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} WORLD “‘s$eBItGGaEST VIDEO PUBLICATION — AUGUST 1991 N magazine VCR KNOCKOUTS Hot Features Punch Up Falll’s Top Decks NEW DIMENSIONS IN 3-D VIDEO siMi'S QUANTUM LEAP HIDDEN HOME THEATER VIDEOTESTS VHS VCR, HAD TV, Hi8 & 8mm Camcorders

MORIGINAL MASTER oCR&ECOAUDINGB .THE woeit O-M-R +. A/A/D + 24k Au = The Ultimate Audio Experience Mya OQAIGINAL MASTER RECORDING ORIGINAL MASTER RECORDING OAIGINAL MASTER ARECOROING OAIGINAL MASTER RECORDING\" ike A e. ; Be Gis d E23 || ” any *(Original Master Recordings | coopetellly acter Zee SS tt a| f esi le ridelity For a complete free Original Master Recordings catalog and ULTRADISC technology + 24 karat gold @ Sound lab or write to: Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, plated compact discs) _ adivision of MFSL, ic. PO Box 1657, Sebastopol, CA 95473-1657. tustration by James Dowlen ©1990 For additional information, circle No. 71 on Reader Service Card

VIDED. FEATURES PROJECTION’S NEW DIRECTION 26 TAPES & DISCS LCDs power an innovative breed of small, easy-to-use, big-screen video projectors. 30 By Stan Pinkwas TECHNICAL KNOCKOUTS 34 A full fight card of advances packs extra punch into this year’s VCRs. 38 By Brent Butterworth 3-D: THE NEXT GENERATION 41 Enterprising inventors close in on video's most elusive goal. By Steve Ditlea 43 INSTALLATION OF THE MONTH: 48 NOW YOU SEE IT, NOW YOU DON’T A giant motorized screen turns a media room into a home theater. By Stan Pinkwas REVIEWS Misery, L.A. Story, Hamlet, Mr. & Mrs. Bridge, more EDITOR’S CHOICE / Kwaidan’s haunting ghost stories. By Kenneth Korman DIRECTORY / The latest releases on tape and disc DEPARTMENTS MAGNAVOX LCD TV PROJECTOR, 10 RCA Pro880 Hi8 camcorder, Ricoh R-105 8mm camcorder, 4 Zenith VRJ210 VHS VCR. 6 Cover: By Berger-Braithwaite Labs 7 —Atrio ofvery diverse 8 fLrCoDm vMiadgenoavporxo,jectSohrasrp CHANNEL ONE / Art Levis, 1936-1991 16 and Fuji. Photograph by FEEDBACK / Letters from readers 18 Jay Brenner LATE NEWS / Digital video on disc, Toshiba’s double-decker, more 22 Video Magazine GAZETTE / Ciatizen Kane at 50, Sam Arkoff B-films, more 24 Volume Xv CAMCORNER / 8mm takes a quantum leap 94 Number 5 Q & A/ Technical queries answered NEW PRODUCTS / Zenith/Bose 52-inch TV, Sony combi player, more HANDS ON TEST / AudioSource SS 3 surround sound decoder READER FORUM / Alphabet soup reigns in movie ratings poll The VIDEO Magazine (ISSN 1044-7288) is published monthly by Reese Communications, Inc., 460 W. 34 St., New York, NY 10001. Second-class postage paid at New York, NY and additional mailing ky Audit office. © 1991 Reese Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. © under Universal, International, and Pan American Copyright Conventions. Reproduction of editorial or pictorial content in any manner is prohibited. Single copy price $2.50; $2.95 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 eae international publication permit #546488. Address subscription orders, change of address, correspondence and inquiries to: VIDEO, Box 56293, Boulder, CO 80322-6293. Change of address takes 60 days to process: send old address label, new address, and zip code. All material listed in this magazine is subject to manufacturer's change without notice, and publisher assumes no responsibility for such change. Printed in the U.S.A. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to VIDEO, Box 56293, Boulder, CO 80322-6293. For microform copies of issues or articles, write to: Serials Acquisition Dept., University Microfilms, Inc., 300 North Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48106. AUGUST 1991 VIDEO 3

HOW TO BUY... CHANNEL ONE LaserDisc Art Levis, 1936-1991 With more manufacturers entering the On Saturday afternoon, June 8, 1991, Art Levis died of pneumonia. Art, whose picture occupies LaserDisc fray, carefully shopping for a its customary place at the head of this column, had fallen ill two weeks earlier while visiting In- model that suits your taste has become dianapolis to see the new RCA product line. Art’s passing is an incredible loss not only for tantamount to achieving the ultimate in all of us here at Video Magazine and our mil- lion-plus readers, but for the entire consumer home entertainment sight and sound. electronics industry. LaserDisc provides the best picture and Art was very special. He spent 27 years in this business, and he loved it. He started in sound quality of any audio/video format newspapers, where he honed his editorial skills. From there, he moved to the trade side of con- available to consumers today, but keep in sumer electronics publishing. He reported on the industry’s meteoric rise to become the $44 mind that it is not a recordable medium. billion mega-business it is today, impressing everyone who met him along the way with his warmth, intelligence and marvelous sense of humor. Before buying a LaserDisc player, make I wanted Art to take the helm at Video Magazine the first time I met him, more than 10 years ago. But he still had more to accomplish on the trade side. sure that you will have access to software. Rising through the ranks, he became editorial director of an entire group of publications at the International Thomson Corp. But he yearned to get back No matter how much you love the way the to hands-on control of his own magazine. One day, I ran into Art at a Sony press conference. For perhaps the dozenth time, I asked him if he was ready format looks, it to jump to the consumer side. To my delight, he said he was. Art took over as editor-in-chief in May 1989, and the Levis Era began. He will be for naught instilled in us a deeper sense of commitment. His drive brought a new sense of timeliness to the magazine, helping us, for example, to bring readers the A if you can’t get first word about upcoming products. He put together an editing suite in our offices to help staff members gain more experience with consumer equipment. hold of discs to He transformed the programming section to focus on individual tapes and discs. He introduced new features, like the stories we’ve run on how to get Professional play. better value for your shopping dollars. He also established the ViVa, our cov- AudioVideo Once you're eted award for excellence in video products and programming. Retailers He was always working to do a better job for you—our readers. My fond- Association sure about access est memories of Art involve him bounding into my office with a huge grin on to software and his face and a letter from a reader held high. “Look at this,” he’d say, for ex- ample. “This guy thinks we should pay more attention to letterboxing, and you're interested he’s right.” He reveled in the 7,600 gripes we received in response to “Readers on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown,” and used them to plan new stories. in investing in LaserDisc, then you have But Art’s passion was not one-dimensional. He loved his wife Donna, bal- let, theater, movies, rock ’n’ roll, 1936 Fords, classical music, jazz, wild to determine what your needs are. First, neckties, good food, wine. He was crazy about the New York Giants. In short, he loved living. His enjoyment and enthusiasm for whatever he was doing decide on what features you want, since helped everyone else he was doing it with have an even better time. The outpouring of affection and sympathy at his passing has been over- nearly all models within any particular whelming. It’s a fitting tribute to the mark he left. I know I speak for everyone in saying we'll miss Art and think of him often, especially every time price range have similar picture and sound the Giants win a game. Art’s name will remain on our masthead as an ongo- ing tribute to his leadership and friendship. qualities. Some features worth looking into are A/B play — which plays both sides ofaLaserDisc — and digital special effects. Many LaserDisc units, including models from Yamaha and Denon, are available as combination players, which means that they can play compact discs as well. There is virtually no loss of audio or video quality in these hybrid models. A unit’s video signal-to-noise ratio is an important factor in picture quality. Generally, those in the neighborhood of a signal-to-noise ratio around 52dB are ex- cellent. Of course, the best way to sample a model’s picture quality is to view it ona television screen size 27 inches or larger. No matter which model you look at, it will have a better picture than any home video source you've ever seen before. Information for this column was pro- vided by Bjorn Dybdahl, president of Bjorn’s AudioeVideoeCar Stereo in San Antonio, TX. To find your local dealer, call: Jay Rosenfield Managing Director 816-444-3500 For additional information, circle No. 1 on Reader Service Card. 4 VIDEO AUGUST 1991

YOU'VE LITERALLY NEVER SEEN OR HEARD ANYTHING LIKE IT. IT PLAYS MOVIES, CONCERTS AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS ON LASERDISC WITH STUNNING PICTURE CLARITY AND CD SOUND. IT ALSO LETS YOU PLAY AND PROGRAM FIVE CDs. INTRODUCING THE WORLD’S FIRST 5-CD/LASERDISC PLAYER, THE CLD-M90 FROM PIONEER: FIVE HOURS OF CDs. TWO HOURS OF LASERDISC. ZERO BOREDOM. Call 1-800-421-1606, ext.129, for the dealer nearest you, Opele aces The Art of Entertainment CLD-M90 5-CD/LaserDisc Player For additional information, circle No. 2 on Reader Service Card

HEEDBAGKEDITED BY BRIAN CLARK VID magazine Dream deck is just that President and Managing Director, Jay Rosenfield I own a Sony V-101 Hi8 camcorder. The THE CASE Ob aiHE only reasonably priced Hi8 editing deck Editor-in-Chief, Art Levis on the North American market is the Early Contender: Screen from a Commodore CDTV title. Managing Editor, Stan Pinkwas Sony EV-S900, but no serious amateur Technical Editor, Lancelot Braithwaite wants it due to two major shortcom- New format battle Senior Editors, Kenneth Korman, Brent ings —no real-time counter and no ster- Butterworth eo on the AFM track. In Europe the The coming interactive CD format bat- Assistant Editors, Brian Clark, successor version, the EV-SIO00E, has tle between Commodore’s CDTV and April P. Bernard been available for more than a year, but Philips’ CD-I technology promises to be Contributing Editors: Bob Angus, Mavis only in the PAL version. Is Sony sitting interesting. Although CD-I may have a Arthur, Bob Barlow, Ivan Berger, Warren on a warehouse full of EV-S900s that few superior technical features, CDTV, Berger, James Caruso, Steve Daly, Bruce nobody wants? Why are we denied an with its Amiga chip set, has the more Eder, Mark Fleischmann (Directory), Ty NTSC version of the 1000E? I was burnt powerful and flexible multimedia tech- Harrington, David Lachenbruch, Frank for supporting a technically superior sys- nology. CDTV is a CD-ROM player and Lovece, Gordon McComb, Marianne tem by the Betamax debacle. Now I feel a computer, with the potential to inter- Meyer, David Ranada, Murray Slovick, Sony is supporting the VHS system act with VCRs, laserdisc players, key- Stewart Wolpin, Roderick Woodcock more than its own Hi8 system. Did I bet board synthesizers, home security sys- Editorial Assistant, Lily Schwartzberg on the wrong horse again? tems and more. CD-I is just a player. Art Director, Lonnie Heller Jurgen Crasemann Jim French Associate Art Director, Kristina Juzaitis West Vancouver, British Columbia Albany, California Art Assistant, Luis Ramos Jr. Production Manager, James LoGrasso Editor’s reply: A Sony spokesman says Production Assistant, Gaye Whyte there are no plans now for a NTSC ver- Typesetting, Janet M. Holland sion of the EV-SIO00E. As for the exis- tence of a warehouse full of dust- Vice President, Circulation gathering 900s, Sony says the demand and Special Projects, Rena Adler for the 900 is greater than the supply. Newsstand Sales Director, Gerald Levine Circulation Assistant, Elizabeth Moss Mo’ Beta news Laser caution Financial Officer, Albert Mineo Business Manager, Janette Evans The news is out that the new 15th-anni- In the April issue, a “Tech Tip” sug- Assistant to the President, Leslie Dionicio versary Beta VCR is being introduced in Japan. I hope Sony plans to market this gested mounting a laser pointer on top Publisher, Eric C. Schwartz amazing machine in the U.S. I have no of a camcorder and using it as a “sight” plans to switch to VHS and have more Associate Publisher/National Advertising than 150 Beta tapes. Since I already own to help aim the camcorder. This is a po- Director, Linda DeRogatis two Beta VCRs, I hope Sony won’t let a tentially dangerous idea. Laser pointers Marketing Director, Luanne Rao loyal customer down. are intended exclusively for highlighting East Coast Sales, Dina Redding-Berrigan, charts, slide presentations and the like. Annette Y. Schnur Robert Balch The laser beams they emit, if shined in Classified Sales, Mary Au someone’s face, are capable of burning Midwest Sales, Milton Gerber, Christine Editor’s reply: The SL-HF2100, marketed out the retinas in the subject’s eyes. Richardson as a 15th-anniversary model only in Ja- Since we mainly use our camcorders to West Coast Sales, Cynthia Gallivan pan, is available here in limited numbers shoot each other, this makes using a la- West Coast Advertising Assistant, Caryn for about $1,700, according to a Sony ser pointer a bad idea, to say the least. Cannova ispokesman. The best bet for obtaining Ad Coordinator, Maria Sozio one is through a dealer who has been Ted Hruschak selling Betamax products all along. The MetroHealth System National Editorial & Sales: 460 West 34 Street, New York, NY 10001; 212-947-6500, Cleveland, Ohio 212-947-6727 (fax) Midwest Sales Office: Gerber/Kamikow, Video Magazine welcomes ‘your comments. For the record 4409 RFD Stonehaven Drive, Long Grove, Please include a phone number, but not a IL 60047; 708-913-5400, 708-913-5403 (fax) return envelope as the volume of mail does The NADY 501VR wireless microphone West Coast Sales Office: 1453 Third Street, not permit replies. Letters may be edited for system (“If I Were a Rich Man...” June Suite 490, Santa Monica, CA 90401; clarity and space. Address correspondence 91) comes with either a handheld micro- 213-393-5057, 213-393-5538 (fax) phone ($1,099.95) or a lavalier body Japan Editorial & Sales: Mike Ueda, Nobuo to Feedback, Video Magazine, 460 West 34 pack transmitter ($849.95). Shoji, CES International, New Nishishin Street, New York, NY 10001. Building, 1-18-2 Nishi Shinbashi, Minato- ku, Tokyo 105; 03-3592-1531 (phone), 03-3592-1532 (fax) REESE COMMUNICATIONS @ INCORPORATED 6 VIDEO AUGUST 1991

LATE NEWS FROM CESEDITED BY BRENT BUTTERWORTH With row after row of new products and Double Play: new technologies, it was business as usu- Prototype Toshiba VCR al at the Summer Consumer Electronics accepts two VHS cas- Show in Chicago. The show closed as settes, and auto- this issue went to press, but we were able matically changes to the second one when to bring back some highlights as an ap- petizer for next month’s full coverage. the first runs out. Games go gangbusters those of CD + Graphics discs, and also slides out to accept two VHS cassettes. may eventually be used to record video. Videogames are getting their biggest It changes automatically to the second boost since the introduction of the first Toshiba’s double- decker Nintendo system, as 16-bit games be- tape when the first runs out, making it come the standard and major manufac- One of the most surprising products at possible to record 16 hours of continuous turers grab for a piece of the action. CES was a Toshiba VCR with a tray that video using T-160 cassettes. The deck is Nintendo set the pace with its new still only in prototype sta—gTosehiba 16-bit Super Nintendo Entertainment has yet to announce U.S. marketing System (SNES). The new system’s best plans for it. feature may be the game that comes with it — Super Mario Land, the latest ad- Do Not Disturb! venture for the world’s most famous plumber. ew INFRASOUND IR5O0O Cordless Headset lets you listen privately to TV, as loud as you CD-ROM games are emerging as the like, without disturbing others. And there’s wave of the future. Philips is developing no cord to tie you down or trip you up. a CD-ROM drive for the SNES, and will be using Nintendo characters in games AC-powered transmitter connects for its CD-Interactive system. Sony will easily fo any brand of TV or audio introduce the Play Station, which will device. Perfect for TV, cable, play Nintendo games on Sony’s CD- satellite, and VCR. Lightweight, ROM Super Disc format. Sega plans to offer a CD-ROM drive for its 16-bit cushioned headset provides Genesis platform. maximum listening comfort. Built in Digital video on disc volume contro! lets you adjust volume from headset without getting The dream of digital video on compact up. Runs for over 7O hours on 2 AAA disc came a few steps closer to reality. batteries (not included), Additional Commodore's new CDTV software of- headsets (model #IR501) may be fers 1/3-screen video at 12 frames per purchased separately. UL listed. second. Philips’ latest CD-I titles in- Limited one year warranty. clude video in a variety of screen frac- tions and frame rates. NEC’s new NID MODEL IR500 video compression standard produces full-frame, 30-frame-per-second video ARKON RESOURCES, INC. from a modified TurboGrafx-CD game machine, but the company does not Arcadia, CA 91006 Canadian Office: plan to offer NID-based products for at Tel: (818) 358-1133 © Fax: (818) 303-6157 Tel: (416) 261-8285 © Fax; (416) 261-4654 least a year. Two new digital audio formats may also suggest new directions in video's fu- ture. Sony recently announced the Mini Disc, a recordable/erasable 2.5-inch CD format the company says may someday be used for video recording. Philips’ new Digital Compact Cassette (DCC) in- cludes provision for graphics similar to LASBKYASTERSPEMRILVPYSAENTNEERD Fia3NcCRSoonaieenr.faracoidvldrt.ieemicaroetniaoln, AUGUST 1991 VIDEO

