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April 1985 Contents Volume IX, Number 1 Features Program Guide Columns The Greatest Stories Ever Told News & Views Channel One Our critic makes a selective By Ken Winslow.43 The Digital Class.6 survey of ‘the epic, ’ the film genre in which too much is enough. Top 10 Fast Forward By Tom Soter.66 Tape & Disc Sales & Rentals.45 Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Sony.8 What's New Reviews Feedback We’ll tell you what’s new. Super Film & Video Clips/Quick Takes.46 Who’s the Sucker?.10 Beta! Korean VCRs! Camcorders! And accessories are multiplying Directory New Products like Rabbits (which is the name What’s New on Tape & Disc.57 NEC’s Quadruplets: 2 Beta, 2 VHS.. 14 of one of ’em). Yes, we have seen the future of video—or at least Videotests Fine Tuning this year’s version of it. The Proper Dub By Richard Jaccoma.70 Sansui SV-R9900HF VHS Hi-Fi VCR By Roderick Woodcock.26 Canon VR-E10 Portable 8mm VCR Found Sound Canon VC-200A 8mm Color Camera Videogram Those who take the trouble can Bib VHS Video Alarm Flying Blind? find free multichannel riches By Berger-Braithwaite Labs.92 By William Wolfe.30 buried in movie soundtracks. By Tim Onosko.77 TV Den Resolution Resolved Heard Any Good Movies Lately? By Roderick Woodcock.32 It’s coming. It’s on the horizon. It’s creeping closer. It’s almost Random Access here. It’s digital movie sound. Screen Protection By Martin Porter.80 Ditlea/KunkellMcMullen.36 The Art of the Chip New Channels One pixel is worth a thousand Low-Power Lowdown words—so for a change, we’ve laid By William A. Marsano.38 out five pages of computer art— a pictorial exploration of the Dateline Tokyo artistic power of the microchip. Warm & Softies By Various Artists.83 By Ichiro Kakehashi.142 Video Bookshelf LARRY, The Stooge in the Middle By George L. George.144 Through the Lens, Lightly People The new generation of ultralight Judd Hirsch on the Boardwalk video cameras provides for new By Lorenzo Carcaterra.146 techniques in picture shooting. By John Bishop.88 Off the Air Technoturkeys By Bob Brewin. 148



Channel One The Digital Class There is little argument here that one of the wonderful perquisites of working at a magazine like VIDEO is a life of indentured servitude to the world of “digital.” Things could be worse. The snob appeal of digital is straight-up evident in every walk of middle-class (and up) life. We are talking digital sound, digital disc, digital dashboards, digital computers, digital TV (soon), and just plain old digital readout. If you’re living in an analog household, you just cannot cut it anymore—not with the Joneses down the block, and certainly not with us. Take plain old readout. Liquid crystals and light-emitting diodes are ridiculously ubiquitous, from the cabbie’s taximeter to the airline pilot’s instrument display to VCRs (even low-rent ones) to wristwatches. There is something strangely gratifying in manag¬ ing one’s life in numerical flashes, with the exception of the out-and-out bummer of seeing a 7 a.m. readout on your alarm dark after an evening’s excess. An editor, affectionately known as the young curmudgeon, recently visited a friend who is an upscale orthopedist by day and an audio/videophile by night. After being shown around the bone man’s competently equipped media room, the young curmudgeon was overheard muttering to his wife: “Dammitall. He’s got more digital readouts than we do. ” The doc’s autodialer handset (with digital readout phone number, naturally) was the coup de grace. It was a sweet anecdote for us. No longer do people compete with conventional status symbols—prep schools, BMWs, country homes, men’s clubs. Why, the stakes are much higher. One thing you should immediately know about digital: what you hear is not necessarily what you get. As Marty Porter explains in his piece “Heard Any Good Movies Lately?, ” digital doesn’t necessarily mean “pure” digital. Most of what we hear in cinema—high- quality sound though it sometimes is—is some kind of second-generation audio mastered from analog and transferred to digital. Hollywood knows this, and Hollywood knows that folks like us know this. So producers are now planning to digitize movie soundtracks from top to bottom. And videophiles will eventually benefit when the Hi-Fi (albeit analog) tapes come out. The digital age has also brought certain aesthetic wonders, and this month we offer a five-page display of computer art. It’s one of our infrequent forays into the offspring of research and development, a satisfying merger of science and beauty. That computer art isn’t yet considered fine art doesn’t bother us a whit. Soon, as you’ll see in our portfolio, critics will be debating its merits. Is it art? Write and tell us what you think. In recent months we’ve been rather closemouthed about giving you previews of what’s coming in future issues. There are two reasons for this. One, we don’t like our competi¬ tion to know our plans. Two, we often change our minds. This month, however, we’d like to break silence and give you a preview of the May issue. We’re planning a special number, dubbed the “software special” in interoffice memos. In it is an exciting lineup of stories. For starters, we’re publishing the toughest video trivia quiz you’ll ever take. There are 100 questions designed to keep you up all night with your VCR. After you’ve taken the test, we offer our editors’ and critics’ choices of their “Hot 100” prerecorded titles. We have a tough, critical look at how exercise tapes sometimes can be harmful to your health; and an in-depth report about violence in rock video. And that’s not all. We also have an interview with a Hollywood giant. Don’t miss it. 6 Video

AFTER QWhy are TDK Hi-Fi video Reference tape. With audio fre¬ SPENDING quency response of 20-20,000 Hz, MEGABUCKS cassettes the best choice plus output uniformity within 0.3% YOU SHOULD at 7 kHz, it all adds up to clean, GET A for Hi-Fi VCRs? crisp, life-like color reproduction MEGASOUND. TDK Hi-Fi video cassettes achieve a new level of audio and crystal clear sound. You’ve and video recording quality. got to hear and see new TDK Hi-Fi They’re designed to meet the criti¬ on your VHS or Beta Hi-Fi VCR to cal demands of today’s sophisti¬ cated VHS and Beta Hi-Fi VCRs Qbelieve it. like no other cassette. Why does TDK Hi-Fi look TDK Hi-Fi offers virtual freedom A and sound better? from dropouts and jitters, while de¬ Our unique HDD (high den¬ livering unparalleled uniformity sity/durability) binder sys¬ and stability in picture and sound tem facilitates optimum particle quality. What’s more, TDK Hi-Fi is dispersion and delivers the lowest encased in our unerringly precise dropout rate, which is critical to SQ cassette shell mechanism with the performance of these sophisti¬ six control torqued screws which cated VCRs. Additionally, TDK’s increases the rigidity of flatness of ultra-smooth/flat film base and the cassette's lower half ensuring high conductivity back coating, more perfect tape positioning. combined with our SQ (super pre¬ cision) cassette shell mechanism QWhat enables TDK Hi-Fi to (built to tolerances 2.5 times the industry standards), deliver vir¬ deliver such fantastic per¬ tually the smoothest running per¬ A formance? formance of any video cassette By developing new ultra-re- fined Super Avilyn magnetic Qdesigned for Hi-Fi VCRs. particles that are smaller, thinner Why is TDK Hi-Fi the best and more uniform than others cur¬ rently available, we’re able to pack A for PCM digital recording? the particles more densely; With TDK Hi-Fi, PCM re¬ achieving a BET value of 35ma/g. cordings can achieve their That translates into unsurpassed full potential, in a medium where signal-to-noise ratios in both uniformity is of paramount impor¬ chrominance and luminance for tance, TDK Hi-Fi ensures that improved audio/video clarity and signals will maintain their vital integrity. And because it delivers Qresolution play after play. the lowest dropout rate in its class, How does that translate TDK Hi-Fi is particularly beneficial to reproducing digitally encoded A technically? music. It also yields a higher TDK Hi-Fi features lumi¬ RF output, further reducing the nance and chrominance probability of erroneous readings signal-to-noise ratios of + 4.5 dB of digital signals. and + 5.5 dB, respectively; plus a 1 dB improvement in audio sen¬ Q What’s next from TDK? sitivity, compared to our Standard g\\ More videophiles are learn- #■% ing that TDK is where great entertainment begins. With 50 years of magnetic media techno¬ logy behind us, we always look toward the future. As the world leader and innovator in home video tape, we know it is our respon¬ sibility to continually develop the highest standards of performance with the quality that has become synonymous with our name. And it will be for mega-years to come. &TDK

Fast Forward Late-Breaking News Dr.Jekyll& Mr. Sony guaranteed to anger Hol¬ vide stereo sound— at mission has concluded lywood is the unit’s abil¬ least for now. The FCC that local, state, and feder¬ International compa¬ ity to dub from one tape to has been threatening to al laws are now all that nies use different strokes the other. That ability enforce “must carry” are needed to stop these for different consumers. may make tape piracy a rules which insist that and other abuses. Here in the U.S., the hig little too convenient. So cable systems transmit Sony news is high-res Su¬ despite the Supreme the entirety of all broad¬ The Kindest Cuts per Beta (see “What’s Court’s Betamax de¬ cast signals, including New,” in this issue). But cision, which basically MTS when it’s present. There’s another re¬ back in Japan, Sony re¬ states that using video But the commissioners cord-breaking low in pre¬ cently devoted equal fan¬ copying equipment in the have remained divided on recorded cassette prices. fare to its parallel home isn’t illegal per se, the specifics of the issue, VCI Home Video of Tulsa, announcement of the the twin-deck unit—and and so have decided to Oklahoma is offering its Video 8 camcorder. others like it—will prob¬ table the matter for direct-mail customers 10 ably be kept away from the next full yean. film titles for $5.95 each. Video 8 weighs less U.S. shores for some time. Nine of the films are in than 5.1 lbs. with battery How High Hi-Fi color, and none are pub¬ and tape and lists for Turn Off lic-domain titles— $1100. It uses a CCD The numbers are in on although none are Oscar imager equivalent to the Television is not what VHS Hi-Fi, and what winners either. Dick Tra¬ one in the newest CCD the doctor ordered. Now, looks gloomy for manu¬ cy Meets Gruesome Betamovie. In addition, it there’s another report facturers may mean (1950), Attack from Out¬ offers an electronic view¬ about its harmful effects golden opportunities for er Space (1981), and finder, a playback system on children, this time careful shoppers. Some White Comanche (1967) with search and freeze from the American Hi-Fi models, plagued by are among the offerings. frame, and comes with a Academy of Pediatrics. initial quality problems How does VCI do it? On tuner/timer. In short, and an early lack of pre¬ customers’ cassettes, Video 8 seems to offer The report says that TV recorded programming, that’s how. The company ,many consumer-friendly makes kids violent, over¬ reportedly haven’t been asks them to send in a features not even found weight, and encourages selling very briskly. The Beta or VHS blank, and in Betamovie, and may use of drugs, alcohol, and discounting on older for the above price (plus become a very interest¬ tobacco. TV’s “unrealis¬ decks should begin soon $2.95 for shipping and ing 8mm offering. tic” portrayal of sexual —and newer Hi-Fi mod¬ handling) returns it relationships may even els may be lower in price filled with the movie Sony execs won’t be contribute to the rate of right from the start, put¬ of choice. more specific, but say teenage pregnancy. ting them more nearly in they will “definitely” be line with their Beta coun¬ Video-X Rollback selling Video 8 in the U.S. The study suggests terparts. some time this year. some antidotes to TV’s America has been good ills: parents should push FCC You Later Double Trouble alternative activities like to its X-rated tape reading and sports, limit The FCC has decided to A double-deck VCR^- the time kids spend glued toss away some of its own dealers. Video lovers similar in concept to to the tube, and try to powers to regulate TV twin-deck audio re¬ avoid the many -violent and radio. Recently, it bought about $100 mil¬ corders—has been shows which permeate voted to eliminate a long¬ announced by Sharp. So the waves and cables. standing broadcast poli¬ lion worth of their prod¬ far, the one-speed VHS cy statement. Among the unit is built only for PAL Stereo Summer practices it will no longer ucts last year, though and SECAM use and is try to control: “Scare being sold in the Mideast NBC promises some announcements” of the hardcore cassettes now for $935. daily broadcast stereo by War of the Worlds type, June. Johnny Carson and and annoyance contests represent only about 14 It has a single tuner/ Friday Night Videos will which cause public in¬ timer and 2 decks side- be first, followed by David convenience. The FCC percent of all cassette by-side in a 17.7-inch¬ Letterman and Saturday had originally formu¬ wide frame. The decks Night Live. NBC will send lated contest policy in sales. At least one major function either separate¬ its MTS signal -via satel¬ reaction to broadcast ly (for instance, for off- lite, and it will be avail¬ contests such as one adult tape company has air recording while play¬ able to all local affiliates. which asked listeners to ing back) or together. In pick names at random decided to show its appre¬ either recording or play¬ Never Mind from the phone book, and back mode, one tape will call them up. The com¬ ciation. Video-X-Pix is start up when the other The pressure is off for tape finishes. cable operators to pro¬ cutting all its title prices But a fact which seems to $39.95—well below the adult tape average of $69 to $89. “Consumers have been overpaying for quite a long time,” says VXP exec Howie Farber. His company just wants “to follow what Para¬ mount is doing” in terms of price cuts to cus¬ tomers. Q Video

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Feedback Readers Air Their Views Who's the Sucker? else, and always returned my cheaply as possible. Unless Don't Be Cruel Imagine my shock when calls promptly. He made me more of the public demands Your review of Videotrivia Thomas E. Hilton’s letter feel that, as a Pioneer cus¬ better sound reproduction, [“Quick Takes/Video,” Janu¬ assaulted me from your pages tomer, I was important. My stereo and quality audio will ary 1985] referred to trivia [“Feedback,” February problem was solved and my be a low-priority item in their fans as “illiterates.” This is an 1985] as a “sucker.” He children are now quite busy budgets. insult to the millions who en¬ lashes out at the VHS-owning watching our 50 LaserDiscs. joy these games. According majority of the VCR public, My brother just bought a Michael Kiley to Webster’s, “trivia” con¬ yet where is all the Beta Pioneer audio system, and I Crestwood, Ill. sists of “small unimportant splendor he sees in a jungle of will look at one today. I am facts or matters,” and that’s fuzzy VHS? All I’ve found is also going to buy a VCR, and The Wronged what is in Videotrivia. Our uniform mediocrity in picture will wait until Pioneer comes tape is a social experience, quality. If Sony does produce out with its Beta machine. 'Heartbeat' not a test of knowledge. the rumored 400-line VCR, I Your technology is superb Moreover, the interplay be¬ will gratefully buy one. In the and so are your people. I wish to put in my two cents’ tween players and their meantime Sony continues to humorous answers often push an unpopular format Robert J. Wolter worth about Wayne King’s make the game even more without success, a format Milwaukee, Wis. enjoyable. Videotrivia is now that could have swept the review of the Cars’ Heartbeat available in six editions: market if Sony had listened to Now Hear This Books & Literature, The Ex¬ reason and made the cassette I concur with your dissatisfac¬ City [“Quick Takes/Video,” pert Edition (caution: it may shell big enough. Instead tion with the cable industry’s be hazardous to your ego), Sony succumbed to ego, and apathy about stereo TV January 1985]. It’s obvious General Knowledge, Movies eventually Beta will fail. Aha! sound [“Paying the Cable & Television, Worldwide I understand the anger now. Bill,” “Channel One,” January Mr. King does not like the Sports, and for children ages 1985]. However, most TVs eight and up, Junior Trivia— Jose R. Suarez in use have only a cheap four- Cars at all, and so it is unfair all priced at $29.95 suggested Cincinnati, Ohio inch or smaller speaker. Fif¬ retail. teen years ago I upgraded the to give the video such a nega¬ LV Response sound of my color TV by dis¬ Roy B. Winnick Excerpts from a letter to abling the internal speaker tive review—unfair to those President Pioneer. and feeding the output of the set’s FM sound demodulator who like the Cars because it Best Film & Video Corp. I am writing to tell you into a 10-watt amp/eight-inch Great Neck, N.Y. what a fine company you speaker/ported enclosure gives them a biased impres¬ have. When I had problems system which stands by the U.S. Blues with my Pioneer LaserDisc TV. Though I still use it, few sion of the video. The com¬ I take issue with Murray Slo- player, my first contact with if any other people are im¬ vick’s “Bands Across the your corporation was with a pressed by the greatly im¬ ment about the Cars treating Water” [December 1984]. In secretary named Cam, who proved sound. In fact, many Tokyo, I recently bought calmed me down and said she say they can’t distinguish be¬ women as objects made my Hitachi’s CMT2090 multisys¬ would find someone who tween the added system and tem TV ($400), VT-39EM would help. She got back to the original four-by-six-inch blood boil. There is a differ¬ VCR ($665), and VT-P10 me in less than an hour and speaker. Sadly, most of the videocassette player ($425; put me in touch with Larry American public has a tin ear ence between treating now discontinued). The TV, Tinkler, your National Ser¬ and has little interest in audio used with the VCR, provides vice Manager. He was never quality better than on a clock/ women as objects and having outstanding results in NTSC too busy to talk with me, nev¬ radio. The cable industry, like or PAL and the system can er passed the buck to anyone most of the video industry, women in your videos be¬ aims to satisfy most of the people most of the time, as cause you are trying to depict a love story or a story about men and women. After read¬ ing this remark, and after calming down considerably, I again watched one of my two copies of Heartbeat City (I’ve worn one out) just to make sure my loyalty and admira¬ tion for the Cars was not clouding my objective opinion about the video—and it wasn’t. Isn’t it great the Cars put most of their videos on one tape so fans won’t have to watch MTV for days on end to catch them? Isn’t it great that Warner packaged such a fine video at a great price? Isn’t it great that the consumer still has the final say about what is the best video, group, or insensitive critic? Barb McVay San Carlos, Calif.

