video-magazine-1995-09

["N EW TECH o itachi\u2019s Model 46UX20B ($2,500), a 46-inch, 4:3 rear-projection TV in the Ultravision Series, is packed with clever features. Magic Focus is a digital convergence circuit that automatically reconverges the set in just 90 seconds. In addition to built-in left and right speakers, the set includes a built-in center- channel speaker and is supplied with a pair of wire- less surround speakers. The 46UX20B has the slim profile of a 27-inch set, measuring 49.4 x 40 x 22.4 inches (h\/w\/d). The lens system is HDTV-ready and incorporates pure-red and pure-green lens filters as well as new RGB phosphors. Advanced PIP, a digital three-line comb filter, a Dolby Pro Logic decoder, and the Genius universal remote round out the package. Circle 104 on reader service card a&5 lHls \u201d Ae4 crbso}yk B Beare SA-TX1010 A\/V receiver ($999) is cur- rently the most affordable THX receiver you can buy. It delivers 120 watts to each front speaker as well as 60 watts to each rear speaker. The TX1010 includes Technics\u2019 well regarded Class H+ amplifier circuitry, which allows increased output from a con- ventionally sized chassis. Connections include four A\/V inputs, two S-Video inputs, and a line-level sub- woofer output. Circle 105 on reader service card win\u2019s HD-500 projection monitor ($12,000) sports 7-inch CRTs with color-corrected data-grade hybrid lenses and can produce images from 60 to 300 inches in a front- or rear- projection configuration. The projector should prove silent, since it doesn\u2019t employ onboard cooling fans. As a data-grade projector, it can support horizontal scan rates from 15.5 to 65 _ kHz and deliver NTSC video pictures, line-doubled or line- quadrupled images, or data-grade computer graphics with a pixel resolution of 1280 x 1024. A digital convergence system and seven test patterns are supplied, and the projector han- dles multiple aspect ratios. Circle 106 on reader service card M\u2019s STV Digital 6 surround-sound system ($600) seeks to deliver an exciting, hassle-free home-theater experience. The system includes a small surround processor\/amp, five small, identical speakers for main, center, and surround duty, a small powered bass module, a remote control, and all of the wires needed to connect the system. Dol- by Pro Logic decoding is built-in; 3M doesn\u2019t pub- lish power specs for the amp or bass module. Circle 107 on reader service card VIDEO SEPTEMBER 1995 51","driving citation > he Citation 7.0 A\/V preamplifier\/surround-sound processor ($3,150) packs analog surround-sound cir- cuitry designed by Jim Fosgate. Eight A\/V inputs (including four S-Videos) offer big-system flexibility. The three front audio channels are completely analog. The 7.0 can cali- brate input and output levels automatically. In addition to Dolby Pro Logic and Home THX surround modes, the SIX AXIS mode is said to deliver a phantom center chan- nel in the rear of your room. Circle 108 on reader service card < power erupts elodyne\u2019s VA-1215X ($999) powered subwoofer is the company\u2019s most powerful 12-incher; its amp is rated to deliver 250 watts to the magnetically shielded front-firing driver. The 18-inch black-vinyl cube also houses a down-fir- ing 15-inch passive radiator, which should help the 1215X reach its spec\u2019d low-frequency limit of 22 Hz. For system balancing, the 1215X offers a low-pass filter that\u2019s continu- ously variable from 40 to 120 Hz, a switchable 80- or 100-Hz high-pass crossover, and a processor-direct switch, for hooking the sub directly to a preamp\/surround processor or receiver. Circle 109 on reader service card cable control > itsubishi\u2019s HS-U560 Hi-Fi VCR ($599) simplifies lM recording setup by offering VCR Plus+ and Quick Program. It also handles cable channel changing; the supplied remote controls both the cable box and VCR. The PerfecTape system optimizes recording parameters for every tape you use. The U560 also employs the Center- Track four-head system, which features a hygienic auto- matic head cleaner. Circle 110 on reader service card < perfect pitch he CN85E95 ($2,699), a 35-inch console-type direct- view TV with a 4:3 aspect ratio, is part of Toshiba\u2019s FST Perfect SuperTube line of television sets. The FST Perfect tube is said to be extremely flat and, along with the Dark-Tint high-contrast screen, it deflects glare and can be viewed effectively from a wide variety of angles. The CN35E95 features three color-temperature settings, dual- tuner PIP, the Cyclone ABX bass system, and a Dolby Pro Logic decoder. It\u2019s housed in a console cabinet that mea- sures 49.7 x 35.5 x 28.6 inches (h\/w\/d) and offers storage space for a VCR. Circle 111 on reader service card 52 SEPTEMBE1R995 VIDEO","electrostatic the Aerius, $1,995.00 p.o. box 707 lawrence, ks 66044 usa, tel 913-749-0133, fax 913-749-5320 #200 for the U.S.\/pr. oak and bi-wire options available. call extension location of your nearest specialty audio retailer. CIRCLE NO. 16 ON READER SERVICE CARD","re 4 - resi Py eei Ro; RB985THX ($999) is a five-channel THX-cer- tified power amplifier. Output is rated at 100 watts for each of the five channels. The RB985THX employs toroidal transformers, said to provide the headroom the amps need to hit the dynamic peaks presented by blockbuster movie soundtracks. An RS-232 port makes the amp compatible with many multiroom controllers. Circle 112 on reader service card | a @) rer p>\u00bb ony makes rear-projection viewing more affordable with the KP-41T15 ($2,199), a 41-inch model with a 4:3 aspect ratio. The set weighs a mere 113 pounds and measures only 23.25 inches deep. Features in- clude PIP, stereo speakers, and matrix surround-sound circuitry. The 41T15 employs the Advanced Pro-Optic system, whose short-throw Micro-Beam CRTs are said to deliver sharp focus and image clarity; Bi-CMOS cir- cuitry is designed to digitally regulate and fine-tune pic- ture quality. The set is also said to deliver excellent center-to-corner brightness with no hotspotting. Circle 113 on reader service card QR] TvE WED THU FRI SAT SUN is nteasaac riccnee harp, which offers a total of 14 TV\/VCR combination 9: 00P 9: 30P 10: 00P units, now debuts its largest model, the 35-inch 35VXG2000 ($2,379). Both the TV and VCR sections are 9: 00P 1 hour loaded with features: There\u2019s the StarSight on-screen A large number of people with excitinggl menu guide with one-touch recording, a Dark Tint tube, jobs use math every day in their work.fF and front-panel A\/V input jacks. The Child View Limiter MEducation. (CC) can be configured to turn the set on or off in 30-minute intervals, and Channel Lock can be used to remove ob- EO OWENBGR) ce. @) (e2(5MOFN S)EP 7] jectionable stations from the channel rotation. The VCR is a four-head Hi-Fi stereo model and incorporates 19- micron video technology, which is said to deliver high- quality recordings even at EP, the slowest recording speed. Circle 114 on reader service card \u00b0 b> mLiitcta) &W says their CDM 1 is designed for listeners whose space restrictions necessitate a compromise, but whose ears won't tolerate one. The CDM 1 ($550 apiece), which measures 14.5 x 8.58 x 10.75 inches (h\/w\/d), fea- tures a 6.5-inch Kevlar-cone woofer and a 1-inch alloy- dome tweeter; response is given as 46 to 30,000 Hz. The top-mounted tweeter is said to help time-align the midrange and high frequencies for improved imaging and phase response. Heavy-duty gold-plated five-way binding posts handle connections. The CDM 1 is rated to handle 30 to 120 watts continuous and fits easily on most book- shelves or stands. Circle 115 on reader service card 54 SEPTEMBE1R995 VIDEO","Listen Past the Equipment and Experience the Music as Intended Once in a while an idea comes along which represents a significant step forward in advancing the current state- of-the-art. We feel our new ST Series amplifiers exemplify this unique distinction. A new approach to low-noise, low distortion signal-path has produced a line of amplifiers which is actually quieter and more transparent than any source material currently available. Bryston ST amplifiers, from the top: 8B ST 4 channel 120 wpc, 5B ST 3 channel 120 wpc, 4B ST 250 wpe stereo, 7B ST 500 watts mono. Not shown is the 3B ST 120 wpe stereo. The Bryston ST innovation: our Completely separate power Switchable gold plated RCA ultra-linear \u201cinput buffer-with- supplies for each channel elimi- unbalanced and XLR-1\/4 inch gain\u201d substantially lowers the nate any crosstalk to ensure firm balanced inputs, with equal distortion and inherent noise focus and completely accurate gain, allows flexibility for multi- floor \u2014 hearing is believing. imaging of musical instruments. channel system configurations. Bryston Ltd, P.O. Box 2170, 677 Neal Drive, Peterborough, Ontario, IWS Tw Canada K9J 7Y4 Tel: (705) 742-5325 Fax: (705) 742-0882 CIRCLE NO. 48 ON READER SERVICE CARD","complete home audio solutions. a\/d\/s\/ offers home audio solutions for every application a\/dis\/ has become a er in custom home installations by consistently offering high quality loudspeakers and electroni\u00e9s, and by developing innovative designs for every home C300i\/s 750iL 500i\/r C60i\/s R50i\/c L400e AW4 audio application. AVS140 AVF144 $700 CIRCLE NO. 18 ON READER SERVICE CARD Looking for great sounding home audio \u00a91995 Analog and Digital Systems, Inc., One Progress Way, Wilmington, Massachusetts 01887 617.729.1140 speakers? Take a closer look at a\/d\/s\/. One of the ADST family of companies. Mitsubishi 35\\\" color television provided by Jerry's Audio Video of Phoenix, AZ. a\/d\/s\/ SYo)0a)vo ped hard alelo)le) 6)2","SHO RTFWARE True Value 64) instead of rudimentary bar graphs. The 2726 can be professionally cali- All manufacturers should offer this brated, and a competent technician will Samsung TXC2726 (most professional monitors do), since have no trouble calibrating it. Out of 27-Inch TV Set it makes returning to specific sets of the box, the set\u2019s color temperature adjustments a no-brainer. Out of the measured 10,600 degrees Kelvin on the |ELEVISION-SET TECHNOLOGY HAS box, the PICTURE control was set at 48 top of the gray scale, with a peak light progressed to the point where you and all other picture controls were set output of 73 footlamberts; the bottom can get truly fine pictures from a at 32. Based on AVS, the correct set- budget 27-inch model. If that tings are 18 for PICTURE, 37 for BRIGHT- Samsung TXC2726 seems far-fetched, Samsung\u2019s TXC- NESS, 18 for SHARPNESS, 27 for COLOR, 2726 is ready, willing, and able to and 33 for TINT. 12345678910 prove the point. The TXC2726 ($579) is one of the The \u201cMultiburst\u201d pattern showed that of the gray scale measured 11,000 de- least expensive 27-inch TVs available. the 2726 had impressive detail in all grees. Post-calibration, the set mea- Given this fact, you can\u2019t expect it to frequencies. And there was an accept- sured almost exactly 6,500 degrees up be feature-laden. And it isn\u2019t. It offers able amount of dot crawl for a set in and down the scale. only one set of A\/V inputs and one set this price range. of variable audio outputs. Two 2-inch Samsung\u2019s TXC2726 delivers a good speakers are driven by 2.5 watts of At this point, the picture quality was picture with its factory picture-control power per channel. The set is 181- quite good in most respects. Color ren- settings, something very few sets can channel capable, and a channel can be dition was good, and there didn\u2019t seem boast. Carefully adjust its picture con- accessed directly by plugging its num- to be any automatic color or tint cir- trols and the picture will look excel- ber into the remote\u2019s keypad\u2014a conve- cuitry at work. As with most sets, how- nience you might not expect in such an ever, yellows were more orangey than VIDEO SEPTEMBER 1995 57 inexpensive set. The manual says that pure yellow. Images were sharp, de- the remote will control any make of ca- tailed, and accurate, though a high col- ble box or VCR. or temperature made them quite blue. A simple see-through on-screen Resolution with AVS was 400 lines menu system is provided. You press horizontal and 480 lines vertical. In MENU to access the first screen, which short, the 2726 delivers a better picture offers common picture controls plus than many pricier 27-inch sets. three picture-setting presets\u2014the user- adjustable FAVORITE and the fixed STANDARD and THEATER. Another tap on MENU gets you to a screen with AIR\/ CATV options as well as MTS options (MONO, STEREO, SAP). A third click on MENU calls up the closed-caption screen. The next two menus take you through clock setting, an on\/off sleep timer, and channel-search options. The system is simple and useful, and\u2014un- like the fancy graphic menus offered by many of today\u2019s TVs\u2014it doesn\u2019t ob- scure the TV image when it\u2019s dis- played. A standard glass comb filter is used; Samsung\u2019s manual says that it\u2019s a \u201chigh-resolution\u201d device. The 2726 al- so has an anti-glare screen. Straight out of the box, the 2726 was very watchable. A quick check with the A Video Standard test disc showed that BRIGHTNESS (black-level) was set al- most exactly correct; on the other hand, COLOR, PICTURE (contrast), and SHARP- NESS were set too high. The picture controls are represented by numerical values (ranging from 1| to","lent. And it\u2019s good to know that cali- drivers, and grilles are of extremely have a low moving mass, so their mo- high quality. tion can be tightly controlled by the bration can make its picture very accu- amp. As a result, the BPS-100 is free of The MBS is one of the best surround the boomy sound or \u201coverhang\u201d that rate. The only thing I was left wishing speakers I\u2019ve heard, regardless of price. plagues many budget designs. And it\u2019s Rather than call attention to itself, the fairly compact, measuring 9.25 x 20.5 x for was one or two more sets of inputs ideal surround speaker bathes the lis- 16 inches (h\/w\/d). tener in ambient information, without for additional video sources. In any betraying its location in the room. The This sub also provides an exemplary MBS closely approximates this ideal, complement of user controls. While the case, the 2726 is a great value. It\u2019s re- generating the sort of vast, transparent high-pass filter offered by earlier, prici- soundfield I\u2019ve come to expect from er Mirage subs could be accessed only freshing to find an affordable set that topnotch bipolar designs. through line-level RCA jacks, the BPS- 100 provides this function through performs so well. \u2014Kevin Miller Equally impressive is what the MBS speaker terminals as well. In addition doesn\u2019t do. These solid little boxes are to the usual level and crossover-rolloff Bipolar Bears virtually free of enclosure or driver res- controls, the sub\u2019s rear panel also in- onances, which can impart an unnatur- cludes an A\/V contour switch, which Mirage MBS & BPS-100 al, mechanical quality to sound. Only in lets you equalize bass response. Bipolar Satellites & the area of bass extension does the Powered Subwoofer MBS yield to its larger, more expensive The BPS-100 is small enough to hide neatly out of sight. But a bipolar speak- IPOLARS HAVE BECOME THE REAR competitors (it was \u20143 dB at 120 Hz), er performs at its best when it\u2019s located \u201csurround\u201d speaker of choice in but, as noted, low-frequency output a few feet from a side wall, and this sub many home theaters because of the was never an MBS design goal. In any is no exception. Mirage had sent me a superior way in which they create case, it isn\u2019t vital in a Dolby Pro Logic- pair of the subs, and I achieved a seam- soundfield ambience. Mirage, a manu- fed surround speaker. facturer of audiophile components, has Mirage BPS-100 spearheaded the bipolar movement While the MBS\u2019s surround perfor- since they debuted their M Series in the mance can only be described in su- 12 345678910 late \u201980s. With the MBS satellite and perlatives, I found it less well suited to BPS-100 subwoofer, Mirage brings this the role of main or center-channel less match between them and my satel- speaker. To its credit, the satellite de- lites by positioning the subs directly in 12345678910 velops a panoramic front-channel front of the main channels. soundstage populated by three-dimen- high-end technology to affordable sional images. But I found that the The BPS-100 also went very deep for home-theater speakers. range of volume contrasts it can com- a subwoofer in this price-and-size cate- fortably convey is too limited to satisfy gory, supplying generous quantities of The MBS is a masterpiece of domes- home theater\u2019s demands. Its low-bass low bass down to about 30 Hz. While it tic acceptability. Attractively finished limitations are more of a detractor doesn\u2019t deliver the lowest half-octave in either gloss black or satin white, this when the MBS is used in a front-speak- of the frequency spectrum, none of its speaker ($175 apiece) is tiny, measur- er role, as well. Clearly, the MBS was ing about 10.5 x 6.5 x 4.75 inches primarily engineered for surround ap- (h\/w\/d). It\u2019s spec\u2019d to have usable bass plications\u2014a task at which it excels. to 110 Hz and on-axis frequency re- sponse from 120 to 20,000 Hz. The BPS-100 powered subwoofer ($480) is simply great. Its bipolar de- Front and rear baffles sport identical sign, which employs two side-firing driver complements: a 6.5-inch woofers driven by an internal 0.5-inch dome tweeter 100-watt amplifier, helps it deliver the and a 4.5-inch poly- type of transparent, enveloping bass propylene woofer, both that\u2019s eluded all but the most expensive of which are magneti- subwoofer systems. Its small cones cally shielded to facili- tate placement near a television. While the nice-looking binding posts were a disap- pointment (I stripped a plastic hex nut as I at- tempted to finger-tight- en a wire connection), the speaker cabinets, 58 SEPTEMBER 1995 VIDEO","peers do either; you\u2019d have to roughly the sides of the room, if not the rear (as dial for this purpose), and you have to double this sub\u2019s cost to get down to 25 they would with a Dolby Pro Logic go into the setup menu to change be- Hz and double it again to get true 20- system). With Clapton Unplugged, the tween the tuner and line inputs. Hz output. Make no mistake, though: effect spread out the music to the sides Most listeners will simply marvel at of the TV screen, but there was no The remote is compact and versatile. the sound the BPS-100 makes. sense of localization, as E.C.