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I currently have Cable TV, but plan to move to Satellite when our new house is completed early next year. However, an article at E-Town ( http://www.e-town.com/news/article.jhtml;$sessioni d$H1OHSLYAABGNNTYPVYXSFEQ?articleID=3944 ) says that DirecTV is now requiring installation of devices that can allow for remote disabling of HDTV-quality analog output. This, to me, is totally unacceptable -- anyone who pays for a signal, especially for an HD-quality signal via DirecTV, should be able to view that signal at full resolution with no restrictions. Discussion is raging about this issue at Slashdot ( http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=01%2F01%2F23%2 F2032213&cid=&pid=0&startat=&threshold=1&mode=nest ed&commentsort=3&op=Change), and it may behoove your company to read and contribute to the discussion there, especially if people are misinformed. However, if we are NOT misinformed, and Hughes/DirecTV feels it is their right to restrict how your customers view contenty they've already paid for, then I can promise you that your company will no longer be my choice for a satellite provider. Thank you for your time.

Looks a lot like GLV technology, which I think was covered on slashdot this month.

http://www.siliconlight.com/htmlpgs/glvtechframes/ glvmainframeset.html

http://www.e-town.com/news/article.jhtml?articleID =3772

One of the hot topics on the various projectionists and film collectors forums is digital projection -- and how much resolution is enough.

There are at least two limiting factors.

The first is the size of the film grain. Once you reach a certain resolution, any further increase in resolution goes towards clarifying the individual film grains instead of contributing more picture information. This starts to happen at around a 4K vertical resolution.

The second is the resolution of the human vision system. Again, there isn't much point in having higher resolution than the resolution of the cones in your eye. Again, your visual resolution is approximately reached at 4K resolution over a 60 degree field.

Another advantages of these digital micro-mirror based interference systems is that they can handle tremendous amounts of light, much more than can be passed through motion picture film without melting it.

I'm not surprised that display technology has tended to stagnate -- in order to effectively utilize high resolution (6Kx4K or so) technology, you need to be able to move data fast enough to keep the video pipeline full. I'll bet that in five years, tube monitors and televisions will go the way of tube radios.

http://www.ne wsweek.com/nw-srv/printed/us/dept/cs/a26254-1999no v7.htm -"Say Goodbye to All That Videotape"

http://www.adobepremierewo rld.com/.getarticle/.433537609 - "Sony's Maxi Mini: HD Discam DCM-M1"

h ttp://electronics.cnet.com/cgi/crunch/FReview2.asp ?ptable=Camcorders&PID=1000357

MD-Data2 Blank

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=001583620556586&r tmo=r3b92hXX&atm o=99999999&pg=/et/99/11/11/ecncam11.html

http://equip.zd net.com/digitalimaging/video/2aa6/overview_2aba.ht ml

http://beta.cdad.com/twice/art icle.cfm?InputKey=1150

http://www.e-town.com/news/article.jhtml;$sessioni d$H3JLEUYAAABO3UPZJE NSFEQ?articleID=1221#mdcamcorder (1st review)
http://www.e-town.com/news/article.jhtml;$sessioni d$IQWF23QAAABSTUPZJEFCFEQ?articl eID=1246 (2nd review)

http://fina nce.individual.com/display_news.asp?doc_id=PR19991 102NYTU083

http://www.watch.imp ress.co.jp/pc/docs/article/990901/ifa2.htm

http://www.watch .impress.co.jp/PC/docs/article/991008/Dsc01363.jpg

http://www.heise.de/newsticker /data/cp-29.08.99-001/

http://www.minidisc.org/sony_minidiscam

...blatantly ripped from minidisc.org

http://www.ne wsweek.com/nw-srv/printed/us/dept/cs/a26254-1999no v7.htm -"Say Goodbye to All That Videotape"

http://www.adobepremierewo rld.com/.getarticle/.433537609 - "Sony's Maxi Mini: HD Discam DCM-M1"

h ttp://electronics.cnet.com/cgi/crunch/FReview2.asp ?ptable=Camcorders&PID=1000357

MD-Data2 Blank

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=001583620556586&r tmo=r3b92hXX&atm o=99999999&pg=/et/99/11/11/ecncam11.html

http://equip.zd net.com/digitalimaging/video/2aa6/overview_2aba.ht ml

http://beta.cdad.com/twice/art icle.cfm?InputKey=1150

http://www.e-town.com/news/article.jhtml;$sessioni d$H3JLEUYAAABO3UPZJE NSFEQ?articleID=1221#mdcamcorder (1st review)
http://www.e-town.com/news/article.jhtml;$sessioni d$IQWF23QAAABSTUPZJEFCFEQ?articl eID=1246 (2nd review)

http://fina nce.individual.com/display_news.asp?doc_id=PR19991 102NYTU083

http://www.watch.imp ress.co.jp/pc/docs/article/990901/ifa2.htm

http://www.watch .impress.co.jp/PC/docs/article/991008/Dsc01363.jpg

http://www.heise.de/newsticker /data/cp-29.08.99-001/

http://www.minidisc.org/sony_minidiscam

...blatantly ripped from minidisc.org

The appeal of MP3 CD-R isn't lost on major manufacturers, either. Thomson Multimedia, parent company of RCA, has announced plans to market a portable CD player that also plays MP3 CD-Rs. RCA said its player will arrive over the summer, and list for $199.

There have been some references made to comments by Rick McCallum, producer for the SW prequels, about waiting for high-capacity (blue laser) DVDs to become feasible. Here's a link to the comments. Of course, these aren't exactly Associated Press-verified comments, but it certain seems like something Lucas would do. Of course, you could argue it's either for the sake of quality or for the sake of money. Lucas has claimed in many interviews that it took 15 years for movie technology to get to the point where he felt he could finally make the prequels, so he may be convincied it will take another 6 years for DVD technology to reach the point where he can do the types of things he'd like to do. Let's face it, up 'till now most DVDs have lived up to only the improved picture and sound promises, not the interactive, multi-angle, personallized experience it was hyped to be.

And, just to catch you up with the latest on blue laser DVDs, check out this article at E-Town.

Finally, there isn't any rule that says you have to buy the VHS. And like someone else commented, it took 8 years before the original trilogy appeared on VHS...