Radio Shack Beta-Hi-Fi VCR Slashed $150 Sale! Get First-Class Video and Audio with wireless Remote Control for Only $449.95 The Realistic® Model 20 is our feature- You get all this plus: Cable-ready tuner packed VCR that connects to your stereo so with 12 station presets. Full-function wireless you can enjoy the spectacular realism of Beta remote with up/down channel tuning. Comple¬ Hi-Fi movies and music videos. Television has tely automatic playback speed selection, even never looked or sounded so good! if you’ve recorded programs at different speeds on the same tape. Special-feature In addition to the superb picture quality playback that lets you rapidly search the tape that Beta is famous for, you get ruler-flat audio in either direction and “freeze” the picture. response from 20 to 20,000 Hz. With inaudible wow and flutter. Plus dynamic range which Come in today for a demonstration of this rivals that of digital audio disc. incredibly versatile VCR. Regularly $599.95, it’s sale-priced now through April 22nd, and But it’s more than great “specs” that we offer a variety of time-payment plans at make Model 20 the entertainment buy of the most of our locations. With Radio Shack/ year. Simply flip a switch and it becomes a CitiLine credit you can enjoy first-class home long-play audio-only recorder that outperforms entertainment for as low as $21 per month. cassette and open reel decks. And Model 20 lets you record TV/FM simulcasts in stereo Radio /hack when it’s connected to your audio system. No A DIVISION OF TANDY CORPORATION complicated hookups. The only “extra” you’ll need is an ordinary audio patchcord. Price applies at participating Radio Shack stores and dealers.

Feedback duplicate tapes using the player and re¬ widely in North America and Europe. plied by recalling that these widescreen corder. I have had carry cases made for formats were originally introduced to the TV and VCR and use them as a porta¬ One other point: our telephone number compete with a certain invention that ble unit to display foreign-made tapes at was keeping more and more people parties. I don’t own any stock in Hitachi, was not listed in the story. The number is home from movie theaters—television. but it does appear you did not investigate these units. I am also informed through 303-355-1010. Steven J. Hering Les Leist Sony of Hawaii that a Beta multisystem Alexandria, Va. unit is available for $985. President, Videophonic Ent. Stuart M. Cowan Denver, Colo. Honolulu, Hawaii Open Wide Working Together Recent issues have discussed the prob¬ Re Jeffrey T. Dick’s “Pictures Framed” lems surrounding the different video sys¬ [November 1984]: Every time I read In your December 1984 issue Bruce tems used around the world. A recent ad articles or reader letters addressing the in the Japan Times, an English-language problem of widescreen films transferred Apar’s “Off the Air” reports on video¬ Tokyo newspaper, told of Hitachi’s 10- to video, one solution is always over¬ system TV and 10-system VCR. Both looked: direct Cinemascope transfers. In cassette players and their potential. I’ve systems are sold in Japan: the TV for other words, transfers that, when played about $600 and the VCR for about $920. back on unaltered TVs or monitors, will wondered for some time why someone These units look like the answer for peo¬ look horizontally compressed—but when ple who travel around the world and want the vertical-size or “height” control is hasn’t combined a VCP and monitor in to record and watch TV programs. adjusted, will present a real widescreen display. one unit. Today it is hard to find a profes¬ Dr. Ronald J. Hrebenar Salt Lake City, Utah While the mathematics of this sional office, medical center, corporate approach might indicate equal or reduced Yes indeed. The problem is, as an Amer¬ resolution compared to “masking” office, or classroom that does not use ican-based magazine, we cover only pro¬ (beam-spot size remains the same), I ducts available to our readers in the have tried this method using a three- videotapes for educational purposes. In U.S. When something new appears on quarter-inch U-Matic player and an the horizon elsewhere in the world, we Aquastar IIIB projector (eight by ten feet every case you will find a large unattrac¬ like to make note of it—especially in Ichiro reduced to about six by ten) and the re¬ Kakehashi’s \"Dateline Tokyo” column, sults have been excellent, offering sub¬ tive metal rack holding a TV and VCR. In but we would disserve our readers by serv¬ jectively increased resolution. Therefore ing up detailed news about products most I propose a “Videophile” series of Laser- most of these installations the recording of them can’t get. Vision disc releases, just as there are “audiophile” virgin-vinyl record feature of the VCR is never used—nor is Beta Meets VHS Bruce Apar’s excellent piece on releases. the TV tuner. Wouldn’t a single unit on a videocassette players (“VCRn’t, “Off the The system would have to be limited Air,” December 1984] overlooks one of nice stand be more attractive, consume the greatest advantages of owning a to LV disc at this point because that is the VCP. Many people use their VCRs only system with “videophile” visual less space, and be more practical? It mostly for time shifting and only occa¬ quality. With Pioneer’s announcement sionally rent tapes. When we do rent, that it intends to use the spare spectrum seems to me there should be a large however, we are locked into our own space on the NTSC LV disc (unavailable VCR formats. I dearly love my Sanyo on PAL or SECAM), to provide digital market for a combination monitor and Beta, but about three-quarters of all ren¬ audio, the LV videophile format would tals in my area are stocked in VHS. stretch even studio or broadcast audio VCP. Arthur Schalick Jr. Would I spend $150 for a VHS player? and video monitors to their limits. While You bet I would. Another advantage is this system is not for everyone, it should Vineland, N.J. the ability to borrow friends’ tapes. satisfy the hardcore video/movie afi¬ cionado with no changes in equipment As Roderick Woodcock reminded us in Martin Kalaydjian and should finally put to rest the pan¬ “Playback: A History of the VCR” Eden, N.C. scan/masking controversy. (August 1984), the first consumer video recorder (but not player), the Sony LV- Numerical Suggestion Arby Schuman 1901, housed a Beta I VCR with a Trini¬ We appreciate your including Video- Megazap Telemetry Systems tron TV. However, consumers soon phonic Enterprises in Reina Meredith’s showed their preference for separate VCRs “Subliminal Suggestions” in the January Brooklyn, N.Y. and the component approach. Whether the 1985 issue. We are proud of our sublimi¬ VCP will bring back this all-in-one con¬ nal-suggestion tape because, unlike most cept remains to be seen. others, it was initially sold to clinical pro¬ fessionals before we took it to the gener¬ It was encouraging to find, in the Decem¬ Plugged Holes al public. In the past 10 years Dr. Bud- ber 1984 issue, no less than three refer¬ George L. George listed several video zynski, a pioneer in biofeedback research ences to the frustration of not seeing books in a recent “Video Bookshelf’ col¬ and application, has developed and re¬ widescreen in their original proportions umn. However, I think he missed several fined the subliminal process to apply it in —in a “Feedback” letter, a “Fine important video-editing books. There the clinical setting. He has authored Tuning” letter, and in the interview with are three other excellent books on this more than 40 papers and chapters on John Frankenheimer. This subject subject: Computerized Video Editing biofeedback, stress management, and should be harped on as often as possible (Diana Weynand, illustrated, Weynand subliminal therapy and has lectured and kept prominent in the minds of pro¬ and Associates, 6727 Callicott Ave., gram distributors. I suspect, however, Woodland Hills, Calif. 91367, $20), Video that not much can be done with current Editing (Michael D. Schetter, 152 pp., formats and hardware; it’s hard to im¬ illustrated, Swidereski Electronics, 1200 agine a CRT in the 1.35:1 aspect ratio. Greenleaf Ave., Elk Grove, Ill. 60007, Probably only the next generation of $29.95), and The Video Tape Post Pro¬ equipment, such as flat-screen and digital duction Primer (Steven E. Browne, 218 TVs, will finally let us sit at home and pp., illustrated, $25, Wilton Place Com¬ watch the Mother Ship in all its glory. munications, Box 20g0, Burbank, Calif. Perhaps the proper incentive can be sup¬ 91507, $25). All three are currently used in professional and other editing classes. Steven E. Browne Author/publisher Wilton Place Communications Burbank, Cal. VIDEO welcomes your comments and questions. Due to the volume of mail we receive, however, it is not possible to send personal replies; please do not include self-addressed envelopes with letters. All letters published may be edited for clarity and space. Address correspondence to Feedback, VIDEO Magazine, 460 West 34th Street, New York, N.Y. 10001.

PERFORMANCE TOUCAN TRUST FROM THE NAMETOU KNOW IN VIDEO. Today, there are hun¬ RCA accessories will dreds of video products, enhance your enjoyment tapes and accessories to and your equipment’s choose from. All from dif¬ capability. Your RCA dealer ferent manufacturers with has everything you need. different quality standards. From start-up kits, batteries, cables, cords and head clean¬ But there’s still one ers, to cases for VCRs and way to get the best cameras, lenses, wireless combination of value and performance. Go Our blank video tape, for example, is designed to the same with the name you know types of high-level performance and trust. The name standards as our V' with one of the biggest available in most popular le video lineups in the in VHS and Beta, Pfemium industry: RCA. We have proven our quality rep¬ utation year after year in every phase of video. Quality and Super High Grade. mikes and tripods. And much Our video accessories put on more. All from RCA. an equally impressive perfor¬ Why trust the performance mance. Whether you’re a first- of your video system to any¬ year rookie or a video veteran, thing less than the name you know best? See your RCA dealer today. nnjB Video IllVfl Accessories or additional information, circl

New Products 4 New NEC VCRs Debut: at seven times normal speed in forward has only one-event/seven-day program¬ 2 Are Beta, 2 Are VHS and reverse, auto rewind, and multifunc¬ ming capability, but also has picture tion wireless remote. The main differ¬ search at nine times normal speed and NEC, which took the lead in offering ences between the two—apart from receives 82 channels. both Beta and VHS VCRs to the public, price—are that the N911EU has elec¬ has a new pair of machines in each for¬ tronic counter memory, a unique NEC Prices: VT-225T, $499; VT-210T, mat. The Betas are Hi-Fi, while the VHS three-head system for noise-free special $399. units are mono. effects such as “field still, ’’ and 4-event/ 21-day programmability. The N901EU Unitech VHS VCRs Offer The Betas both include such functions has 2-event/21-day programmability and Basic Features, Low Price as skip search (which runs through 30 still-frame function that is not noiseless. seconds of playback at a time), simple- Unitech is not a household VCR name, to-operate programmable timers, full- Prices: VC-N70EN, $999; VC- but its three VHS models offer basic fea¬ function wireless remote, picture N60EN, $799; N911EU, $599; tures at attractive prices. search, noiseless pause, and 12-LED N901EU, $499. peak meters. The units can record simul¬ Unitech SSV-1000 casts and come with an MPX terminal for For additional information, use with stereo-TV broadcast adapters. circle No. 146 on Reader Service Card. The top-of-the-line SSV-2000, at a list price of less than $500, offers four heads Neither of the VHS units are Hi-Fi or Samsung VHS VCRs for noiseless reproduction in special- stereo, but both do have NEC’s new re¬ Include 4-Head Model effects modes and optimum image quality designed tuner/timer. The 105-channel in general. It also comes with slow-speed tuner has 16 station presets, and the Samsung offers a four-head VHS VCR advance, 105-channel tuner, 14-day/2- timer offers serial recording at the same as well as a lower model, both in a com¬ event timer, and a 9-key/ll-function time each day and segment recording for pact design. The VT-225T has, in addi¬ wireless remote control. One notch up to five hours of one-touch recording in tion to four heads, a 4-event/14-day tim¬ down is the SSV-1500, with the same 30-minute increments. Other features er and picture search at two speeds. The tuner/timer and a 9-function remote. A include picture-search segment location four heads help deliver crisp pictures in 6-key/9-function wired remote comes all special-effects modes. The VT-210T with the bottom-of-the-line SSV-1000, which also has a 7-day/l-event timer, 82-channel tuner, and features that do not invariably show up at the bottom of the line such as visual search, stop action, and frame-by-frame advance. Prices: SSV-2000, $499; SSV-1500, $449; SSV-1000, $369. For additional information.

Sony introduces the audio receiver made for videos. Rock videos are the most center\" for all your audio com¬ other virtues. Like the option of exciting thing to hit television ponents and your video compo¬ Sony's Remote Commander®unit since the legends of rock 'n' roll nents, as well.Which is why you'll which allows you to control all first gyrated across the stage. grow into it, rather than out of it. your Sony audio components with But you shouldn't have to lis¬ As impressive as all this out even a remote pos¬ ten to them or some rock opera sounds, ife nowhere near as sibility of ever having on a speaker designed for a impressive as the quality of the to get out of your chair. soap opera. receiver itself. One of the features And thanks to Sony you don't Our new Audio Signal you'll find most impres¬ have to. In fact, our new receiv¬ Processor, for instance, generates sive, however, is the ers are the only ones that allow exceedingly low levels of noise price. Which is extraor¬ you to enjoy MTV HBO dinary when you stop and other cable simulcast and distortion. And to consider thereis programming on some¬ our feather-touch nothing else like them pushbutton controls at any price. thing built for great are also part of music.Your stereo the most flexible tuning So go to your Sony dealer and system. system ever built listen to our new STR-AV fThese into a receiver. Direct receivers. Once you do, rock Access™ Quartz videos will start to sound as . & j remarkable Synthesis Tuning. colorful as they look. It eliminates the need f v/ § -J j receivers for fine tuning. It also THE ONE AND ONLY SOUND OF SONY. tenable eliminates the need for some¬ ♦Check your local cable company fot service availability / * theFMsimul- thing else: wasting time. (It can and any additional requirements. Model shown is : pick up preset stations faster STR-AV560, 60 waits per channel (continuous RMS, both f cast portion of your than a radar detector picks up channels driven, 8 ohms, 20 Hb—20kHz, 008% THD). S cable to be directly police cars.) © 1985 Sony Corporation of America. Sony and Remote hooked into your Our new receivers also have Commander are registered trademarks of Sony Corpora¬ system.* In a tion. Direct Access and The One and Only Sound of Sony are trademarks of Sony Corporation of America. sense, it TV picture simulated. : serves as a kind of “nerve SONY o. 8 or, Reader Service SONY *- umm mmm mmu — aa a u _| |n| 1 uuaa ^■ -

THE NEW RECOTON V614 MINIATURE MASTER CONTROL CENTER PERMITS New Products_ INSTANT PROGRAM SELECTION AT YOUR FINGERTIPS! The V614's 4 input to 2 Teknika's First Yank VCRs output design allows selection of 4 video sources (i.e., VCR, Cable TV, Antenna, Include 1 Hi-Fi Model Videogame/Computer) to either or both of two outputs (such as 2 - TV's or TV and Teknika, which has had VCRs in Japan VCR). You can even record Cable TV while watching regular TV. for some time, brings its recorder line to the U.S. with four models—all VHS, in¬ For the best possible picture insist on Recoton \"Gold Connection\" cluding one Hi-Fi. high performance Video Hookup Cables. The top-of-the-line model 587 is a Hi- Fi unit, albeit a two-head one. It has cable-ready 107-channel tuning, 4- event/14-day programmability, and direct-access remote control. Down one notch, the 584 has the same tuner/timer and a 17-function wireless remote, but is not a Hi-Fi machine. It does, however, have four heads for noiseless special- effects performance. Model 583 is a two- head VCR with a similar tuner/timer and 15-function wireless remote. The leader model is number 571, a two-head front loader that comes with a wired remote with five functions and 82-channel tuning. The timer can record 2 events over two weeks. Prices: Model 587, $799.95; 584, $549; 583, $449; 571, $399.95. circle No. 149 on Reader Service Card. Recoton....Setting New Standards of Technical Excellence in Video, Audio Computer, Telephone, and Stereo Headphone Accessories. nrEccrran* F.C.C. & U.L. Approved ■k 11101, 718-392-6442 Recoton Corporation, 46-23 Crane Street, Long Island City, N ENGINEERED Teknika Model 587 ^ ^ for VIDEO Sylvania Introduces New LV, VHS Units NEW VIDEO ENSIGN TRIPOD with Built-in MONOPOD New from Sylvania: one addition each to its LV and VHS lines. Versatile tripod designed especially for video cameras and featuring stronger square channel legs to support The VP7400SL LaserVision player is weight of larger cameras. Includes Spring Head to significantly quieter in operation than counter-balance camera weight forward or back; friction previous models, according to the manu¬ control on elevator to prevent camera descending too facturer. It has been redesigned as a fast; 3-way panhead for versatility; 3-sec legs for front loader with the right dimensions to compactness; leg braces for sturdiness; fast lever leg fit into a rack, though it may also be used locks. Special feature is the elevator column which dis¬ as a freestanding unit. In addition to full- mounts from tripod into 3-sec telescoping Monopod function remote and front-mounted LED with panhead. Use Tripod indoors... Use Monopod outdoors... VIDEO KADDYKART Moves VCR and acces¬ sories on roller base while camera mounts on telescoping rod and panhead. Dismounts for use as Monopod for camera alone. SEND FOR Illustrated Tripod brochure showing complete line of heavy-duty video tripods and accessories. ACME-LITE MANUFACTURING CO. Sylvania VP7400SL (top); VC2232SL o. 10 on Reader Service Card.

