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Experimental Recording Technologies Spice Home Entertainment 2001

Although Gary Shapiro emphasized digital television in his keynote address at Home Entertainment 2001, the Consumer Electronics Association president didn't ignore the importance of audio advancements. "SACD is a fantastic sensory experience," he told reporters at the May 11 press luncheon.

No one who has heard the Super Audio Compact Disc—either two-channel or multi-channel—would disagree. DVD-Audio, the putative competitor for your high-resolution dollars, hasn't had quite the auspicious debut that SACD has enjoyed, but plenty of engineers are working to exploit its potential.

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TMA: Business As Usual

On 28 July 2003, TAG McLaren Audio issued a statement saying that it had ceased the development of new products and was undertaking a full strategic review of its participation in the audio market.

The scrupulously worded statement, which, in light of the potential number of redundancies involved and the company's association with McLaren International, was drafted by lawyers, closed with a polite but, perhaps, ominous "TAG McLaren Audio would like to thank everybody for their kind support over the years." This provoked a great deal of speculation and rumour mongering, which CEO Udo Zucker…

Music Workers Unite!

Issues surrounding the music industry are heating up, and most stories revolve around the record labels, musicians, congress, consumers, and music pirates. Often lost in the noise is the importance of another major player in the business: the technical folks who make recorded music happen.

To gain visibility, this group formed the Recording Academy's Producers & Engineers Wing (P&E Wing) in 2000 in an effort to provide an organized voice for the creative and technical members of the music industry. The organization says that in those two short years it has become a "driving force…

Women, Men React Differently to Loud Sounds, Study Finds

It's well known that women have better high-frequency hearing than men do, as well as a lower threshold of sensitivity. What's loud to most men is louder to most women.

Now a new study indicates that the sexes react differently to sudden loud noises. Women are more easily frightened, but are more tolerant of pain immediately following the noise. Men are more startled than frightened, but become less tolerant of pain.

Those conclusions were reached by researchers at Texas A&M University after exposing 20 men and 20 women to loud sounds such as fire alarms, followed by a painful…

CD Dark Ages

It's a brave new music world.

Universal Music Group has officially revealed that it is the first major label to include restriction technology as a matter of standard policy with its CD releases intended for the US market. The company says it also plans to embed restriction technology on all of its releases by Spring of 2002. A variety of labels, including Universal, have been testing the restricted CD waters in Europe and with stealth releases in the US, with mixed results.

The statement comes on the heels of Universal's announcement that, in conjunction with Sony, it had finally…

Industry News Roundup

GamuT Audio has been acquired by Danish investment firm Rossing Nielsen Electronics A/S, according to an announcement released September 22. Under the new ownership, the number of GamuT products will be reduced to "provide shorter lead times and to make the brand more competitive," according to company principle Poul Rossing.

Lombardi Sales will continue to represent GamuT in the US and at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show (CES). US dealers should contactRay Lombardi for more information. Rossing Nielsen is also majority shareholder of loudspeaker manufacturer Avance International A…

Minnesota Orchestra Streams Concerts on Demand

The Minnesota Orchestra has become one of the first symphony orchestras in the US to archive selected broadcasts for online streamed listening on demand. Through an arrangement with Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), which has broadcast virtually every Minnesota Orchestra concert since 1974, the performances are now available for up to a year's time at www.mpr.org/minnesotaorchestra.

MPR has currently posted nine complete concerts from the Minnesota Orchestra's 2005 season. Highlights include Aho's Symphony No.7, Shostakovich's Symphony No.5, Nielsen's Symphony No.5, Emanuel Ax in Mozart's Piano…

The Academy Advancing High Performance Audio And Video To Sponsor Trade Days At HI-FI '99

Petersen's HI-FI Show management announced October 22 that The Academy Advancing High Performance Audio and Video will be sponsoring Trade Days at HI-FI '99, The Home Theater and Specialty Audio Show, taking place at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago from May 11 to May 13, 1999. This marks the fourth consecutive year that The Academy has sponsored Trade Days at the HI-FI Shows. Show management and The Academy also announced today that the Music and Film Seminar Series will be expanded in 1999 to a two-track educational program. Each track will consist of the five disciplines showcased at…

Net Grows; Free Music Still Rules

All available statistics demonstrate that the Internet is still a growing phenomenon, one destined to play an increasingly important role in the distribution of information and entertainment. Recently published studies by Jupiter Media Metrix, Inc., a division of Jupiter Research, show that Internet usage has achieved greater than 50% penetration among US households, giving it what researchers call "mass-market status." Jupiter describes "online consumers" as people who have computers and Internet service provision in their homes, as opposed to having Internet access through a computer at…

Home Entertainment Show 2006

Primedia's Home Technology Group has announced that the Home Entertainment Show 2006 will take place at the Sheraton Gateway Hilton in Los Angeles, CA on June 1-4, 2006. Previous successful events were held in Los Angeles in 1992, 1995, and 1998.

As in the past, the first day of the Show will be dedicated to the trade and global media. Consumers will have three full days to preview the latest in home entertainment products ranging from loudspeakers, turntables, HDTV, home theater systems, computers, imaging products and much more. Free music, a benefit concert with surprise guests…