GAZENTEEDITED BY KENNETH KORMAN ‘Citizen Kane’ King for a Day: script with Welles’ own notations. Turn- turns 50 Orson Welles towers as er will produce just 10,000 units of the Charles Foster Kane limited-edition set, priced at $99.98. Turning 50 years old is a good excuse to (above) and in a scene raise Kan— Cietizen Kane, that is, the with co-star Joseph The tape-plus-book will be priced at 1941 Orson Welles masterpiece about Cotten. $39.98, and the cassette alone is $19.98. power and corruption now finding its way into public consciousness once accessible. Each will also contain another com- again. On August 14, Turner Home Enter- memorative treat: a half-hour compila- tion of comments by Hollywood lumi- Hollywood recently paid homage to tainment, which has the video rights to naries on how Kane influenced their the watershed film by re-releasing Kane this RKO production, will issue a com- outlook on moviemaking. Heard in Re- in several theaters in New York and Los memorative edition in three forms: cas- Angeles. Film lovers were grateful, voic- sette only; cassette plus the Doubleday flections of Citizen Kane are Martin Scor- ing the refrain that if you’ve seen the coffee-table book Citizen Kan—eThe sese, Robert Wise (who worked on Kane movie only on the TV screen, you have- Fiftieth Anniversary Album, by Harlan as film editor), Ridley Scott and Ruth n’t really seen it. But home video’s trib- Lebo; and a deluxe, numbered, limited- Warrick, who played Kane’s first wife ute —on both tape and di—sprocmises edition boxed set that includes not only and is still active on the daytime TV to be no less honorable and much more the book but such extras as lobby cards, drama All My Children. publicity stills and the original poster, plus a copy of the complete shooting Reflections was culled from 100 hours of interviews undertaken by the Voy- ager Co., the firm responsible for the highly regarded Criterion Collection of classic movies on laserdisc that often feature extensive supplementary mate- rial. Naturally, Voyager has its own new edition of Kane in the works, says Voy- ager disc producer Curtis Wong. “We already have the best transfer avail- able, better than the print in thea- fers, Eo think, ’ Wong told us, re- ferring to the 1984 Criterion Kane that, along with Kine vk One, launched the la- serdisc series. “It was made from a film element de- rived from the original negative, which has since been destroyed in a fire.” Voyager's first Kane set featured a supplement consisting of the theatrical trailer, production stills and story boards, but Wong says the new one will be much richer: “We want to make this the definitive Kane resource.” In addi- tion to its own version of the Reflections interviews (running time to be decided), the six-sided CAV release will boast an audio essay by film scholar Robert Car- ringer on one of the analog channels, Welles’ historic RKO contract, deleted Kane scenes, a history of the ever-enig- 8 VIDEO AUGUST 1991

matic Rosebud and stills from Welles’ earlier RKO project, the aborted Heart. of Darkness. Voyager is also considering a short- ened version of a BBC documentary on Welles’ career. All in all, it’s a huge un- dertaking. When will it be ready? The busy Wong says, only partly in jest, “Well, it has to be this year, right?” —Andy Wickstrom Arkoff’s B-movie spectacular Despite their tremendous appeal, wants to save Earth from self-destruc- Francis Ford Coppola, Peter Bog-: Female Jungle, It Conquered the World, I tion by offering it to an alien conqueror. Was a Teenage Werewolf and Machine danovich and Martin Scorsese also Gun Kelly probably won’t make any- “We knew what concerned the kids— made movies for Arkoff at the outset of body’ 10-best list —except perhaps that personal problems, parents, nuclear their careers. of their producer, Samuel Z. Arkoff. All war,” Arkoff says, pleased with the way four have just been released as part of audiences still respond to these 35-year- Rather than being embarrassed, the RCA/Columbia’s Drive-In Movie Clas- old movies. Arkoff alumni often look back fondly on sics series ($19.95 each), and represent a their work. “Michael Landon used a clip good cross-section of the movies pro- He and Nicholson also knew talent from I Was a Teenage Werewolf in an epi- duced by Arkoff and his partner, the late when they saw it. In addition to Landon sode of Highway to Heaven. And my son James H. Nicholson, at American Inter- and Van Cleef, Arkoff discoveries in- and I are remaking Machine Gun Kelly, national Pictures during the late °50s. clude Jayne Mansfield (Female Jungle), and | ran into Charles Bronson and he Charles Bronson (Machine Gun Kelly) asked me if there was a part in it for him. “We found a market the major stu- and Roger Corman, who directed Ma- I told him J hadn’t written a part for Ma- chine Gun Kelly and It Conquered the dios didn’t understand — teen-agers,” World, among many other Arkoff films. chine Gun Kelly’s father.” Arkoff told us, a certain pride in his —Bruce Eder raspy voice. “Once television came in during the 1950s, people from their thir- Pay-per-play, Part Two. Rank Video Services’ ties on up started staying home and the “Showcase” cassette (“Gazette,” May ’91) is no longer teen-agers became the majority of regu- lar moviegoers. Jim and I knew how to . the only pay-per-view tape currently under development. reach them better than the majors did — Video Dickson Video Concept of Canada claims to have in- Warner Bros. made Rebel Without a vested $7 million in a cassette with a combination lock Cause and MGM did The Blackboard and mechanism that allows only one viewing per rental. Jungle, both about teen-agers in trouble, Flashes Stores would unlock the tape upon return using a spe- cially made machine. Why allow only a single viewing? but they told it from the adults’ side. To permit first-run films to be available on home video “We did the same kind of story but while they’re still in theaters, or so the theory goes. One has to be skeptical told it from the kids’ side. And we gave them horror, science-fiction and crime about Hollywood accepting such a scheme, but at a time when high-tech sat- stories, which weren’t easy to find on ellite pay-per-view systems threaten the now-traditional video rental store, television—at least the way we did anything is possible. Knowledge Is King. The expanded spring/summer 1991 edition of Laser them.” Video File, the complete guide to laserdisc software, is now in stores. As in Indeed, their low budgets aside, past editions, essential information includes CAV/CLV formats, number of sides, digital/analog audio, running time, price, cover art and more for every these four films are characterized by a available laserdisc title. New for ’91 is closed-caption info, a glossary of laser- mix of violence and idealism, youthful disc terms and a directory of addresses and phone numbers of hardware and zest and eerily offbeat attitudes: In Teen- age Werewolf, Michael Landon is a trou- software manufacturers. At $3.50, Laser Video File is a real bargain. bled kid who wants to fit in, but is destroyed by a psychiatrist who trans- forms him into a monster; Lee Van Cleefs scientist in It Conquered the World AUGUST 1991 VIDEO

|BERGER-BRAITHWAITE LABS Packed Projector: Magnavox’s LCD moni- tor includes a tuner with MTS audio, an amplifier and speaker, a line doubler and audio/ video switching. Magnavox’s LCD is a line-doubling process Philips calls The Magnavox “interlace double line addressing.” Un- LCD projector is a projection moni- like many current line doublers, it pro- breakthrough duces no motion artifacts. product video- tor/receiver is a lot Another reason for the smooth pic- philes have long awaited —an LCD smaller and lighter ture is the delta-pattern pixel layout, projector that is truly competitive which makes the pixels less noticeable. with traditional tu be models. Its pic- than tube-type ture quality is the best we’ve seen The picture seems extremely detailed, from a production-model LCD unit. projectors of equal with 455 horizontal pixel rows and 479 Its MTS stereo tuner and simple au- pixel columns. It uses three 2.8-inch dio system make it a complete moni- brightness. The LCD panels. A system of mirrors and di- chroic filters turns the monochrome im- tor/receiver. It is very easy to MAGNAVOX first thing that im- ages from the panels into a single image oper—aatnyeone familiar with cur- presses us about it projected by one lens. The user does not BCH EV: is the smoothness need to adjust convergence. rent TV sets should feel comfortable projector of the picture. Un- with it. We recommend it highly. At less the image is The panels are illuminated by a sin- really large, it $6,300, its price is competitive with those of many tube-type projectors. It shows neither is currently available in Europe, and should be in limited distribution in scan lines nor pixel boundaries. One rea- the U.S. by September with full avail- ability by November. son for the projector’s high performance Magnavox Method of Tuning: advance, -, +, menu, erence memories for LC-1000 programmable scan on zoom -, zoom +, focus picture and audio set- set; scan plus direct -, focus + and a 10-dig- tings, front-panel inputs, access from remote it keypad mirror button for revers- ing picture horizontally Broadcast Tuning Inputs: one RF, two (for front- or rear-pro- Accuracy of Colors: Distortion: speaker— S-video, three video jection use) and/or very good 0.9%; line—0.5% Range: and three stereo audio vertically (for ceiling or 2 to 13, 14 to 69 shelf mount), remote Outputs: selected control of zoom and fo- Price: $6,300 Cable Tuning Range: source—S-video (loop cus, and spare bulb Audio Frequency RATINGS 122 channels—2 to 13, from input 1 only), vid- Picture Quality: Weight & Size: 46.5 A-1, A-2, A-6 to A-8, A eo and stereo audio Accessories: remote Response: speaker excellent Ibs; 8 x 21-3/4 x 16-5/8 to |, J to W, W+1 to control with battery, connectors—40 Hz-16 inches. Final dimen- W+82 External Speaker spare bulb and lens kHz, -3 dB from line in; Audio Quality: sions may vary slightly. Connectors: stereo— cover line out—20 Hz-20 kHz, very good Remote Control: IR spring-loaded clips +0.8/-1.6 dB from line Image Size: 26 inches with a TV/VCRicable in at 6 feet from screen to switch and buttons for Internal Audio RESULTS 184 inches at 60 feet cable power, VCR pow- Amplifier Power: Audio S/N: speaker— Operational Ease: er, TV power, mute, 2 x 10 watts Horizontal Resolution: 64.3 dB; line—81.1 dB excellent Speaker: volume up and down, 360 lines one 3-1/3 inch TVIVCR, record, play, Special Features: Total Harmonic Overall Performance: forward/reverse search, MTS stereo TV tuner, Picture S/N (dB): vid- excellent/very good Type of Tuning: fast forward/rewind, 1/4-inch headphone eo-—54, chroma AM— frequency synthesis sleep, personal prefer- jack, five personal pref- 63, chroma PM—62 ence, status/quit, 10 VIDEO AUGUST 1991

gle, specially developed halogen lamp, RCA’s first Hi8 HIGHLIGHTS Small camcorders which accounts for the bright picture. are often derided Special lenses ensure even picture light- camcorder, the ing. The Magnavox model is about twice as bright as the best consumer LCD pro- VIDEOTEST Pro880, is sur- —_————— for lack of fea- prisingly small for ggg e tures, but RCA’s jector we’ve tested. However, we do not 598 a Hi8 machin—eit publish screen brightness figures for Pro880—the smallest Hi8 machine front projectors because such measure- weighs in at just ments depend on image size and screen we’ve test—leeadves little to be de- reflectivity. 2.3 pounds with- sired. We found it small enough to fit The lamp does not require fan cool- RCA out cassette and ing after it is turned off, a problem that battery. This mod- in a case designed for subcompacts. shortens the life of lamps used in other el made it to mar- projectors. The projector is designed to Among its attractions are a full set of be mounted at the end of the room op- posite the screen—it does not have to ket later than manual and automatic shooting op- be placed in the middle of a room, at a fixed distance from the screen. The H18 “63aRCA had hoped, tions, stereo sound with microphone trade-off is that the projector needs to be set a great distance from the screen camcorder: and we expect the mixing, an infrared remote control for really large images. At 60 feet, the image is about 15-1/3 feet, diagonally. pany to intro- and an effective infrared autofocus. Like all front projectors, it needs a dark- ened room to realize its full 100:1 con- duce a slightly updated version soon. Its picture quality is good to very trast ratio. Its size belies its impressive capa- good, audio quality is average to good The projector is a rectangular box bilities, which include a fast infrared au- and ease of operation is very good to with a rounded right side from which the lens projects. It is about the size of a tofocus, six shutter speeds to 1/10,000 excellent, adding up to an overall small suitcase, and heavier than it looks. good to very good rating. At $1,600, second, an auto exposure mode that Near the lens are indicators for ster- it is a good value we recommend eo, SAP and error. To the left of the lens chooses a shutter speed up to 1/250 sec- are the power switch, a removable grille highly. that covers the single speaker, the bulb ond depending on lighting, and an auto/ and a replacement bulb, and a compart- ment that contains controls for volume, manual iris, which lets the user compen- channel and the menu system. The compartment also holds a headphone sate for unusual lighting conditions. controls run along the top of the re- corder section. These double as titler jack and video, stereo audio and S-video Other features include a two-page titler, and edit search controls. The viewfinder slides back and tilts up. Jacks for S-video inputs for line 3. microphone mixing, a two-speed power and headphones sit under the view- The left side hosts the cooling fan finder, along with a multipin audio/vid- zoom, positive/negative recording and eo/remote pause jack. The negative/ grille, and both sides have holes for ceil- positive switch hides underneath the ing mounting. The bottom has rubber self-timer/time-lapse/animation capa- camcorder. feet with height adjustments on the two rear ones. The rear panel has A/V and bility. A full line of optional accessories The IR remote control is intended S-video inputs for line 1, A/V inputs for for playback. It has no zoom rocker or line 2, A/V and S-video outputs for se- and edit compatibility with RCA VCRs run/stop switch, only transport controls. lected source output, an RF input, ster- eo speaker connectors, an internal/ make it very versatile. The camcorder is fairly simple to external speaker switch and the main The Pro880 looks like a traditional use. Normally, all circuits come on in power switch. The universal remote control has a 8mm camcorder. Its front end sports the auto mode. The iris, focus and shutter come on in the mode they were left in. switch that determines whether com- usual manual focus ring and manual Viewfinder icons remind the user of the mands are intended for the projector, a manual settings. The Pro880 works well VCR or a cable box. It includes typical zoom lever with macro focus button. in point-and-shoot situations. The user TV, VCR and cable box controls, plus buttons for the menu system, personal The left side holds camera controls, continued on page 68 preference, zoom and focus. highlighted by a rotary manual iris con- continued on page 73 trol with auto at its center, click-stopped position. The focus switch lets a user se- lect AF, manual focus and one-shot AF. Also on the left are a large LCD that displays a variety of functions and an on- screen display on/off button. Transport Little Big Shot: RCA’s Pro880 is tiny for a Hi8 camcorder, but sacrifices little in performance. AUGUST 1991 VIDEO 11

VIDEOTESTS WHS) HQ EASY REC Stylish Solution: Instead of concealing the controls behind doors, Zenith gave the VRJ210 its good looks by using a curving front panel. Zenith’s two-head TheVRJ210is a basic machine with Inexpensive VCRs no editing features. Its user-friendly re- usually cater to mono VRJ210 is form rather than mote control operates the VCR, a Ze- function. For- VIDEOTEST the junior model nith TV set and an unspecified cable in a line of four converter. (The preliminary manual we tunately, Zenith is taking a more cre- 599 VCRs very similar had made no mention of cable box con- ative, practical approach with its trol.) A universal remote that operates latest decks. The designers left the in appearance and the VCR and any TV set and cable box controls exposed, and added sweep- operation. The costs extra. ing front panels for good looks. How- ever, all models still rely on onscreen ZENITH family includes a Playback options for all three re- menus to control many functions. two-head hi-fi ma- cording speeds include still, slow, dou- chine, a four-head ble-speed play, locking search and a The two-head, mono VHS VRJ210 faster, non-locking search speed acti- we tested offers good picture quality mono deck and a vated when the user holds down the and ease of operation, very good au- dio quality for linear track, and good VHS VCR four-head hi-fi search controls. A chosen spot on the overall quality. If you like menu sys- model. The four- tape may be reached three ways: by re- tems, we recommend this machine, setting the counter to zero and using the but the four-head mono VRJ410 is a head models dis- counter memory, by using the skip-time better value at only $20 more. play less picture disturbance in search and slow-motion modes. The hi-fi mod- els have a few additional controls and headphone jacks. Zenith VRU210 Price: $340 power, menu, select, sizes skip time search, re- chroma AM—45.2 SP, VHS VER quit, source/index, mote control of cable 43.7 LP, 39.3 EP; Weight & Size (h/w/d): channel up and down, Tuning Method: box and Zenith TVs, chroma PM—39.1 SP, 11.4 Ibs; 3-3/8 x 14-1/4 volume up and down, frequency synthesis and counter memory 36.3 LP, 36.4 EP x 13-3/8 inches 10-digit keypad, enter, timer, flashback/reset, Channel Selectors: Absent Features: au- Audio Frequency Tape Format & memory, mute, record, programmable scan on dio dub, video dub, Response, -3 dB: Speeds: VHS, stop, pause, TV/VCR, VCR; scan plus direct insert edit, flying erase SP—75 Hz-10 kHz; Sheer. rewind/search, play, fast access on remote head, jog/shuttle dial, LP—75 Hz-5 kHz; forward/search and remote pause, head- EP—75 Hz-4 kHz Video Heads: 2 search/sequence Preset Method: auto phone jack, four video channel search with heads, hi-fi audio and Audio S/N: 44.6 dB Cue & Review Search: Counter Digits: add/erase to favorite front-panel inputs locking—5x SP, 9x LP, 5—hrs:mins:secs. channel sequence Audio Distortion: 1.2% 15x EP; non-locking— RESULTS Program Start Cable Tuning Range: RATINGS 7x SP, 15x LP, 21x EP Locator/index/Cue: 4A, 2 to 13, A to W, Horizontal Resolution: Picture: good VISS, search up to 99 W+1 to W+58, A-2, 240 lines Audio: very gooo Rewind Time: 3-1/2 codes A-1, W+59 to W+84 Ease of Use: good min, for T-120 S/N Ratios (dB): un- Audio: linear mono Timer: 8-event/1-year weighted video—41.4 Overall Performance: Remote Control: IR SP & LP, 40.3 EP; good with VCR/cable/TV Titles: full-screen titles Special Features: still weighted video—48.7 in one ot four type frame, slow motion, SP, 49 LP, 47.6 EP; switch and buttons. for speed play, auto re- wind, auto tracking, 12 VIDEO AUGUST 1991

