welcome! coming soon to newsstands · welcome! coming soon to newsstands attractions gary reber...

8
Here’s a sneak peek into what’s coming in Issue 120, May 2007 of Widescreen Review: • “JVC ® DLA-RS1U 1080p D-ILA ® Front Projector” By Greg Rogers • “Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70-Inch SXRD Television” By Mike Marks • “Sony PlayStation ® 3 Blu-ray Disc-Powered Gaming Station” By Mike Marks • “ExactPower UltraPure Symmetrical Wideband AC Power Conditioner” By Doug Blackburn • “HP SLC3760N MediaSmart LCD HDTV” By Mike Marks • “Display Technologies — Part I: Orientation” By Lancelot Braithwaite • “Optimum Performance Home Theatre Structural Design, Part II” By Gary Reber • Over 40 Blu-ray Disc, HD DVD, and DVD picture and sound quality reviews • And more... It’s hard to believe that Widescreen Review has been publishing our monthly Newsletter for almost a year now, but here it is, Issue 11, so it must be so. In this month you will find the ongoing archived seven-part series written by John Dunlavy from Issue 60, May 2002, “Loudspeaker Accuracy: How Enclosure Design Affects The Music, Part 3.” In addition, Danny Richelieu reports on a Road Show that he recently attended—Digital Projection was hosted by Stewart Filmscreen ® . And, of course, we feature our monthly Coming Soon...To A Retailer Near You and Studio Scoop. 3 New Equipment: Coming Soon To A Retailer Near You By Tricia Spears 4 Digital Projection 2007 Road Show By Danny Richelieu 5 From The Archives: Loudspeaker Accuracy— How Enclosure Design Affects The Music, Part 3 By John Dunlavy 7 The Studio Scoop—Rumors, Reports & Ramblings By Jack Kelley WELCOME! COMING SOON TO NEWSSTANDS ATTRACTIONS Gary Reber Editor-In-Chief, Widescreen Review WIDESCREEN REVIEW NEWSLETTER 11 1 APRIL 2007 - www.WidescreenReview.com April 2007 • Volume 2, Issue 11 • The Official FREE Newsletter Of Widescreen Review Magazine Sponsored By Microsoft:

Upload: others

Post on 02-Oct-2020

3 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: WELCOME! COMING SOON TO NEWSSTANDS · WELCOME! COMING SOON TO NEWSSTANDS ATTRACTIONS Gary Reber Editor-In-Chief, Widescreen Review WIDESCREEN REVIEW NEWSLETTER 11 1 APRIL 2007 - April

Here’s a sneak peek into what’s coming in Issue 120, May 2007 of Widescreen Review:• “JVC® DLA-RS1U 1080p D-ILA® Front Projector” By Greg Rogers

• “Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70-Inch SXRD™ Television” By Mike Marks

• “Sony PlayStation® 3 Blu-ray Disc-Powered Gaming Station” By Mike Marks

• “ExactPower UltraPure Symmetrical Wideband AC Power Conditioner” By Doug Blackburn

• “HP SLC3760N MediaSmart LCD HDTV” By Mike Marks

• “Display Technologies — Part I: Orientation” By Lancelot Braithwaite

• “Optimum Performance Home Theatre Structural Design, Part II” By Gary Reber

• Over 40 Blu-ray Disc, HD DVD, and DVD picture and sound quality reviews

• And more...

It’s hard to believe that Widescreen Review has been publishing our monthly Newsletter for almost a year now, but here it is,Issue 11, so it must be so. In this month you will find the ongoing archived seven-part series written by John Dunlavy fromIssue 60, May 2002, “Loudspeaker Accuracy: How Enclosure Design Affects The Music, Part 3.” In addition, Danny Richelieureports on a Road Show that he recently attended—Digital Projection was hosted by Stewart Filmscreen®. And, of course, wefeature our monthly Coming Soon...To A Retailer Near You and Studio Scoop.

3 New Equipment: Coming Soon To A Retailer Near YouBy Tricia Spears

4 Digital Projection 2007 Road ShowBy Danny Richelieu

5 From The Archives: Loudspeaker Accuracy—How Enclosure Design Affects The Music, Part 3By John Dunlavy

7 The Studio Scoop—Rumors, Reports & RamblingsBy Jack Kelley

WELCOME!

