses at cable TV. A research group is predicting that 48 million Americans will be taking advantage of direct broadcast satellite on a The ewe truth pay-per-view basis by 1994. Of bP Mike Leigh admits to using im- course, we may eliminate the cable provisatory workshops with his actors as part of the process of devising his films, but probably not the sub-par pro- but feels that this aspect of his work gets more attention than it deserves. gramming. Perhaps the figures are “T like to mix the creative activity a bit optimistic...RCA’s CED videodisc with the rehearsal process because I like to involve the actors,” says the British is dead—long live Pioneer's laser- writer-director of such critical favorites as Life is Sweet and High Hopes. “But I disc! There are well over 1,200 CED don’t form a committee where we sit around and discuss what the film’s going titles on the market and RCA says it to be about—it remains my authorial perogative.” will continue to service the players. Leigh’s extraordinary Naked (New Cookin’ Up a Storm: GE's KitchenVision TVCR. But the bloom is off the rose when it Line Home Video) received top awards at film festivals from Cannes (Best Di- comes to new movie releases, still rector and Best Actor, David Thewlis) to Toronto (where the international social oxymoron,” according to J. Keith the driving force behind all home press picked it over The Piano). Alter- nately funny and shocking, it follows a Green, who developed the 200-tape cat- video formats. Within hours of the brilliant but self-destructive drifter through the streets of London, as he alog. “It doesn’t make sense.” early-April CED-RIP announcement, To spice the dish further for “kitch- key independent video program encentric’” Americans, 20 million of distributors started dumping their whom already watch TV in the kitchen, CED inventory like hot potatoes. These distributors buy in large vol- GE mounted the set on a 180-degree swiveling base. The VCR’s a monaural ume from the labels and sell to two-head unit, and the whole package, in tasteful “kitchen white,” is $499. stores. Without them, the chain from Look for it in electronics departments, label to retailer is broken.” . and housewares. —SP JULY 1994 VIDEO

APPLE IS RE- | year, multi-title deal to produce mov- shooting basics, editing tips and spe- portedly about ies, TV shows and interactive multi- cial-effects and titling ideas. Don’t to release a media. Plans include releasing “linear” worry—they won’t try to push Video- | new version of product like feature films at the same nics products on you. For more infor- its QuickTime times as related multimedia titles, pos- mation, call 800-333-EDIT. multimedia sibly starting with new projects MGM : system exten- has slated for theaters in 95 or '96. DURING THE MONTH OF AU- sion that will e i \"gust, parents can bring their children bring full-mo- FANS OF CUTTING-EDGE TECH- to any of more than 2,000 participat- tion video to nology visiting Florida this summer ing Blockbuster video stores and get a basic Macintosh computers for the might want to drop by Disney’s Epcot free videocassette recordinogf their very first time. QuickTime 2.0 will play Center theme park to check out the | kids for emergency identification pur- “movies” twice as fast as the current new Innoventions exhibit —a display poses. Now in its fifth year, Blockbus- version (see “ROM Revolution,” this of both current and upcoming high- | ter’s Kidprint program has document- issue), allowing for half-screen 30- tech products from 11 leading compan- ed 650,000 kids on tape. (Because frames-per-second video. This seem- ies like AT&T, Apple, IBM and Sega. | video captures the mannerisms and ingly incremental upgrade could prove Also present will be one company that — voice of a child, these tapes prove far ignificant as the last link ina may be unfamiliar to the general pub- more valuable to police than still pho- ° lic, but very well known to Video Mi tos when searching for a child.) More than 1.4 million children are reported gh-quality multimedia soft- azine readers: Videonics. The missing each year in the U.S. pple reportedly hopes Quick- will demonstrate its MX-1 mix Time 2.0 will usher in a new era of full- Maker 2000 titler and otherpr e length movies released on CD-ROM. ECOMBINANT CONSUMER ° _ Speaking of Videonics, the pa- ny will bring its traveling hao electronic technology took another YOU CAN ADD A NEWLY AN- TDK Moviemaking Seminar _| step forward recently in Japan with Matsushita's introduction of a product nounced collaboration between Sega nix, Denver, Seattle and that combines a 13-inch TV, a VCR, a and MGM/UA to the long list of alli- July, and to Orlando, Sac ances formed in the hopes of striking it San Francisco in August. The _CD player, an audiocassette deck and tich on the information superhighway. nars do a great job of outlining the do's | a radio. There are no plans to import The two companies signed a multi- and don'ts of home video, including the $1,500 combo to the U.S. a Last year, 10pro football eames went into sudden deaths Untortunatel $0 1789347 camco What agony, missing the thrill of victory because attery unexpectedly ran out. The cause of this unfortunate event is called “m, ou recharge your nicad battery before it’s fully drained, the more it “remembers” it’s taking less the ulting in reduced capacity. So, just when you think it’s got plenty of power, it’s actually on its last le If you want to be sure you're not cut out of e NoMEM™ Battery from Lenmar. The original memory free battery. A No a fullcharge every time, any time. Plus, it’s 100% compatible with your current battery charger. For fresh power you can always count on, ask your Lenmar dealer for NoMEM Batteries. And catch all the action without your battery suddenly calling “time out.” For your nearest Lenmar Battery dealer, and a catalog of our Camcorder Performance Products call: 800/424-2703 ©1994 Lenmar Enterprises, Inc. CAMCORDER PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS 10 VIDEO JULY 1994 Circle 3 on Reader Service Card.

For over 83 years Denon has been producing sound faithful to the original. Whether recording and press- ing records or Compact g Discs; making the i AVR-3000 AV SURROUND RECEIVER / mercial digital recording; building professional recording and broadcast equipment or producing the CD Players m* » ranked No.1 in Consumer Satisfaction for two years in a row (Verity Research, 1991/92), the Denon name has y been synonymous with high fidelity. oe Doo Lope Teel Denons AV Receivers give dramatic new. direction tohighfidelity. By accurately controlling signal placement, Denon has redefined high fidelity for Audio Video Surround Sound—sound that is fully faithful to the director’s vision of the cinematic experience. Uniquely, Denon AVR Receivers deliver both audiophile signal ——\" quality (wide dynamic range, high signal-to-noise, outstanding AVR-2000 AV SURROUND RECEIVER phase linearity, immeasurably low distortion) and accurate low level steering, precise digital delay and rear channel fidelity. Plus, sophisticated signal processing enables you to tailor the sound to your listening room as well as create new listening environments. Whether you choose Denon’'s most sophisticated or least expensive AV Receiver, you'll not only be able to create sounds different from the original; you'll be able to recreate the original. RC-159 UNIVERSAL PROGRAMMABLE AND RC-160 ‘ The first name in digital audio. SIMPLIFIED AVR REMOTE CONTROLLERS Circle 4 on Reader Service Card.

recommend walking into a sports bar aren’t going to pay $3,000. that’s crowded and watching Monday Night Football and putting on Pavarot- There are a half-dozen companies that could probably make a large LCD ti. You can cause a riot. But you can panel at some prohibitive price. And have a lot of fun with the product. Video: Does taste in remote con- that’s where we all stand. I think with John J. McDonald trols differ from country to country? someone will finally break the code McDonald: Some Japanese living Remember when watches could only and get the thing out. Or someone tell time? Nowadays, you can buy rooms I’ve been in are about as big as them with built-in calculators, barom- the hall bedroom I had in my parents’ will come out with an inexpensive set eters, even blood-pressure monitors. house when I was a kid. Yet you see a It’s only 1994, but the timepiece that large-screen television in some homes. using another technology. best sums up the current decade is Ca- It seems to me you could just reach sio’s hit Wrist Controller, a $69.95 out and not use a remote. But people Video: What does the informa- watch that doubles as a universal re- are gadget conscious — if you have dis- mote control for TVs and VCRs. tion superhighway mean to Casio? Since 1978, John J. McDonald has posable income, what are you going to served as president of Casio, Inc. Video McDonald: You're going to see a Magazine contributing editor George do with it? Mannes talked with him about remote Video: You sell a lot of small LCD great change in wireless communica- controls and other important stuff. TVs. Are you trying to build a large- tions and wireless transmission of Video: Why would people want a screen, hang-on-the-wall LCD TV? data. The consumer will be able to re- TV remote control in their watch? ceive stock quotes, sports quotes, McDonald: Every manufacturer McDonald: Let’s face it. We with a major LCD factory is looking at headline news, you name it. Good or don’t sell anything that anybody techniques to build larger [displays]. bad, we’re not going to be able to es- needs. We gratify wants. People want The key is to make it inexpensive. the stuff. As a business executive, let’s cape the information that’s out there. say your flight is delayed at O’Hare. Even ifit was a magnificent active- We'll become addicted to it. We'll And you're in the Red Carpet Club, matrix [LCD] set with vivid, bright and you want to change the channel color, I don’t think anybody would want it. from a soap opera to CNN. You can rush out to buy it unless the price were do it surreptitiously. And after 15 min- pretty much the same as what they’re I believe that utes put the soap back on, and no one now paying. The same thing is going knows what the hell happened. I don’t to hold true for hi-def. If you’re selling information that 27-inch sets at $349, how much will people pay for high-definition 27-inch will be available sets? Maybe $600? They sure as hell through interac- tive TV will also be available for wireless transmis- sion — primarily by | wireless FM trans- MM Lon mission. And it’ll John McDonald come through a variety of products that we already have or will develop— as will our competition. r what you get. The original Video TitleMaker made THESE ARE ALL high-quality titles affordable. Now, hy Video TitleMaker 2000 adds more fonts, improved video quality, cyAittCe (Maker and terrific new features. 20 @@ 92 font/size combinations. Circle 5 on Reader Service Card. Over a Million Colors! Easy page access. 24 special effects. 18-language capability. 8000 character memory. Advanced, multi-directional scroll and crawl. Easy-to-use full keyboard. Call 1-800-338-EDIT for the name of your nearest dealer or authorized mail order house. Ask about our “MovieMaking” and “Tips & Tricks” seminars. All Videonics products now carry a 2-year limited warranty. VIDEONICS The Video Editing Company 1370 Dell Avenue « Campbell, CA © 95008 © 408-866-8300 © 1994 Videonics, Inc. Subjecttochange without notice. Videonics logo and Videonics Video TitleMaker are registered trademarks of Videonics, Inc.

NM TAPE2 0 — PREAMP OUTPUT —— 1OUTPUT LEVEL ADJ, — _-0-0—0-0-. _-O—0—0—0—0 —0—0—O-. “0 0-0TUNER N TAREX OUTvont we oeONT CENTER BAR ver2 to VIDEO FRONT cent nm ) am) —O—(= > =€ 9-0-0 —9—90 == 0= “a 0 -Q WOE BAND ANC WELTRONot IAVCB1SHT CORP ie | | E Boren ce) oO. ce) roy Oo OO re) A SERIAL PDERSOIDGUNCEEDD ATNOD AMECNGIINNTE'ELREQDUALIINTY LOSNTDDON/LOS ANGELES CD, Tuner, 2 Audio Tape Loops, 2 VCR Tape Loops, Laser Disc, Video Inputs, Sub woofer crossover, 6 Channels of output with individual adjustment. What a rear! Take a look at the rest... es Designed from the REAR to the front, our product team 4. Dynamic Range Greater Than 100dB in Pro Logic combined with \\FAIMCA.. considered every simple and complex hooka up needed our Dolby circuit's super low distortion (.listen to the center channel Home for a serious Dolby Pro Logic pre-amplifier. Actually speaker) the dynamics are immediately felt. Entertainment 3 ee ;: 2 :; Center We designed it for ourselves, the most critical com- 5, Distributed Power using two audiophile quality amplifiers deliver- ponent necessary to put together a great Home Theater. Then we ing 270 watts across your three front speakers with 45 watts for each designed a remote control, so simple, that even your parents could surround speakers. use it. We took a look at those super theater systems and built in 6, Low Distortion Bass delivered by our powered sub woofer using some of the same professional features like Sound Pressure Level (SPL) matching. our unique Negative Output Impedance primera Amplifier circuit produces clean bass We added specifically-designed amplifiers and a powered sub response down to 30Hz @ 102 dB. woofer, small yet powerful enough to rattle your windows. Together 7. Matching Sound Pressure Level Exactly these components are called System 2. We think our 25 years of for all six speakers is practically automatic passion and experience paid off. using our external microphone and built- Here are a few seri, ous desi: gn reasons why our ;in SPL meter. System 2 should be your Home Theater choice.. There’s so much more to cover, why not go sia Bae 3 down to your nearest AMC Dealer and bring : 1. System Building Flexibility so unusual it guarantees your long term als ; : sabe : j :j your favorite movie or give us a call direct, at entertainment needs are met no matter how many c ymponents you 1-800-321-6396. Find our for yourself what buy. :: our se 2 is all about and sain & 2. Exceptional Audiophile Circuits offeringverhsigh resolution (clear «check out our rear. System y) sound) with a dynamic range of greater than 115 dB (Enough to play the 1812 Overture loud). 3. Dolby Time Link Technology recently patented plus newly devel- DIG DORLOBTY SULRORGOIUND oped micro processors for steering sound effects to your speakers. ™ Weltronics Corp. /P.O. Box 80584 /San Marino, California 91108 TEL 818-799-0396 /FAX 818-799-6541 AMC Home Entertainment Centers are a part of the AMC H.O.M.E. Automation Series Circle 6 on Reader Service Card. “Dolby” and the Did Symbol are trademarks of Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation.

BY STEWART APPLEGATH ompact cams, peakers & titlers ALL FOR ONE... The GR-SZ7 is the S-VHS-C flagship of JVC's new family of camcorders. With more than 400 lines of resolution, a color viewfinder, a 570,000-pixel CCD, and Picture Equalization (a feature allowing manual adjustment of color, tint and sharpness during shooting), you will see things in a new light. It is designed to work as a point-and-shoot camcorder and to cope with special shooting situations. The GR-SZ7 includes a 100x digital zoom, a wide se- lection of special effects (disolves, wipes and more) and image stabilization. (For additional infor- mation, circle 105 on the Reader Service Card). YAMAHA sar THEATER PROGRAMS SHELF HELP Yamaha's DSP-A780 Digital Sound Field Processor/ Amplifier is a five-channel model that includes 11 The Techline 2000 Home Theater is a cherry-ve- Cinema DSP programs, Dolby Pro-Logic, and TV neer home for your electronic gear. It provides and Video Theater programs. With 65 watts each space for surround sound speakers and multiple to the front three speakers and 25 to the two rear components. Roll-out shelving, hidden electrical effects channels, Yamaha claims that a new pro- strips for equipment plug-ins and storage for CDs cessing chip gives the A780 a more natural, better- and cassettes complete the package. You can defined soundfield. It has five video inputs, two choose between a 56-inch and an 80-inch-high unit. VCR outputs, three audio inputs and a tape out. The TV bay will take a 31-inch screen, while the The price is $899. (For additional information, circle larger unit can take a 54-inch. Prices range from 111 on the Reader Service Card.) $1,400 to $2,800. (For additional information, circle 107 on the Reader Service Card). VOICE-THROWER MUST-SEE SCROLLS The Bose Acoustimass-3 Series Ill Speaker System The Videonics Titlemaker 2000 ($599) offers ($469) is billed as “the world’s smallest”. A broadcast-quality titles and a number of compact bass module is meant to be hidden easily. new features. With more than 90 font and Midrange and high frequencies are produced by size combinations and a million colors, two tiny 3 x 3 x 5-inch cube speakers. Magnetic this titler has independent page stor- shielding allows them to be integrated into home age, direct access to specific pages, theater systems. (For additional information, circle and advanced scroll functions. The 106 on the Reader Service Card). Titlemaker also adds a monitor output so you can show one title while compos- ing another. (For additional information, circle 100 on the Reader Service Card) 14 VIDEO JULY 1994

SONY’S FLOPPY > The Sony RM-E1000T Editing Controller ($2,000) is an accurate editor with memory output for storing edit lists on floppy discs. It can control up to three input sources and was designed as a companion to the XVD-1000 special-effects unit ($2,600). Features include A/V capa- bility, a separate keyboard, high-quality fonts, a 10-page memory and RC time code. (For additional information, circle 108 on the Reader Service Card.) < SOUND DESIGN Design Acoustics PS-66 and PS-88 loudspeaker systems ($139 and $189) are magnetically-shielded, full-range speakers. They are designed as main or extension speakers, or as easy options for rear channels in a surround sound system. The PS se- ries handles digital sources and high-impact soundtracks. By concentrating on cabinet design and long-throw woofers, Design Acoustics claims to have maximized low-frequency response in a book- shelf-sized unit. (For additional information, circle 110 on the Reader Service Card.) WIDE CURVES v BILINGUAL EDITOR v The Canon S-35 Wide Imaging Stereo speakers (un- The JVC HR-VP70 hi-fi stereo VHS VCR ($599) includes a number of advanced features. Instant Re- der $450) are designed for use with stereo and View makes searching for recorded programs an easy, one-touch process. VCR Plus allows audio/video systems including home theater. Canon Claims the exotic design, featuring curved acoustic Straightforward programming, while a bilingual menu and a menu button on the deck make choices mirrors, provides stereo imaging up to six times larg- easier. The unit also features Random Assemble Editing, which programs up to eight scenes for as- er than a conventional speaker. A special tweeter sembly onto another VCR. Gold-plated A/V inputs in front, audio dubbing and level indicators allows extended high frequency response and great- complete the edit package. (For additional information, circle 109 on the Reader Service Card.) er detail. It is video-ready with magnetic shielding, incorporates overload protection and is small enough to fit on your.bookshelf. (For additional information, circle 112 on the Reader Service Card) Canon ~ LOW AND DRY > MARINE PACK: Vi-snpyg Those who can’t get enough camcord- er action onshore can take the plunge with Sharp's ViewCam Marine Pack ($2,499). This waterproof underwater housing will keep your camera dry down to 164 feet. (For additional infor- mation, circle 103 on the Reader - Service Card) JULY 1994 VIDEO