search feature to jump ahead a specified The remote control has a slide formance is average, but balanced by length of time, or by using index search to jump forward or backward up to nine switch nearest the front with positions good results in the other areas, so pic- index marks. to let it control the VCR, a Zenith TV ture quality is good for VHS. Simple recording requires only one touch. By pushing the ITR (instant tim- set and a cable box. Except for menu, The audio frequency response is 75 er record) button, the user can select re- cording time in 30-minute segments up select and quit buttons, a forward/re- Hertz to 10 kilohertz at SP, 75 Hz to 5 to four hours. An “easy record” feature delays the start of ITR in half-hour in- verse adjust rocker and an indicator that kHz at LP and 75 Hz to 4 kHz at EP, all crements, starting on the hour or half Zenith does not identify in the manual, -3 dB. The audio S/N is 44.6 dB and the hour. The eight-event/one-year timer must be set through the menu system. its layout is standard. total harmonic distortion is 1.2 percent. The tuner setup menu allows auto Playing back prerecorded tapes is This is very good for linear track audio. = channel search for presetting active simple: Just insert a cassette without a channels, and the favorite channel op- tion lets the user add or delete from the 0lc)safety tab. Still frame, 1/6x to 1/30x slow scan sequence. This menu also selects motion and both search speeds are avail- TECH TIP the signal source. The VCR setup menu able at all tape speeds. Manual and includes a few unusual features —it lets the user choose the type of onscreen dis- timed recording are also easy. Most of play, choose a blue screen for blank channel display and create titles in any the other operations can be accom- of four type sizes. plished only through menus that com- Offbeat handle In appearance, the VRJ210 is unusu- pletely obliterate the picture, but these al—it has no concealed controls. Other- wise, the machine is quite conventional, operations are straightforward, with The unique, film cameralike shape of with transport and tuner controls on the front, and F-connectors and RCA jacks prompts that remind us of multiple- Canon's Al series of camcorders makes for video and mono audio on the back. choice tests. Ease of operation is good. them a delight to use, but difficult to The VRJ210 produces a horizontal carry. However, Canon makes a micro- resolution of 240 lines with an un- phone extension bar that can double as weighted video signal-to-noise ratio of a comfortable handle. The MB-100 ex- 41.4 decibels at SP and LP and 40.3 dB tension attaches to the accessory shoe at EP. The weighted video S/N is 48.7 at on top of the camcorder. A microphone SP, 49 dB at LP and 47.6 dB at EP. The or light fits on top of the extension, chroma AM S/N is 45.2 dB at SP, 43.7 at which is designed to isolate the micro- LP and 39.3 dB at EP, while the chroma phone from vibrations caused by the PM S/N is 39.1 dB at SP, 36.3 dB at LP camcorder’s transport. Tim Clark and 36.4 dB at EP. The chroma PM per- Darien, Connecticut = CAMCORDER, April 1990. “if you VIDEO, February 1990. “Conclusion. VIDEOMAKER, March/April 1990. | The VE-100 is more accurate than other “The VE-100 is incredibly accurate. Using it is do a lot of editing, this product gives you VITC Editors we've tested. With this unit relatively painless and the unit will work with almost ACCURATE,IT EVEN the advantage the pros have: easy it's easier to 1mark edit-in and out points. any VCR-Camcorder combination.” Audio and Video quality are excellent.” IMPRESSED editing decisions and completely THE EDITORS! mechanical assembling of your master tape. It's actually fun to sit back and watch it do it’s thing.” 7 200 cuts-100 scenes Pwr) ) VE-A08 SADEO EDT TOR © Accurate to within 3 frames © Audio mixing including fade in/out 1 Compatible with all systems | A pure editor, the VE-100 does only one thing: it Change your mind about edit-in or edit-out point of a scene? No problem, just go back to that point and allows you to make extremely accurate, seamless, make the change. Preview your edits before final assembly (you can watch in “fast forward” to save edits. Compatible with most VCR's having infrared time). All the information has now been programed Write or call us for4-color | remote control, itis the easiest to learn and use into the VE-100 and you go back to your original tape to make the final edited copy. During this last step you full line literature | professional-quality editor. After the VE-100 learns the can fade the audio or add audio from an external source. Within a short time you'll be showing off those A Z DE ie recording VCR's infrared code, and pre-roll time, you professionally edited tapes! make a working copy, during which a time-code is 147 New Hyde Park Road, | added for precise editing. Then you're ready for “one- Franklin Square, NY 11010 (516) 328-7500 button editing”. You can add scenes from several tapes, and you can re-arrange the order of scenes. AUGUST 1991 VIDEO 13

VIDEOTESTS Focus Fix: Ricoh’s R-105 features infrared autofocus which, unlike past through-the-lens designs, focuses without hunting back and forth. The R-105 is Ri- for superimposing as the user shoots pic- Despite the trend tures of kids and anniversaries. It can toward subcom- coh’s top-of-the- scroll superimposed titles on and off the pact camcorders, a screen, or automatically turn them off standard-size 8mm VIDEOTEST line 8mm camcord- after four seconds. It is virtually identi- like Ricoh’s R-105 still makes a lot of er. It is a standard- cal to Sony’s CCD-F501. sense. The R-105’s large controls are 600 size model, as op- Like must camcorders, it offers a easy to find and use, and its size al- posed to large fully automatic mode for point-and- shoot ease. Its programmed auto expo- lows Ricoh to pile on the features, in- models like Can- sure modes include portrait, which mini- cluding a two-speed 10x zoom, stereo mizes depth of field so that background sound, a large sports finder and pro- RICOH on’s LI and Sony’s and foreground are blurred and the sub- grammed auto exposure modes. Best CCD-V5000, or subcompacts like ject is in focus, and sports, which acti- of all, the R-105’s infrared autofocus is very stable, a big improvement Sony’s TR series. vates the high-speed shutter for cleaner over the through-the-lens design of stills and slow motion on playback. last year’s model. The R-105’s picture 8mm In addition to the quality is very good,its sound quality camcorder features noted in continued on page 78 “Highlights,” it is average, its ease of operation is has three memories that store birthdays very good to excellent, and its overall and events, so it computes age or years quality is very good. Ricoh R-105 Image Sensor: exposure, manual fo- Speeds: 8mm; SP (re- 8mm Camcorder 1/2-inch CCD cus, wind noise switch, cord and playback), LP Lens: f/1.6, 10x shutter speed, counter, (playback) (8-80mm) zoom transport mode, fader, Titles/Graphics: date eo—unweighted 43.4, no cassette, low bat- Video Heads: 2 or time, age and 2 weighted 50.2; chroma Filter Diameter: 46mm tery, caution/dew, title/ pages of superimpos- AM—44.2; chroma color, scroll direction, Cue & Review Search: ible memory in eight PM—38.2 Minimum Focusing no/low clock battery, 9x forward, 7x reverse colors with bidirectional Distance: 30 inches, battery condition, time/ scrolling Audio Frequency excluding macro range date, age Fast Forward/Rewind Response: 40 Hz-10 Time: 6-1/2 min. for Special Features: kHz, +0.2/-3 dB, -6 dB Autofocus: infrared VCR Controls: stop, 120-min. cassette still frame, bidirectional at 20 Hz, -11.8 dB at rewind/search, play, fast frame advance, slow 20 kHz Minimum Illumination: forward/search, pause/ Remote Pause: LANC motion, speed play, in- 3.7 lux for 50 still, frame advance, sert edit, auto rewind, Audio S/N: 75.4 dB slow, record and bidi- Remote Control: IR trigger-operated auto Iris: auto normal, por- rectional edit search wireless with hold fade, data screen and Stereo Separation: trait and sports modes switch, zoom rocker separate eject 25.4 dB plus locking BLC Microphone; stereo and buttons for start/ electret condenser with stop, data screen, Absent Features: Audio Distortion: 0.4% Price: $1,699 Shutter Speeds (sec.): wind noise switch counter reset, zero indexing, digital audio, memory, rewind/search, and ‘manual iris RATINGS Weight & Size (h/w/d): 1/60 (normal), 1/100, Jacks: external mic, play, fast forward/ 2.7 Ibs. without battery mic power, earphone, search, frame reverse, RESULTS Picture: very good or cassette; 5-1/2 x 1/250, 1/1,000, 1/2,000 LANC remote, DC out stop, frame forward. 4-3/8 x 12-5/8 inches and 1/4,000 for RF adapter and in/ pause, slow forward, 2x Horizontal Resolution: Audio: average out switchable jacks for and record with safety 250: lines White Balance: auto, video and stereo audio Ease of Use: switchable to lock, in- Counter Digits: S/N Ratios (dB): vid- very good/excellent door and outdoor Tape Format & 5—hrs:mins:secs. Overall Performance: Viewfinder: electronic, Audio: hi-fi AFM stereo good/very good with onscreen indicators for white balance, auto 14 VIDEO AUGUST 1991

When was the last time you saw pictures this remarkable from outer space? If you gives you 150 channels of satellite entertainment really want B to experi- from around the world. With digital stereo sound. = ence out- A laser video disc quality picture so crisp and of-this-world entertainment, we suggest you clear, the tuner is patented. And on-screen menu launch a complete exploration of satellite tele- vision. With the VideoCipher® II Plus Super prompts to help you navigate through program- 2730R Integrated Receiver Descrambler (IRD) | ming, so you’ll never get lost in space. from General Instrument. Be the first on your block in outer space with What you’llfind is that the Super 2730R the Super 2730R IRD. And dis- cover a whole new fron- tier in entertainment. INSTRUMENT General Instrument, P.O. Box 700, Hickory, NC 28603, (704) 327-4700. © 1991 Cable/Home Communication Corp. VideoCipher® is a registered trademark of General Instrument Corporation. For additional information. circle No. 8 on Reader Service Card.

#1 FOR ALL YOUR BATTERY NEEDS CAMCORNERSTATE OF THE ART Buy direct and save with guaranteed lowest prices on all camcorder replacement batteries. Sony 8mm 1500 maH $2394..9977 JVC or Panasonic Hand-Grip 3344..9977 CALL Palmcorder & JVC Grax-7 Canon 8mm All others in stock One year warranty-made in USA (800) ASK - BTRY 8mm takes quantum leap 2 he 5 2 \\: ae 3 In N.Y. or outside of the U.S. call (212) 385-4047 BY MURRAY SLOVICK head cylinder and a chassis to hold the whole thing together. Canon has come Alita ayy ss Enthusiasts of 8mm have always said the up with a deck mechanism that tips the format held unfulfilled potential. Some scales at just 175 grams, 10 grams less Ls he of this promise will shortly be realized in than the current lightest deck. Canon is spectacular fashion. Sources inside and loading the bomb racks itself on this de- video stabilizers outside the engineering departments of sign. Previously, the guts of Canon cam- video manufacturing giants in Japan corders were manufactured for the com- Just call us with the make and model number of your confirm the well-being of several inno- pany by Sony. equipment or battery, and our friendly and professional vative programs that recently seemed sales staff will be happy to help you. It’s that easy. threatened by concerns about the econ- It’s not just a matter of weight. Can- omy. In the months to come, video buffs on’s new mechanism has 260 parts, 20 We also carry cellular telephone batteries can expect to see further 8mm miniatur- percent fewer than conventional ver- All 35mm camera batteries--even hard to find ones ization (including the first subcompact’ sions. It has fewer guide points for the Cordless telephone batteries - all makes - $12.97 Hi8 camcorder), still video features and tape, too, but the company says this will Add just $3.95 for shipping CD-quality digital stereo sound. not affect performance or reliability. Call 9:30-5:30 ET. Same-day shipping no extra $ Sony will be heard from first. The One not-so-closely guarded secret is M/C, Visa, American Express gladly accepted company is introducing the smallest Hi8 Or send check or money order. Sorry, no C.O.D.'s to date, the CCD-TR&81. It features a that 11 camcorder manufacturers have new through-the-lens autofocus system agreed to a 16-bit digital stereo standard #1 BATTERY SPECIALISTS 10 WARREN STREET 3RD FLOOR that seems to greatly outperform Sony’s for Hi8 video. The companies are Aiwa, NEW YORK. NY 10007 Fax No. (212) 385-4952 past TTL designs. The new system fo- Canon, Fuji Photo Film, Hitachi, Max- cuses to the face of the lens automat- ell, Konica, Matsushita (parent of Pan- For additional information, circle No. 5 on Reader Service Card. ically, and its new manual focus ring is as asonic and Quasar), Sanyo, Sony, Toshi- smooth as the ones on 35mm SLRs. ba and TDK. WE HAVE THE MOST ADVANCED Sony also includes a remote control, TECHNOLOGY IN CABLE EQUIPMENT: two-speed zoom and a manual iris The technical wizards at these com- wheel. The TR81 is about the same size panies have pulled out all the stops to and weight as Sony’s 8mm CCD-TR7. make sure 8mm digital audio can com- While we’re discussing weighty sub- jects, about one-third of the weight of a pete with the best audio performance camcorder rests in its deck mech- that CD and DAT formats offer. Ac- anism, which includes cording to Sony, Hi8 PCM digital stereo the tape trans- will have a frequency range of 5 Hertz to port, the 22 kilohertz, approximately matching current digital disc and tape formats. At ¢ BASE BAND e¢ JERROLD this point, veteran 8mm watchers e PIONEER e TOCOM may be thinking: But PCM digital continued on page 76 ¢ HAMLIN e ZENITH ¢ SCIENTIFIC ATLANTA ¢ OAK For out of this world prices call World’s Tiniest Hi8: WORLDWIDE CABLE Sony's new CCD-TR81. 1800-772-3233 FREE CATALOG AVAILABLE 7491 C-5 N. FEDERAL HWY., SUITE 142 BOCA RATON, FL 33487 7 cop / aad NO FLORIDA SALES For additional information, circle No. 4 on Reader Service Card. 16 VIDEO AUGUST 1991

Special moments. You relive them each time you They’re packed with the latest features and very remember them. And when a moment is really special, easy to use, So you'll never miss the moment. They’re you celebrate it with something that’s truly befitting. Compact VHS, so you'll never have to let go of the moment either — the cassettes you record fit right into At JVC, we know. That’s why we create each of our your VHS VCR for easy playback (via “VHS Playpak”’ Compact VHS camcorders to fit those moments or directly on a JVC F/C-compatible VCR). A natural perfectly. Compact enough to fit comfortably in your fit for the way you live. hand, lightweight for fatigue-free shooting, crafted ergonomically so that simple things — like changing Special moments. Record them, relive them, and cassettes — don’t mean you have to change the hand celebrate them with JVC Compact VHS camcorders. that holds the camcorder. The Perfect Fit. GMIRNI-CAOXM5PAUCT VHS CAMCORDER GMIRNI-ACOXM1P0ACUT VHS CAMCORDER CHGiO-RFMi-PSSATCXET9RE0SO-UVHCSAMCORDER CGORM-P3AC0T3UVHS CAMCORDER CHGiO-RFMi-PSASTC5ET0RE5SO-UVHCS.AMCORDER VHS: The Universal Video Language J VC THE INVENTOR OF VHS

BY RODERICK WOODCOCK Great Time Machine, audible speed play, tape damage [|]Sometimes the videotapes I rent (']I have an NEC VC-739 Beta hi-fi the linear speed of the tape. When the have a damaged bottom edge. If the tape speed is doubled on playback, the: VCR with a very useful feature: writing speed changes only slightly. damage is minor, the tape plays back double-speed playback with sound that Not everyone listening to double- speed audio would agree with you that okay, but other times the picture is bad. you can understand. This allows me to it’s listenable. Maybe for newscasts, but If the tape is damaged, will any of the not general entertainment. Perhaps for view programs in half the normal time this reason it’s not widely available on without sacrificing much audio or pic- coating flake off and hurt my VCR? current models, and is rarely noted in VCR reviews. For more about double- What causes this sort of damage in the ture quality. Now I’m looking for a VHS speed audio, see “Technically Speak- first place? John Peterson hi-fi model with this feature, but can’t ing,” December 1987. Montgomery, Alabama find one. Many decks offer double-speed play, but without audio, or with pitch- []All Beta and VHS videotapes use doubled audio. Do any companies offer the lower edge of the tape to record the same sort of double-speed audio as control track—s60 pulses recorded ev- my aging NEC? Joshua Appel ery second. These pulses control the speed of the video drum and the switch- Brooklyn, New York [i]:have a 1978 Quasar VR-1000 ing of the heads from one track to the next. The control track is analogous to Great Time Machine. It plays terri- the sprocket holes in movie film, which keep the picture in sync on the screen. fyMitsubishi’s discontinued HR-423 bly, but Ihave many 60- and 120-minute (which I still own and use) and HS- If the lower edge of a tape is badly tapes of old TV shows that I'd like to damaged, the deck won’t produce a pic- U70 offered double-speed, intelligible VHS hi-fi audio at the EP speed, but not save. IfIwind the tapes into VHS or at SP, where the audio from the linear Beta shells, will I be able to play them? Does Quasar still have parts for this model? J. Stuart | TAPE TOP LINEAR Weirton, West Virginia FW, FF ef AUPIO []The only thing the Quasar GTM had in common with Beta and VHS gE WP WO OE OC OE oO oC oC oC 0 2 VW, LAA SPF APASPAfvfA was its use of half-inch videotape. The (a YY el YW VIDEO signal recorded on tape is not compati- ble with either format, so you can’t ON ed Ned el Yel el Node Sel ed Ned ed ed ed “ede “ede le nd nd Wek “ed “ed. “nd. “ed. we ™ eee transplant the tapes. Like owners of tapes made on other orphan video for- TAPE BOTTOM N\\CrOrNaTcRkOL mats— such as Cartrivision, half-inch reel-to-reel and Sanyo V-Cord—your Out of Control: Damage to videotape control tracks ‘degrades or destroys a tape’s video signal. only hope of preserving the program- ming is to find a working VCR in that ture because the control signal is missing audio track is doubled in pitch and format so you can dub the tapes onto a or also damaged. And yes, when a tape speed, producing the usual Donald current format, like VHS. (Any GTM is damaged this way, the oxide coating Duck effect. Toshiba’s SV-970 also offers owners out there who can help are in- can flake off and drop into the guts of intelligible double-speed hi-fi audio at vited to write to me, and I'll put you in your VCR, which could foul the heads EP. Your NEC wasn’t the only Beta VCR touch.) or the transport. to support the feature. It was on Sony’s SL-HF1000 as well, and is on its current Quasar continued to sell tapes and Lower tape edge damage can be EV-C3 8mm recorder (as well as on the parts for the GIM until about 1985, traced to several causes. These include discontinued EV-S1). when demand dwindled to the point cheap cassettes in which tapes wind un- where it was no longer cost-effective to evenly from reel to reel, gouging the bot- When Beta and VHS hi-fi came manufacture or stock them. tom edge; and faulty threading, which along, an unexpected benefit of their occurs when tape lands too high or too Video Magazine welcomes ‘your questions. new method of recording audio (heli- Please include a phone number, but not a low against the headwheel, instead of return envelope as the volume of mail does cally along with the video signal) was in- not permit replies. All letters may be edited nestling against the raised edge ma- telligible double-speed audio without for clarity and space. Address queries to Q chined into the lower part of the drum. the need for special circuitry. This is be- & A, Video Magazine, 460 West 34 Street, If a VCR’s tape guides are misaligned, cause hi-fi audio depends on the writing New York, NY 10001. they can also damage the edge of a tape. speed of the video heads, rather than on 18 VIDEO AUGUST 1991