\u2019s guitar It has separate buttons\u2014including seemed to come at me from both the three sets of channel up\/down buttons \u2014Anthony Chiarella and three separate power buttons\u2014for Space Cowboy extreme left and extreme right of the the VCR as well as a TV and cable box. room simultaneously. With broadcast The instruction manual lists 17 brands Panasonic PV-4564 of TVs and 47 brands of cable boxes Hi-Fi VCR TV (Barbra, The Concert), it created a the remote can control. ANY HOME-THEATER ENTHUSI- wider soundfield, but it also gave Ms. The 4564 produces very good pic- asts are happy to hook up six tures, delivering 240 lines of horizontal speakers in a Dolby Pro Logic- Streisand\u2019s voice a tinny, metallic resolution at SP. Performance at the based surround-sound system. twang, along with a slight reverb. Inter- slow SLP speed was only slightly worse Those who like the idea of surround estingly, Spatializer effects were stun- than at SP (230 lines). It can also record sound, but don\u2019t want to wrangle with, ning with some TV commercials I and play back at the LP speed (4 hours make room for, and\/or pay for the extra heard during this concert. Perhaps they per T-120 tape), and you can change components, should check out Pana- were encoded with Spatializer-style speeds while recording without stop- sonic\u2019s PV-4564 Hi-Fi VCR. While the cues; plenty of TVs, including some ping the tape. Still frames appeared 4564 ($430) is a very good all-around RCA and Sony models, have Spatializ- clean and free of noise bands, as did VCR, its built-in Spatializer processor er, SRS, or similar circuitry built-in. the single-speed slow-motion playback. delivers basic surround-sound ambi- Hi-Fi performance was a couple of ence via a TV\u2019s built-in amplifiers and Otherwise, the PV-4564 is a very ca- notches below the best models, measur- speakers. pable mid-line Hi-Fi VCR. It offers a ing \u20143.5 dB at 20,000 Hz, but the VCR Like the developers of the similar shuttle-dial control on the VCR, front- sounded just fine to the ear. SRS and Q-Sound technologies, the panel A\/V input jacks, and a sleek low- company that designed Spatializer (and profile cabinet. A cool blue display in- In sum, the PV-4564 is a very compe- licensed it to Panasonic, among others) dicates the time and tuned channel tent, reasonably priced Hi-Fi VCR. The based their processing on psycho- number. Initial setup is a breeze. The Spatializer circuitry can\u2019t take the place acoustic research, which shows that VCR automatically scans for channels of a true surround-sound system, but it our sense of the direction in which in use when you first turn it on. When sound is traveling is based on its pre- you first turn it off, it automatically asonic PV-4564 cise arrival at our ears (known, in audio searches for a PBS TV station carrying parlance, as \u201carrival time\u201d). They the Extended Data Services (EDS) S 23 4 5678910 found that if they grouped certain fre- clock-set signal and sets its clock. quencies in specific bands, and then de- does add some ambience, especially layed and manipulated these bands, lis- The eight-event timer is remarkably teners would be fooled into hearing the easy to program thanks to the remote\u2019s with big action flicks. That\u2019s all some illusion of spacious, surround-type thumbwheel programming control\u2014ro- sound. tate the wheel to make selections (such people will want, of course, and it The PV-4564 proffers a three-posi- tion SPATIALIZER slide switch\u2014offer- as time, channel, and record speed), should help in small rooms or in those ing off, medium-effect, and maximum- and press the wheel to enter each selec- effect positions\u2014on its front panel. tion. The 4564 includes VCR Plus+ where a multi-speaker setup doesn\u2019t According to Panasonic, Spatializer programming, and Panasonic has man- works best with movies and videos that aged to make the process less tedious make sense. It\u2019s nice to know that it\u2019s have been specially encoded; using a than usual. list supplied by Panasonic, I viewed there if you need it. \u2014 Cliff Roth Speed and Eric Clapton Unplugged The VCR can also control your cable (other recommendations included The box. To set this up, you must physically place the box on top of the VCR, where Mask, Jurassic Park, and the entire In- a small infrared window transmits diana Jones movie series). Note, how- channel-change commands. Two com- ever, that there\u2019s no special labeling on plaints: The VCR itself lacks a pause these programs to indicate Spatializer button (though you can use the shuttle compatibility. What they seem to have in common is that they\u2019re all big-bud- get productions with high-quality sur- round-encoded soundtracks. Spatializer was very effective with Speed. There were times when back- ground sounds seemed to come from VIDEO SEPTEMBE1R995 59","POWER THEATER The HR-VP628U from JVC takes you to the next plateau in home video entertainment \u2014 Power Theater. Just sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. Let yourself be pulled into the action by the best available non-digital sound and superior-quality pictures. Your enjoy- ment starts more quickly than ever, with dramatically-increased tape winding speeds that cut transport function time nearly in half. Clean, timely recording is a sure thing with simplified timer programming. Program search and special effects are easily per- formed using the convenient Shuttle Plus control. Explore your creative side with pro- style editing features that make it easy for anyone to produce clean-cut, interesting videos \u2014 you can even add an original soundtrack. The power of the HR-VP628U, hidden beneath a refined, contemporary design, is always at the ready. So take that next step, and don\u2019t worry \u2014 JVC\u2019s leading the way. oy HR-VP628U Technically Perfect. Perlectly Simple. Fl o,FF VHS) CIRCLE NO. 12 ON READER SERVICE CARD STEREO","TRENDS &2a TECHNOLOG Y Tony Oursler\u2019s North America and Europe, including the Whit- Psychological Projection ney Museum in New York City and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. From his beginnings NTER THE DIMLY LIT CONFINES OF as an art student in 1976, he was fascinated by video\u2019s potential. Fortunately, Cal Arts had the New York City\u2019s Metro Pictures porta-packs (the first portable video equipment, with a separate camera unit and recorder) that of- gallery and you have to sidestep a fered artists the flexibility and mobility they needed for experimenting with the new medium. mattress on the floor. As you do, you'll Some of Oursler\u2019s first tapes employed hand- crafted sets and objects\u2014such as Barbie, Ken, be confronted by a woman\u2019s voice: \u201cHey, you! What are you looking at? Get out of here.\u201d When your eyes ad- just, you can make out who\u2019s talking\u2014 it\u2019s an empty robe, some pajama bot- toms, and the video image of a face projected onto a blank pillow \u201chead.\u201d The face peers out at you occasionally from under the corner of the mattress. Without much conviction, it adds: \u201cPII kick your a--.. . . I'll f--- you up. Leave me alone.\u201d The half-squashed face glares at all comers, helpless. The illu- sion is as disconcerting as it is funny, pathetic, and beautiful. This is the experience bestowed by Getaway #2, a wonderful example of the video installation work of video artist Tony Oursler. Video art has en- joyed a strong year in the United States, especially in museums. Two of the medium\u2019s stalwarts, Bruce Nauman and Gary Hill, made significant splash- es\u2014New York City\u2019s Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) Getaway #2: aggression recently mounted a large retrospective of Nauman\u2019s video asserted in a passive and installation work, while the city\u2019s Guggenheim Soho situation museum presented a show of Hill\u2019s discombobulated video bodies. And eight mid-career video artists, including Oursler, are represented by individual installations at MOMA through mid-September. Though Oursler\u2019s work has been exhibited extensively, and G.I. Joe dolls\u2014as participants in intense but humorous until recently he was better known in Europe than in his psychodramas that twisted the structures and narratives of native United States. The MOMA show may change that. network television. While many of Oursler\u2019s early tapes focused on the Word of Oursler\u2019s work spread so quickly during his re- cent solo show at the Metro Pictures gallery that tour bus- dense psychological worlds he crafted for his characters, es made the gallery one of their re- ON THE INSIDE his recent works have been installations quired stops. such as Getaway #2, which are built It\u2019s clear that all kinds of visitors are around figures he calls \u201cdummies\u201d and genuinely engaged by Oursler\u2019s work. \u201cdolls.\u201d He views these surrogate fig- Smiles and spontaneous discussions ures as \u201cagents that enter the world in a erupt as viewers are confronted by more aggressive way, more as cata- these conglomerations of the neurot- lysts.\u201d The projections onto the hand- ic\u2014an unusual occurrence, given the made dummies are an intriguing inter- cursory viewing and quiet contempla- section of sculpture and video and tion you often come across in New make a strong impression that belies York City galleries. And the MOMA their simple ingredients: inexpensive showcase for Oursler\u2019s installations projectors and VCRs, tripod-type light- may afford him an opportunity to reach ing stands (which become both back- a larger audience. bones and scaffolds), rummage-sale Oursler, 38, graduated from the Cali- clothes, tiny hand-sewn materials, and fornia Institute for the Arts (Cal Arts) blank, pillow-like heads. The mute, in 1979. His work has been displayed SHORTWARE71 crude figures come to life when looped in galleries and museums throughout or repeated video images are projected PWCBAOTMORIUOERTCLUARNTTSRDYRUOTLOARNEIE;SRTSY:, VIDEO SEPTEMBER 1995 61","onto their \u201cheads,\u201d Their dialogues, self- a jar. In Organ Play #2, part of Oursler\u2019s analysis, and phobias make them simul- taneously endearing and haunting. Metro Pictures show, cow and sheep or- \u201cI\u2019m really interested in how one\u2019s gans housed in small jars of formalde- own narrative history is created,\u2019 Our- sler says. \u201cWhat you did, what was done hyde sat on a metal tabletop. The mouths to you... . I tried to make figures that could exist in between the interior and of a man (Oursler) and a woman exterior worlds, literally, like seers that we can\u2019t see, and that can\u2019t see us. Lan- (Leipold) were projected onto the organs, guage and image become one, as they do in the human body. Video no longer acts where they discussed their \u201cphysical as a window to look through, but is somehow made physical.\u201d states.\u201d The image of a woman\u2019s lips, After working out an idea, Oursler luridly enhanced by red lipstick and pro- writes a script of the dialogue that he and his collaborators will enact. In Getaway jected onto what looks like a kidney, was #2, the artist worked with Tracy Leipold, a friend, musician, and performance at once comical and disturbing. \u201cHow do artist who became the indignant pres- ence under the mattress. After discussing you feel?\u201d she asks, sounding pathetic the dialogue with Leipold, Oursler shot close-up Hi8 footage of her face pressed and confused. \u201cI can\u2019t tell if I\u2019m alive or against a wall; markings on his monitor insured that these images could be pro- dead.\u201d jected onto the \u201cface\u201d of the dummy with the desired alignment. The images were The effect is potent. Among these captured in multiple takes; Oursler says he often gives his collaborators direction works, Oursler says that Getaway #2 is, off-camera, whispering lines when nec- essary. perhaps, the most effective: \u201cIt brings to- Once the video footage is shot and he\u2019s gether many of the concerns I\u2019ve been chosen his favorite take, Oursler copies the Hi8 images to VHS, creates an au- working with\u2014like aggression asserted dio\/video loop, and then works with the in passive situations\u2014in a simple way. projectors and other materials in his stu- dio. Though he\u2019s considering using \u201cAlso,\u201d he adds, \u201cpeople seem to keep laserdiscs for future installations, he cur- rently runs the footage for projection on System for Dramatic Feedback (detail): coming back to it.\u201d VHS decks; he favors Fujix\u2019s small Mod- prompts smiles and serious discussion el 401 and Model 701 projectors (they\u2019re Though Oursler\u2019s refined his process inexpensive as well as simple to use) and Gibbons on a strange but hilarious cable- is now experimenting with new Sony mi- TV pilot called On Our Own. The show over the years, there are always chal- ni-projectors. Oursler says he\u2019s always followed the misadventures of two pa- been interested in projection, but the cost tients from a mental institution as they lenges. He still encounters difficulties and size of standard video projectors try to survive \u201con the outside\u201d after being make them impractical; when he came released. When the institution gives the working with video in a gallery setting\u2014 across the mini-projectors advertised in outpatients a camcorder to better docu- the back of a magazine, he jumped. ment their progress, we see the world most spaces aren\u2019t designed for it. And through the viewfinder of a hand-held Oursler projects his images onto Hi8. Oursler says the satire was a com- then there\u2019s the audience\u2019s attention mentary on the artist\u2019s status as a \u201cdys- household materials and used clothes. In functional outsider\u201d in society. span. The artist says that gallery patrons his most recent shows, he used domestic items like dresses, suits, flowers, and These and other projects have kept usually don\u2019t spend long periods of time chairs. Materials come from thrift stores things interesting for Oursler. Producing as well as friends\u2014the mattress for Get- one type of work year after year, he says, looking at an individual painting or piece away #2 was saved from a friend\u2019s takes the magic out of working with the garbage. medium. All of which explains why he of sculpture and, as a result, have a hard wasn\u2019t unhappy when On Our Own A significant part of Oursler\u2019s video proved short-lived: Moving on \u201cwas kind time focusing their attention for any work involves more intense collabora- of a good thing; it kept things fresh and alleviated the pressure of working in one length of time on a video. \u201cIt is very dif- tion with other artists, including writers, single way.\u201d ficult to make anything with video that performance artists, and videomakers. Video technology helps, too. \u201cIn the He\u2019s worked with the alternative rock 00s,\u201d Oursler says, \u201cpeople are thinking will hold a viewer\u2019s interest.\u201d band Sonic Youth on a music video and, in the direction of more complex and a few years ago, with videomaker Joe elaborate story lines, like you find on Still, gallery visitors seem transfixed CD-ROMs; video can exploit these 62 SEPTEMBER 1995 VIDEO well.\u201d The artist points out that video of- by Oursler\u2019s work\u2014and the critics have fers other advantages: \u201cIt has a high- quality image and two channels of raved. Writer Elizabeth Janus comments sound, and it\u2019s cheap.\u201d On the other that \u201c. . . throughout Oursler\u2019s work one hand, he acknowledges, technology isn\u2019t an answer to the world\u2019s problems: \u201cBa- senses that there is a malfunctioning of sically, I have no respect for solely tech- nology-based [art]work. Students think an apparently orderly world, a feeling technology\u2019s going to save them because it\u2019s always changing\u2014but none of it\u2019s re- that is both fascinating and unsettling, ally that interesting. I mean, there\u2019s no aerosol video yet.\u201d much like the headlines of a tabloid That may be true, but there is video in newspaper.\u201d Peter Schjeldahl, of New York City\u2019s Village Voice, wrote that Oursler\u2019s \u201cbedeviled dummies emerge from a psychic swamp of childlike con- sciousness laced with grown-up manias and depressions, an Okefenokee of psy- chological, social, and practically meta- physical futility . . . his most accom- plished tone, at this point, is a comic contrast between impeccable high-tech and highly peccable humanity.\u201d Accolades aside, Oursler\u2019s idiosyncrat- ic vision illuminates our own evolving, but ambivalent, relationship with tech- nology. The artist says that what we do with video affects the vitality of our cul- ture. With funding for the arts and even public television under fire, the artist and his peers clearly have their work cut out for them. \u2014 Stewart Applegath","| [ee =\u2014 = \u2014 ,\u2014sf sf \u2014er\u2014 \u2014 na \u2014 =| |oe | =p_r=\u2014 There's hardly any room to explain what makes the picture on our biggest rear projection \u2014\u2014 television so amazingly crisp. So to be concise, it\u2019s Toshiba\u2019s exclusive 3D-YC comb filter. That, | plus a Dark Tint Screen, a super bright 450 Ft. L. picture, and a diligent quest for perfection. [\u2014 Ce In fact, just to be sure this television would offer the maximum viewing experience, we == included 2-tuner color PIP, 4 Channel DSP, and Dolby\u00ae Pro-Logic\u00ae with 2 rear speakers and an _ unbelievable 68 watts of total audio power. We shrunk the In Touch with Tomorrow \u2019 Ose fiBA zs cabinet to 27\u201d deep. And then we tossed in 2 remote controls. Obviously, Toshiba can make a big TV. But in this case, we've | made the big one even better. CIRCLE NO. 65 ON READER SERVICE CARD Toshiba America ConsumPreodructs,Inc, 82 Totowa Road, Wayne, N Dolby and Pro-Logic are registered tredemarks of Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corp | |","ridging the gap between pro and amateur editors, Videonics\u2019 Edit Suite ($699) is being touted as the first low-price, multiformat multiprotocol A\/B-roll edit controller. The Suite operates as a single-source, cuts-only editor via two separately programmable GPI ports; add Videonics\u2019 MX- 1 digital video mixer ($1,199, not shown) and it becomes an \u201cA\/B\/C\/D\u201d edit controller capable of operating up to four sources and a recording VCR. It\u2019s said to read all major time codes and has a 250-event memory. An RS-232 interface allows the user to upload or download EDL data as well as export CMx files. Circle 120 on reader service card he M-6033\/3 Combination Camcorder Plus battery ($99), part of Maxell\u2019s Camcorder Plus series of \u201cuniversal\u201d batteries, may make bulky battery rechargers obsolete. Equipped with flip-out prongs, the M-6033\/3 can be plugged directly into any standard 110V outlet for recharging. The 6033\/3 is available in a variety of popular voltages, fitting most 8mm and VHS-C cams. At full charge, the battery delivers up to 2 hours of continuous running time, A fuel gauge with a built-in LED indicator lets the user know how much juice remains. Circle 121 on reader service card L several models in Panasonic\u2019s newest line, the PV- 960 full-size camcorder ($899) features a 14X optical power zoom that can be digitally enhanced to 20x. The PV- 960 has a trim, ambidextrous design that includes a centrally located handle grip and a swivel viewfinder, which should make it very easy to use. The cam offers a color viewfinder, and digital image stabilization helps eliminate the \u201cshakes.\u201d Circle 122 on reader service card lectricImage\u2019s Version 2.5 Animation System \u2018ane ($7,495) helps pro moviemakers generate animation and special effects. The software package is said to turn Electriclmage any Power Mac that\u2019s equipped with operating system 7.5 or better, 32 MB of RAM, a high-capacity hard drive, | and a full color monitor into a fully operational choreog- sm atiew epee rapher, projector, and renderer. Benefits of this upgrade <= : include a reduction in the number of steps needed to create real-world animations and more realistic morph- ing effects. Circle 123 on reader service card 64 SEPTEMBE1R995 VIDEO","ug In... ToheTIdshiba Home iiienredecrntere Presented In ConjuncWtitih oVindeo Magazine. in Liat All Seminars Take Place on Saturday Mornings Date |Hererstateynl Retailer CALL September 16 DYeneste ABC Appliance 1-800-709-4400 September 30 Nertadte Incredible Universe October 14 isttaateael Bernie\u2019s For Exact Seminar October 21 Denver The Big Picture October 28 INEvetosennatele Various Location And Registration November 4 Houston Videoland November 11 Omaha Nebraska Furniture Mart Information. October 28: Special Nationwide Seminar Via Satelellite Uplink To Over 200 Store Locations. Call 1-800-709-4400 For Details.","Superio\u201cesr SOoEunCd Performance A monument to 50 years of Klipsch engineering, epic series speakers feature Controlled Focus\u00ae Technology, a unique combination of performance attributes that result in phenomenal stereo imaging and soundstage. Using a D\u2019 Apolito driver configuration, a Klipsch Tractrix\u00ae horn, neodymium magnets and exotic cone materials developed exclusively for Klipsch, epic speakers deliver extraordinary dynamics for both music and movie soundtrack reproduction. And Klipsch didn\u2019t stop with brilliant technology for the epic series. We designed a speaker with a classic aesthetic. epic series cabinets are assembled from real wood veneers and finished using a multi-step lacquer process, just like fine furniture. Available in six gorgeous finishes, they will blend beautifully in any home. demonstration of epic speakers, visit your local authorized Klipsch dealer, Bt iy sch 4 or call 1-800-KLIPSCH for the dealer nearest you. p- Manufacturers of Klipsch Audio Entertainment, Home Theater and Distributed Sound Systems The Legend Continues... 