WALT DISNEY HOME VIDEO ■L&, Walt Disney Home Video brings ■Kt families to their feet with Mousercise, Jjgp|L the new exercise tape that [i ■HEgtgj* makes fitness fun. A/ vvk TBPvTI' Mousercise is an upbeat exercise program -'ugB •*yjr developed especially for ■ jF children like yours, with special appearances by their |H favorite Disney characters. Led by Kellyn, the popular instructor who makes kids jump for joy, Mousercisers develop coordination, stamina and rhythm while moving to great music. And Mousercise includes a special pre-teen segment, in which Kellyn demonstrates step-by-step exercises working specific muscle groups. % It’s never too early to build % strong bodies. So get frnm your kids moving with Mousercise. It’s positively habit ___ forming. gB

New Products_ indicators, its roster of features includes forward and reverse scan, nine-step variable speed in forward and reverse (from frame-by-frame to triple-speed without video noise), and still-step for frame-by-frame freeze (all in CAV mode only). Fourteen-function remote control is one feature of the new Sylvania VHS, model VC2232SL—unusual for a leader model. The list of features for this model also includes 14-day/2-event timer, 107- channel tuner with 12 presets, slow motion, one-touch recording (240 minutes), and search in forward and reverse. Price: VP7400SL LV player, $750; VC2232SL VHS, to be announced. For additional information, RECOTON GOLD CONNECTION® VIDEO CABLES HAVE BECOME THE INDUSTRY STANDARD FOR HIGH PERFO■RMGAoNldCiEs VIDEO RECORDING AND HOOKUP BECAUSE the most conductive of all metals and, therefore, eliminates interference and improves picture and sound quality. ■ Recoton offers specially designed cables for video, audio and RF application to insure optimum performance. For the best possible picture insist on Recoton Gold Connection® high performance video hookup cables. Recoton....Setting New Standards of Technical Excellence in Video, Audio, Computer, Telephone and Stereo Headphone Accessories. For more information, contact: nreccrrarr Proton Monitor/Receiver Is No Bigger than Monitor The compact design of the new Proton 19-inch monitor/receiver, 619S, makes it no larger than Proton’s well-regarded 600M monitor (sans tuner). With horizontal resolution of more than 370 lines, overscan of no more than 5 percent, and geometric accuracy of 99.3 percent, the unit also offers some unusual features. A switchable trap helps reduce “chroma beat,” caused by video- game interference, and a sleep timer turns off the unit after one hour. The tuner has 16 programmable presets and dual-directional channel search, and an MPX output can take on the Proton 690 broadcast stereo decoder. Though the unit has an internal speaker, a rear-panel switch and a 2.5-watt amp can accommo¬ date external speakers. Audio frequency response is 20-20,000Hz + /-3dB. Connections provided are a front RF video input, two rear composite-video inputs, two sets of audio outputs, and two sets of video inputs. The unit mea¬ sures 21-1/4 by 19-3/4 by 19-3/4 inches. Projected retail price: $699.

Sometimes, in the darkest times, THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY THINGS HAPPEN Robcn Lewis Stevenson’s //// ^ Black Arrow tells the story of war as it has never been told before. Filmed in the lush European countryside, it features two superstars you’ll want to see. Britain’s Oliver Reed, co-star of Oliver! and veteran of over 50 motion pictures. And Spain’s foremost film actor, Fernando Rey, known worldwide for his role in the Oscar-winning French Connection. This rare 15th century tale of love, adventure and intrigue has never been seen before in theatres or on network TV. To see Black Arrow, head straight to your video dealer!

New Products Sansui Monitor/Receiver Magnavox B&W Mini-TVs Has 400-Line Resolution Are Flat-Display Models The Sansui SV-M25 is a 400-line 25- Magnavox has introduced three black inch monitor/receiver. The resolution & white ultraportables. stems partly from its use of a comb filter. Other items on this Sansui-designed de¬ The Escort 2—model BF3900—is a vice are a 140-channel tuner, sleep two-inch black & white portable TV. It timer, 23-function numerical-keypad re¬ has a flat display tube with the electron mote, and a “flashback” feature that gun positioned beneath and at an angle to the screen. The unit can run for GoldStar RCV-0617 three hours on four AA batteries (included) or for up to ten with an optional brings back the channel previously ends simultaneously with the introduc¬ rechargeable battery pack. The optional viewed. The audio amplifier is rated for tions of two new models. The CMT-2515 AC adapter and car cord provide for con¬ five watts per channel, and the unit pro¬ is the company’s first 25-inch color TV; tinuous use. The screen is tilted for easy vides stereo audio as well as direct video the RCV-0615, at the other end of the viewing and recessed for reduced glare, jacks. Two magnetically shielded speak¬ scale, is its first 5-inch. and a flip-out stand props the thing up. A ers (SV-25S) come with the monitor and carry case and handstrap are included. can be attached to the top (as pictured) or The 2515 comes with auto fleshtone And a video mini-plug adapts the Escort 2 sides. And the SV-M25 has a circuit that correction, contrast, color control, and to VCR use. can synthesize stereo-like results from a brightness; plus 10-channel tuning, digi¬ mono signal; it also enhances the separa¬ tal channel-number display, and full-func¬ Add AM/FM stereo radio and light¬ tion and dynamics of a stereo signal “to tion wireless remote control. The small¬ weight stereo headphones and you’ve theater-like proportions,” according to er 0615 comes with AM/FM radio, not to got model BF3901, which is otherwise in the maker. Though this unit does not mention four-way power, audio/video in¬ all respects similar to the 3900, above. come with a built-in stereo-broadcast de¬ puts and outputs, and a sunshade. It coder, it does come with an MPX jack weighs 11 pounds. Moving up to a four-inch black & white that provides for the necessary connec¬ picture brings us to Escort model tion to an adapter for same. Prices: CMT-2515, $649.95; RCV- BF3904. Here the tuning dials are 0615, $279.95. mounted on the front for convenience, Price: $1000. though the flat display tube and recessed circle No. 153 on Reader Service Card. tilted screen remain. An audio/video uni¬ For additional information, connector converts the unit for use as an circle No. 152 on Reader Service Card. on-location monitor with the addition of an optional connector adapter. Prices: BF3900, $160; BF3901, $220; FB3904, $220. GoldStar Turns Its Eye Hitachi 45-Inch Projection To Big & Small Screen Sizes TV Has MTS Stereo Decoder Having brought prices down in the New from Hitachi: a 45-inch color pro¬ most popular screen-size categories, jection set with provision for Multichan¬ GoldStar is expanding at the high and low nel TV sound (MTS). Model CT-4546 comes with 133-channel tuning, infrared remote, liquid-cooled lens system, sepa¬ rate audio and video inputs, audio out¬ puts for external speakers, comb filter, auto color adjustment, and random-ac¬ cess electronic tuning—all this in a wal¬ nut-grain cabinet that takes up no more floor space than a single-sided conven¬ tional 25-inch console TV, according to the manufacturer. And the unit is cov¬ ered by a “10/2/1” warranty: 10 years on transistors, two on the picture tube, and one-year free carry-in labor. Price: $3295. GoldStar CMT-2515 Magnavox BF-3900 o. 154 on Reader Service Card.

IN THIS COUNTRY, WHEN THE LAND IS YOUR LIFE.. .YOU FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE &fimmense integrity and ;.. ‘Country’ makes the ?e. You’ll be rooting for . l'' ’“ Rex Retd, Net) York Post yw on Video I TOl'ClSrat a F.4g WEST PRODramNS fROOOCIKK JESSOiM Ml® HW WlM Mebv CHARLES GROSS Pta^tDAlM M>) TOMD WITFi^E andJESSIQ LIN’GE Drected by RICHARDPEARCE Sto--1 O'MCMLXXXIV Bucto Vista Distribute Co.. inc. TOUCHSTONE HOME VIDEO SSMSaaS Touchstone Home Video distributed by WDTNT Co., Burbank. Ca 91521.

New Products MFJ-1452 (top); MFJ-1502 direct video output (for monitor use), and too low to mask it), a straight Hiss Filter, n RF output. In addition, the unit pro¬ Stereo Synth circuit, and Mono/Stereo MFJ-1452 Is Versatile switch. Sliders can make easy alterations Signal Processor vides a couple of useful audio circuits: in level for Mic, Line, or Source—and Dynamic Noise Reduction (DNR), which two more are furnished to do fades for MFJ’s MFJ-1452 Advance Video Pro¬ selectively suppresses tape hiss when either audio or video. Knobs provide cessor combines a three-output distribu¬ the volume is too low to mask it, and adjustment of image Detail and Sharp¬ tion amplifier (to accommodate up to Simulated Stereo. The VS-60 measures ness, and 10 pushbuttons control the in¬ three VCRs) with a versatile range of 2-3/8 by 16-9/16 by 8-4/9 inches. puts/outputs for two VCRs and inputs for signal-altering circuitry. Knobs adjust three more sources. One full set of VCR Tint, Color Intensity, Brightness, Black Price: $149.95. jacks is on the front panel for added Pedestal (level), White Level, Split For additional information. convenience; the remainder are on the Screen, Noise Cancel, and Enhance. In back. addition to Power and Input, there are AudioSource AV-ONE also buttons that control Video Process¬ Contains 10-Band EQ & DNR Price: $579.95. ing (On/Off), White (Compress/Expand), For additional information, Chroma (Invert/Normal), Lumin (Invert/ The AV-ONE is a 19-inch rack-mount¬ Normal), Sync Boost (On/Normal), and able audio/video selector/processor from circle No. 158 on Reader Service Card. Stabilizer (On/Off). The unit also in¬ AudioSource. cludes a needle indicator to show Lumi¬ Viditek Cable Converter nance Level. On the audio side, the unit provides a Has 'Daily Memory' 10-band graphic equalizer, Dynamic Another, simpler new device from Noise Reduction (DNR) filter (to selec¬ The Viditek STV600 frequency- MFJ is the MFJ-1502 Video Sound Pro¬ tively cut hiss when the volume level is synthesizer converter converts cable cessor, designed to enhance low-fidelity channels between 2 and 60 to a fixed- video soundtracks (for those with large AudioSource AV-ONE output Channel 3. The remote-control¬ libraries of mono or VHS Dolby stereo lable unit has a “daily memory” that tapes). One circuit turns mono signals to stores up to six channel numbers includ¬ simulated (“pseudo”) stereo. ing fine-tuning adjustments. The tuner Prices: Video Processor, $299.95; automatically goes into standby mode if Sound Processor, $59.95. the AC dries up and then recovers. The unit comes with 75-ohm cable and F-con- For additional information, circle No. 156 on Reader Service Card. Pioneer VS-60 Integrates Video & Audio Components The VS-60 video selector is Pioneer’s way of integrating video and audio com¬ ponents. It offers four direct video inputs and outputs, three RF inputs, one

Introducing Canovision 8, the new 8mm video system from Canon, Discover what Star Pitcher Tommy John has discovered— Canovision 8™ The new 8mm Home Video System that lets you get close to life. How? With an amazing new camera and recorder system that is so small, so lightweight, it sets you free to capture all the action. The VC-200A color camera weighs a mere 3 lbs. 5 oz., and comes with Canon's exclusive auto-focus system that ensures sharp, clear pictures every time. A f/1.2 6X power zoom lens that incorporates Canon’s legendary optics technology. Plus a newly developed 1/2\" high-band Saticon® tube for superior resolution, even in low light. Canon’s new four-head VR-E10 portable recorder weighs just 3.2 lbs. because it uses an 8mm tape cassette that’s about the size of an ordinary audio cassette. You’ll be amazed at the quality of the picture and the sound from a system this small. Hook the recorder up to Canon’s new VT-E10 tuner/timer and you can record up to four TV programs as much as two weeks in advance. _ _ Canon Canon’s new Canovision 8. It’s the system of the future that lets you get close to life — now. See it at your Canon Video Dealer today! MBtffft?WBE¥Wf Hf CdnOVisiOD 8 Get close to life.

New Products hours of use, the unit includes an AC adapter to recharge the battery over¬ nectors. It is not designed for use with a night. Also included is a carry case with a stereo-ready TV or VCR. handy shoulder strap. The unit is good for VCRs, cameras, and other 12-volt Price: open list. equipment. For additional information, The RC-1212 is a NICAD (SAFT reg¬ circle No. 159 on Reader Service Card. istered trademark) battery developed for portable VHS VCRs. This 1.2-amp/hour SAFT America Unveils battery furnishes playing time of at least New Battery Products 5 hours and can be recharged up to 1000 times. The first of a round of new products from SAFT America is a 12-volt, 10- While this may not seem like a video amp/hour, lead-acid battery, the PP12- 100. Good for at least 150 charges and 5 EXTERMINATION SAFT RC-1212 is the reward product right off, any gadget freak would for the World’s richest prize. appreciate the SAFT CC-1P desk charger. The system consists of the charger itself plus seven NICAD bat¬ teries: two AA, C, and D cells plus one nine-volt battery. An adapter is available to charge AAA cells. The charger can charge up to four NICADs at once. Prices: PP12-100, $99.95; RC-1212, $49; CC-1P, $49. For additional information, circle No. 160 on Reader Service Card. Sonar Radio Corp. Makes Erasers for Tapes & Floppies According to Sonar Radio Corpora¬ tion, erasing magnetic media can make for cleaner recordings on videotape, floppy disks, and so on. To that end the company makes the VX-1601 Videoraser, to erase Beta or VHS videotapes, and the VX-1401 Dataras- er, for floppy disks and data cartridges. Not having to record several seconds of black after a program on a re-recorded tape might save minor wear on video heads, but convenience is the main advantage. Prices: VX-1601, $65; VX-1401, $52. For additional information, a circle No. 161 on Reader Service Card. ROBERT GINTY FRED WILLIAMSON BELINDA MAYNE ;>''3H88J tty MIRELIA BAKU • BIAHA GC'WiN :nm■ ' > 'l rONY fDWAROS * Produced fry JEAH MAftll PALLfv \\A//

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Fine Tuning Your Video Questions Answered by Roderick the other. Your friend’s A There are a couple of A Read the reply to the let¬ Woodcock method takes the signal through a more complicated possibilities. An old TV ter from the reader with QThe Proper Dub route, converting both audio set—with slow horizontal the Panasonic PV-1000A. I A friend and I recently and video into a radio frequen¬ scanning circuits—could be suspect his problem was due had a heated discussion cy (RF) signal that can be producing the tell-tale “flag¬ to the age of the VCR. Since about dubbing tapes. I’ve al¬ broadcast through the VCR’s ging” or hooking effect at the your SL-2300 is relatively ways used audioivideo cables built-in RF modulator. When top of your TV screen. This new, it’s too soon for this kind to connect the playing VCR to received by the tuner on the could also be the problem of tape tension problem to the recording VCR. My friend recording VCR, it has to be with your friends’ tapes. Old¬ appear—unless, of course, insisted that it was not neces¬ reprocessed into separate er TVs just don’t have the you’ve been running it day sary to hook up the VCRs this audio and video signals again fast-acting electronics of and night for the last year. way, and that the same result before being recorded on newer sets, making their per¬ could be obtained just by hook¬ tape—sort of like walking formance with VCRs substan¬ Once you’re completely ing up a 75-ohm coaxial cable around the block to visit your dard. satisfied that the problem from the VHF output on the next door neighbor. isn’t inherent in your TV set, player to the VHF input on the Your PV-1000A could also take the VCR to an autho¬ recorder. I’ve never heard of The RF method has other be causing the problem. It is rized service depot and have this. If tape copying can be qualitative problems, includ¬ really old, circa 1977 to be it checked. You can almost al¬ done this simply why are all the ing impedance loss (from us¬ exact. It’s the first VHS VCR ways expect to make some extra audioivideo jacks re¬ ing a cable that’s too long) and that Panasonic ever sold, and tracking adjustments when quired? Is it simpler than the risk of the tuner on the I’ll bet that your machine has playing back tapes made on hooking the coaxial jumper recording VCR being improp¬ a lot of hours on it. Are you other VCRs, but if you’ve cable to the antenna connec¬ erly tuned. One more thing: the original owner? If so, how eliminated that possibility, it’s tions, or is there another it’s not possible to make a much use do you give it, and time to look elsewhere. I’m reason? stereo copy of a stereo tape what kind of service has it assuming the “hooking” prob¬ from one stereo VCR to had? The flagging problem lem you’re describing has Howard R. Houseman another using the RF can be caused by misaligned shown up with a variety of Citrus Heights, Calif. method, since the tuners on tape tension controls inside tapes (prerecorded or other¬ all currently-available your VCR. Assuming you’ve wise) from a variety of A Your friend is correct— machines are not stereo¬ been renting tapes for a few sources. If you’ve tested ready. For proper stereo years and have only recently only tapes from a friend’s Be- you can copy a videotape dubbing, use three patch begun to notice this problem, tamax, it’s possible that his using the “RF” method he de¬ cords—one each for the left it sounds like your machine machine is out of whack. scribes. In some situations, it and right audio channels, and has worn to the point where Check this by playing some of may be simpler than the the third for the video signal. it’s no longer “within spec, ” your tapes back on his direct audio/video method as the servicemen like to say. system. you’re using, since it requires QWaving the Flag I’d say it’s time for you to trot only a short and readily-avail- I recently bought a prere¬ it into the shop for some QBreathless able length of coaxial cable corded VHS cassette. adjustment and preventive These days, everyone is (which is provided with every When I tried to watch it, there maintenance. talking about stereo and VCR sold). But while your was an annoying flutter at the Hi-Fi VCRs—which is method requires slightly top of the picture. When I tried The Hook understandable since the au¬ more expensive audio/video the tape on a friend’s system, I have a Sony SL-2300 dio quality of standard VHS patch cords—now provided the flutter did not appear. I and am quite happy with machines is somewhat muddy, with most stereo VCRs—it have noticed similar problems especially when heard through will deliver consistently bet¬ on tapes that I’ve rented before, the machine. However, with - the one- or two-inch speakers ter results. but not this bad. Furthermore, some tapes recorded on other / found on most TV sets. To les¬ my friends have noticed the machines, I get a strange prob¬ sen this problem, I connected With the “direct” method, same thing on movies they’ve lem: the picture bends at the my mono VCR’s audio output you’re using patch cords to go rented. If the problem is in my top of the screen. This isn’t a jack to the auxiliary input directly from one machine to VCR (a Panasonic PV- tracking problem—I’ve 1000A), wouldn’t I notice the checked that out. problem on all tapes? What causes it and how can I correct Marvin Channing it? David Mund Forest Hills, N.Y. Sioux. Falls, S.D.