THEATER BY RON GOLDBERG ‘ How to get the light right Incest \\ lfor big-screen viewing Whether big or small, simple or elabo- Guide or find your drink. cent (catalog number 61-2734A) that rate, the goal of any home theater is to Determining the correct lighting for re-create a theatrical experience in your has a jack for external AC power. It has living room. A big screen and surround your home theater will largely depend sound will go a long way to further this on the monitor you use. In the case of a color temperature very close to the goal, but hardware is by no means the direct-view and rear-projection sets, the NTSC standard of 6,500 degrees Kelvin, whole story. Creating a comfortable key idea is obvious —avoid glare on the screen. What most people don’t know is so it won’t throw off the color rendition viewing atmosphere is almost as impot- that glare doesn’t only occur as a conse- of your TV. tant—and very inexpensive. quence of direct lighting. Even if the The most important factor in creat- lights are pointed away from or behind Aim the light toward the wall be- ing a convincing theatrical ambience is the screen, ambient room illumination hind the monitor. This will provide dif- room lighting. Unfortunately, most can easily be picked up by the smooth home theater aficionados pay little at- surface of a direct-view monitor. Some fused, bounced illumination, and it’ll tention to this critical factor. Proper lighting not only provides for a comfort- of the more elaborate rear-projectors, light up the room just enough to balance able space to get lost in the movie, it can like those from Pioneer and RCA, fur- ther complicate the problem by incor- out the picture. Even with this soft illu- porating smooth acrylic mination, there’s still a chance of reflec- contrast screens, which greedily reflect any ambi- tive glare, especially from glass objects ent room light. Getting like coffee tables and framed pictures. rid of these reflections will make for a noticea- Move these objects around until their bly more watchable pic- effects aren’t seen on the screen. In the case of a front-projection sys- tem, the options are a bit more limited. Front projectors need a very dark room to strut their stuff. This rule is even more important for systems that incor- porate line-doubling technology, which has a tendency to decrease picture ture. brightness. Still, there is an alternative Start by getting con- to watching in a completely darkened trol over the room’s nat- room, which is not the ideal way to en- ural and artificial light joy home theater. Even a real movie the- sources. Obviously, you ater, depending on the screen size, has don’t want to have any some kind of faint illumination during window light shining on the show. You can mimic this effect by the monitor. Even at the use of very small, focused lights. The night, few windows are simple night lights that use Christmas completely dark. If you tree-type bulbs are perfect for this. Place need to put up blinds or a few of them behind the viewing area, curtains, do so. Horizon- preferably low to the floor. The screen tal blinds should be (or wall, depending on what you use) closed facing up, not won’t reflect these tiny lights. down, to better cut down The type of lights you use will also the incoming light. Cur- make a difference. Dimmers, in particu- lar, can be a problem, because they can tains should be opaque, introduce noise into the system. If you must use dimmers in the room, go for preferably of a thick ma- the low-voltage type, which give off much less interference. Halogen lights terial. This also mini- mizes acoustic reflec- tions, thus smoothing out the sound. can also be a bit noisy. If your room Once the room is lighting comes from either standing or dark, you can start add- tabletop halogen lights, plug them into ing light. Yes, adding it— an AC outlet that’s as far as possible you want to get just from the one powering your system. enough illumination to Think of these adjustments as the Perfect Illumination: To light your home theater, place one light be- eliminate eyestrain and visual equivalents of controlling room hind the screen and night-lights around the sides of the room. give you a fighting chance to find the right acoustics, where a few strategic moves can radically improve the sound. Since also improve the subjective performance buttons on the remote. The best solu- every room is different, there’s no one of your equipment. Too much light will tion I’ve seen is a small light (15 watts or degrade the picture quality. Too little less) placed behind the monitor. Radio solution to properly lighting a home the- light can fatigue the eyes, and make it Shack offers an ideal light for this pur- pose: a small, battery-powered fluores- ater. But a bit of ingenuity here and hard to use remote controls, scan TV there will pay big dividends in picture quality and viewer comfort. a 16 VIDEO JULY 1994

\\“ 4eierSeecEeeectSeeeeecreceeertecedeeceeey Sceedte4eear:er4lec’eec4ereeee? e eG6cho NG layehe Sind we : coCcScgeeeeeceeScecBeeeeS ercereecer -VIDEO MAGAZINE, January, 1994 —— “Deep bass without the aid of big, expensive amplifiers. —, Sounds panned from side to side as smoothly -aeecdeaes | as their corresponding tmages flew across the screen. = =. = -SOUNDGQ& IMAGE, Summer, 1993 eSsTLSTTST a “We quickly discovered what a difference the right sound system can make! The subwoofers added tremendous we excitement to the movie watching experience.” obppon -POPULAR ELECTRONICS, January, 1993* 7 ~ao “Cerwin-legSaa |produces a powerf: ul and taut sound. =i.\"~».4~ssS The impact can be especiallfyelt in the midrange, which will ‘at pound you with rotor blade sweeps from Apocalypse Now.” -SATELLITE ORBIT, June, 1993 hhlleEny, .¢ DVESioy SHN™ ; | by INMINOVATIONMS 93 CERWIN 2 VEG A SENSURROUND? HOME THEATER Turnit up: or a fu, l©l-1c9o9lo4r Cerwin-Vega, Inc. SenSurround® :Ciesrwai-nr-eVgeigsat,ere5ed5a5 terEaasdtemaEr5aksy oSftaE .M,CSAiaLmiSyVsatlelmésy,, In4 cC.A 93F(o0OrS6N5KmK,oreor cianlflorSmOat5mi-eo5n84-93239%2 brochure, please write to us at “Reprinted with permission from Popular Electronics Magazine, January 1993 issue. © Gernsback Publications, Inc., 1993 \"BJZ3UdOPe/1p1RA1eDU9eeyS all ra —eeae — rr2r. o—e - -- ahd = ey a e= NO . pr>.aereea re b: a “ai*w°ewew

CAMCORNER BY TIMOTHY LIEBE Can Hi8 cut it for broad- cast? A local cable news station finds out in the field. Beginning with New York’s News 12 Although smaller, less-expensive teally broadcast equipment,” Hopmayer Long Island in late 1986, an intriguing trend in cable television has surfaced— prosumer equipment has been used by continues. “We've been working with the emergence of local all-news chan- major TV news organizations for the Sony since early 1991 on all aspects of nels that cover their service areas in far greater depth than local broadcast news, past few years, notably during the tape operation, including format, stock, all-news radio or CNN. And consumer Tiananmen Square massacre in China playback and equipment. We are one of video technology is helping to make the extra coverage possible. and the Persian Gulf War, New York 1 the largest consumers of Hi8 stock in There are now several local all-news has, along with Southern California’s the country —our feeling is that Hi8 is stations in places like Chicago, Wash- ington D.C. and Orange County, Cali- OCN, been among the first stations to an up-and-coming format. At a median price of $14,000 for a complete field fornia. Probably the best-known, use Hi8 for virtually all its ENG. though, is New York 1 News. With an “We use Sony 537 dockable three- ENG unit, it’s a considerable savings annual operating budget a fraction of those enjoyed by competing local broad- chip cameras with Fuji 16:1 lenses mar- over Betacam. We can have almost cast TV stations, New York 1 turns out ried to the Sony EVV-9000 Hi8 re- twice as many cameras covering the city, 24 hours of news seven days a week, in addition to daily talk shows and political corders for our regular types of stories,” given our budget.” and sports programs. This is accom- plished through the use of young on-air says Marc Hopmayer, New York I’s man- | Another benefit of the smaller, light- talent, automation and of Hi8 video for ager of ENG operations. “We also have er Hi8 equipment is that the station’s re- electronic newsgathering, or ENG. the Sony EVW-300 one-piece camera, porters serve as their own camera ll which is slightly smaller and lighter than operators. “We’re not your average sta- the 537, and four Toshiba TSC100 one- tion,” Hopmayer explains. ‘We don’t piece camcorders. All three create ex- have cameramen or camerawomen, nor cellent video, which we then post to Be- audio operators in the field. We train tacam SP for cablecast. our reporters to shoot and edit, and our ‘“‘The camera and VCR are tech staff to write. We even expect our professional units, although they’re not interns to be able to go out in the field and shoot. New York 1’s a great believer in cross-training people. Of course, if it’s going to be a hot press conference, may- FVkENA be we'll send somebody along with the reporter. But generally, they’re on their own.” In addition to their full-size three- oYTale chip rigs, New York 1 also uses Sony’s consumer CCD-TRIOI Hi8 camcorders on occasion. “It depends on the story,” says John Rosenblatt, New York l’s ENG operations assistant. “As far as a person- al camera goes, I’d buy it because it’s great—the stabilizer’s really cool, and the picture’s really good. However, you just can’t get the quality because the op- tics aren’t nearly as good as on our three-chip cameras, and there’s only the AFM audio trac—kyou want to have at least two audio tracks. “On the other hand, when the World Trade Center blew up, we hand- ed a TRIOI to one of the EMS guys be- cause they weren’t letting any reporters in. So he went in—and we were the first people to have video from inside, and it High-End Hi8: looked great. We also have our couriers To stretch its electronic keep them in their cars, so that if some- news gathering budget, thing happens, like a shooting or a fire, New York 1 News uses and one of our trucks isn’t nearby but a top Hi8 gear for news courier is, we’re able to get footage on the air. We've also used the TRIOIs un- gathering (above) and dercover a little bit. The TR101 is a great in its edit suites (inset). camcorder for what it is.” continued on page 82 18 VIDEO JULY 1994

Round 2 Debating THX F sxow HITE AGH Vidic 39 ni Dorey HOME VIDEO 4| VlaUeaEtiiEecSes VGUiNmGe!auVCLkVaIuaG Only Ken Crane’s LaserDisc SuperStore would consider ALADDIN |We have been in business for over 40 sale pricing for three brand new releases on a pre-order HOME VIDEO ars in the Southern California area. basis... Let alone offering 25% off the retail price on have 8 retail stores that specialize in Audio & Video Product. Over the last three of the most popular movies in the history of film!! Call today to order these great titles and get a FREE CATALOG!! 9 years we have established a mail order an Puanavieae business for laser discs. We're the largest I Laser Disc dealer, with sales exceeding ~ $15 million. SQGit WE CALEW - ass om @auuse Laser wisU Superstore All of our prices are approximately 10% 1 (800) 1652245-1307B8ea(cTholl BFlrvede.), #We1s(t8m0i0n)st6e2r6,-17C6A8 9(2In68Ca3lifornia) off the list price, and through December (714) 892-2283 (Local) # FAX (714) 892-8369 _ Shippingis free ifyou livein the Continental _ US. and are using U.P.S. 2nd Day Air _ Service. (Additional charge applies for - Alaska and Hawaii). Aladdin CAV/LTX/THX Snow White & 7 Dwarfs CAV Jurassic Park CAV/LTBX/THX Suggested Retail....$49.98 Suggested Retail....$99.98 Suggested Retail....$74.98 Bip cccertchecks, Mastercard, Visa, Discover Available September 21st Available October 26th \"and American Express. Cash only will Available October 12th Pre-Order Pre-Order be accepted for C.O.D. orders. We Pre- Order ; charge only for the discs that are shipped. Ifyou have a defective disc, Pre-Order Cut-off Date September 11th Pre-Order Cut-off Date October 16th Pre-Order Cut-off Date October Ist ' ship itto us with your receipt and a note |indicating where the defect occurs. We Aladdin CLV Non Letterbox Snow White & 7 Dwarfs CLV Jurassic Park CLV/LTBX/THX will exchange itfor the same title. When Suggested Retail....$29.98 Suggested Retail....$29.98 Suggested Retail....$44.98 Available October 26th we fe-ship your disc we will pay for the Available September 21st Pre-Order Available October 12th _ Shipping charges (Ground Service only). Pre- Order Pre- Order Customers are responsible for any Shipping charges when returning discs. No refunds or exchanges after 30 days from Pre-Order Cut-off Date September 11th Pre-Order Cut-off Date coiew 16th Pre-Order Cut-off Date October Ist date of purchase on regularly priced discs. All ’ sales are final on sale priced discs. Defective Mail This Card To: ~ exchanges for the same title only! AGH VIdCiitT 39 Lave WidBs All C.0.D. Orders Subject To $5.00 Charge. For A Free Catalog!! ™ All packages are subject to a handling charge of $1.50 per box shipped. ™ All Parcel Post handling is $2.50 & there is an additional charge for UPS shipping to Hawaii or Alaska NOW THROUGH DECEMBER! jsMCiFiaiRangnnolmPeieIhmgtnt:agNeasEl FREE SHIPPING... UPS AIR*! ANY SIZE ORDER -ANYWHERE IN THE CONTINENTAL USA I Name: Address: “Most orders shipped same day as received, J by UPS 2nd Day Air which assures you the quickest arrival possible usually within 48 hours! Street Or P.O. Box TO ORDER... just complete the City State attached card (Top)... Place in an envelope Phone: ( ) and mail to the address provided. Area Phone Number

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Round 2 Debating THX Two recent features about THX speak- equalization and some of the other proc- | threshold of pain. Your article is too ers and processors, April’s “THX on Tri- al” by Brent Butterworth and May’s essing techniques THX provides. With- kind to Lucasfilm. The conclusion that “The Decoder Debate” by Corey Green- berg, prompted a storm of observations. out these, I’ve found the surround to be THX offers great sound for movie buffs Last month’s “Forum” was devoted to comments from THX creator Lucasfilm, too bright and tinny, and sometimes rather than serious music listeners only and our response. This issue’s edition in- cludes a selection of letters from readers. lackluster. Sounds jump suddenly from guarantees that THX manufacturers will In praise of Kenwood front to rear, which I find extremely dis- continue to advertise in your magazine. I must protest the evaluation given the tracting. With the THX circuitry, I’ve Albert Abramson, Kenwood THX system in the THX vs. non-THxX articles in the April and May found the surround to be perfectly Woodland Hills, California issues. |own the Kenwood system and never encountered the problems sug- matched with the front speakers, which gested by Brent Butterworth and Corey Greenberg. It sounded to me that they makes the steering and ambient effects wanted to give the Kenwood a bad rap because it is a low-priced model. For sound smoother and more natural. But THX, my way those on a bare-bones budget for Home THX, I think it is a viable and valuable == I too had the problem of deciding which option. I have never had any metallic, ao=)= speakers to buy for my new THX proc- grungy or veiled sound with the system. essor: I hated the way my JBL THX sys- I even watched Dick Tracy, which was TMhoevieVesrdict tem played rock music, and when I mentioned in the article, and there was purchased JBL’s top-of-the-line floor- no out-of-tune piano in the movie ] lis- i:HHi1CHADS standing speakers, with Bose surrounds, tened to. (Since I have yet to choose my the movies didn’t sound quite right. final speakers, |am currently using non- everybody likes different sounding sys- Then I heard a demonstration of the THX speakers.) Bose AM-5 and 7 speakers and bought tems. Some go for brighter brassy sound, them on the spot. Compared to all the other home theater systems I have had or listened while some go for a more natural sound. They sound wonderful and work for to, the Kenwood system, although not both home-theater and musical applica- the best, ranks close to the top. I have Still, I must defend the Kenwood tions. I have satellites hanging from the my Kenwood set up in a small room and ceiling and two JAMO SW-5000 subs on it always picks up every detail. Voices system from what I think is a gross injus- the ground to please Mr. Lucas. If you are crystal clear and not metallic. Base are a music and a video buff, try the Bose response is good, the steering is excel- tice. The part of “The Decoder Debate” speakers. They are an impressive work of lent, and the surround is smoother and art. My friends cannot believe those lit- better than the straight Pro-Logic sys- about the Kenwood was simply outra- tle speakers are delivering all that sound. tems I’ve had in the past. I would not, geous. David L. Brumbaugh, however, use the Kenwood in a large Leland Berliner, room unless there is a different amp to Shippensburg, Virginia La Quinta, California go with it. Honkers and squawkers Two for one I agree though that the Fosgate I read “THX On Trial” with great inter- In “THX On Trial,” the suggested retail Model Three-A, which Greenberg said est. It raises the old issue about speakers price of the complete M&K Home THX is in many ways the best sounding pro- that divides listeners into two camps: speaker system was given as $8,690 cessor of the bunch, is the best I’ve ever those who want uncolored sound, and heard: and well worth the price. I loved those who prefer speakers with boomy without further explanation. However, its crisp, hyper-detailed sound and deep bass that emphasize midrange and pro- base. Even within the confined show- duce screechy high frequencies. These the price includes two powered sub- room I heard it in, with JBL THX speak- should be called The Honkers and woofers. While the other THX systems ers, I thought I was in a THX movie Squawkers (THS). reviewed require two subwoofers to house. I am horrified about what Lucasfilm meet the THX performance standard, However, I don’t agree with what is trying to do; I have given up on thea- M&K meets the standard with a single ters that feature its logo. The sound is subwoofer, reducing the system price to Greenberg says about decorrelation, re- absolutely irritating, falling into the sec- $6,495. Because the M&K subwoofer ond camp with sound levels beyond the contains its own integral 400-watt RMS amplifier, its owners enjoy substantial savings by not having to purchase an ad- ditional outboard power amplifier. Charles D. Back, Executive Vice President, Miller & Kreisel Sound Corp., Culver City, California JULY 1994 VIDEO 19