1-800-KLIPSCH CIRCLE NO. 70 ON READER SERVICE CARD Since 1945 \u00a9 1995 Klipsch, Inc.","JVC's GR-SZ9 offers it all: quantity, quality, and simplicity 806 APPEARANCES CAN BE DECEIVING: THE GR-SZ9 IS NOT tone), VIDEO ECHO (a radiating layer effect), and MONOTONE (black-and- a camcorder, it\u2019s a video smorgasbord\u2014and a one- white). While some of the effects and person video production unit. JVC has succeeded in transitions can\u2019t be used simultane- ously, a light in the viewfinder warns improving upon what was already a great camcorder\u2014 you when a given combination isn\u2019t possible. Carried over from the GR- 1994\u2019s GR-SZ7, VIDEO\u2019s choice for S-VHS-C camcorder of the SZ7 is SNAP SHOT (accessed by a year\u2014making it an even better value. At $1,799, the SZ9 is a button in front of the viewfinder), genuine bargain; you can record high-quality images in Hi-Fi which offers a Polaroid snap-shot ef- fect with a shutter-like sound; MO- stereo sound and also get more control over how the camcorder\u2014 TOR-DRIVE lets you record multiple snaps in rapid succession. and, ultimately, your audience\u2014sees its predecessor had. This camcorder those images. also delivers a better picture than the The SZ9 also features new digital GR-SZ7, while simultaneously offer- signal processing (DSP), which sam- In addition to an electronic image ing point-and-shoot simplicity. And ples information from a greater vari- the SZ9 manages to be strong on both ety of sources, such as infrared sen- stabilizer (which can be left on full counts. While it\u2019s easy to use in its sors and flicker data. JVC says that time without image degradation), an AUTO mode, you can customize the DSP contributes to improved autoex- improved color viewfinder, and even camcorder extensively, choosing greater low-light sensitivity, the SZ9 from long lists of effects. One thing\u2019s posure, autofocus (TTL contrast- offers more production effects, tran- clear: You won\u2019t need a mixer, pro- type), and tint recognition. White- sitions, and utilities than the stagger- cessing amp, or external effects gen- balance versatility is improved, too: ing number offered by the GR-SZ7. erator here. Add the supplied editing feature and In addition to the AUTO, SUNNY, a remote and you can customize your Some of the possibilities include CLOUDY, and HALOGEN settings, images as well as your finished tape fades, multiple wipes, high-speed there are three custom manual white- to your art\u2019s content. shutters, dissolves, mosaics, a balance settings (two more than were widescreen-like CINEMA mode (black available on the GR-SZ7), for a total Bucking the industry trend of sim- bars at the top and bottom of the im- of seven, and you can hold particular plifying camcorders until there are light settings in memory for later few options left, JVC has loaded the age), SEPIA (which adds a brown SZ9 with more manual controls than BY STEWART APPLEGATH","use. Shutter speed is one of the few SET mode gives you groups of effects you can also use these controls to man- functions here that can\u2019t be switched to choose from, with limited manual ually control the iris. manually. control. And VARIABLE PRESET offers the fullest range of manual controls and And there\u2019s more: You can choose to JVC has located only a few of the effects. wipe or dissolve to or from a color or a cam\u2019s controls on the body of the cam- live picture. This is an extremely un- corder, which measures about 4.5 x 4.2 Choose PRESET and you'll have ac- usual feature in a camcorder: Internal x 7.4 inches and weighs 1.8 pounds; cess to the features that JVC feels will memory stores the last image, then most are \u201csoft\u201d controls located in the get heaviest use: wind-cut, zoom, uses it to make the transition to the menu system. Playback controls are lo- alarm, and gain-up are available in ad- next scene. Note that turning the cam cated behind the lens under a plastic dition to the fades, wipes, and effects off will erase the memorized scene and panel in front of the viewfinder. When triggered by the P.AE\/EFFECT (special that sound isn\u2019t recorded during the the power switch is set to PLAY, the effects) and FADE\/WIPE buttons. When- wipe\/fade process. menu controls expand to include those ever one of these effects functions is for audio playback (HI-FI, MIX, NOR- activated, a menu comes up: In the for- The indigo LCD readout on the $Z9\u2019s mer, you have a choice of CINEMA, side makes all display information ex- MAL) and tracking. Special features in- tremely legible under all ambient-light- SPORTS, TWILIGHT, SEPIA, or MONO- clude still frame, frame advance, slow aa motion, speed play, auto rewind, and a TONE. In the latter, you can pick WHITE BY THE NUMBERS flexible timer. FADER, MOSAIC FADER, AUTO SELECT 1, Measurements by Berger\u2014Braithwaite Labs One unusual option is the $Z9\u2019s manual adjustment of the sharpness, CORNER WIPE, and DISSOLVE. The AU- Horizontal resolution: camera, 400 lines; tint, and color of the image you're viewfinder, 280 lines; recorder (S-VHS), shooting. These controls, which are ac- TO SELECT option programs a sequence 400 lines; recorder (VHS), 240 lines cessed in a sub-menu under the PIC- of eight fade\/wipes, adding variety to TURE menu, are more effective and of- your videos without your having to Playback picture S\/N (SP): unweighted fer greater range than those on the take the trouble to program each effect luminance, 47.8 dB; weighted luminance, GR-SZ7; JVC says the difference is individually. 50.8 dB; unweighted video, 38.3 dB; weighted video, 43.9 dB; chroma AM, due to improved white balance (multi- The VARIABLE PRESET mode accesses 42.3 dB; chroma PM, 41.7 dB ple settings with plus\/minus compensa- a larger (yes, larger) menu system, with tion) and signal processing. The SZ9 more features that you can use to cus- Playback picture S\/N (EP): unweighted also has a greater number of gain-con- tomize the PRESET mode\u2019s lists. Once video, 37.7 dB; weighted video, 43.7 dB; trol settings for shooting in low-light you\u2019ve programmed what you want, chroma AM, 40.5 dB; chroma PM, 43.7 dB situations. you can access it quickly by pushing either the P.AE\/EFFECT or FADE\/WIPE Minimum illumination: 4.7 lux for 50 IRE There are three main mode set- button. You can utilize JVC\u2019s lists of Audio frequency response: Hi-Fi, tings\u2014-AUTO, PRESET, and VARIABLE PRESET effects, be more adventurous PRESET\u2014that determine how easy or by mixing in a few of your own, or go 20-20,000 Hz +0.5, \u20140 dB creative it can get in any shooting situ- wild and start a new list from scratch. Audio dynamic range: Hi-Fi, 86.1 dB ation. The AUTO mode takes care of The cursor control for the menu is lo- everything, allowing you to get busy cated on the lower side of the cam- ing conditions. In addition to display- shooting video immediately. The PRE- corder in the form of \u201c+\u201d and \u201c\u2014\u201d but- ing functions, it also provides a graphic tons; in PRESET and VARIABLE PRESET, readout of battery, tape, and function JVC GR-SZ9 status. The SZ9\u2019s electronic stabilizer did its Component type: S-VHS-C camcorder Price: $1,\/99 job well. The cam also has a two-speed power zoom. In AUTO mode, the maxi- Target: Serious videographers mum zoom is set at 10X; switching to PRESET or VARIABLE PRESET lets you KEY FEATURES a Full-time electronic image stabilization = Color viewfinder = Extensive take advantage of the 10x (5 to 50 mm) or outrageous 100X magnification. menu of custom effects m 100X digital zoom, 10X optical zoom These digital zooms are continuous = Digitally assisted autoexposure, autofocus, and white balance _ and are set in motion with a mechani- = TELE MACRO focusing m Random assemble editing m Remote contri cal zoom toggle. This year\u2019s model al- so adds a feature called TELE MACRO, SUMMARY which allows you to get macro-type \u201cm= Offers extensive manual controls while maintaining point-and-shc detail without needing to get too close simplicity m Its picture is improved compared to its predecesso to a subject. (With other cams, you Capably serves as a mixer, processing amp, and effects ge generally can\u2019t focus on close objects while the camera is zoomed in.) Mini- Its tape counter isn\u2019t flexible m In terms of quantity, q mum focusing distance is 1 and 34 and simplicity, there is no other camcorder like inches for wide angle and tele, respec- tively. Circle 124 on reader service car The SZ9 has a manual focus mecha- nism controlled by a knob on the front part of the cam. Even in AUTO mode, you can push a button on the end of the focus wheel to switch to manual 68 SEPTEMBE1R995 VIDEO","r PRESET mode. After sliding lens cover, a really useful (if an you take the time to figure out all of the options and potential combinations, standard) feature. ): The random assemble-editing feature you'll be able to get great results from allows you to program up to eight cuts the VARIABLE PRESET mode. With the or scenes for editing onto a VCR. A SZ9, JVC succeeds in a lion-hearted at- menu shows in\/out points as you pro- tempt to deliver the whole enchilada: gram them. It\u2019s basic and easy to use. THE NUMBER OF POSSIBILITIES OFFERED quantity, quality, and simplicity. This is The attachable remote pad is compati- by JVC\u2019s GR-SZ9 is, at first, a bit no mean feat. Quite simply, there is no ble with JVC VCRs as well as some daunting. Fortunately, most of the op- other camcorder like it. a other brands. AZDEN QUALITY SOUND If I have one misgiving about the SZ9, it concerns the tape-counter mechanism (carried over from the SZ7). It works fine if you don\u2019t mind LETS YOU GET the cam\u2019s standard rewind and fast-for- THE WHOLE PICTURE. ward speed (3X), which is pretty slow; 3 increase the fast-wind speed (to 7X) by holding the FF or REW button for 2 sec- Your camcorder\u2019s built-in microphone picks WMS-PRO onds, however, and you\u2019lllose the tape- up sounds from all directions, including those you counter readout altogether\u2014in the viewfinder and in the LCD readout. And when you revert to play mode, the counter resets at zero. This makes log- don\u2019t want. When shooting from a distance you ging tapes very inconvenient, especially can\u2019t record your subject\u2019s voice clearly. Azden, since JVC intends this cam to be used the leader in professional microphones for as an editor. I hope they\u2019ll address this videography, offers a full range of options to quirk soon. make your sound as good as your pictures. I also hadn\u2019t been crazy about the GR-SZ7\u2019s color viewfinder, but the \u201cPRO\u201d series wireless microphones: SZ9\u2019s 0.55-inch electronic version, \u00a2 Powerful VHF professional wireless systems with a range which includes a diopter, is more so- of over 300 feet. * 2 Switchable frequencies for noise-free phisticated\u2014it has 13,000 more pixels performance. \u00a2 Belt-pack transmitters (WLX, WMS). (for a total of 113,000) and 40 percent \u00a2 Miniature receivers with supplied shoe mount and velcro. more contrast. The improved resolution makes it much easier to fine-focus in WMS-PRO: Comes with 2 mics (lapel and handheld) which manual mode. The smearing I noticed plug into the transmitter. in the GR-SZ7\u2019s viewfinder when pan- WHX-PRO: Wire-free handheld mic with built-in transmitter. ning or tilting has been rectified. The WLX-PRO: Lapel microphone system. viewfinder also has indicators for tape length (20\/30\/40 minutes) and tape re- CAM-3: A mini 3 channel mixer for recording sound from maining (in minutes), so there\u2019s no 3 add-on-mics, while you\u2019re shooting. Only 2-1\/8\u201d x 3-1\/4\u201d it guesswork. can be attached to your camera or clipped to the handstrap. Needs no batteries. Cables included. Audio performance with the Hi-Fi AFM track was quite good, with no no- HS-7V: Headset with boom mic for adding narration as ticeable noise leakage from the tape carrier or zoom mechanisms. Credit CAM-3 you shoot. Also use itto monitor goes to JVC\u2019s microphone amplifier, sound you're recording. which selectively modifies the output signal of the mic (a stereo electret con- ECZ-990: A 7\u201d long directional mic. denser) to attenuate unwanted noise Zoom in on your subject\u2019s voice, reducing while it boosts the audio characteristics side noises. Range 35-40 feet. of sounds you want to record. There are stereo RCA, RF, and S-Video con- AJAZDEN\u2019 nections. An external microphone jack 147 New Hyde Park Road, Franklin Square, NY 11010 is provided, but there\u2019s no headphone (516) 328-7500 FAX (516) 328-7506 jack. Picture quality from the 570,000-pix- Distributed in Canada by GENTEC CIRCLE NO. 55 ON READER SERVICE CARD","My, how they\u2019ve grown. Our Diamond Vision Stadium Screen, | seen exclusively at 26 of the nation\u2019s top stadiums, is among the largest television : images ever created (over 50 million sports | fans a year watch one, so it helps to be big). MITSUBISHI Our 1452-sq. ft. Diamond Vision\u00ae Stadium Screen. Like its big brother, our 40-inch tube TV is the only one of its kind, and the largest tube TV you can buy, made exclusively by Mitsubishi. With a screen size of 768 square inches\u2014a full 31% bigger than a 35-inch and an overwhelming 120% bigger than a 27-inch-\u2014it brings the action from the stadium right into your living room. at birth? But size is just part of the story. Our 40-inch television also has a brighter picture, higher contrast, and a longer life than just about anything else out there. To own a Diamond Vision Screen, you'd have to buy your own stadium. But for considerably less, you can experience Diamond Vision excitement on the world\u2019s only 40-inch tube TV. The only place you can buy our remarkable 40-inch TV is at an authorized Mitsubishi dealer. For the location of one in your area, please call 1-800-937-0000, Ext. 800. s\u2019e MITSUBISHI Our home version, the world\u2019s only 40-inch tube TV. THE BIG SCREEN COMPANY\u201c CIRCLE NO. 52 ON READER SERVICE CARD","Point and Shoot Sanyo PS12 Smm Camcorder HERE\u2019S A REASON THAT CAM- corder makers are building no- frills models, and it\u2019s the same reason they have bleacher seats in baseball parks: You want to get in on the fun of shooting videos, but you don\u2019t want (or aren\u2019t able) to spend a lot of money on a camcorder. ' If this description nails your mindset on the subject, then you\u2019re going to like hearing about Sanyo\u2019s PS12. It\u2019s a simple, no-frills 8mm camcorder your shooting hand handles the ing or playing. Sanyo has also in- that gets the job done, and it should zooming. cluded a simple but effective lens cap arrive in your neighborhood with an The mechanical viewfinder\/lens that covers both the lens and the opti- incredibly low street price\u2014while arrangement may sound unwieldy, cal-viewfinder lens: Its push-and- it\u2019s tagged with a $499 suggested re- but in fact it\u2019s simple and direct: You twist action provides a secure fit. tail price, you may find it in shops for can zoom as fast or as slowly as you A small, Sony NP-55-type battery as little as $300 or less. want, and you can achieve relatively fits into a compartment opposite the The PS12 combines the basic ad- smooth zoom action once you get handgrip on the cam\u2019s lower side. used to it. Sanyo has also included The AC connection lurks here, too, vantages of the 8mm format (small size, long recording time, decent pic- two LED indicators in the eyepiece to ture) with extreme point-and-shoot indicate record\/pause and warnings. ease. Its completely automated func- The focus mechanism on the PS12 tions work well in situations where is fixed, so you won't have to worry COSMETICS \u00b0 you want to use auto controls (in oth- about focus-hunting. Everything EASE OF USE er words, in scenarios where manual that\u2019s at least 6 inches from the lens PERFORMANCE | control isn\u2019t important). In any case, will always be in focus. Combined there aren\u2019t many bells or whistles with an automatic shutter speed of here. There\u2019s no electronic viewfind- one-sixtieth of a second, this adds up VALUE e er, Zoom, microphone or headphone to true simplicity, enabling you to be jacks, remote, or infrared receiver; prepared for any spontaneous shoot- CIRCLE 125 ON READER SERVICE CARD you also won\u2019t find shutter speed\/ ing. Some versatility is lost, of course, but that\u2019s to be expected with with an outlet for the power cord per- white balance, fader, iris adjustment, a budget model. forating the compartment\u2019s side. backlight compensation, LANC\/edit functions, titling capability, or re- The playback and eject buttons are Picture quality is, as you might ex- cording from line sources. The PS12 hidden under a flip-up panel on the pect, slightly lower than what you shoots automatically, plays back .. . PS12\u2019s top. Included here is a blank- get from cams with higher price tags, and that\u2019s about it. tape search function, a handy feature but it\u2019s definitely better than some. What controls it does have are few in the absence of an electronic There was some luminance noise in and simple to use. There\u2019s a power- viewfinder; in either the playback or the picture, but the color accuracy on\/off switch and a record button on camera mode, you can use this fea- was quite good\u2014overall, the PS12 the back of the cam, along with an ture to find where you left off record- delivered a nice picture. I saw ap- LCD readout that indicates basic proximately 230 to 240 lines of reso- functions: battery life, tape\/eject, lution in the recorded image. record\/pause, time elapsed, and sev- Many VCR cleaning tapes don\u2019t have a From an audio standpoint, I no- eral warnings. Nearby is a simple clear leader at the beginning, so they ticed more high-frequency rolloff one-touch button for play and the don\u2019t stop automatically after rewinding. than is normal on an 8mm camcorder camera modes. The optical, non- lf your VCR doesn't have a safety-stop of this type. On the other hand, very electronic viewfinder, which has a feature, the abrupt stop could damage it. little noise from the cam\u2019s transport diopter focus, is located above the To prevent damage, simply affix the leaked through; the PS12 performs lens. The PS12 also has a manual 3X leader from a cheap videotape at the be- better in this area than much pricier zoom; a small mechanical lever ginning of the cleaning tape. camcorders. The onboard micro- that'll be close to the index finger of phone also worked quite well. Hi Sawada Montreal VIDEO SEPTEMBER 1995 71","The PS12 isn\u2019t intended for serious ing, which lets you cut tape \u201con the agonal wipe, for example, you have to fly\u201d; it\u2019s the most accurate of the three guess where that spot is on the dial. videographers, but its simplicity\u2014and methods. Even a top-to-bottom 90-degree wipe, which should be simple to set up, can its price\u2014should be perfect for casual Other functions abound: The FX-L is easily end up looking cockeyed. More equipped with a simple, three-channel legends with detents would be a nice users who don\u2019t want to fuss with con- audio mixer that lets you add music and narration during editing. Video ef- Sima FX-L trols. And considering its rock-bottom fects include cuts, fades, and wipes. (345 678 910 Four wipe shapes are available, and street price, it\u2019d make a great gift. This any wipe can be performed in one of refinement. eight colors. You can choose a wipe A circular-wipe option, variable fade is a good choice for an easy, no-worry angle between 0 and 180 degrees. And there\u2019s a PREVIEW function that plays and wipe speeds (all fades and wipes camcorder. \u2014\u2014 Stewart Applegath back your EDL, complete with wipes take 5 seconds), and an input for non- and fades, so that you can see what LANC gear would also be handy. An op- Out of Control your edit will look like before commit- tional IR controller that plugs into the ting it to tape; what you learn may con- FX-L\u2019s LANC slot would facilitate the Sima FX-L Video Ed\/It vince you to modify your EDL. use of non-LANC camcorders as well as Edit Controller\/ VCR-to-VCR editing. Effects Generator Setting up the FX-L is a breeze. The back of the unit is clearly labeled and The FX-L also had trouble in terms DITING IS WHAT ENABLES RAW the instruction manual is comprehen- of raw performance. It handles S-for- sive. After you\u2019ve hooked up your mat video signals (S-VHS or Hi8) as camcorder footage to achieve its camcorder and your VCR, you have to well as composite video (standard \u201cteach\u201d the FX-L your VCR\u2019s IR codes VHS or 8mm), but there is a discern- potential\u2014it clarifies, refines using a supplied controller. Once class ible loss in signal quality with both. Lance Braithwaite, VIDEO\u2019s technical meaning, and adds polish. There is over, you simply point the controller editor, measured a 3.1-dB loss\u2014that are plenty of editing products seeking at your VCR and you\u2019re ready to roll. amounts to degradation on the order of 30 percent. your attention; price points run the Editing with the programmed method is pretty simple. Basically, you create In addition, the colors of the FX-L\u2019s gamut from under $100 to $15,000. your EDL by cuing up sequences and fades and wipes are particularly vul- selecting whether you want to fade or nerable to the quality of the tape being Sima\u2019s FX-L Video Ed\/It edit con- wipe in between them, what color fade played; blame the unit\u2019s reliance on the troller\/special-effects generator ($480) or wipe you want, and, if you\u2019re wip- camera original\u2019s control track for op- is positioned at the modest end of the ing, its angle. Once you\u2019re done pro- eration. spectrum. gramming your EDL, you press PRO- GRAM to get out of that mode. Even with strong video signals, I oc- Despite its budget status, the FX-L is casionally noted \u201cghosts\u201d in my color compatible with camcorders that are As I worked, I discovered that the fades, along with an overall \u201cwateri- equipped with a LANC jack. In this sce- FX-L isn\u2019t completely user-friendly. ness\u201d in the colors. And there were mi- nario, you can edit up to 23 scenes Most jarring is the dial that adjusts the nor electronic glitches when fades or from the cam to a remote-controlled angle of the wipes, which can be rotat- wipes were activated; sometimes, they VCR (you\u2019ll get the best results\u2014with- ed like a volume-control knob but only made it to the edited tape. out glitches or \u201crainbows\u201d\u2014if the has legends for 0, 90, and 180 degrees: VCR has flying erase heads). Note that If you want to perform a 45-degree di- The FX-L really isn\u2019t frame-accurate, you can\u2019t use the FX-L to edit from either\u2014not surprising given the way it VCR to VCR. controls your camcorder and VCR. This is especially noticeable at the end The FX-L offers three edit modes: of an edit, which generally occurs 2 to Programmed editing generates an EDL 3 seconds after the point you actually that, to some extent, can be modified selected, though it can be as far off as 7 later, Second, you can perform pro- seconds on either side. This really is grammed editing without the help of an sub-par performance, even considering on-screen EDL. (This mode proved the FX-L\u2019s modest price. \u2014Tim Liebe more confusing than useful.) Third, you \u20acan perform simple manual edit- 72 SEPTEMBER 1995 VIDEO","The Experts Stereo Review, Audio, On M&K Sound & Image, Home Theater Technology, Satellites And Video Review... Subwoofers S-100B\/S-80\/MX-100 System V-125 Subwoofer < \u201cThis system kicks. It got my \u201cThe V-125 reminds me of a blood flowing and got me young Muhammad Ali: It\u2019s excited about what | could smooth and deft when that\u2019s listen to next... couldn't get required, but when the time is enough....