COMING SOON TO NEWSSTANDS

ATTRACTIONS

Gary ReberEditor-In-Chief, Widescreen Review

WIDESCREEN REVIEW NEWSLETTER 11 1 APRIL 2007 - www.WidescreenReview.com

April 2007 • Volume 2, Issue 11 • The Official FREE Newsletter Of Widescreen Review Magazine

Sponsored By Microsoft:

WSRnewsletter11 4/19/07 2:48 PM Page 1

Page 2: WELCOME! COMING SOON TO NEWSSTANDS · WELCOME! COMING SOON TO NEWSSTANDS ATTRACTIONS Gary Reber Editor-In-Chief, Widescreen Review WIDESCREEN REVIEW NEWSLETTER 11 1 APRIL 2007 - April

WSRnewsletter11 4/19/07 11:30 AM Page 2

Page 3: WELCOME! COMING SOON TO NEWSSTANDS · WELCOME! COMING SOON TO NEWSSTANDS ATTRACTIONS Gary Reber Editor-In-Chief, Widescreen Review WIDESCREEN REVIEW NEWSLETTER 11 1 APRIL 2007 - April

With over ten years of experi-ence in building electronic com-ponentry for some of the best-known consumer product manu-facturers in the country, Lift It™

television, monitor, and projectorlifts are engineered to function“intelligently” using proprietarymicroprocessors and controls.The company’s latest innova-tions in their electronics packagewill blur the line between home entertainment electronics andmechanical conveyance devices. Claiming to have the only estab-lished, nationwide in-home service program in the industry, Lift It’sproducts come complete with everything needed, including their800 series control box with safety interlock, IR and RF ready, wiredand RF remotes, IR receiver, mounting brackets and hardware,Cable Guardian™ wire management, and top feet and bumper capsfor your choice of trim-out.

Tricia Spears

Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) has intro-duced the VM-6 two-way, ported, wall-or stand-mount loudspeakers. Thewall bracket and tabletop stand arefirst wired with loudspeaker cablesand then the loudspeaker is slid intothe bracket or stand to provide con-tact for the audio signals. Featuring a

one-inch aluminum dome Nautilus™ tweeter with tapered-tube tech-nology and a five-inch Kevlar® cone bass/midrange driver that deliv-ers solid bass down to 49 Hz, the loudspeakers are available inblack, pearl white, and silver finishes with complementary grillcloths. The VM-6 loudspeakers are now available for $450 each.

Classé Audio has combined twoconcepts into a single “reference”disc player in its CDP-502. Thesingle component accepts audioCDs, DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, andnumerous optical disc variants. The slot-loading TEAC® DVD-ROMmechanism provides superior disc-handling characteristics, relia-bility, and control flexibility. On the video side, the CDP-502 is ableto scale output to all HDTV formats up to and including 1080p viaits HDMI digital-video output. The video DSP also incorporatesextensive digital processing to reduce troublesome “mosquitonoise” and adaptively controls color and contrast ratios andimproves chroma transient performance. Employing an elegantlycurved, aluminum industrial design and front-panel color touch-screen, the CDP-502 comes with a backlit wireless remote andincludes CAN-busports for inter-Classé-component communica-tions and RS-232 interfacing for integration into media and whole-house control systems. The CDP-502 is available for $8,500.

Classe Audio CDP-502

Bowers & Wilkins +44 (01903) 221800 www.bwspeakers.com

New Prelude is part of the new range ofhigh-performance audio and home theatrecables engineered by Black Rhodium. Withtheir capacity of being able to reduceimpact-induced noise voltages that canoccur when sound is transmitted via audiocables, it is said that you will experience amuch clearer rendition of your favorite tunes

when using New Prelude audio interconnects. With silver-platedcopper conductors for cleaner and mid- and high-frequencies,advanced instrument cable design techniques to reduce microphon-ic noise, and an attractive green finish, the New Prelude cable pairsare twisted together for extra clarity of sound.