ORION HOME VIDEO AND VIDEO MAGAZINE INVITE YOU 10 1DAWNiCINEFAVBUwFWiEAsOLOLSV! ES HOME VIDEO CONTEST! | AST AUN WI FFALD! o4w9OIN0jay We'll bring the spirit of the old west to life before your very eyes! You and your retail- ——__ er, each with a guest, will be flown to South Dakota where you'll experience first-hand, a real “buffalo nsa®e10a] | | | run”! You'll run via horseback or jeep with the buffa- |S=eigee lo, meet the governor of South Dakota in a private S|GINMYaIs7 25] | || | meeting, experience the craftwork of Sioux artisans, | see Mount Rushmore, tour the original Fort Hayes set <= | || from the film, and be wined and dined at the Mid- | || night Star Restaurant in historic Deadwood. Due to =bm e | | | the nature of this very unique event, this trip will take | | place October 4-6, 1991. So mark your calendar! \"— on = You could win a hand-forged a Sioux Spotted Hawk Axe from Prairie Edge Gallery, UNA or commemorative jewelry sets with authentic Northern Indian trade beads and symbolic eagle Atno;MIN M2ie feather designs from Jewelry by Waldron (who also d2ioz310ieo5 | Z“34046 designs jewelry for the Smithsonian), or special edi- tion pottery from Sioux Pottery of Rapid City! There are 36 First Prizes in all! Fifty winners and their retail- ers will win their own videocassette of “Dances with Wolves”! Fifty winners and their retailers will win a 1-year subscription to Video Magazine! |eae SO GON ace. out the attached entry card to attump~..,, GREAT FACES. GREAT PLACES.© and send to: VIDEO MAGAZINE PROMOTION DErz., SOR IE SIRENS 460 W. 34 St., NY, NY 10001. Entries are non-returnable jane trae gli adibabiaerrencode pees esgic ANNO MEE eee and must be postmarked by September 7, 1991! HOMEVIDEO na ;

BY RODER ICK WOODCOCK Great Time Machine, audible speed play, tape damage [|]Sometimes the videotapes I rent (]I have an NEC VC-739 Beta hi-fi the linear speed of the tape. When the have a damaged bottom edge. If the VCR with a very useful feature: tape speed is doubled on playback, the: damage is minor, the tape plays back double-speed playback with sound that writing speed changes only slightly. okay, but other times the picture is bad. you can understand. This allows me to Not everyone listening to double- If the tape is damaged, will any of the view programs in half the normal time speed audio would agree with you that coating flake off and hurt my VCR? without sacrificing much audio or pic- it’s listenable. Maybe for newscasts, but What causes this sort of damage in the ture quality. Now I’m looking for a VHS not general entertainment P--' first place? hi-fi model with this feature, but can’t this reaso- +” John Peterson find one. Many decks offer double“ Montgomery, Alabama play, but wit+-———— []All Beta and VHS videotapes use doubled a a snd edge of A tape oseros the same : control tracks —60 pulses recorded ev- | my aging } +: ee Bea ery second. These pulses control the Jb go 3 28 Beet e322 8 | speed of the video drum and the switch- gc= 3s Sete as3 2 B 3 ing of the heads from one track to the SS3e8e8 k ySg =3f253 a23G+eeiake2e83eRgea E next. The control track is analogous to fyMitsubi the sprocket holes in movie film, which (which ] Sze= 2 558 Sae3s 7e8e eS keep the picture in sync on the screen. | U70 offered 23% 2 FS2 229338 —<2 Pr If the lower edge of a tape is badly | VHS hi-fi auc Seue & BEE g 233 Ss damaged, the deck won’t produce a pic- | at SP, where S8ES 2 sos % es CS TAPE TOP i8S3Gt—2m8s62€&2 s2e8:e TAPE BOTTON Zu ——=7— ‘ Out of Control: Damage to videotape control tracks ‘degrades or destroys a ta eeemSa2y =e Be Bs ac 33 Zt 28 83 es a= ture because the control si: gnal iPess missieng |audio‘ track i; s dc e2WatSa~4 3OG=3sps or also damaged. And yes, when a tape | speed, producing Sz ~e i. s damaged thi.s way, the oxi.de coati.ng | Duck effect. Toshib3 S oa sBnom s . can flake off and drop into the guts of | intelligible double- 232 your VCR, which could foul the heads |EP. Your NEC wasn’ 3 gz or the transport. to support the featu: 2 A ez Lower tape edge damage ci; nacnludbee | SL-HF1000 as well, a 3$SS23 aes Ralpetad 6s2ee8eee. traced to several causes. These |EV-C3 8mm recordei BE 2: cheap cassettes in which tapes wind un- | discontinued EV-S1). 38 att he ge Zaye so keses evenly from reel to reel, gouging the bot- When Beta and Ses Sobers st Ssete Pores Bess tom edge; and faulty threading, which | along, an unexpectec 2 Sebastes 232236 so578 2ea22% occurs when tape lands too high or too | new method of recor $225 gee 228s $2555 Se eae ss ; 1Ow gainsatgaA ins thee heahdeawdhweheeell,, i3 nsteinasdtead oOf | ccaally along alongwwiitahth ttheh 5 ia=- ea2on 2 eLsS5S°8E 5Fs=f oS 23i$” 22E55SSo55-¢22o0085 2s2SS°23e54552¢5Sp°e) vic eeeS2e22>82E€5 °C csc fseo=nan° o nestli. ng agai.nst the rai: sed edge ma- | telliogeible double-spee chined into the lower part of the drum. | the need for special circ peteR aa me If a VCR’s tape guides are misaligned, | cause hi-fi audio depenc _, wu west 34 Street, they can also damage the edge of a tape. | speed of the video heads mere NY 10001. | 18 VIDEO AUGUST 1991

ORION HOME VIDEO AND VIDEO MAGAZINE INVITE YOU 10 1DANWYCNESCY mWES RACe)d OLIVES HOME VIDEO CONTEST! eoDR AT LEAST RUN WITH You can win an all-expense paid trip-of-a-lifetime We'll bring the spirit of the old to beautiful South Dakota for a chance to meet the west to life before your very eyes! You and your retail- four-footed extras from the film, and a chance to er, each with a guest, will be flown to South Dakota “run with the buffalo” . . . just like Lt. Dunbar did where you’ll experience first-hand, a real “buffalo in “Dances with Wolves”! run”! You'll run via horseback or jeep with the buffa- lo, meet the governor of South Dakota in a private It’s easy. Just team up with your local retailer meeting, experience the craftwork of Sioux artisans, and you both can win! All you have to do is visit see Mount Rushmore, tour the original Fort Hayes set from the film, and be wined and dined at the Mid- your local retail video store, armed with only your night Star Restaurant in historic Deadwood. Due to camcorder, and make your own “mini-commercial” the nature of this very unique event, this trip will take for “DANCES WITH WOLVES”! Your retailer has place October 4-6, 1991. So mark your calendar! been supplied with eye-catching display materials to promote the release of this Academy Award® win- You could win a hand-forged ning film on videocassette. You must include the Sioux Spotted Hawk Axe from Prairie Edge Gallery, display materials plus anything else you can think of or commemorative jewelry sets with authentic to set your recording apart from the rest—inter- Northern Indian trade beads and symbolic eagle views with customers, in-store scenes, reenactments feather designs from Jewelry by Waldron (who also designs jewelry for the Smithsonian), or special edi- etc. Be your own director—entries will be judged for tion pottery from Sioux Pottery of Rapid City! originality and creativity. And remember, when There are 36 First Prizes in all! YOU win, your retailer wins, too! Fifty winners and their retail- ers will win their own videocassette of “Dances with Wolves” Fifty winners and their retailers will win a 1-year subscription to Video Magazine! So don’t delay! You can’t win ifyou don’t enter! Just fill HOME VIDEO GREAT FACES. GREAT PLACES.© out the attached entry card to accompany your commercial and send to: VIDEO MAGAZINE PROMOTION DEPT., © 1991 Orion Home Video, All Rights Reserved. 460 W. 34 St., NY, NY 10001. Entries are non-returnable Dances with Wolves © 1991 TIG Productions. All Rights Reserved. and must be postmarked by September 7, 1991! Academy Award® is a registered trademark and service mark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

With than Strikes Back* 5,000 laserdisc releases on the for Red October market, there is certainly enough variety to choose from. And with the introduction of the newly-announced Pioneer Special Editions label, film overs will now be able to enjoy At Home, more great film classics on optical disc than ever before. At The Movies Highlighting this special, limited edition collection are the full-length film classics “Gandhi,” “The Jagged Pioneer LaserDiscs Edge,” “The Deep,” “Starman,” and offer film lovers the finest “White Nights.” In addition, three films, “The Eddy Duchin Story,” “Twenty Million Miles to Earth,” and in home entertainment. “Down to Earth,” are being released for the first time on home video exclu- sively on the laserdisc format at a sug- A HOME THEATRE IS LITTLE MORE gested retail price under $45 each. than a home without the right pro- Each of these RCA/Columbia Pic- gramming. As such, consumers are tures titles are being released in their turning in droves to the laserdisc for- original aspect ratio, which was previ- mat as the preferred prerecorded pro- ously available only in movie theatres. gramming source for their advanced Such attention to authentic film audio/video entertainment systems. preservation has made the laserdisc The reason is simple: Laserdiscs format the preferred video collectible deliver the best possible picture your medium. Optical discs also provide TV can produce — 60 percent sharper the same crystal clear sound and clean than standard videotape. With the picture play-after-play. Because the esAk+s—wew.—e addition of CD digital sound and audio and video information is read by Dolby Surround Sound encoded on a beam of laser light, the disc does not many movies, the laserdisc can sur- degrade or wear out with repeated pass the sonic excitement of the best play. Other laserdiscs have been With the new Pioneer equipped movie theatres in your released with never-before-seen home. footage as well as multiple sound- Special Editions label, In recent years, laserdiscs have tracks containing historical and com- been particularly popular among con- mentary by film critics and historians. film lovers will now besumers who take their movie watch- Not surprisingly, the laserdisc for- ing seriously. Special effects, such as mat enjoys the support of the major slow-motion and freeze-frame, exten- motion picture studios, with Pioneer able to enjoy more film sive programming and random access licensing and distributing titles from of frames and chapters, make the opti- Paramount, RCA/Columbia, Warner classics on optical disc cal disc format perfect for those who Bros., MGM/UA, MCA and Nelson than ever before. like to study films — in whole or in Entertainment among others. portions — in addition to sitting back Only laserdiscs can provide movie and enjoying them. theatre quality on any size home TV.

Pan /Scan Widescreen wate (]JOOm(e e@f) $29.95 $29.95 $34.98 $29.95 $39.98 $29.95 $34.98 $44.98 $49.95 $29.95 $34.98 $24.95 $29.99 $39.98 $39.99 $2é4.95 $34.98 $34.95 $29.95 $39.98 $24.95 $39.95 $39.95 $49.98 $34.98 $29.95 $39.95 $34.95 $24.95 $44.95 $39.98 $39.95 $44.95 $24.95 $49.95 $24.98 $49.95 $44.95 $29.99 $29.99 SOURCE: Pioneer LDCA, Inc. The Star Trek” crew has been captured before. But never like this. You see, on laserdisc, they’re 60% sharper than on ordinary videotape. Plus, there’s incredible CD sound. And most impor- tantly, there’s the long awaited wide-screen format—which is crucial, as space is constantly expanding. So collect all five separately or in the limited The Art of Entertainment i edition box set. And live long and prosper?” © 1991 Pioneer LDCA, Inc., Long Beach, CA. StarTrek is a registered trademark of Paramount Pictures Corporation. All rights reserved. For additional information, circle No. 42 on Reader Service Card

_Ellasiaoute EDITED BY BRIAN CLARK SPECIALISTS NEW PRODUCTS 1160 HAMBURG TPK., WAYNE, N.J. 07470 FOR MORE INFO: CONVENIENT FAX # (201) 696-6531 (201) 633-1476 WE WILL MATCH OR BEAT ANY LEGITIMATE PRICE TOLL FREE:.... 1 (800) 444-6300 FAST SERVICE, CBEaSTnPoRICnES! Canovision 8 _ AUTHORIZED DEALER FE Zenith and Bose collaborate on 52-inch TV Zenith and Bose have teamed up to produce a 52-inch projection TV that has a surround sound system dubbed VideoStage. Included are two Bose studio surround speakers for rear placement. The Delta-Brite lens system gives a brighter picture by reducing the amount of light lost through reflection. Other features include on- screen menus, auto channel search and color picture-in-picture. Price: $3,895. For additional information, circle no. 142 on Reader Service Card. wAse—e —s @ Revolutionary new technology allows Mitsubishi refines top S-VHS deck interchangeable lenses. The new ViewPoint onscreen operating system, designed to simplify operation, is © Digital Signal Processor allows 2x just one of the attractions offered by the Mitsubishi HS-U65 S-VHS hi-fi VCR. Closeup, Overlap, Gain-up (0.5 |ux), New circuitry reduces smearing between light and dark objects and analyzes Freeze, Art Freeze, and strobe effects brightness levels to reduce color noise. The unit also employs a circuit to improve to be added to videos. the playback picture on tapes recorded in EP mode. The HS-U65 also has the ca- pability to serve as a video tuner in a home theater system. The remote has a jog/ ® True-to-life AFM stereo sound. shuttle dial that controls a whole range of tape speeds in forward and reverse, and its wealth of editing features includes dual flying erase heads. ALL OTHER MODELS IN STOCK: © Ai DIGITAL @ H800 @ E08 ® E61 Price: $999. PRICES ALWAYS COMPETITIVE For additional information, circle no. 143 on Reader Service Card. ae) VISA’| SWee !ship within 24 hours. All prices quoted include manufacturer's standard accessories & U.S. Warranty. All units are factory sealed. We are an AUTHORIZED DEALER for ALL NAME BRANDS WE SELL! 10 DAY EXCHANGE. S & H NON-REFUNDABLE! J‘(BU“S6OPOUD/FNIPOUDDADNODDISOHB2WISjJPOPJDU! 22 VIDEO AUGUST 1991

SACCTOWIUC liesESOEPIALIEAS FOR MORE INFO: CONVENIENT FAX # (201) 696-6531 (201) 633-1476 WE WILL MATCH OR BEAT ANY LEGITIMATE PRICE TOLL FREE:.... 1 (800) 444-6300 Sony combi deck plays both sides VIDEONICS / Sony’s MDP-605 combi player, available this fall, has an auto reverse feature that DIRECT ED ad‘ eliminates the need to flip a laserdisc. The unit has two S-video outputs and an bon = optical digital output. A clear scan feature produces noise-free pictures even on CLV discs. The 605 uses Sony's dual scan mode shuttle control that puts the play @ ARRANGE FAVORITE SCENES button in the center, while the shuttle ring controls speed. IN ANY ORDER Price: $900. © BUILT-IN CHARACTER GENERATOR INTERNAL GRAPHICS (12 TYPE STYLES & 64 COLORS) For agditional information, circle no. 144 on Reader Service Card. © 12 TYPES OF FADES OR WIPES © INDEX SCENES © WIRELESS REMOTE Easy-to-handle EDITING camcorder from Fuji PROCESSOR The Fujix-8 M890 8mm camcorder has © 16 WIPES BY COMBINING 5 BASIC PATTERNS ® COLOR BALANCING w JOYSTICK CONTROLLER a unique hand grip that folds into a car- © 8 BACKGROUND COLORS, PLUS COLOR BAR CHART tying handle. The grip has a built-in trig- 8 © COMPATIBLE MySUPER VHS ger and also converts to a tripod, & 8mm HI-BAN © VIDEO yap lite complete with a remote control sensor. as © INDEPENDENAT'V FADERS JIX-SV55 The M890 uses an 8x power zoom lens and has hi-fi stereo sound. Other features include a macro mode, fade in/out control, a variable-speed shutter, auto back- light compensation and titling capabilities in eight colors RMV-100 ¢ EDIT CONTROLLER for with memory. A choice of three color balance over- MATCHING tides are available, as well as insert recording and pic- e JVC COMPONENTS ture and skip search for editing. AZDEN Price: $1,500. VE-100 For additional information, circle no. 145 on Reader Service Card. PROFESSIONAL EDITOR Universal remote integrates seven others @ 200 CUTS — 100 SCENES Recoton’s V630 universal infrared remote has an LCD display screen to verify pro- @ ACCURATE TO WITHIN 3 FRAMES gramming commands. The unit is capable of consolidating up to seven other re- @ AUDIO MIXING INCLUDING mote controls. A sliding panel covers the programming buttons to prevent mistakes. FADE IN/OUT @ COMPATIBLE w VHS, BETA, Price: $89.99. 8mm, SUPER-VHS For additional information, circle no. 146 on Reader Service Card. AV SWITCHER REMOTE Goldstar redesigns 19-inch TVCR © 6 VIDEO IMPUTS VIDEO 3 OUTPUTS Goldstar’s KMV-950A ViewMax TVCR contains a 19-inch color TV and a pro- @ REMOTE CONTROL grammable two-head VHS VCR. The TV uses a 181-channel tuner that can PANASONIC handle 125 cable channels. Other fea- tures include one-year, eight-program WJ-AVES5 Digital A/V Mixer recording and HQ video circuitry. © BUILT-IN DIGITAL SYNCHRONIZER ¢ DIGITAL SPECIAL Price: $629.95. EFFECTS ¢ SUPERIMPOSE ¢ FADE-IN FADE-OUT For additional information, * AUDIO MIXING ¢ 98 WIPE PATTERNS® PICTURE-TO-PICTURE circle no. 147 on Reader Service Card. ¢ JOYSIMATGE IPOSCITKIONER Fai1CSRcNoon0odiaeenr.rfdacdoivld.riteemciareotniaoln, AUGUST 1991 VIDEO 23