\u201d right it slides in and pounds you silly.\u201d \u201cSuperb sound coupled with extremely flexible placement \u201cWith the V-125, low bass is make this a home-theater just the way you want it\u2014 system to be reckoned with. strong, tight, and muscular.\u201d Highly recommended for both movies and music.\u201d Speaker Test Rank: \u2014Home Theater Technology #1 (of 17 tested subwoofers). \u2014Sound & Image V-125 1010) 5) S-90 - on\\\" ...response, from 500 Hz to 20 KHz, was among the flattest we have ever measured....\u2019\u2014Stereo Review Sd S-5000 and MX-5000 avAs ra \u201cI had much fun with the M&K\u2019s loud and clean capabilities, their effortlessness, and the vast Sounos quantities of clean bass they can generate.\u201d \u201cIf you also have a home theater and need very high- performance speakers, the M&K system is one of the best. | recommend it.\u201d\u2014Audio S-80 \u201cExtremely clear, with lots of detail and ambience\u201d \u201c\u201cN for Sound Quality\u201d \u2014Sound and Image S-90\/MX-90 * kkk & (five stars) \u201cHome theater sound and dedicated audio sound, so often in conflict with each other, coexist beautifully in the M&K S-90 and MX-90 system.\u201d \u201cThese are without a doubt among the finest speakers available at \u2018real world\u2019 prices, reproducing stereo musicality and home theater multichannel sound with exquisite delicacy and fidelity.\\\"\u2014Video Review You've Heard the Experts Now it\u2019s your turn. Hear the three dimensionality and massive deep bass horsepower of M&K Satellites and Powered Subwoofers. MILLER & KREISEL SOUNDIEONLO VION y| < 10391 Jefferson Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232 - (310) 204-2854 Fax: (310) 202-8782 http: \/\/www.mksound.com\/mksound (o}]=(e]M=(OMA @)\\\\ a =.0))15Bs)15h) =@7.\\\\510)","ee \u201c ORIGINAL MASTER RECORDING: MASTER RECO CIiLeVADtISC i] \u2014WA\u2014 The GAIN System \u2014\u2014 UDCD 633 UDCD 635 MASTER RECORDING \\\\ Twist = THE, SY OLIVER ORCHESTRA IN CItul SG \u00bb ial Ly Ul S 4 GERRY MULLIGAN meets\u2018;BEN WEBSTER OAIGINAL MASTER RECORDING E,aSE Upeb 639 UDCD 640 |sioya(ayabclolehalebbale M\\\\mRUt-jromm Ujerencerel-Mmiomesinco olt-om |ims Your favorite artists sound sur Boney better on Ultradisc II\u2122. Why? Because Mobile Fidelity\u2019s mastering technology is a cut above\u2014and you can ear e difference. As the creators of the 24k gold audiophile CD, we have develope major advances such as The GAIN Systern\u2122 a proprietary mastering system that uses the highest grade of digital technology available. Starting with the original master tapes, we are able to capture every last nuance of the original recording. What does this mean? You'll hear music like you\u2019ve never heard it before! Ultradisc II\\\"\u2014The ORIGINAL 24K Gold Audiophile Compact Disc. NUE [OUiIitiwas(6)0)0) feWe roy oy dO) rN ordima @OO) NINLOJE, we iaelity 105 Morris Street \u00ab Sebastopol, CA 95472 \u00a9 800-423-5759 Icahn Contact us for in-depth technical information: email: [email protected] Slelepele Py i WWW URL address: http:\/\/gnn.com\/gnn\/bus\/mfsl In Canada phone 800-267-1216 1 MSL We.","| SOFTVWVIRE The latest and greatest on tape and disc INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE Just say no: Disclosure\u2019s Moore and Douglas in a pressing situation Y SHREWDLY ASSEMBLING A QUAR- tet of the most dashing leading stat (Cruise). An exceptional surround Douglas and his co-workers talk up the soundtrack skillfully merges the swamp men in contemporary film (Tom and riverbank noises of the night with tech in a media warren of glass offices, Cruise, Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas, the music of composer Elliot Golden- and Christian Slater), director Neil Jor- thal. All of these cinematic elements exposed brick walls, and colorful com- dan (The Crying Game) has again are expertly melded into a fascinating, pulled off a rare feat: He\u2019s made a film nightmarish atmosphere, so that when filled with homoerotic subtext appeal to Lestat lunges at one of his many vic- mainstream U.S. audiences. Anything tims, you\u2019ll jump right along with him. is possible, apparently, in \/nterview With the Vampire (Warner; VHS, priced \u2014Josef Krebs for rental, CLV\/CAV discs, $40), Jor- dan\u2019s take on the first installment in DISCLOSURE Anne Rice\u2019s series of gothic Vampire ISCLOSURE PRESENTS MICHAEL DOU- novels. The film\u2019s night-heavy cine- matography is born again in a fine Dos. Hollywood\u2019s favorite victim in the battle of the sexes, as a mid-level transfer (1.85:1 with the LD); the eerie computer executive caught in a vicious beauty of the misty lilac-and-green web of office politics when he spurns swamps of New Orleans reflect the ro- the advances of his new boss (and old mance with death that the newly un- flame), professional spiderwoman dead Louis (Pitt) pursues, while the Demi Moore. So why should we even crisp, hard edges of San Francisco\u2019s give arat\u2019s gigabyte about these execu- Golden Gate Bridge mirror the urbane, tive-suite shenanigans? Because age-of-reason wit of coven leader Le- screenwriter Michael Crichton (Juras- sic Park, TV\u2019s ER) and director Barry puter screens; all of it is sharply com- Levinson (Bugsy) know just how to tweak our sense of injustice. posed in the proper 2.35:1 ratio on the Adding to the fun of Disclosure (Warner; VHS, priced for rental, LD. Even in subdued lighting, Levin- CLV\/CAV discs, $40) is the hip computer-company milieu, as son has a veritable field day with reflec- The bite stuff: Cruise in Vampire tion shots, slyly suggesting the nefari- ous undercurrents that lurk underneath some of the characters\u2019 outward ap- pearances. A visually impressive cy- berspace sequence, in which Douglas dons virtual-reality gear to peek at cru- cial company records in a computer- generated gothic library (in CAV during Chapters 2 and 3 on side 3 of the LD; for some reason, each side starts with its own Chapter 1), just adds to the eye- candy factor. Though the story\u2019s twists and turns aren\u2019t always clear (and what exactly does the film\u2019s title refer to, anyway?), the thrill of high stakes and high-tech risks keep you riveted to the screen. \u2014Andy Wickstrom MARY SHELLEY\u2019S FRANKENSTEIN OU CAN USUALLY TELL THE ATTI- tude a given studio has toward the film it\u2019s currently pushing by observing the difference between the movie\u2019s the- atrical publicity plan and the angle pre- VIDEO SEPTEMBER 1995 75","SOFT V\\\\|RESOFTVWVIRESOFTVVIRESOFTVVIRESOFTV\\\\'i scribed for its video release. Take The doctor is out: Frankenstein\u2019s Branagh aims to squeeze Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: The ef- fectively subtle ad campaign for the year friendship between two convicted BIG movie\u2019s ill-fated theatrical run has EFORE TOM HANKS WAS B-\/-G, HE been replaced with a rather garish one murderers examines the real-life was in Big (1988), the Penny Mar- as far as the packaging goes, suggest- ing more of a B-grade horror flick than ghouls and monsters that unfortunately shall-directed comedy of childhood in- a carefully produced effort from the nocence that, in a way, foreshadows mind of its director and star, the usual- belong to that faulty equation known as Hanks\u2019 Forrest Gump performance. ly well regarded Kenneth Branagh Now FoxVideo has issued the first the human condition. Beautifully widescreen edition of the film in its (Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing), correct theatrical ratio of 1.85:1, but, featuring Robert DeNiro as the mon- played by Tim Robbins (who\u2019s serving unfortunately, Big (CLV disc, $50) ster Branagh\u2019s Dr. Frankenstein brings doesn\u2019t expand all that much with its to life with disastrous results. Bra- time for\u2014surprise\u2014a murder he didn\u2019t restored dimensions; only Chapter 11\u2019s nagh\u2019s ambition in tackling this classic famed piano-key-dancing sequence tale is admirable, but he stumbles a bit commit) and an Oscar-nominated Mor- with Hanks and Robert Loggia at New by going for a big-budget slam-bang York City\u2019s grand FAO Schwarz toy- ending. gan Freeman, writer\/director Frank store takes full advantage of the origi- nal full frame. Image quality is very One thing I found necessary to do Darabont\u2019s The Shawshank Redemption good, though, and colors are bright; while viewing the 1.85:1 Frankenstein there are also several notable surround- (Columbia TriStar; VHS, priced for sound effects, particularly the brief but LD (Columbia TriStar; VHS, priced thunderous roller-coaster ride in Chap- rental, CLV disc, $40) is a very success- ter 18. Details like these might just be for rental, CLV\/CAV discs, $40) was to Big enough to justify a purchase. set my monitor\u2019s brightness level way ful translation. The dark, atmospheric down; the tipoff came instantly during \u2014AW the darkly composed opening titles and camerawork of Roger Deakins (mar- the Arctic seastorm of Chapters 2 and 3. I also experienced some occasional velously realized on the LD via a fine audio-level drops\u2014several in the first 14 minutes of the film alone, in fact. Sony transfer and pressing in the es- One bright spot is the LD\u2019s extensive chapter-stop listing (67 in all!), but if sential 1.85:1 aspect ratio), the somber Columbia really wanted to give this ain\u2019t-so-bad film the type of attention it but inspiring music of Thomas New- deserves, a THX remastering job and restoration of deleted footage would go man, and a fine supporting cast that in- a long way in shoring up its rebirth. cludes William Sadler, Clancy Brown, \u2014Bruce Lawton and James Whitmore all make you re- THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION ASED ON RITA HAYWORTH AND THE alize that the only bars you ever want Shawshank Redemption, one of to see are the ones that define \u201cletter- Stephen King\u2019s occasional non-horror tales, this fascinating study of a 20- box.\u201d \u2014Mel Neuhaus ; Pas | 500 NATIONS 00 NATIONS, A MONUMENTAL 8-HOUR made-for-TV tribute to Native Americans produced and hosted by Kevin Costner, makes a victorious ride into home videoland. A valiant effort at rewriting the bogus history many of us grew up with, 500 Nations (Warner; VHS cassettes, $140; CLV discs, $140), which aired last spring, meticulously relates how Western civilization con- sistently and successfully raped, pil- laged, plundered, and nearly extermi- Key steps: Loggia, Hanks in Big","FTVVIRESOFTWIKESOFTVVIRESOFTSVOFVTIRVVEIRE nated a proud people over the course of utilizes live action that\u2019s seamlessly of the Mohicans), and Amy Madigan nearly 1,000 years. Nations liberally spliced together with computer-gener- borrows the \u201cdiarist\u201d technique of ace ated recreations of Indian dwellings, (Field of Dreams). And the superb au- documentarian Ken Burns (The Civil villages, and cities, as well as artifacts, dio track features a well researched War, Baseball) as it runs from the paintings, woodcuts, charcoal sketches, Aztecs of Mexico to the Eskimos of the oils, and glass-plate photography. score by Peter Buffett, original Indian Arctic, skewering historical icons like Voiceovers and readings are courtesy Christopher Columbus and George of such prominent voices as Patrick chants, and a realistic Skywalker Stu- Washington in the process. A grim yet Stewart (Star Trek: Generations), Wes dios surround mix comprised of roar- fascinating visual document, Nations Studi (Geronimo), Eric Schweig (Last ing rivers, bustling forests, thundering hooves, and the inevitable sounds of war. You may never look at history the same way again. \u2014MN THE ART OF BUSTER KEATON NOW IN STORES MRS. PARKER AND BOXED SET 3 THE VICIOUS CIRCLE 1921-27. B&W. The last installment in this DUMB AND DUMBER 1994. Jennifer Jason Leigh, Matthew Brod- wonderful series of restored masterpiece 1994. Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, Lauren Holly; features and equally brilliant shorts: The dir. Peter Farrelly. $125 million can\u2019t be erick, Campbell Scott; dir. Alan Rudolph. General\/The Playhouse\/Cops (120 min.), wrong\u2014or can it? Aptly titled. Dolby Sur- The rather sad and very human depiction of College\/The Blacksmith\/The Electric House\/ round. (PG-13) 110 min. VHS, priced for the life and lines of author Dorothy Parker Hard Luck (130 min), Steamboat Bill Jr.\/ rental; LD (pan and scan), $40. New Line\/ and the Algonquinites: witty-one liners, ra- Convict 13\/Daydreams (115 min.). Stereo. Image. zor-slashed wrist, self-mocking poems filled (NR). $30 per cassette; 3-cassette VHS set, with despair, and brilliant minds with few $80; LD set (full frame), $100. Kino. HOOP DREAMS ideas but a talent to amuse. Digital Sur- 1994. Arthur Agee, William Gates; dir. Steve round. (R) 124 min. VHS, priced for rental; THE BLUE KITE James. Documents the 5-year struggle of LD lett (2.35:1), $50. New Line\/Image. 1993. Lu Liping, Li Xiuejian, Pu Quanxin; dir. two inner-city teens prepping for big-time Tian Zhuangzhuang. One family\u2019s personal basketball careers. This portrait of the Amer- NOBODY\u2019S FOOL experience of painful political upheaval in ican dream, \u201990s-style, has won widespread 1994. Paul Newman, Jessica Tandy, Mel- China during the '50s and \u201860s. Banned from critical acclaim. Ultra Stereo. (PG-13) 169 anie Griffith; dir. Robert Benton. A loveless, being shown in its native country. Stereo, min. VHS, priced for rental; LD (full frame), broke, and aging construction worker has a subtitled. (NR) 138 min. VHS letterboxed $50. New Line\/Image. chance to beat the odds and make some- (1.85:1), $80. Kino. IMMORTAL BELOVED thing of his and his estranged son\u2019s lives; BOYS ON THE SIDE 1994. Gary Oldman, Isabella Rossellini; dir. succeeds due to its taut screenplay and a 1995. Whoopi Goldberg, Mary-Louise Park- Bernard Rose. Citizen Beethoven: After Lud- strong performance by Newman. Digital Sur- er, Drew Barrymore; dir. Herbert Ross. wig's death, his assistant goes in search of round. (R) 110 min. VHS, priced for rental; Three very different women share a trip\u2014 the master\u2019s secret, life-long love; inevitable LD letterboxed (2.35:1), $40. Paramount. each looking to leave something behind and flashbacks follow. Corny and controversial, each in search of something better. Good this traditional biopic also contains one of OUTBREAK times, good music, good buds, and plenty of the most perfect moments in cinema history. 1995. Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan road. Dolby Surround. (R) 117 min. VHS, Dolby Surround. (R) 121 min. VHS, priced Freeman, Donald Sutherland; dir. Wolfgang priced for rental; LD letterboxed (2.35:1), for rental; LD letterboxed (2.35:1), $40. Co- Peterson. Killer virus carried by rainforest $35. Warner. lumbia TriStar. monkey infects California town and threat- ens the world. If anyone can get tense dra- THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE LEGENDS OF THE FALL ma from a micro-organism, it\u2019s the director 1995. Shelley Long, Gary Cole, Michael 1995. Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Julia Or- of Das Boot and In the Line of Fire. Dolby McKean; dir. Betty Thomas. Marsha, Mar- mond, Aidan Quinn; dir. Edward Zwick. Ro- Surround. (R) 128 min. VHS, priced for sha, Marsha! Apparently living in an L.A. mance-novel love story that has a last-reel rental; CX LD, Dolby AC-3 digital surround, time warp, the totally \u201870s Bradys find them- body count worthy of The Godfather. But letterboxed (1.85:1), $40. Warner\/Pioneer. selves colliding with the '90s in the form of this film is really about big-star Brad, who 20 years back taxes. Stereo. (PG-13) 88 rides wild stallions, takes off his shirt, and PULP FICTION min. VHS, priced for rental; LD (1.85:1), $35. glares silently much of the time. Truly histori- 1994. John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Paramount. cal. Dolby Surround. (R) 134 min. VHS, priced for rental; LD letterboxed (1.85:1), Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis; dir. Quentin DEATH AND THE MAIDEN $35. Columbia TriStar. Tarentino. The Killers remade by a wiseass: 1995, Sigourney Weaver, Ben Kingsley, Stu- Two professional hitmen and the circle they art Wilson; dir. Roman Polanski. What hap- bust through. Winner of Palme D\u2019Or at pens when a woman believes that an ac- quaintance of her husband is the same man Cannes, nominated for seven Academy who once tortured her? Quintessential Awards, etc., etc\u2014damn fun, with as much Polanski; madness always comes knocking energy and joy of filmmaking as an early where you live. Dolby Surround. (R) 102 French New Waver. Digital Surround. (R) min. VHS, priced for rental; LD letter- 154 min. VHS, priced for rental; LD letter- boxed (1.66:1), $40. New Line\/ Image. boxed (2.35:1), $40. Miramax. TANK GIRL 1995. Lori Petty, Ice-T, Malcolm McDowell; dir. Rachel Talalay. Hollywood steamrolls this beloved comic-strip heroine. DTS Brain drain: Dumber\u2019s Stereo Surround. (R) 106 min. VHS, priced for rental; LD letterboxed (2.35:1), Daniels, Carrey suit up $35. MGM\/UA-Pioneer. \u2014JK for the lame ' VIDEO SEPTEMBER 1995 77","SOFT VV IRESOFT VVIRE SOFT VVIRESOFT VVIRESOFTVVIRESC LABELS FOR LESS instantly joined the ranks of rock\u2019s so-called Blank Generation if ever there mostly tragic immortals. Thankfully, WHEN THINGS GET THIS HOT, MADNESS AND director Alex Cox avoided romanticiz- was one. \u2014Mike Mettler death are seemingly inevitable, and that\u2019s ing the story of punk\u2019s terrible twosome just what the coroner has on the table this in his chilling 1986 film, which fea- THE PROFESSIONAL month. Agatha Christie provides an inde- tures Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb in Y FAVORITE CHARACTER IN LA cent amount of death by misadventure the title roles. Masterfully handled by Femme Nikita (1990), writer\/di- with Warner\u2019s Thirteen at Dinner, Ten Little The Criterion Collection, Sid and Nan- Indians, Murder With Mirrors ($20 each), cy (CLV\/CAV discs, $100) is a warts- rector Luc Besson\u2019s trend-setting inter- and Appointment With Death ($15). More and-all look at the life (and death) of national action hit, was The Cleaner, mayhem comes courtesy Columbia TriStar this seedy, modern-day Romeo and the cold-blooded assassin ably por- with Manhattan Murder Mystery ($20) and Juliet. Criterion\u2019s 1.66:1 transfer, taken trayed by the magnetic Jean Reno. So Deadly Currents ($15), while Paramount from a 35MM interpositive, is a marked imagine my delight when I discovered coaxes revenge from beyond the grave improvement over Embassy\u2019s cropped that Besson\u2019s first English language with Ghost ($15) and Warner lets the bod- 1987 effort. The LD\u2019s stereo-surround ies pile up with The First Deadly Sin, Body soundtrack pummels mightily during feature, Leon, would revolve entirely Heat, Mike\u2019s Murder, and Executive Action live performances, but it also uncovers detail, such as the snappy pop-gun around the exploits of The Cleaner, now a crackles in Chapters 19 and 21, and transplanted to New York City. The fi- Sid\u2019s, er, bright performance of \u201cMy nal result, retitled The Professional for Clay ball: Ghost\u2019s Moore, Swayze Way\u201d that opens Side 2 in Chapter 37 is its release in the States (Columbia Tri- simply killer. Extras, a Criterion spe- Star; VHS, priced for rental, CLV disc ($15 each). On to the crazies: They're all cialty, rule the day, with insightful au- lunatics in MCA\/Universal\u2019s Phantom of dio tracks from Oldman and Webb, $35), is a smooth, vastly entertaining, the Opera, Nightmare, and Paranoiac ($15 among others (but not Cox, who de- and incredibly cool tour de force. Won- each); ditto MGM\/UA\u2019s Blown Away ($20) clined to participate in this restoration), derfully supported by newcomer Natal- and Warner's Nuts, Final Analysis, Dead footage from a naughty and infamous ie Portman as a young survivor of a Ringer, and Klute ($15 each)\u2014though, Sex Pistols\u2019 British TV interview, and corrupt DEA drug hit, this grungy New over at Columbia TriStar, madness can be the real Sid and Nancy trying to stay Wave cousin to the French Jean-Pierre found in the Eyes of the Beholder ($15). awake and coherent during an inter- Melville\u2014Alain Delon collaboration, Le Warner proudly champions Alfred Hitch- view session for the punk documentary Samourai (1967), also owes a debt to cock\u2019s perfectly proportioned mix of mad- D.O.A.: A Right of Passage. And then ness and death with Dial M for Murder, | there\u2019s England\u2019s Glory, a documentary John Cassavetes\u2019 Gloria (1980) at its Confess, Strangers on a Train, The Wrong shot during the making of Sid in which most conventional and Charlie Chap- Man, and Stage Fright ($20 each). Finally, director Martin Turner, who couldn\u2019t lin\u2019s The Kid (1921) at its most bizarre. please remember that, even though it get the proper clearance to use Sex Pis- Thierry Arbogast\u2019s glorious 2.35:1 seems like doom and destruction abound tols songs in his documentary, substi- Technovision compositions have been at every turn, at MCA\/Universal, Where tutes German calliope music instead\u2014a retained on the LD (even though the There's Life There\u2019s Hope ($15). \u2014JK fitting, absurd exclamation point for the jacket incorrectly labels the aspect ratio The big sleep: Oldman and Webb as 1.85:1), and the film brims with vi- cuddle in Sid and Nancy brant color and panache due to the fine Sony transfer and pressing and Tri- Star\u2019s new mastering process. The pow- erhouse surround soundtrack, which in- cludes Eric Serra\u2019s supple symphonic SID AND NANCY OPE I DIE BEFORE I GET OLD.