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Fine Tuning ___ jacks on my audio receiver (splitting the require an adapter for playback in regular Newer tapes may not be aligning them¬ VHS VCRs. It does, however, offer au¬ selves well with the control track head mono signal for input into each channel). dio and video outputs, making it a suit¬ inside the VCR, producing the instability. able playback unit for editing if another This would be a good theory if it weren’t While this works, 1 want to know if this VCR is used as the “editing” recorder. for the fact that you report that rental VHS camcorders using full-size cassettes tapes play back fine. Some rental tapes could damage my VCR (I own a JVC will be available soon. (See this issue’s see a lot of use, but I doubt if it would add “What’s New” for details.) up to as many passes as your venerable HR-7100). Scott Kreisler soap tape. The only editing/controller on the Seymour, Conn. market is manufactured by Matsushita Before lugging the thing into the shop, and sold by Canon, Quasar, Panasonic, try one test. See how tapes you make on A Not unless you amplify the audio etc. You can use it only with selected your VCR play back on another VCR. coming from your VCR enough to VCRs made by the same company (Mat¬ Use new tape. If they too have the blow out your speakers. Actually, sushita) and that have the appropriate shakes, it would point to a defective con¬ there’s little chance of that—if you turn interface jack. I’ve tested the Quasar trol track head on your machine—a de¬ up the audio too much, vou’]| discover version, and while it does integrate con¬ fect that’s more pronounced in the re¬ trol of both the playback and recording cord mode, where the VCR places con¬ how bad mono VCR audio really is. Before VCR into one unit, the results are not trol track pulses on the tape, rather than significantly different from those in playback, where all it has to do is read the advent of Beta and VHS Hi-Fi VCRs, obtained using a conventional editing them correctly. the audio track was confined to a narrow setup consisting of patch cords and moni¬ strip along the top edge of the tape. With tors. For help in editing between two linear tape speeds ranging anywhere dissimilar decks (or even different for¬ f, om 3.335 to 1.11 cm/sec, the resulting mats), take a look at “Electronic Cut & audio was none too breathtaking. Split Paste, ” which appeared in our Septem¬ track Dolby stereo tapes improved the ber 1983 issue. situation considerably, but even they QOut of Control pale in comparison to Hi-Fi audio. I purchased a GE 1VCR2002 VCR QSwitch Switch We recommended the hookup you’re just before Christmas in 1981. I Many VCRs on the market come with timeshift a daily one-hour soap opera us¬ an AC socket on their back panels for describing in an earlier issue (see “The ing the same T-120 cassette on slow speed plugging in other appliances. Almost all each week. After using the same tape for the ones I’ve seen are “unswitched, ” Sound of Stereo, ” January 1983). As you about 1-1/2 years (about 80 times), I de¬ meaning that the power is available at this state, it’s necessary to split the single cided to retire it and start a new one. The mono audio output channel into two sepa¬ picture recorded on the new tape jumps outlet even when the VCR is switched off. rate lines for the left and right speakers. so much that it is totally unwatchable, I’d like to purchase a VCR with a The necessary “Y adapter” is inexpen¬ though sound and color are fine. I’ve been sive and readily available (Radio Shack told that the problem is in the vertical hold “switched” outlet—one where the power at #422-435). control on my TV, but how can this be the outlet goes on and off when I turn the when the TV picture “off air” is perfect? VCR on and off. Do you know of any QCut & Paste Rented tapes also play back without jump¬ model that offers this capability? If not, do I have an RCA VKP900 and am ing, but several brand new tapes—TDK, you think it’s feasible to have an un¬ looking for a second VCR to edit Sony, Maxell; regular and high grade— switched outlet modified to make it tapes. 1 shoot only at the SP speed (I all produce the jumping picture, regard¬ have show dogs) and am wondering if less of whether I record at SP or EP. Some switched? there is an older SP-only model which of my older tapes jump a little, but most do would suit my purposes. Also, is there any not. The strangest thing of all is that if I Paul Mathews editor-controller available to use with my use my old soap opera tape, it still records Los Angeles, Calif. VKP900 and a second VCR? and plays back clear and steady. It's the only tape that works. How can this be? A All VCRs I’ve seen featuring this A second question in regard to the JVC VHSC camcorder. Can this unit be used C. Babcock supplementary AC convenience as aplayback unitin an editing function? Elmont, N.Y. outlet have been “unswitched. ” You can Jeffrey A. Bottrell A A curious problem indeed. You Santa Maria, Calif. plug another appliance into it (a lamp, didn’t tell me the brand of that time- cable TV converter, or your TV set, but A Glad to see that you’re doing your honored soap opera tape. It might not be be careful not to exceed the maximum significant, but every fact can help point camera taping at the SP speed. the wav to a solution. In this case, I’m wattage indicated on the back of the That’s the speed where the audio and nearly at a loss to diagnose your prob¬ VCR) to tidy up the wiring behind your video quality is best, an important consid¬ lem. The symptoms you describe could equipment bay. eration if you intend to copy or edit your be the result of the tape feeding through original tapes later on. In looking for a your VCR irregularly—especially at the I can’t see the point of having a second VCR, stay with one that offers bottom, where the control track is—pro¬ “switched” outlet since anything you wide-gap recording heads at the SP ducing the jitter effect you’re seeing. It’s plug into it would only come on when you speed. If you’re considering a portable, possible that your older tapes don’t have turned on your VCR. Perhaps you want a look for a JVC HR-2200 (SP only) or this problem because they’ve HR-2650 (SP and EP, but with four video passed through your VCR so many lamp to come on over the VCR when it’s heads). Both models are discontinued, times: they’ve become comfortable with recording or playing back. I suppose that so you’ll have to look around to find them. the placement of the internal guides and a competent repairman could modify the The current JVC HR-S10U also offers rollers that control tape movement. wide-gap video heads. And don’t over¬ outlet to make the conversion. look the prospect of adding another RCA to your system. The new VKP950 adds QBeg, Borrow or... Hi-Fi audio to the excellent machine you My VCR doesn’t have an audio dub already own. RCA also uses super wide control. Is there any way that I can video heads for SP recording, ensuring a put music on videocassette? full 58-micron video track pitch on the tape. JVC’s GRC-1 VideoMovie is Andrew Denaro another good choice, though it uses spe¬ Flushing, N. Y. cial twenty-minute videocassettes that 28 Video A The only way to replace the existing audio track with a new one is to use a VCR with a separate audio dub control. If you don’t own one with that feature and don’t plan to buy one in the near future, try to borrow a friend’s machine or rent a VCR from a dealer. Q



Videogrqm The Electronic Intelligencer by William with its own picture. To Wolfe select an answer, the child taking the quiz need only Flying Blind? touch his choice. 1 It’s definitely a Catch-22 Boeing cockpit: ‘low-workload design, failsafe backups.' The Quiz was an unqual¬ proposition: faced with the ified success. The display “is task of designing a helicopter they fly? Torgerson says the video component systems, a natural, ” says Visage Presi¬ for the new Army, Boeing Army needs about 445 high- and MicroTouch, maker of in¬ dent Philip V.W. Dodds, “be¬ Vertol—test arm of the air¬ tech 'copters by the early teractive touch screens. cause it provides information craft manufacturer—made 1990s. As far as he can tell, right at the exhibits. And it one without windows or wind¬ they’re right on schedule, and The Quiz originated from a adds to exhibits with its visual shield. The idea isn’t as crazy initial tests have been favor¬ Fall ’84 NOVA show called appeal and ‘enjoyment fac¬ as it sounds. The pilot flies by able. But the Army wants “The National Science Test. ” tor’.” The museum’s Doug way of four wide-angle color these ’copters to fly scouting {NOVA, an educational chil¬ Smith agrees. “We now know video monitors which receive dren’s show, is produced by the units work, and it was “real time” pictures trans¬ and combat missions—not WGBH/Boston and carried well-received. Whether it mitted by cameras on the exactly the friendly skies—so by PBS stations nationwide.) was the content or the novel¬ experimental bird’s nose. what happens if the cameras Housed in a kiosk that holds a ty, the touchability, I can’t tell are damaged? Torgerson Visage-modified IBM PC, you. But it did provide instant BV’s Robert Torgerson suggests that “there would MicroTouch screen circuitry, action in a novel way. ” explains that “the monitors have to be a whole series of Sony monitor, and Pioneer provide a 126-degree field of cameras mounted all over, LV player, the exhibit poses The museum has an in¬ view and are part of a system and other failsafe backups,” three-question mini-quizzes teractive exhibit of its own in designed to lighten the work¬ but adds a reassuring: “Who on science and history. For the works, and Smith feels load in a single-pilot scenar¬ knows? Nothing’s been de¬ each mini-quiz, a question it’s a more “multi-dimensional io. ” This risky business is cided yet. ” appears on-screen with program. There’s room to part of research and develop¬ appropriate pictures behind. roam around, with lots of ment for the Army’s Ad¬ You can be sure that, Then answers appear, each branching trees of informa¬ vanced Rotocraft Technology though the windows and tion. The subject is water; Integration (ARTI) and Light windshields may go, the kind of a water resources Helicopter (LHX) programs. parachutes will remain. game—the uses of BV modified an Agusta A-109 making policy decisions. And helicopter as its ARTI test for each decision the interact- vehicle. Engineers covered er makes, the consequences the windows and windshield appear seconds later—a re¬ and set up a complete mini¬ sulting scenario with which cockpit on the right of the the player must contend. For nose section for a second example, someone using the pilot, who acts as a “safety system may say, ‘I’ll use that monitor” should the test pilot water for a swimming hole, ’ run—or fly—into trouble. BV but then a programmed char¬ is also trying out a digital map acter will pop up and say, display plus voice and touch- Illustrations by Car sensitive controls. Testing Super NOVA began in December 1983 and Elementary- and junior is scheduled to last until at 'S> least this September. “Our high-school students have ^ goal is to develop an innova- been clogging up a corridor in | five low-workload cockpit de- the Boston Museum of Sci¬ g sign, ” says William W. Walls, ence. No, it’s not a Transfor¬ BV’s LHX program manager. mers toy sale or an autograph “Advanced cockpit design is session for Van Halen—the the key to the helicopters kids have come to play, and we’ll be building in the learn from, the NOVA Sci¬ future.” ence Quiz. The interactive video unit is made possible by Innovative, sure—but will donations of equipment from Visage, makers of interactive

‘Hey, that’s my bathwater’.” stead of featuring a perform¬ Vidbits where.” Paul McCartney The kids can’t wait to see er, we feature fashion.” and U2’s Bono Vox (Paul The bad news is that a Hewson) are talking about that one. Is there an end in sight? burglary occurs every 13 The Tube, the popular Brit¬ Probably not. All advertisers seconds, according to the ish rock show broadcast Designer Video (in this case, fashion design¬ FBI. And because of their live on independent U.K. It didn’t take long for rock ers) have to do is drum up portability and popularity, channel ITV 4. The big some minor beach or back- VCRs are true “collect¬ news is that Tube is now bands to discover that com¬ alley plotting, add a rock hit, ibles.” The good news is shown on MTV the first bining attractive models, de¬ and voilal—an instant MTV- that NCI now offers its Vid- Sunday of each month this signer clothes, and stylish style video. Switch to a Love eolok VCR alarm (“Vidbits,” year, at 11 p.m. EST. Each antiseptic pop music on video Boat-cruise set and Julio Igle- “Videogram,” February ’85) would lead to fun and profit in sias and you’ve got another in the Beta format. show offers interviews, ar¬ album and home-video sales. audience by the tail. No need chival footage, and tunes It took a little longer for to stop at fashion, either. It's great, fab. . .but by four live bands. Get out fashion designers. Realizing There’s always cars and beer you know you’re the best that Hi-Fi videotape. that their wares are a basic and—you name it, the time anyway.” “What you’ve got ingredient in the winning for¬ will come when someone will is the best program any¬ mula, designers are dolling up make it into a music video. their own models to make others use two—which mats and 3/4-U-Matic is ac¬ music videos—and profits— Inter-Activity for themselves. A shopper enters a J.C. makes the system “easier to cepted. Heading the panel of Shoppers in Macy’s, Penney department store and use than an automated tell¬ judges will be Hiroshi Minami,- Bloomingdales, and Nieman- wanders into the furniture de¬ Marcus can’t help but notice partment. He approaches a er.” And InteracTV has two president of the Japan Society the video monitors dangling beige NCR Information Cen¬ over Calvin Klein denims or ter kiosk and, following the audio channels. Discs can be of Image Arts and Sciences. peering out over racks of instructions printed on the Perry Ellis overcoats. That’s full-color screen, commences programmed with bilingual Last year’s festival just the beginning. One de¬ to take a video tour through signer produced and starred loveseats and sofa beds— and stereo soundtracks, or attracted 1330 entries from in a 3-1/2-minute video pro¬ without taking a step. The moting his sportswear line, same shopper has just re¬ with two separate texts—one 27 countries. That’s up from a and had it put in “rotation” on ceived a raise, goes to his MTV—he even used the bank, and uses an Information at an introductory level and grand total of 257 entries in song he wrote for the video to Center to run through the land a recording contract with bank’s IRAs, CDs, and the other more advanced. 1978, the festival’s first year. Epic Records. And ever-ea- Keoughs—while other cus¬ ger Ted Turner and his TBS tomers are waiting in line. Yates predicts that interac¬ Winners in the 1984 competi¬ “superstation” have aired a Across town, the new library one-hour special called Im¬ tive systems like InteracTV tion include Japan’s Yukikazu ages, a show devoted entirely is using an Information Cen¬ to fashion videos. A TBS ter in place of a card cata¬ will first become the standard Watanabe, who took the spokesperson says, “We’ll air logue, complete with pictures the show three or four times, of the front cover and con¬ in training new employees Video Grand Prize for and if it does well, we’ll air tents page of each book. more. ” That’d be just fine These services and more and retraining established Dosanku no Uta (The Horse with Richmel Entertainment, may soon be available with producer of Images, which NCR “InteracTV, ” an in¬ employees at work, but adds from Hokkaido: A Driver and “anticipates” making 13 more teractive information system half-hour segments. based on the linkup of a that the most exciting applica¬ His Beast). The half-inch col¬ LaserVision player and NCR You might expect a lot of personal computer. tions will be the kind you’ll or video ran 19 minutes, 57 well-tanned boisterous bim¬ bos, half-dressed hunks, and Vernon Yates, Vice Presi¬ bump into on Saturday morn¬ seconds, and told of “the inti¬ soap-opera romance—and dent of NCR’s Personal Com¬ you’d probably be right—but puter Division, is quick to ings when running errands. mate relationship between a Images at least opts for the point out that InteracTV is star approach. Dynasty’s Lin¬ the first such system to use a Penney has tested InteracTV horse driver and his half-wild da Evans and John Forsythe, single 12-inch screen—the Morgan Fairchild, and Billy in four stores, and is busy Dosanko horse.” American Dee Williams are among the big names who make cameo tabulating user reactions. But Bruce Yonemoto won a tro¬ appearances and model fashions by designers Chris¬ the field is crowded with com¬ phy for Vault, a 12-minute tian Dior and Willi Smith— “about 40 or 50 in all, ” says petitors scurrying to get their 3/4-inch color video Richmel’s Richard Melcombe. The tunes are by Cindy product seen (see “Cathode documenting a couple’s emo¬ Lauper, Culture Club (with Mr. Trend himself, Boy Catalogue,” “Videogram,” tional shifts. Yugoslavian George), and Chubby Check¬ er. Melcombe says that Im¬ February 1985). One indus¬ Martinis won one of three ages videos are a lot like the average rock video, but “in- try exec summed it up: “The Open Theme trophies for his volume of new equipment is 20-minute 3/4-inch Image Is incredible, staggering, be¬ Virus, which reflected the au¬ cause everyone thinks they thor’s opinion that “the flood¬ can get rich.” ing of images and words via Don’t expect to find the the TV medium is causing the boxy kiosks sprouting up deterioration of man’s ability overnight, though. “Interac¬ to think creatively. ” The JVC tive video is still in its infan¬ President’s Award went to cy,” says Yates. “But it’s Chieko and Hitoshi Ishii for clear there’s great potential. Futari de Karutetto (Two¬ This is a year of development some Quartet), a lighthearted and absorption. ’’ Time will look at musical experimenta¬ tell who gets developed and tion. As you can see, videos who gets absorbed. presenting a variety of sub¬ jects, tones, and moods made Festival! it to the, winner’s circle. Video buffs worldwide are The festival committee will invited to enter the 8th annual begin accepting entries for Tokyo Video Festival. Spon¬ the 1985 festival on April 1, sored by the Victor Company but all entries must be accom¬ of Japan GVC), the world’s panied by an entry form. To largest international video receive a form, write Terry competition is open to both Kikuchi at JVC Company of amateurs and professionals, America (41 Slater Dr., and tape in both 1/2-inch for¬ I Elmwood Park, N.J. 07407). D Video 31

