Weekly Site Roundup (02/24/03)

ARTICLE SPOTLIGHT
DVD Recorder FAQ's
As DVD recorders become more popular and affordable, my email box is filled with many questions on what they are, how they work, and what they can be used for. In order to address the most common questions regarding DVD recorders, here are some general FAQs that should make your DVD recorder buying decision easier.

HOME ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY NEWS HEADLINES
Panasonic: DVD-RAM To Be ‘De Facto Standard’ (TWICE)
NAD Introduces New Flagship A/V Receiver (Audio Video News)
Blue Laser Format Gets Green Light (CNET)
DVD-Copying Software Maker Offers Reward (Audio Revolution)
Philips To Ship $499 DVD+RW Recorder (TWICE)
Wal-Mart Post’s $13.2 Billion Profit For 2003 (TWICE)
Klipsch Shifts Gears (Stereophile)

PRODUCT OF THE WEEK
Panasonic SL-PR300 CD Changer/Recorder
Panasonic has always made excellent CD players and changers under its Technics brand name. Now, check out Panasonic's CD Changer/Recorder. The SL-PR300 features a 3-Disc CD Changer plus a single tray CD recorder. You can mix cuts from the CD changer or import audio from an outside source with the unit's analog or digital audio inputs. The SL-PR300 also features 4x CDR and 2x CDRW dubbing.

FEATURED LINKS THIS WEEK
Home Theater And Sound
Great online E-zine resource for home theater news and equipment reviews.
Featured in the Magazines/E-Zines Subject Page.

Vienna Acoustics
Check out the innovative and afforadable loudspeaker lineup from Vienna Acoustics.
Featured in the Loudspeakers Subject Page.

FROM THE HOME THEATER FORUM
S-Video To Progressive Scan
From MOVIEBUFF30:
I recently got a new hi-def ready tv, with component video inputs on it. I bought a Progressive Scan DVD player and component video cable to upgrade from my standard DVD player and S-video. Now that I am hooked up, why does it not seem like a major upgrade in picture quality? Have I been looking at a clean S-video signal with standard dvd for too long to notice it? It seems nice but nothing spectacular.
Join in on the discussion.

ELSEWHERE ON ABOUT.COM
Portable CD Players
Today's portable CD players can do more than just play CDs. Check out the latest crop of these technological wonders.

FROM THE MAILBOX
From SG:
Hi, your write up about how to hook up DVD players to an older TV was excellent. I've gone through several VCRs over the last 10 years and would appreciate your recommendation for a VCR under $200 that has the highest playback quality (I have an s video connection on my tv) and it would be the main VCR I would use for playback of tapes, and recording from my TV and as the playback to another stereo non S-video connected VCR. If I got a JVC S-video connected VCR could I use it to record tapes from it to another non S-Video VCR? Thanks for your time and advice in advance.

From Your Guide:
Go with JVC for an S-VHS VCR -- my choice would be the HR-S5911U which sells for about $199.

Any VCR can copy to another VCR -- either from the S-Video or standard AV inputs. However, just as with any other VCR copying -- you cannot copy commercially made video movies (if they are copyright protected), however, you can copy home videos or other videos you have recorded yourself of TV shows, etc...

Also, copying from a standard VCR to an S-VHS VCR will not improve the quality of your old VHS recordings -- you cannot make something recorded at low resolution look better -- the source is what it is.

Also, playback of standard VHS tapes on an S-VHS VCR will not look better than if the tape was played on a standard VCR -- once again, due to the source.

Only videos recorded in the S-VHS format will take advantage of the capabilities of an S-VHS VCR.

One note: why go through all the effort making copies from video tape to video tape when you can now get a DVD recorder and preserve your old videos on DVD?...

FINAL WORDS

If you need more great info on home theater and audio, with an emphasis on the higher end, be sure to check out About.com's related partner sites:

Audio Video Interiors.
Home Theater Magazine.
Stereophile Guide To Home Theater.
Stereophile Magazine.

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.

A Special Reminder: 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.

For a look at earlier Home Theater Nooz and Vewz Weekly Updates, CLICK HERE