af 1@} BG POM ON/ORF OPERATION PAREN, SONY Hi8 VCR Our tests of RC-equipped gear show that systems. Even when you're just editing by | most edits are frame-accurate, with an hand, RC makes your cuts frame-accu- gonomics. By Brent Butterworth occasional in or out point being off by rate, whereas other consumer editing | decks may miss by several frames. You Two years ago, Sony’s EV- one (and in very few cases two) frames. can even write RC time code onto previ- $3000 Hi8 VCR won our The EV-S7000 is the first conventional ously recorded 8mm and Hi8 tapes. hearts with outstanding VCR with RC time code. It clearly dem- picture quality and er- onstrates the superiority of RC over The EV-S7000 incorporates an inte- It lacked only one feature— Sony's LANC and Panasonic’s five-pin gral edit controller that works with RC time code, which makes it possible to perform nearly frame-accurate edits SPECS AND Edit Protocol: LANC/RC Preset Method: auto plus RESULTS when a machine with RC is used as the MEASUREMENTS time code manual add/erase player. With the EV-S7000, Sony corrects Horizontal Resolution: this omission. And not only did Sony give Price: $2,100 Program Start Locator/ Cable Tuning Range: A-8, Hi8 400 lines, 8mm 250 Weight & Size (h/w/d): Index/Cue: index with 2 to 13, A toW, W+1 to lines the EV-S7000 RC time code, it added a 18.8 Ibs., 4-3/8 x 18-3/4 auto mark, manual mark W+58, A-5 to A-1, x 14-1/2 inches and erase W+59 to W+ 84 Picture S/N Ratios (dB): Power Use: 31 watts unweighted Hi8 luminance Audio: hi-fi AFM stereo, Timer: 8-event/1-month 43.9 SP. 41.9 LP: weight- Jacks: front—S-video/ digital PCM stereo ed Hi8 luminance 50.8 video/stereo audio input, Special Features: VCR SP, 50.3 LP, unweighted LANC, 1/8-inch mic input, Tuning Method: frequency Plus with cable box con- 8mm video 42.3 SP, 43.7 headphones; rear— synthesis trol, RC time code read/ LP; weighted 8mm video S-video/video/stereo audio write, frame advance, 49.2 SP, 49.7 LP, chroma input, 2 S-video/video/ Channel Selectors: up/ slow motion, speed play, AM 45.2 SP, 44.3 LP; stereo outputs, RF input down Melson scan jog/shuttle dial, flying ial PM 43.9 SP, 44.3 on VCR, scan plus direct erase head, digital audio, access on remote audio dub, timebase cor- rector, digital noise teduction, voice boost “ ie ie and output, LANC, cable SONY EV-S7000 Audio Frequency box control output Hi8 VCR Response: PCM 20 Hz-14 EV-S7000 recording of multiburst pattern shows typical video frequency response for Hi8 VCR. Tape Speeds: SP, LP eccceces kHz, +0.2/-3 dB, -24.6 dB at 20 kHz; AFM hi-fi | host of features any editing enthusiast is Video Heads: 4 PRICE: $2,100 SP 20 Hz-10 kHz, +0/-3 Cue & Review Search: dB, -5.6 dB at 20 kHz; 10x V-RATING: VV VV AFM hi-fi EP 20 Hz-4 kHz, +0/-3 dB, -9.3 dB sure to appreciate. Visible Fast Forward And BETTER — at 20 kHz RC time code lets you edit with near- Rewind: shuttle dial 20x, 10x, 4x, 2x, 1x, slow; 20x PICTURE apes Range: 76.1 dB ly perfect accurac—yit tags each frame visual scan SOUND PCM, 61.3 dB AFM FEATURES with its own number for accurate access. VALUE Fast Forward/Rewind 0 1234 5 HOW TO READ THE RATINGS Time: 2-1/4 min. for 120- RATINGS ARE RELATIVE TO THOSE FOR Audio Distortion: PCM SEE PAGE 33 min. tape, 1-minute high- OTHER Hi8 VCRs 0.2%, AFM 0.3% speed rewind 20 VIDEO JULY 1994

_ LAB TESTSBY BERGER-BRAITHWAILTAEBS PANASONIC manual focus button directly below, but | S-VHS-C CAMCORDER recessed so it can’t be accidentally jos- oo SORE SOIR YSI GTESTGE eanPUAN erat tled. The autofocus works well, too. It’s as fast and stable as most through-the-lens By Timothy Liebe designs — good enough that I forgot about Panasonic’s PV-S64 is a | it after I started shooting. sort of grandchild to the PV-S62 of a couple years back, a capable middle-of- the-pack S-VHS-C consumer camcorder. With the PV-S64, Panasonic has added a oe sine color viewfinder (also on the PV-S63), chucked some features, and added new Digital Stereo/Hi-Fi Stereo ones. The result, as is often the case in AG TIME CODE / PROGRAM ASSEMBLE ED consumer electronics, is a mix of poten- tial and limitation. CABLE BOX CONTROL / TIME BASE CORRE Ergonomically, the approximately three-pound (including battery and tape), paperback-sized PV-S64 is laid out somewhat better than the PV-S62, where | Multiburst pattern shows very good video frequency functions appeared to have been placed | response of PV-S64 recorder section. with little thought as to whether they VIDEO CASSETTE RECORDER Sc might or might not be useful while shoot- There’s no manual iris, but there is an ing. One major advantage now is a little | unusual three-step backlight compensa- locking compartment that houses the | tor. This gives enough of a range of ad- O camcorder’s infrared remote control—it | justment so that you'll probably rarely won’t get lost as easily as the ones on pre- | miss the manual iris. vious models. Still, there’s a good deal of room for Another ergonomic plus is the PV- improvement on the PV-S62. The spe- $64’s easy-to-find, PANASONIC PV-S64 cial-feature buttons easy-to-use manual on the left side of S-VHS-C CAMCORDER LANC-equipped VCRs and camcorders |focus ring on the eseeees the camcorder are (including many Sony, Nikon, Ricoh, | front of the lens sSmaalpledand (ospoetchlioesrelyo-s | Yashica and Canon models). The con- | (the PV-S62 had a troller lets you mark the start and stop |thumbwheel for fo- PRICE: 91 dee - to make on-the-fly points of eight scenes, then automatically | cus), with the auto/ V-RATING: VVVV\\/ calachion: dithenle. assemble them onto another tape. You SETTER ——— The S-VHS off/auto can use the EV-S7000 as the playback | (RRMA continued PICTURE deck or the recorder. However, it’s best to | § 4; SOUND on page 31 use it as the player, if possible, otherwise CAUTION | FEATURES you'll get little benefit from RC time RELEASE Go W VALUE eee ee ee \\ SS:ony’sf desijgn department really went RATINGS ARE RELATIVE TO THOSE FOR | whole-hog on this dec—kit has a futuris- OTHER S-VHS AND Hi8 CAMCORDERS. tic look that will appeal to technophiles. The controls sit on a sturdy panel that % slides out at the touch of a button. A lu- minescent display ad RCEOMNOTTREOL \\NY sits atop the panel. on™ ay iy Tthhee pdoissiptliaoyningcanof x12 Panasonic| make it hard to X20 DIGITAL zoom Palmcorder read—you have to be close to the AN DMEnyTAnLAAmoHrEpAhDo4us ‘ NORMAL 20.T3R040 Bis WB deck to see it. HOLD SSPPEESDLP Also, you can only il see the display MoBEIsEl COLOR SEL CLOCK set from above, so it’s impractical to oe ey BACK LIGHT COLOR place the EV- $7000 in the top space in an equipment rack. Like the EV-S3000, BiGaAL DIGITAL the EV-S7000 features an SELECT Els —D.200M— STROBE i: i° ntegral t*imebase corrector, HeSTABILIZATION ‘—— MEMO[RDY I—GMIWODTIEPAE/M—LiSx]TART or TBC. The TBC corrects Her VERS || errors caused by the ii nherent continued on page 30 VIDEO 21

VIDEO SONY HI8 CAMCORDER SPECS AND Lens: f/1.6-3.1; 10x Microphone: stereo elec- RESULTS MEASUREMENTS (6.1-61mm) power zoom tret condenser with zoom By Stewart Applegath mode Horizontal Resolution: With the introduction of Price: $1,900 Filter Diameter: 52mm camera 470 lines, VCR the CCD-TRIO1 in 1992, Weight & Size (h/w/d): Jacks: S-video/video/ster- - lines, viewfinder 350 Sony gave us a benchmark camcorder 2.1 Ibs., bat- Minimum Focusing Dis- eo audio input/output, ines camcorder. In addition to dt 0.6 Ibs.; 4-3/8 x tance: wide-angle 7 inch, extemal mic input, head- the manual controls previously available, 4-3/8 x 8-5/8 inches tele 37 inches Picture S/N Ratios (dB): it added a premium-quality optical stabi- Power Use: 6 volts, 6.5 hones, LANC remote, unweighted luminance 46, lizer which set the standard for the indus- watts Auto focus: contrast-type C out for RF convertor weighted luminance 51.1, try. The new CCD-TR700—essentially a Image Sensor: 1/3-inch TTL switchable to wheel- unweighted video 45.8, TRIO with a color viewfinder and RC ccD operated manual be Speeds: SP, LP weighted video 50.2, time code—is a case of a classic unit Viewfinder Controls: di- chroma AM 45.7, chroma that’s been updated both cosmetically opter focus, position, Iris: auto and pro- (play only) PM 39.8 and with some important new features. color, hue and brightness grammed AE modes for Sony maintained for some time that Key Features: speed play, Portrait, sports, high- Video Heads: 2 Minimum Hlumination: the relatively limited TR500 was King reverse play.flying erase speed shutter and twilight 6.2 lux for 50 IRE 101’s successor. One couldn’t help but feel head, RC time code, im- Edit Search: 1x a sense of loss, much like that when Ford age stabilizer Fader: to black or mosa- Approx. Battery Life ic, trigger-operated Cue & Review Search: ae focus/no zoom): Multiburst pattern recorded on CCD-TR700 shows forward 9x, reverse 7x slightly limited frequency response for Hi8. Shutter Speeds (sec.): 0 min. 1/60 normal and twilight, Visible Fast Forward And tried to “update” the Musta—n“gim- 1/60-1/2,000 portrait, Rewind: skip scan—hold Audio Frequency provements” just spoiled the deal. But with 1/60-1/500 sports, down FF or rew. button Response: 50 Hz-11 kHz, the TR700, Sony climbs back into the 1/4,000 high-speed shut- + 0/-3dB, -5.3 at 20 Hz driver’s seat. ter Fast Forward/Rewind and 20 kHz Time: 6-1/4 min. for 120- The inclusion of RC time code is a White Balance: auto min. tape Hi-Fi Dynamic Range: 68 switchable to hold, out- dB door or indoor Edit Protocol: LANC/RC time code Audio Distortion: 0.3% Viewfinder: color LCD Program Start Locator/ Audio: hi-fi AFM stereo Index/Cue: index with mark and erase welcome step forward —the TR700 costs together with panache. almost $2,000 less than other current The color viewfinder is probably the camcorders with RC time code. This fea- ture allows editing with accuracy of most discussed addition to the TR700. It roughly plus or minus one frame. The also may be the camera's Achilles’ heel. These viewfinders are fun to use, but are TRIO1 was perhaps the ideal travel cam- not appropriate for serious videography. era; Sony now gives us a tool to put trips With 350 lines of resolution on a tiny SONY CCD-TR700 HIS LCD, you cannot get a lot of detail, al- CAMCORDER though it is better than the LCD view- finders on most low-end PRICE: $1,900 camcorders. V-RATING: VVVVV BETTER —> PICTURE SOUND FEATURES VALUE o 12345 RATINGS ARE RELATIVE TO THOSE FOR OTHER Hi8 AND S-VHS CAMCORDERS. AV Te (=Yey o] —» HOLD RMT-702 START/STOP DISPLAY INDEX SreadySnot FORMS 4 WITO LOCK DAIEG) ¢ TIME(NEXT) | INDEX MARK : COUNTER/ COUNTER nq MEM TIME CODE RESET Handycam video Hi8 greaby SHOT 22 VIDEO JULY 1994

We noticed both ssimearing and lag tape-eject system— the carriage opens bility, a mosaic fader and a viewfinder (especially on tilt shots) on the LCD. quickly (about twice as fast as the menu that lists more auxiliary controls. TRIO1) without having to lift a cover Sony has dropped the titling capability This occurs in Both regular and Steady- panel first. offered on the TRIOI. Shot modes, but does not appear in the recording. The smear is less pronounced Many of the TR700’s features are The 700’s VTR functions are hidden on sports exposure presets. The color continuations of those offered on the behind a flip-up panel on top. This viewfinder changes a lot of things. In our TR101—like mark/index functions. seems like an unnecessary addition. It’s a minds, the color LCD is more life-like, bit awkward to access because of its regardless of manual focus problems or However, mark/index functions inter- proximity to the viewfinder. Close by, color distortion. fere with RC time code, since index the TR700’s zoom rocker’s two-speed marks destroy time and data code for action is comparable to the TRIOI’s, but Cosmetically, there have been a the duration of the mark. New with the number of changes. Several of the con- TR700 are slow-motion playback capa- continued on page 82 trols have been relocated and it has a new, slightly squat profile. The moves 800-323-2325THE VIDEO EDITING & PRODUCTION EXPERTS Now Toll Free make good sense, for the most part. The inCanada on/off power control has been shifted down and to the side, making it more 10-12 Charles Street, Glen Cove, NY 11542 FAX 516-671-3092 visible and within easy reach. The stabi- SUNPAK SUNPAK lizer and a number of camera/edit con- MEMORY-FREE trols have also been shifted, but to less NiCad Battery °®AP200W VIDEO effect. with 3 stage LED TRIPOD In the same way that Sony made the Unlike TR500 more of a point-and-shoot unit, so it has tried to update the TRIO1— conventional The new SLIK four of the major manual adjustments are now hidden behind a sliding cover rechargeable U8000 features a that, when closed, sets the camera to full auto mode. Open the cover and you NiCad batteries, modern design, have access to manual focus, iris, expo- sure presets and white balance. If you the new Sunpak titanium finish have large fingers, you may curse Sony for this change—we had a mixed reac- RB-80UL is and ultra- tion. I found the opening barely big enough for proper access, while others RB-SOUL Memory-Free. This smooth fluid feel it has a way of guiding your finger to ultra-high capacity (2700 mAh) head. The U8000 the controls. sturdy 3 part Gone is the manual shutter con- battery provides up to 2.5 hours of trol—replacing it are auto exposure pre- running time on today’s most Remote Control Auto Pan/Tilt Head telescopic legs & gear drive, positive sets which control shutter speed and iris. The presets are normal/twilight, por- popular 8mm and VHS-C Mount your camcorder on Sunpak’s elevation center column extend to a trait, sports and high-speed shutter. camcorders. Plus, it’s compatible pan head, place on tripod & get in the maximum height of 59”. The space The manual focus ring and iris thumbwheel are much easier to access with your camcorder's charger and action with everyone else! Infra-red age lightweight design yields a total and use than those on the TR500. (That will provide up to 5 times the signal controls pan & tilt plus lens weight of only 3.25 Ibs! Add to this unit’s somewhat flimsy pop-out control panel never appealed much to us.) number or recharges of other so- zoom & record/pause of Sony, JVC, the patented dual purpose quick While the TR700 also has a manual white-balance adjustment (missing on | called no memory batteries. Hitachi & Canon camcorders. release that works with both the TR500), you can’t use the view- finder to judge white balance. Small Comes with LIFETIME WARRANTY Powered by 6v battery § 00 camcorders & 35mm LCD’s aren’t capable of accurate color rendition. However, if you prefer to set a 569° (not included). 149 cameras, & you have the $49°° camera to auto and get busy, you will probably be more than happy with the Optional 20’ remote sensor cord 9% best value ever for a tripod! TR700. RB-80U-without LED *4 99° |$10 OFF RB-BOUL— purchase of AP-200W U8000 with SLIK custom tripod case We're pleased that the TR101 has | The Ultimate EditingSpats Rated #1 By Our Techs! been updated without sacrificing the op- tical stabilization system. Both normal JXSV55 JXT88 and SteadyShot images look great. Over the past ten years we have helped What makes this a great editing system? Carried over from the TRIO1 is the full-range autofocus, which does the job thousands of people get started in video © Color character generator-add titles and scroll credits quickly from a half-inch to infinity. editing. One system that is easy to hook- in 8 different colors and 4 type sizes However, if you are a stickler for manual up, compatible with all formats, and e Audio mixer- add music and/or narration focus, you may have difficulties—the fo- praised time and time again is the JVC ¢ Special effects generator- fade and wipe to color cus ring is a lot less useful due to the poor resolution of the LCD. I found it USER & JXT88. backgrounds between scenes difficult to judge fine focus. ¢ S-VHS/ Hi8 Color processor- correct poor lighting ry JVC JXSV55 399,00 Sony has significantly improved the 249.00 situations or improper white balance by JVC JXT88 29.95 ¢ Video enhancement-make clearer copies # Deluxe Cable Kit “hook-up guide & how-to manual” 6.95 J 3M Black Watch 4410 Tape 9,95 3M B LAC K WATC H i Because Memorles Were Meant to Last Forever! When 3M set out to design & manufacture 3M Black Watch Tape it created more than just a tape-it created a time capsule worthy of storing your fondest memories. This video tape is so advanced that it is better than professional broadcast quality. Why settle for anything less? Available in all formats * Call for info & pricing! 3M Black Watch is not the least expensive tape, ... it is the best!!! Circle 9 on Reader Service Card. . JULY 1994 VIDEO 23

