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Friday, February 19, 1999
11:32pm PST - Tonight we watched two new discs: Columbia's THREE STOOGES CURLEY CLASSICS and RONIN. Here's the short take: We were a bit disappointed with the image and sound quality of the STOOGES material. It doesn't appear that much, if any restoration work was done on these old shorts. As for RONIN, image quality is very, very good and the incredible DD 5.1 car chase sequences through the narrow streets and tunnels of Paris (real, not CGI or CGI enhanced) are bound to find their way onto many shelves as excellent demo material for your sound system. We also enjoyed the John Frankenheimer commentary and alternate ending footage.

11:25pm PST - Take this as nothing more than it is... a rumor. Our DVD sPy has checked in with some news that we hope is true -- He claims that Fox is preparing a March announcement for the STAR WARS:SE trilogy release on DVD in May... and that the Episode 1 trailer(s) will be included on the discs along with some extra footage. He further went on to say that: "The transfer process has been going on for a good time. Episode 1 is also being transfered. Lucas used DVDs for showing Pepsi and others parts of the film. So he has already been transfering things. This is pretty big, and Indy isn't far behind. Paramount has been looking hard into the international distibution problems that were also holding up the release. Christmas is still looking like the dates for the Indy trilogy, but it could be earlier."

2:19pm PST - We've been eagerly anticipating this one ever since it was announced: Jeff McNeal reviews the new Columbia Tristar release of GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER.

2:15pm PST - Andy C, from the Region 2 database project tells us that the following Disney titles are slated for Region 2 release:

"Song of the South" .
"Who framed Roger Rabbit",
"The Sword in the Stone",
"The Goofy Movie"

2:14am PST - As right as rain? Or simply all wet? Read Bob's review of Ridley Scott's BLACK RAIN and draw your own conclusions. Better bring an umbrella.

2:12am PST - What my Dad always used to say... "I know that you want me to loan you the money to buy it, but is it practical?" It hardly ever was, but the old man lent me the bread anyway. He knew I was good for it. This is my long-winded, convoluted way to introduce you to another new review on TBP of PRACTICAL MAGIC. Take bow, Bob!

2:02am PST - The best laid plans... Our sincere and heartfelt apologies for the day that got away from us -- that would be yesterday. The good news is that our computer upgrades are going according to plan, which means more efficient operations for us -- and hopefully more DVD and Home Theater News in the days, weeks, months and years ahead.

Thursday, February 18, 1999
11:54am PST - Please pardon the delay... Here at The BIG Picture, we typically try to have something going by 9am PST, but we're in the process of upgrading our computer equipment and transferring everything from the old workhorse to the new takes some time. To get you started, here's Jeff McNeal's effusive review of THE MUSIC MAN. We'll have Bob's take on PRACTICAL MAGIC a little later today...

10:59 PST - Bob Banka takes a gamble with one of Paramount's latest: Brian DePalma's SNAKE EYES, starring Nicholas Cage and Gary Sinise. So... are you ready to roll the dice and read this teriffic review?

10:48am PST - Membership has its privileges... Home Theater Forum has announced a live chat with Warner Bros. on Tuesday, February 23rd. 10pm EST, 9pm CTRL, 8pm MTN, 7pm PST. Scheduled participants include John Powers, the Marketing Director of Warner Home Video, and Paul Hestreet, Manager of DVD programming and content developement.

10:46am PST - ZDNET says that the major DVD players give a thumbs up to Digital Watermark technology for DVD content protection. Thanks to TBP reader David Jankhe for the link.

10:24am PST - Sony, Pioneer and Philips join forces in DVD licensing to help facilitate the growth of the format.

10:19am PST - Keeping tabs on the other sites, Special Field Correspondent Dana found this interesting first-person accounting of the Circuit City Divx pitch on E/Town.

9:41am PST - Be looking for a new review of SNAKE EYES later today, along with upcoming reviews of THE MUSIC MAN, ROUNDERS and GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER. Here's a sneak preview: THE MUSIC MAN is a five glober for image and boasts some wonderful extras as well. Don't hesitate to pick it up if it's a title you're interested in.

