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Friday, May 21, 1999
4:42pm PST - We've received unconfirmed e-mail from one of our readers, that Tweeter President & CEO Jeff Stone has stated in response to the Divx question: "You will be happy to know that although we will not "own" DOW Stereo/Video until July 1st, the DIVX product is on its way back to the factory. We have no plans to support the technology at this time. Have a great weekend." We have sent our own e-mail to Tweeter seeking confirmation. Special thanks to Robert Goldman of Mansfield, MA for passing on the word.

12:24pm PST - Looking for a new disc to really show off your DVD picture and sound? Be sure to check out some of the new IMAX releases from Image. The latest batch feature programming originally presented in IMAX theaters. The only one we've seen so far is SEARCH FOR THE GREAT SHARKS, narrated by Joseph Campanella. The 46 minute presentation features some of the most drop-dead gorgeous images we've seen in a long time. Picture clarity is outstanding -- even when we zoom in on the 4:3 material to fill our 16:9 screen. The disc features seven (7) language tracks ALL in DD 5.1 surround. The music and sounds surround you from every speaker. The bottom line: Have we ever seen a more interesting special on sharks? Perhaps. But have we ever seen one look and sound this gorgeous -- not on your life. This is a reference disc all the way -- and at 46 minutes, it's over before the kids can get bored.These new discs also offer something we haven't actually held in our hands before... A new "super jewel case" -- hard, clear plastic -- about the same dimensions of a keepcase or snapper, but about two-thirds of the width. Image tells us that Columbia Tristar is using this box in Europe (so it won't be any big thang to our Euroreaders, but so far as we're aware, Slingshot Entertainment -- the production company that authored this disc) is the only one using it here in the states.

9:32am PST - Thank God it's Friday, Mighty Aphrodite... One thing has nothing to do with the other -- we just liked the way it rhymed. Here's Bob's review of the Woody Allen Greek comedy that put Mira Sorvino on the map -- and earned her an Oscar. MIGHTY APHRODITE. We can still recall her father, Paul Sorvino in the audience that night, sobbing like a baby when she accepted that award.

1:54pm PST - Jeff takes a look at SIMON BIRCH to size up the new DVD release. The polar opposite of MY GIANT, can the dimunitive Simon find the acceptance and understanding he so desperately craves? Or is the kid just after a few laughs and a grab at the... well, you'll just have to read the review, now won't you?

12:07pm PST - In addition to our introduction of The Rest of The Picture: Guest Review Index today, we're also pleased to announce the beginning of yet another user forum on our site, devoted to the Sony KL-W9000 50" widescreen LCD projector. Since this price-reduced presentation device utilizes the same 16:9 LCD panels as it's front projection cousin, the Sony VPL-W400Q (which we use to rate and review DVD's at TBP), starting a new forum for this RPTV device seemed like a natural extension of our W400Q forum. Be sure to check out the new Sony KL-W9000 Forum and FAQ, from The BIG Picture!

9:08am PST - We're looking for a few good DVD fans... It gives us great pleasure to introduce you to the very latest feature of The BIG Picture: The Rest of The Picture, our Guest Review Index is now operational and awaiting the first wave of reader-submitted reviews. Getting there is easy: Just go to our forums index page (select "forums" from TheBIGPictureDVD.com) and enter the guest review index. Before posting your original review, please be sure to read the tips/help/faq page to familiarize yourself with the interface and rules regarding posts. We hope that you enjoy this new feature as much as we enjoyed creating it.

12:12am PST - Now that Warner Bros. has reissued BONNIE & CLYDE as an anamorphic widescreen release, is the image quality really any better than the full frame version the venerable studio release two years ago? If you already have that version, is it worth it to repurchase again? After reading Bob's review and checking our own rating tables, we have to wonder...

12:11am PST - Guilt by association? Here's Bill Kelley III's article comparing Dolby Digital to DTS that we mentioned several days ago. Bill reminded us that he does not write for a Richmond, VA publication, but rather the Virginian-Pilot out of Norfolk, VA -- about 100 miles away from the Divx capital of the world. We apologize for our error.

2:21pm PST - THE PHANTOM MENACE isn't the only movie generating mixed reviews. See what Bob Banka things of BELOVED. You may be surprised. Then again, maybe not!

1:58pm PST - Columbia Tristar has announced CENTRAL STATION (Widescreen enhanced, Portuguese DD 2.0 with English subtitles), BYE-BYE BIRDIE (FF & 16x9 enhanced widescreen; DD 2.0, DD 5.1 and original 3-channel sound), THE PROFESSIONALS (FF & 16x9 enhanced widescreen, DD 2.0 w/various subtitles) and TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: THE NEXT GENERATION (IFF & 16x9 enhanced widescreen; DD 2.0; English & Spanish, various subtitles) for release on July 13, 1999.