Black Rhodium +44 (0) 1332 342233 www.blackrhodium.co.uk

Bowers & Wilkins VM-6 loudspeakers

Coming Soon…To A Retailer Near You

NEW Equipment

KEF® America first introduced its Referenceloudspeakers in 1977. The company has nowannounced their Next-Generation ReferenceSeries line of loudspeakers, with nine modelsavailable in a wide variety of finish options. Thelatest generation Uni-Q® technology deliversimproved stereo imaging, and the ultra-low dis-tortion bass drivers are said to deliver fabulousimaging over a commanding soundstage. Withimproved low-frequency response and cus-tomization with a two-position bass control, thenew four-position HF/SHF level adjustmentaffords the flexibility to optimize the balanceof a specific system and environment. Theline includes four bookshelf models—201.2($2,500 each), 203.2 ($4,000 each), 205.2 ($5,500 each), and 207.2($10,000 each); two center channels—202.2 ($3,000 and $3,750each, depending on finish) and 204.2 ($4,500 each); a surroundloudspeaker—Model 206.2 ($3,750 each); and two powered sub-woofers—208 ($5,000 each) and 209 ($9,000 each).

KEF Reference Series 207.2

Wavecor Ltd. +86 (20) 61943288 www.wavecor.com

KEF® America 732 683 2356 www.kef.com

While Wavecor Ltd. is located inChina, the key people behind thecompany are of Danish origin with along history in the Danish loudspeakerindustry. Specializing in high-qualityloudspeaker units for the industry andfor private do-it-yourself hobbyists,Wavecor has announced its first lines

of loudspeakers with some very interesting products, including ahigh-end 30mm dome tweeter with neodymium-magnet woofers.Besides the range of standard products that Wavecor offers, thecompany welcomes customers’ special requirements—custom-designed products with guaranteed exclusivity.

Lift It™ 877 543 8698 www.liftmytv.com

Classé Audio 514 636 6384 www.classeaudio.com

Wavecor loudspeakers

Lift It Television Lift

Black Rhodium New Prelude

WIDESCREEN REVIEW NEWSLETTER 11 3 APRIL 2007 - www.WidescreenReview.com

WSRnewsletter11 4/19/07 12:43 PM Page 3

Page 4: WELCOME! COMING SOON TO NEWSSTANDS · WELCOME! COMING SOON TO NEWSSTANDS ATTRACTIONS Gary Reber Editor-In-Chief, Widescreen Review WIDESCREEN REVIEW NEWSLETTER 11 1 APRIL 2007 - April

Digital Projection is in the midst of a nine-city tour of the UnitedStates, showing off their current line of home and commercial projec-tor systems. I was lucky enough to catch up with them at StewartFilmscreen®’s factory in Torrance, California where they showed,among other products, their TITAN 1080p-250, the newest high-endthree-chip 1920 x 1080 DLP® projector.

The TITAN 1080p-250 is a single 250-watt lamp design that canproduce up to 2,000 lumens with an advertised contrast ratio of5000:1. The projector features a seven-point color-correction system,a user-selectable “Xenon color mode” for improved color fidelity, andextensive control over gamma, color, and gray scale tracking. TheTITAN 1080p-250 can be mated with Digital Projection’s new VIP2000 video processor, which includes two component inputs, twoHDMI inputs, and can also be upgraded to include two SDI inputsand an additional two HDMI inputs (for four total). The processoremploys “per-pixel,” motion-compensated deinterlacing using itsSilicon Optix Realta HQV™ chip. In the demonstrations I saw (dis-played on Stewart Filmscreen’s FireHawk CineCurve 2.35:1 curvedscreen with motorized masking and Digital Projection’s TheaterScopeanamorphic lens option), the TITAN 1080p-250 produced a highlydimensional-looking image, with beautifully rendered detail. DigitalProjection used 1080p Quicktime videos delivered by some beefyservers as a source. The TITAN 1080p-250 will be available foraround $45,000, and the TheaterScope anamorphic lens option sellsfor an additional $12,000. Look to the pages of Widescreen Reviewfor an in-depth review of the TITAN 1080p-250 system soon.

Stewart Filmscreen’s impressive demonstration room was filledwith many other Digital Projection products, including a single-chipdVision 1080p ($30,000; reviewed in Issue 109, June 2006) dis-played on Stewart’s new StarGlas™ 60 rear-projection screen, which isan “ambient light-resistant” screen enclosed by Class II safety-glass,which is non-flammable, scratch- and stain-resistant, and can becleaned with ease. The combination was impressive, and, with itsanti-glare coating, would make for a great outdoor theatre system,built into an outside wall. Digital Projection also displayed an iVision20 HD ($7,000) on Stewart’s Media Screen (see Issue 100, July 2006for more) with an Xbox 360 used as the source.