MSB Technology Corporation Ae | Trarsport MSB GOLD LS-1 LASERDISC on many laserdisc players. The first of these high-end laserdisc By Brent Butterworth TRANSPORT & MS-1 D/A CONVERTOR transports were based on a rather outdat- A few years ago, high-end eeoecces ed Philips transport mechanism without audio engineers found that side-changing. But two companies, Run- PRICE: $6,390 co and MSB Technology, have designed laserdisc transports around the same using the digital output of V-RATING: VVVV\\W mechanism found in Panasonic’s LX-900, a laserdisc player to drive BETTER — which offers automatic side-changing their digital-to-analog convertors gave PICTURE and, in our experience, better video. The $2,995 MSB LS-1 transport re- them better sound than using the digital SOUND 23 4 5 output of a typical CD player. Appar- FEATURES TO THOSE FOR viewed here actually has fewer features VALUE PLAYERS than the LX-900; the main omissions are ently, the sturdier mechanism and beefier the jog dial and digital effects on CLV power supply of a laserdisc player reduce 1 discs. A jog dial makes it easy to step for- jitter, or slight irregularities in the timing ward and backward frame-by-frame. Dig- RATINGS ARE RELATIVE ital effects let you get still frames, slow OTHER LASERDISC motion, speed play and clean search from CLV discs, which are by far the most of digital data. Research has since shown | these transports incorporate modifica- common type. that high amounts ofjitter in digital au- dio datastreams correlate directly with tions (usually a sturdier chassis, new digi- Instead of digital effects, the LS-1 of- tal circuitry boards and power-supply sonic artifacts noted in listening tests. improvements) designed to reduce jitter even further. They also add a variety of digital interfaces that produce lower jitter than the Toslink optical interface found The MSB LS-1's excellent video frequency re- SPECS AND Disc Formats: 12- and lorgages:$495 option): S/N Ratios (dB): un- MEASUREMENTS 8-inch LD, 5-inch CD- /A— stereo digital audio weighted luminance 46.3, | sponse is shown in this multiburst pattern. Video, 5- and 3-inch CD weighted luminance 49.8, Price: transport $2,995, output; coaxial and ST unweighted video 46.2, Since then, a few high-end audio D/A $3,395 Direct Search: max. 12 fe audio data inputs weighted video 50.6, companies have created CD transport Weight & Size (h/w/d): secs. on one side SyS/EBU or extra coaxial chroma AM 44.6, chroma mechanisms based on the guts of a laser- transport 50 Ibs., 6 x PM 44.2 disc player. The machines still play laser- 18-3/8 x 16-1/2; D/A 46 Side-Change Time: 11 CA input $440 option) discs, but they have no internal D/A Ibs., 1-1/8 x 17-1/2 x 15 secs Audio Frequency Re- converto—rysou must provide your own. inches Cue& Review Search: Analog Audio: hi-fi AFM roe digital 10 Hz-20 (D/A convertors start at $200.) Most of Power Use: 58 watts maximum 3 min. on one stereo/dual mono kHz, +.0/-0.1 dB; analog (transport) side o Hz-20 kHz, + 2.4/-1.9 Digital Audio: stereo/dual Program Start Locator/ mono with dual bitstream Horizontal Resolution: Index/Cue: frame, time, D/A convertors 425 lines oe and points Key Features: automatic Audio S/N: digital 98.8 Jacks: transport— side-changing, shuttle dB, analog 67.1 dB §-video/video output, ster- dial, coaxial and ST digital eo analog audio output; outputs inputs (AES/EBU Audio Distortion: a Toslink, coaxial and ST optional) 0.05%, analog 0.06 digital audio data outputs RESULTS Dynamic Range: 101.1 dB 24 VIDEO JULY 1994

fers clear scan. Implementation of clear tests indicate a video quality rating of CAMERAS * AUDIO + VIDEO scan varies from player to player, but the 2570 €6 ST. BKLYN, N.Y. 11214 LS-1 has our favorite type —it alternates four. A double-blind visual comparison short moving pictures with brief gray FOR ORDERS (USA & CANADA) CALL: fields. This is not as good as digital ef- with the CLD-97 showed that the LS-1’s fects, but better than the rolling images 1-800-788-5555 many players give you on CLV search. picture offers slightly more detail, but INFO:(71%) 265-600 CUSTOMER SERVICE: (71%) 2651723 MSB stripped most of the controls also more noise, especially in shots of 24 HOUR FAX LINE (718) 265-1754 from the LS-I’s front panel—it only has buttons for open/close, stop, play, power blue sky. Overall, the picture is compa- SON YaSTORE HOURS MON-FRI 9:00-7:30 ng 10-6 and forward/reverse chapter skip. The LX-900’s plastic faceplate and disc tray rable to that of the LX-900, but not as AUTHORIZED DEALERS! door have been junked in favor of thick anodized aluminum. The tray door good as those of the very best players, *CAMCORDERS ® VCR'S closes with a resounding “ka-chunk.” © MINI COMPONENT SYSTEMS like the Pioneer CLD-97 and LD-S2. © CD PLAYERS © WALKMAN'S The top cover is made from thick, smoky Plexiglas, and the base is made The LS-1’s Y/C separator (which © PORTABLE STEREOS from six iron sheets separated by layers of damping material. feeds the S-video output) is quite good, Ooe ellesof.od PI The remote is much like the one for although not as clean as the one on the The Art of Entertainment Panasonic’s LX-600. MSB covers the face of the remote with a gold-colored CLD-97, or the ones you'll find in top Panasoni one DEALER Separated At TV sets of the past three years or so. If Consumer Line Birth? The MSB LS-1 your TV is a few years old, chances are transport uses a remote almost you'll get a better picture using the identical to that of Panasonic’s LS-1’s S-video output. LX-600 combi We tried the LS-1 with MSB’s player. $3,395 PS-1 D/A convertor. The PS-1 is metal plate. With the D/A convertor separate, the right/left/stereo button built into an isolation plate, a sandwich only works on analog audio signals. like that used for the base of the LS-1. The rear panel has video and You can actually squeeze the PS-1— the S-video outputs, plus analog audio out- puts (these carry only the FM audio sig- damping material gives a little bit. nals—remember, there’s no D/A convertor). The .LS-1 offers three digital The PS-1 comes with coaxial and ST WE HAVE EVERY VCR & CAMCORDER AVAILABLE audio outp—uTtoslsink (which is driven by the LX-900’s original digital circuitry, inputs. For $440 extra, you can get an not by MSB's), coaxial and AT&T ST- type glass fiber. For $495 extra, MSB will extra coax input, or an AES/EBU input (PHONE CALL) CATALOG add an AES/EBU output. in place of the coax. It has a phase (INFORMATION) |‘PHPOHOTTOO::AUDIO-’ VIDEO The company also plans a $3,995 switch on the front (which can improve player with an internal D/A, and a mul- timedia transport that will play laser- the sound on recordings in which phase SUMCAM SHARP Yau discs, CDs, CD+ Gs, CD-ROMs and Photo CDs. (What a cool idea!) The is reversed), and a switch labeled MSB MSB line can be hard to find; the com- pany invites readers and dealers seeking Effect, which seems to very slightly de- info to call 510-653-7700. emphasize high frequencies. AUDIO ¢ VCR'S e CAMCORDERS Our measurements and comparison The maximum output level is six volts, much higher than the two-volt CD standard. Most gear can take this much juice, but it can cause problems for Pro-Logic decoders. MSB can supply a two-volt version of the PS-1. The PS-1 has the smooth, almost an- alog-like quality we expect from high- end digital audio. The stereo imaging is camera and One of Minolta's terrific, and we never heard the harsh- video largest Coast to Coast dealers ness so often found in digital audio prod- camera and video dealers ucts. In single-blind comparisons HUNDREDS OF THE LATEST PHOTO, AUDIO, between the LS-1/PS-1 and the CLD-97, VIDEO, & HOME THEATER COMPONENTS. the LS-1/PS-1 sounded a little less de- «BATTERIES, EDITORS, MICROPHONES & tailed, with softer highs and fatter bass. CHARGER-DISCHARGERS. My With the reference system we VIDEONICS AZDEN used —B&W 803 speakers, a Cello Pal- ‘VHS -HI-FI VHS ette preamp, a Cello Duet 350 amp and G © av |D b C -8mm/VHS NEWEST! Cello and Monster cables—the PS-1 DUAL DECK VER'S sounded slightly restrained. We’d guess VIDEO TECHNOLOGY. IN FAST“go that MSB designed the PS-1 using a fair- ly bright-sounding reference system, which would blend well with a softer- Verase MBITRSUBGJIBSH™cIcoore sounding D/A. Thus, the PS-1 might @HITACHI CAMCORDERS - vcr's make a good companion for products with reputations for strong treble. We also tried comparing the sound of the LS-1 with the CLD-97 used only as a transport, with both plugged into the PS-1. There was a slight difference, but nothing we feel is worth discussing. Overall, the MSB LS-1/PS-1 combi- nation offers an impressive level of per- T.V. TIME MANAGER formance, but this performance comes The New T.V. Allowance can restrict the amount of time your children can watch T.V. at a price thousands higher than com- & play video Games. peting products like the CLD-97. . As Seen On: + The Oprah Winfrey Show - CBS This Morning - NBC Today : & The JULY 1994 VIDEO 25 SRC1oiea0enracdvdl.iecre ABC Home Show... Call For Details!

SAMSUNG SAMSUNG SCX953 8mm and a headphone jack, but the SCX953 8MM CAMCORDER CAMCORDER has both. These are important—unless they’re there, it’s usually impossible to im- ed PRICE: $800 prove the audio when necessary. And as we'll see, they’re especially important on By Brent Butterworth V-RATING: VVVVW the SCX953. Sony clones are common BETTER —> The SCX953 also offers five auto ex- in the camcorder world. posure modes. These help compensate Mirror-image models of PICTURE for the fact that it doesn’t have a manual many Sonys are available SOUND iris control. The modes include sports, from Ricoh, Nikon and Yashica. But two FEATURES companies — Fuji and Samsung — take VALUE Limited frequency response of the SCX953 (typical the basic Sony subcompact 8mm design of 8mm) is seen in the attenuated vertical bars. and add many twists of their own. The 1234 5 Samsung SCX953 is a good example. RATINGS ARE RELATIVE TO THOSE FOR We don’t know how many of its parts OTHER 8mm AND VHS CAMCORDERS (if any) actually come from Sony, but the SCX953 closely resembles many Sony rounding the red run/pause button. How- 8mms—it has the same moveable view- ever, the SCX953 retains features that finder, the same input/output and mic Sony seems to be abandoning on its 8mm jack configuration, the same NP-55-type camcorders, including a titler, manual battery and the same lock switch sur- white balance control (with auto, indoor, outdoor and hold settings) and a shutter speed control (eight speeds to 1/4,000- second). Two other advanced features usually left off 8mm camcorders (all camcorders, for that matter) are a microphone jack SPECS AND Power Use: 6 volts, 7.2 high contrast, sports, pic- Microphone: stereo elec- Titles/Graphics: 1 page, 8 Picture S/N Ratios (dB): MEASUREMENTS watts nic, spotlight, photo tret condenser colors, with scroll, re- unweighted video 43.1, (portrait) and sunlight verse, and wipes—box, weighted video 48.3, Price: $800 Image Sensor: 1/3-inch Jacks: video/stereo double vertical, double chroma AM 43.6, chroma Weight & Size (h/w/d): ccd Fader: to black, hold- audio input/output, exter- horizontal and top curtain PM 43.8 camcorder 1.8 Ibs., bat- down type; box wipes in nal mic input, ef 0.4 Ibs.; 4-3/8 x Lens: {/1.8, 8x (6-48 any of 8 colors headphones, DC out to Timer: 10-second delay Minimum Ilumination: 4-1/4 x 7 inches mm) power zoom RF convertor for 30-second shot or to 5.2 lux for 50 IRE Shutter Speeds (sec.): end of tape; 1-second re- Filter Diameter: 37mm 1/60 (normal), 1/100, pio Speeds: SP, LP cord every 30 seconds, 1 Approx. Battery Life 1120, 1/250, 1/500, minute, 2 minutes or 5 ad focus/no zoom): Minimum Focusing Dis- 1/1,000, 1/2,000, 1/4,000 (play only) tance: wide-angle 1 inch, minutes 10 min. tele 30 inches White Balance: auto Video Heads: 2 switchable to hold, indoor Key Features: flying Audio Frequency Autofocus: TTL contrast or outdoor Edit Search: 1x erase head, self-timer, Response: 50 Hz-15 kHz, type, switchable to rock- time lapse +0.1/-3 dB; -11.5 dB at er-operated manual with Viewfinder: black-and- Cue & Review Search: 20 Hz. -4.4 dB at 20 kHz pushbutton (one-shot) white CRT forward 9x, reverse 8x RESULTS auto Hi-Fi Dynamic Range: Iris: auto and pro- Viewfinder Controls: di- Fast Forward/Rewind Horizontal Resolution: 56.6 dB grammed AE modes for opter focus, position, Time: 8-1/4 min. for 120- camera 300 lines, VCR brightness and contrast min. tape 230 lines Audio Distortion: 0.4% Audio: hi-fi AFM stereo 26 VIDEO JULY 1994

TECHNOLOGY UPDATE BPW Passive. The HTS-1 is passive, meaning it requires no AC current. It actually sounds better than active decoders, producing more clarity, more detail, no noise, a greater sense ofspace and zero distortion. This superior system is a break- through unique to Chase. Active. All Dolby Pro-Logic decoders (even the built-in units) are active, meaning they decode and amplify the signal electronical- ly. This can induce noise and distortion, hindering the home theater experience. This is an example where “more is less.” Spending thousands of dol- lars on an active system will not give you the per- formance of the HTS-1 decoder. Try it for yourself. How to get surround sound to decode the The HTS-1 decoder makes your without buying the theater... movies come to life, bringing the hidden ambi- theater experience home. ence in all mu- sical record- ings, definitely outperforms all the Dolby and THX processors which could cost you up to $3,000... I am impressed! ad An amazing new surround sound decoder turns your existing Easy installation. Hooking up the HTS-1 is stereo system into a multi-channel home theater. easy. Simply connect the speaker outputs of By Charles Anton your receiver or amp to the HTS-1, then connect s much as I love renting videos, it’s just stereo soundtracks. Because the circuit was speaker wire to the front and rear speakers. The rear channel speakers don’t have to be big. In , not the same as seeing a movie in a the- patented, it was only available on expensive MP ater. |remember the first time I saw Top Hafler products. Now that the patent has ex- fact, we recommend the Chase ELF-1 in either black or white finish to match your decor. They Gun. I nearly jumped out of my seat when the pired, Chase can make this amazing decoding can be mounted with enclosed color-matched planes flew overhead. One of the reasons system available at a fraction of the cost! mounting brackets or can be flush mounted on the wall. They movies seem so real is because surround sound Breakthrough technology. The HTS-1 is able are also water makes it seem like you're actually there. Now to decode the Dolby Surround™ signal in a there’s an incredible new device that lets you videotape or laserdisc because the spatial and and weather- proof, so they use a stereo receiver to depth cues have been get that same surround matrixed into the “L can be used sound in your home. minus R” portion of indoors or out. It takes more than just the two-channel stereo Risk-free The ELF-1 rear channel speakers home trial. integrate perfectly with the HTS-1. four speakers to get sur- soundtrack. By decoding Let’s face it— the best way to round sound; there needs passively, the HTS-1 evaluate sur- to be some way of sepa- avoids costly and noisy round sound is in your home, not in a show- rating the signals. The signal processing. Plus room. That’s why we're offering this risk-free home trial. We're so sure you'll be delighted new Chase Technologies you don’t need any ad- with the quality of these products and the sur- round sound experience that we are giving HTS-1 decoder does just ditional amps! Just con- you 30 days to try them for yourself. If they’re not everything we say, return them for a com- that, and in a revolution- Surround sound/home theater has be- nect the HTS-1 to your plete “No Questions Asked” refund. ary way that rivals the come the rage of the 90’s because it adds existing stereo system, best Dolby Pro-Logic and depth and realism to stereo sound, giv- add two speakers for the HTS-1 Home Theater Decoder............ $79 $6 S&H THX systems available. ing you the home theater experience. It rear, and you'll experi- makes you feel like you're actually at a ence the magic of home Speakers designed by Chase for the HTS-1: Wins over critics. Gary concert or movie theater. To “fill a room” theater at a fraction of ELF-1 Rear Channel Speakers .......... $99 pr $6 S&H Reber, editor and pub- with surround sound, you need more than the cost of other systems. lisher of the most author- two channels. That's the beauty of the Please mention promotional code 113-VM1105. itative magazine on home HTS-1; it provides four channels of sound Concert sound. The from any two-channel stereo source. For fastest service call toll-free 24 hours a day theater systems, Wide- HTS-1 also decodes the screen Review, stated, 800-992-2966 ambience found in all “...passive matrix de- music recordings. This coders such as the new Free center channel. By connecting sense of space, or “con- Chase HTS-1 work great your VCRor laserdisc player to your TV, cert hall acoustics,” is B= os & as Dolby. Surround™ you get sound from your TV speaker, this present in all CDs and To order by mail, send check or money order for the acts as the fifth or “center channel.’, cassettes, especially live total amount including S&H (VA residents add 4.5% extractors, and sound ex- Adjusting your TV's volume gives Ou recordings. John Sunier, sales tax.) Or charge it to your credit card, enclosing ceptionally natural when much or as little “center channel” local- the leading authority on your account number and expiration date. used for motion picture surround sound and soundtracks and music.” Passive circuit. In producer of Audiophile 1972, legendary audio Audition, a nationally pioneer David Hafler in- syndicated radio pro- INDUSTRIES vented a passive circuit to gram for audio enthusi- 2820 Waterford Lake Drive Suite 106 Midlothian, Virginia 23113 extract the “L minus R” asts, says, “...the new | difference signals in Chase HTS-1, when used )

