Home Electronics Industry News -- July 2000
NOTE: This page is an archive for previously posted news stories from July 2000 - Since most of the links are now inactive, they have been removed. However, the headlines and summaries are still posted to historically document the news headlines from the dates listed.
07/31/00
Onkyo Introduces Its Most Affordable Digital AV Receiver Yet
Onkyo, a leader in AV Receivers, has just introduced its least expensive unit with both Dolby Digital and DTS decoding, as well as a moderate 55 Watts-per-Channel output, all for a suggested MSRP of only $329!
07/30/00
Computer? Audio Deck? Both!
Lansonic demonstrates its new Audio Server that combines with your PC or Audio System for management and storage of music files. Is a similar unit for video far away?
07/29/00
Court Grants Stay Of Napster Injunction
Napster wins a temporary reprieve from a Judge's restraining order, possibly until Napster goes to trial over its MP3 exhange services.
SONY Posts $841 Million Loss For First Quarter
Something is not quite right at SONY these days as it posts a huge 1st quarter loss, due, in part, to its inolovement in the movie business.
07/28/00
Radio Shack Earnings Soar 22 Percent
Despite intense competition from other Consumer Electronics dealers, Radio Shack continues on the road to prosperity, with increased profits for the last quarter.
07/27/00
Napster Seeking To Block Order Shutting Down Online Music Service
Napster may be on its deathbed as a result of a Judge's ruling in San Francisco Wednesday, ordering the site to shut down this week. Napster plans to appeal, but is it too late to save this internet favorite? Check out more details on this from the report filed by CNN.
Olympus/Polaroid Team Up
Photo giants, Olympus and Poloroid, join forces to introduce a new concept in digital still cameras, the C-211 Zoom. This camera not only takes digital stills, but produces a Polaroid print right from the camera.
DTV Issues Debated At House Subcommittee Hearing
The issues surrounding the implementation of DTV Broadcasting came to a head in front the of the House Telecommunications Subcommittee hearing yesterday.
07/26/00
Circuit City Dropping Majaps
Circuit City announces that it will drop its Major Appliance departments in its superstores by Christmas, using the extra space to sell more Home Office and Digital electronic products. As a result, several distribution centers will be closed and several thousand jobs eliminated.
07/25/00
EchoStar's New DISH DVD Available Soon
Echostar's new DISH Network Satellite Receiver/DVD Player combo is on its way to the marketplace, the DISH DVD Model 5422. Its two, two, two home theater components in one!
07/24/00
2000 DTV Product Sales To Date Surpass All Of 1999
Despite delays by some broadcasters in implementation, and possible changes in broadcast standards by the FCC, DTV and HDTV sales keep increasing at a moderate pace.
07/23/00
Replay Plugs Into Socal Cable Test With Time Warner
Time Warner is conducting tests in Southern California on merging ReplayTV's PVR (Personal Video Recorder) technology with Time Warner's cable TV service. To check out all the details, read the article as posted by Variety.
07/22/00
DISH Network Reaches 10 Million Viewers
DISH Network launches a new satellite to add channel capacity for its 10 million customers nationwide.
KONKA Delays HDTV Intro
Following a cautionary move earlier this year by SONY, KONKA also decides to delay its entry of its new lower-cost HDTV line.
07/21/00
SONY Does HD DirecTV (Times Five!)
SONY introduces 5 new DirecTV Satellite Receivers, including one with High Definition download capability, and another with TIVO Digital Video Recording capability.
07/20/00
Apple Introduces New G4 Cube Computer, New iMACs At MACWORLD
Despite the market dominance of IBM-PC Clones, the MAC just won't go away. Check out all the info on the latest Mac lineup from Apple, direct from the Macworld Expo, as reported by TWICE.
Tivoli Audio Tunes In New Radio
Henry Kloss introduces Tivoli, a ressurrection of the good old-fashioned Mono Table radio.
07/19/00
MartinLogan Introduces New Electrostatic Center Channel Loudspeaker
Designed for the highest-high-end home theater systems, Martin Logan releases its new electrostatic center channel loudspeaker. For more details, check out the article posted by Widescreen Review.
