Home Electronics Industry News -- MAY 2002

NOTE: This page is an archive for previously posted news stories from May 2002 - 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.

05/31/02
Tweeter Enters Los Angeles Market
Despite heavy competition and a confusing consumer market, Tweeter continues its nationwide expansion by opening its first store in the Greater Los Angeles area.

05/30/02
HDNet And Arena Football League Announce 2002 Schedule Of Live Game Broadcasts In High-Definition TV
In a move that will provide more HDTV programming for consumers and increase expsosure for an innovative sport, HDNet and the Arena Football League have entered into an agreement to broadcast a slate of AFL games in 1080i HDTV format on DirecTV's channel 199.

05/29/02
Matsushita Ups Plasma Production
Based on factors such as competition from Pioneer, NEC, and Fujitsu as well as increased demand by consumers for Plasma screen TVs, Matsushita (parent of Panasonic) plans to increase its production capacity. For more details, check out the above report from Stereophile Guide To Home Theater.

05/28/02
Chinese-Region DVD?
In an effort to avoid paying royalties to Japanese and European manufacturers for use of established DVD technology, several Chinese DVD makers have announced a new DVD-like format, dubbed "Advanced Versatile Disc" (AVD) or "Enhanced Versatile Disc" (EVD), to be marketed in China and other select Asian markets. For more details on this technological rebellion, check out the above report from Stereophile Guide To Home Theater.

05/27/02
Feds Zap Fake DVDs Into Copyright Web
Federal officials in South Africa crack down on couterfeit DVDs of Star Wars II and Spiderman.

05/26/02
Entertainment Industry Leaders Bringing DVD-A Surround Music To American Moviegoers
Those annoying pre-movie music programs and ADs may take on a more acceptable form as Dolby Labs and Warner Music begin to install DVD-Audio demos in key movie houses across the land, giving potential consumers a taste DVD-Audio technology.

05/25/02
Pearl Harbor Claims Top Spot On DVD Sales List
Despite its lackluster performance at the box office, Pearl Harbor has risen to be the best selling DVD ever.

05/24/02
JVC Announces HD PVR
While HD-DVD is still a few years away, and on the heals of its release of its Hi-definition D-VHS format, JVC announces a new wrinkle in HD video recording: the HD-PVR. The TU-9000 is an HDTV tuner equipped with a 120GB hard drive. For more specifics on this, check out the above report from Stereophile Guide To Home Theater.

05/23/02
FCC To Consider DTV Sanctions For Broadcasters
It may be argued that the U.S. Gov't may not have its act totally together on the question of Terrorism, but it is getting really tough on TV Broadcasters dragging their feet on the conversion to DTV. For more details, check out the above report from EE Times.

05/22/02
Mid-June Release Tagged For Blu-ray Specs
The dream of consumers being able to record and view high-definition video in a DVD-disc format will get closer to reality as the "Blu Ray Founders" will publically announce its proposed specificatons for the new format on June 14th 2002. However, there is still much work to be done. Don't expect affordable products based on this technology to be available for another few years.

05/21/02
DVD6C To Retailers: Do Not Sell Unlicensed DVDs <
The heat is on for both U.S. retailers and Chinese DVD manufacturers as the DVD6C Licensing Agency, which represents the holders of DVD technology patents, warns retailers not to sell unlicensed players and unlicensed DVD makers to pay up on royalties due to the agency for using DVD patents.

05/20/02
Insert At Your Own Risk
When is a CD not a CD? Check out the latest update on copy-protected CDs and the confusion they present to consumer in above report from Stereophile.

05/19/02
NBC: More HDTV Next Season
With ABC and CBS presenting a signifigant portion of their prime-time programming in High Definition, NBC announces a larger committment for this next TV season, but is offering no specifics at this time. For more info, check out the above report from Stereophile Guide To Home Theater.

05/18/02
Tech Groups Slam Replay TV Court Order<
Several Techology groups, including the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) have submitted court briefs against the decision by a judge to require SonicBlue to collect viewing habit information of users of its ReplayTV units.