The Road Show continues on through mid-May, visiting the cities listedin the accompanying chart. To register for a city near you, visitwww.digitalprojection.com/roadshow. WSR

Digital Projection 2007 Road Show Destinations

Orlando, Florida March 15, 16San Francisco, California March 28, 29Los Angeles, California April 4, 5Dallas, Texas April 11, 12Houston, Texas April 18, 19Chicago, Illinois April 25, 26New York, New York May 2, 3Washington, District of Columbia May 9, 10Atlanta, Georgia May 16, 17

Industry Spotlight

WIDESCREEN REVIEW NEWSLETTER 11 4 APRIL 2007 - www.WidescreenReview.com

Digital Projection2007 Road ShowAt Stewart Filmscreen®, In Torrance, California

Digital Projection dVision 1080p on a Stewart Director’s Choice screen

Digital Projection TITAN sx+ 500; Background:Digital Projection dVision 1080p

WSRnewsletter11 4/19/07 11:30 AM Page 4

Page 5: WELCOME! COMING SOON TO NEWSSTANDS · WELCOME! COMING SOON TO NEWSSTANDS ATTRACTIONS Gary Reber Editor-In-Chief, Widescreen Review WIDESCREEN REVIEW NEWSLETTER 11 1 APRIL 2007 - April

1. Proper overall dimensions, internal vol-ume, and correct height-to-width-to-depthratios to attain the desired low-frequencybandwidth.

2. A vertically symmetrical array of drivers(woofer-midrange-tweeter-midrange-woofer)is required to achieve a symmetrical radia-tion pattern in the vertical plane and reducethe amplitude level of floor reflections.

3. Precise time-domain (path) alignmentof all drivers is required to obtain accuratereproduction of complex musical and othertransients (at the normal on-axis listeningdistance of 10 feet).

4. All drivers should be symmetricallylocated with respect to enclosure edgesalong a common vertical axis to achieve asymmetrical radiation pattern in both thevertical and horizontal planes. Otherwise,significant peaks and valleys will be createdin the horizontal and/or vertical radiationpatterns of the loudspeaker.

5. Use of adequately thick enclosure wallsto ensure a high degree of rigidity andreduction of resonances. The enclosurewalls should be made of a reasonably densematerial of appropriate thickness (minimum3/4 inch). Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF),while not possessing totally ideal properties,is well established among loudspeakerdesigners and has earned a good reputa-tion for providing excellent performance atan affordable price.

6. The use of efficient acoustical absorb-ing material located between the driversand the external enclosure edges to mini-mize the effects of “edge diffraction” (re-radiation from enclosure edges). Merely“rounding the edges” of an enclosure usual-ly does little to reduce the audible andmeasurable effects of diffraction or reflec-tions from enclosure edges and protrudingdriver flanges/edges. Some loudspeakerdesigners have succeeded in mitigating thediffraction problem by locating the midrangeand tweeter drivers on the front baffle sur-face in an asymmetrical manner so that thedistance from the center of a driver to eachof the enclosure edges is not divisible intoany of the other distances by a “whole num-

This is the third in a series of articles onthe topic “Loudspeaker Accuracy” that Ihave written for Widescreen Review as aguest editorialist.

Enclosure Properties

The three main components of an audio-phile loudspeaker are the enclosure, drivers,and crossover network. For a loudspeakerto exhibit truly accurate measurable andaudible performance, all three must betreated in an integral manner, with appropri-ate levels of design consideration given toeach and to how they will perform togetheras a “system.”

All too often, loudspeaker enclosuresappear to have been designed by devotingmore attention to appearance and artisticmerit than to the properties required toachieve a high level of accuracy. This, ofcourse, frequently leads to a loudspeakerthat looks great, provides a pleasing soundquality, but falls short of delivering truly accu-rate measurable and audible performance.

Within this article, I will limit my coverageto sealed enclosures because I believe, ifproperly designed, they provide the poten-tial to yield the most accurate level of repro-duction.

When you port an enclosure, it is nolonger able to reproduce bass transientswith accurate time domain properties. As aconsequence, the transient properties ofsuch a loudspeaker are degraded. Manyloudspeaker designers may disagree withthis but, as a string bass player for over thir-ty-some years, I am very sensitive to thereproduction accuracy of bass transients.Ported designs distort the impulse and stepresponse of the woofer, which many design-ers believe detracts from the accuracy ofbass reproduction. This inaccuracy can beseen from the distorted shape visible in ameasurement of a loudspeaker’s stepresponse.