\u201d PETE Townshend penned it, Sid Vicious fulfilled it. By OD\u2019ing in February 1979, just a few months after allegedly stab- bing his girlfriend Nancy Spungen to death, Sid Vicious\u2014onetime bassist for punk-rock pioneers the Sex Pistols\u2014 78 SEPTEMBER 1995 VIDEO","IRESOFT VVIRESOFT V\\\\VIRESOFT VVIRESOFT VVIRESOFTVVIKE score and Sting\u2019s \u201cShape of My ROUGH NIGHT IN JERICHO TT FORGOTTEN 1967 SAGEBRUSH Heart,\u201d is also a winner. All in all, it\u2019s a saga, yanked from Universal\u2019s very Professional job. \u2014MN seemingly endless library of immacu- lately preserved titles, is noteworthy O JIMMY PAGE AND for several reasons, but primarily be- cause of Dean Martin, who plays well ROBERT PLANT against type as a megalomaniacal sadist No Quarter Unledded who runs the small town of Jericho. An extreme handling of a familiar Western O ENCOMIUM theme, Rough Night in Jericho (MCA\/ A Tribute to Led Zeppelin Universal; CLV disc, $35) is a first-rate example of how violence inundated HEN GUITARIST JIMMY PAGE AND late-\u201960s cinema, as it contains a gener- ous number of graphic hangings, whip- W vince: Robert Plant, the princi- pings, shootings, stabbings, and muti- lations. On a technical level, the disc, pal foils in the highly influential rock pressed by Pioneer\/LDC, is a joy to be- hold, presented in its full 2.35:1 Tech- band Led Zeppelin, decided to rejoin niscope splendor with pristine Techni- color images from the masterful forces last year, they did so on their paintbox of Lucien Ballard, the film\u2019s director of photography. And the the- own terms, writing new songs and radi- ater-quality mono sound accentuates each scream and gunshot, as well as cally rearranging familiar classics. It Don Costa\u2019s lively score. The key bonus, though, is the theatrical trailer was wisely done, as No Quarter Unled- hosted by the amiable Dino we all know and love, who jokingly explains ded (WarnerVision; VHS, $30, CLV away his Jericho role as punishment for not being nice to screenwriters. disc, $40) is a triumphant return to \u2014MN form. Half of the program was shot in a PERSONA London studio in front of a live audi- HEN IT COMES TO INGMAR BERG- man films, there\u2019s only one thing ence; the rest was divided between jam worse than constantly being made sessions backdropped by the lush aware of the inevitability of death\u2014 and that\u2019s the constant awareness of be- greenery and exotic rock formations of ing. Things are no different in the revered director\u2019s amazing Persona northern Wales and a pilgrimage to a (1966). When famous actress Elisabeth small village in Morocco. On new ma- (Liv Ullmann) realizes that her own life is just another role she\u2019s been play- terial like the rhythmic \u201cCity Don\u2019t ing, she trades it all in for the \u201cbrilliant Jason Bailey role of her apathy\u201d and becomes silent c\/o Bancroft Cry\u201d and \u201cWah Wah,\u201d Page and Plant and immobile. Through Elisabeth, Bergman makes a study of how each of Commissioner\u2019s Pike stretch out on blankets with a group of us create our own fiction to fill our Mullica Hill, NJ 08062 lives with enough prattle and triviali- local Moroccan musicians and play off ties to avoid facing the horror of not re- Jaws of Satan, starring Fritz Weaver ally knowing why we\u2019re here in the (looking for officially distributed copy) of each other with obvious relish. The first place. MGM\/UA\u2019s clear, full- screen LD transfer of Persona (CAV Martie Sample live-in-studio work is largely engross- disc, $35) does a good job of reproduc- 3501 Loop Rd. E., #A-10 ing the gamut of styles, from documen- ing, too, as the pair gets augmented by tary to avant-garde, that Bergman uses Tuscaloosa, AL 35404 to consistently distance the audience a full band, the London Municipal Or- from the fiction at hand. The monaural Prince of Foxes and The Black Rose, starring Tyrone Power chestra, and\/or the Egyptian Ensemble. Frederick R. Smith 10451 Hickory Ridge Rd. Among the many transcendent mo- Columbia, MD 21044 ments are Najma Akhtar\u2019s hypnotic vo- Breaking the Rules, starring Sam Kinison (HBO) cal counterpoint to Plant on \u201cThe Battle Sharon Summers 1527 W. Chase, #1C of Evermore\u201d and Wael Abu Bakr\u2019s Chicago, IL 60626 joyous violin solo on the show-stop- soundtrack is clear enough to accentu- ate every cry and whisper, and the ping \u201cKashmir.\u201d scope of the B&W visual vocabulary employed by cinematographer Sven Zeppelin aficionados should also Nykvist\u2014which moves from murky, shadow-filled, and sometimes unfo- check into Encomium: A Tribute to Led cused interiors to harshly sharp, high- contrast, deep-focus exteriors, and the Zeppelin (WarnerVision; VHS, $20, (by now) much imitated face-on-face compositional device\u2014expertly com- CLV disc, $30), a 43-minute (not quite municates the emotions of the charac- ters. Above all, the wisely chosen CAV the \u201capprox. 50 minutes\u201d that the pack- presentation is an outstanding forum aging states) paean to all things Zep. A VIDEO SEPTEMBER 1995 79 tie-in to a recent tribute album, En- \\\\ comium is basically a documentary- styled Zeppelinfomercial, as perform- ers ranging from Sheryl Crow to Duran Duran genuflect at the grand temple Zeppelin and recall how they keyed into the group\u2019s vibe as prepubescents. \u201cT think they\u2019re the best band there ever was,\u201d growls the grating David Yow, who guests on vocals with Helmet. \u201cIt\u2019s not music for p------ , is it?\u201d You are correct, sir. \u2014MM","SOFT V\\\\IRESOFTV\\\\VIRESOFTVWVIRE for studying this masterpiece. Persona disc, $50) does tend to drag a bit when If youre in the market for building or is very much grata. \u2014JK Mifune\u2019s off the screen, but his ab- upgrading a high performance ctudio or home theatre system, where you shop sences are thankfully brief. At times, may well be the most important decision to make, The big mass merchants usual- THE ADVENTURES the plotting and counter-plotting of Mi- ly have the biggest selection and low OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN prices for video. However, if the goal of ly IMPOSSIBLE!\u201d SHOUTS DIRECTOR\/ fune and his enemies sometimes gets a your audio purchase is maximum sound quality, consider the independent spe- co-writer Terry Gilliam during the little reminiscent of the 60s Batman cialty dealers in your area. These are the tattered bonus featurette that precedes dealers who, frankly, excel in three this otherwise gorgeous remastering of TV series, and I must admit to being important product categories: his 1989 exercise in phantasmagoria. What Gilliam\u2019s referring to is how to somewhat immune to Japanese humor Better Loudspeakers. Your system will do justice to the wild tales of the film\u2019s sound no better than your loud- title character, which have captivated (there\u2019s just too much damn yelling!), speakers. The specialty dealers people\u2019s imaginations for over 400 sell the best speakers, generally. They years. While initially not a great suc- but the spectacle of Sanjuro is certainly can demonstrate differences that you cess, this The Adventures of Baron can easily hear. spectacular, with a 2.35:1 transfer that Munchausen (Columbia TriStar; CLV\/ Better Electronics. Specialty CAV discs, $40) shows how the movie fills the screen with great horizontal dealers understand the benefits of continues to improve with age. Re- better quality amplifiers and digital counting the attempts of the indefatiga- and in-depth composition, all in sharp sources. Again, you can hear the ble Baron (a bravura performance by difference! John Neville) to save a village from in- shades of gray. \u2014JK vading Turks, this comic epic takes its Cable. High performance cable may THE SINBAD COLLECTION well be the most cost effective cast of characters to the moon (to meet improvement you can make to a qual- up with Robin Williams in an extended, OME PEOPLE SAY CASABLANCA OR CITI- ity audio system. unbilled cameo), to the kingdoms of s:. Kane. I say that Jason and the The higher level of service, expertise, and personal attention is an added gods Vulcan and Venus (Oliver Reed Argonauts is the greatest film ever bonus. The end result is better sound. and Uma Thurman, respectively), and into the belly of a monster fish that made,\u201d declares Tom Hanks in the nifty Chris Browder makes Jaws look like Charlie the Tuna. President of the Academy for the Look for Jonathan Pryce, Eric Idle, and supplementary side of The Sinbad Col- Advancement of High End Audio Sting, among others, in this incredible display of opulent F\/x, set design, and lection (Columbia TriStar, CLV\/CAV HAIENDACHTHE ACADEMY art direction\u2014all of it exquisitely FOR THE lensed by Giuseppe Rotunno and ren- discs, $100), the LD box set that hous- ADVANCEMENT dered pure by a flawless Sony transfer and pressing in its 1.85:1 theatrical di- es F\/X wizard Ray Harryhausen\u2019s mar- This column is presented by The Academy for the Ad- mensions. The grand stereo surround vancement of High End Audio, an organization dedi- soundtrack features a sweeping velous Sinbad series. (Harryhausen\u2019s cated to the recognition of excellence and the promo- Michael Kamen score, multiple explo- tion of greater awareness of high end audio. sions, and enough campy audio effects effects work on 1963\u2019s Argonauts is to satisfy even the staunchest of old- time Warner Bros. cartoon aficionados. generally acknowledged as being revo- \u2014MN lutionary.) And while the Sony-pressed four-disc Sinbad presentation gets an A+ for effort, their execution leaves some room for improvement. Inferior to the now out-of-print Pioneer Special Editions versions, this Sinbad trilogy\u2014 The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958), The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974), and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977)\u2014is slightly faded and grainy. That\u2019s especially frustrating in 7th Voy- age, which benefitted greatly from Wilkie Cooper\u2019s eye-popping Techni- color imagery. Sinbad does excel on the audio front, however, particularly in terms of the restored Bernard Her- rmann stereo-surround score for 7th and Miklos Rozsa\u2019s superb harmonies SANJURO for Golden. Though none of the three ANJURO (1962), A MASTERFUL SAMU- films represent the zenith of Harry- S:. tale from Japanese director Aki- ra Kurosawa, concentrates heavily on hausen\u2019s feature work, all of them con- character development with short, in- tense bursts of action in between\u2014a re- tain some of his best stop-motion mag- freshing twist for those numbed by to- day\u2019s feet-first, ask-questions-later ac- ic, an obvious influence on directors tion films. Toshiro Mifune, reprising the character he created in Yojimbo like Steven Spielberg and George Lu- (1961), is once again utterly convincing as the seedy samurai who\u2019d rather use cas. The box also contains Harry- his brain than his tired old body. San- juro (The Criterion Collection; CLV hausen-penned liner notes, theatrical trailers, a 1958 preview promo high- lighting 7th Voyage\u2019s perfected Dyna- mation process, and recent interviews with Harryhausen, producer Charles H. Schneer, and the original Sinbad him- self, Kerwin Matthews. \u2014MN 80 SEPTEMBER 1995 VIDEO","\u201cJoe Kane Says Your TV Picture Is All Wrong. - And He\u2019s Right.\u201d \u2014 Video Magazine, October 1994 Buy your Home Theater from an ISF dealer & your TV will be set up for great pictures and High Fidelity Video* Dp blame the manufacturers. They have no *High Fidelity Video is the mix of the art of the cine- choice. The lighting in mass market stores matographer and the science of reproducing it ona that retail most of the 25 million TV sets sold properly calibrated television. Your TV must not make movies brighter, bluer, or in any way different from the yearly is very different from the lighting in your home. Televisions are set up to look good in artist\u2019s vision. ISF trains dealers to the harsh light of a store. ISF deal- calibrate your television on delivery ers adjust your set to look its best to accurately reproduce the incom- in the lighting in your home. Sorry, ing signal. Proper setting of color, you just can\u2019t get a great picture in tint, contrast, brightness, sharpness broad daylight. Home Theater done and color temperature can be yours right requires a little light control. ifyou choose one of these dealers. Absolute Sound, Inc. Cinematronics HomeTech Savant Audio Winter Park, FL Rochester, NY Santa Rosa, CA Princeton Junction, NJ (407) 629-0230 (716) 475-0090 (707) 542-1510 (609) 799-9664 Ambrosia Audio & Video Dallas Sight & Sound, Inc. HomeTronics Sound & Vision Bel Air, CA Dallas, TX Dallas, TX Home Entertainment (310) 440-5522 (214) 392-3202 (214) 490-1090 Orland Park, IL (708) 403-2500 Architectural Electronics\u201d Definitive Audio Jim Doolittle Houston, TX Seattle, WA Hanover, MA Sound by Singer, Ltd. (713) 465-6333 (206) 746-3188 (617) 826-1619 New York, NY (212) 924-8600 Audio & Video Dream Systems, Inc. Orchestral Arts, inc. Specialists, Inc. Indianapolis, IN Toronto, Canada Sound Productions Birmingham, AL (317) 872-7307 (416) 469-4478 Carmel, IN (205) 871-6328 (317) 844-1103 Electromedia Design, Inc. Pat Bradley\u2019s Audio Images East Hanover, NJ Video Calibrations Tabcom, Inc. Orange, CA (800) 400-0120 Eagan, MN Rocky River, OH (714) 538-4608 (612) 894-3161 (216) 331-7511 Electronic Home AudioVideo Insight Consultants, Inc. Perfect Vision Tuneup The Listening Room, Inc. Dearborn Heights, MI Miami, FL Rockville, MD Scarsdale, NY (800) 272-4411 (305) 229-5177 (301) 340-6120 (914) 472-4558 Babbage & Sons Evolution Audio & Video Performance Imaging The Sound Premium Entertainment Agoura Hills, CA White Plains, NY Environment, Inc. Systems (818) 879-1312 (914) 997-1831 Omaha, NE Allen Park, MI (402) 391-3842 (313) 386-3909 Future Home Picture Perfect Beverly Hills, CA Atlanta, GA Total Media BBC Sales & Service (310) 274-9393 (404) 252-8308 Systems Chesterton, IN Farmingdale, NY (219) 926-6435 Gramophone Ltd. Precision Audio\/Video (516) 777-7058 Lutherville, MD Moorpark, CA Better Sound, Inc. (410) 821-5600 (805) 523-3005 TRM TeleFilm Boca Raton, FL West Hollywood, CA (407) 338-8898 Home Theatre Projection Systems, Inc. (213) 655-8860 Design Group Foster City, CA Brock Audio, Inc. Van Nuys, CA (415) 461-3553 Tru-Line Video Beaumont, TX (818) 609-6426 Technologies (409) 832-0276 Van Nuys, CA Joe Kane (818) 994-0696 Busch Home Theater Santa Rosa, CA welcomes the first two licensed ISF manufacturers: Vern\u2019s Electronics (707) 573-9170 Boca Raton, FL Da-Lite Screen Company, Inc. and (407) 997-9444 Cinema Audio Visual Rochester, NY Stewart Filmscreen Corporation\u00ae Woodbridge (716) 292-5555 Stereo\/Video \/maging$Science Woodbridge, NJ (908) 636-7777 Fin On SU NGO Biwi AG ii cdi tcDiey spent wy Bhar NM ISF Phone 407\/997-9073 \u00a2 The Imaging Science Foundation is produced by Joel Silver CIRCLE NO. 69 ON READER SERVICE CARD","~Vea is the king of subwoofers. In fact, we're hear clearer sound \u2014 you'll feel it \u2014 all the way down to 18Hz. \u2019 the only one that can honestly claim distortion of You'll get more convenience, too, thanks to the s, |less than one percent. handy remote provided with the F-1500R. It puts all the \u201ci Every Velodyne product is. testament to the genius power of a Velodyne right at your fingertips. of president and founder David Hall, who virtually re- Make the Velodyne F-1500R Powered Subwoofer : invented the modern loudspeaker. His patented servo- part of your home entertainment system, and feel the controlled woofers and innovative designs mean you'll bass. It\u2019ll make you proud, you've chosen the very best. Beyond Servo: Velodyne\u2019\u2018s patented anti-distortion circuit samples the woofer\u2019s response 3,500 times each second, ensuring that only the audio signal is reproduced. With Velodyne the music comes through, error-free. \u00ae Velodyne CIRCLE NO. 45 ON READER SERVICE CARD The Bottom Line In Bass\u2122 Velodyne Acoustics, Ine. 1070 Commercial St., Suite 101 * San Jose, CA 95112 * (408) 436-7270. or (800) 835-6396 \u00a9 1995 Velodyne Acoustics, Inc. All rights reserved. Velodyne is a registered trademark. m vax s aaw. WaSNE i Se \\\\, ie\u201d mS aeif . Sl \u2018ea Ce WA 18 SOS eSiae iyYu MT ; \u2018\\\"","MULTINAEDIAVIDEO\u2019S GUIDE TO S> My Computer TECHNOLOGY SMOOTH OPERATOR ~_ Dalyat9.00PM(After20 minutes ofidle time) Everybody's Doing Microsoft's Windows 95 _ Daly at6:00PM(Alter 10 minutes of idletime) NLESS YOU\u2019VE BEEN BURIED IN A Dally at9.00 PM(After 30minutes ofidleime) think tank somewhere working up Every Sunday at10:00 PM 8 a plan to overhaul the welfare system, you\u2019ve probably heard of Microsoft\u2019s self-esteem. Instead, you get a desktop very visual operating system\u2014if you new Windows 95 operating system for that looks suspiciously like a Mac\u2019s, can see an item, you can act on it. Dou- IBM-compatible PCs. As the heir ap- with nested folders and lots of icons ble-click on a folder icon on the desk- parent to the Windows 3.1 and MS-DOS representing documents and files. The top and you'll see the contents of that software that have ruled the desktop for heir to the dread C:\\\\ prompt is the folder in a window. Or right-click on the last 5 years, Windows 95 has be- START button, which appears on the come the most anxiously awaited, thor- bottom-left corner of your screen in- em] ie| i1) oughly scrutinized, and heavily market- side an area called the TASKBAR. ed piece of software in the history of personal computing. And small won- The idea, according to Microsoft, is der: It may finally make the PC a viable that the START button gives novices an platform for multimedia, entertain- intuitive place to begin, while veterans ment, and all-purpose home comput- can work from here to set up the desk- ing. In other words, Windows 95 may top to meet their needs. And it works. make the PC as flexible and convenient Windows 3.1 is fraught with confusing as an Apple Macintosh. icons, but Windows 95\u2019s START button I know because I\u2019ve been working makes things easy: Click on it and up with pre-release versions of Windows comes a list of program groups and ap- 95 for several months now, and I must plications, which can be selected to say that I\u2019m impressed. No, it isn\u2019t per- open documents and software. The TASKBAR, meanwhile, shows the names fect; nothing is. But the improvements of the applications and items you've offered by this operating system\u2014 opened, so you can easily return to one which manages all of the basic func- without launching several instances of, tions of the PC\u2014are so pervasive that- say, a word processor. Windows 95 simply can\u2019t be ignored. One thing\u2019s certain: If you buy a new The upshot is that Windows 95 is a PC in the next couple of months, you'll probably end up using Windows 95 ($249; $149 as an upgrade to Windows 3.1). Virtually every major PC vendor will put it on their systems (after it\u2019s re- leased, that is, reportedly on August 24th). For most PC users, in fact, the question isn\u2019t whether to use Windows 95, but how soon to upgrade. The operating system itself should do nothing to discourage your interest. If you've worked with a previous version of Windows, you'll immediately notice that Windows 95\u2019s interface has a new look and feel. There\u2019s no evidence of DOS\u2014no scrolling text and no in- serutable C:\u2019\\\\ prompt challenging your","the folder and select Windows 95\u2019s Ex- adding DirectDraw, which will enable Compatibility was a key goal of Win- plorer file-manager utility from a pop- the system\u2019s graphics hardware to ex- dows 95, and Microsoft has managed to up menu, and you\u2019ll see the contents of pand video clips, so that smaller video achieve it. Microsoft\u2019s Word for Win- the folder. You can also