05/17/02
Best Buy Spots Go Deeper With TiVo
Best Buy beefs up its new relationship with TiVo with an agressive promotional campaign, which integrates TiVo with other Best Buy product offerings.

05/16/02
Paul W. Klipsch, 98
It is the end of an era as Paul W. Klispch, inventor of the revolutionary Klipschorn over 50 years ago, died on May 5th. The Klipschorn was certainly ahead of its time, a high efficiency loudspeaker that delivers high sound output with as little as a 10-watt power input.

05/15/02
DirecTV Adds Third HD Channel: Showtime
In an effort to give its subscribers that own HDTVs more viewing options, DirecTV has added Showtime to its list of HD feeds.

05/14/02
Pictures In The Palm Of Your Hand
Lion's Gate Films teams up with PocketPC films to provide movies for viewing on Pocket PCs and Palm Pilots.

05/13/02
Mobile Fidelity Returns With 3 SACD Albums
One of most popular audiophile recording labels returns as Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs comes to market with three new SACD recordings. MFSL was a pioneer in Half-Speed vinyl mastering technology in the late 70's and early 80's. For more details, check out the above report from High Fidelity Review.

05/12/02
Potter DVD Fever Sweeps UK<
The first film installment of the Harry Potter saga hits video stores on DVD and VHS in the U.K. to overwhelming consumer response. To bad the UK is in DVD Region 2, those in the U.S. will just have to wait a little longer for the Region 1 release.

05/11/02
Daewoo Unveils Award-Winning 60-Inch HDTV Monitor
Long known for its budget line of TVs and VCRs, DAEWOO enters the high-end of the home theater spectrum with the new DSJ 6000LN 60-inch 16x9 LCD HDTV projection monitor.

05/10/02
Custom Home Installation Industry Shows 27 Percent Growth In 2001
More interest in home theater, home networking, security, and the desire for families to experience more in-home entertainment in the aftermath of 9/11, the home installation industry experienced phenomenal growth in 2001.

05/09/02
Showtime Keeps Rolling
Owners of HDTV's and HD satellite boxes take notice; Showtime is adding more HD programming on its HD channels and instituting Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound on all of its HD and standard definition program feeds. For more details, check out the above report from Stereophile Guide To Home Theater.

05/08/02
Sonicblue Ordered To Track Subscribers
If you own a ReplayTV DVR, your viewing and recording habits may soon be monitored.

05/07/02
Expanding Variety Of Players And Software Fuel Momentum Of DVD Sales...
The DVD juggernaut rolls on and on, with more that 15,000 movie titles available and 125 DVD player models sold under 50 brand names.

05/06/02
Terminator 2 Takes High-Def Lead
Terminator 2: Judgment Day is selected to be the first movie to be released in the new D-VHS DTheater High Definition format. This announcement heralds the beginning of high definition video software for the home market.

05/05/02
IRMA To Retail: Let VHS Linger
With many retailers shrinking their VHS movie inventory as the DVD format advances, IRMA (International Recording Media Association) will begin a campaign warning retailers against abandoning VHS, since 90% of U.S. homes still have VHS VCRs and only 25% have DVD players (also, homes with DVD players also have VCRs).

05/04/02
Home Entertainment 2002, May 31-June 2
It is less than 30 days until the Home Entertainment 2002 Show in NYC. For the latest schedule and event updates, check out the above article from Home Theater Magazine.

05/03/02
Cable Beats B’Cast in April Primetime
The strength of cable is evident as more TV viewers watched cable TV programming in April than traditional network TV.

05/02/02
Bose Upgrades Home Theater Systems
In order to keep on step ahead of its competitors, BOSE decides to include room-acoustic compensation technology in two of its current Lifestyle home theater audio systems, without any increase in price.

05/01/02
CBS Shines In HDTV, Says Academy Of DTV Pioneers
CBS and HDNet have contributed greatly to bring HDTV to consumers and thus, have been honored with special awards from the Academy Of DTV Pioneers.

For additional News Stories check out my Home Electronics Industry News Archives.