Among the properties of an enclosurethat I believe are most important for achiev-ing measurably and audibly accurate per-formance are:

ber” (integer). While this “solution” mayresult in a reasonably smooth curve of on-axis frequency response, the off-axis fre-quency response is usually riddled withpeaks and valleys, and the directivity pat-terns become asymmetrical (with lobes atundesirable angles), often no more than afew degrees off-axis.

7. Separate, individually-sealed, rigidly-constructed, internal enclosures for thewoofer, bass, midrange, and tweeter driversis necessary to prevent physical/acousticalinteraction between drivers operating overdifferent frequency ranges.

8. Sufficient internal volume within thewoofer and/or bass sections to achieve theintended low-frequency performance. Atbass frequencies, a certain volume in theenclosure combined with a driver having anappropriate resonant frequency and “Q”properties is required to yield overall themost accurate performance.

Proper enclosure design requires that thedesigner gives attention to the free-air reso-nance of the drivers and their “Q,” alongwith the resonance and “Q” of the enclo-sure. System resonance is a function of thecombination of the resonance frequency ofthe driver and the resonance frequency ofthe enclosure. Resonance is that frequencyof a system at which the reactive componentgoes from a positive value through zero to anegative value. At the frequency at whichthe reactive component goes through zerodefines the resonance frequency of the driv-ers and/or the system, i.e., the driver(s) plusits enclosure. It really doesn’t matter howesoteric the drivers used in a loudspeakersystem are. What does matter is that thedrivers are selected for their measurablyaccurate performance within their frequencyresponse range and their properties aresuitably matched to the properties of theenclosure.

9. Sufficient internal bracing and stiffnessto prevent “modes” (maximum and mini-mum sound pressure levels) from develop-ing along enclosure walls.

10. Use of efficient acoustical absorbingmaterial within the interior chambers of the

Loudspeaker AccuracyHow Enclosure Design Affects The MusicPart 3J O H N D U N L A V Y

FROM The Archives

WIDESCREEN REVIEW NEWSLETTER 11 5 APRIL 2007 - www.WidescreenReview.com

WSRnewsletter11 4/19/07 11:30 AM Page 5

Page 6: WELCOME! COMING SOON TO NEWSSTANDS · WELCOME! COMING SOON TO NEWSSTANDS ATTRACTIONS Gary Reber Editor-In-Chief, Widescreen Review WIDESCREEN REVIEW NEWSLETTER 11 1 APRIL 2007 - April

enclosure housing the woofer, bass, andmidrange drivers, in a quantity adequate forachieving proper “damping” of internalstanding waves.

Without either appropriately roundedenclosure edges or effective acousticalabsorbent materials between the driversand the enclosure edge, edge defractionwill create significant peaks and valleys inthe frequency response of the system, alongwith “ringing” (amplitude variations in thetime domain) in the reproduction of musicaltransients.

While “ported” enclosures are frequentlyused by some designers to “enhance” theSPL of woofer or bass drivers, it raises the“system Q”—resulting in bass that is often“poorly damped.” Indeed, ported enclo-sures frequently yield what many listenersrefer to as “one note bass.” (Although suchsound quality appeals to many listeners ofmusic that contains mostly “kick drum”bass, it is hardly appropriate for listening toa wide variety of music or soundtracks con-taining various kinds of bass instruments orsound effects containing complex basstransients.)

Indeed, there are very few (if any) “freelunches” available to designers, as is evi-dent from what competent physics andengineering teach about the properties ofloudspeaker enclosures.

The acoustical shortcomings of a poorly-designed enclosure are usually evident froman informed examination of a full set ofaccurate anechoic chamber measurementsthat include impulse response, stepresponse, and cumulative spectral decay(waterfall) response. For example, theimpulse response of a poorly-designedenclosure will often exhibit a “ringing” char-acteristic, while the step response will dis-close a distorted “leading edge” and undu-lations along the length of the step. Thesedeficiencies are typically audible to thosefamiliar with the sound of live instrumentssuch as the string bass, cello, drums, etc.

This is why a full set of accurate anechoicchamber measurements (not outdoors andmade at the normal listening distance of 10feet) are so important to audiophiles andothers seriously concerned about the trueaccuracy of their loudspeakers. Theseshould include frequency response, impulse

response, step response, waterfall, andnon-linear distortion at various frequenciesand SPLs; input impedance; and represen-tative radiation patterns.