TV Pen Techniques and Technology Resolution Last month I examined the series of dots, black and \"buffer” space so that adja¬ contentious subject of verti¬ white successively. If a con¬ cent channels don’t interfere stant frequency is maintained with each other. Resolved cal resolution—this business long enough for a complete of lines which create the pic¬ TV frame to be scanned, the The 4.2 MHz bandwidth horizontally spaced black and available for broadcast televi¬ tures we see on the screen. white dots take on the sion therefore yields a practi¬ appearance of horizontally cal horizontal resolution of by Roderick A brief recap: In the NTSC spaced vertical lines. The about 336 lines (80 times television system we use i question of horizontal resolu¬ 4.2). But many inexpensive tion, therefore, rests on how sets, and almost all current Woodcock North America, 525 many of these lines can be VCRs, cannot attain that horizontal scanning arrayed in the picture. The theoretical level of broadcast more vertical lines, the great¬ picture quality. Since we’re lines paint a zigzag er the detail in the picure and talking about color TV, the higher its horizontal res¬ there’s got to be room some¬ pattern across the olution. Occasionally, after a where in the bandwidth for TV station has signed off for the color subcarrier that car¬ phosphorescent in¬ the night, you can see these ries the chrominance infor¬ line charts in the test patterns mation. The NTSC system ner surface of the that show up on the screen. A places the color subcarrier at good rule of thumb is that 1 3.58 MHz. The practical ceil¬ screen in two MHz of video bandwidth ing for video bandwidth is yields about 80 lines of res¬ thus usually a meager 3 MHz, “field” passes con¬ olution. yielding an effective horizon¬ tal resolution of only 240 sisting of 262-1/2 Horizontal resolution is lines—give or take a few therefore directly related to lines, depending on specific lines. Since each the frequency range, or set designs and sample-to- “bandwidth, ” of the signal sample variations. 525-line video that’s being either trans¬ mitted or displayed on the TV One more expensive sig¬ “frame” last only 1/ or monitor. And this is where nal-processing solution used things can become confusing, on most of the newer re¬ 30th of a second, since the quality of the picture ceiver/monitors or dedicated you see is dependent on monitors is the “comb filter.\" there are 15,750 This is an electronic circuit the bandwidth capabilities of that separates or “combs” It looks confusing, but—the electronic .(30 times 525) the signal being fed into the the color information from the spot which traces your video picture fol¬ scanning lines in set, and by the signal-proces¬ composite video signal to re¬ one second. It fol¬ sing capabilities of the receiv¬ cover as much of the lumi¬ er itself. nance signal (where the de¬ lows this path in a typical 2-pass se¬ lows that the tailed picture information re¬ quence. (For the sake of clarity, only ti o amount of time it An increasing number of sides) rather than just cutting the 525 scan lines are shown here.) takes for only one receiver/monitors far exceed off the signal at a picture-de¬ the quality of the signals being grading lower level, before line to be scanned is fed into them. So let's consid¬ any interference with color in¬ er the limits of a broadcast TV formation can occur. But 1/15,750 of a second or signal. By law, the FCC par¬ even applying these sorts of cels out space for each chan¬ sophisticated signal proces¬ about 63.5 microseconds. nel in 6 MHz chunks. Of that, sing techniques cannot only 4.2 MHz is available for change the immutable param¬ However, since the elec¬ picture information. The rest eters of our current broad¬ is used for transmitting other cast TV system. And given tron spot isn’t lit when it’s re¬ equally important information the arithmetic of the NTSC (the audio subcarrier is at 4.5 system and FCC regulation, positioning itself on the MHz) and to allow a sufficient the theoretical maximum for broadcast horizontal resolu¬ screen in preparation for its tion is 336 lines. next scanning pass (about 11 microseconds), it’s really got an “active line time” of 52.5 microseconds. And that’s the figure that must be kept in mind when delving into the next and, in terms of picture quality, the more important subject of horizontal resolu¬ tion. The pertinent question becomes: how much picture information can be crammed into that 52.5-microsecond time frame? Given an input signal of 1 MHz, for example, there would be 52.5 cycles (changes between black and white) in one line. Arranged along this horizontal scan line, these alternating changes in frequency are displayed as a 32 Video

Not stereotype TV. With almost 50% of U.S. TV stations planning to broadcast stereo this year, naturally many manufacturers are jumping on the stereo TV bandwagon. That's why NEC wants to remind you of something before you buy any TV stereo or otherwise. The TV itself. NEC Stereo Receiver/Monitors incorporate decades of the Company's industrial and professional video experience. In fact, the 20\" CT-2020A and 25\" CT-2505A offer all the features that make NEC a favorite among serious video users. Besides receiving stereo or Second Audio Program (SAP) Multiplex Broadcasts directly and playing them back through built-in stereo amps and speakers, the CT-2020A/2505As feature CATV-ready tuners with full function wireless remote control and Skip Memory; and a complete assortment of antenna, video and audio connection facilities. These stereo NEC Receiver/Monitors also incorporate comb filters, auto flesh control, black stripe matrix picture tubes and smouknceud ygila:sos ainutir-ygilarice shiiiecliduos for the utmost in picture sharpness, contrast and resolution. j SEC No matter how good the idea of stereo TV may sound, combining stereo with an NEC Receiver/Monitor sounds even better. For additional information, circle No. 21 on Reader Service Card. m

Don't risk missing an issue of VIDEO. Ifyou're planning on changing your address, please give us TV Den_ 8 weeks notice. Simply write in your new address below and mail this coupon—ALONG WITH Fortunately, it’s a different story for YOUR SUBSCRIPTION MAILING LABEL—to: video Magazine. Subscriber Services many non-broadcast situations. Here the latest advances in signal-processing elec¬ (please print) P.O. Box 1116. Dover, NJ 07801 tronics found in most modem TVs, re¬ ceivers, and monitors can be called into NOBODY BEATS OUR PRICES play to yield horizontal-resolution speci¬ fications well in excess of 400 lines. With ON V.C.R.’S/ MONITORS some computer monitors, for example, the bandpass capabilities can extend out NAME BRANDS/HONESTY to 10 MHz, or 800 lines of horizontal resolution. If you’re in the market for a 1-800-247-4663 newer TV or monitor and are impressed by claims of higher-resolution pictures, FIND A BETTER DEAL ANYWHERE, CALL US remember that those numbers apply only AND WE WILL MAKE OURS BETTER! if you’ve got a superior signal to feed the set. For ordinary broadcast pictures, or RULES FOR BUYING MAIL ORDER... images generated by a home VCR, the resolution isn’t going to be all that great, 1. Always compare the delivered price, (with 6. We ship Collect On Delivery (C.0D.). Others and never in excess of what the NTSC insurance & double boxing) want money first! broadcast system permits. Bad outdoor antennas, “rabbit ears, ” or substandard 2. Factory Fresh Merchandise with U.S. Warranties 7. We are a Public Showroom, No P.O. Box or cable service contribute to signal loss. Warehouse. Come Visit! 3. Service after the Sale! How do the others Videophiles living in crowded urban handle defectives? 8. Courteous! Call first, second or last, we’re glad areas can suffer from other image-im¬ you called! pairing deficiencies as well. Every new 4. Advice from trained professionals! electrical appliance seems to bring a cor¬ 5. Merchandise shipped within 46 hours, (usually 9. WE STOCK...ALL NAME BRANDS! responding increase in the amount of 24 hours!) spurious Radio Frequency Interference 10. If you find a better price...tell us, we ll lower ours. (RFI) in the environment. That can show up in the form of everything from squig¬ ACCESSORIES gly diagonal lines crisscrossing across your picture to white horizontal pulses VISIT OUR SHOWROOM in Michigan call flitting across the screen whenever your 31800 PLYMOUTH RD. (313)261-8004 upstairs neighbor decides to dry her hair or vacuum the carpet. LIVONIA, MICH. 48150 Occasionally, you can see the evi¬ dence of horizontal scanning lines in the pictures that appear on your TV. If the frequency of these lines in the subject or object being photographed comes close to the frequency of the scanning system, an effect known as “moire”—a sort of source-generated interference—results. Experienced TV directors, tech¬ nicians, set designers, and wardrobe people usually go out of their way to avoid situations where the moire effect can occur. But occasionally it happens anyway. If you watch Johnny Carson’s Tonight show, you’ve probably seen that Johnny sometimes wears a jacket that appears to shimmy and shake on the' screen. This is the moire effect, and it occurs because the suit has a pattern of fine horizontal lines that are difficult for the TV system to scan. Despite these problems picture quali¬ ty is improving. Experiments with High Definition Television (HDTV) have gone beyond the laboratory stage and have resulted in viable systems that offer 1050-line systems—double that of our present standard. This image quality is spectacular, though still not quite the equal of large-format motion-picture film. But we’re getting there. And assuming enough bandwidth can be found in our already-crowded frequen¬ cy spectrum for such a system, someday we might even enjoy high-definition TV pictures of this caliber in our homes. D o. 52 on Reader Sen



Random Access Personal Computers, News, and Games Screen Protection claims, a survey of purchas¬ a Venetian blind, letting whistle-blower Hartmann. How dangerous are the ers indicated overwhelming through the light while cut¬ “The farther away from the satisfaction with the ting down on glare,” Hart¬ screen, the less radiation low-level radiation and glare product—including 65 per¬ mann explains), sometimes you’re subjected to. Most coming from your computer cent of the sampling indicat¬ with metalized or carbonized people don’t watch television screen? The jury is still out ing improvement with eye- filaments to neutralize posi¬ or video monitors as close-up on this one as the federal fatigue problems. “Now com¬ tive ions. Prices vary from as they do with computer government’s National In¬ panies like ACCO, the $15 to $80. Polaroid takes a terminals.” stitute for Occupational business-supply firm, are different tack with its Con¬ Safety and Health (NIOSH) selling leaded plastic shields. trast Enhancement Filters —Steve Ditlea begins the first large-scale Our competition is helping to (“like polarizing sunglasses, ” statistical study of computer- establish the credibility of our says Hartmann), made out of A Baseball related health hazards. Scat¬ product. ” plastic (Model CP-50, $40) or Simulation tered reports have been laminated glass (CP-70, Micro League/Atari, Apple frightening—like the United Screen glare is the most $100-$150). computersl48K disk Airlines survey showing mis¬ common complaint from com¬ carriage rates as high as 50 puter users. A half-dozen Since most computer dis¬ The wonder isn’t percent among female firms have begun to offer plays are either TVs or TV- that this program— computer-terminal workers. their own solutions to the like monitors, shouldn’t which may become one of problem. The simplest is a videophiles also consider the more successful products “Longterm exposure to nylon mesh stretched in front screen shields? “Not neces¬ in entertainment software low levels of radiation has not of the screen (“it works like sarily,” says radiation history—was produced by a been proven dangerous, nor previously unknown company has it been proven safe, ” like Micro League; it isn’t says Thomas Hartmann, even the admirably high qual¬ president of Langley-St. Clair ity of the production. What’s Instrumentation Systems. truly interesting about Micro “All we’re saying is that if League Baseball is that it there is a risk, you can do wasn’t done sooner. something to protect your¬ self. ” His was the first com¬ Epyx looked like it was go¬ pany to offer lead- ing to produce the first high- impregnated plastic screen res stat-replay sports con¬ shields to block out radiation test. But The World’s Greatest and glare from computer dis¬ Baseball Game is still a hy¬ play screens. Using a special brid: half-action, half-stat- acrylic formula that can be replay. MLB goes all the manufactured only under way, disdaining arcade trap¬ strict environmental stan¬ pings entirely to make use of dards in Japan, the shields its precious statistics (picked ($129, available from up in a deal with Major Langley-St. Clair, 132 W. 24 League Baseball) and recre¬ St., N.Y.C. 10011) come in ate the managing experience three sizes, attaching with as close as possible to the Velcro fasteners to the face real thing. MLB offers play¬ of any monitor. ers a level of statistical sim¬ ulation unseen since Comput¬ “We know there are three er Baseball (SSI), and welds kinds of radiation emitted by it to realistic graphics as cathode-ray tubes: X-ray, good as those in Star League microwave, and ultraviolet Baseball (Gamestar). light, plus positive ion, generated at the screen’s After selecting the teams surface. Ultraviolet is what from the game disk (more causes your eyes to team disks will follow from tear and hurt after a long Micro League on a regular session at a computer ter¬ basis) and determining which minal,” adds Hartmann. De¬ (if either) will be managed by spite being under investiga¬ the computer, coaches vote tion by the Federal Trade aye or nay on the DH and Commission for its beneficial begin. The manager on offense has a nice command

1040 uLS. Individual Income Tax Return program has a calculator mode), for example, and en¬ ror the year January 1-December 31,1984, or other tax year beginning ter the total on Schedule A, line 15. From that point cal¬ t name and initial (if joint return, also give spouse's name and • culations are automatic. This also means that the raw Present home address (Number and street, including *- The Tax Preparer program supporting data are not main¬ is aimed at both individuals tained within the computer President al PCjr) and the Apple II and professionals. It main¬ records. The system is for Election C? series, is superior. Originally tains records for many in¬ individuals only. Still, Lasser developed in 1979 for the dividuals. Program is well worth the cost if you Computer Tax Apple II, the program has documentation is extensive don’t have a complex return. Programs improved with each version. and explains the various It simplifies preparation and It produces Form 1040 and schedules and forms. Price is eliminates all possibility of As April 15th approaches 20 supporting forms and $295 (IBM) and $250 math errors. we look for any possible schedules. The user may (Apple). assistance in the onerous prepare supporting lists or Both programs also include task of income-tax prepara¬ documentation for any line of Far less expensive at “tax planning” modules aimed tion. A number of programs any form or schedule. For $79.95, but a lot less com¬ at helping you make business help eliminate some of the example, you can prepare a prehensive, is Lasser. Avail¬ choices that will reduce your task’s associated tedium and supporting list of charitable able only for the IBM-PC and ongoing tax liability. These errors. Recently we have contributions, enumerating all compatibles (versions for features are useful but are worked with two, Tax Pre¬ recipients. The total from Apple II, Apple Macintosh, not the primary purpose of parer from HowardSoft and this list is automatically calcu¬ and Commodore 64 have the programs. J.K. Lasse/s Your Income lated and posted to line 15 of been announced for next Tax from Simon & Schuster. Schedule A, added to line 18 year), it supplements the If you use an accountant or Both are beneficial, with of the same schedule, and well-known manual of the prep service, these programs some reservations. carried through the remain¬ same name, which is included will eliminate much of the der of the schedule and onto with the package. It is easy clerical work that these ser¬ The HowardSoft disk, your 1040. This procedure to use and does an adequate vices perform. They won’t available on the IBM-PC and gives you a complete audit job of preparing your 1040 replace the analytical work compatibles (including 128K trail and contains everything and other federal forms. It that an accountant does, related to your return within does not, however, do in¬ however, though Lasser’s the program’s electronic files. dividual support items. You book does help perform must separately add up analysis. charitable contributions (the —Barbara E. and John F. McMullen of the on-screen action— comprised of real players . EST SELLERSIHOME dictating bunts, swing away, whose exploits are known to sac bunts, and hit and run— the user. Replay great 1. Dollars & Sense. TIP, MAC, APc, IBM, AP. Monogram. while the defensive coach matchups of the past or enjoy 2. Bank Street Writer. AP, APc, IBM, C64, AT. Broderbund. selects pitches and infield the thrill of seeing, say, the 3. Managing Your Money. IBM. MECA. set. The scoreboard in cen¬ ’55 Dodgers going head-to- 4. Homeword. C64, AP, AT, IBM. Sierra On-Line. ter field keeps a running head with the ’61 Yankees. 5. Music Works. MAC. Hayden Software. account of the action (alas, 6. Micro Cookbook. APc, APe, IBM, AP. Virtual Combinatics. no box score) with timely A football game is already 7. Mac the Knife II. MAC. Miles Computing. comments in baseball jargon. in the works with other 8. Your Personal Net Worth. AT, AP, IBM, C64. Scarborough. sports to follow. Micro 9. Paperclip Word Processor. C64. Batteries Included. The thrill here is not only League has broken some im¬ 10. Bank Street Speller. AP. Broderbund. in managing teams, but in the portant ground. fact that these teams are —BiU Kunkel Illustration by Tim Grajek . EST SELLERS/RECREAnON 1. Flight Simulator. IBM. Microsoft. 2. Flight Simulator II. AT, C64, AP. Sublogic. 3. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. C64, IBM, AP, MAC, AT. Infocom. 4. Zork I. CP/M, AP, DEC, IBM, AT, MAC, TIP. Infocom. 5. Sargon III. AP, C64, IBM, MAC. Hayden Software. 6. Lode Runner. AT, C64, IBM, AP, MAC. Broderbund. 7. Wizardry. IBM, AP. Sir-Tech Software. 8. Ultima III. AP, AT, IBM, C64. Origin Systems. 9. Millionaire. MAC, AP, C64, IBM, AT. Bluechip Software. 10. Trivia Fever. MAC, C64, AP, IBM. Professional Software. LEGEND: AP = Apple, APc =Apple lie, APe=Apple lie, AT = Atari, C64 = Commodore 64, COM = Commodore Pet/CBM, CP/M = 514” and 8” formats, DEC = DEC Rainbow, EPS = Epson QX-10, IBM = IBM-PC. MAC = Apple Macintosh, PCjr = IBM PCjr, RIP =Texas Instruments Professional, TRS=TRS-80, VIC = Commodore Vic-20, VTR=Victor 9000, WNG = Wang Personal Computer, ZEN=Zenith 100. ©1985 Softsel® Computer Products, Inc. Video 37