MOCLOONC, BY BRENT BUTTERWORTH ( SPECIALISTS Pro-Logic for penny-pinchers. 1160 HAMBURG TPK., WAYNE, N.J. 07470 FORMORE INFO: CONVENIENT FAX # (201) 696-6531 (201) 633-1476 WE WILL MATCH OR BEAT ANY LEGITIMATE PRICE TOLL FREE:.... 1 (800) 444-6300 FAST SERVICE VHS: Eight-segment assembler automates editinWs What’s the difference between an audio/ ter sound than using the speakers in the chores, placi ng desired scenes in any order. Hi video system and a home theater? The monitor, even when we used the TV set Circuitry and digital auto- captivating realism of Dolby Pro-Logic by itself without the decoder. The moni- tracking ensure quality video surround sound —and, in most cases, tor’s 10-watt amplifier was powerful and fuss-free playback. thousands of dollars in audio compo- enough for a 12-by-16-foot room, but nents. But videophiles can now get Pro- users with larger rooms will need an ex- JVC HR-S5800U Logic inexpensively, thanks to Audio- tra, more powerful amp for the center Source’s $400 SS Three surround sound channel. S-VHS: Feature-laden deck offers the utmost in processor. scene-finding convenience. Full-featured The decoder and extra speakers cost remote with display dupli- The SS Three combines a surround only about $500, and our 1977 receiver cates on-screen programming decoder with a 30-watt-per-channel is hardly of audiophile quality. But the capabilities. stereo amplifier for rear speakers. Used budget system still produced pleasing with a stereo system, two small rear speakers and a TV set that has audio/ video inputs and external speaker jacks, AudioSource JVC HR-SC1000U Boom on a Budget: The $400 SS Three decoder adds Dolby Pro-Logic surround sound to any A/V system. S-VHS: Hi-Fi stereo, VHSC & VHS combo, jog shuttle, digital A/V track with dual screen programming. the SS Three can shake your walls with- sound. The SS Three separates channels out breaking your budget. It’s perfect for videophiles who already own a basic as cleanly as the decoders in top-of-the- A/N system, and want to upgrade to sur- round. line A/V receivers, although it doesn’t The SS Three has all the essentials: match the nearly perfect performance of Pro-Logic with 20- or 30-millisecond de- lay for rear channels; hall and matrix high-end decoders like Fosgate’s $1,300 surround modes; a phantom center channel mode; input, rear, center and DSL Two. A slight amount of dialog master level controls; a test tone, a sub- s~se—ee <—S-VHsS: -Title/date recording adds personal woofer output and separate level meters leaks into the rear channels, but you touch. Bargraph-style “tape time remaining’ for each channel. All controls except in- display eliminates recording put level are duplicated on the remote. have to turn the front channels down all surprises. Synchro-edit feature simplifies dubbing. We set up the SS Three by hooking the way to hear it. It has no surround syn- up two $25 SVI two-way speakers to its rear-channel amplifier outputs, and con- thesis modes, so it won’t help older mov- necting the decoder into the tape re- cording loop of an audio receiver. This ies, which have no surround encoding. let us switch the decoder in and out The SS Three also works well for using the receiver’s tape/source monitor music. The hall mode is subtle and un- button. obtrusive, unlike most music surround We then connected the decoder’s TOSHIBA SV-771 modes which, in our opinion, verge on center-channel output to the left, or S-VHS: Optical scanner digitizes graphics for mono, audio input of a video monitor. unlistenable. superimposition. Other digital tricks include To finish the job, we connected two color correction, fades, wipes, bookshelfFaiNRc1SCoo1dinoeaenrr.dfracoivdldrti.eemicareotniaoln, speakers to the monitor’s The SS Three is what many video- negative/positive, titles, and speaker jacks. This produced much bet- noise reduction. philes have been waiting for—an inex- pensive way to get Dolby Pro-Logic sur- round. It let us turn a ragtag bunch of PRICES ALWAYS COMPETITIVE components into a decent-sounding sur- Ss Peet elca aes ioo round system, and is good enough to use with more expensive gear. It is well We ship within 24 hours. worth checking out if you’re considering All prices quoted include manufacturer's standard accessories & U.S. Warranty. All units are factory surround. And you should b—eonce sealed. We are an AUTHORIZED DEALER for ALL NAME BRANDS WE SELL! 10 DAY EXCHANGE. you've heard what a good decoder can S & H NON-REFUNDABLE do, you may never want to watch a mov- 24 VIDEO AUGUST 1991 ie in stereo again. ]

“Truevision VideoVGA gives us a rock solid genlock and a great signal.’ i eee E ‘2 “ Corporate video created with Truevision VideoVGA* Output that’s worthy of our name and yours. Truevision VideoVGA output is broadcast quality. Advanced encoding delivers an interlaced NTSC signal that’s fully compliant with RS-170A specs in either composite or S-video formats. Just as important, it’s Truevision quality. VideoVGA was designed and built with the same standards that have made our TARGA® products so successful. Since the Truevision VideoVGA is also a fully functional SuperVGA board, you can create graphics or animations from most software packages. Its on-board scan converter lets you output directly into your switcher, or to any other destina- tion device including decks and videodisc recorders. Using Truevision VideoVGA with a Truevision TARGA or TARGA+ board, you can multiply your videographic capabilities. You can even use it as a stand alone character generator. If you’ve been getting mixed signals about VGA to NTSC products, scope out the Truevision VideoVGA. At $995, you’ll see a great signal and a great price. @ kUEVISION 7340 Shadeland Station, Indianapolis, IN 46256 INTERNATIONAL: Canada 416/940-8727 France 33-1-3-952-6253 Italy 39-2-242-4551 U.K. 44-628-77-7800 West Germany 49-89-612-0010 Other international 617 / 229-6900 ee *TOPAS®/VGA from AT&T GSL was also used. TOPAS is a registered trademark of AT&T GSL.

BY STAN PINKWAS PROJEGTION S NEW DIREG LCDs power an innovative breed ofsmall, easy-to-use, big-screen video projectors. he tiny liquid crystal diode—a de- technology needed for larger video im- ages. Conventional projectors adapt di- vice so commonplace that watches rect-view TV tubes to a scale for which they were not initially intended. And using it are given away as premiums, while video manufacturers have shown so familiar it has been used for video remarkable creativity in teasing ever brighter, bigger pictures out of CRT- screens since it was invented 25 years based systems, they have been less suc- cessful in shrinking their size, cost and ago, and so tiny that more than 200,000 sometimes finicky operational charac- can fit within a three-inch squar— emay teristics. hold the secret to convenient giant- The new breed of LCD projectors Inside LED Projection screen viewing. Viewing so enhanced doesn’t yet solve these problems, but it holds the potential to do so, and at a Cutaway illustration of Sharp’s that desktop projectors weighing no pace that may prove startling. Some ad- XV-100 projector shows how mir- vocates, like Bruce Pollack, Sharp’s na- rors channel light through red, ea<<w e more than a few pounds will deliver tional marketing manager for LCD green and blue LCD panels, then products, predict LCD projectors will combine the image components be- large, sharp, bright pictures of the kind eventually replace CRT-based systems fore they reach the lens. “in the same way that transistors re- that today require rear-screen projectors placed vacuum tubes. We're going to see . Metal halide lamp a very rapid progression,” says Pollack. . Red LCD panel weighing a couple of hundred pounds. “In the long run, LCD projection will . Blue LCD panel take over a significant market share . Green LCD panel Personal projectors, compact home . Dichroic mirror, one of four from conventional projection and di- . Condenser lens, one of three theater systems, operational simplicity. Tect-view sets.” —WNM. TotalOreflection mirror, This is the promise offered by a new gen- What does this all mean? No more one of three and no less than a new way of watching o. Projection lens eration of video television. . Cooling fan projectors using Like wildflowers after a spring rain, not conventional the market for LCD projection is begin- cathode ray tubes, but small LCD panels to generate images nearly 200 inches in size, Light Shutter: measured diag- Sharp LCD projectors onally. use three of these monochrome, 89,505- The projectors pixel LCD panels, one represent a dra- for each primary color. matic new inter- pretation of the 26 VIDEO AUGUST 1991

ning to bloom. Three years ago, Kodak Zoom With a View: Sanyo's PLC100N uses 3.1- somewhat different configuration, but introduced the first LCD projector. A are aimed principally at business mar- inch LCD panels to project a picture up to 120 kets, although with prices beginning at year later, Sharp followed. Soon Kodak inches, diagonally. about $3,500, the line between consum- faded, leaving the field to Sharp. Mean- ers and pros is a lot blurrier than it is for while, Sharp’s original XV-100 projector _* other video components. has mushroomed into a diverse line, and has been joined by models from half a XV-120ZU (see ‘“Videotests,” June ’91) Meanwhile, Fuji, known more for dozen other firms, including Magnavox, and the new top-of-the line XV-S1, Fuji, GE, Sanyo, Eiki and Hitachi. cameras and videotape than display sys- which is expected to cost about $8,000 tems, is taking a radically different ap- Some of the models are intended for when it’s introduced here. proach: personal projection. Its Fujix professional markets, but many are HP-40 Handy Projector weighs a mere aimed straight at consumers. Sharp, in This fall, Magnavox joins the fray 16 ounces. Small enough to be held in a particular, aggressively markets its with the $6,300 LC-1000 LCD projector single hand, it runs off a camcorder bat- SharpVision projectors and screens as (see ‘““Videotests” this issue), the first tery and throws a picture from six to 40 home theater systems. Sharp now offers inches in size, although the company model to include a TV tuner. Three oth- says 20 inches is optimal. four projectors: the XV-100, the ceiling- er model— sGE’s LCDI10 Imager, Sanyo’s The HP-40 is intended to be used mounted XV-101, the brighter PLCIOON and Eiki’s LC-150—share a not as a primary TV set, but as a cam- corder accessory, which is how it’s sold AUGUST 1991 VIDEO 27

Personal Projection: Fuji’s handheld HP-40 projec- « .The HP-40 won’t appear on (a potential problem for CRTs used to tor, sold now in Japan as a camcorder accessory. ) U.S. shelves, but Almeida says display videogames), and emit no elec- the company is developing a in Japan where it’s already in stores, tromagnetic interference. priced at about $500. Of course, it dis- second-generation version On the down side, they're still ex- plays any standard video source, so that _ with better resolution and a movies watched with it need not be ' stronger power supply that will pensive, not as bright on the whole as homemade. conventional projectors, and require be introduced here in early 1992. some simple maintenance, primarily “Fuji has always wanted to control As a group, LCD projectors changing lamps and air filters. the image, from start to finish,” says Fuji marketing manager Manny Almeida. “It’s offer a lot of advantages. Conven- The keys to their achievement are not enough just to have a camcord—eyrou tional video projectors use three small thin glass panels approximately three need a means of projecting its images.” inches across diagonally. They bear liq- CRTs, like those in direct-view TV sets, uid crystal diodes of the active-matrix, BRIGHT PROSPECTS:LATEST except that each CRT displays a single thin-film transistor (TFT) type. The primary color —red, green or blue. The LCDs orient themselves to electrical CRTs are lashed together, their images fields passing through them somewhat in projected through special lenses directly the manner of a shutter, blocking or per- at a screen in the case of front projec- mitting light to pass. tors. For rear projectors, the lenses are Most projectors use three LCD pan- aimed at mirrors which reflect the image els, one for each primary color. How- onto the cabinet’s screen. ever, Fuji’s projector uses a single, smaller panel with a tricolor matrix and LCD projectors, by way of contrast, Joe Gillio, Sharp’s marketing manager are lighter, smaller, cooler, more porta- for industrial LCD products, says the ble, less obtrusive and easier to set up and move. They use less power, display company too “is investigating a panel in no scan line flicker or phosphor burning TUBE PROJECTORS | | Despite their un- e Vidikron VPF40. Vidikron’s latest projector was de- deniable appeal, signed by Pininfarina, creators of auto bodies for Ferrari. It shares more than good looks with the Italian sports LCD projectors car—sit also offers outstanding performance. The compa- haven't stolen all the attention ny says the projector is compatible with all HDTV from their lower- standards, and its modular design allows it to accept such peripherals as an HDTV decoder and RGB input tech cousins. for computer graphics. The projector may sound expen- Tube projectors hee continue to pro- sive at $12,000, but that’s a bargain for any HDTV vide the state of projector, especially one so handsome. Projector by Pininfarina: Vidikron’s VPF40. he gee ai viden e Runco Super IDTV. Runco’s latest projector costs projection—and continue to improve. In fact, this sum- even more, but is just as much a bargain. The $14,000 mer’s Consumer Electronics Show saw the introduction Super IDTV data-grade projector includes a built-in line of three of the most innovative projectors ever—one em- bodying a completely new concept, one making a doubler, which is a modified version of the NEC design powerful style statement and the third bringing high-end projection down to affordable prices. that has become something of an industry standard. The projector produces a sharp, bright picture com- e@Mitsubishi VS-1000. Perhaps the most radical tube parable to that of other data-grade machines, but the projector of all time, the $6,500 VS-1000 relies on the real magic is in the line doubler. The unit we saw pro- same technology many LCD projectors use to combine duced no visible era three images into one. The heart of the VS-1000 is a cube crossed by two dichroic mirrors in an X pattern. motion artifacts, The cube has CRTs on three sides, and a lens on the fourth. The mirrors blend the light from the red, green an impressive and blue tubes, and direct it out through the lens. feat that even Convergence is set at the factory, so users should never have to adjust it. The picture resembles that of a some $20,000 standard tube projector, but the sleek, unique chassis looks like none we’ve seen before. projector/line doubler com- binations can’t match. —Brent Butterworth Single-Lens Simplicity: Mitsubishi's VS-1000. PFBFMLABKSUHOIAYSTEJOTRBIPSEMSTRRLIVPUOEYASEBN:SNTINETES;RHDI 28 VIDEO AUGUST 1991

which all the colors are on one panel.” Pixel Power: quality. Thus, most projectors need a The panels are still very costly, a sit- Sharp’s pro-level new bulb every one or two years, given XG-2000, due in Sep- average levels of TV viewing. uation explained in large part by the tember, uses panels term “yield.” A single 3.1-inch panel, bearing twice as many But the lamps are easy to replace pixels as most LCD and some models come with spares like those in GE’s LCD10 Imager projec- projectors. A consumer tucked into hidden compartments, like version may be intro- slide projectors. By way of comparison, tor, possesses more than 110,000 individ- duced later. the LCD panels have an average lifetime ual pixels. In the case of the LCD10, this of 80,000 hours, far longer than the life- means 331,350 color pixels must proper- through the panels to illuminate the im- span of typical CRTs. ly light up to deliver a dropout-free pic- age. Most, like those in the Sharp and GE projectors, are 150 watts, and reach MIRROR IMAGES ~ ture. Sharp’s newest model, the forth- a color temperature of 9,000 Kelvins. From the lamp, the light bounces off coming XG-2000, uses three-inch panels Magnavox’s projector uses a 200-watt with a total of 650,000 pixels per projec- lamp created by its parent company Phi- a series of mirrors designed to separate tor, at least double the number in most lips, a firm which Wegener notes has the light into its red, green and blue other LCD projectors. “Imagine trying had “a long, emotional attachment to components, guide it through each of to pack more than 200,000 pixels on a lighting.” The Philips lamp stays rela- the LCD panels, then reconverge the tively cool and maintains a constant image-bearing components before fun- small piece of glass,” muses Gillio. 6,500 K color temperature. Martin neling it through the lens. The Magna- Stroomer, Philips’ LCD TV project vox projector interpolates between the Imagine, indeed, especially when manager, describes the light as “spec- lamp and the mirrors a special light-en- making LCD panels is still an inexact trum optimized” so that the primary col- hancing device, referred to as a com- craft. Perfect panels are so difficult to ors the unit projects “more closely manufacture that, for every 100 three- match NTSC standards than those of continued on page 82 inch panels produced, 85 are typically most CRT projectors.” discarded because of minor defects— usually imperfect pixels that would ap- The lamps are typically rated for pear as tiny pinholes in a projected im- 2,000 hours, 2,000 to 5,000 hours for age, were the panels to be used. Sharp’s models. This means they will burn at full throttle for at least 2,000 “About two years ago, companies hours before beginning to lose power were lucky to get 5 percent yield off the enough to noticeably degrade picture LCD panels,” notes Carl Wegener, Phi- lips’ marketing director for projection New Set TV sets. “Today it’s 15 percent. But if on the Block: we're really going to be successful, we Magnavox's LC-1000, can’t have pixels going out. We specify the first LCD unit to in- clude a TV tuner, zero defects.” projects images up to Companies are optimistic about rais- 184 inches in size. ing the yield and thereby lowering the panels’ cost. Specific approaches are closely guarded, but there is some talk about applying the principle of redun- dancy; that is, building LCD panels so that each pixel would, in effect, have a backup pixel if the primary pixel were to blink out— “twin TFT technology” in the words of Bruce Pollack. Even with- out corresponding manufacturing im- provements, the odds against two pixels in the same position losing power would be very great. But the manufacturing picture is also certain to improve. The technology is so new, production processes are still being invented. The first were borrowed from the manufacture of integrated cir- cuits. Now, companies are rapidly gain- ing experience producing LCD projec- tors. The lamps, or bulbs, used by the pro- jectors are the metal halide variety. They beam a bright, highly focused light BJMARAYEGNANVEORX: AUGUST 1991 VIDEO 29