landscape, backlight compensation, por- which makes them much easier to read. barely noticeable amount of luminance trait and snow. The sports mode is a safe It can wipe titles in from the bottom of noise (snow), and a small amount of the screen, and wipe them out toward chroma PM noise. The latter is probably bet, because it doesn’t correct expo- the top. It can also box-wipe titles (they the only of these artifacts you'll ever no- sure —it just uses the highest shutter wipe in from the edges toward the cen- tice—it adds slight color streaking to speed possible for the lighting condi- large fields of red, purple or orange. tions, so you can get clear stills and slo- ter), and create box wipes in or out from mo when subjects are moving quickly. The autofocus performance was im- any of eight colors. The other modes are intended to Anyone possessing even a little ex- pressive, especially in low light. Most correct the exposure in unusual situa- perience should adapt readily to the camcorders hunt (or pulse back and tions. Of course, unusual situations (like SCX953’s control layout. There are lots forth in search of the correct focus) in of small buttons, but the controls for low light, but the SCX953 hunted in backlighting) vary considerably in de- white balance, fade, manual focus and gree, and sometimes the only way to auto lock/manual mode are larger, and only a couple of shots. achieve perfect compensation is with a easier to find by feel. The titler buttons Despite a satisfying picture, the cam- manual iris control. But these settings have a unique rectangular shape that will at least get you in the ballpark. makes them easy to use. corder has one major fla—nwoise from the transport, focus and zoom motors For some reason we can’t fathom, We wish, though, that Samsung had leaks into the microphone. The trans- superimposing titlers have all but disap- made the program auto exposure button port adds a constant, low-level hum; the peared from camcorders. A superim- larger and more convenient to use. focus and zoom motors sound like dis- There’s also a remote control that han- tant wooden doors creaking. These poser memorizes a scene in high- dles playback functions, plus run/pause problems were noticeable not only in contra—sdatrk areas will be opaque and zoom when you're shooting. quiet situations, but in normal voice (usually one of eight colors) and light ar- recordings. You can eliminate the noise eas will let the video show through, or The SCX953 scores well in picture by using an external mic (a good idea, quality—it ranks just a hair below as the anyway), but if you don’t like to carry vice-versa. You can call up this image best 8mm machines we've tried. The whenever you want. Usually, you'll use color rendition is spot-on. Detail is good, accessories, the noise may bother you. hand-printed text, typeset text or a perhaps only very slightly lower than the Overall, we give the SCX953 a printed logo as title material. The super- most detailed 8mm pictures we’ve seen. (Test shots revealed a slightly low hori- V-rating of four (which roughly corre- imposer can add a real creative touch, zontal resolution of about 230 lines.) especially if you don’t have special-ef- Noteworthy picture problems include a sponds to very good on our old rating fects gear to add titles during editing. scale). We’re sure the picture won’t dis- appoint you, and that you'll find its fea- The SCX953’s titler is especially ver- ture package a welcome surprise. a satile. It adds a thin outline to titles, A COLOR VIEWFINDER AND OPTICAL IMAGE STABILIZATION. NEED WE SAY MORE? ANON’S MOST ADVANCED CAMCORDER EVER, y THE NEW ES 1000 hy? i © Shake Absorber™ Optical Image Stabilization © High-Resolution Color Viewfinder Allows Accurate Manual Focus © Precision Canon 12x Zoom Lens © High Quality Hi8 Format © New Advanced Digital Integrated Circuit for the Highest Picture Quality © Programmed AE for Your Most Common Shooting Situations © Built-In Video Light for True “0 Lux” Performance NEW ES1000 ey, Hi8 VIDEO CAMCORDER AVAILABLE JUNE 1994 FROM: 800-488-8877 INNEW) WES 2ZUsa“1}O2ep9jip1eAe1daa9syg 6:30AM - 6:30PM M-F 7:00AM - 5:00PM S&S Eee i eae ie GIN ak Cais

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continued from page 21 instabilities of a VCR transport mecha- In Control: simple to find recordings on a tape. nism. The benefit of the TBC can be The EV-S7000’s remote And once you’re done watching a slightly apparent on straight playback, control (left) and slide- but it’s most apparent when you’re using out control panel (above tape, the EV-S7000’s high-speed rewind the EV-S7000 as the player in an editing right). can reel it up for you in one minute (for setup. You should see less generation loss when editing with the TBC acti- SONY a 120-minute tape) —the fastest high- vated. Because the TBC facilitates ex- speed rewind we can remember testing. tremely clean slow motion, still frames very. and speed play up to 4x, you should get We have very few nits to pick with good dubs without the picture tearing box to the correct channel. The deck the EV-S7000’s layout, except for two and the rolls that often occur when controls the cable box through a wired features from past VCRs we would like using these special effects. emitter Sony calls a Cable Mouse. to have seen carried over. One is edit monitor (as found on Sony’s S-VHS The deck also offers two levels of The audio features of the EV-S7000 SLV-R5), which displays both the in- digital noise reduction, which is very ef- give it an advantage over S-VHS editing coming signal and the signal from tape fective when you're playing back noisy dec—kussing the PCM audio tracks, tapes. You may actually prefer to use the you can create clean audio dubs in ster- via two picture-in-picture-type win- lower level of noise reduction all the eo, rather than the low-quality mono dows. The other is an output without tim—eyou lose a bit of detail, but you dubs S-VHS decks produce. (But as the onscreen displays (as found on the get a smoother, more pleasing picture. with all Hi8 decks, you can’t replace the EV-S3000, which had one output with video without replacing the audio.) The displays, one without). In a nod to the home theater crowd, deck even has jacks for a microphone Sony added VCR Plus with cable box and headphones on the front panel. The video measurements of the EV- control. Just enter a numerical code from TV Guide or your local listings, and You can set the recording levels of $7000 are slightly below those of the the VCR will automatically record the the analog AFM and digital PCM tracks EV-S3000, which is the best Hi8 deck show you want, and even set your cable separately. You can also adjust the AFM we've tested. Hi8/8mm VCRs and cam- playback level, so you can control the corders tend to have measured signal- gD WASTING mix with the PCM tracks somewhat. to-noise ratios slightly lower than Unfortunately, the manual isn’t very MONEY?! clear on how to use these audio features. S-VHS/VHS machines. The differences do not usually seem obvious in onscreen sale PIONEER | The remote control is unusually A/B comparisons, but a direct compari- sturdy, with a new type of shuttle dial son with Panasonic’s PV-S4380 S-VHS *CABLE TV CONVERTERS* that has raised ridges to help your fingers @% BELOW WHOLESALE ¢@ find the control. The jog dial, however, VCR favored the S-VHS deck. does not have the usual indent for your The Hi8 deck produced no obvious SAVE MONEY WHY RENT ??? finger. Opening the flap at the top of the remote reveals seldom-used controls artifacts, but its picture looked a bit NS) rN 31@) 08 i @)6) oi odof ad and buttons for the menu system. The grainy. The problem can be ameliorated tok =] ©) = =] @)O4)ot > une top of the flap has volume, channel and by using the noise reduction, but you power controls for 36 brands of TV set. lose detail in the process. The deck defi- SIU) NCS] Noto)ato ©) ofodola nitely produces a good picture, but it’s Like some other Sony Hi8s, this not quite as good as the best that the WE CARRY ALL MAJOR BRAND deck features voice boost, which is in- Hi8 and S-VHS formats have to offer. NAME CABLE TV CONVERTERS tended for playing camcorder tapes made outdoors without a wind filter. The sound is good for Hi8, but not * YOUR SATISFACTION IS OUR #1 PRIORITY ! Voice boost cuts high and low frequen- quite as good as the best S-VHS hi-fi au- * 30 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE ! cies to minimize ambient sounds. dio. The PCM sound quality is out- * 1 YEAR WARRANTY ! WE SHIP C.O.D. ! standing for eight-bit digital audio. The * OUR UNITS ARE GUARANTEED TO WORK !! The deck also offers a new feature high-frequency response of the AFM called visual scan, which automatically tracks is rather limited (to 10 kilohertz in PLEASE HAVE THE BRAND NAME & MODEL searches for each index point, places the SP, 4 kHz in EP). Out of curiosity, we NUMBER OF YOUR CABLE COMPANIES frame at the index mark into a small 1/9- CONVERTER, BEFORE CALLING. screen window, then searches for the compared the sound of the digital and WE WILL MEET OR BEAT ANY VALID PRICE QUOTE. next index point. When the screen is analog tracks on a high-end audio sys- UNLIKE SOME OF OUR COMPETITORS, WE ARE HAPPY TO filled with nine frames, the deck stops tem. The analog track had a more de- SPEND THE TIME TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS searching. Whether you’re into editing tailed, open sound better suited for CONCERNING THE PURCHASING OF OUR EQUIPMENT. or timeshifting, this feature will make it watching movies or TV shows. The digi- VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS, INC. tal track produced less noise, making it FOR CATALOG OR INFORMATION best for video editing, where the noise will bother people more than the limited CALL 1-718-229-2332 resolution of eight-bit digital audio. FRIENDLY - PROFESSIONAL - SERVICE- SINCE 1975 The EV-S7000 is perhaps the most *** FOR ORDERS ONLY *** versatile and capable editing VCR we’ve ever tested. While its picture quality 1-800-GO-CABLE ranks slightly below that of some other leading editing decks, its outstanding 20-04 UTOPIA PARKWAY SUITE 236 WHITESTONE, NY 11357 BY PURCHASING CABLE EQUIPMENT FROM VISUAL COMM.THE CUSTOMER features more than take up the slack. = AGREES TO COMPLY WITH THE FEDERAL LAWS REGARDING PRIVATE OWNERSHIP OF CABLE TV EQUIPMENT, IF YOU ARE UNSURE OF THESE LAWS CHECK WITH YOUR LOCAL OFFICIALS, ANYONE IMPLYING THEFT OF SERVICE WILL BE DENIED SALE OF EQUIPMENT. Circle 14 on Reader Service Card. 30 VIDEO JULY 1994

recording. continued from page 21 Apparently on the theory that less is Hidden Remote: on switch is situated on a bump in the more, Panasonic has elected to remove The infrared re- rear right-hand side of the unit, which several digital effects the PV-S62 had, as mote on the PV- almost begs to be switched out of posi- well as its superimposing titler. But the S64 snaps into tion—if you're not careful, you could ac- a compartment cidentally record in VHS when you absence of effects that were rarely called on the camcord- want to record in S-VHS. upon is no great loss. er’s side. The five-watt color enhancement Among the special features the PV- light that comes with the camcorder is S64 has added is one in which the image nice for adding a little extra light or is compressed so that it fills the screen shooting close-ups in the dark. How- on 16:9 TV sets. Unfortunately, if your ever, it uses a nonstandard shoe size, so TV set isn’t a 16:9 model and you select accessories like external microphones or the wide effect, you’ll get your image scrunched to fit the 4:3 screen, like you more powerful lights can’t be mounted. see during title sequences of Cinema- Scope movies shown on TV. Far more useful to the average vid- One curious omission on the PV-S64 eographer is the wipe/mix function, is the lack of video or audio line inputs, which dissolves from live video to a pre- videographers to see more accurately since this camcorder offers both video recorded still image, and vice-versa. what they’re going to end up with on and audio dubbing capability. While you (This is known as an A/X dissolve.) The tape, in practice this viewfinder, like can dub spoken narration over previ- PV-S64. also boasts fades to and from most other LCD color viewfinders, falls ously shot footage via audio dub, the one of eight solid colors in a variety of far short of the ideal. only conceivable use for the PV-S64’s different styles, including a soft-, sharp- Viewfinder readouts include four dif- video dubbing is to add live cutaways or mosaic-edged diamond, a soft- or ferent types of counter. Unfortunately, and titles through the camcorder’s sharp-edged box, or a random pattern of the real-time and tape-remaining coun- lens — you can’t dub in footage from oth- dots filling the screen. ters are the last two to be found when er tapes. Strangely enough, there’s a mi- Another trend that Panasonic has pressing the counter display switch, and crophone jack (which is essential for given in to with the PV-S64 is the use of the real-time counter does not appear to getting good sound), but no headphone an LCD color viewfinder. While in theo- function when rewinding or fast-for- jack, so you can’t monitor what you're | ty this is an admirable advance, allowing warding the tape. > After using your camcorder MAKING A GREAT VIDEO the first time, you realize that the INCLUDES QUALITY SOUND TOO! ==:built-in sounds from all directions, including those you don’t want. And, when shooting from a distance, you can’t hear your subject’s voice clearly. Azden, the leader in quality audio for video, offers a full line of microphones to make your sound as good as your pictures. This powerful professional miniature we ‘: ae | VHF wireless system has a range of = . be | over 300 feet. It allows you to shoot ‘ —— : Lapel microphone system. New 7\" long directional from a distance and pick up your Same receiver as mic. Allows you to zoom A professional VHF handheld WMS-PRO. in on subject's voice, subject’s voice clearly. It has 2 microphone system with no reducing saide noises. wires. All the same features, Range 35-40 feet. switchable frequencies, and it comes and receiver as the WMS-PRO. with 2 mics (handheld and clip-on). The transmitter clips to the subject’s belt, and the mini receiver can attach to the camera (shoe mount & velcro included) or be kept in your breast pocket. A mini 3 channel mic mixer for recording Headset with boom mic sound from 2 add-on mics and a personal for adding narration as stereo, while you're shooting. Only 2 you shoot. Your voice 1/8'x3 1/4\" itcan be attached to your | becomes the dominant camera or clipped to the handstrap. sound recorded. Or, use Cables included, needs no batteries. itto monitor sound | you're recording. Write or call for full line literature Distributed in Canada by GENTEC A Zz D E rh “QUALITY YOU CAN HEAR 147 New Hyde Park Road, Franklin Square, NY 11010 (516) 328-7500 Circle 15 on Reader Service Card. JULY 1994 VIDEO 31