New Channels Covering Cable, Pay-Per-View, STY and DBS Low Power Low-power television, or stations don’t cover church Real LPTV is local, indepen¬ Lowdown LPTV as it is fondly known, is socials, town meetings, and dent, and self-supporting. by William A. a medium that has come a other threads in the fabric of Got it? Marsano short way in a long time. One small-town life. And that’s of its problems is that it is also what LPTV was created to So when—if—LPTV x low-profile TV: few people do: cover the locals with a comes to your burg, what will ■5 know about it, and not many dime-size station just big it show you? That depends on s more seem to care. Still, it’s enough to serve a small area. a lot of things. Let’s look at 's an interesting idea—a video Think of it as neighborhood three examples. Q TV. version of Power to the Peo¬ John Boler’s TV26 in Be- ple. Especially all those peo¬ Charles Ferris, then Fed¬ midji, Minnesota broke the ple who have fallen through eral Communications Com¬ medium’s maidenhead in the cracks of mass-audience mission (FCC) Chairman, 1981, becoming LPTV’s first broadcasting. pushed for it in the late on-air station late in that year. 70s and the FCC blazed in¬ Boler spent a lot of money America is still in love with to action, setting up the putting together a first-class the myths and traditions of its rules in June ’82 (only studio for local originations small-town past. Never mind an elephant takes as long to and, all in all, creating an that 90 percent of the popula¬ have a baby as the FCC). By LPTV showcase. But he tion lives in urban environs; that time a year’s backlog of couldn’t make it pay. A well- the very term “small town” applications was stacked up in equipped LPTV station of 100 has a Norman Rockwell magic the mail room, and that has watts VHF or 1000 watts to it, and its misty glow fuels been one of LPTV’s crippling UHF can cost between the LPTV vision. People in problems. If LPTV is to be a $250,000 and $350,000 for small towns don’t always get communications revolution, hardware alone—LP doesn’t all the TV services the city some shots must be fired. So necessarily stand for low slickers do. Network affili¬ far the FCC has an estimated price. Bemidji is a resort ates and powerful indepen¬ 25,000-40,000 applications town that livens up in summer dent stations are usually out on file. And how many LPTV when anglers hunt killer of town, and even their sig¬ stations are there? Good perch in Lake Wabatawan- nals may not penetrate the question. gang and other waters. Local bosky dells. Video’s own businesses aren’t exactly blessed sacrament—cable— There are 134 operating gigantic, and neither are their ignores anyone who costs stations, and “operating” is ad budgets. LPTV may well more than $4 to wire up. the operative word: it means be beyond the economic pow¬ Even when small towns re¬ the switch is on. It also means er of the very towns it was ceive such services, they are they could be showing any¬ created to serve. seldom served by them. TV thing from honest-to-God programming 24 hours a day Bill Sanford, who calls him¬ or putting on nothing more self “the engineering staff, ” than a test pattern to keep the says TV26 soon started car¬ license warm. Construction rying STV (subscription TV, permits have been granted a pay service that sends a for 333 more stations, which scrambled signal over the air have up to one year to get to rented decoder boxes) in themselves on the air or for¬ prime time. That didn’t do it. feit—or sell—their rights. The station went to STV The FCC likes to swell its to¬ only—no local programming tal by saying there are 198 —in April ’83. “Now we’re more LPTV stations in Alas¬ surviving,” says Sanford, ka, but they don’t count. It’s “but it’s not much fun doing interesting to know that Alas¬ STV only. There’s a dogsled ka has the most TV stations race on now that we’d have per capita, but those LPTVs covered in the past.” Trouble were built during pipeline is, if TV26 had kept on cover- days and are now a state-sup¬ ported educational network serving a statewide audience.

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New Channels HOME VIDEO ing that stuff, it would be off the air. So we really are community television. ” PRODUCTIONS the best LPTV can give to this small But even determined TV7 must cover JUST GOT EASIER town—despite a sincere effort backed by a sizable investment—is pay-TV. At with a lot of non-local programming. “We pecial effects. (TTL) least it does so without cable. get SPN, the all-night movies from mid¬ night to 4 a.m., then the pop-music 1 PLEASE SEND ME: There is also local LPTV-type videos until 8 a.m.,” Morgan says. “We programming in Lake Havasu city, Ari¬ also use CMTV [cablemeister Ted Tur¬ 1 _CBC @ $12.00 _-Set of 4 @ $39.95 | zona, where Lee Shoblom has estab¬ ner’s country-music hee-haw to MTV]. lished TV45. The station isn’t mak¬ 1 _SLT@ $12.00 __Subtotal ing money, but it isn’t sinking—partly TV7 has a staff of “about eight, all because Shoblom owns the local AM and part-time, and two salesmen.” It also has 1 _TTL @ $12.00 _6% CA Tax | FM stations, which gives him cash flow, a small nut to crack—a low investment. and also because his radio news staff con¬ “Tower and transmitter cost about 1 _RSL @ $12.00 _ tributes mightily to TV45’s reporting $30,000,” says Morgan, “other equip¬ efforts. ment about $20,000; so about $50,000 all 1 NAME told, ” not counting offices and real TV45 is the big TV deal in Lake Hava¬ estate. How come so low, compared to 1 ADDRESS su City: it is available to all 5000 homes. the average previously quoted? “Well, The local cable op has only 1200 hookups we’re using half-inch. This is home-video | CITY ST ZIP 1 with, says Shoblom, no plans to expand equipment. ” CHECK ! his dynamic world of hard-wired com¬ munications opportunities. What’s more, The availability of satellite networks is j CARD NO. EXP. DATE_ J TV45 doesn’t resort to STV. But like any a boon to LPTV. At first, according to LPTV station it needs a continuing sup¬ Lee Shoblom, “the ad-supported cable | line! alt!2 HOLLY STREET . ply of programming. Naturally, much of it services wanted to stay strictly on ca¬ 1 RESEARCH LABORATORIES (714) 391-2053 | is non-local. ble. ” But then—as doom-sayers, per¬ verts, and cynics began to have the wee- Shoblom wants TV45 to get even big¬ tiniest suspicions that cable is not all that ger, be more successful. “I’m sure glad I it says it is—they began to look else¬ have the radio stations, because this where. And why not? In Lake Havasu pioneering is expensive, ” he says. And City SPN could reach 1200 homes on he sees TV45’s future as being that of “a cable. On TV45 it reaches all 5000. The real local station—very much cable ops—or apes, as they are also watched, very much in demand, very known—don’t like it, but never mind. high dollar volume advertising. ” He Cable is an industry that can be thrown wants to affiliate with other LPTVs in into an oscillating blend of white-faced what visionaries would call a support terror and fulminating rage by the mere group and realists would recognize as a utterance of the word “competition. ” If network. How all that can be reconciled LPTV can survive, it may help pump with the founding vision of LPTV is a big financial blood into the shaky ad-sup- question. ported networks. Closest to your correspondent’s hard¬ But LPTV’s survival is going to be ened heart is an LPTV in Bruce, Missis¬ hard. Too many licenses are in the hands sippi in the heart of Calhoun County. of people who find construction costs too Davey Doss, Ronald Pollan, and William high; others are in the hands of those Morgan have an electronics business in who want to do horse-trading—people Bruce and that led to their becoming who’ve no desire to become broadcast¬ partners in TV7—what the hell, they had ers but want, instead, to sell high what done everything else with the hardware they got for free, a license to operate a but broadcast with it. TV station. Too many of the operating stations are showing only test patterns, Now in its third year, TV7 is just about possibly because they can’t get the oper¬ breaking even, and its load of local pro¬ ating funds together; possibly, again, out gramming is impressive. “My wife Ann of a desire to establish the franchise and and Ronald’s wife Rita, ” says Morgan in then unload it at a quick profit. Too many his rich regional accent, “they do a 30- applications are still at the FCC in a huge minute community news show every pile that is mildewed on the top and gan¬ day, Monday through Friday. They do grenous on the bottom. church announcements, swap shop, ev¬ ery sort of announcement like that. Its spiritual fate will remain a question That’s live at noon and repeated at 5 p.m. even if LPTV survives as a fact. The Then we do school sports at least once a survival of that naive but sincere ideal— week. We’re right into basketball now, holding up LPTV as a mirror to the lives which we tape and show on Saturday of small-town people—depends on an morning so as not to hurt ticket sales. almost un-American idea. To survive and Twice monthly we have a country-Gos- remain small-town-oriented, an LPTV pel music show, three hours long. That’s station has to be moderately successful— live. We have a studio here that seats no more, no less. Small, not big. A profit- about 75 people. We get all the local maker, but not an obscene windfall. Too talent to perform. So we feel like we little success means go to STV or go to really are—can you hold on a minute? I’m black. And even a little too much will doing a production, and I’ve got to fade a mean goodbye, church socials—we’re camera out [brief pause]—so we feel like headed for high volume advertising. O

NO OTHER HI-FI VCR CAN GIVE YOU THIS KIND OF MENU tures. In addition to incredible hi-fi sound and remote input capability, you get the flexibility of programming directly through the machine. Four heads provide picture-perfect record, playback and special effects. A cable- ready, 139-channel tuner provides 28-day/8 event programmability; a lighted tape area allows tape usage monitoring. And if there’s a power outage during the night, the VS-603 is one VCR you won’t have to reprogram in the morning. Because instead of the normal one hour back-up memory, there’s 7-day back-up power. So if you’re looking for the best in VHS hi-fi VCR’s, look no further. AKAI’s new VS-603 is really going to open some ears. And eyes. AKAI’s new Hi-Fi VS-603 may of 8 programs. All at one time. AKAI well make ordinaryVCR program¬ So there’s no waiting for that ming seem obsolete. missed portion to reappear Hi-FiAEHl on the display. And no more Because now, the combination missed shows due to program¬ of convenient full-function wire¬ ming accidents. less remote programming and an interactive monitor system What’s more, the new AKAI allows you to see the full menu VS-603 comes jam-packed with plenty of other impressive fea-

For additional information, circle No. 30 on Reader Sen/ice Card.

I NG The Mailbox Is Open And the Hunt Is On Your letters—with their comments, questions, and complaints—are carefully read and greatly appreciated. They keep me pointed in the right direction. I can’t promise individual answers. I will, howev¬ er, respond in this space. With so much now available on video, many of your letters increasingly ask how to find out if a favorite film is available on cassette. Begin your search at local cata¬ logue stores, meaning stores specializ¬ ing in the sale and rental of video programs. These are different from the many other * outlets that only skim the top 40 or handle a special genre. My advice is to become a regular customer at a catalogue store that will get to know you, value your repeated business, and therefore become more like¬ ly to respond to your search requests. Try as they might, while catalogue stores are the best place to start your hunt for a favorite title, they can’t carry or know about everything available. Catalogue and can supply you. If he doesn’t, go direct. program companies and their distributors. stores get their programs from middleman In your search, it is necessary to distin¬ But catalogue stores love ’em, as you can distributors who try to handle as much as possible. Distributors publish lists of the guish between present and past. If a title is imagine, and regularly do business with programs they handle. While most of these not currently being shipped by a program them. distributor lists are designed for use by company under some label for sale through The point of all this is that video- retailers, some of the more progressive distributors and retailers, the question be¬ released titles never die. They live forever distributors turn out descriptive cata¬ comes whether or not it was ever issued as in the hands of brokers. It’s because of this logues to be sold to you and me. The best is a home video at some time in the past. At that you still see titles under the now de¬ published several times a year by Art Ad this point you enter the murky world of funct Allied Artists Video, Magnetic Video, House (available through Metro Video program inventory brokers. Since day one, and Video Tape Network labels (to name Dist., 430 W. 54 St., N.Y.C. 10019; 212- whenever a catalogue store has wanted to but a few) on catalogue store shelves. Be¬ 582-6405). It has a cover price of $5.95. If get rid of slow-moving titles, expand, open cause brokers deal in bulk and occupy a your catalogue store buys from Metro Dis¬ up a new location, or chuck it all and move kind of behind-the-scenes position, there is tributing, he knows about this catalogue to Florida, the broker has materialized—to no direct way you can find a specific out-of¬ make it all possible for a discounted price distribution title they might have except By Ken Winslow per title. Brokers buy and sell in bulk and through your retailer. are generally looked down upon by the There is no one single reference point to Video 43

which you can refer to see if a film was ever ly visible, each separated by a guard distance, it has shrunk from 10 to 5 screen issued in home video. This would require space—no matter how big the final picture. widths. I have at long last gotten a much saving every video catalogue and an¬ When you enlarge the scanning lines, you bigger picture—but strictly on my own nouncement ever issued, and bringing all enlarge the space between them. Get too qualitative terms. this information together in a single, easily close and the blank spaces and other im¬ accessible file. Because of my association perfections become obvious to the point of Home Film Festival with video since the days when two-inch annoyance. The basic rule of thumb: it is Champions the Little Guy was the only format and my practice of best to be between two and ten scanning saving everything to do with home-video widths (not diagonals) from the screen. As the program business gets bigger, programming, between my computer data¬ Seven or eight widths are optimum for a smaller but still first-rate Hollywood pro¬ base and filing cabinets, my collected in¬ normally sighted person. Within this op¬ ductions, foreign and performance films, formation is better than anyone else’s I timum viewing distance, the visual com¬ independent features, documentaries, and know of. But it takes time to organize it for munication of the scanning-line information other titles get squeezed off your video a search. will be at maximum while the effect of the store’s shelves. In smaller communities, blanks will be at minimum. Calculate what chances are you’ll never even have the And while neither is complete by any viewing position-to-screen distance you opportunity to find out that such titles ex¬ means, two independent publications try to are dealing with and convert that to the ist. keep up with the flood of home-video re¬ most suitable screen size—not the biggest leases: the weekly Videolog, published by screen a salesman says you can afford. To remedy this, Home Film Festival has Trade Service Publications (10996 Tor- been organized as a mail-order Beta/VHS reyana Rd., San Diego, Calif. 92121; Now let’s turn to qualitative evaluation. rental club by documentary filmmakers 619-457-5920), at $108 a year, and the In general, the better the technical ability Mark and Dan Jury {ForAll People, ForAll yearly Video Tape & Disc Guide to Home of the scanning lines to present picture Time) to make certain such titles as The Entertainment, published by the National information, the shorter you can make the GrandIllusion, Diva, ElNorte, TheAtom¬ Video Clearinghouse (100 Lafayette true viewing distance between you and the ic Cafe, Gate ofHell, Small Change, Long Dr., Syosset, N.Y. 11791), at $12.95. screen—and the larger the relative accept¬ Day’s Journey into Night, La Strada, Viri- diana, The Return of Martin Guerre, When Is 'Bigger' Better? able width. VIDEO’S equipment reviewers Who’ll Stop the Rain, Wild Strawberries, Read Between the Lines evaluate various technical measures of and Horowitz in London remain available horizontal scanning quality. I leave you in by mail when no longer easily found at I like a big TV picture as much as any¬ their good hands, with but one point for program stores. At the same time HFF has one. But bigger is not always better when emphasis. dug out of relative obscurity such titles as it comes to TV viewing unless you can pop The Duke Is Tops, Lena Home’s first film, $50,000 and up for a commercial-grade After recognizing some years ago that released in 1938; The EmperorJones, with Light Valve or similar direct-modulation big can be pretty bad, I settled on the Paul Robeson; The Lodger, Alfred Hitch¬ projector, which can sometimes show you routine use of a 12-inch monitor/receiver cock’s 1926 silent; Rock, Rock, Rock, star¬ more fine detail than you care to see. As for positioned 10 screen widths away. Until ring 13-year-old Tuesday Weld in her film what’s offered for home viewing these recently I saw nothing outside of very ex¬ debut along with performances by Chuck days, with anything over 19 or 20 inches— pensive broadcast video monitors to Berry, Frankie Lymon, and others; Ride in unless you choose carefully—you are likely change my decision. But monitor/receiver the Whirlwind, with Jack Nicholson; and to lose much more to a poor picture than manufacturers who have been supplying others. The first HFF Program Guide and you will gain in size. Today’s typical 30- to computer data-grade sets in 12- and 13-inch Supplement lists some 100 titles. 50-inch diagonal rear-projection sets are sizes are now starting to offer them in 19- fine for background viewing in bars, but and 20-inch sizes, with rated horizontal Unlike most video clubs, which are orga¬ they are awful for the serious home scanning line pitches of under 0.5mm (the nized (ostensibly) to help you save money, viewer. vertical distance from the center of one the major purpose of HFF is to help you horizontal line to the next), which is signifi¬ enjoy these special programs. For a $50 Keep in mind the unavoidable reality that cantly better than that typically offered by annual membership fee you receive Pro¬ our 40-plus-year-old NTSC television sys¬ 19-inch and larger sets. I have installed a gram Guide mailings, which carry un¬ tem contains only 525 horizontal scanning 0.4mm-rated pitch, 20-inch FST monitor/ usually extensive descriptions of listed ti¬ lines, of which only 400 or less are general- receiver. Without changing my seat-to-set tles plus reviews and awards. An in¬ 44 Video troductory 45-minute Inside Cinema tape containing previews and interviews is loaned. Rentals for three-day periods are $6 for one title, $11 for two titles, plus postage averaging between $2 and $3. All offered rental titles may be purchased at 15 percent off list. A free information kit is yours from Home Film Festival (305 Lin¬ den Street, Scranton, Pa. 18503; 800-258- 3456). Embassy Cuts Prices The 25-title “Best of Embassy $39.95 Winter Sale” is officially over on the first day of this month. This issue, coming to you in mid-March, should still give you a chance to take advantage of these large $30 to $40 price cuts. Although nowhere near as low as the pre-Christmas $24.95 Paramount sale, the dollar savings offered by Embassy are equal or better because of its generally higher list prices. Some retail-