create \u201cshort- files can be zoomed up to fill your cuts,\u201d icons that serve as pointers to ac- screen with acceptable quality. Direct- dows, Access, and Excel all ran well tual files and folders and let you access, Draw will also enable higher frame (they\u2019d better, I suppose). I also had no for example, frequently used items on rates and make it possible to play back problems with Lotus\u2019 cc:Mail and Or- the desktop. Copying, deleting, and MPEG-1 videoclips on Pentium-based ganizer. Multimedia titles ranging moving files is a simple \u201cdrag-and- from Wines of the World to Dangerous drop\u201d exercise: Click on the file, move It took 3 years Creatures all installed and played with- the on-screen cursor to the file\u2019s \u201cdesti- and millions out a hitch. When I upgraded existing nation,\u201d and release. of dollars in R&D, Windows 3.1 PCs with Windows 95, I but Windows was able to run previously installed If all of this seems confusing, it can finally has a programs right away. DOS programs be. The relationship of shortcuts to the volume control. passed muster, too. Few programs need actual files and folders can get fuzzy, more memory and power than DOS- especially for the uninitiated. Poking PCs without dedicated hardware. based games, and the ones I played\u2014 around in Windows 95 for a file can Underneath all of these features is such as Doom II and SimCity 2000\u2014 turn the desktop into a mess of opened ran well. One reason for the smooth windows\u2014a problem that\u2019s compound- some serious engineering. Windows ride: Windows 95 keeps a database of ed when you\u2019re also using the Mi- 95\u2019s 32-bit architecture lets programs configuration settings for common crosoft Network on-line service, which designed for it operate more efficiently DOS applications. is bundled with the operating system than those designed for 16-bit Windows (though you need to subscribe to the 3.1. The new system also provides The record wasn\u2019t perfect, though. Network to use it). Finally, some of the \u201cpreemptive multitasking,\u201d which lets Installing Traveling Software\u2019s Lap- menu choices that pop up when you your PC intelligently juggle several Link 5.0, which hooks computers to- right-click on an item seem inconsis- programs at once. And Windows 95 gether by cable or phone line, nuked tent\u2014Windows 95\u2019s Quick View file- supports \u201cmultithreading,\u201d so you can two different systems. And when I viewer utility, for example, appears on- do things like format and print a long tried to install an MPEG-1 video card, it ly for a limited number of file formats, document in the background even as took almost 2 hours of hacking to get you open another document. my display back to normal. Power One note on requirements: Microsoft users will need to learn some new claims that Windows 95 runs accept- The advanced features seem to work. tricks when they need to free up mem- ably on a PC using an Intel 386 CPU Crashing Windows 95 was difficult and, ory for a gluttonous app. with 4 MB of random-access memory when a program did lock up, I was al- (RAM), but I don\u2019t buy it. Any system most always able to shut down the of- And then there are the extras: Run- with less than 8 MB of RAM and a chip fending application and continue with ning out of space on your hard disk? slower than a 66-MHz 486DX2 will other tasks. I also noticed improved Windows 95 throws in a disk-compres- have you grinding your teeth, though a performance when running multiple sion program called DriveSpace. Want 33-MHz 486 may squeak by. A 75- applications. I could even run two to get onto the Information Superwhat- MHz Pentium cpu and 8 or even 16 videoclips simultaneously without ever? The Microsoft Network icon on MB of RAM will make video and other completely destroying image quality. the desktop will have you online within demanding operations sprint. minutes. There are a kazillion alphabet- Windows 95 also offers Plug and ically challenged network protocols When used with an adequately pow- Play, a standard that enables the operat- ready and waiting inside the box. ered system, Windows 95 offers plenty ing system and compliant PCs to set up of multimedia features. It took 3 years peripherals automatically, without What\u2019s missing? Windows 95 doesn\u2019t and millions of dollars in R&D, but painful guesswork. Plug and Play re- have a built-in Internet connection\u2014 Windows finally has a volume control. quires that add-in cards be built to the not yet, at least. Microsoft promises to Double-click the omnipresent speaker standard, but Windows 95 handles older deliver Internet service in their upcom- icon on the TASKBAR and you get line- cards as well. In practice, the system ing Plus! product, a $50 add-on that al- level controls for recording and playing almost always correctly identified so includes sundry desktop designs, ad- .WAY and MIDI files as well as for music cards and CD-ROM players, allocating ditional network and on-line capa- CDs spinning ina CD-ROM player. resources with the wisdom of Solomon. bilities, and bug fixes. Microsoft has also promised to release a series of Speaking of which, Windows 95 au- Finally, Windows 95 abolishes the old Tune Up packs, which will add features tomatically recognizes music CDs, file-name limit of eight characters. and fixes every 3 months or so. launching a CD player \u201capplet\u201d (mini- Now you can use up to a whopping 255 application) and playing the disc. characters in a name\u2014-gibberish like Obviously, Windows 95 is serious Compatible CD-ROM titles get the TGUNSPIN.AVI, for example, can be business. It not only adds key features same treatment. Finally, Windows 95 given a relatively clear name like \u201cTop and better stability, it\u2019s prompted a sea has improved MIDI support, so MIDI Gun clip showing Maverick\u2019s flat- change in the way PC software works. scores won't suffer dropouts or other spin.AVL.\u201d By year\u2019s end, many applications and problems at crunch time. titles will be available in native Win- dows 95 format. Unless something tru- What's missing\u2014at least for now\u2014is ly unexpected happens, Windows 95 is enhanced video support. Microsoft destined to change the history of per- promises to ship upgrade diskettes for sonal computing. \u2014-Michael Desmond 64 SEPTEMBER 1995 VIDEO","The people at Lucasfilm THX know Program establishes test procedures and solid, measurable performance about sound. They know that cables standards for cables. make an important difference. And they And that\u2019s why Lucasfilm THX certi- fies the performance of XLO\/ VDO\\\" know that, especially cables, and zot all the others. XLO\/VDO is the complete line of wee for Home Theater, you cables for home entertainment\u201d can\u2019t expect to get the from XLO Electric Co., Inc., whose products are recognized every- SweCOMPATIBLE WITH \u00a7 very best possi1ble where as \u201cThe Best in the World.\u201d sound from your sys- & ALL OTHER SYSTEMS tem unless the cables you use are just as good as your other components. That\u2019s why the Lucasfilm Home THX 7nLO\/VDO XLO Electric Company, Inc. \u00bb 9480 Utica Avenue, Suite 612, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730 \u00ab Phone (909) 466-0382 + Fax (909) 466-3662 THX is a registered trademark of Lucasfilm LTD. Dolby and Pro Logic are registered trademarks of Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation. Alll rights reserved,","ipment Legacy Audio 3021 Sangamon Ave., Springfield, IL 62702 800-283-4644 Fax 217-744-7269 Tech Support 217-544-5252","a] tiSpin gy NEW TECH 1 NEC\u2019s MultiSpin 6X CD- top video camera ($259) ROM player boasts a speedy makes videoconferencing or 900-KB-per-second data- live frame-grabbing afford- transfer rate, enabling it to able. The M28 is said to de- cruise through databases liver Superior imaging perfor- and load images faster than mance in any application that traditional 2x and 4x drives. requires a high-quality NTSC Available in external (Multi- video input. The camera\u2019s Spin 6Xe, shown; $599) and 0.33-inch color CCD image internal (MultiSpin 6Xi, $499) sensor is rated to yield 350 versions, the player is rated lines of horizontal resolution, with a 145-millisecond aver- and the unit is said to be age access time and a 130- compatible with standard ms random seek time. Both plug-in boards for compres- WU his versions are compatible with sion, communications, and Ul the new CD Plus music-disc audio capabilities. Other fea- Wi) format, which accommodates tures include a tilt\/swivel photographs, videos, lyrics, base and a privacy lens shut- and interviews in addition to ter. Focal adjustments allow music. Supplied software in- for both wide and standard cludes SimplesStart, to simpli- views. 4 VOYETRA\u2019s Sound fy installation, and CD-Explor- Suite for Windows ($200) is er, to simplify drive man- designed to help multimedia agement after installation and PC users boost their audio [ to scan a loaded disc for its and video capabilities; the data format. 2 ALTEC LANS- utility software package is ING\u2019s AVC1000 desktop- said to let you record and ed- videoconferencing system it MIDI music and digital au- ($800) provides videoconfer- dio, sort and view images encing over conventional and videos, and create cus- telephone lines; the system tom slide presentations with handles communication via narration and background video, sound, telephony, and music. The package includes the supplied pen tablet. Live Voyetra\u2019s Multimedia Produc- or still video images can be tivity Pack (a compilation of transmitted using the 0.33- 14 programs that provide uni- inch, 410,000-pixel CCD color form multimedia manage- camera, which is governed ment of audio and video), MI- by a DSP microcontroller. An DI Orchestrator Plus (a mibl integral audio system, includ- sequencer with music-nota- ing two powered speakers as tion capabilities), Music Gal- well as proprietary bass and lery (a catalog of over 400 mi- Solouyenltda Suite treble boosts, handles the au- DI songs, as well as 350 non- VIDEO SEPTEMBE1R995 87 dio chores. The AVC1000's MIDI tunes, in a variety of telephone features include styles), and a comprehensive hands-free dialing and a library of graphic and video built-in speakerphone. Finally, tiles. a the AVC1000\u2019s pen tablet, based on ACECAD electron- READER SERVICE INFORMATION ductive-positioning technolo- NEC circle 127 gy, allows for high-resolution ALTEC LANSING circle 128 pointing and annotation. TOSHIBA circle 129 3 TOSHIBA\u2019 |K-M28 desk- VOYETRA circle 130","VIDEO TEST Duty Den meets desktop in Toshiba\u2019s TIMM multimedia television WHEN ASKED TO DESCRIBE THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY, cluding a sleep timer, cable tuning, most folks talk about the integration of TV sets, cable- channel lockout, MTS\/SAP audio, and TY service, telephones, the Internet, and computers. closed captioning. As mentioned, the TIMM has a 20- The assumption is that these products and services will inch screen, the way consumer TV sets one day come together, with programming and other information are measured (diagonally across the ac- being delivered to some sort of super TV through a single cable. tual picture area), Using the computer industry\u2019s inflated standard (which in- While that day remains years (if not decades) away, Toshiba has cludes the masked-off portion of the taken a modest step toward \u201cconvergence\u201d with their MM20E45 tube), the TIMM is a 21-incher; with a real computer image on-screen, the ac- TIMM 20-inch monitor ($999). The combo units, and most of today\u2019s high- tual diagonal measured 19.5 inches. acronym stands for Toshiba Interactive end projection systems also have inputs Aspect ratio is 4:3. Multimedia Monitor. for high-resolution computer graphics The TIMM seemed too close to my The concept is simple: Instead of (though such projection systems cost face when I propped it on_my desk for watching films on one set, playing vid- $5,000 and up). computer work, so | compromised and eogames on another, and doing word Despite the advanced capabilities it placed it behind my desk\u2014about 4 feet processing and other computer work on offers, the TIMM\u2019s operating controls away from my sitting position. Though a third, the TIMM brings it all together. are surprisingly simple. The set, which this is twice the distance I use with my Like a standard 20-inch TV set, it has measures 24.12 x 26.75 x 21.6 inches everyday monitor, the TIMM still occu- antenna and A\/V input jacks. And like a (b\/w\/d), has an elegant look, with just pied roughly the same field of view, computer monitor, it has a standard six small pushbuttons below the screen and I could comfortably use word-pro- VGA input jack (compatible with IBM (for menu navigation as well as volume cessing software and other computer PCs and, via an adaptor, with Macin- \u2014 and channel control) and two larger applications. Signals were routed in toshes). __ buttons for power and operating mode through the set\u2019s 15-pin RGB input. It should be noted that this isn\u2019t the _ (RGB\/TV\/VIDEO). A single red power I noted that images on the TIMM first time a computer monitor and a TV lightiis the only indicator\u2014everything weren\u2019t quite as sharp as those dis- set have been combined into a single else is ommunicated on-screen. played on my everyday monitor, which \u2014 unit. Sony\u2019s Profeel TVs of the early _ The 29 button remote is ee laid is capable of very high-resolution 1980s (before the standard color VGA - graphics. For computer vise, the _TIMM\u2019s: resolutic ae limited to stan- jack had become eee were","dard vGA\u2014640 x 480 pixels (with up blue and bright. In the RGB mode, the rements k y Berger\u2014Braithwaite Labs - to 16.7 million colors). Clearly, this is temperature was 9,200 degrees Kelvin the TIMM\u2019s biggest limitation, since with 63 footlamberts (computer stan- izontal resolution: 480 lines i even smaller computer monitors gener- dards call for a temperature of 5,400 lure S\/N: video, 53.7 dB; chroma AM, _ ally do better. But for playing vid- degrees Kelvin). .5dB; chroma PM, 64.1 dB | eogames, watching CD-ROMs, and een brightness: video, 93.5 footlam- running most Windows applications, Kevin Miller, a VIDEO contributor \u2014 640 x 480 is fine. and professional calibrator, recalibrat- s before calibration, 28.1 footlam- ed the screen to the recommended For hooking up videogame consoles, 6,500 degrees Kelvin for TV\/video op- is after calibration; RGB, 63 footlam- VCRs, laserdisc players, or any other eration and 5,400 degrees for computer video device, the TIMM provides just applications. The calibration process is before calibration, 28.1 footlam- a single set of A\/V line-level input jacks revealed a well controlled power sup- 's after calibration (including an S-Video connector). Con- ply and a well delineated gray scale at \u2018temperature: video, 9,300 degrees sidering the TIMM\u2019s professed desire high and low output levels. We also efore calibration, 6,500 degrees K to become the nerve center of the home brought CONTRAST down from its max- information revolution, the lack of ex- imum to a three-quarters setting, which GB, 9,200 degrees K tra video inputs, and front-panel input enabled the set to produce a more ap- 400 degrees K after jacks, was a disappointment. The propriate 28 footlamberts. The TIMM does provide a pair of audio-in- BRIGHTNESS control was set to just be- sound sets you back about $300 these put jacks, however, for hookup to a low its midpoint, COLOR was moved to Sound Blaster-type sound card, as well just above its midpoint, TINT remained days. But on the computer-monitor side as a pair of variable-level audio-output halfway, and we dropped SHARPNESS to jacks, for hookup to an external audio just below the one-quarter mark. At of the equation, there\u2019s really nothing receiver, amplifier, surround-sound de- these settings, the picture was accurate and very, very pleasing. to compare the TIMM to\u2014no one coder, or subwoofer. The TIMM also makes a very good The TIMM\u2019s color-decoding circuit- makes a 21-inch monitor with such ry was working reasonably well, and 20-inch TV set. Over-the-air reception picture-noise measurements were very limited resolution. (Even 14- and 15- was reasonably sensitive, with excel- good. Horizontal resolution in the vid- lent ghost rejection. Watching the eo mode measured about 480 lines. inch monitors routinely offer at least s- crosshatch test pattern from the A Video Standard laserdisc, I saw practi- On the audio side, I cranked up the VGA 800 x 600 and 1024 x 768 resolu- cally no geometric distortion even at volume while watching the Bob Dylan the extreme edges of the screen, MTV Unplugged concert and found tion.) Just about all 21-inchers offer though there was a bit of color miscon- that the TIMM\u2014which has a 5-watt- vergence along the very top (it wasn\u2019t rated amp and two 3 x 4.66-inch resolution of 1280 x 1024 or higher. . . objectionable when viewing TV and speakers\u2014has extremely good sound movies). for a 20-inch stereo TV. Tone, balance, though their price tags run over $2,000. and bass boost are remote-controllable. As shipped from the factory, the And a small 13- or 14-inch VGA moni- screen\u2019s color temperature was 9,300 In terms of value, the TIMM certain- tor costs about $200. ... degrees Kelvin on the video input, with ly offers a clear savings in desktop real a very high footlambert reading of estate, but cost savings are harder to In any case, Toshiba deserves credit 93.5. This made pictures look very gauge. A 20-inch color TV with stereo for designing\u2014and releasing\u2014the TIMM. In a world flooded with looka- like TV sets and computer monitors, the TIMM truly offers something dif- ferent. While its inability to display high-resolution graphics limits its suit- ability for serious computer applica- tions, it does a fine job with regular TV viewing, videogames, and CD-ROMs. Its 20-inch screen size will keep it out of most home-theater systems, of course, but it\u2019s ideal for use in bed- rooms, home offices, dens, and college dorm rooms. The college dorm is the perfect spot, really\u2014-space is tight, and a combo TV\/computer monitor would be ideal. The only thing that\u2019s really missing, for dorm-room use, is a head- phone jack. Toshiba has indicated the MM20E45 will be followed by TIMMs with other screen sizes and capabilities. My sug- gestion to the manufacturer is that they should build in the ability to accommo- date cross-operations\u2014allowing you to watch TY in a PIP box while working with a computer display, for example, or to listen to TV while using the com- puter screen. When you get down to it, the synergistic possibilities are end- less. The MM20E45 marks the begin- ning of some very interesting product development. | VIDEO SEPTEMBER 1995 89","E #| SOFTWIRE PUPPET MOTEL THE ULTIMATE opposition; the Cartels. (It\u2019s,cither that or AURIE ANDERSON HAS LONG BEEN AN FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT: AMERICA\u2019S ARCHITECT you go back to jail.) Along the. way, Bintensely creative force in music and performance art, and she\u2019s been incorpo- AMED ARCHITECT FRANK LLO\u00a5D you\u2019re called upon to attack numerous rating interactive elements into her mul- Wright (1867-1959) built some of timedia work for over 15 years. She\u2019s our nation\u2019s most gracious homes and targets, defend yourself against enemy practically had to tread water waiting for public buildings (such as New York CD-ROM technology to mature to her City\u2019s Guggenheim Museum), and his onslaughts, and, if you make it to Cybe- satisfaction so she could jump in and contributions have forever changed the make her mark. And Anderson doesn\u2019t perception of \u201carchitect as cold techni- ria, solve a series of cagey puzzles. Ley- disappoint with Puppet Motel ($40), her cian\u201d to a more positive identity as arti- Voyager debut. It\u2019s quite a revolutionary san (or even philosopher). Wright is also els. of difficulty can, be adjusted,for both experience. Click around and Anderson responsible for what\u2019s commonly re= will relate a story about her attempts at ferred to as \u201cmodern architecture,\u201d of the arcade-style fighting sequences and making tortillas with an ancient Mexican course, a design concept that many find tribe\u2014only to have the tortillas thrown to be bloodless in its approach. Now his for the puzzle levels, and it\u2019s safe to say to the dogs. You\u2019ll see part of a riveting designs, both good and bad, are on dis- live performance, get to play some of her play in Microsoft\u2019s The Ultimate Frank that even hotshot gamers will get more extraordinary and offbeat violins, scan Lloyd Wright: America\u2019s Architect ($60), The program takes you on a guided hours of engaging gameplay by setting room-by-room tour of three of Wright\u2019s best known (and, it should be noted, least both levels to HARD. conventional) buildings, walks you through his life, piles up 360 of his most There are a few drawbacks, such as the influential architectural works for refer- ence, and culls historical information fact that Zak can only move along a pre- from no less than seven biographies. If that isn\u2019t enough, you can also design set course, which is a particularly stiff your own buildings in glorious 3-D by utilizing Wright-styled modules. way to play an action game; it also The best part of this CD-ROM, per- haps, is how it gets you thinking about makes any attempt at examining your Wright\u2019s effect on your own life and per- ceptions about where you live. For ex- surroundings unnecessarily difficult. ample, I grew up in two kinds of homes\u2014one a standard ranch house, the Overall, though, Cyberia delivers a ter- other Victorian\u2014and while I can appre- ciate the utilitarian simplicity of the for- rific albeit mysterious storyline (to be mer, the latter always felt more like \u201chome\u201d to me. Ultimately, Ultimate con- honest, I still don\u2019t know how it ends), structs a well balanced picture that thor- oughly illustrates the scope of Wright's subtle gameplaying options (hint: blast- genius. (Windows disc) |\u2014Pete Hisey ing your way out of a tight spot just CYBERIA IKE SOME BASTARD SON OF SHOCKWAVE won't cut it), and a certain visual flair. Ban Dark Forces, Interplay\u2019s Cyberia (MPC disc) \u2014PH ($40) shoves you into the post-apocalyp- tic world of 2027, where something sin- SMITHSONIAN\u2019S AMERICA ister is afoot beneath the frozen tundra. Briefly, you're Zak Kingston, a renegade HEN YOU TRAVEL ABROAD, IT\u2019S hacker who\u2019s been sprung from prison by William Devlin, head of the Free Wi vevurai to act like a sponge and World Alliance, to investigate the myste- rious goings on at the Cyberia station soak up all manner of history and cul- and attempt to foil the plans of FWA\u2019s ture\u2014but many Americans have never explored the culture in their own back- yard. So Creative Multimedia\u2019s Smith- sonian\u2019s America ($30) steps into the City v\u00e9rit\u00e9: Anderson in Puppet Motel breach, letting users be tourists in their own country. Based on an exhibition through a mind-boggling journey illus- from Japan\u2019s 1994 American Festival, trated by still images, and splice sound Smithsonian comprises a series of inter- and film together in an editing room. active photo essays that take you to gal- Even the cursor image becomes a key el- leries full of stills, artifacts, songs, and ement in the proceedings\u2014depending on QuickTime movies. The photos range the scene, it may turn into a motorcycle, from historical documentation (such as a clown, or even a torch that illuminates Civil War and anti- Vietnam War pro- the writing on the wall (literally). In each tests) to pictures of contemporary aver- \u201cscene.