Like many Panasonic camcorders, room. slick transitions without using a special- the PV-S64 features digital electronic At a list price of $1,499, Panasonic’s image stabilization and digital zoom, effects generator. You can do better in which augments the regular 12:1 zoom PV-S64 is, like the PV-S62 before it, a lens with additional extrapolated zoom- good mid-level performer. Although tak- image quality (especially with top Hi8 ing up to 120:1. Sadly, both features re- ing the superimposing titler away was, I camcorders like Sony’s CCD-TR700), sult in a trade-off in image quality —the think, a mistake, the wipe/mix function digital EIS with a noticeable softness in will appeal to people who want to do but basically, this camcorder does what picture, and the digital zoom with an in- most consumer videomakers need, with creasingly pronounced “mosaicing” of the image as you zoom in. But the stabi- some nice flourishes besides. ] lizer works well. It’s not as smooth as an optical stabilizer, but you'll find plenty of SPECS AND Autofocus: TTL contrast Jacks: S-video/video/ 400 lines SP, 240 lines situations where it will save your shot. MEASUREMENTS type, switchable to ring- stereo audio output, ex- EP; viewfinder 300 lines operated manual temal mic input, remote, The PV-S64’s overall image quality DC out for RF convertor Picture S/N Ratios (dB): is good but unremarkable for S-VHS— Iris: auto with low, med? unweighted S-VHS lumi- the most obvious picture artifact is um and high BLC Tape Speeds: SP, EP nance 44.6 SP, 42.9 EP; settings Video Heads: 4 weighted S-VHS lumi- chroma PM noise, which causes reds to nance 49.3 SP, 49.4 EP; shift to purple in places. The picture Fader: to black, white or Cue & Review Search: shows slightly less detail than the best 3x unweighted video 39.5 S-VHS-C and Hi8 camcorders. Low- pixels; soft, sharp and SP, 38.1 EP; weighted Fast Forward/Rewind video 44.6 SP, 43.1 EP; light capability, on the other hand, is mosaic diamond wipe; Time: 6-1/2 min. for chroma AM 45 SP, 42.9 very good, rendering accurate color in soft, sharp and striped TC-30 cassette EP; chroma PM 44.3 SP, most lighting. The audio quality is fair, Edit Protocol: Panasonic 42.5 EP with a rather limited range for VHS hi- box wipe; dissolve to/ synchro edit fi, and limited high-frequency response from captured still Program Start Locator/ on the linear track at SP. (You'll proba- Price: $1,499 Index/Cue: writes but bly only use-that track when you make Weight & Size lig Shutter Speeds (sec.): does not read index Minimum Illumination: audio dubs. Though. Sound leakage camcorder 2.3 s.,Ibs., bat- auto high speed shutter marks 2.3 lux for 50 IRE from autofocus, zoom and tape transport thy1/350.\"ys nor- Audio: linear mono, Approx. Battery Life is minimal, even in a completely silent bal 0.7 Ibs., 4-3/4 x 4 y , 1100, 1/25 hi-fi AFM stereo man. focus/no zoom): -3/4 inches et 0, 11,000, 1/2,000, tk min. 1/4,000, 110,000 Key Features: still frame, Power Use: 6 volts, audio dub, video dub, Audio dibigneag camcorder 11 watts, light flying erase head, remote 5 watts White Balance: auto control, digital wipes and Response: hi-fi 20 switchable to outdoor or dissolve, image stabilizer Hz-20 kHz, + 0.2/-3 dB; Image Sensor: 1/3-inch indoor linear e3edB) 75 Hz-6 ccD RESULTS Lens: #/1.6, 12x Viewfinder: 0.7-inch col- kHz S z-4 kHz, EP Horizontal Resolution: (5.4-64.8mm) power or LCD camera 420 lines; VCR Hi-Fi Dynamic Range: zoom Viewfinder Controls: di- 59.4 dB Filter Diameter: 49mm | opternoe. brightness, Leer Audio S/N: 40.5 Minimum Focusing Dis- ee Audio Distortion: hi-fi tance: wide-angle 1/2- Microphone: stereo elec- 0.3%, linear 0.9% inch, tele 45 inches tret condenser PANASONIC PB50 Orig. PAN.......... RAPID CHARGERS PANASONIC PB80/88 Orig.PAN......... CAMCORDER CHARGER/DISCHARGER SONY NP77H 2400 mah..... 6V, 7.2V, 9.6V runs from SONY 8mm 1500 mah... house or auto. CANON 8mm 2000 mah. PALMCORDER 2000 mah.. \\ 1 hr. time for Sony, Canon, JVC GR-C9 Type C...... Panasonic, RCA/Hitachi & most other brands SHARP BT 21/22........ SHARP BT 70/80 2400 mah.. i Charges 1 battery $44 cst ak el 8 mm 2400 mah............ sihailate’ 2 batteries $69 Spring Special NEW External Powerpac+ New lower prices 5 to 7 hours of recording time. on chargers Powerpac+ includes: Sony NP-500 =6volt @ 10 amps Lithium Battery original sealed lead acid battery. Sony Brand $54.00 =Heavy duty pouch and belt. Charger for NP-500 $49.00 =A charger for charging at home / (optional charging cord for car). ( 32 VIDEO JULY 1994 =«1A2n vadoalptto@r7aomfpysou$r95choice. $85ie, BATTERY TECH, INC. 728-25 215TH PLACE, BAYSIDE, N.Y. 11360 = FAX:718-631-5117 AMERICAN 800-442-4275 EXPRESS Circle 16 on Reader Service Card.

HTHOEWRTATORIENAGDS corders, S-VHS/Hi8 VCRs, CABLE TV VHS/8mm VCRs, laserdisc players, Longtime Video Magazine readers will editing equipment and audio equip- DESCRAMBLERS notice that in our improved Video- ment. tests, we’ve changed the way we rate Best Prices in the U.S.A.! products. We’ve done this to make We've also added photos of read- lCTVETe-Talcci:te Mcmoms \\(0)a41 the ratings easier to understand, and outs from our test equipment, so that to provide a more precise measure of you can see what we see in the lab. WE WILL BEAT ANY PRICE! a product’s performance, features and value. Usually, we’ll show a multiburst pat- ‘a Saks: tern, as seen on a waveform monitor. The most obvious change is that The multiburst shows the video fre- Jerrold, Scientific Atlanta we've gone to a five-point rating quency response of the gear under Pioneer, FTB-3, SA3 scale and a new overall rating, called test. There are two sets of vertical bars, one per field. In each set, the The Newest & the Latest Waveform monitor with multiburst pattern. bars from left to right represent 1, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.58 and 4.2 megahertz. As TVT-3K - Jerrold Impulse & a V-Rating. The new ratings roughly the bars to the right of each set correspond to the old ratings like shrink, so does the detail in the pic- Starcom series this: Five is excellent, four is very ture. On a TV screen, a multiburst SA3-DFA - Scientific Atlantas good, three is good or average, two is shows up as six groups of vertical fair and one is weak or poor. stripes. Groups on the right have PN-3A_ incl. 8536, 8536+, 8580, thinner stripes. In the areas of performance, fea- Drop-field tures and overall quality, a product Although we have changed the - Pioneer systems earning a five exhibits true state-of- the-art performance, as good as or structure of our tests considerably, Panasonic TZPC145G 99 Ch Converters better than anything else in its class. the results are directly comparable to A four indicates good performance those of our past tests. We haven’t Zentek XL2100 99 Channel Converters with one or two minor flaws. A three changed our methods, we’ve merely denotes average quali—tgoyod, but expanded them, to provide even 30 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE with significant flaws. A two indi- more comprehensive evaluations and FAST SHIPMENTS & FREE CATALOG cates quality that is below-average, but still acceptable. A one means to make the tests more user-friendly. = 1-800-772-6244 that the product is very disappointing in that area. M-F: 9-6 EST Our V-Rating is a combination of U.S. Cable TV, Inc. Dept.: KVM074 the Picture, Sound and Features rat- ings, with no consideration of cost. 4100 N. Powerline Rd, Bldg. F-4 Pompano Beach FL 33073 Our new Value rating is a price/per- NO FLORIDA SALES! formance analysis. A five on the Val- ue rating scale means the product sUa“JZdjOPa}1DipI1keAIdaIDayS offers amazing performance for the price. Four and three ratings indicate :Bundled Music good and average Values, respec- Solution SiSing! DanPclaey A!long!Edirol's Music Solution CZ tively. A two rating tells you to think twice — other products offer the same Order this new bundle of exciting music software and the powerful Roland SC-7 Connects To Your (or better) performance for signifi- MIDI sound module. Now you can enjoy 128 Roland sounds plus drum sets and ¢ Desktop or Notebook PC cantly less money. And a one rating ‘paste’ hundreds of DoReMix MIDI phrases fo create your own original music. means the product is outrageously overpriced. And play along with over 100 pre-recorded MIDI files included in Easy Juke! Order now and receive... DoReMix Software All these ratings are relative to $ Roland SC-7 MIDI sound module other products in the same class— those you would consider buying in- $ DoReMix 'pick & paste’ music phrases software | stead of the product being tested. The product classes are TVs, S-VHS/ S$ Windows driver, serial cable & original manuals included Hi8 camcorders, VHS/8mm cam- $ Easy Juke software with over 100 copyright cleared .MID files ...€nd 2 more unique software programs as a bonus: 5 Power Tracks 3 The Jazz Pianist Easy Juke Software Roland All For $329 SC-7 MIDI Module Over 100 MIDI Songs on Diskettes! Bonus Software! (Connects easily to your PC's (*plus $5 handling and UPS shipping direct to your door) Jazz Pianist serial port) 1-800-380-2580For Immediate Delivery, Call Now DIROt And 128 Great Roland GENERA L 24 hours a day, 365 days a year Sounds Plus Drum Sets! 30 Day Money-Back Guarantee Power Tracks Free Buyer's Guide Available Instruction Booklet Supplied UB2J“1IOdOp9lIP1eAE1dIO9aYS

BY BRENT BUTTERWORTH Budget Home Theater: EONNWYEPIRReceiveNrs GHFEOR In today’s up-and-down economic cli- Six bargain-priced nel. Given that the center channel is the mate, frugality is hip. Well-heeled yup- Pro-Logic receivers most important in a surround-sound sys- pies take secret pleasure in dropping by face off in a battle Wal-Mart to load up on sundries. Timid tem, these early A/V receivers could consumers in commercials scream, “I’m of the budget. sound pretty rough around the edges. not gonna pay a lot for a muffler!” The But most newer Pro-Logic units have conspicuous consumption of the ‘80s has Poa equal power in all three front channels. given way to shopping survivalism— even the Trumps were seen browsing at 4m For further proof that bargain gear K-Mart. can give you great home theater sound, see the following story, “High-End This trend has affected consumer Sound for a Song,” in which contribut- electronics in a big way, as manufac- ing editor Corey Greenberg confronts six turers scramble to create quality goods sets of super-affordable speakers. at reasonable prices. The ever-de- Technical editor Lancelot Braith- clining cost of high technology helps, but the focus now seems waite and I recently rounded up a to be on no-nonsense gear that / half-dozen budget receivers with offers performance without unneeded bells and whistles. \\ street prices of $400 or less and gave them a thorough workout. For proof, look no fur- f (We'll give list prices here; ther than the new crop of | audio/video receivers | typical street prices run at priced from $350 to $500. (@ least 20 percent lower.) We All include Dolby Pro-Log- | tried Fisher’s $499 RS-737, ic decoding, amps for five speakers, audio/video Onkyo $399 T.X- switching and an AM/FM SV414PRO, Pioneer’s $499 tuner with station memory. VSX-D503S, Sherwood’s These receivers are infinitely $370 RV-5030R, Technics’ better than the flawed $600 $499 SA-GX670 and Pro-Logic receivers of the early Yamaha’s $399 RX-V480. In ‘90s, all of which had wimpy 10- addition to the features list- or 20-watt amps for the center chan- ed above, all include bass and treble controls, outputs and switching for a second pair of stereo speakers (for the bedroom, perhaps), and a headphone jack. 34 VIDEO JULY 1994

Power Pile: yrs Top to bottom, Pioneer’s $499 yOR2 “og-== VSX-D503S, Fisher’s $499 RS-737, JRRO.ST Technics’ $499 SA-GX670, Yamaha's $399 RX-V480, Sher- wood’s $370 RV-5030R and Onkyo’s $399 TX-SV414PRO. Even if you’re not on a tight budget, these receivers are ideal for small dens, bedrooms, vacation homes and other places where you’re just looking to enjoy some movies and music, not necessarily striving for the absolute in quality. All you really need to add is five speakers, a TV set and a stereo VCR. This last item is especially import—awinthtout a ster- eo signal, a Pro-Logic decoder can do nothing for you. The main limitation of these re- ceivers is that they’re not good for large rooms— most put out 50 to 80 watts in each front channel, and 20 watts for the surrounds. For a modestly sized room, that’s fine. But in rooms over about 3,500 cubic feet, these little receivers can sound strained at high volume, sometimes producing clearly audible dis- tortion. In a large room, you're better off with a receiver that offers more power— or adding a powered subwoofer, which will take the strain of reproducing the bass off the receiver. Another limitation— especially for the typical Video Magazine reader, who owns three VCRs and perhaps a cam- corder and a laserdisc player —is that these receivers offer only a few inputs. Most have audio inputs fora CD player and a phonograph, a video/stereo audio input for a laserdisc player or other video source, plus video/stereo audio in- put and output for a VCR, and inputs and outputs for an audio tape deck. None have S-video jacks, but to us, that’s no big deal. You usually don’t get much from using S-video connections unless you’re using an S-VHS or Hi8 VCR or camcorder. To evaluate the receivers, we lined them up on the floor of Video Magazine's home theater room. For most of our movie listening, we connected each one to a set of Cerwin-Vega Sensurround 7 speakers, calibrating the receivers so that -20 decibel pink’ noise produced a reading of 80 dB on our sound pressure level meter. This is 5 dB lower than Dol- by reference level, our usual calibration standard. We felt that asking these low- powered receivers to achieve the 105 dB peaks of Dolby level in a 5,500-cubic- foot room was a bit unreasonable. But just to see what they could do, we also tried calibrating the receivers to Dolby reference level, substituting JULY 1994 VIDEO 35

PENNYPINCHERS YAMAILA comparison tests, we've found Yamaha’s receivers and processors the best-sound- Remote Round-Up: Clockwise from upper left, remotes from the Pioneer, Technics, Sherwood, Onkyo, ing in their price classes. The RX-V480 Yamaha and Fisher receivers. The Pioneer and Technics remotes also control components of other brands. isn't such a clear standout, but its unique B&W’s 2001 speakers for the Cerwin- wood receivers use spring-loaded clips, (in the $400 receiver class) digital pro- JRRO.ST Vegas (but retaining Cerwin-Vega’s pas- which still won’t accept heavy-gauge cessing and good sound make it worthy of wire, but do hold a lot better. recommendation. sive subwoofers). Because the B&Ws are about 5 dB less sensitive than the THE RESULTS The RX-V480 offers by far the most Cerwin-Vegas, this test was quite a hur- We really didn’t know what to expect sophisticated sound processing of the group. The hall, rock and concert video dle for these receivers. To our surprise, when we began listening to these re- modes offer dramatic effects that music most passed. We don’t recommend you ceivers. Would their inexpensive circuitry surround fans are sure to enjoy. In addi- push these receivers this hard, but if you leave them all sounding mediocre, with tion, it offers a reasonably effective mode must crank it—and you must not spend limited dynamics and frequent distortion? for enhancing mono movies (the only a lot of money on a receiver —some of Or would each have a character of its these receivers can do the job for you. own, with some surfacing as champs on great mono surround modes we've heard the cheap? are on processors costing $1,500 and up). We returned to the 80 dB calibra- An enhanced Pro-Logic mode seems to tion for music listening, and switched to As it happened, our listening tests re- add a bit of delay to the center, making Mirage M490 speakers. Our selections vealed subtle but significant differences in your living room sound a bit more like a included classical, jazz and rock music. performance. In stereo and Pro-Logic lis- theater. Lance and I tend to be purists— We finished by using the B& Ws to listen tening, some receivers definitely proved we’d probably stick to straight stereo, to the music surround modes included more listenable. Some had noticeable Pro-Logic and the mono surround mode. in four of the receivers. noise in the surround channels, a prob- But if you like music surround, this is the lem we’ve occasionally found in other Most of the receivers were fairly easy bottom-of-the-line Pro-Logic gear. And best $400 receiver you can get. to set up and use, but I encountered one when we employed the music surround The Yamaha has one slight opera- problem on four of them—the use of modes included on four of the receivers, super-cheap friction-type speaker con- the differences became dramatic —as tional problem— the surround and center nectors. These connectors accept only you'll discover below: levels have to be set from the front panel. very skinny wire, and they don’t hold That makes setup a pain, but once you well—even a light tug can sometimes e Yamaha RX-V480. In two previous set it, you can pretty much forget it. The pull a wire loose. The Fisher and Sher- remote will control a Yamaha audio tape deck and CD player. On both stereo and Pro-Logic, the RX-V480 sounded good, thanks to solid amplification (65 watts in the front three, 15 watts for each surround) with plenty of punch. We did find it a little analytical— bright, but not fatiguing. This charac- teristic made it a bit unpleasant when cranked up to full Dolby level, but at san- er levels, it worked well. The RX-V480 will sound best if you bring down the tre- ble control a little or, better yet, use a set of speakers with softer highs. @ Technics SA-GX670. To get the SA- GX670 to pump out solid power from modest amps, Technics gave it Class H+ circuitry. For you tech-types, Class H + is a floating-bias scheme. For non-tech- types, it’s basically a way of making the amps sound as good as possible from a given power rating. The power is rated at 100 watts per channel in stereo, but in Pro-Logic, it’s 80 watts in the front three, and another 80 split between the two sur- rounds. The amps are indeed impressive — the front channels of the Technics put out continued on page 50 36 VIDEO JULY 1994