In future articles, I will discuss the widerange of different loudspeaker measure-ments and how each can help audiophilesdetermine whether a given loudspeakerpossesses the potential to yield “true audi-ble accuracy.” ��

________________________________________About John Dunlavy

John Dunlavy, MAES, FIREE, etc., is a well-known and highly-respected engineer and scien-tist with a number of patents to his credit, and 40years at the forefront of audio innovation. John’sspecial interest is loudspeaker accuracy, a notionhe’s been working on and talking about fordecades. Agree or disagree with him, we can alllearn something valuable about the world of audioreproduction sitting at John’s knee. That’s why I’veinvited him to pen this Guest Editorial column forthe next several months to provide us all a “shortcourse” in acoustics and audio reproduction. I’mlooking forward to it, as I look forward (as always)to your comments.

Gary Reber, Editor-In-Chief, Widescreen Review

FROM The Archives

SUBSCRIBE NOW! TO WIDESCREEN REVIEW

www.WidescreenReview.com/subscribe

Online Subscription Special

Print Subscription SpecialOne Year—12 IssuesU.S. - $34.00Canada/Mexico - $40.00USInternational. - $55.00USAll pricing includes shipping.

Two Year—24 IssuesU.S. - $60.00Canada/Mexico - $70.00USInternational - $100.00USAll pricing includes shipping.

12 Month Access$15.00

24 Month Access $25.00

To Subscribe Go To:

WIDESCREEN REVIEW NEWSLETTER 11 6 APRIL 2007 - www.WidescreenReview.com

WSRnewsletter11 4/19/07 11:30 AM Page 6

Page 7: WELCOME! COMING SOON TO NEWSSTANDS · WELCOME! COMING SOON TO NEWSSTANDS ATTRACTIONS Gary Reber Editor-In-Chief, Widescreen Review WIDESCREEN REVIEW NEWSLETTER 11 1 APRIL 2007 - April

often referred to as The Painter of Light.Jared Padelecki, of House Of Wax fame(and I use the word “fame” in the loosest ofsenses), has agreed to play Kinkade, andPeter O’Toole as one of his mentors, withthe first film, The Christmas Cottage, whichalso happens to be the name of one of hispaintings, to be released during the holidayseason. Personally, I think Who The @#$%Is Thomas Kinkade? is much more catchy.

MGM

Latin beauty Salma Hayek, along withpartner Jose Tamez, have entered into aproduction agreement with MGM. Thenewly formed label, Ventanazul, which

loosely means “blue window” in Spanish,will “develop, produce, and acquire main-stream films that either draw on Latinthemes or feature Latin talent, both in frontof and behind the camera,” according toThe Hollywood Reporter.

Paramount

Blades Of Glory cleaned up (again) overthe Easter holiday, taking in $23 million, ahealthy $6 million over the number two-rated movie, Meet The Robinsons. Since itsrelease two weeks ago (March 30), Bladeshas brought in $67.9 million, even with itsmixed reviews... On the one hand (or per-

haps, bladed foot), Joe Morgenstern in theWall Street Journal calls it, “blissfully silly,triumphantly tasteless, and improbablyhilarious.” While on the other foot, KyleSmith in the New York Post begins hisreview of the movie by writing: “You knowthose one-joke Saturday Night Live sketch-es that start to age after six minutes?Blades Of Glory is one joke that lasts 93minutes.” If he’s talking old school SNL, weshould be okay.

Sony Pictures

Bond. James Bond has done it again.The Blu-ray Disc version of Casino Royalewas the first high-definition disc to have

shipped over 100,000 units, accord-ing to Video Business, since its March13 street date. And it did so in justtwo weeks. Compare that to the 11

months it took for thestandard-definition AirForce One to reach thesame goal back in1998.

20th CenturyFox

For all of you X-Filersout there, I have a bit ofgood news. Now thatcreator Chris Carter has

reportedly reached an agreement with Foxconcerning syndication profit sharing (ormore likely, lack thereof), Mulder and Scullymaybe to heading to the big screen for thelong-awaited sequel. A nine-year wait.David Duchovny, who plays Mulder, isapparently onboard, but what about GillianAnderson (Scully)? Well, according to hermanager, all she is waiting for is the “deliv-ery of a great script.” Not just a good one,a great one. Hmmm...