1:42pm PST - According to TWICE, Tweeter Group is going to acquire Dow Stereo/Video. Tweeter Group owns Tweeter stores in New England, Bryn Mawr stores in the Philadelphia area, and Hi-Fi Buys in the Atlanta area. None of these stores sell DIVX, so it will be interesting to see if Dow stores under the new ownership give DIVX the boot or if the opposite will happen with DIVX managing to infect the whole Tweeter Group. Us San Diegans also wonder whether DOW huckster/spokesman Tom Campbell will be keeping his gig. Special thanks to Wayne Bundrick for the link -- and also to the DVD sPy....

11:12am PST - We're in the final debugging stages now for our reader-submitted review index, The Rest of The Picture. To learn more about it, check our FAQ page. The actual review index will be ready for your input imminently!

10:20am PST - Anamorphic transfers to come from Disney... We had a lengthy chat with our Buena Vista rep this morning and I really wished I would have had a tape recorder going. We spoke about a great many things concerning DVD early adopters, including animated titles, anamorphic transfers, etc. One of the things that we heard was the "critical mass" argument as to why some blockbuster animated titles are not yet on DVD. We countered with the lament that if Disney and others like George Lucas and Steven Spielberg would let loose with a few titles that we've been waiting for, they could create that critical mass of myth and legend that everyone seems to be waiting for! Needless to say, we reached a friendly impasse, a Mexican standoff, if you will, regarding the issue. The one bit of information we gleaned that should be good news for everyone is that Buena Vista will begin issuing anamorphic titles in the not-too-distant future. Right now, their energies are concentrated on the large slate of day and date releases coming up in July. Although no specific titles were mentioned, we have an inkling that animated titles might be among those receiving the anamorphic treatment. One thing became abundantly clear in our conversation: Disney is hearing the complaints loud and clear. They've read our editorial, as well as other sites that have not been quite as uh... diplomatic in their fire and brimstone condemnations. Our contact asked our opinion on what titles should receive anamorphic treatment. Our reply: All widescreen titles. Should titles that were originally 4:3 aspect be cropped and repackaged in 16:9? Our reply: No. The original theatrical composition should be preserved. We recall that someone had the bright idea of reissuing GONE WITH THE WIND in a cropped Widescreen format years ago -- and the concept flopped like a beached gray whale at a Makah Indian barbecue.

9:29am PST - That's gratitude for ya...The decidedly mixed reviews of THE PHANTOM MENACE are pouring in -- and we'll have ours on our BIG Box Office Review page later today, hopefully. In the meantime, we picked up some interesting tidbits from the television. One statistic claims that 25% of all adults will never see the movie. Also, George Lucas was quoted as saying "get a life" in response to those who have been camping out at theateres for a month to buy tickets.

9:24am PST - We received a nice e-mail message from a manager at Netscape this morning, who took note of our mention concerning the Netscape 4.5 user who had some problems accessing our new splash page, TheBIGPictureDVD.com. He suggests that all Netscape 4.5 users upgrade to the current 4.51 release, stating that "it's more stable", and that he has had no problems accessing our new page with version 4.51. For those not wanting to make the leap just yet, it should be noted that the fix we posted below, does indeed solve the problem.

"Last night I had some friends over and they wanted to see "Something About Mary", one of the 5 free disks I got with the RCA player at Christmas. Since I'd already watched it I called the Divx number and requested it be silvered. It can't be silvered! The salesman said all disks could be silvered!

So, I had one more of the free movies I'd not seen so put it into the player and got a message it could not play and to call Divx. ( I had disconnected the 'phone line several weeks ago since it isn't convenient to leave it plugged into the player)

I called the Divx number and they had me plug in the 'phone line and push a few buttons to force the player to communicate. Did that and waited while it communicated for about 10 minutes, then failed. Tried it again-same thing. Called back and she said to disconnect all other phones and answering machines from the line and try it again. Still nothing.

So, I called back again and had to push another series of buttons and set it up for "decommissioning" and wait while it did that for 10 to 15 minutes until she called me back and interrupted it. She had me start it up again. This time after 20 minutes it started working.

By this time it was after 11 PM. So, I will not leave the telephone line plugged and will not buy any Divx disks. So far, I've never incurred any re-view charges, either.

I wish I'd listened to you when you were warning me against Divx!"

6:25pm PST - Last weekend's Mystery Screenshot contest is running... uh, a little late. That's the bad news. The good news is, it's up and running now... Good luck in winning the DVD from TBP!

3:14pm PST - We've corrected a glitch that was effecting just about every page featuring our film strip menu (except for this one). Now, our 20 most recent reviews are at your beck and call just by clicking the "most recent" selection under the "reviews" section of the menu -- on any page on our site that the film strip menu appears, including our forums.

10:08am PST - Will AT FIRST SIGHT bring you tears of joy or sadness? Does the film lack the proper "focus" to handle the subject matter? Or is it a real "eye-opener"? There's only one way to find out -- read Bob's latest review and draw your own conclusions!