\u201d the cursor moves within the age Joes. A wealth of QuickTime clips three dimensions of the image, changing shows everything from a KKK rally to a in size in relation to the perspective. wartime fashion show. Popular and his- Puppet Motel also lets you send faxes, torical songs are performed by the likes leave audio messages on the Internet, of Pete Seeger and Scott Joplin. You can surf the World Wide Web, and download also access significant artwork, such as QuickTime updates, which you can in- J.B. Stearns\u2019 painting of the signing of corporate into the program (all via a the Constitution, or call up Dorothy\u2019s fax\/modem). And there\u2019s plenty more, ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz. but you're on your own from here. WeIl How apropos, since Smithsonian shows make sure they leave the light on for that there\u2019s no place like home. (Mac and you. (Mac disc) \u2014\u2014Josef Krebs Windows discs) \u2014JK $0 SEPTEMBER 1995 VIDEO","PARADIGM BIPOLARS CAN AND THe WINNER I... BE EXPERIENCED AT THESE aradigm\u2019s spectacular bipolar speakers are an engineering and sonic marvel! With years of FINE DEALERS: design expertise and our highly advanced R&D facility, Paradigm engineers and acousticians set out to build AL: BIRMINGHAM: LIKIS AUDIO + HUNTSVILLE: the world\u2019s finest bipolar speakers, regardless ocfost! BEDDINGFIELD AV * MOBILE: CUSTOM AUDIO + MONTGOMERY: COHENS +AR: FAYETTEVILLE: STEREO ENGINEERED For more information on PARADIGM BIPOLARS as well as other fine Paradigm speakers ONE \u00abFORT SMITH; STEREO ONE + AZ: MESA: HI FI visit your nearest AUTHORIZED PARADIGM DEALER or write: GALES \u00bb TUSCON: WILSON AUDIO + CA: AUBURN AubIoSTREAM, MPO Box 2410, Niagara Falls, NY 14302 (905) 632-0180 WOODEN SHIP STEREO + BAKERSFIELD: URNERS + In Canada: PARADIGM, 101 Hanlan Rd., Woodbridge, ON L4L 3P5 (905) 850-2889 BERKELEY; MUSIC LOVERS \u00ab CHICO: SOUNDS BY DAVE + GOSTA MESA: ATLANTIC STEREO + EUREKA: SOUND FOR BETTER SOUND WWICE \u00bb FRESNO: FUTUREHOME + HOLLISTER FORTINOS * LOS ANGELES; AHEAD STEREO \u00ab L.A. AV CIRCLE NO. 46 ON READER SERVICE CARD WENLO PARK: SOUND PERFECTION + REDDING: CLYDES *REDONDO BEACH: SYSTEMS DESIGN * RIVERSIDE: SPEAKERCRAFT * SACRAMENTO: PARADYME + SAN DIEGO: SOUND COMPANY + SAN FRANCISCO PERFORMANCE AUDIO * SAN JOSE: CENTURY STEREO + SAN LUIS OBISPO: AUDIO ECSTASY \u00bb SAN MARCOS SOUND COMPANY * SANTA BARBARA: MISSION AUDIO + \u00a7ANTA CRUZ: WATER STREET STEREO + SANTA WONICA; SHELLEY'S \u00bb SANTA ROSA: CALIFORNIA AV + HOMETECH * SAUSALITO: PACIFIC RIM + STOCKTON GLUSKIN'S + VALLEJO: STEREO SHOWCASE \u00ab VISALIA: [EES STEREO + WALNUT CREEK: SOUND DISTINCTION + WOODLAND HILLS: SHELLY'S + CO: COLORADO SPRINGS: SOUND SHOP + DENVER: SOUND HOUNDS + FORT COLLINS: OVATION MUSIC \u00bb GRAND JUNCTION: SOUND CO. \u00bb CT: NEW HAVEN: TAKE 5 * NEWINGTON: AUDIO STORE + NORWICH: SOUND ONE + DE: INGTON: HI FI HOUSE \u00bb FL: BRADENTON: AUDIO SHOP * CLEARWATER; RISING SOUNDS + SACOLA: SOUTHERN HI FI + WEST PALM BEACH: J] ADVISORS * GA: ALBANY: CUSTOM INC. + iS: CUSTOM INC. * AUGUSTA: CUSTOM INC. + : CUSTOM INC. \u00bb DUNWOODY: AUDIO FOREST \u00ab SOLUTIONS + HI: HONOLULU: CLASSIC A\/V + IA: MBETTENDORF: REFERENCE A\/V + DES MOINES: PDIOLABS + IDAGROVE: BRENNER'S + IOWA CITY: THAWKEYE + SIOUX CITY: PFLANZ \u00bb IL: CHAMPAIGN: TOHIMPAGNE AUDIO \u00bb CHRYSTAL LAKE: SOUND FORUM + GIARENDON HILLS: SOUNDS DELUXE + FAIRVIEW PREGHTS: HI Fi FO FUM \u00bb HOFFMAN ESTATES: SIMPLY PSIEREO + ROCKFORD: ABSOLUTE AUDIO + SPRINGFIELD: TEAM ELEC.*ST, CHARLES: ST. CHARLES PWV+VILLA PARK: SIMPLY STEREO \u00ab IN: BLOOMINGTON: TOWPUS AUDIO +CARMEL: SOUND PRO +FT. WAYNE: LEHMAN'S *WABASH: WORLD SCAN + KS: WICHITA: DUSTOM SOUND + LA: BATON ROUGE: ART COLLEY'S + TAPAYETTE: THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT * NEW ORLEANS: WILSON AUDIO * MA: ARLINGTON: STEREO SHOP + TANBRIDGE: Q AUDIO + NORTHAMPTON: TRIPOD AUDIO * SUDBURY: ELECTRIC GRAMOPHONE * WORCESTER IOOOINS * MI: BEMIDJI: OVERBEEK ELECTRONICS + DETROIT: PECAR'S + FLINT: STEREO CENTER * GRAND HAVEN: BEKINS AV + GRAND RAPIDS: STEREO SHOWCASE \u00bb IRON MOUNTAIN: SOUNDNORTH *+ HHALAMAZOO: STEREO SHOWC+APETSOSEKEY: PUFFS * TROY: PECARS + MN: ALEXANDRIA: SOUND SHOP + PWINNEAPOLIS: STEREOLAND + ROCHESTER\u2019 PAMALGAMATED A\/V * MO: COLUMBIA: D & M SOUND \u00ab ST. pUOUIS: Hi FI FO-FUM + MS: STARKVILLE: IDEAL PACOUSTICS + MT: BILLINGS: U.S. TECH + MISSOULA STEREO PLUS \u00bb NC: DURHAM: KERRS AV \u00bb WINSTON PSALEM: PLATINUM AUDIO + ND: FARGO: TODAY PELECTRONICS + MANKATO: TEAM ELECTRONICS \u00ab NE: GRAND ISLAND: VIDEO KINGDOM + OGALLALA: VIDEO FHINGDOM + OMAHA: STEREO WEST \u00bb NH: NASHUA PENSEMBLE * NJ: CHERRY HILL: HI FI SALES + E PBRUNSWICK: ATLANTIC STEREO + MIDDLETOWN PSIEREO DYNAMICS \u00bb PARAMUS: RABSONS A\/V + |POMPTON PLAINS: SOUND CITY + SOMERVILLE: SOUND PEXCHANGE + NM: ALBUQUERQUE: ABSOLUTE AUDIO + IASCRUCES: DESERT SOUN+DNV:RENO: WILD WEST WY; ALBANY: ALTAIR AUDIO \u00bb COMMACK: SOUND WPPROACH + ELMIRA: CHEMUNG ELECTRONICS + HFANBURG: SOUTHTOWN A\/V + JOHNSON CITY: OLUMS + IKE GROVE:AUDIO DEN \u00ab MT. KISCO: AUDIO OUTLET \u00ab INEW YORK: AUDIO SALON + AV CENTER + PARK IVENUE +PARK PLACE * SOUND CITY + PLEASANTVILLE AUDIO EXCELLENCE + ROCHESTER: ROWE A\/V + SYRACUSE; GORDON BROTHERS + WATERTOWN HAPPY EAR + WEST BABYLON: AUDIO VISIONS + OH: IKRON: OHIO SOUND + CINCINNATI: OHIO VALLEY + DAYTON: AUDIO ETC. \u00bb DUBLIN: AUDIO ENCOUNTERS + MIULEDO: JAMIESON'S STEREO + OK; BARTLESVILLE: BOUND STATION + MIDWEST CITY: AUDIO MIDWEST + SGTLLWATER; AUDIO S\/V \u00bb OR; EUGENE: ADVANCED HUDIO \u00ab PORTLAND: FRED'S M&V * ROOM SERVICE + IGALEM: ADVANCED AUDIO + HEAR NO EVIL \u00bb PA: IBROOMALL: HIGH FIDELITY * CAMP HILL: HI Fi HOUSE + IHANBERSBURG: LINCOLN LECTRONICS + EPHRATA: BIEREO BARN + GREENSBURG: STEREO SHOP + HARRISBURG: HI Fl HOUSE \u00bb JENKINTOWN: STEREO UTLET + JOHNSTOWN: CONNECTING POINT * TANCASTER: GNT STEREO \u00bb MCMURRAY: GOOSEBUMPS P MONTGOMERYVILLE: WORLD WIDE STEREO + PITTSBURGH: AUDIO GALLERY * WORLD WIDE + STATE MPOLLEGE: PAUL & TONY'S * WHITEHALL: PALMER AUDIO MR: PROVIDENCE: STEREO A\/V CENTER + SC: IDOLUMBIA: SOUND ADVICE \u00bb GREENVILLE: AMERICAN DIO * HILTON HEAD ISLAND: AV ARCHITECTS \u00ab MT. SPIEASANT; PEACHTREE + SD: BROOKINGS: ZEPHYR DIO\u00bbTN:* JOHNSON CITY: MR. TOADS +KINGSPORT: HAMERICAN VIDEO + KNOXVILLE: STATEMENT A\/V + EVPHIS; MODEAR\/VN*TX:AMARILLO: AUDIO VISIONS AUSTIN: AUDIO BY DESIGN \u00bb BRYAN: SOUND WAVES + DRPUS CHRISTI: ABSOLUTE A\/V \u00ab DALLAS: HILLCREST HHIFi* HOUSTON: ALL STAR + GROOVE A\/V + LUBBOCK: UND WAVE * MIDLAND: MIDLAND SOUND + SAN JONIO: AUDIO CONCEPTS + SAN MARCOS DISCOVERY AUDIO \u00ab SHERMAN; WORLD WIDE +TYLER: mB) CENTER + UT: PROVO: AUTO SPECIALTIES +VA: (ON: MUSICSCOPE + VT: WILLISTON: CREATIVE SOUND +WA: BELLEVUE: DEFINITIVE AUDIO * EVERETT: IAUDIO\u00bbWKEANNVEWEICSK: QUICK SILVER * PULLMAN: SOPTINUM SOUND + SEATTLE: DEFINITIVE AUDIO + SPOKANE: S&I INTERIORS * WI: APPLETON: SUESS ELECTRONICS \u00ab GREEN BAY: Hi Fl HEAVEN * MADISON: SUNIVERSITY AUDIO + MILWAUKEE: AUDIO EMPORIUM + RACINE: AUS STEREO + SHEBOYGAN: ABSOLUTE iGA+YWV: MORGANTOWN: SOUND INVESTMENTS + WY: NGHEYENNE; NOW HEAR THIS + LARAMIE: KEN\u2019S MUSIC","Isn't it about time you came to all your senses? \u201cscour eyes deserve the same pleasure your ears enjoy with your home stereo system. Get the best in both audio and video with home theater. The big-screen TV picture and surround sound audio will astound you. In fact, a recent survey showed a majority of audio enthusiasts enjoy home theater more than going out to the movies. And many of the audio components you already own will easily serve double-duty for home theater. So experience the incredible sights and sounds of home theater. Visit your local audio-video retailer today. ELECTRONIC INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION * CONSUMER ELECTRONICS GROUP * 2500 WILSON BOULEVARD * ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA 22201","HEAVEN SENT BOGEN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27 3169 VIDEO TRIPOD Beside providing a path for the satellite The 3169 combines Bogen 3001 the ideal set-up for signal, the RG-6 cable also enables the Tripod Legs with a 3130 Fluid Camcorders up to 8 Ibs. receiver to power the LNB. Using RG-6 Head. It\u2019s easy to use and easy Sturdy legs feature 3 click- cable is a must, by the way, since its rat- to handle. Made in Italy by stop spread angles and are ed 50-ohm impedance protects against Manfrotto, the Bogen 3001 Tripod is one of the lightest made of tubular hard- signal loss (standard RG-59 video coax, (about 3 Ibs.) and smallest finish aluminum and each (folds to 20 1\/2 in.), and has a sure-grip, quick-acting, by comparision, is rated at 75 ohms). one of the most versatile tripods we offer. Com- non-fouling lever The system comes without cable, but bined with the Bogen lock. Add the Portable it\u2019s available from Sony (in that $80 3130 Head -- which ANJ-DS1 install kit or separately) or RSOCN3O2INEA.RRACVDDLfIEECeREatures a Video Dolly and you from your local Radio Shack or elec- Quick Release have rock-solid sup- tronics supply store. Plate that allows you to detach port for smooth The SAN-18D1 dish comes complete the camera pans and tilts. with mounting hardware, and the instal- with the flip lation process is fairly straightforward. of a lever -- See the Bogen 3169 Antenna location, of course, is absolute- and you have \\\\ Video Tripod at ly critical\u2014first and foremost, that clear a your dealer or contact: southern exposure is needed. Using a compass, I spotted the approximate az- \\\\ Bogen Photo Corp. imuth of the three DSS satellites, all of 565 E. Crescent Ave. which orbit very close to one another in Ramsey, N.J. 07446 space. After determining that a concrete (201) 818-9500 block wall on my property provided a clear view of that position, I drilled a We don't sell anything few holes in the wall, attached the we wouldn't buy ourselves. mounting base, used a carpenter\u2019s level to vertically align the mounting mast, . THIS and tightened it with the supplied nuts. FINGER CAN HELP Once the base was up, I screwed the YOU FIND LNB support arm to the dish and slid the ANY ACCESSORY pre-assembled bracket that holds the YOU NEED. JUST DIAL dish over the mounting mast. I used the compass to again find the approximate 800-231-0031 azimuth bearing and rotated the dish to that setting, leaving it free to turn. I Need to know something about electronic similarly tilted the dish upward to the accessories? We have virtually everything for approximate elevation, using the hash marks scribed on the mounting bracket; computers, cellular, again, I left the nuts loose. I connected telephones, audio, the RG-6 cable to the LNB, slid a weath- \u00bb camcorders, car audio, erboot over the connection, and ran the antennas, video and video cable to the grounding block, complet- games, music cases, adapters ing the connection to the receiver in- and connectors. side. Finally, I grounded both the sat- Call us today. You've got nothing ellite dish and the grounding block to a to lose and an awful lot to find ! ground rod. = HAVEN The next step was to tune the antenna. INDUSTRIES I began by gently sweeping the dish across the sky, generally staying within the correct azimuth and elevation. As promised, the LNB\u2019s SignalSeeker LED flashed slowly at first, then flashed faster when the signal locked. Because my TV was visible through a window, it was easy for me to also follow the on- screen signal-strength meter, which, as noted, allows some additional fine-tun- VIDEO SEPTEMBE1R995 93 2950 Lake Emma Road, Lake Mary,FL 32746 \u201c\u00a9 Copyright 1995 Recoton Corp., New York, NY 10022. All rights reserved.","aservisc ing. With the signal locked and strong example, you'll find action\/adventure, (it read about 85 on Sony\u2019s scale) and children, comedy, horror, and so on. Wa2V,USPGVPCuIc?Vt3V. omeR all of the nuts and bolts tightened, the Subset channels can be displayed by Ken Crane\u2019s Is The Largest installation was complete. In total, it channel number or alphabetically by took about 2 hours, including some program title. Laser Disc Mail Order Miller time. Retailer In The U.S. Custom Guide lets you delete rarely DV GUIDE viewed channels from your surfing rou- We Stock Typically, the next step for a new tine\u2014with 175 channels to choose Every Title! from, there are likely to be quite a few DSS owner would be to call a service of them (I, for example, wasn\u2019t fond of \u00bb Fastest Availability On New Titles! provider\u2014either DirecTV or USSB (or the heavy sarcasm of The Yarn Chan- \u00a2 Most Orders Shipped Same Day! both)\u2014and request that their unit be ac- * 20% Discount On All Titles! tivated. After just a few minutes, the nel). Other guides let you select, cancel, * Free 2nd Day Air UPS Shipping satellite would download a signal, and preview, or check past purchases on the you'd be ready to rock. In this case, my ppv channels, list special promotions or In The Continental U.S.A. review unit was already unlocked for PPV events, read messages from the pro- \u00a2 Visa, Mastercard, Discover, DirecTV services, so I was ready to surf. gram providers, set the channel-lock AMEX, Checks, And C.O.D. feature and spending limits, run system * $1.50 Handling Charge I settled into my comfy chair, remote diagnostics, select data services (not in one hand, Doritos in the other. The Per Order Shipped. first thing I noticed is the large number active at this time), and select different of channels\u2014combined, DirecTV and program languages (when they\u2019re avail- OFF0%NOW SAVE USSB provide more than 175 of \u2019em. able). The second thing I noticed is that it\u2019s a Suggested Retail On pain to step through all of them. Fortu- Conveniences: The system displays a nately, the SAS-AD1\u2019s on-screen dis- thin strip of the currently tuned chan- \u00a2 Every Pre-Ordered play, called the Express Navigator, alle- nel\u2019s picture behind the menus, and its New Release viates much of the tedium. soundtrack also remains active. And channel logos are displayed momentari- * Every Title In Stock Controlled by an onboard 32-bit mi- ly in the screen\u2019s upper-right corner \u00a2 Every Back-Order croprocessor, the Navigator displays when you\u2019re switching channels. programming information on-screen Includes FREE via a wide range of menu options, and, Despite its complexity, I liked the 2nd Day Air Shipping more important, allows a degree of Navigator: It\u2019s fast, flexible, and very Titles must ship between menu customization. The Master Menu intuitive, and its many features greatly these dates So Order Early displays all programming currently be- expedite the chore of channel surfing. I ing broadcast; each screen or \u201cpage\u201d did find a few quirks, though. When a PHONE US AT... shows on-air and upcoming programs station menu is displayed, channel 1-800-624-3078 for seven channels over a 90-minute pe- numbers are listed in ascending order 1-800-626-1768 riod, with program information dis- from top to bottom\u2014980 is above 981, 1-714-892-8369 played for the highlighted channel. A for example\u2014and the \u201cup\u201d cursor car- vertical indicator bar shows where you ries you up the list to Jower channel (Fax Number) are in this menu. The remote\u2019s trackball numbers. When cruising through chan- and CHANNEL\/PAGE buttons are used to nels with the channel buttons, however, ForA Free Catalog move from channel to channel, across the \u201cup\u201d channel button carries you to time, or from one page to the next. higher channel numbers. In addition, Write Or Visit there\u2019s a fairly long pause when switch- Our SuperStore Several options let you select pro- ing from one channel to another; though grams by other criteria. The Station In- this limitation may be inherent in an Ken Crane\u2019s LaserDisc dex, for example, displays 21 channel MPEG system, a technological fix here 15251 Beach Blvd. logos. Using the cursor, you can click would be much appreciated by us com- on one\u2014tuning, say, the Disney Chan- pulsive surfers. Westminster, CA 92683 nel\u2014without knowing its channel num- ber. The Station Index can also be set GREAT PERFORMANCES CIRCLE NO. 37 ON READER SERVICE CARD up with seven favorite stations, which Ultimately, what you see and hear is a creates a Favorite Station Guide. Up to three different Favorite Station Guides function of the program provider. I used can be created\u2014for you and two other DirecTV programming for this review, family members, for example, or sim- and was very impressed by their Total ply to segment the 21 stations you Choice package ($30 a month). Picture watch most often. The Select Guide lets quality was very good, though picture you examine subsets of the Master artifacts did present themselves from Menu by theme, including movies, time to time. Like all DSS receivers, sports, news, and so on. In some cases, the SAT-A1l contains an MPEG-2 chip- there are subcategories within the sub- set. This means that the receiver is ca- sets\u2014within the movie category, for pable of decoding programs with MPEG- 1, so-called MPEG-1%, and MPEG-2 cod- ing. The MPEG-1 standard was used 94 SEPTEMBE1R995 VIDEO","exclusively when the DSS format was DisytiwinaaWae launched in 1994. The MPEG-1\u00a5% \u201cstan- dard,\u201d which isn\u2019t a true standard but an e@DEALER INQUIRIES WELCOME @ PICTURE IMPROVING ENERGIZER CABLES upgrade of MPEG-1 that doesn\u2019t quite @FULL WARRANTY eLOWEST PRICES eBULLET PROTECTORS & IMMUNIZERS meet the MPEG-2 standard, has been phased in over the last few months. e@NEW INTELESTAR\u00ae @WE CARRY ALL MAKES AND MODELS And MPEG-2 is scheduled to debut this wees MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL CONSUMER CABLE ASSOCIATION fall. [For more on MPEG coding, see \u201cDigital Reality,\u201d page 18.] we] The improvements granted by MPEG- 8Or0de0r -To8ll3F5re-e: 23Me3c0h 1% are clearly visible to the naked eye\u2014or, to be more precise, the arti- Order by C.O.D., Check-Via-Phone or VISA \/ MC @3) facts we see with MPEG-1 begin to dis- appear with MPEG-1%4. The upgrade, for _ Please have the make and model # of the equipment used in your area. example, provides crisp color without edginess around images. And the MULTI-VISION ELECTRONICS INC. \u2014 \u201cblocking\u201d artifacts I noticed last sum- mer, when the MPEG-1 encoding process CIRCLE NO. 23 ON READER SERVICE CARD was still new, are greatly reduced if not altogether banished\u2014with 1994-vin- SHARP VIEWCAM tage MPEG-1, I sometimes noticed checkerboard patterns in scenes that Berger Bros. Camera and Video Exchange were characterized by subtle variations Specializes in both Photographic and Video in luminance. Straight MPEG-1 also had Equipment. We carry the Largest Selection of trouble handling scenes with fast-mov- Camcorders and Accessories in stock and at the ing images as well as abrupt scene lowest prices. We'll help you make the right changes, particularly when there were choice over the phone, that\u2019s why we can offer a sudden changes in luminance; the result full money back guarantee. We could list all of was serious blocking. But MPEG-1% our Equipment in our ads like everyone else...but handles these types of scenes much, we Call that our 240-page Catalog. much better. 