United Artists

Well, it looks like Tom Cruise and partnerPaula Wagner have raised enough capital,

Jack Kelley

Buena Vista

Are your drawers getting tight? Too muchstuff trying to be crammed into a limited(and seemingly diminishing) space? Well,some studio execs feel your pain, and theyare taking some drawer-relieving action inthe form of slimmer DVD packaging. Forexample, Alias: The Complete SecondSeason (Issue 81, February 2004) took uptwo valuable inches of drawer space whileSeason Five (Issue 115, December 2006)only took up a quarter of an inch. You canlook for this trend from most all other stu-dios, as, according to The DigitalEntertainment Group, DVD sales have flat-tened, all while rental spending is on therise, and they feel it is due to limited draw-er/shelf space. And if you are ever in theTemecula, California area and wantto see drawers in need of somethinner cases, swing by and I’llshow you WSR’s vault of DVDs, HDDVDs, and BDs. Be warned, how-ever, you may have to do a little fil-ing.

DreamWorks

Blu-ray Disc andHD DVD as niche busi-nesses? What? “I don’tthink it’s going tobecome the next plat-form,” said JeffreyKatzenberg, Chair andCEO of DreamWorks Animation, at a NewYork investor’s conference. “It is not the nextplatform. We’re not going to go VHS, DVD,HD DVD, or Blu-ray. HD/Blu-ray will be avideophile business.” So for those of youhoping to add Shrek to your hi-def collec-tion, you may have to wait longer...andlonger. And the next format debate contin-ues on.

Lionsgate

Keeping with the family-oriented LittleHouse On The Prairie theme from lastmonth, Lionsgate has entered a three-pic-ture deal with painter Thomas Kinkade,

I Want ToKnow

The Studio ScoopRumors, Reports, & Ramblings

WIDESCREEN REVIEW NEWSLETTER 11 7 APRIL 2007 - www.WidescreenReview.com

WSRnewsletter11 4/19/07 11:30 AM Page 7

Page 8: WELCOME! COMING SOON TO NEWSSTANDS · WELCOME! COMING SOON TO NEWSSTANDS ATTRACTIONS Gary Reber Editor-In-Chief, Widescreen Review WIDESCREEN REVIEW NEWSLETTER 11 1 APRIL 2007 - April

and Tom has been hired...again. Led byBryan Singer, Cruise will star in a yet-to-be-titled World War II thriller, which is to bebased on “actual events involving Germangenerals planning an assassination attempton Adolph Hitler.” Production is slated tobegin this summer.

Universal Pictures

If you watch The Office (like 90 percentof the people here at WSR) and are havingAndy (Ed Helms) withdrawals, Universal islooking out for you. They have bought therights to A Whole New Hugh, which will starand was written by Helms, and is to be pro-duced by Judd Apatow (The 40 Year OldVirgin). If you need a quicker fix, look forHelms in Evan Almighty, which is sched-uled for release, according to IMDB, onJune 22, 2007. Or June 21, 2007, inRussia. What the...

Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. is going green. Effectivethe first of this month, all paper wraps, aswell as inserts, covering their DVDs, HDDVDs, and BDs will be made with 30 per-cent post-consumer recycled content.According to their own calculations, hereare the projected savings:

• Energy to power 404 homes• 43.4 million pounds of greenhouse gases• 53,169 trees• 19.3 million gallons of water• 115 garage trucks worth of solid waste

Editor-in-Chief Gary Reber applaudstheir initiative and hopes all other studioswill follow suit. WSR

Contrary to popular opinion, Research/ProductionEditor Jack Kelley is not responsible for anyrelease date changes, price changes, or anyother perceived errors contained within. He canbe reached at [email protected].

WIDESCREEN REVIEW NEWSLETTER 11 8 APRIL 2007 - www.WidescreenReview.com

Digital Video Essentialsin HD DVDAvailable Now At

WidescreenReview.com!

Two-Sided Disc:HD (1080p and 720p) On One Side And

Standard-Definition (NTSC or PAL) On Flip Side

Features:• VC-1-encoded 1080p and 720p Test and Demonstration materials• 6.1-channel Dolby® Digital Plus And Dolby Digital True HD Calibration Content• Dual-format HD DVD/Standard-Definition DVD• 720p60 Demonstration• Color Filters To Assist In Calibration• Widescreen 16:9 In Standard-Definition And HD

On Sale!

Only $29.95!*

* Shipping and handling not included.

Continued from page 7...

WSRnewsletter11 4/19/07 11:30 AM Page 8