ers handling these titles might even price Top io programs them at $35.95 if all the discounts are passed along. The basis of this sale—the Jj'assett^ajes^ 10. Star Trek II: The Peter Ustinov, Terry- price Embassy charges to its distributors, Wrath of Khan (8). Color. Thomas, Phil Silvers. 83 who in turn sell to retailers—ends on 1. Purple Rain (1)*. 1982. William Shatner, min. LV. $34.95. CED. March 31 when all revert to their higher Color. 1984. Prince, Morris Leonard Nimoy, DeForest $29.95. The Classics. normal levels. Blade Runner, which has Day, Apollonia Kotero. 113 Kelley. 113 min. (PG) Beta. been $39.95 all along, will jump to $79.95. min. (R) Beta, VHS (Hi-Fi VHS (stereo). $39.95. Para¬ 10. Police Academy (-). stereo, dosed captions). mount. Color. 1984. Steve Gutten- In case you missed any: Blade Runner, $29.98. Warner. berg, Kim Cattrall, G.W. Amityville II: The Possession, Eddie & the Bailey. 96 min. (R) LV. Cruisers, SummerLovers, The Night Port¬ 2. Jane Fonda's Workout /Wdeodis^ajesJj $34.98. Warner. er, Magic, Escape from New York, The (3). Color. 1982. Jane Fon¬ Exterminator, The Onion Field, The Howl¬ da assisted by 7 instructors. 1. Purple Rain (-)*. As / Cassette Rentals f ing, Scanners, Mausoleum, Hopscotch, 90 min. Beta, VHS. $59.95. above, “Cassette Sales.” Carbon Copy, Zapped!, 1984 Winter Olym¬ Karl. LV (stereo, CX, closed cap¬ 1. Police Academy (-)*. pics, Vice Squad, Paradise, Breaker!, tions). $29.98. Warner. As above, “Videodisc Breaker!, Enigma, Pride and Passion: 3. The Empire Strikes Sales,” Beta, VHS (closed Best oftheNBA 1984, TheVisitor, TheSol- Back (2). Color. 1980. 2. The Empire Strikes captions). $79.95. Warner. dier, Losin’ It, and Macon County Line. Mark Hamill, Harrison Back (1). As above, “Cass. Ford, Carrie Fisher. 124 Sales. ” LV (stereo). 2. The Natural (-). As Get on the 'Coaster min. Beta, VHS (Hi-Fi $29.98. CBS/Fox. above, “Cassette Sales. ” stereo, dosed captions). $79.95. RCA/Columbia. Coaster—The Adventure of the John F. $79.98. CBS/Fox. 3. Greystoke: The Leavitt is a stunning example of the kinds of Legend of Tarzan, Lord 3. Purple Rain (3). As award-winning but limited-distribution 4. Raiders of the Lost of the Apes (5). Color. above, “Cass. Sales.” films that are starting to find their way onto Ark (4). Color. 1981. Har¬ 1984. Christopher Lambert, $29.98. Warner. home video. This 1981 91-minute film has rison Ford, Karen Allen, Ralph Richardson, Ian only had limited theatrical play on the East Wolf Kahler. 115 min. Beta Holm. 130 min. (PG) LV 4. The Empire Strikes and West Coasts, but now can be seen by (Hi-Fi stereo, closed cap¬ (stereo, CX, Dolby MP Back (1). As above, “Cass. anyone, anywhere courtesy of Beta/VHS tions). VHS (stereo, cl. matrix, closed captions). Sales.” $79.98. CBS/Fox. (see the “Directory”). Coaster is the real- cap.). $39.95. Paramount. $39.98. Warner. life adventure story of former English teacher and dairy farmer Ned Ackerman, 5. An Officer and a 4. Romancing the Stone 5. Romancing the Stone whose dream was to build and sail a 97-foot Gentleman (-). Color. (2). Color. 1984. Michael (2). As above, “Disc Sales. ” cargo-carrying schooner of the windpow- 1982. Richard Gere, Debra Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Beta, VHS (Hi-Fi, closed ered type widely used during the 1800s. Winger, Louis Gossett Jr. Danny DeVito. 106 min. captions). $79.98. CBS/ After four years of construction at a Thom- 126 min. (R) Beta (Hi-Fi). (PG) LV. $34.98. CED Fox. aston, Maine shipyard, the schooner VHS. $39.95. Paramount. (closed captions). $19.98. John F. Leavitt was launched in September CBS/Fox. 6. The Last Starfighter 1979 and prepared for its first working 6. Jane Fonda's Prime (7). Color. 1984. Lance voyage to Haiti. After a series of delays, Time Workout (6). Color. 5. The Natural (-). As Guest, Robert Preston, Dan the Leavitt set sail in late December—but 1984. Less strenuous above, “Cass. Sales.” LV, O’Herlihy. 100 min. (PG) ran into an unexpectedly fierce storm 260 routines. 50 min. Beta, CED. $29.95. RCA/ Beta (Hi-Fi stereo, sur¬ miles East of Long Island, where it was VHS (closed captions). Columbia. round sound). VHS (Dolby swamped and abandoned by Ackerman and $39.95. Karl. B stereo, surr. sound). his crew of nine. Through filmmaker Craig 6. Splash (3). Color. 1984. $79.95. MCA. Cloutier’s sympathetic camera eye you live 7. Star Wars (5). Color. Tom Hanks, Daryl Hannah, the four painstaking years of construction, 1977. Mark Hamill, Harri¬ John Candy. 109 min. LV 7. Dreamscape (-). Color. the joy and exhilaration of launching, son Ford, Carrie Fisher. (stereo). $34.95. CED 1983. Dennis Quaid, Max agonize through each setback, to at last 121 min. Beta. VHS (Dolby (stereo). $29.95. Touch- von Sydow, Kate Capshaw. reach Ackerman’s awful moment of deci¬ stereo). $39.98 (reissue). 99 min. (PG-13) Beta, sion to abandon his ship to the raging sea. CBS/Fox. 7. Sixteen Candles (6). VHS. $79.95. Thorn EMI. Reality, in the hands of this skilled filmmak¬ Color. 1984. Molly Ring- er, becomes the greatest of all human 8. The Natural (-). Color. wald, Paul Dooley, Carlin 8. The Neverending adventures. 1984. Robert Redford, Glynn. 93 min. (PG) LV, Story (-). Color. 1984. Robert Duvall, Glenn Close. CED. $29.98. MCA. Barret Oliver, Noah Hath¬ 134 min. (PG) Beta (Hi-Fi away, Tami Stronach, 94 stereo, closed captions). 8. Yentl (7). Color. 1983. min. (PG) Beta, VHS (Hi-Fi VHS (Dolby Hi-Fi stereo, Barbra Streisand, Mandy stereo). VHS (stereo). cl. cap.). $79.95. RCA/ Patinkin, Amy Irving. 134 $79.95. Touchstone. Columbia. min. (PG) LV (stereo). $39.98. CED (stereo, 10. Greystoke: The 9. Trading Places (10). closed captions). $34.98. Legend of Tarzan, Lord Color. 1983. Dan Aykroyd, CBS/Fox. of the Apes (5). As above, Eddie Murphy, Jamie Lee “Disc Sales.\" Beta, VHS Curtis. 106 min. (R) Beta, 9. Robin Hood (-). Color. (Hi-Fi stereo, closed cap¬ VHS (closed captions). 1973. Animated. Voices of tions). $79.95. Warner. $39.95. Paramount. \"Number in parentheses indicates position last month; (-) indicates program is new listing. Copyright 1985 by Billboard Publications Inc. Reprinted by permission.

R E VJJ, W S HLM CUPS Produced for Theaters It Happened at the World's Fair historians may note that the boy Elvis MGM planned to reinstate a scene in which Color. 1963. Elvis Presley, Joan O’Brien; pays to kick him in the shins (why?—so he Elvis pays an older and more mercenary dir. Norman Taurog. 105 min. Beta, VHS. can go back to the infirmary, silly) is Kurt Kurt Russell to shoot him in the foot is $59.95. MGM/UA. Reproduction: B + Russell, who went on to star in the TV apparently unfounded, and Elvis does final¬ bio-pic of the King nearly 20 years later. ly manage to win over Miss Sinatra without Speedway Now, is that ironic or what? resorting to self-mutilation. Color. 1968. Elvis Presley, Nancy Sinatra, Bill Bixby; dir. Norman Taurog. 94 min. Speedway is better, mainly because the Now, in my book, Nancy Sinatra and five Beta, VHS. $59.95. MGM/UA. Reproduc¬ music has to reflect a late-’60s sensibility. pauper-tots beat a wet dream by the Seat¬ tion: B + In this formula the machine is a racing car, tle Chamber of Commerce hands down. the money problem involves a gigantic debt But though Speedway has the edge in Do you realize that an entire generation to the IRS (thanks to another one of Elvis’ musical grit, small children may enjoy both of kids grew up with the notion that Elvis screwy partners), Elvis hasfive female tots the Mono-Rail and Su Ling’s gastronomic Presley was not a rock & roll outlaw but, in and their impoverished pappy to feed, and distress in World’s Fair. Will the man who fact, a cinematic alternative to Son ofFlub- he falls in love with an undercover agent for made a career out of epic rock videos cap¬ beri Once tamed by the Army, Elvis for¬ the IRS, portrayed by Nancy “With the ture the hearts of the video generation? sook rocking the jailhouse for a sensibility Laughing Face” Sinatra. The rumor that You never know. But if a lot of orphans that often made Walt Disney look like Sam Peckinpah. And this he did with alarming frequency. But, shoot, kids didn’t care if Elvis remade the same movie 29 times. He was dependable. The typical Elvis plot usually revolved around him trying to get some piece of heavy machinery out of hock so that he and his screwy partner could eam/win enough money to buy said piece of machinery, get married to the right girl, and/or support a herd of orphaned children—all the while singing song after sappy song. True family fare. To celebrate Elvis’ 50th birthday in Jan¬ uary, MGM reissued a couple of Elvis flicks guaranteed to fling you back into the front row of a Bijou matinee. First up is It Happened at the World’s Fair. What hap¬ pened? you may ask. Well, hell, lots of things. Like, Elvis’screwy partner loses all their money in a poker game and their plane gets attacked and they get stuck with a seven-year-old Chinese girl whose uncle disappears leaving Elvis to shepherd the little darling around that eighth wonder of the world we now know as the Seattle World’s Fair. The love interest occurs when little Su Ling gets nauseous and Elvis gets all drooly over the nurse who administers the Alka-Seltzer. Objectively speaking, this is not one of Elvis’ more intriguing run-ins with the cinema, though

start turning up on MTV, we’ll know Elvis Carr’s bland, mediocre cast can’t hold a candle to the down-to-earth quality Do¬ truly connected across the board. lores Hart brought to the original, or to the sexy comedy of Prentiss and Hutton. The VHS transfers are respectable. Where the Boys Are (1960) may not tell us much about where they are today and what Though viewers may be momentarily put they’re doing, but it’s still the best of its weakening breed. off by the comparatively low fidelity of the On video, the original Boys looks as music, this stems more from the low quali¬ smooth and dreamy as its title song sounds, though the audio level was in¬ ty of the original movie soundtrack than consistent, with an eventual hum. The new version lacks the earlier one’s visual gloss from the transfer. —John Walker but is excellently transferred, and Losin’ It looks as good on laser as it possibly could Where the Boys Are look, which isn’t saying much. Color. 1960. Dolores Hart, George Hamil¬ ton, Connie Francis, Paula Prentiss; dir. —Harvey Elliott Henry Levin. 99 min. Beta, VHS. $59.95. MGMIUA. Reproduction: A- The World of Henry Orient Where the Boys Are Color. 1964. Peter Sellers, Paula Prentiss, Color. 1984. Loma Luft, Lisa Hartman, Lynn Holly Johnson; dir. Hy Averbach. 95 Angela Lansbury, Tom Bosley, Merry min. Beta, VHS. $79.98. Key. Reproduc¬ tion: A has grown up to be a particularly lizard-like Spaeth, Tippy Walker; dir. George RoyHill. Losin' It adolescent—plays the most desperate of 106 min. Beta, VHS. $59.98. Key. Color. 1982. Tom Cruise, Shelley Long, the group with no charm whatever, and Reproduction: B- Jackie Earle Haley; dir. Curtis Hanson. 104 min. Beta, VHS. $39.95. ILV. Losin’ It ultimately sinks under the weight Down Among the 'Z' Men $34.95. Embassy. Reproduction: B + of its own jaded opportunism, the sweet B&W. 1952. PeterSellers, Harry Secombe, Rite-of-passage movies go as far back as Clara Bow, who was said to have had It. Cruise/Long interlude notwithstanding. Michael Bertine, Spike Milligan, Carol Nowadays it’s not so much a question of who has It but where you can go to get It. Where the Boys Are is probably the puri¬ Carr; dir. MacLean Rogers. 82 min. Beta, Or lose It. The best place is on vacation, where normal rules don’t apply and where tan ancestor of Losin’ It, though that’s VHS. $59.95. Pacific Arts. Reproduction: you can guiltlessly do things you wouldn’t think of doing at home. (Blame it on Rio.) rather like comparing Janet Gaynor to Pia B There’s no safer place to sow wild oats than in some faraway garden. Zadora. Released in 1960, it officially Here’s a pair of Peter Sellers movies— The horny teenagers in these three marked the end of 1950s repression— except they’re not. The first is a growing- tourist trips make no bones about their intentions. They want to get laid. (In the even if, finally, only Yvette Mimieux lost It up story about two teenage girls, one of original Where the Boys Are—the best of the lot, perhaps because it’s the most while her girlfriends just had been hoping whom has an obsessive crush on a peacock innocent—they also want to get married, but chalk that up to 1960.) Jumping in the to. A bunch of college girls drive to Fort pianist (Sellers, who is on-screen about car and heading south leads them all to a holiday of sex and sun where, to varying Lauderdale, Florida to spend Easter vaca¬ one-quarter of the time). The other fea¬ degrees, they make It, lose It, regret It, or learn to appreciate It. tion, and all the way their minds are reeling tures Sellers as part of the Goons, the These things are only as entertaining as with unknown pleasures lying before them. British comedy troupe that preceded Mon¬ the characters—and only as attractive as the casts. Losin’It has the winning Shelley Dolores Hart isn’t sure about It, Paula ty Python and created radio comedy whose Long (doing more or less what she does on Cheers) joining a carload of hopped-up Cali¬ Prentiss hopes her height won’t scare It cult status reigns eternal. The cassette fornia teenagers who are driving to Tia- juana because they’ve heard the whores away, and Connie Francis is happy just to package bills Sellers first, but the movie are great down there. Shelley has run away from her husband, who she thinks doesn’t sing about It. Mimieux, though, is ready credits list him fifth out of five. There are love her anymore, and accompanies Tom Cruise and his motley friends on their for It, and jumps in feet first, even before several good reasons to see each of these mission—though after they get there she has little to do but walk around and brush they hit the beach. She gets punished (or see them again), but Sellers isn’t the away the beggars. too—twice: first she’s raped, then she’s hit main one in either case. This sleazy tale gets even worse: The boys find the whores all right and get by a car on a crowded Florida highway. The real stars of Henry Orient are ripped off, one searches for an animal act, and a corrupt policeman makes their That’ll teach her. blonde, doll-like Merry Spaeth (“Gil”) and day by throwing them in a jail right out of MidnightExpress and continues to torment What makes Where the Boys Are more minked brunette Tippy Walker (Val), them all the way to the border. Cruise, the sensitive clean-cut hero who is disgusted fun than most such movies is its expert cast who—vintage '50s first names by the whole place once he gets there, is unable to lose It with the prostitute and and witty screenplay. Sure, it’s dated, but notwithstanding—make for a charming ultimately loses It with Shelley Long, who then realizes she loves her husband. Jackie beneath that Production Code moral¬ pair of 14-year-olds to torment Henry Earle Haley—the ugliest child in films, who ity are sly winks at those natural human Orient (Sellers), who ought to spend more urges that even the Code couldn’t dampen. time practicing scales but runs around New As Paula Prentiss remarks after she’s York City womanizing instead. What prom¬ postponed intimacy yet again with Jim Hut¬ ises at first to be a Sellers-dominated ton (but doesn’t want him to give up the farce turns out to be a tale about broken fight), “He keeps knocking on the door. It’s homes, the sustaining power of friendship just a question of how long I can keep it and family, and the pathos of teenage locked.” romantic fantasies—all, centering on The fact that, but for Mimieux, Where talented, headstrong Val (the obsessed the Boys Are keeps the door locked makes one) and Gil (from a materially poorer but it a comedy of lust and resistance. Where emotionally richer home). there’s no resistance, there’s no plot. Allan Sadly, George Roy Hill’s vivid direction Carr’s 1984 remake starts out with college depends heavily on two-person medium girls humping away in their dormitory shots that just can’t be scanned discreet¬ rooms; why are they even bothering to go ly. I don’t agree with all of the VHS to Fort Lauderdale in the first place? Of transfer’s panning choices, but in most course once they get there, they find cases there just is no right decision— romantic entanglements and dis¬ except to deliver the full Panavision image appointments they didn’t envision, but I with bands at the top and bottom. The didn’t detect any moral dilemmas con¬ image is slightly soft-focused and the fronted; nor did anyone get hit by a car. I color, though rich, occasionally be-