BY BRENT BUTTERWORTH TECHNICAL” for do-it-yourselfers, and expensive for KNGCKUTS those who take their machines into the shop for cleaning. ) A full fight card of advances packs Hitachi has built an automatic head extra punch into this year’s VCRs. cleaner into its new top-of-the-line VHS hi-fi model, the VT-F551A. The deck With so many digital and disc-based in- All-Around Player: combines striking looks with several un- novations on the horizon, many for- Hitachi's VT-F551A usual features, including quasi S-VHS ward-looking video enthusiasts consider VHS'VCR also plays playback. This feature allows users to the VCR down for the count with little S-VHS tapes, with pic- play, but not record, S-VHS tapes, with left in its punch. But VCR technology, ture quality comparable picture quality comparable to that of like George Foreman, keeps coming up to that of VHS. standard VHS. Quasi S-VHS should with surprises years after everyone prove especially popular with S-VHS thought it was past its prime. @riracri camcorder owners, because it will allow VCR EMIT CORTROALER VTmec them to play their tapes without having This season’s contenders offer some to hook the camcorder up to a VCR or of the most useful features we’ve ever =S—tSware] vont vor? TV set. seen, a refreshing change from the flashy \\p-u~ro urvaer [orsecaysthaifon bells and whistles of years past. Here’s a The $730 deck also features high- blow-by-blow commentary on the latest speed visual search (15x in SP, 45x in and greatest models VCR manufacturers have to offer. EP) and an eight-scene edit controller. A unique Movie Return Tape switch ac- The most useful and ubiquitous new tivates an automatic sequence that plays feature to enter the ring is automatic a tape on insertion, stops it at the end, head cleaning, which is present on al- then rewinds and ejects it. most all the decks discussed below. This advance adds muscle to any deck’s pic- Another knockout VHS deck with ture and sound quality by cleaning the heads every time the VCR is used. auto head cleaning is Sony’s $600 When a user inserts a tape, a small roller briefly brushes against the heads as the SLV-585. The hi-fi 585 features Sony’s head drum begins spinning. new dual-mode shuttle, which combines 13 functions on one control. The shuttle The roller takes another swing at the lets users control most transport func- drum when the tape is ejected, removing tio—innclusding frame advance, slow most of the grunge that rental tapes can motion and high-speed search —by feel. deposit on video and hi-fi audio heads. The 585 also features a button that lets Automatic head cleaning reduces or a user skip 30 seconds of tape with one even eliminates a maintenance pro- REC CHANNEL cedure that can be confusing and scary = ¥4 GEREW PLAY F.FWOUEEE Lael 30 VIDEO AUGUST 1991

909132 ~ ty Late Arrivals: This year's hottest VCR features include the automatic head cleaner (left, arrow) and the midmount transport (right), seen in Toshiba's SVF-990 VCR. tou—cidheal for cutting through com- mercials. A companion model, the $650 SLV-686, includes such editing features as a flying erase head. MIDMOUNT MUSCLE Midprice Midmount: Sharp’s $570 hi-fi VHS VC-H85U uses a midmount transport with concealed controls. This year’s other hard-hitting inno- deck. Its clean front-panel design is in- which may not be on the final version. vation is the midmount transport. While terrupted only by two buttons and front- Fisher, another midmount rookie, is the good looks of decks using it are obvi- panel audio/video inputs. Its Artificial ous, its technical advantages are even Intelligence Picture System combines introducing two decks with centered more important. The centered transport transports. The $500 VHS hi-fi and vibration-damping chassis compo- several automatic features, including FVH-4903 boasts auto daylight-saving nents used in midmount decks are said tracking control and noise reduction. time adjustment and front-panel A/V by manufacturers to minimize picture Another nice touch is a switch that de- inputs, while the $600 FVH-8901 adds jitter caused by slight fluctuations in activates the blue screen that comes on hefty dual impedance rollers that further head drum rotation and tape move- when no video signal is present. Pre- improve transport stability. The 8901 ment. (For more information, see production units featured quasi S-VHS, also edits, with features like a flying “Technically Speaking,” July ’91.) erase head and audio dub. The latest entry in the midmount In a season of few new heavyweight ranks is Sharp’s $570 VC-H85U VHS contenders, Panasonic’s $750 S-VHS PV-S4167 should attract many fans. The aE deck’s graceful, rounded cabinet wraps features such as a jog/shuttle dial that accesses six forward and reverse speeds, a flying erase head, synchro edit and dig- ital auto picture, which automatically boosts weak signals for consistent pic- ture brightness. Panasonic packages the PV-S4167 with the new PV-PG100 LCD Program Director, a special remote control that makes the deck a snap to program. A child lock switch on the deck prevents toddlers from inserting foreign objects through the cassette hatch. JVC enters the lists with two new S-VHS decks. The HR-S4700 sticks to basics, while the HR-S6700 includes AUGUST 1991 VIDEO 31

Style Setters: Two new VHS hi-fi decks—Philips’ VR6065 (left) and Zenith’s VRJ220HF (below). WHS}HQ filet) PHILIPS editing features and a sound processor Zenith’s latest decks fight back. Philips’ VR6065 features cinema with a variety of ambience and equaliza- against the trend toward cosmetic doors that conceal controls. All the main con- sound, an ambience simulation mode. tion modes. Both incorporate three new trols on the company’s new $439 VHS automatic systems designed to enhance hi-fi VRJ220HF sit in plain sight on a This $570 VHS hi-fi deck shows that performance and ease of operation. curvaceous front panel. Plain-English Philips, too, wants to make program- For example, JVC’s Intelligent Infor- programming menus on the two-head mation Center informs users of operat- deck ask the user for each piece of infor- ming easier. The company says its new ing status through a fluorescent display mation needed for timeshifting. panel that spells out words instead of menu system lets the user program the using symbols. The Intelligent Control System lets users select playback modes VCR in less than a minute, with vir- such as dub, enhanced, soft and sharp. The Intelligent Access System combines tually no chance of error. a fast-access tape transport with a vari- Most of these decks have yet to hit ety of automatic search functions. the market, so we can’t tell you if the in- novations discussed above will prove to be musts or maybes. But we'll be eval- uating the new features carefully as they appear, separating the heavy hitters from the sparring partners. 8 se=«s=—s —~ J“AMMOIVMFIIEYNSOGU TYHROEEUYN'TTROEO! We, When playing back a rented movie you may notice 3 annoying flashes, streaks, color lightening and darkening, etc. This is caused by Macrovision copy protection jamming embedded in the video. The Video-2010 will spot and completely eliminate Model #V-2010 _ *100% guaranteed and effective Highest Quality - 3 Year Warranty -30 day money back guarantee *Works on all TV'S, VCR's, Beta, Cable \"| Battery Included - Durable Metal Case *Completely automatic no adjustments *Uses one 9 volt battery, lasts over a year C.0.D. ORDER TOLL FREE *No AC adaptor to take up valuable plug space *No power supply cable to ad to the wire jungle 1-800-624-1150 FOR INFORMATION AND OUR FREE CATALOG CALL 402-554-0383 OR WRITE EVERQUEST CO. 875 So. 72nd St. Omaha, Ne. 68114 For additional information, circle No. 13 on Reader Service Card. 32 VIDEO AUGUST 1991

NO BULL....ALL QUIPMENT IS U.S.A. WARRANTIED AND FACTORY FRESH. ALL FOR ORDERS ONLY ALL ITEMS INCLUDE ALL CALL US WHEN YOU’RE MFRS. FACTORY PACKED ACCS. & TIRED OF THE BULL 1-800-NO BULL 91 MANUFACTURERS USA WARRANTIES “ABSOLUTELY NO GRAY MARKET” FOR A BREATH OF FRESH AIR & MULTI SYSTEMS &1-800-662-8559 EUROPEAN EQUIPMENT-PLEASEABSOLUTELY NO GAMES Catt 908-060-7100A NO BULL SHOW AT KB VIDEO Cc G DO NOT CALL US...UNLESS YOU ARE TIRED OF THE BULL.... YOU DON’T WANT TO BE BAITED & SWITCHED. YOU DON’T LIKE TO BE JERKED AROUND. & YOU’RE READY FOR A “NO BULL” SHOW! CMEDRIESE F CAMCORDERS aoe VCR'S KBs PRICE POLICY AUDIO FAX & PHONES \\ fe DY WE WEL nent OF Panasonic CCAALLLL P aHR-Dr6D8X04U.0.U...............-. GCAALLLL BEAT ALL REAL at SL SLV-585 HF JOG CALL ‘b KKXXTT11447505 .... HR-D720U.......... CALL SLV-686 HF JOG CALL PRICES THAT ARE KXT2740 CALL HHHRRR--DD-77:68D00UU8..6....0....U................. CALL KXT3155 ... CCAALLLL SLV-RS SUPER .. 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BY STEVE DITLEA THE NEXT GENERATION Enterprising inventors close in on video's most elusive goal. If you happened to tune into KQEC, mapping sequence. And in so doing you Depth Charge: German 3-D system uses two vid- San Francisco's educational UHF chan- would have witnessed the world’s first nel, last February 21 at midnight, you €0 projectors with reversed primary colors to create would have seen an odd TV picture full-color, flickerless 3-D broadcast. consisting of two similarly compressed video image pairs for use with polarizing glasses. scenes, separated by a horizontal black Meanwhile, since last November in band. With appropriate equipment, Hoboken, New Jersey, across the Hud- experience making 3-D movies in the costing about $5,000, you would have 1950s. seen a rock video by Marty Balin, for- son River from Manhattan, an experi- merly of Jefferson Starship, a snippet mental low-power transmitter at the Nor are they alone. Despite the pub- from the Hollywood horror classic House Stevens Institute of Technology has lic skepticism greeting most announce- been broadcasting programs that appear ments about 3-D, a scattered communi- of Wax star- to have been shot by someone with a ty of individuals and companies, here ring Vincent case of the shakes. But for less than and abroad (see sidebar) is pursuing the Price, and $200 in extra equipment, any TV viewer dream of crystal-clear 3-D. Moreover, a_ brief within Channel 27’s line of sight can see given today’s media-rich environment, aerial the films and sports events as they’re the research is directed not just at mov- meant to be seen—in 3-D, albeit with a ies, but at videotapes, TV broadcasts Flicker-Free 3-D: noticeable flicker. and computer imaging systems as well. Wireless LCD goggles and descrambler pro- With none of the ballyhoo surround- By demonstrating the feasibility of duced by StereoGraphics ing special broadcasts of high-definition in-depth TV, Lenny Lipton and Michael for flickerless 3-D sys- TV or advanced direct-broadcast satel- Starks, the men behind the systems in tem. Goggles rely on lite systems, 3-D visions of video’s future California and New Jersey, hope to con- alternating fields of po- are quietly being tested on standard vince the world that the next big im- larized light. bandwidth channels on both coasts of provement in NTSC video will be 3-D. the United States. There are no multi- Lipton’s system aims for professional billion-dollar conglomerates behind the quality images displayed on high-end technology used in the broadcasts, but monitors, while Starks’ system compro- rather two modestly funded firms head- mises a bit on quality so it can be viewed ed by scientists who never lost their fas- cination with techniques that seemed moribund after Hollywood’s disastrous 34 VIDEO AUGUST 1991

2-D Into 3-D: Step-by-step manipulation of a frame from King Kong shows how Latent Image converts 2-D movies into 3-D videos. After original black-and-white | image (1) is colorized (2), computer creates left (3) and right (4) image pairs by slightly shifting Kong in opposite directions to create parallax effect. The image | pair can then be formatted for a variety of 3-D viewing styles, including “over/under” 3-D (5) and field-sequential 3-D (6). on any conventional TV set. But both (after German physicist Carl Pulftich), of a scene to simulate the slightly differ- feel they are offering an alternative to other forthcoming advances in viewing in which a slight delay of one eye’s view ent points of view seen by right and left technology. “It will be at least five years of a motion creates the illusion of depth eyes that give the brain cues for perceiv- before we see HDTV in the home, while | 3-D TV is here now,” says Isaac Blonder, when seen through neutral density fil- ing depth. ters. In field-sequential stereoscopy, right head of the Blonder Broadcasting Corp., The Lipton and Starks systems differ and left views are alternately displayed which is transmitting the 3-D programs in the way they encode signals, but both on a video monitor (they can also be re- on Channel 27 under a special experi- implement the display principle known mental license granted by the Federal as field-sequential stereosocopy. First corded by a conventional VCR). A se- Communications Commission. demonstrated in the 19th century by lection device, like eyeglasses or goggles with LCD lenses, obscures the right and Although Blonder expects to broad- cast HDTV when it becomes available British physicist Charles Wheatstone, left lenses in tandem with the scenes on in the U.S., he feels most viewers sit stereoscopy relies on two separate views the screen so that each eye only sees im- “too far from the screen to take full ad- vantage of it.” On the other hand, he ages appropriate to its point of view. believes 3-D technology may provide the “ultimate” in television viewing. “I The goggles, which are used by both love 3-D,” he admits, like many another video veteran. systems, bear little resemblance to the The 3-D systems used by San passive blue and red anaglyphic eyewear Francisco’s Channel 32 and Hoboken’s Channel 27 should of previous 3-D schemes. (In a variation not be confused with the depth process demonstrated on TV in offered by Lipton to professional users, a Coca-Cola commercial for the 1989 Super Bowl and in a 12- an LCD shutter the size of a projection minute segment of the Rolling TV screen alternates polarized surfaces Stones’ Steel Wheels Concert, which was broadcast in 1990. These broadcasts | so that lightweight polarized lenses, like | created a 3-D look by exploiting a phe- | nomenon known as the Pulfrich effect - those used for 3-D movies, can be KPTEICDOHOUMNEONRARTVTPGNEE.OEERLSTR:OAPIMNEMNETNT/LATENT ‘ used by several viewers at the ™ same time, making project- ed 3-D video practical.) Personal 3-D: Starks’ home 3-D kit with tapes. FIGHTING FLICKER “There’s always a price to pay for stereoscopic displays,” says James Lipscomb of IBM’s Thomas J. Watson Research Center, where all major 3-D display systems AUGUST 1991 VIDEO 35

NEXT GENERATION are used in researching computer-gener- y to watch 3-D movies using a conventional ated visualizations. “The biggest trade- ; R is by connecting them to the Home eatre. Although some 3-D classics, like Dial M off is flicker versus resolution,” Lip- der ar se iss Me. Kate,are not available, Michael scomb notes. Flicker is the fluttery dark- ening of an image. In the NTSC system re movies to AG lyWarhol's Xxrated used in the U.S., it’s a byproduct of the ). Unlike far larger companies, Starks’ TV monitor's scan rate of 60 fields of in- Box 13059, San Rafael, CA 94913; formation per second. This yields 30 16) provides cassettes in all major consumer fields per second for each eye in stereo 3, VHS, 8mm and Beta. Itsmost intrigu- 3-D, which is just below the threshold at which the eye perceives continuous im- tory, a 1953 G-rated western starring ages. Doubling the rate to 120 fields per y andJona oe ina surrealistic vari- second, which is possible on professional Revenge, an R-rated bone fu action film with Bud- monitors, eliminates flicker, but also dieovertones and spectacular 3-D effects. halves horizontal resolution. el rdesses, an R-rated souvenir of the 60s, To allow prolonged viewing of 3-D video without the tiring flicker, Lipton eral doses of sex, drugs and rock 'n’ roll. ___ @Mars in 3-D, a half-hour visit to Mars using feotude | from NASA‘ 1975 Viking mission to the planet. | @Cyberthon in 3-D, an 80-minute documentary of the first virtual-reality conference. —SD buffering of the resulting monitor image. The system suffers from one signifi- And to see the images, a viewer would cant drawback. It cannot be made com- need LCD glasses. Those by Stereo- patible with today’s standard TV receiv- Graphics are top-of-the-line wireless ers. However, Lipton contends that in models, synchronized to the monitor via mass production his system’s special cir- cuitry would add only a few dollars to an infrared transmitter, but they hike the cost of new TV sets. The price of LCD glasses would also correspondingly the cost of acomplete system by another $1,300 per viewer. The Search With the fervor of a crusade, the search for picture-per- For Picture- fect 3-D is being conducted on a number of fronts in Perfect 3-0 several countries. The goal remains elusive, but the play- ers are committed. Here’s a quick look at leading 3-D Rear Window: Experimental 40-inch rear-screen 3-D contenders: TV by NHK that does not require special glasses. e NHK, Japan’s broadcasting giant, recently demon- opted for the 120-field solution. He also strated two experimental systems. One, designed for developed a multiplexing method to su- high-definition TV transmissions, requires special po- perimpose left and right views on stand- larized glasses. Two video projectors, stacked vertically, ard NTSC television signals. The throw footage shot with a dual-lens stereoscopic camera method is proprietary to his firm, Stereo- on screens as large as 180 inches. The second approach, Graphics Corp. of San Rafael, Califor- intended for homes, uses a 40-inch LCD projector and a nia. But it requires a switchable vertical new kind of lenticular screen. Viewers would not need rate monitor costing from $800 to glasses. $1,500. e Spatial Technologies in California has developed a To decode Lipton’s 3-D broadcasts, a system called Natural Vision that uses computer-designed viewer would need one of the company’s filters to add depth and sharpness to 3-D movies broad- $1,500 descramblers and “intelligent” cast on TV. Viewers using special glasses see the effect; those without the glasses see a normal picture. The proc- ess made its network debut from June 24 to June 26 in widely syndicated broadcasts of the 1954 3-D western Hondo, starring John Wayne. Glasses were available at fast-food outlets and convenience stores. e Gerald Marks, a 3-D pioneer, has developed a proc- 36 VIDEO AUGUST 1991