07/18/00
The Incredible Shrinking Camcorder
Camcorders keep getting smaller and smaller.
07/16/00
TV Eyes The Phone Line
Tired of Cable? Don't want Satellite? That's OK, soon you may be able to receive TV and other programming over a souped-up DSL-type TV service, right over the phone line. To find out more, check out the article posted by Wired.
07/15/00
Showtime Adds 5.1 To East, West Feeds
Previously available only on its HDTV satellite channel, Showtime is now integrating Dolby Digital 5.1 encoding in its main Satellite feeds.
07/14/00
Seagate, Thomson team On Digital Video Recording
In an effort to cash in on the growing PVR (Personal Video Recorder) market started by TIVO and ReplayTV, Thomson (parent of RCA) and Seagate (maker of PC Hardrives) announce they will develop their own tapeless video recorder, dubbed "Cache Vision". For more info, check out the report by CNET.
07/13/00
The Cordless Phone That Thinks It's A Cell Phone
A cordess phone with a Five-Mile range? You bet, and its available from EnGenious Technologies.
At Mid-Year, DVD-Video On Target To Beat Earlier Projections
DVD-Video continues to win the hearts and pocketbooks of U.S. consumers. Sales of both hardware and software continue to beat projections. For more details, check out the report posted by Widescreen Review.
07/12/00
Napster Controversy Comes To Capitol Hill
Napster and its opponents square off in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. To get a summary of the proceedings, check out the article from CNN
Good Guys Anticipates Lower Q3 Loss
Good Guys, the second-largest electronics-only retailer, has seen some hard times lately, but may be on the rebound. Check out all the details in the report posted by TWICE.
07/11/00
Can Digital Kill The Radio Star?
Digital Pay Radio in the U.S. seems to be finally "off the ground" with the successful placement of its first satellite in space capable of coast-to-coast transmission. For all the details, check out the article from Wired.com.
07/10/00
Pioneer Says Algorithm Enables Indoor TV Reception
With the ATSC (Advance Television Standards Committee) beginning to take a another look at problems with indoor DTV/HDTV reception, Pioneer offers a possible solution.
07/09/00
New Digital Music Format Debuts
Just as MP3 is starting to make peace within the music industry, a new, potentially superior, Digital Audio format arrives on the scene in the form of Advanced Audio Coding (AAC). Will this spell the end of MP3 or just be another alternative?
07/08/00
CDs, Minidiscs Still Reign Over MP3's
Despite the increasing popularity of MP3 over the past couple of years, the stalwart CD and the upstart Minidisc have still maintained their popularity in the consumer market.
07/07/00
TIVO Launches National Advertising To Promote Better Television Viewing
TIVO, one of the inventors of PVR (Personal Video Recorder) Technology, launches a national campaign to bring broad awareness
of TIVO Technology to the public.
07/06/00
SONY Develops HDTV Recorder
High Definition DVD is one step closer with SONY's announcement of its new Rewritable Optical Disk Recorder, which uses the revelutionary Blue Laser. One catch, SONY's system may not be compatible with current DVD technology.
07/05/00
Good Guys Introduces Panasonic And Technics DVD-Audio Players
DVD-Audio finally arrives on U.S. shores via Good Guys, one of the largest Consumer Electronics chains, which announced the availability of Panasonic and Technics DVD-Audio players at its locations.
07/04/00
ATSC To Consider Enhancements To Digital TV Specs
In response to concerns regarding indoor TV reception of DTV signals and other concerns, ATSC (Advanced Television Standards Committee) is looking into modifications of current DTV standards.
07/03/00
PBS To Broadcast 4th Fest In 5.1
PBS will broadcast this year's 4th of July celebrations from Washington D.C. in Dolby Digital 5.1, which marks the first time it will used in the broadcast of a live event.
07/01/00
DVD-RAM Moves Forward, But Doesn't Look Back
Practical recordable DVD is getting closer all the time, but will it be compatible current home DVD players?
For additional News Stories check out my Home Electronics Industry News Archives.