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BY COREY GREENBERG Budget Home Theater: Speakers Life used to be so simple. a pair that offer a level of sound quality vastly higher You knew where you than the budget speakers of stood. Commies were the yesteryear. bad guys, cigarettes were In this article, I’ll tell good for you, it was okay you how you can use these to call a swell dame speakers to put together a great home theater system, “dollface,” and when it and which of this new came to speakers, all you breed of speakers had to do was buy a pair offers the most bang of Large Advents, for the buck. stick them in the corners with some One of the potted plants on things I especially top, and that was that. dislike about some But now that Efoeaeaehome theater has got you sticking five c—c speaker systems de- speakers in the signed for video is the horizontal- room and figuring out exactly type center-channel speaker. where these ones go and that one These speakers never sound like goes, choosing the right speakers the vertically-oriented main left can get pretty complicated. To and right speakers they’re sup- make matters worse, some “‘ex- posed to be matched with because perts” claim that video demands a they can’t — the horizontal spacing different kind of speaker. But as re- of the drivers creates a totally dif- ported in “THX on Trial” (Apr. ferent radiation pattern than that 94), the design of many “video-op- of the main speakers, as well as timized” speakers actually de- Can you get five great grades their stereo imaging and speakers fr $500? Yep. comb-filtering effects that give destroys the three-dimensional depth that good recordings possess. these speakers a hollow sound if I think you can get far better music you're sitting off to one side of the couch. To get high-end and movie sound with sound from my own carefully selected home theater, I began high-end music speak- trying some smaller ers. high-end music speak- “Wait just a dog- ers as the left, center gone minute!” I hear and right speakers. It you cry. “Audiophile was no contest—I got speakers cost BIG BUCKS! Them bill way better sound from collectors in War- these affordable mini- | | monitors than I'd ever shington got all my heard from video-op- money April 15th! timized speakers. For Forget you, pally!” But starters, because these if you think all audi- speakers are so small, I ophile speakers are ex- can use three identical pensive, think again. ones for left, center The phrase “high-end and right. Everyone audio” really denotes agrees that a close a striving for the best sonic match between quality, not necessarily the center and main the highest prices. And the smarter high- speakers is essential end manufacturers are Affordable Favorites: starting to produce B&W’s 2001 (left) and NHT's SuperZero (right). models priced be- tween $200 and $500 WDAANGNER 38 VIDEO JULY 1994

Easy To Drive: The high sensitivity of Celestion’s surprisingly extended bass response, but even the slightest detail in the sound in none of these pipspeakers is going to the manner of a true audiophile loud- CS2 makes it compatible with low-powered amps. give you the kind of room-shaking real- speaker, adding a sense of realism to ism of a subwoofer. And they certainly movie soundtracks that some of the oth- for seamless home theater sound, and won't play as loudly without a subwoofer er speakers in the group lacked. While with three identical speakers, you get an relieving them of the job of trying to re- not one of the more sensitive speakers exact sonic match. produce the low bass. reviewed here, the B&W could play very loudly before getting muddy and Because my system’s subwoofer was Because these speakers are so small, possessed a surprisingly solid and well- handling all the low bass from 80 Hertz you can sit the center speaker right on controlled low end that was the best of on down, the small high-end speakers top of your direct-view monitor. If the group. Of the speakers that had only had to handle the upper ranges, you've got a big front-projection system, enough low end extension to be semi-us- and as a result they were able to play or a rear-projection set like my Pioneer able without a subwoofer, the B&W much louder and clearer than when Pro-76 45-incher, placing the center 2001 was my favorite. used full-range. Using these small speak- speaker below the screen is the best way ers is a great way to go if you want a to go, as a high perch tends to cause all @ Celestion CS2. Another mini from home theater system that sounds equally sorts of sonic weirdness from the sound Britain, the $229/pair CS2 is a two-way great with movies and music. Of course, reflecting off the ceiling. In any event, ported design with a 4-inch woofer and larger speakers are better for an ex- try to keep the left and right speakers a l-inch titanium-dome tweeter in a 11.5 tremely large room, but if you’re like me within a few feet of the screen’s edges by 6.3 by 8.6-inch cabinet. The CS2’s and have your home theater set up in an and close to the height of the center looks are different than most box speak- average-sized living room, a group of speaker. ers, with a curved front panel and an high-end minimonitors and a subwoofer unusually shaped front-mounted woofer will be more than adequate to play mov- Corey’s Cool-Man Tip #25: Put a ie soundtracks at reference level without small blob of Blu-Tac, that tacky blue Audiophiles’ so much as a hiccup. stick-um stuff, under each corner of the Darling: speaker's bottom when you set it on its PSB's $200/pair I consider a subwoofer to be a man- stand or on your TV. This’ll keep the Alpha. datory part of any serious home theater. speaker from sliding around, and it’ll Now that you can buy a serious butt- also deaden vibrations that can muddy kickin’ powered subwoofer for $600 to the sound. $800 from manufacturers like NHT, Mi- rage and Definitive Technology, there’s I recently auditioned six high-end no reason not to have one in your rig, budget speakers —B&W’s 2001, Celes- filling in the bottom octaves of music tion’s CS2, NHT’s SuperZero, PSB’s Al- and movie sound. pha, RDL Acoustics’ AV-1 and Rock Solid’s TEAM. I plugged each one into Still, some people remain woofless. my home theater reference system, It could be a lack of floor space or thin which consists of the Pioneer Pro-76, a walls in an apartment. Whatever the Pioneer CLD-95 laserdisc player with a reason, if your home theater lacks a sub- Theta Prime II digital-to-analog con- woofer and you have no plans to get vertor and an Audio Alchemy DTI in- one, be prepared for a somewhat gutless terface, Fosgate Model 3A and Proceed tonal balance with some of the smaller PAV surround processors, two Acurus speakers listed below. Several have a 200X3 amplifiers, a pair each of NHT’s SW2P powered subwoofers and HDP-1 dipole surround speakers, Kimber PBJ interconnect and 4TC speaker cable, and a Power Wedge Power Pack II AC line conditioner. So without further ado, let’s get busy, y'all! e B&W 2001. The British BAW 2001 ($99 each) houses a 5-inch vented woofer and a l-inch dome tweeter in a stylish 11.2 x 7.1 x 7.9-inch cabinet fea- turing a curved, contoured baffle with an array of vertical grooves intended to reduce cabinet edge diffraction. Instead of a grille, the B&W’s drivers have indi- vidual mesh protective screens that are easily removed for better sound. The B&Ws immediately impressed me with their nearly full-range, musical sound. Whether I listened to music CDs or laserdisc soundtracks, the 2001 had excellent resolution and midrange clari- ty. The budget B&W was able to resolve JULY 1994 VIDEO 39

port. The Celes- A Perfect Fit: RDL Acoustics’ AV-1 speakers are distorting will win it tions were the most designed to work best in certain room placements. lots of home theater sensitive speakers of {c the group, meaning the balance is far too wimpy to be con- | fans. Unlike the that you won't need other speakers here, a super-amp like the sidered for serious listening. More so the PSBs are sold 200-watt-per-chan- than with any other speaker in the only in pairs, but nel Acurus to get group, the Super Zeros demand the use you'll probably be high levels. of a subwoofer for full-range sound. If able to coax a deal- you've got or are planning to get a sub, er into selling you a I found the Ce- you can’t do better for even a lot more single if you’re there lestion to have very money than these little NHTs. to buy a trio. smooth and clean highs, but a degree e PSB Alpha. The largest mini of the i e RDL Acoustics of “cardboardy” col- group, the 12.6 by 7.8 by 9.5-inch Alpha @| AV-I. RDL is a new oration in the mid- features the largest woofer of the range. This muffled dialog slightly, but group—a 6.5-inch vented driver crossed speaker company not to an unacceptable degree, ana | over to a 1/2-inch dome tweeter. The founded by industry found that removing the CS2’s fairly Alpha’s grille isn’t removable, so prying veteran Roy Allison to sell speakers by elaborate grille improved its sound won't help you now. The $200/pair Al- direct mail to consumers. Allison’s de- somewhat. The CS2 had a more laid- pha has a deserved rep among audi- sign philosophy is that because the lis- back, distant character than the best ophiles for offering the biggest bang for tening room strongly determines a speakers of the group, making it more the buck among cheap speakers, and it speaker's bass response, each speaker suitable for classical and light jazz than definitely had the ability to play louder should be designed to work optimally in hard rock. Basswise, the Celestion had without strain than every other speaker a specific location. good extension, making it better suited here except for the B&W 2001. RDL describes the 11.6 by 7.2 by 4.4- to a subwoofer-less system than some of inch AV-1 ($99 each) as sounding best The Alpha’s main strength is a sur- when positioned near a large surface the other speakers. prisingly extended and powerful low end that can reinforce the bass —for exam- e NHT SuperZero. The little 9-inch which, like the ple, hung on a wall or placed on a book- B&W’s, almost shelf. The AV-1 features a 4-inch by 5.5-inch by 5-inch NHT SuperZero gives it a full- acoustic suspension woofer and RDL'’s ($115 each) mates a 4-inch woofer with range balance. proprietary “pulsating dome” tweeter, the same l-inch tweeter found in the The PSB does said to offer wider dispersion of high fre- company’s more expensive speakers, like have more in the quencies than other types. the $1,095 Model 2.3A. The gloss-black way of midrange Despite their wider-than-normal finish of the SuperZero was the most ele- coloration than coverage, I found the AV-1 to sound gant of the group, and perfectly matched the B&W and rather dull and recessed. Whether the finish of my Pioneer Pro-76. NHT speakers, placed against the wall behind my TV or lending voices a atop the stands I used for the other Long a fixture in my home theater bit of a “cupped- continued on page 64 reference system, the NHT SuperZero hands” quality, was by far the best-sounding speaker of but its strong Tiny Titans: Despite the 3-inch woofers, Rock Solid’s the group. Ever since I first heard this showing in the little gem at January ’93’s Consumer low end and TEAM speakers pump out good music sound. Electronics Show, I’ve found it hard to ability to play believe such high-end sound quality can very loud before come from such an inexpensive speaker. The SuperZero is not merely a good budget design—it possesses a level of midrange clarity and overall coherence that rank it with high-end speakers cost- ing $1,000 and up. The trio of NHT Su- perZeros gave me more accurate imaging and soundstage focus than any video-optimized system I’ve heard to date. Human voices sounded more nat- ural than with any of the other speakers in the test. This performance comes at a price, however —while the NHTs soar in the midrange on up, they have no bass. When they’re used without a subwoofer, 40 VIDEO JULY 1994

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BY RON GOLDBERG Multimedia means nothing less than the rebirth of home Bideo format wars are al- Hit the Road, Jack: Before you can wander freely through Pe- any more than au- most a matter of ter Gabriel's Explora1 CD-ROM, you must solve a simple dio should only be tradition in the puzzle (above) by putting your host back together. In a seg- about music. Think ment devoted to World Music, you can use your mouse to of all the ways audio world of home is used in the enter- video. From the pluck the strings of exotic instruments (below). tainment world: original Beta/VHS narration in a docu- face-off of the late mentary, sound ef- 70s to the more re- fects in a film, the cent skirmishes be- various blips and tween 8mm and bleeps that accom- VHS-C, competing pany any video delivery systems game. Move the have always battled concept over to [Or Vp rian acy video and it’s easy to see the potential Throughout these for synchronized conflicts, though, picture and the content of sound — given the home video has re- right context. mained pretty much the same. It’s served Clever program- well as a medium mers have also seen for watching mov- this potential, and are fulfilling it with ies, a way to 2) a dazzling variety of entertainment and educational pro- timeshift broadcast or cable programs, grams for CD-ROM that incorpo- and as a tool for creating original rate video in unprecedented ways. material with live cameras. After This constitutes yet another twist all, what more could video possibly on accepted notions of what home do? video is all about: Putting video on CD-ROM removes it from the tra- A lot more, as it turns out. But ditional A/V living-room environ- the people at the forefront of this, the second great video revolution, ment, and into the new realm of aren’t videophiles— they’re com- puter hackers. Video has recently home computers. earned a starring role in the brave new world of interactive multi- For better or worse, electronics media, especially in the burgeoning manufacturers have always re- CD-ROM field. Home entertain- garded the television as the ulti- ment may never be the same. mate home delivery system. After all, just about every household has a Both the concept of multimedia TV. With that in mind, numerous and the role video will eventually competitors are jostling to bring in- play in it are not yet clearly defined. But that’s not only part of the fun, compatible set-top interactive sys- but part of the point. Video doesn’t tems —each based on optical disc have to be about movies or MTV technology —to Ameria: sliving 42 VIDEO JULY 1994

Diver Down: Scuba simulation disc Oceans Below lets you choose the location of your dive using a variety of maps (right). Once you've descended to the specified locale, you can learn about undersea life like the Coral Crab (be- low) through a video window inside the gog- gles at center screen. rooms. Commodore was the first with video images are CDTV (now positioned as a CD-ROM peripheral for Amiga computers). Phi- enclosed in small lips soon followed with its CD-I system, which is now duking it out with 3DO for onscreen windows, the early (and slim) market share in this infant industry. All these formats have often with marginal promised full-motion video capabilities at one time or another. But so far, none picture and sound has been able to establish digital video on five-inch discs as a significant force in quality. the marketplace. The best meth- This is partially due to the fact that od of video com- full-motion, full-frame digital video is still technologically difficult to pull off. pression we have Video takes up an enormous amount of storage space when converted into digi- now is the one tal form. To give you an idea ofjust how much space, a typical music CD can agreed upon by an hold over 75 minutes of digitized audio while using upwards of 600 megabytes of international body digital storage. A single frame of video, digitized and stored in the same way, called the Moving would take up almost an entire mega- byte. Multiply that by the 30 frames-per- Pictures Experts second you need for high-quality moving pictures and then by the 120 or so min- Group, better utes you’d need for an average Holly- wood movie. This adds up to 216,000 known as MPEG. megabytes of space, or roughly the equivalent of 360 CDs just to deliver (This is the method Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. recently used to re- With data compression, however, these mammoth storage requirements lease full-length are greatly diminished. As a result, many current CD-ROMs contain as much as Paramount movies 90 minutes worth of partial-screen video. Nobody relishes the idea of on CD-I.) Unfor- watching low-quality, compressed video tunately, full-frame/ ona TV, but experienced in the context of CD-ROM multimedia and viewed on full-motion MPEG a computer screen, these images are not only acceptable, they’re perfectly appro- video on CD-ROM priate. requires the addi- tion of a board costing several hundred on a typical monitor, though a growing Because video is only one of many different elements used by multimedia dollars to the user's computer. So a vari- number of titles boast decent picture to make its point, there’s little reason to interrupt the flow of a CD-ROM by ety of lower-quality video compression quality at double that size. Pictures gen- switching back and forth from a full- schemes that do not require additional erated through these codecs usually ex- screen video image to, say, text or graph- hardware are now being used to bring hibit some kind of digital artifact, like ics. Remember, this isn’t video in the traditional sense, but something new al- video pictures to CD-ROM. zig-zagging lines or jumpy motion. But as together. So in most cases, CD-ROM In each of these compression we've pointed out, picture quality isn’t schemes, video signals are first encoded ' the point here, any more than a good (recorded) with compression and later script would be to a video game. If video decoded (played back) and expanded. is only used to impart a momentary clue This scheme is called a codec, which in a role-playing game, or to show the simply stands for compression/decom- results of your interaction, who really pression. Several, such as the common- cares about perfect picture quality? Un- ly-used Cinepak codec, are compatible doubtedly, video quality will improve with software-like Apple Computer’s over time. But for now, the technical QuickTime system extension. Quick- limitations of CD-ROM-based video are Time is a playback protocol for dynamic little impediment to its explosive (changing over time) media, like video, growth. audio and animation, and has become While personal computers (especially an essential tool for Macintosh multi- with CD-ROM drives) are still nowhere media. Other codecs (including Cin- near as commonplace as TV sets, the sit- epak) are compatible with similar uation is changing fast. With about 6 mil- software environments for the PC plat- lion CD-ROM drives already out there, form, like Microsoft’s AVI (audio-video entertainment companies are developing interleaf) and QuickTime for Windows. multimedia titles for the most common Video pictures on the Macintosh or delivery system for now and the forsee- IBM platforms are usually very small— able future —the computer. 160 x 120 pixels, about two inches square A wide variety of CD-ROM titles al- | JULY 1994 VIDEO 43