QUEST OR QUACKERY? Easy as 1, 2, 3-D: Image shot with Vivitar’s Q-DOS lens shows slight color fringing in out-of-focus por- The struggle to perfect 3-D has sur- tions. Readers can see the 3-D effect by using magenta/cyan glasses like the ones above. The system has vived so many misadventures that also been applied by the BBC during a broadcast of Going Live, a children’s show. skepticism runs high. Many believe 3-D promises a unique viewing ex- shrink, perhaps to less than $10. turers, broadcasters and producers. Ster- perience. But others, remembering “The issue of 3-D home video isn’t eoGraphics sells professional 3-D dimly lit films with cheesy effects systems to industry. We would need a and irritating flickers, question one of equipment,” Lipton says. Indeed, partner in the home video field to make whether 3-D video is worth the ef- Lipton has spent years perfecting his sys- this a reality.” fort it will require. tem, subsidizing the research in part with royalties from “Puff the Magic AFFORDABLE 3-D We'd like to know if Video Mag- A more populist approach is being azine readers feel as passionately Dragon,” the best-selling children’s song about 3-D as the scientists develop- he co-wrote while a freshman at Cornell pursued by Michael Starks, whose 3-D ing it. Is picture-perfect 3-D a University. (Later writings, of course, odyssey began when he was a medical realistic goal, or as misguided as were more serious, and include The technologist specializing in chemistry, a cold fusion? Would you watch new Foundations of Stereoscopic Cinema, Lip- field given invaluable help by 3-D depic- 3-D movies if they were regularly ton’s classic book on 3-D history and tions of the positions of atoms in the broadcast? Is the idea of ‘solidizing” long, twisting chains of organic com- conventional movies, like King Kong, theory.) pounds. Starks has also worked to devel- objectionable? We'll report your “The issue is one of marketing,” he |op a 3-D personal computer system that comments in a future issue. Write: 3-D, Video Magazine, 460 West 34 asserts. “Making 3-D television available requires the cooperation of set manufac- Street, New York, NY 10001. could impose computer game action against full-motion backgrounds. But his real love is 3-D video; indeed, he’s a co- founder of StereoGraphics. Starks’ new firm, 3-D TV Corp., also continued on page 84 ess called PullTime 3D that adds depth to video in such e Robert and Sylvia Collender of Major American a way that viewers who don’t use the system’s special Concepts in Glendale, California, are seeking. patents glasses see normal TV images. The process was used to and financing for a system they say can convert conven- create the 3-D segment of the Rolling Stones’ Steel tional movies into bright, clear, flicker-free 3-D video. Wheels Concert, which was broadcast in 1990. The system, which would be embodied in a newly de- signed TV set, does not need special glasses or broad- Moon Child: Scene from Gerald Marks’ Yellow Moon video, produced in Puil- casting equipment and is compatible with all convention- Time 3D, a process that takes advantage of the Pulfrich effect. al video sources and broadcast standards. e Vivitar is working on a system called Q-DOS. In- tended for film cameras but also suitable for video, its key element is a conventional lens fitted internally with a filter split into magenta and cyan halves. For any im- age the lens sees, the portion in focus forms a normal, clear image, while portions out of focus exhibit a color fringe. Seen through glasses with magenta and cyan lenses, resulting prints display stereoscopic depth. Vivitar plans to release its first Q-DOS lens early next year and the BBC has already transmitted a TV program using a broadcast camera adapted for Q-DOS. e Moscow’s All-Union Cinema and Photo Research Institute (NIFKI) has been perfecting the cameras, lenses and projection systems needed for 3-D movies for 25 years, which earned it a technical achievement certifi- cate at this year’s Academy Awards. —Stan Pinkwas AUGUST 1991 VIDEO 37

UN TOM BY STAN PINKWAS ANYAVERUN OF THE MONTH NOW YOU Vanishing Act: OLE IT, Peter Chakales beside NOW YOU some of the compo- DONT nents for his home theater, shown with the Motorized screen 100-inch screen in ac- tive and retracted turns a media room positions. into a home theater. overwhelming the decor. In fact, it have been invested in multiroom signal SDACVHIIDL makes the theater seem to disappear distribution to refining the theater. One of the drawbacks of home theaters when it’s not being used. is the way giant screens sometimes come The room’s hallmark turned out to to dominate the rooms they’re in, mak- The room’s electronics were shaped be versatility, an approach implemented ing them unsuitable for other uses. But in large part by the system’s central com- this is a limitation good design can over- by Peter Chakales, a member of the ponent, Sony’s TAE 1000 ESD processor. come, as one Atlanta physician learned Custom Electronic Design and Installa- This flexible preamp has Dolby Pro-Log- when he decided to include a theater in tion Association (see box on page 90) ic and digital soundfield processing so it a major addition he was constructing for and an A/V designer at HiFI Buys, one can simulate a variety of listening envi- his house. of the region’s larger electronic retailers. ronments, including movie theaters. As Rosthema Kastin, also based in Atlanta, a result, it was put to use in the room to The doctor began the media project created the interior design, including process the Dolby surround tracks of with two goals: a large screen and sur- the bird’s-eye maple cabinets built to movies as well as the sound for audio round sound. What he ended up with custom specifications by Chakales. programs from other sources in the sys- was an immensely flexible high-tech en- vironment. Yet the room’s powerful Unlike some home theaters, this one tem. electronics barely intrude on its appear- was not part of a multiroom system; oth- ance. Handsome, wood-panelled walls er rooms in the house already had audio/ Its A/V capabilities open up a wealth create a pleasing, comfortable ambience. video systems that worked well. Freed of recording possibilities. In Chakales’ And a large, retractable screen keeps from this requirement, the designers ap- design, it permits satellite, laserdisc and the presence of a video theater from plied resources that might otherwise continued on page 90 38 VIDEO AUGUST 1991

Vision, Sound and Time: Redefined Proton offers you the deep satisfaction of anew, more ® graceful lifestyle. Savor it in the award-winning picture of our large screen monitor/receiver. Enjoy it wrapped in the rich, brilliant PROTON music of our 400 Series Audio Components. Discover it anew each morning with our new clock radio. Each design, carefully crafted, reflects the serene knowledge ofanew perspective on pleasure. For a free brochure and the name ofyour nearest Proton retailer, call 800-829-3444. Or write us at 5630 Cerritos Avenue, Cypress, CA 90630 Industrial Design of the Proton 400 Series and RS-325 Clock Radio: Reinhold Weiss Design, Chicago.

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| TAPES &:DISC | Misery ce: | 1990. Kathy Bates, James Caan; dir. Rob Take Two Aspirin? Kathy Bates practices her own special brand of nursing on James Caan in Misery. Reiner. Hi-fi stereo, cc. (R) 107 min. priced for rental. LD $34.98. Nelson. chickens out. There’s plenty to be said lem with Steve Martin’s comic valentine Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) is every about the resentment underlying much hero worship, and King himself has sure- to L.A. and Victoria (Mrs. Martin) Ten- celebrity's worst nightmare: a devotee ly felt the suffocating constraint of audi- whose obsession turns her into a menac- nant is that, unlike Woody’s odes to ing psychotic. At first, Paul Sheldon ence expectations. Instead of probing Manhattan and Mia, his infatuations (James Caan) mistakes Wilkes for a guardian angel. When he crashes his car the strangeness of star-fan relationships, never seduce the audience. in a snowstorm, she pulls the popular ro- mance novelist from the wreckage and however, the film ultimately offers little Harris Telemacher (Martin) is a takes him to her Colorado farm to heal more than a clever variation on prison- Jerk-like weatherman who prerecords his eternally sunny forecasts and lives his shattered legs. However, he comes to break melodram—ahsow will Sheldon among a fickle gang of SoCal trendies. realize that the homely nurse, his self- proclaimed number-one fan, is seriously get away? —and concludes with the sort Unfortunately, Tennant, as the British | deranged and has no intention of letting of bloody fistfight found in bad action journalist who steals his heart, doesn’t him leave alive. flicks. —Jon Young deliver the endearing eccentricity prom- ised by soft-focus close-ups and a pen- Along with a great premise, Misery L.A. Story chant for tuba solos. The other female | boasts a dazzling, Oscar-winning perfor- charact—eMrarsilu Henner as an icy 1991. Steve Martin, Victoria Tennant; dir. girlfriend and Sarah Jessica Parker as a mance by Kathy Bates. Giving this juicy Mick Jackson. Hi-fi stereo, cc. (PG-13) 98 part to the gifted actress is a bit like min. $92.95. LIVE. charming fling — simply blow her away in serving up a fat pitch to Darryl Straw- the personality department. berry, but she certainly makes the most When a comic master creates a film of the opportunity. Initially solicitous, devoted to his hometown and starring Director Jackson’s L.A. has a glow- his real-life lady love, comparisons to Annie soon drops her normal facade to Woody Allen are inevitable. The prob- ing, fantastical quality that often dazzles. reveal a total crackpot, subject to fright- Harris’ deus ex machina—a freeway ening mood swings. She explodes into a | violent rage upon discovering Paul has killed off his longtime heroine and plans | to publish a “serious” novel. The twisted enthusiasm Annie exhibits in forcing | her prisoner to write a new romance is | downright chilling. Amidst Bates’ whirl- | wind display, Caan rarely has to do more | than show pained amazement. Striving for a delicate balance of horror and comedy in the tradition of Psycho, the usually sure-handed Rob Reiner never establishes full control. Goofy interludes abruptly give way to | moments of crude brutality, producing a sour aftertaste, not black comedy. Worst of all, Misery promises to deliver a King of Comedy-style essay on fame, then AUGUST 1991 VIDEO 41

sign —is enchanting, and you can always (especially Brandauer). The one major problem is that Pfeiffer, whether due to play “spot the celeb cameos” (Chevy miscalculation or an underwritten part, doesn’t strike sparks, so the Barley-Ka- Chase, Rick Moranis, Paula Abdul, et tya love scenes don’t fly. This doesn’t ruin the movie, but does keep it from al). But Martin’s often whimsical script going over the top. avoids total commitment to the poig- Given Schepisi’s fondness for wide- screen two-shots, it’s nice to know that a nancy lying beneath its funniest scenes, letterboxed laserdisc also is available. while missing the delicious blend of — Sol Louis Siegel from-the-gut laughs and sensitive char- Mr. & Mrs. Bridge acter comedy that infused Roxanne. We're glad you're in love, Steve, and of course you shouldn’t ditch the Mrs., but would you consider moving to New York...?! —Marianne Meyer The Russia House 1990. Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward; man and Woodward, and the team of dir. James Ivory. Hi-fi stereo, cc. (PG-13) producer Ismail Merchant, director 1990. Sean Connery, Michelle Pfeiffer; dir. 127 min. $92.99. LD $29.98. HBO. James Ivory and screenwriter Ruth Fred Schepisi. Hi-fi surround, cc. (R) 124 Prawer Jhabvala—to detail a longstand- min. $94.99. LD letterboxed $29.98. Also “IT am mystified to know how these ing marriage of more curious value. An Spanish-subtitled. MGM/UA. people hang onto their jobs.” exquisite mosaic of a film, Mr. & Mrs. Bridge is unsentimentalism at its best. Adapted from John le Carre’s best- If one line could sum up the deli- selling novel, The Russia House has a lot —John Walker cious dryness of James Ivory’s Mr. & 2 at Mrs. Bridge, it might be the one above Hamlet that Mr. Bridge (Paul Newman) hisses 1990. Mel Gibson, Glenn Close; dir. Fran- to Mrs. Bridge (Joanne Woodward) co Zeffirelli. Hi-fi stereo. (PG) 135 min. $92.99. LD $34.98. Warner. amid the clamor of a French bistro, un- Mel Gibson fans can stop worrying. aware the lack of service derives from Franco Zeffirelli’s relentlessly tasteful version of Hamlet doesn’t embarrass any- the fact that the Nazis have just invaded body. The likable star brings a somber intensity to the role of the tormented Poland. Danish prince, delivering his lines with a close-cropped precision befitting his Whether inside or out of his native trim, funky haircut. This shouldn’t sur- prise folks who remember Gallipoli or Kansas upper crust, Walter Bridge pro- The Year of Living Dangerously, when Gibson was an actor instead of a hunk. jects a WASPy persona so righteous and However, competence and good in- unyielding, varying views bounce off him tentions can’t mask the tepid ambience, which suggests that Zeffirelli and com- like pennies off glass. And, in due pany accept the lowbrow notion that classics have to be stuffy. It’s surprising, Novel Approach: The Russia House's Sean Con- course, all members of the Bridge family considering the director’s inspired han- nery and Michelle Pfeitfer test the limits of glasnost. come away from him either bruised or dling of Romeo and Juliet, not to mention dazed—and none more so than Mrs. his well-publicized interest in casting going for it. First, it has Sean Connery in Bridge, whose stoicism seems to erode Gibson after seeing Lethal Weapon. Some grand form as Barley Blair, a dissolute steadily. of that film’s edgy lunacy would have publisher thrust into international in- added a badly needed jolt. trigue when a manuscript intended for Mr. & Mrs. Bridge utilizes a couple of him falls into the hands of British intel- good, longstanding marriages — New- In fairness, it's darn near impossible ligence. Written by “Dante” (Klaus to act crazy and sane at once, as any as- Art Imitates Life: Paul Newman and wife Joanne piring Hamlet must. Erring on the side Woodward take to the screen as Mr. and Mrs. Bridge. of stability, Gibson seems real angry, but not demented. For all the suicidal lan- Maria Brandauer), an enigmatic Russian intellectual, the manuscript claims, among other things, that Soviet strate- gic nuclear capability is vastly overrated. The cantankerous, anti-authoritarian Barley is recruited to go to Russia and meet Katya Orlova (Michelle Pfeiffer),. Dante’s go-between, in hope of identify- ing him and verifying his claims. Director Fred Schepisi has cleverly 7 structured the movie to contrast the ha- bitual gamesmanship of the spymasters, teluctant to give up their Cold War ways, with the fervent humanism of the “civilians” who want to change things. He has also made the most of the Rus- sian locations, a pointed Tom Stoppard script and a first-rate supporting cast 42 VIDEO AUGUST 1991

Brush Up Black Rain is about life, not death, EDITOR'S CHOICE on Your Shakespeare: though its feelings are intensified by the Director Franco Zeffirelli proximity of the latter. The horror that ae tackles the Bard of Avon lies behind the pastoral setting is kept at again with Hamlet, fea- a safe distance by the finely shaded kenneth korman turing Mel Gibson in the black-and-white photography (you may have to adjust your set to get the con- Few films come close to the pure vi- title role. trasts right), the subtle use of metaphor sual splendor sustained for more than and, most important, the compassion guage, you never get the feeling he’s as with which the characters are observed. 2-1/2 hours in Kwaidan (Home Vi- There is dark humor in the attitudes of sion Classics cassettes, $39.95; Voy- dangerous to himself as he is to others. the unaffected villagers, and irony in the ager/Criterion glimpses at an outside world in which laserdiscs, Only Helena Bonham Carter (who looks the Bomb is discussed by those who $59.95), director haven't experienced it. But there is no Masaki Kobaya- younger now than she did in 1985’s A bitterness— Imamura is out to illumi- shi’s 1964 wide- nate humanity, not to preach. screen epic of Room With a View) hints at the play’s es- the super- Not to be confused with the medi- natural. Deli- sential weirdness as the doomed Ophe- ocre Michael Douglas thriller of the cate but full of same name, Black Rain is for anyone visceral impact, lia; Glenn Close’s dazed and confused who believes great art can be derived highly stylized from the most daunting subject matter. yet down-to-earth, Kwaidan's four Gertrude merely seems silly. Neither di- separate ghost stories draw the view- —SLS er into a sensual world that balances sastrous nor brilliant, Zeffirelli’s Hamlet the terror of the unknown with the Alice startling beauty of the film’s sets and does accomplish one amazing feat —it 1990. Mia Farrow, William Hurt; dir. cinematography. It’s an intoxicating transforms a bizarre, awesome tale into a Woody Allen. Hi-fi stereo, cc. (PG-13) 106 mixture, and one that’s perfectly suit- min. priced for rental. Orion. ed to the intimacy of home video— ho-hum affair. —JY just don’t forget to turn down the Alice (Mia Farrow) lives in the veri- room lights. Black Rain table wonderland of New York City’s moneyed elite. Her husband is an old- Kwaidan's visual power did not B@W. 1988. Yoshiko Tanaka, Kazuo Kita- money WASP, her kids go to a posh pri- come easily or cheaply. At the time, mura; dir. Shohel Imamura. Hi-fi stereo, vate school, and a rough day for Alice it was the most expensive Japanese subtitled, letterboxed. (NR) 123 min. film ever made —the first with a $1 $79.95. Fox Lorber. From the Greeks: As a Muse, Bernadette Peters of- million budget. And virtually every fers inspiration and a little common sense to Alice. penny is visible on screen. Authentic The contradiction of man’s struggle fabrics and accessor—iseusch as an- to survive despite the sure knowledge of consists of an afternoon of shopping and tique weapons dating back 1,000 a trip to the beauty salon. But is Alice year— wsere used whenever possible his own mortality is a theme tackled fulfilled? Well, this is a Woody Allen to bring the film’s various historical head-on by director Shohei Imamura in film, so the answer is, predictably, not periods to life. All the “outdoor” very. Not even a flirtation with Joe (Joe scenes were shot on elaborate indoor Black Rain. The film opens with a horri- Montegna), the parent of one of her soundstages, with moody handmade fying, unforgettable recreation of the children’s schoolmates, seems to be paintings serving in lieu of natural atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Five enough to stir Alice out of her malaise. skies. Yet Kwaidan feels far from or- years later, survivors living in a rural vil- nate. Its simple, eloquent stories lage try to get on with their lives even Enter Dr. Yang (Keye Luke), who, speak volumes with very few words though the time bomb of radiation poi- according to Alice’s salon-mates, is “a and minimal special effects. soning ticks inside them. brilliant diagnostician. He took Jean Lewis’ pulse and told her she was going With its vivid colors and tremen- Yasuko (Yoshiko Tanaka), who was to develop an ulcer. Six months later she dous detail, laserdisc is clearly the hit with some of the radioactive drops of ideal medium for a film like Kwaidan. But the cassette edition is also worth the film’s title, is having a harder time a long look—tape and disc were made from the same stellar transfer, than most. She's of marrying age, but one that preserves the film’s wide pic- can't get a proposal because of fears ture through fairly heavy letterboxing about her health, and the efforts of her (about 2.1:1). Given the film’s visual well-meaning uncle only make matters emphasis and its relentless wide- worse. At last she must join the older survivors in putting the best face on a screen tableaux, a pan-and-scan ver- physical decline that may be as much sion would be utterly useless. And the result of fear as of radiation. the black bars provide a perfect back- drop for its white, video-generated subtitles, a practice we hope all video software companies will soon take to heart. AUGUST 1991 VIDEO 43