4:56pm PST - One of our readers, John Bozony, thought it might be a good idea to refresh your memories regarding another one of our readers' anti-Divx sites. Wayne Bundrick has recently updated his DVD vs. Divx comparison chart page and it's worth a look if you haven't seen it in awhile (or at all!).

10:04am PST Monkey Wards to carry Divx? An anonymous DVD sPy (they're always anonymous to you, but rarely to US) is claiming that Montgomery Wards will begin to carry Divx products within two weeks. Frankly, we don't buy the rumor -- not that we'd buy anything associated with Divx. By the way, Wal-Mart is again issuing denials regarding possible plans to carry Divx -- and despite what we heard yesterday -- we tend to take the retailing giant at their word. As evidenced in their recent, deceptive television ad in which Divx implies that only their players can play audio CD's as well as standard DVD's, we imagine that tCircuit City is desperately seeking a large partner to shoulder the burden of what could be very disappointing post holiday sales and account sign-ups. It's taking longer than anyone expected for Divx to fail -- but fail it will. Keep the faith and turn up the heat.

9:38am PST - In 1980, The Eagles disbanded, swearing that "hell would freeze over" before they ever played together again. In 1994, fourteen years later, it happened. Unfortunately for the vast majority of us, the new DVD does not provide a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, but a DTS 5.1 or PCM Stereo track. We review the latter. Check THE EAGLES: HELL FREEZES OVER review on The BIG Picture.

5:18pm PST - Remember that Divx hack site we mentioned a couple of weeks ago? You know, the one with the $150 "black box" that you connect to your Divx player to simulate the mother ship? The one where they wanted you to send cash to a P.O. Box? One of our reader's Paul Digione, noticed today that the site now folds directly into a pro Divx website with nary a mention of the illicit decoder. Hmmmm.

2:35pm PST - Watch out, Madacy! You're about to get 150 competitors... The DVD Pro University is hoping to attract more attendees with the promise of free DVD development software valued at $495 for the first 150 attendees to sign up for the authoring conference and workshop.

. 8:18am PST - Business First Magazine says "Just hang on, DVD is not a serious business tool yet", but the article goes on to sing the praises of DVD-ROM units despite the lack of "serious business software" currently available.

8:11am PST - We'll take one in each color, please... We've just found our new laptop. Today, Dell has announced 4x DVD-ROM drives and new 10 and 14 gig hard drives for their Inspiron line of laptop computers.

8:08am PST - Hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day. It's the big "President's Day" national holiday here in the United States. If you're looking for a film with good "Washington's birthday" content, check out Versadiscs' free TELLING LIES IN AMERICA DVD starring Kevin Bacon. There's a great scene in which an immigration judge discusses George Washington in some detail with Brad Renfro.

The DVD sPy tells us that Divx may soon be partnering with K-Mart. Of course, this is simply heresay and rumor at this juncture, but it might not be a bad idea to let your feelings be known to K-Mart before it's too late.CORRECTION After this rumor was posted, The DVD sPy wrote back to say "Oops! I meant to say Wal-Mart". Oh brother, here we go again. Does anyone hve a grain of salt as big as a baseball to toss around with this one?

Our apologies for the late weekend update, folks. It was time to head up to Big Bear Lake here in Southern California and take a full day off to introduce our kids to the snow. While we were socked away in our secluded mountain cabin, our peace and relaxation was marred by a deceptive NEW television ad for Divx, in which our favorite African American/Pacific Islander/Caucasion-with-a-bad-suntan (take your pick) pitchman was back, claiming that "only Divx enhanced DVD players can play regular DVD's Divx-enhanced DVD's and audio CD's." Come again, Squanto? Only Divx players can play audio CD's? I wanted to leap to my feet and yell at the boob: "WHATSA MATTER, PAL?? ARE YOU ON CRACK?!!!". Remember, open DVD players can most certainly pay audio CD's -- and unlike the future of Divx -- you will never be faced with having to pay AGAIN each time you want to listen to your Streisand CD. If the Divx model succeeds, pay-per-listen music CD's will be next on the Divx agenda. It could have been my imagination, but it seemed like muscles in the face of the Circuit City pitchman were starting to involuntarily twitch from the blatant deception being heaped on an unsuspecting public.