1-800-262-4160 Is DSS\u2019s picture perfect? No. I was able to observe flaws when I was really We Compete With Any Legitimate Price & We Ship Anywhere watching for them, but even then they were relatively minor. The majority When Tomorrow Won\u2019t Do. Call Us Today. of viewers won\u2019t notice them. Video- philes are likely to notice them, and (516)-264-4160 \u00b0\u00a2 FAX (516)-264-1007 some \u2019philes may find them distracting. 209 BROADWAY (ROUTE 110) AMITYVILLE, N.Y. 11701 As mentioned, however, better encod- ing is a work in progress. If MPEG-2\u2019s improvements leap as far ahead of MPEG-1% as it leaped ahead of MPEG-1, artifacts may virtually disappear. Bot- tom line: DSS blows away most cable signals I\u2019ve seen, though the artifacts that are still present with MPEG-1% place it a notch below the laserdisc. The system also did a very good job with audio. Many people are startled the first time they enjoy a DSS movie because the sound is so vastly superior to what they\u2019d been getting with broad- cast and cable TV (not to mention movie theaters). Given the topnotch sig- nal, there\u2019s no question that a DSS sys- tem demands a full-fledged home-the- ater system to do the format justice. That doesn\u2019t mean the signal is al- ways great, or that there isn\u2019t a down- side to high-resolution video and audio playback. While DirecTV and USSB maintain a quality-in, quality-out phi- losophy, the input quality is sometimes VIDEO SEPTEMBE1R995 95","1994 Best Picture & lacking, and that\u2019s not always something Network Systems, Toshiba, and Uniden Best Actor on LaserDis\u00e9 .... DirecTV or USSB can control. The au- dio quality of the Music Choice chan- are expected to unleash models of their Tom nels, for example, falls short of CD Hanks ;, quality. With video programs, flaws in- own. We\u2019re clearly in for some exciting herent in the program may be obscured Forrest if you view it on videotape, but they can action. Today, though, Sony and Thom- be painfully obvious with DSS; laser- disc aficionados will understand exactly son rule the DSS roost. And Sony, with what I mean. the SAS-AD1, has the most sophisticat- Signal reliability is another important consideration. DSS birds broadcast sig- ed DSS system going. |] nals in the Ku band (from 12.2 to 12.7 ee GHz), where rain and snow can degrade SURROUNDED the received signal. The signal can get saga caeSida iflen so degraded (by heavy storms, for ex- CONTINUED FROM PAGE 39 ample) that it introduces artifacts in the \u201cGENERATIONS picture or causes it to drop out altogeth- but cleaner and more open. Though I er. At my home in Miami (admittedly at don\u2019t think Lies sounded as good (in ei- LIIOONN KING INTERVIEW the edge of the DSS satellites\u2019 \u201cfoot- ther mode) as Stargate or Clear and print,\u201d though that hasn\u2019t stopped any- Present Danger, it still has its share of WITH THE one from selling DSS hardware or ser- worthwhile AC-3 moments\u2014like the nuke detonation (Side 3, Chapter 35, VAMPIRE vice to South Floridians), subtropical 10'28\\\") and Arnold\u2019s Harrier takeoff (Side 3, Chapter 36, 12'00\\\"). Dumb and Gumber rains provided a stiff challenge to DSS reception. Still, Sony\u2019s system was gen- Audiophiles who\u2019ve evaluated early Prorcssmnm \u201cNopocy\u2019s erally able to cope. At first, my signal EAD prototypes have questioned was marred by picture artifacts during whether AC-3 is truly \u201ctransparent\u201d DOIUSTBCRLEOASKUREyorTaeCAUlSigEe minor storms. So I ran through the dish- compared with the digital audio of LDs alignment drill a second time. I was able and CDs. I feel it\u2019s far too early to make oftheLEGENDS vane GEaAbR to increase signal strength to the high such judgments; with a first-generation 80s on the relative scale, and these er- (if esoteric) decoder and only a small ae \\\\ rors disappeared. (Note that a minor number of titles available, the field is far change in signal strength probably too limited to draw conclusions. This is TEM Oo een won\u2019t have a direct effect on picture especially true because you simply can\u2019t quality once the signal is locked. DSS judge by switching from AC-3 to S \u201cuA RG ae programming is subject to a \u201ccliff ef- DPL\u2014remember, they use different fect.\u201d It\u2019s either all on or, when the sig- mixes. While there were a couple of Mention this Ad and get a 20% discount nal drops below the minimum require- moments during my evaluations where off the Suggested Retail Price on the Titles ment\u2014which might be as low as 40 or the AC-3 sound was a bit \u201cfunny\u201d (par- 50 on the relative scale\u2014all off. My ticularly, a blaring siren in True Lies), listed above, (Offer expires 11\/30\/1995) careful tweaking enabled the system to these were much more likely to have Call for our FREE Monthly Laserdisc absorb a little more weather-related sig- been soundtrack-related. In any event, Catalog! Hundreds of New and Recent nal loss and still maintain picture lock.) the music on all three LDs sounded fine Thereafter, the SAS-AD1 was quite ro- to me, as movie-soundtrack music goes. Releases. All, at least, 15% OFF S.R.P.! bust, and it only briefly lost signal dur- PLUS... ing a particularly nasty thunderstorm. In IN THE END, AC-3 IS A TERRIFIC DEVEL- short, a proper installation and careful opment. Its surround tricks are amazing, st OVERNIGHT alignment helped the system stand tall its dialogue is crisp and clear, and its DELIVERY in the face of all but the worst Mother bass channel is especially robust. I think Nature threw at it. that the format\u2019s biggest virtue won\u2019t lor a discs -you a only $3.75! \u201cOrders prove to be whiz-bang surround effects can include \u201cPre-orders\u201d and \u201cBack-orders!\u201d I\u2019LL REPEAT WHAT I SAID AT THE OUT- or ever-more-powerful bass rumbles, though these embellishments will cer- (Continental U.S. shipments only - certain set: DSS is the most exciting home-en- tainly be with us in great quantity and to areas and shipments over 5-lbs. may require tertainment technology to come down great effect. Instead, AC-3 should do for the pike since the compact disc. RCA movies what the compact disc did for an extra business day) has scored big with DSS, and Sony de- music. That is, AC-3 will engender a serves to as well. The SAS-AD1 has gradual re-thinking of production stan- Every Laserdisc title available at up to 40% OFF! clearly pushed the DSS envelope, pro- dards and practices, taking the medium viding some truly useful features we of home-theater sound to a higher plane. Laserdisc Fan Club, Inc. haven\u2019t seen before. Thomson will be While we\u2019ve yet to examine relatively announcing their second-generation affordable AC-3 gear or plumb the tech- 1058 E. 230th St. (Source Cd. V75) DSS systems in a month or two and, by nology\u2019s full depths, you can set aside mid-1996, new DSS licensees Hughes all of the hype: AC-3 is the real deal. m Ren Carson, CA 90745 =~ <> (800) 801-DISC(3472) we) i)7$( FAA CLUB F(mAeXnti(o3n10S)our9c5e2-C3o0d0e0: 95) Open Monday - Saturday For your FREE Laserdisc Catalog, please complete and mail the coupon below: Name: Address: City, State, Zip Code: 96 SEPTEMBER 1995 VIDEO CIRCLE NO. 73 ON READER SERVICE CARD","omput AbilitySince 1982 300-554-99V4MG99\/95 Consumer Electronics | DISCONTINUED SPECIALS THIS MONTH\u2019S SPECIALS! BRAND NEW FROM JVC | Sony MDP-500 HR-S7200U Sony MHC-550 Digital Dolby Pro Logic Surround with DSP Edit Suite is AB-1 . a technological breakthrough in | |JVC X-EXE - SEGA Compatible | A\/B roll editing. . | Panasonic KX-T2652 HI-F] Equipment & Laser Dise Players S-V4HhSead Hi Fi with jog shuttle .... CALL! FREE S-VHS MOVIE! | a SPECIALS Cassette Decks A\/V Receivers CD Players Mini Systems XL-MC100 TD-V661TN \u2014-RX-517TN XL-M215TN MXC200 MXC550 100 Disc CD Changer TD-W709TN AX-717TN XL-M317TN MXC220 MXC770 Eee d TD-R461TN -RX-817TN. XL-M417TN MXC330 Play ) | Panasonic PV-M1324 Laser Pioneer CT-W502R Disc Players sciahiititacmsmrte oe SONY. JVC TOSHIBA 2sMITSUBISHI 13\u201d-20\u201d - CALL!! x 4VIDEONICS P GO.VIDEOS - = ee : Digital Noise Redction circuitry improves picture R E |BeQOoTaQ N Panasonic \u2018 . \u00e9 | | quality of older cassettes and even helps restore WJ-AVE 7 Canon HIF PHILIPS Available for most programs recorded from weak off-the-air signals. *Pro-level flying pre-amp *VCR Plus+c3\u2122 cable box programming *Super high-speed rewind\/fast camcorders! |forward (210x) pe ticlesINDUSTRIAL CAMCORDERS a REPP ie ee cae ir A\/B ROLL EDIT CONTROL SYSTEM AG.2 \u20182 ehin\/QVC eV-STATION\u2122 paw's FIRST P' : ;i catty, Desktop inter-format A\/B Roll edit controller with RS-232C port, 3 programmable GPI { : triggers. Reads Hi8 RC time. Available for Windows, DOS \/ Mac & Amiga. 3 cables included, PRO MARK II - Automatic inter Format 2 cables included. | Pp ; Enter my subscription to \u201c VIDEO now! ncaReOnl Res ionanice |: 4 1 year (10 issues) for $17.94-$1.79 a copy! 2 years (20 i5 ssues) for $29.94-$1.50 a copy! W\u2014_wJaAnVvEeS.r... NEWA\/V Mixer 3 years (30 issues) for $39.94\u2014-$1.33 a copy! ios . Titler VCR's\\\\JTTL7 iti Theat& PV-4514 ccsssissseesnn4Head VCR Plus+ Home rs PPVN-4G55B1... AS absesotesvesseenenn w\/eaVCdRPHlIusFsl shopping TIPS Z PV-I4-5465462 .........4Head ynHamIorpFlh,ous jog\/hsheuatdls \/ 42 Steresoo AMP Name PV-S4366 . viperVHSeiLON BEIGE! - compared Address (please print full name) BJ3B PPVV--SS44556680..n.scsoennsseneetnesen NNEEWW!! NNEEWW!! ; LASER DISC PLAYERS REVIEWED tre Ch X+HB70 roseEMAL IOLA a chcdiisinideatonanOMble farman aeon ity -X-900 ... ; ome The?\u2019 gyco waterEXVTiRdAeLo State Zip jwerhouses UenderrViirrtteuual sReality ane Hitachi TVS } HONE CHECK ONE: [] Payment enclosed [Bill me IFACTURER WARRANTY iNaval iCanadian orders add includes 7% GST);$7.00 per year (includ les 7% GST); ffoorreeiign D BELOW CosT! ! INPRO 00 2 orders add $7.00 per year; payment in U.S. funds must accompany VCR's (Delivered Prices) order. Please allow 30 to 60 days for delivery of first issue. instant $1e.a5ter. SS.i.x Lis Would you like to receive special offers from qualified users of our \/ Home se 1... mailing list? OQ Yes O)No \u00a9 Fax (414) 357-7814","1994 Best Picture & Best Actor on LesezDis< lacking, and that\u2019s not always something Network Systems, Toshiba, and Uniden DirecTV or USSB can control. The au- Tom dio quality of the Music Choice chan- are expected to unleash models of their nels, for example, falls short of CD Hanks is quality. With video programs, flaws in- own. We\u2019re clearly in for some exciting herent in the program may be obscured Forrest if you view it on videotape, but they can action. Today, though, Sony and Thom- be painfully obvious with DSS; laser- disc aficionados will understand exactly son rule the DSS roost. And Sony, with what I mean. the SAS-AD1, has the most sophisticat- Signal reliability is another important consideration. DSS birds broadcast sig- ed DSS system going. a nals in the Ku band (from 12.2 to 12.7 taserDist Sq Ten GHz), where rain and snow can degrade SURROUNDED titclees... GENERATIONS the received signal. The signal can get so degraded (by heavy storms, for ex- CONTINUED FROM PAGE 39 LION KING\\\" rerview ample) that it introduces artifacts in the picture or causes it to drop out altogeth- but cleaner and more open. Though I (INyp DOEneDRourEpsI VAWIMTHPITHRE E er. At my home in Miami (admittedly at don\u2019t think Lies sounded as good (in ei- the edge of the DSS satellites\u2019 \u201cfoot- ther mode) as Stargate or Clear and Dumb and Gumber print,\u201d though that hasn\u2019t stopped any- Present Danger, it still has its share of one from selling DSS hardware or ser- worthwhile AC-3 moments\u2014like the Prorcssmam, Nobody's vice to South Floridians), subtropical nuke detonation (Side 3, Chapter 35, Fool rains provided a stiff challenge to DSS 10'28\\\") and Arnold\u2019s Harrier takeoff reception. Still, Sony\u2019s system was gen- (Side 3, Chapter 36, 12'00\\\"). DISCLOSURE True Lies erally able to cope. At first, my signal OUTBREAK JUST CAUSE was marred by picture artifacts during Audiophiles who\u2019ve evaluated early LEGENDS minor storms. So I ran through the dish- EAD prototypes have questioned alignment drill a second time. I was able whether AC-3 is truly \u201ctransparent\u201d rache, gue WASK to increase signal strength to the high compared with the digital audio of LDs 80s on the relative scale, and these er- and CDs. I feel it\u2019s far too early to make S ba RG are rors disappeared. (Note that a minor such judgments; with a first-generation change in signal strength probably (if esoteric) decoder and only a small Mention this Ad and get a 20% discount won't have a direct effect on picture number of titles available, the field is far off the Suggested Retail Price on the Titles quality once the signal is locked. DSS too limited to draw conclusions. This is programming is subject to a \u201ccliff ef- especially true because you simply can\u2019t listed above, (Offe fect.\u201d It\u2019s either all on or, when the sig- judge by switching from AC-3 to nal drops below the minimum require- DPL\u2014remember, they use different mixes. While there were a couple of \u2014which might be as low as 40 or moments during my evaluations where the AC-3 sound was a bit \u201cfunny\u201d (par- ticularly, a blaring siren in True Lies), Call for our FRE NO POSTAGE Catalog! Hundrec NECESSARY Releases. All, at le IF MAILED IN THE Overnight Deliver UNITED STATES 1 or 100 discs - you can include \u201cPre-ord BUSINESS REPLY MAIL (Continental U.S. g FIRST-CLASS MAIL PERMIT NO. 483 MARION, OH areas and shipment POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY ADDRESSEE an extra Every Laserdisc title a VIDEO L\u00e9 PO BOX 1981 MARION, OH 43306-2081 10! HaWtSse C(a8 SC FAN CLUE For your FREE Laserc complete and mail the Name: Address: City, State, Zip Code: CIRCLE NO. 73 ON","omput AbilitySince 1982 sl 000-554-99VM4G 99\/95 Consumer Electronics DISCONTINUED SPECIALS ed BRAND NEW FROM JVC Sony MDP-500 HR-S7200U Sony MHC-550 Digital Dolby Pro Logic Surround with DSP Edit Suite is AB-1 a technological WM-FX24 breakthrough in WM-SXF33 | A\/B roll editing. 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YO VIDEONICS ex WJ-AVE 7 \u2018 F E Cc OoTaQ N\u2019 Panasonic c \u2018. mn -| Digital Noise Redction circuitry improves picture a i |quality of older cassettes and even helps restore 13\u201d\u00bb-20 on\u201d rite |Canon PHILIPS for most Avai5lable camcorders! programs recorded from weak off-the-air signals. *Pro-level flying pre-amp *VCR Plus+c3\u2122 cable box programming *Super high-speed rewind\/ast |foward (210%) Bo INDUSTRIAL CAMCORDERS wa digital mixer wProidesvisch VY k m2e2e ArGe-456 sunsienensnsseceannedunCe4h2iXp\/ZSOVOHMS VTME-2000 TViitdleeoMakEeqrual2i0z0e0r compatibi: lity A\u00b0\/BVR-OLSLTEADITT ICOONTNR\u2122OL SYSTEM EDITING DECKS TSEU--11 5 Thumbs Up [2\u2014) > AG-1280 EDI.TING DECKS eormvnen head AB-1- Hey pAecBialRoElflfeCcotnstrMoilxleerr EVO-9500 veeeeee ses HI8 record\/play *(RReCc)ortdisme ocroddeubs Deskto4p inter-format A\/B Roll edit controller *Can record PCM with RS-i\\\"232C port, 3 programmable GP! =O AG-1970 dwt? tine TEC EEVVO0--99675200 .... .Single fraHmiee dHuial8 deckdeck triggers. Reads Hi8 RC time. Available for iby, digital audio *Available in Hi-8 and 8mm Windows, DOS \/ Mac & Amiga. 3 cables | eats ete EVO 2800 induced \u201ca FACADE a cnn controller Bast Reonice eles Bee PRO MARK II - Automatic inter Format WW >) T-1383Y OM ORS didseieonien +. SVHS VCR \u00abProvides the key to inte- i 2 cables ii ncluded. PTA CT-384VY..... senat SW tuner SVP-9000 ..............SVHS play only grating video cameras, e rrr CT-2084Y sssueeneen20\\\" video monitor LASER DISC PLAYERS recone, eae Pthleay perdesvoincaels icnotmo- a \u00a9 Pata Fare \u00bb-20\\\" w\/ tuner MONITORS _ Wu-MXx30 digital field synch GpVeM S1k31e10 . 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Ree Hes 750 Tech: (414) 357-8181 *No surcharge for credit cards PV-IQ 504 Image Stable ... fated $699.95 No extra charge for insurance *No extra charge for delivery* ahaa oe Viewfinder seosonsra$nn8e 78.95 ver\u2019(Delivered Prices) \u201cOn VCR's and Camcorders! *Non tdoefaec1t5i%v9)e merchandise \u2014 PV-54 Color Viewfinder\/image Stable ................ $999.95 PPPVVV---4SS414444-384800H--eSSaVVdHSH..S...... sseeveens . $8$65949999..999955 5 returned for refund will be subject restocking fee Lx-600 Laser Disc = g3q9.95 even kK Fea Hrs (CST): M-F 8a-m8pm, Sat. 9a-m5pm Tech Info 1p-mSpm (414) 357-8181 \u00a9 Fax (414) 357-7814","S| Seer -tJel) \\\\il et, FATT beried \u00a2 \u2014 _ THE VIDEO EDITING & PRODUCTION EXPERTS : gMyEwn B= = JXT88 JXSV55 JXED-11 The World's Easiest Editor! JXT66 s S-VHS\/Hi8 color Tusietiecorlor TUhle toinlmy aptroeductSio-nVcHeSnter Ptrhaot dcoumcbitneiso: n Center eIdfiytoua cvaindeop!reNsesw a JbVuCttoend,itoyrouiscan 4COMpact Video Titler The world's easiest to The lowest priced titler ever offered! _titler! Generates its own title screens \u00bb SPECIAL EFFECTS GENERATOR SALE $399\\\" completely wireless-IR remote Features 4 type sizes, 8 page for quick & easy title creation. \u00a9 HI Fl STEREO AUDIO MIXER controlled! Exclusive Jog Locator memory, scroll and zoom in\/out. * 8 colors\/4 sizes * 10 pgs memory SVHS COLOR PROCESSOR all in one easy to use unit! Dial helps locate & rearrange Plus, it works with all formats \u00a2 Fade in\/out & Scroll title Also Available: $949\u201d JXS300 Remote Control S-VHS A\/V Switcher (3in\/3out) 9 scenes. No hook-up. Edit anywhere, including S-VHS! AC\/DC e Standard size keypad anytime! 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SVHS\/Hi8 compatible. (reg $299) outlining & boxing. ia ea =AMBICO 4; aed INC \/ aj Automatic Editor- Choose & iZ e Pr World's 1st programmable \u00a7 Rearrange up to 191 Scenes Video Titlewriter-Deluxe Color Titler ew!Audio Video Processor New! Special Effects Generator 8 On screen Edit Decision List displays Superimpose titles over live video or on B&W ___Includes luminance, enhancer & color gain stores up to 8 special effects in memory for instant recall. Create over 50 wipe sequences, in & out points & background. Features 8 colors, 2 fonts, 4 controls for picture improvement. PLUS, transition choices (fade or cut). sizes & 3 borders. Titles can wipe in\/out, DNR to reduce hiss, 3 channel audio patterns in 8 colors. Wipe options Built-in enhancer. Requires Sony scroll up\/down, 190\u00b0Dog $179) mixer with LED level indicators & individual include sharp or soft edges $4g99\u00b0\u00b0 Control L or Pana. 5 pin $499\u00b0\u00b0 crawl & flash. SALES audio & video fade controls. $4qag\u2122 & variable angle. Free headset\/boom mic. Auto or manual operation. for automatic editing. 10 page memory. @Gike)) PowPuelrsMe-ax J| jCompleete LaiCCME Systems PACKAGE PRICE Let our TecShyssteCmustfoormiYzoeu! an Editing \u00bb Charge | Technical Advice Hotline 516-759-1943 Reconditions & quick | =AMBICO... V6331 & V6350 All editing systems include... SFX- L & SCW charges two 6V batteries in | Gia) | FREEcaciesivecoampatar gearedgraphics videotape IXSV55 & JXT88 title backgrounds (*14* val.) one cycle. Fastest charge FREE Pelxucsl,usFiRveEsEHaookr-Uep Ghuoiodke u&pHcoawb-lteso (M2a4n\u00b0ualv!al.)(6&* val.) withprobtueiclttioinn! ovAeCr\/chDaCrge semio SQ Remote , SUNPAK Control i) L I K Memory Gea 7 Bis \\\"| Auto Features new modern NiAcad Battery wit, h ,| Pan\/Til1t |fdiensiishg.n Iwnictlhudteistanium Lifetime Warranty Head | ultrasmooth RB7OUL High capacity ; fluid pan head, (2000mAh) gives up to 2 hrs. } , oe ss gear drive & for 8mm & VHS-C camcorders i a . positive from Sony, Pana, JVC al i Vora elevation Sharp. Features 3 | 95 | : center stage LED indicators. ;\u2018 column. nike Available: RBSOUL- 19\u00b0 ~E Mount your camcorder on Sunpak\u2019s pan head, as above with ultra high RB-70UL Cordless VideoLight with place on tripod & get in the action with everyone militate else! Infra-red signal controls pan & tilt plus | SPECIAL capacity (2700 mAh) $69\\\" Auto Sensor, Zoom\u00a7$695 lens zoom & record\/pause of Sony, JVC, Hitachi sQg\u00b05 ATTENTION CANON OWNERS \\\\\\\\E\\\\V RBE77MF |& Tilt Head. Includes & Canon camcorders. $ 00 High capacity (1700mAh) Memory Free Nicad for $3g\u00b05 battery & charger Powered by 6v battery (not included) 149 Canon camcorders. Slim design,Lifetime Warranty. RL-20 compact light s29\u00b0 RS200W Optional 20\u2019 remote sensor cord 49%"]