9:41am PST - Want your very own DVD recorder? Got a spare $5,400 burning a hole in your pocket? How about forty duckets for each recordable DVD disc? To learn more, click here -- and thanks to the DVD sPy for providing the link...

7:35am PST - We feel your pain... and we're always grateful for constuctive feedback. One of our readers wrote to ask that we please bring back our 30 most recent reviews, which we used to post on our main ratings and review index page. We're glad to report that they've never left -- they've just taken on a different form. That form can be found halfway down that page. Select "30 most recent reviews" to pull up the list. Additional searching options are available as well, either on the R&R Index page or on our Review Search Index page. You can also access our 10 20 most recent reviews from this very page under the "reviews" section on the film strip menu. Click "most recent" and the list will compile for you, with links to each review. Still, we'll search for a better way to organize and refine our interface.

NETSCAPE BROWSER BULLETIN: A different reader wrote to alert us that our new main page http://www.TheBIGPictureDVD.com was crashing his Netscape v4.5 browser, which we verified on our end. Seems it's a java problem. We solved it by going into the communicator menu, selecting "java console" and setting the debug error level to 1. If you're having trouble with our new domain and your Netscape v4.5 browser, try this solution and let us know how it works for you.

Maybe we should wait to see THE PHANTOM MENACE on DVD then...

10:04am PST - One of our readers, Mark Holtz, sent us this link to a fairly balanced article comparing DVD to Divx. All the content isn't entirely accurate. The writer states that: "When Divx was hatched, DVD players were unable to play Divx disks ( hybrid players now exist)" When we clicked the "hybrid" link, it simply brought us to a site for the RCA DVD/Divx players. Obviously, this statement is a bit confusing, if not misleading. The writer would like your opinions of DVD versus Divx. Care to accomodate her wishes?

9:11am PST - Here are some graduation gift ideas that include DVD players. Only trouble is, they should have listed DVD at the top of the list!

9:04am PST - Here's an update on the emerging "CD Wars" being waged between Sony and Panasonic.

9:00am PST - Here's more detail on the Matsushita/Nintendo/IBM alliance that may change the future face of home networked electronics.

8:54am PST - Zoran introduces a third-generation software decoder for DVD-ROM drives.

8:28am PST - Another day, another holler... Jeff takes a look at the outrageous comedy KINGPIN. But does this new "R" rated version featuring deleted scenes score a perfect strike?

Hope you're having a great weekend. Here's another world famous BIG Picture review for you to ponder... Bob Banka takes an unflinching look at GIGI.

We apologize for a typo in a story we ran last week about AFFLICTION. The correct rlease date is July 6, 1999, not June 7th. There is mention of a 60-day rental-only period in the press release, but it is unclear whether or not this proviso effects DVD as well as VHS. We'll find out and report back here.

Talk about a class act. When he realized he wouldn't be able to post this info on his own site until later because of server problems, John Larson from the DVD Dish wanted to make sure we all got the good news as soon as possible, so he graciously relayed the info to us in the meantime. Here's the July 1999 line-up for Warner Bros, HBO and New Line:

WARNER HOME VIDEO (July 27)
CITY HALL - Standard/Widescreen, 16:9, 5.1, $19.98
DEATHTRAP - Standard, 1.33:1, $14.98
HEAT - Widescreen, 16:9, RSDL, 5.1, $19.98
IN COUNTRY - Standard, 1.33:1, $14.98
SOUTH CENTRAL - Standard, 1.33:1, $14.98
STRIPTEASE - Standard/Widescreen, 16:9, 5.1, Unrated Version, $19.98
TARZAN & THE LOST CITY - Widescreen, 16:9, 5.1, $14.98

NEW LINE HOME VIDEO (July 27)
BED OF ROSES - Standard/Widescreen, 16:9, 5.1, $24.98
BLAST FROM THE PAST - Standard/Widescreen, 16:9, 5.1, $24.98
IN LOVE & WAR - Standard/Widescreen, 16:9, 5.1, $24.98
LOVE JONES - Standard/Widescreen, 16:9, 5.1, $24.98

HBO HOME VIDEO
SERIAL MOM - July 13, Standard, 1.33:1, 5.1, $24.98
ROCK-A-DOODLE - July 20, Standard, 1.33:1, 5.1, $24.98
LANSKY - July 27, Standard, 1.33:1, 2.0, $24.98

Bringing new meaning to the phrase: "The endless summer"... TheBIGPictureDVD.com domain address is now active. Remember that address for a quick and easy way to navigate the rest of our site as we begin the long weaning process from our venerable ohms.com domain.

The DVD sPy found this reassuring passage in yesterday's TWICE article regarding the RCA/Tandy deal. While this statement by no means guarantees that Divx will be shut out of the Radio Shack deal permanently, it's nice to read that "There are no plans at present to carry Divx."