ROM REVOLUTION Salt of the Earth Man Enough (Voyager Macintosh CD-ROM, $49.95) (Tsunami MPC CD-ROM, $79.95) This title instantly feels familiar to This role-playing game is ambitious laserdisc fans. In fact, it’s essentially a enough to take up two discs and uses member of the Criterion Collection, video as a sort of cross between a help only shrunken down to a five-inch ROM screen, a tip sheet and a Greek chorus. disc. This format offers two advantages. It all begins when the player, who sees For one thing, there are more people the game unfold from a cinematically with CD-ROM drives than laserdisc Too Hot to Handle? With Tsunami’s Man Enough players, so Salt has a shot at a wider au- disc, you'll either demonstrate your prowess with the dience. And for the consumer, it has opposite sex or look very silly trying. most of the advantages of a full-fledged laserdisc (supplemental materials, Fangs a Lot: Users collect video clues to solve the screenplays, interviews, photos, etc.) for mystery of interactive movie Dracula Unleashed. substantially less money than a compa- ready exploit the new potential of video rable LD. in a multimedia environment. What fol- Salt of the Earth is a feature-length lows are a half-dozen of our favorite CD- “docudrama” about striking miners, ROMs. Each employs video in a unique way and to its own special ends: noteworthy mainly for having been XPLORAI: made by filmmakers banned by the Mc- Peter Gabriel’s Secret World (Interplay Macintosh CD-ROM, Carthy-era blacklists. Viewers can watch Ultimate $49.95) the film in its entirety from a large-ish Soctad video window, or shrink the picture New-age renaissance man Peter Adventure Gabriel has long been a fan of new tech- nologies, and his first foray into CD- down and read along with the screen- ROM (numerous other Xplora titles are in the works) is the work of someone play during playback. Also included on who genuinely seems to understand the possibilities of multimedia. Naturally, the disc are several historical, critical there are the hit music videos, like “Kiss That Frog” and “Blood of Eden,” plus and biographical essays, a timeline that interviews and behind-the-scenes foot- reveals the truth about efforts to squelch age. Taken on their own, these pictures and sounds are not of impressively high the film, and a documentary called The quality. But they’re used to help generate a dazzlingly @ file Edit Hollywood Ten that focuses on the Mc- complete multimedia envi- Carthy era. The disc may well be a har- binger of things to come: This is an excellent way of making available in- subjective point of view, visits a dating depth treatments of titles that may not service. Unfortunately, his (your) real merit full laserdisc releases. dream date is Jerri, who happens to run Mini-movie: The Salt of the Earth CD-ROM presents the dating service. After choosing one of the full-length film in a small video window (below left). three “lines” to feed her, Jerri reacts Wed 7:43AM FE] (D gr | wpliatyher’gs<lqoerwiehiet,ororholrarcokr at the thereof. EGbeathet, She might go out with you, ronment. but first, you have to prove In a subtle use of the 7 whats Wour new Wor 7 you're man enough. video medium on CD- wha’ 7 Your right” té negtect The player must then ROM, Gabriel himself pops Uour bids? go after five women Jerri up in a small video window He goes abruptly ta the parlor Eeperanze stands has chosen. If the player from time to time to offer there 4 moment, then slowly fallowe hire. successfully talks them up, tips and suggestions about INT. PARLOR - FULL SHOT a video of your virtual fun places to explore on Ramon goes to a closet, gets a ritte 4nd 4 bus oF “date”? comes up—any- the disc. This use of video ohells off the chelf. He sits down on the edge of 6 as a help screen is a pro- chatr and begins to clean the rifle with an oty rag. thing from paintball to a found step forward in user- friendliness and could be i4 W jong eilenceEsperangs enters scene, wetching fink There ts & picnic in the park. applied to all kinds of inter- active material, from games Throughout the proceed- to fine art. After all, which would you rather learn ESPERANIZA ings a video J} erri esi;utrhfearcetso from, a text or a full- where uou going? from time to time, a congratulate you on the Hunting. eAMON smoothness of your moves or lambast you as a real SONTHOLLERFO)RM loser. Through a method of fledged video mentor? controlled randomness, Jer- 44 VIDEO JULY 1994

| Window Shopping: LAWRENCE OF ARABIA A laserdisc catalog and weitere OLCEC TIO reference tool, Criterion Goes to the Movies in- cludes a short clip from all the films in the collec- tion, each presented in the appropriate aspect ratio (upper right). Thig edition of Laurer rabie. released with the diving spots of the Don’t lau—gthhese virtual experiences world, including the will be here sooner then you think. approval of director Dy an, wae transferred Caribbean, the Red Sea and Australia’s Criterion Goes to the Movies digttally from a Sin ler pint in the correct Great Barrier Reef. (Voyager Macintosh CD-ROM, $24.95) widegcreen aspect ratio. The soundtrack was derived from 4 nety Dolby stereo masnetic master, ty Two oceanographers This title’s seemingly prosaic use of come along to offer video helps it function effectively as diving advice and a both a catalog and a database. The disc geographical/cultur- serves as a tantalizing introduction to |cast fcCREDITS7 iY [SCiHAI al introduction to Voyager’s cinephile-friendly laserdisc the dive’s locale. collection, but it’s also an invaluable ref- erence work and a serviceable, if some- ti’s video advice takes the game into Once the player gets the info and feels what limited, film encyclopedia. branches that the player might not have ready, it’s diver down. otherwise explored. Each laserdisc in the Criterion Col- Below the surface, there are numer- lection gets its own data screen on this ous aquatic sights, each represented by still pictures on screen. Click the mouse CD-ROM. From this point you can ac- Dracula Unleashed on any of these attractions, and a short | cess the film’s credits, special disc fea- (Viacom New Media MPC or Macin- video, including narration, comes up. In tures, still-pictures of cast members, tosh CD-ROM, $59.95) this way, Oceans Below attempts to be- chapter listings, the complete back-cov- This disc is an excellent example of come a “virtual” experience, offering an er essay and a short video clip from the armchair dive in lieu of getting wet. The film intended to capture its essence. You a mutlimedia trend called the “inter- drawbacks are obvious— this is certainly can search for other titles in a variety of ruptable movie.” In this mystery game, the player is charged with uncovering the dastardly count’s modus operandi no substitute for the real thing. But this ways—by Academy Awards, actors, and next intended victim. Clues are pro- title points the way toward the kinds of even language. With simplicity arid ele- vided through short video movies, simulations that will undoubtedly be- gance, Criterion Goes to the Movies which are actually scripted and acted come very popular as multimedia blends the best in home video and mul- out with real actors and sets. Video progresses. Imagine video helping to timedia to create a true reference tool quality is excellent (relatively speaking), simulate a safari or a stock car race. for the interactive age. P and takes up the larger 320 x 240 video What kind of hardware will get you going in multimedia? window. Carefully dropped hints throughout the dialog (and some ham- Getting If you've already got a garden-variety PC-compatible my acting) are the keys to making intel- ligent game moves. But solving the computer (using a 386-based processor or better), you'll mystery takes more than good eaves- dropping. Started need a few enhancements. Jo bring your machine up to the MPC II level (the standard for multimedia PCs), The movie reveals different clues de- pending on where the player is in the with you'll need a sound card, an SVGA video card, small game. Characters and settings change, powered speakers and, of course, a CD-ROM drive. as they would in a real-life mystery. The scripts of the video scenes often reflect C0-ROM Many sound and video cards are available, so try to knowledge that the player has already go for the more popular makes (like SoundBlaster and gathered, and there are enough of these ATI), which will be compatible with more titles. Your scenes to make what might otherwise have been a mundane whodunnit into a CD-ROM drive should be at least a double-speed model. multi-layered experience. This genre of multimedia game looks like it has great Having a dealer install these items will save you many potential for mainstream acceptance. Other titles, like Virgin’s ubiquitous 7th headaches. If you’re a Macintosh user, just plug in a dou- Guest and three volumes of Sherlock ble-speed ROM drive and a pair of powered speakers. Holmes: Consulting Detective (also from Viacom) have already achieved hit sta- Next, don’t skimp on RAM (random access memo- tus. ty). Although DOS discs are limited to 640 kilobytes of “base” memory, Windows-based and Mac titles suffer no such limitations. You can run some multimedia titles with as little as 4 megabytes, but these are definitely in the minority. Consider 8 MB a minimum to run video- intensive titles. We're not kidding. Prices for all this? If you’re starting from scratch in either platform, expect to pay between $1,500 and Oceans Below $2,000 for an entry-level multimedia machine. If you're (Software Toolworks Windows or Mac- upgrading to CD-ROM, avoid the single-speed drives intosh CD-ROM, $49.95; 3DO disc that have flooded the market at extremely low prices. $49.95) They won’t run many of the more elaborate titles with In this participation game, the player any efficiency. A good 2x drive will cost between $250 —RG gets to scuba dive at some of the great and $350. JULY 1994 VIDEO 45

PRO TODAYY,OU: , Going Digital: eration of freelance news stringers. Sony's UVW-100 Not to be left out of the price cut- Betacam SP (left) ting, Sony introduced two products that redefine the cost structure of its pro and Panasonic's lines. The UVW-100 Betacam SP cam- S-VHS Supercam corder, for example, brings the price of bring the cost of the popular professional Betacam SP for- digital signal proc- mat down from the clouds. The $14,000 essing down from tag, heavy as it may seem to consumers, struck professionals with the force of a the clouds. Los Angeles aftershock. The technology in the UVW-100 was previously avail- SOny able only in camcorders “costing over $35,000,” according to Andrew Mougis, Hyper HAD a Sony broadcast sales executive. Digital advances The UVW-100 uses three half-inch and plunging prices shake up HyperHad IT CDD chips and offers a 60 the game plan dB signal-to-noise ratio and an f/8 lens at NAB ‘94 opening at a 2,000 lux sensitivity rating. Weighing just over 15 pounds, packed, it BY FRANK BEACHAM is highly automated and optimized for his spring’s convention of the Na- field use by one person. tional Association of Broadcasters, Slashing the entry price to Be- drew a record 71,000 video profes- tacam SP in half will sionals to Las Vegas to check out the eventually lower the state of the art. What they found— along with new products, tapes and for- prices of Betacam mat—swas a plummeting bottom line production crews and for broadcast-quality video gear. Digital rental houses as well technology, a driving force in professional circles, is now pounding as rates for high- away at the low end, breaking through old cost barriers. end Betacam Why should you care? Because the editing suites. plunging prices are opening doors for For videophiles amateurs who want to make programs with a broadcast look. Technology re- this will mean served for only the deepest pockets a couple of years ago is quickly trickling easier access to down to the masses. Take digital signal processing. Last a professional DSP top facilities, year it would have taken $50,000 to own camcorder. This year Pan- since they'll cost so asonic introduced the Supercam, a one- ‘ much less to rent and use. piece S-VHS camcorder with DSP, for Sony’s second shocker was a product $7,000 (without lens). Supercam uses that could almost be described as a com- three half-inch, 380,000-pixel FIT plete TV studio in a box. Dubbed the CCDs to achieve 700 lines of horizontal FXE-100 Integrated Video Editing Sys- resolution, a signal-to-noise ratio better tem, it’s a single-piece desktop control- than 60 decibels (in the camera sec- ler the size of a small video switcher. tion), a minimum illumination of 2 lux Nevertheless, it combines a linear A/B and a high sensitivity of f/8 at 2,000 lux. roll editing system, a digital video A few years ago these would have been switcher, a special-effects generator, an specs to die for, at any price. audio mixer and two frame syn- The Supercam is intended for elec- chronizers, eliminating the need for time tronic news gathering and shooting base correctors. events like weddings. It includes both Make no mistake, the FXE-100 is no vertical and longitudinal time code and toy, despite it’s low (for the pros) $6,800 four channels of audio. It weighs 13.2 price. It’s a broadcast-quality console pounds and consumes 21 watts of power. that can serve as the centerpiece of a se- Some NAB watchers think this may be tious production or post-production stu- the camcorder that launches a new gen- dio. It connects easily to Betacam SP, 46 VIDEO JULY 1994

ho[TOMORROW U-Matic, Hi8 and S-VHS VCRs via power of hard disc editing systems,” said Studio in a Box: RS-422 and RS-232C ports. It accepts Curt Rawley, Avid’s president. Images Y/C and composite video signals, and of- captured in the field will plug di- Sony's FXE-100 Inte- fers a variety of programmed effects, in- rectly into digital news gath- grated Video Editing cluding wipes and mixes. It has a 99-edit ering edit stations, he memory, and events can be saved on explained. System. floppy discs. The audio mixer section has two AUX input channels and a MIC Avid says Station is a complete A/B roll post-pro- input for voiceovers. Peter Dare, Sony duction system that includes two source senior vice president of technology, interest in VCRs, a recording VCR, a Commodore called the FXE-100 “smarter than any- Amiga computer with the NewTek thing else we’ve done in a long time.” the disc Video Toaster, a routing and control sys- camcorder tem and two monitors. It’s designed to NEXT YEAR, THE DISC-CORDER came from act as an all-in-one system so simple any television stations novice could sit down and edit broad- s if there wasn’t enough camera that already use disc-based cast-quality video. The company would A news, Avid Technology, the like to see EditStations turn up in chains editing systems like Avid’s News- like Kinko’s or PIP, where anyone could Tewksburg, Massachusetts maker Cutter for quickly cutting news seg- rent a few hours of video editing time. of video editing systems, joined with ments, and Avid’s AirPlay for Ikegami, the Japanese camera manufac- broadcasting the results. e NewTek announced the Video turer, to announce plans for a digital disc- Toaster Flyer, billed immodestly as “the corder for TV news applications. The If there were still any doubts about first D-2 quality tapeless editing system,” companies said that early next year they the seriousness of the desktop video rev- at a price of only $3,995. Given that a will market a camcorder system that uses single D-2 digital broadcast video re- a hard disc to record video and audio. olution, one only had to look at Sony corder costs more than $50,000, New- and Panasonic: Both introduced their Tek’s claim is no small feat. The idea is to record video directly first PC-based desktop systems. In fact, onto a disc, rather than tape, then pop it seemed nearly every manufacturer The Flyer is. a disc-based, non-linear the disc into a personal computer for editing system that’s compatible with editing. ‘““No longer will transferring had some sort of desktop video product. NewTek’s Video Toaster 4000. It inte- from tape be necessary to utilize the Here are some highlights: grates all Toaster functions into a single post-production system. In addition to e Interactive Media Technologies the Flyer’s circuit card, the user needs to announced EditStation, a stand-alone purchase hard disc drives for video stor- video editing system with a Windows- age. The Flyer uses a new compression based touch-screen interface. The Edit- algorithm NewTek calls VTASC, which Personal Producer Xpress - Untitied it says is so good it “allows the user to dial in the video quality” up to lossless Piommeielf D-2. According to NewTek president Tim Jenison, the Flyer reduces “the cost new |Ada| moat}| (MRI)=o—| =F of production by an order of magnitude.” Two-way Editing: The new Matrox Studio combines non-linear and traditional online editing. e Matrox fielded a new version of its Matrox Studio desktop video editing JULY 1994 VIDEO 47

PRO TODAY enough for Hi8 editing applications On the S-VHS side, Panasonic in- troduced the AG-DS850 S-VHS editing VCR with digital slow motion. Featuring a host of DSP functions, the recorder will play back noiseless video in speeds ranging from one-fourth reverse to one- half forward. It’s being positioned as the ideal machine for slow-motion playback analysis. The price is under $10,000. Stealing some thunder from its tradi- tional products, JVC demonstrated its new W-VHS format, slated to be the next generation of VHS. On display was Interactive Partner: Interactive Media's EditStation a $6,000 professional deck, the SR- and touch-screen interface (inset), designed to be a simple, all-in-one editing suite. W310, billed by JVC as “the world’s first affordable HDTV widescreen, 16:9 as- pect ratio professional VTR with the ca- suite. The system combines non-linear Picture Experts Group that comprises pacity of recording both NTSC and and traditional online editing in the more than 600 pages of mathematical same box. Users now get the benefits of data. C-Cube Microsystems, a maker of HDTV signals.” The VCR can also play integrated circuits, announced the first fast, random-access editing for decision single chip designed to decode four standard VHS and S-VHS tapes. making and the enhanced image quality video compression algorithms. The chip that comes from using original source can handle MPEG-I, two levels of W-VHS videocassettes are similar in tapes for A/B/C roll auto assembly. The MPEG-II and General Instrument’s Di- new Matrox Studio is available in six giCipher II. It can also work in NTSC, design to VHS tapes, permitting VCR configurations, ranging from $12,995 to PAL and film modes while supporting $28,995. multiple video resolutions. Such a chip makers to employ resources and facili- is expected be included in future TV-top e Apple Computer combined prod- converters designed to process new pro- ties used for VHS and S-VHS manufac- ucts from several manufacturers in its gram services from cable and satellite Apple Professional Video Production broadcasters. ture. However, the W-VHS standard Solution, an industrial-quality video post system based on the Macintosh Hi8, S-VHS AND VHS uses a special high-performance tape Quadra. The system, priced at $10,749, ajor improvements that will af- coated with metal powder. The cassette enables users to capture, edit, manipu- ar tect the Hi8 and S-VHS formats is the same size as standard VHS, and late and output video from the desktop. Central to the bundle is the Radius Vid- and, possibly, even the long term allows up to three hours of recording in eoVision Studio NuBus video card that future of VHS were also announced. provies full-motion, full-screen, flicker- high-definition mode and nine hours in free video at 30 frames per second with a In the Hi8 camp, Sony introduced resolutio.nof640 by 480 pixels. new tape formulations that are intended the standard-definition mode. to fix a problem the manufacturer has e Included in Apple’s package is Ad- never admitted having with the for- JVC spokesman David Walton said mat — excessive dropouts caused by dust obe System’s new version of Premiere, a and dirt. Calling its new the SR-W310 and a similarly priced con- leading desktop video editing applica- tion for the Mac. In addition to running HMPxX tape ‘“‘a major sumer version, the HR-W1, are already in the native mode on Apple’s new Pow- advancement,” Sony er Macs, Premiere 4.0 offers a long list of tape marketing execu- being sold in Japan and that JVC is still improvements for video and multimedia tive Joseph Tibensky de- deciding when to bring the W-VHS for- producers. scribed it as an e Adobe also updated Premiere for enhanced metal-particle mat to the U.S. W-VHS image quality, Windows. Version 1.1 supports direct tormulation that has Walton said, is comparable to the video capture using the Adobe Video fewer dropouts and a Capture software program included in one-decible RF output HDTV videotape recorders and laser re- the package. The CD-ROM version of improvement. Sony also the program throws in sample video, au- premiered HMEX, a corder/players already being used in metal-evaporated tape, dio and still image files. Sony says is rugged professional HDTV markets. a Throughout NAB, the most dis- Toast Plus: Screen for the Video Toaster Flyer, which cussed digital compression scheme was integrates all Toaster functions into one system. MPEG-II, a tool kit from the Motion 48 VIDEO JULY 1994