fell over with pain at Bergdorf Good- Anecdotes from Jones’ horrific child- man,” Dr. Yang provides Alice with a se- hood are half-baked into an explanation ries of herbal treatments that, in succes- for his mediocre record as a family man. sion, turn her into a seductress, make Listen Up is a tantalizing glimpse into her invisible and conjure up the spirit of a dead lover (Alec Baldwin) —all of the lives of Quincy Jones, but its frantic which add to her perspective on the MTV-style pace and precarious balance merits of an affair with Joe. ultimately create more questions than Fortunately for Alice, her herbally the film can answer. —JW induced adventures provide one learn- ing experience after another. Unfor- os eae ! tunately for the viewer, Alice never gels, remaining at best a retread of territory Allen covered far more imaginatively in The Neverending Story II: The Purple Rose of Cairo (which also fea- The Next Chapter tured an unfulfilled Farrow getting an 1991. John Wesley Shipp; dir. George Mil- assist from the “supernatural”). As Cy- ler. Hi-fi surround, cc. (PG) 90 min. bill Sheph—eplrayding Alice’s TV exec- $92.99. LD $29.98. Warner. utive friend —puts it, “Losers are much more interesting.” And, despite her in- White Fang evitable redemption. Alice’s filthy-rich 1991. Ethan Hawke, Klaus Maria Bran- Spiderwoman: Evil sorceress Xayide threatens the lifestyle makes her a poor candidate for mythical land of Fantasia in The Neverending Story Il. audience identification. dauer; dir. Randal Kleiser. Hi-fi surround, cc. (PG) 109 min. $92.95. Buena Vista. The Neverending Story II, on the oth- Scene for scene, Alice may offer a dry chuckle or two. But longstanding fans of Both of these box office disappoint- er hand, just seems to go on forever, ments trace their origins to books, skew Woody Allen may need one of Dr. to young audiences and attempt the missing all its formula targets. The spe- Yang’s herbal treatments to perceive kind of old-fashioned matinee action (with a little moralizing) that today’s par- cial effects look cheesy around the much merit in Alice. —JW edges, the puppet creatures pale in com- ents grew up on. The difference between Listen Up: The Lives parison to live-action Mutant Turtles them? One works, the other doesn’t. and, despite shooting in six internation- of Quincy Jones White Fang is the type of formula flick upon which Disney made its for- al locales, little of what’s seen on the 1990. Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald; dir. tunes—a skillful mix of nature show, Ellen Weissbrod. Hi-fi surround. (PG-13) good guy/bad guy conflicts and predict- screen looks like it came from anything 115 min. $89.99. LD $29.98. Warner. able character development that leaves one thoroughly entertained. Moments but a soundstage. (Even the new ani- Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones after young Jack Conroy (Ethan Hawke) is rife with “F” words, but fascinating arrives in Alaska to pursue his late fa- mated Bugs Bunny short —also included and frustrating are the two that first her—leacks the satirical sizzle of old.) The Neverending Story II asserts that books are the ultimate adventure; espe- The Original ther’s gold claim, you meet the slimy cially when compared to films like this, Q Sound: guys who'll provide villainous excite- they are! —MM Listen Up probes Quin- ment and the taciturn prospector/father a ae cy Jones’ musical highs figure who will explain outrageous ef- and personal lows. forts on behalf of a dead man with a sim- ple, “I gave him my word.” One, two, Come Back, Little Sheba three and it’s off you go on a roller coast- 1952. B&W. Shirley Booth, Burt Lancas- ter; dir. Daniel Mann. Hi-fi mono, cc. er that’s got great scenery, too. (NR) 99 min. VHS, Beta $19.95. Para- mount. Jack spies an orphaned wolf cub The Rose Tattoo across a frosty waterhole and then it’s 1955. B@'W. Anna Magnani, Burt Lancas- boy gets, wolf, boy loses wolf, etc. until ter; dir. Daniel Mann. Hi-fi mono, cc. (NR) VHS, Beta $19.95. Paramount. spring to mind. Quincy Jones has the joyous romp across a field (literally) Video revives a cinema tradition— worked with a veritable “Who's Who” into a final embrace. Jack London’s nov- the movie marath—ownith Paramount’s of popular musicians, ranging from Miles el, ironically, depicted wolf attacks on Great American Writers Series, plays and novels ranging from Fitzgerald’s The Davis and Dizzy Gillespie to Michael humans though such cases have never Great Gatsby to Dreiser’s A Place in the Sun interpreted on celluloid. Jackson and Ice-T, yet the volume of his been documented. The film, however, success seems outweighed by the tor- stresses politically correct themes of re- turous qualities of his personal life. Vir- spect for the environment and the natu- tually every major artist Jones has been ral grandeur of its Alaskan setting. associated with pops up to praise or de- Often hokey, but nonetheless effective, fend his talents, yet hardly a stone is left White Fang is basically “One Dance unturned in the trauma department: With a Wolf.” 44 VIDEO AUGUST 1991

Cyd Charisse in Take home two or all 11, but begin lays an egg. Screenwrit- The Band with Come Back, Little Sheba, the Wil- ers Lily and Lester Wagon liam Inge drama that won Shirley Booth (TV's Hazel) a Best Actress Oscar as a (Nanette Fabray lazy housewife living on memories and the hopes of her pretty new boarder and Oscar Le- (Terry Moore) while coping with a spouse who’s a recovering alcoholic vant, a celluloid Com- (Burt Lancaster). Her compelling por- trayal of the childlike Lola, eager to den and Green) create please yet unsure of the means, carries the film through its emotionally satisfy- The Band Wagon as a ing finale. Broadway vehicle for a The female lead — Oscar-winning Anna Magnani -—is also the draw in The Hollywood has-been Rose Tattoo, a rollicking tale based on the Tennessee Williams play. Burt Lan- (Astaire), but trouble caster, as a trucker who woos the life- weary widow, displays uncharacteristic materializes in several abandon, but it’s the opinionated Mag- nani who offsets the humble settings forms: a temperamental with her vibrancy. In both films, director Daniel Mann turns classic summer read- ballerina (Charisse) as the ing into even better viewing. leading lady, an all-too-se- combat story, —April P. Bernard but Memphis Belle is infi- rious director (Jack nitely more engaging PeRer inns Buchanan) and a high- and convincing than Bat- The Band Wagon tle of Britain. The latter, a falutin choreographer 1969 blockbuster, is 1953. Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse; dir. Vin- played with a leaden pro- cente Minnelli; pr. Arthur Freed. Digital (James Mitchell). But mono. (NR) 113 min. plus supplement. fundity by the perform- CLV 2 sides, $24.98. CAV 5 sides, somehow—and not very er—swith the exception of $39.98. MGM/UA. Michael Caine and Robert surprisingly — everyone's Sh—amawking it about as MGM once boasted “more stars airworthy as a punctured than there are in heaven—a”nd more happy by the finale. barrage balloon. than a few of them dazzled audiences in 1953's The Band Wagon. In fact, success With numbers like the side-splitting Memphis Belle also was inevitable with a constellation made up of producer Arthur Freed, who shone “Triplets” and the 12-minute parody of starts slowly. The writing in a year earlier with Singin’ in the Rain; di- the opening third of the rector Vincente Minnelli, who gave detective novels, “Girl Hunt,” this rich film is far too thick and un- Meet Me in St. Louis its glow; screenwrit- ers Betty Comden and Adolph Green film deserves the royal treatment it’s convincing. But once the plane—a World War II B-17 (Singin’, On the Town); composer Arthur gotten from MGM/UA. In addition to bomber, the first American Schwartz and lyricist Howard Dietz, refurbished sound and Technicolor, both who, according to Hollywood legend, laserdisc editions include “Two-Faced wrote “That's Entertainment” in a mere 30 minutes when Freed requested a song Woman,” a Cyd Charisse number de- similar to ‘“There’s No Business Like Show Business”; choreographer Michael leted from the final cut, plus a trailer on Kidd, who would later orchestrate the the CAV set. And the price! At four bits foot stompin’ of a certain seven brothers (and their brides); and a cast headed by per CAV chapter stop, this is an offer the always-likable Fred Astaire and graceful, gorgeous Cyd Charisse. you can't refuse. —APB The plot boils down to the good old plane to complete enough “Tet’s put on a show” theme, but with a twist: The opening night performance Memphis Belle missions for her crew to be rotated home — takes off, 1990. Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, Tate A the film and the drama Donovan; dir. Michael Caton-Jones. Digi- G both soar. The script and act- tal stereo, letterboxed. (PG-13) 108 min. CLV 2 sides. $24.95. Warner. ing become realistic and involving in the last 80 minutes of the film, Battle of Britain while images of streaking B-17s facing 1969. Christopher Plummer, Michael German fighters are alternately beautiful Caine, Robert Shaw, Laurence Olivier; dir. and harrowing. The laserdisc image is Guy Hamilton. Digital mono, letterboxed. exceptionally crisp, although the “letter- (G) 131 min. CLV 3 sides. $59.95. Image. boxing” is merely a mild matting that Despite their similar subjects, these will scarcely be noticed. two discs couldn’t be more different. Battle of Britain’s 2.3:1 aspect ratio, Each is based on a World War II air however, brings its aerial combat se- quences to life in a way that panned- and-scanned images never could. If you can get through Ron Goodwin’s pon- derous score and the unfortunate script and acting, the battles are truly extraor- dinary. Surprisingly, the sound effects on the 22-year-old Battle of Britain are loud- er and livelier than the recent Memphis Belle—the former, hooked up to a stereo, will sound like the real thing, while the latter, like the movie itself, is subtler in Belle de Jour: Matthew Modine prepares for battle. its execution and effect. —Bruce Eder AUGUST 1991 VIDEO 45

R.E.M.: Tourfilm Total Television: Taxi: The Collector's Edition preserves one of network TV's all-time great shows. 1990. Dir. Jim McKay with Michael Stipe. are from Taxi's first season, before the coverage sprawling across the question, Digital stereo. (NR) 85 min. CLV 2 sides. show's touching serio-comedy had a $29.95. Warner/Reprise. chance to gel. The first two episodes “Where do the old wives’ tales end and here are good but not award-winners; Even in a year filled with extraordin- the latter is a weak, sitcom-y entry fo- the facts begin?” ary laserdisc releases, R.E.M.: Tourfilm cusing on Randall Carver as naive young stands out as an especially cogent argu- cabbie John, who was axed by the end of As directed by Tristram Miall and ment for the primacy of the disc format. the season. It’s incomprehensible why Like all of Warner/Reprise’s current ti- Columbia House chose to spotlight him Jamie Robertson, Mystery has about as tles, this disc was pressed in Japan at a over later cast members Christopher state-of-the-art facility, rendering both Lloyd and Carol Kane. much gravity as the moon itself, fran- the picture and the carefully mixed soundtrack virtually flawless. Still, Taxi being Taxi, there are mo- tically mixing interviews with mytholo- ments. Hirsch, even at his funniest, con- Shot at the end of R.E.M.’s 1989 veys career cabbie Alex Reiger’s entire gist Joseph Campbell, astronomer Green tour, this 17-song live set helps life of longing and regret without ever a make amends for the band’s recent re- trace of pathos. Andy Kaufman, as im- Patrick Moore (and a host of other fusal to tour behind its first number-one migrant mechanic Latka Gravas, creates album, Out of Time. Some will be an- a naturalistic surreality we'd call “perfor- moonies) with pop graphics and casual noyed by Jim McKay’s willfully artsy di- mance art” today. And fans of the beau- rection—the cinematography veers tiful, bountiful Marilu Henner (single Current Affair-style dramatizations of lu- recklessly from brilliant color to grainy working mother Elaine Nardo) get to black-and-white, and one segment, for see her at her best in “Come as You nar “influenced” events. Tidal data and example, retains the digital time code Aren't.” If this volume does nothing just for effect. But the visual trickery else, it at least gives us a glimpse of that space programs get equal time with saves Tourfilm from the dull, static feel special Taxi high-wire act between the werewolves and madmen. While not for of many concert films. two faces of theater. —Frank Lovece academics, The Mystery of the Full Moon Besides, if you don’t like the picture, The Mystery of turn off the TV and you're left with is gravity-free entertainment. —JIW R.E.M’s only full-length live album, the Full Moon complete with CD-quality sound and The Turtles— chapter encoding for each selection. 1986. Nar. Ron Haddrick; dir. Tristram Happy Together Miall and Jamie Robertson. Hi-fi stereo. —KK (NR) 53 min. $24.95. Public Media. 1991. Mark Volman, Howard Kaylan; pr./ SPECIAL INTERES When you've been around as long as dir. Harold Bronson. Hi-fi stereo. (NR) 90 the moon has, you generate an opinion min. $19.95. Rhino. Taxi: The Collector’s and theory for every crater on your Edition cheesy surface. The Mystery of the Full Happy Together is the best kind of 1978-83. Judd Hirsch, Danny DeVito, Moon provides a jaunty tour of opinions documentar—yan exhaustive retrospec- Marilu Henner, Andy Kaufman; dir. James both scientific and simply lunatic, its tive of Flo, Eddie and the boys, yet Burrows. Hi-fi mono. 69 min. $4.95 with subscription; subsequent volumes $19.95. crammed to the gills with anecdotes and Columbia House. interviews guaranteed to enlighten any- Though the comedy series Taxi is best known as the proving ground for one with an interest in the 60s L.A. mu- such stars as Danny DeVito, Tony Danza, Christopher Lloyd and Judd sic scene. The Beatles and Dylan gossip Hirsch, almost anyone who sees it in re- alone are worth the price of this pack- runs gets addicted for an even better reason: some of the funniest, most so- age, and the musical performances (in- phisticated yet down-to-earth writing of any series on television. Taxi’s brilliant cluding “Elenore” and “She'd Rather Be one-act plays of New York City cab driv- ers in a microcosmic garage fully warrant With Me”) will give you an instant Tur- an uncut collector's series. I'm just sorry it didn’t get off to a better start. tles collection. Happy Together shows The three episodes on the initial vol- The Turtles to be very much the coun- um— “eBobby’s Acting Career,” “Come terpart to their animal namesakes— as You Aren't” and “The Great Line”— hard-shelled, homely...yet essential to the ecology! —JW 46 VIDEO AUGUST 1991

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) | Rt El ! HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MONTH The Chaplin Mutuals 1916-17. B&W, silent. Box set: Charlie Chaplin in a dozen 2-reelers, transferred from camera negatives. This three-disc set features a new piano score. Digital. 292 min. LD $79.95. Blackhawk/Image. Christmas in July 1940. B&W. Dick Powell, Ellen Drew, Ray- mond Walburn; wr./dir. Preston Sturges. Classic comedy: Would-be prizewinner showers neighborhood with gifts. Trailer, side 2 CAV. LD $34.98. MCA/Universal. Cinema Paradiso 1988. Philippe Noiret, Jacques Perrin, Sal- vatore Cascio; dir. Giuseppe Tornatore. Academy Award, Best Foreign Film: Boy mesmerized by movies. 123 min. LD $49.95. HBO. Double Indemnity a 1944. B&W. Fred MacMurray, Barbara Happy Holidays: Dick Powell, here with Ellen Drew, hits the jackpot in Preston Sturges’ Christmas in July. Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson; dir./co-wr. Billy Wilder. Greatest film noir ever made: hungry Jayne, in her film debut. 73 min. The Fortune Cookie Insurance man plays the odds. Re-release. $29.95. RCA/Columbia. 1966. B&W. Jack Lemmon, Walter Mat- 106 min. $14.95. MCA/Universal. thau, Ron Rich; dir./co-wr. Billy Wilder. Five Fingers Savage comedy: Matthau won Oscar as Female Jungle 1952. B&W. James Mason, Danielle Dar- ambulance-chasing lawyer. Letterboxed. 125 1956. B&W. Jayne Mansfield, Lawrence rieux, Michael Rennie; dir. Joseph L. min. LD $39.98. MGM/UA. Tierney, John Carradine; dir. Bruno De- Mankiewicz. Suspense: Mason as Nazi spy, Sota. Suspense: seeking killer of man- filmed in Turkey. 108 min. $19.98. CBS/Fox. tt Conquered the World 1956. B&W. Peter Graves, Beverly Garland, Labels Hitherto unreleased silents highlight a busy month Lee Van Cleef; dir. Roger Corman. Sci-fi: Invaders from Venus, carrot monster, the For for MGM/UA. Greta Garbo stars in The Kiss, The Single works. 70 min. $29.95. RCA/Columbia. Standard, The Mysterious Lady and the re-released Wild Less Killer’s Kiss Orchids, while Spite Marriage was Buster Keaton’s last 1955. B&W. Frank Silvera, Jamie Smith, non-talkie and Our Dancing Daughters put Joan Crawford Irene Kane; dir. Stanley. Kubrick. Drama: on the map; each is $29.99. “Screen Epics V” includes Boy meets girl, murder ensues. 67 min. the newly released Hallelujah Trail and the restored It’s a $19.98. Warner. Mad Mad Mad Mad World, $29.99. A Funny Thing Hap- pened on the Way to the Forum is among 12 re-releases in North by Northwest 1959. Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James the “Something for Everyone” group for $19.99, while 12 Mason; dir. Alfred Hitchcock. Comic thrill- new Outer Limits episodes go for $12.99 each. er with famous cropduster scene. First disc Robert Preston in Among 10 “Follow the Band” musicals newly reduced of this film with stereo soundtrack. Aspect The Music Man. to $19.98 by Warner are Damn Yankees (with Ray Wal- ston as the devil!), Lucille Ball in Mame (also on disc), ratio of 1.6:1 shows maximum image. Digi- tal, 3 sides, side 3 CAV. 136 min. LD Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park With George and the ven- $29.98. MGM/UA. erable Music Man. Also: Video debut of Killer's Kiss Once Around accompanies re-release of other Stanley Kubrick films, 1990. Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, Dan- most for $19.98. ny Aiello; dir. Lasse Hallstrom. Comedy: CBS/Fox’s “Yellow Ribbon Collection” includes Dreyfuss is intolerable. That’s the plot. Sur- three new titles— The Desert Rats, Five Fingers and A round, cc. (R) 114 min. VHS, Beta $92.95. Yank in the RAF —plus 15 re-releases, at $19.98 each.... LD (digital) $34.98. MCA/Universal. The Wackiest Ship in the Army, with Jack Lemmon, is The Prince and the Pauper among five comedies re-released for $14.95-$19.95 by 1990. Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy. } RCA/Columbia.... American Graffiti, Conan the Barbar- Animation: Adapted from Mark Twain, Mr. ian and Arabesque (Stanley Donen’s spy suspenser with Mouse’s first screen role since 1983. Sur- Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren) are among 10 re-re- round, cc. (G) 24 min. $12.99. Disney. leases for $14.95 from MCA/Universal.... Republic’s Ride the High Country “Silent Classics” includes Murnau’s Nosferatu and 11 oth- 1962. Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, Mar- ers priced at $19.98. —MF Compiled by Mark Fleischmann