Weekly Site Roundup (11/18/02)
ARTICLE SPOTLIGHT
Home Theater Gifts For Mom
Home Theater isn't just for the guys, check out some great home theater gifts for mom!
Home Theater Gifts For Dad
Don't worry, I haven't forgot about the Dads out there. Check out some great home theater gifts.
HOME ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY NEWS HEADLINES
DTV October Sales Set Monthly Record (TWICE)
Toshiba Licenses TIVO Technology (CNET)
Color Coding: A Solution To New Audio Format Consumer Confusion (Audio Revolution)
Analysts Concerned Over Recent Satellite Radio Reports (TWICE)
Sharp Cuts LCD TV Prices, Plans Ad Campaign (TWICE)
Cerwin-Vega's New Owners Plan Home, Car Turnaround (TWICE)
Crooked Path Ahead for Digital TV (Wired)
PRODUCT OF THE WEEK
Pioneer Elite DV-45A DVD/DVD-Audio/SACD Player
Last year, Pioneer introduced the first affordable DVD/DVD-Audio/SACD Universal player, the DV-47A. This year, Pioneer introduces the next generation DV-45A with a new low profile design, several video and audio improvements, and an even a more affordable price. If you want a DVD player that can do it all (except record), check out the new DV-45A.
FEATURED LINKS THIS WEEK
HiFi 4 Less
UK secure online store selling hifi and home theater equipment and accessories.
Featured in the UK Shopping Subject Page.
Media Rooms
Media rooms is a full service home theater design, construction, and installation company. Check out their exciting products and services.
Featured in the Home Theater Subject Page.
FROM THE HOME THEATER FORUM
New Panasonic DMR-HS2 DVD Recorder
From SCANCAT104:
I am on my way to buying this new Panasonic DVD recorder does anyone have any comments or reviews about Panasonic DVD recorders?
Join in on the discussion.
ELSEWHERE ON ABOUT.COM
Hear, Hear! Portable Speakers
Turbocharge your portable MP3 player with a set of compact powered speakers. For some great choices, check out some picks from Ric Manning, About Guide To Portable Entertainment.
FROM THE MAILBOX
From Kevin:
Thanks for the informative article on DVD regionalizing. I've been trying to find some info on the actual laws concerning this. I notice it's legal to buy or sell a modified player but it apparently isn't legal to manufacture them. Is this just an agreement between the manufactures of players and the movie industries or is there an actual law?
From Your Guide:
The laws are real fuzzy on this stuff -- with the strictest being here in the U.S. -- Region Free DVD players (or modifications for them) are relatively easier to find in Europe and Australia -- however, even here in the U.S. it is "legal" for educational and business institutions to own them so that they can access DVD resources from around the world.
However, any consumer in the U.S. can buy one if they know where to look. I haven't heard of any "raids" by law enforcement on sellers of such units.
Basically it boils down to this; third parties usually buy "unmodified" players from companies such as Pioneer, Sony, Toshiba, etc... and then "modify" them to make them multi-region capable.
However, several companies, such as SAMPO, Tatung, Malata, and Daewoo actually manufacture multi-region players under their own brand names -- the question is, are they doing it all at factory of origination or do they ship the "stock" player to another factory for the modification process -- I, frankly, do not know at this time.
I don't know what I would do without mine, however....
Here are more resources that may help:
http://www.barrel-of-monkeys.com
http://www.ryouko.demon.co.uk/ntscnote.htm
http://www.microsoft.com/hwdev/tech/stream/DVD/DVDregion.asp
FINAL WORDS
Holiday News! It's that time of year once again. First, check out my annual Holiday Shopping Survival Guide, then, check in every week for a new holiday shopping article or top product picks. If you have any suggestions, just send me a line.
Although I update this site regularly, sometimes I miss broken links, this is especially a concern as old product listings expire and new ones have different link addresses. If you encounter any broken links in my articles or listings, just bring it to my attention so I can correct the address or delete it from the site if it has expired and can no longer be accessed.
Lastly, I would like your feedback on this Weekly Site Update Page. If you have any comments, either positve or negative, just let me know.
For a look at earlier Home Theater Nooz and Vewz Weekly Updates, CLICK HERE
Feel free to email me at hometheater.guide@about.com
with your questions and/or comments.