trays early signs of color-fade syn¬ minor and major, an offscreen newscaster to be scary; we see the murders through drome. However, the transfer was care¬ with a litany of catastrophes. The mayhem fully done from more than one source, spills over to ludicrousness when the Mark’s 16mm camera, which forces us to including two magnetic soundtracks. weirdos’ skeletal “granpaw” tries to stun the hysterical heroine but can’t share his scientific detachment. Meanwhile, the real star of Down hold the hammer. Among the “Z\" Men is Harry Secombe as The problem is one of perspective. Harry Jones, a harried shop clerk who Today’s viewers will find Massacre labors to deliver the secret tears-and- hopelessly chaste. Tight economics and We’re left cold, with no solid vantage point laughter gas formula of a crazed professor the puritan ethics of its time (1974) mean (Michael Bertine) into the hands of the the film is low on splatter effects we’ve and no one to identify with. We don’t get military, foiling some pretty sneaky spies. come to expect of quality entertainment. Spike Milligan is also hilarious as the loony This relative restraint forces Hooper to close enough to Mark or to his victims. halfwitted promotion-seeking private who employ an arcane but effective element: aids him, and Sellers (the Colonel) and the suspense. And it’s fun to be scared. Early audiences objected to the dispassion lovely Carol Carr (an MI5 agent) acquit themselves well in minor roles. With their Media’s transfer, from a clean print, of the killer, but the true flaw is the infectious and well-oiled ensemble playing, seems faithful to the film’s low-budget the Goons were England’s answer to the color. The image is sharp, with hardly bloodlessness of the film. Marx Brothers, and this one—despite noticeable bleeding of reds, though con¬ poor sound—is not just for cultists only. trasty dark areas lack definition, and night I don’t know whether 1960 was a good scenes show up grain. —Mark Fleischmann year for crops, but the VHS cassette sure —Scott Isler The Texas Chain Saw Massacre showed plenty of grain. Colors were Color. 1974. Marilyn Bums, Paul Par- Peeping Tom tain, Edwin Neal; dir. Tobe Hooper. 87 Color. 1960. Carl Boehm; dir. Michael washed out, and everything took on a rud¬ min. Beta, VHS. $39.95. Media. Repro¬ Powell. 104 min. Beta, VHS. $39.95. duction: B + Admit One (311 Adelaide St. E., Ontario, dy tint. The soundtrack was difficult to Canada M5A1N2; 416-863-9316). Repro¬ “A riveting study of homicidal madness duction: B follow. —John Leland and psychological terror”? Haw haw haw\\ You can believe the blurb on its box if you Michael Powell’s Oedipal drama about a Another Country want, but most of all The Texas Chain Saw young man who films women as he kills Massacre is funny'. It’s funny to watch a them, released the same year as Hitch¬ Color. 1984. Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, bunch of snooping, obnoxious youths get cock’s Psycho, drew furious brickbats from Michael ]enn; dir. Marek Kanievska. 93 picked off by equally two-dimensional weir¬ offended English critics and audiences. min. Beta, VHS. $79.95. Embassy. dos. It’s funny to pretend all the carnage The cineastes who gobbled up the bathos Reproduction: A- stems from malicious astrological activity. of Powell’s 1948 The Red Shoes wanted no (People who believe their lives are pre¬ part of Peeping Tom’s psychopathic killer. How very British. Marek Kanievska’s ordained generally deserve what they get.) While Psycho enjoyed enormous success attack on high British snobbery and class It’s funny when the mute “Leatherface” over here, the Brits gave Peeping Tom a structure, set in that very bastion of priv¬ (Gunnar Hansen)—flailing his smoking, swift and unceremonious burial. ilege, the prestigious public school, has all buzzing chain saw—pursues the literally the snob appeal of its subject. The dec¬ inexhaustible Sally (Marilyn Bums) like a Like Norman Bates, Peeping Tom’s orous ’30s period outfits and almost grounded biplane run amok. Mark Lewis chooses his victims without pornographic location shots of the pastoral motive. His are not crimes of passion. He campus and its oaken interiors invite us on But mostly it’s fun to concede director/ kills to satisfy a scientific interest, and to yet another stylish visit to Brideshead. cowriter Tobe Hooper his tongue-in-cheek carry on his late psychologist father’s stud¬ The perspective is exclusively uppercrust. premise—carnivores end up as meat ies on the nature of fear. themselves—and go along on the Which diminishes its impact not a whit. rollercoaster ride. From its opening shots, Never mind that the psychological prem¬ Another County is a portrait of senseless The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a con¬ ise is hokey. After all, this was the early brutality in which the public school func¬ stant barrage of audiovisual hints of disas¬ '60s. And Norman Bates’ Oedipal complex tions not as a cloister from society but as a ter to come: grotesque images, grossouts didn’t hold much water either. But Hitch¬ microcosm of it. Upperclassmen terrorize cock at least scared the pants off us before their juniors, everyone pretends to uphold introducing Freud. Powell’s film is too aloof impossible standards of perfection, and anyone who plays ball graduates to a cushy future as an Old Boy. The corollary is that anyone who doesn’t play ball suffers all the degradation and cruelty for nothing. Guy Bennett and Tommy Judd find themselves at odds with the institution. Judd, played with impenetrable stoicism by Colin Firth, becomes the school joke be¬ cause of his Marxist beliefs. As well he should, for throughout he remains an im¬ potent ideologue who self-righteously criti¬ cizes the system from within its halls of power. More interesting is Judd’s friend Guy Bennett, a somewhat childish homosexual (played with radiant romanti¬ cism by the hopelessly gorgeous Rupert Everett) who wants to reap the rewards of the school without conforming to its sexual mores. When his “indiscretions” dash his long-held aspirations of climbing the in¬ stitution’s social ladder, Bennett becomes bitter and acknowledges the hypocrisy of the public school. In this indictment of hypocrisy, the two protagonists are both hypocrites: Judd be¬ cause he embraces one ideological system while enjoying the inequitable advantages of another, and Bennett because he ac¬ cepts the status culture which rejects his sexuality. Fortunately, Everett’s characterization is sophisticated and touch¬ ing enough to allow identification even with his contradictions.

lives of Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean, killing them (in China, where a S mathematics, information theory, physics, holiday was used to assemble homosexuals and metaphysics into a sweeping world who defected to Russia in the 1950s. Poli¬ and club them to death) to imprisonment view. His ideas included Spaceship Earth, (in Bulgaria, whose prison system was synergy, and pattern integrity while tics in the film, drawn as shallowly asJudd’s used as a model for Cuba’s notorious absorbing other concepts like mind/brain UMAP political jails). If anything, Improper dichotomy; they have been embraced by textbook rhetoric, are a distracting loose Conduct could be faulted—as a film, not a establishment and rebel alike. political statement—for devoting so much end. Judd might as easily have been a of its time to this single issue. Which makes The World ofBuckminster Fuller an important document. Despite Buddhist, and Bennett undergoes his This is not a movie about the difficulty of fuzzy picture and mediocre sound (badges being a homosexual in Cuba, however, as of honor in documentaries) this 1972 film ideological metamorphosis entirely off- so many reviews imply. The human-rights presents an impressive tour of Fuller’s violations run the gamut from imprison¬ thought through interviews and lecture camera. ment of political dissidents and intellectuals clips from places like New Dehli, St. Louis, to jailing of innocent children. The latter is and Montreal. The result is interesting, if Despite its weaknesses, Another Coun¬ best described by Cuban author Armando confusing. Director Snyder gives Fuller full Valladares, himself a political prisoner for leeway, but the energetic and always try is visually stunning and often moving. 19 years, who tells the story of a 12-year- slightly breathless Fuller rambles from old boy sent to an adultjail for playing with a topic to topic with such speed and Everett is a delight. The VHS cassette’s handgun. The tale of the boy’s progress in ferocity—with an encyclopedic mind and a the prison system is a tragic one. Typical of compulsion to convince—that it’s easy to reproduction was admirable in all respects: totalitarian doublespeak, the Cuban pris¬ lose sight of his points. Regardless, Fuller ons bear uncharacteristically cheery projects a charismatic, almost hypnotic sound and image were clear and colors names such as “New Dawn,” “Rainbow,” presence and he’s a natural storyteller. and “New Life”—the last two of which ai The preponderance of ideas is perhaps a were rich. —John Leland children’s jails. flaw; we get no glimpses of Fuller the man except for the momentary mention of his Improper Conduct All this, of course, could be construed as daughter’s death early in his career. The fuel for the “New Right” as well. No doubt impact is glossed over, but such insights (Mauvaise Conduite) many conservatives who will use this film are necessary for a well-rounded picture of Color. 1984. Documentary, dir. Nestor as a rallying cry have not shown much a great man. Almendros & Orlando Jimenez Leal. 115 sensitivity to the condition of intellectuals, min. Beta, VHS. $79.95. New Video (90 much less gays, in their own nation. Yet The physical products of Fuller’s thought University PL, N.Y.C. 10003). they will loudly decry the injustices de¬ have largely faded from sight. Who picted. Still, Improper Conduct is emo¬ remembers the dymaxion house, or the It is easy to understand why Improper tionally difficult to watch, but considerably bulletshaped three-wheeled dymaxion car Conduct stirred so much controversy up¬ worth investing the time. of the ’50s? The geodesic dome still on its release. It is nothing short of an stands in Montreal’s Expo park, but domes indictment of Fidel Castro’s human-rights —Tim Onosko are no longer a cause celebre. But Fuller’s record. It is also a curious mix of ideolo¬ urging against intellectual complacency and gies. The World of Buckminster Fuller his desire that the human spirit keep pace Color. 1972. Dir. Robert Snyder. 85 with human knowledge are more relevant The most serious challenge the film Beta, VHS. $79. Masters and Masten than ever today—and his ideas will contin¬ makes is to Marxists and the left, who have (15313 Whitfield Ave., Pacific Palis ue to speak to the future. That’s what this traditionally used Cuba as an example of a Calif. 90272; 213-454-3836). Repr video is really all about. modem socialist state that “works. ” Im¬ tion: B proper Conduct paints the Castro regime as —Steven Grant anti-intellectual and anti-gay. There is little Buckminster Fuller was one of the reason to doubt the validity of the film’s intellects of our age. Starting a content. This is not the kind of rabid anti¬ architect, he intermingled his training in communist film that right-wing groups crank out by the mile: the accusations come from the core of expatriate Cuban authors and scholars, as well as young peo¬ ple and gay refugees. Much of the film concerns the repres¬ sion of Cuban homosexuals by a machismo government. We’re told that in the early 1960s, shortly after the Cuban revolution, Raul Castro (Fidel’s brother) toured the communist-bloc nations inquiring as to how other governments treated their homosex¬

QUICKTAKES/FILM Country Music on Broadway camera enhancing movement. Two im¬ pressive performances are given by Color. 1966. George Jones, Buck Owens, Plisetskaya as Anna and Yuri Vladimirov as the Station Master. He appears to Anna Bill Anderson, Porter Wagoner, Lester repeatedly as if in a dream, prophesying her eventual suicide. VAI has preserved Flatt & Earl Scruggs, Stonewall Jackson, the original CinemaScope aspect ratio. The black border at top and bottom is prefer¬ Ferlin Husky, Hank Snow, Wilma Lee & able to dancers dancing off the screen, but the smaller image reduces the three- Stoney Cooper, SkeeterDavis, RoyDrusky, dimensional sensation of filmed dance. Merle Kilgore, Hank Williams, Hank Wil¬ —Julia Lisella liams Jr., Audrey Williams, Bobby Smith, Scandalous Color. 1984. Robert Hays, John Gielgud, Ralph Emery, Anita Kerr Singers, Stoney Pamela Stephenson. 93 min. Beta, VHS. $79.95. Vestron. Reproduction: B Mountain Cloggers; dir. VictorDuncan. 96 Scandalous would like to be an update of min. Beta, VHS. $39.95. H. Butrum En¬ those spoofy ’60s comedies of intrigue in which Cary Grant used to flourish. Un¬ terprises (44 Music Square E., Nashville, fortunately, Robert Hays is no Cary Grant and wanders through Scandalous Tenn. 37203; 615-242-0377). Reproduc¬ like a victim of terminal jet lag. Viewers beware: the feeling is contagious. At the tion: B core of the plot is the body of Hays’ semi- estranged wife. Who did her in? Who Country Music on Broadway is a cares? Not Hays, who shows little sorrow at her demise. And if he doesn’t, then goldmine for anyone with even a passing why should you?.lOnly Pamela Stephen¬ son (as a shady love-interest) shows any interest in the look and sound of country spark. John Gielgud trots through his role as a blackmailer with 1000 faces, but not music in the ’60s. The encyclopedic range even the sight of him disguised in punk regalia can improve this silly contrivance. of performers provides a thorough sam¬ The VHS transfer is fair, though reds flare and sound is often muddy. pling of the genre, although a contrived —John Walker setting and frequent lip-syncing undermine The Osterman Weekend the music’s essential honesty. Moments of Color. 1983. Rutger Hauer, John Hurt, Burt Lancaster; dir. Sam Peckinpah. 102 glory like the Wilburn Brothers’ gorgeous min. Beta, VHS. $79.95. Thom EMI. Reproduction: B- duet of “Down in the Valley” make the Romeo and Juliet Color. 1954. Galina Ulanova & the Bolshoi Peckinpah, the man who made sex and halfhearted lip-syncing of George Jones Ballet Co.; chor. Leonid Lavrosky; dir. L. violence respectable, pits his directorial Amstam & Lavrosky. 95 min. Beta, VHS. abilities against a Robert Ludlum potboiler. and others all the more unsatisfying. $64.95 + $2.25 s&h, $1.75 add’l tapes. The result is, not surprisingly, a film that Video Arts Infl (Box 153, Ansonia Sta., boasts little more than a bloated red her¬ However, the inclusion of the only known N.Y.C. 10023:212-799-7798). Reproduc¬ ring served up on a salad of (you guessed!) tion: B sex and violence. Hauer stars as a TV footage of Hank Williams performing— political muckraker playing weekend host Choreographers owe a lot to Lavrosky’s to some upscale and unsavory friends available on no other video—renders all Romeo andJuliet, which brought this nar¬ who, according to mysterious agent Hurt, rative ballet to the screen. If nothing else, are up to no good on a grand scale (read: flaws forgivable. Color is somewhat it is a testament to ballet’s earlier bouts KGB). Hurt moves in and the ensuing ten¬ with the camera: there are too many open sion and paranoia created by his state-of- milky. —Andrew Roblin mouths and not enough dancing, too many the-art surveillance heat things up to a crowd scenes and not enough detailed in¬ quick boil which spills over into a sticky Music City U.S.A. terpretation through movement. Isolated mess by the film’s end. Though the gim¬ treasures include the coquettish scene be¬ mick of two-way TV as a spying device is Color. 1965. T. Tommy Cutrer, Loretta tween Juliet and her nurse, and Romeo and effective on the small screen and justifies Juliet’s solemn wedding scene. But these the often-grainy footage and muffled sound Lynn, WebbPierce, Dave Dudley, Jean She¬ glimpses of real ballet are scarred by the in context, the general quality of the trans¬ camera walking interminably through vast fer is only fair. Color is harsh, with a blue pard, Osborne Brothers, Jimmy C. New¬ architecture that obscures, rather than tinge, and sound is dull. frames, the dancing. You may take plea¬ man, Hillous Butrum, Wilburn Brothers, sure in the lavish reds and golds, but ex¬ —John Walker pect to miss a few leaps and lunges. Charlie Louvin, Justin Tubb, Lorene —Julia Lisella Mann, Shot Jackson, Bashful Brother Anna Karenina Oswald; dir. Preston Collins & Jim Den- Color. 1974. Maya Plisetskaya, Alexander Godunov, Bolshoi Ballet Company; chor. net. Beta, VHS. $39.95. H. Butrum En¬ Maya Plisetskaya; comp. Rodion Shched¬ rin. 81 min. Beta, VHS. $59.95 + $2.25 terprises (44 Music Square E., Nashville, s&h, $1.75 add’l tapes. Video Arts Inti. Reproduction: B + Tenn. 37203; 615-242-0377). Reproduc¬ A good ballet should show us, not tell us. tion: B Maya Plisetskaya’s psychological portrait of Anna Karenina, based on Tolstoy’s Step right up, ladies and gentlemen. novel, does just that—avoiding the tempta¬ tion to narrate through props, cinematic Confound your senses with a trip in time. tricks, or elaborate scenery. Although she occasionally uses slow-mo in later scenes Tour Nashville as it was two decades ago (cheating in my book), the dancers and score do the bulk of the work, with the during the annual music-industry shindig/ drunk known as D.J. Week. See daring singer Webb Pierce defy credulity by lip¬ syncing a song from the backseat of a con¬ vertible bouncing over potholes. Meet Bashful Brother Oswald at Roy Acuffs musical museum and learn the secret of Jefferson Davis’ fiddle. Hear classic songs from Loretta Lynn (“Wine, Women and Song”), Dave Dudley (“Six Days on the Road”), and more. You’ll marvel at the Cajun humor of Jimmy C. Newman; you’ll laugh at the recording techniques used in the Columbia studio; you’ll rub your eyes in wonder at the simulated telephone love affair of Justin Tubb and Lorene Mann. Skinny ties, shiny suits, and flat-top haircuts abound in this campy slice of country culture. —Andrew Roblin Video