Playboy's Eletronic Roundup

F Life Imitates Art, then the art of technology strives to imitate life. From stereo sound in the Fifties to color television in the Sixties to digital audio in the Eighties, engineers and designers have been coming up with bigger and better ways to make your home-entertainment experience as exciting as any live performance.

In fact, industry insiders predict that shortly after the turn of the century, a painting or even a patterned wall will dissolve into a television screen. Eventually, they claim, these life-size screens will be replaced by three-dimensional, holographic images, which will be beamed into the center of a room by a small, light-fixture-sized projector mounted on the ceiling or the wall.

As visual images get larger, you can expect storage systems to get smaller. Somewhere down the road, tiny, solid-state microchips will take the place of today's state-of-the-art audio and video optical-disc systems. To watch a classic film from the Nineties, you'll just mentally make a selection from an on-screen menu, speak the alpha-numeric code aloud and an international fiber-optic system will download the movie into a storage module for later viewing. The entire procedure will take less than 15 seconds. If the film is purged from memory within 24 hours, a world-wide computer billing network will automatically change the charge from a "film purchase" to a "film rental." Sound farfetched? Not really. These super-high-tech gadgets are currently on the drawing boards of some of the world's leading electronic firms. Meanwhile, you'll have to be content with the latest high-tech gizmos on the market now. Here are some of our favorites.

The Command Center

The receiver is the heart and soul of any home-entertainment system. A top audio/video receiver will have multiple jacks for a TV set or a tuner, several VCRs, a laser-disc player and a CD player, plus Dolby Pro Logic Surround Sound processors. The last on-board circuitry allows movie sound tracks that are encoded in Surround Sound to be reproduced at home exactly as they are in movie theaters, often with at least five channels of amplification.

Pioneer's VSX-DIS ($1350) and Yamaha's RX-V1050 ($1200) are two excellent audio/video receivers to consider, along with Kenwood's KR-V9030 ($980), Onkyo's TX-SV70 ($850) and Yamaha's RX-V850 ($800).

The Big Picture

Do you think more is more when it comes to big-screen TVs? Not unless you have a living room, bedroom or den that's the size of a football field and a budget to match. Instead, consider a (text continued on page 176)Roundup(continued from page 132) front-projection TV, such as the ones offered by Barco or Vidikron. You'll be laying out some pretty hefty dollars (the least expensive models start at $5000), but the thrills make it worth it. Rear-projection TVs are more realistically priced. Some of the best are found in Pioneer's Elite line (priced from $4300 to $4800). Mitsubishi's rear-projection sets are also excelent and range from 40 to 70 inches at prices from $2400 to $6400.

Direct-view TVs (the kind with picture tubes) aren't jumbo-sized (35 inches is the largest screen size currently available), but their picture quality ranks high. For a picture-perfect image, it's tough to beat two Sony XBR-PRO sets--the 32-inch PVM-3230 (about $3000) and the 25-inch XBR-PRO ($2500). Toshiba America has a sharp 32-inch CX3025A Supertube (about $2200), if cabinet styling is of prime importance, take a look at RCA's modern, angletopped, 20-inch F20706FT ($500) and Sony's sexy, round-cornered 27-inch KV-27EXR20 ($950).

Incidentally, here's how to determine which screen size is right for your room. Measure the distance from your favorite chair or couch to the point where your TV will sit. Then divide that measurement by four--the maximum screen height you can comfortably view. For example, if your chair is about 60 inches from your TV, the biggest set you should consider is one that is 15 inches high (that's a 25-inch TV screen, measured diagonally). The scan lines on the screen may prove annoying if you purchase anything larger.

Triple Playback

You're familiar with the three VCR formats--VHS, 8mm and Beta. There are now three subformats, or high-band Versions: The VHS upgrade is called Super-VHS (S-VHS), the 8mm improvement is dubbed Hi8 and Super Beta (a half-step upgrade developed several years ago) has a high-grade version called ED-Beta.

While ED-Beta offers what many consider to be the best picture quality, it's mostly for serious videophiles and semiprofessionals.

S-VHS and Hi8 are less expensive but comparable in quality; both offer pictures with around 400 lines of horizontal resolution, compared with the standard 240 lines.

Expect audio upgrades in both the S-VHS and the Hi-8 formats. In the next year or so, both will offer digital stereo sound with the audio quality of a CD. Regardless of format, VCRs are finally becoming more user friendly. That means better owner's manuals, fewer buttons to push and on-screen displays to walk you through procedures. One company, Gemstar, is even offering a VCR-programing device called VCR Plus+, which automatically sets your unit after you punch in the numeric codes found in TV Guide and many local newspapers. General Electric, ProScan, RCA and Zenith will soon feature VCR Plus+ circuitry in their new VCRs.

The Laser's Edge

The laser disc is unsurpassed in both picture and sound quality (see Roger Ebert's sidebar on page 178), While many people own both a CD and a laserdisc player, the most cost-effective purchases is a combination unit--one that plays eight- and 12-inch laser discs as well as three- and five-inch CDs. Panasonic's LX-1000 ($1200) and Pioneer's CLD-3090 ($1200) are both excellent units that play both sides of laser discs automatically. If the two-sided-play feature is not a priority, Pioneer's CLD-M90 ($700) accepts either an eight-or a 12-inch laser disc and can hold five CDs simultaneously.

Mini Happy Returns

So much equipement, so little space. If that's the lament, perhaps a minisystem is the answer. Most mini stereo units combine a preamp/amp, a tuner, a CD player, an audio cassette recorder, two matching speakers and sometimes even a turntable or a Surround Sound system--all reduced to fit in the space of a fullsized receiver and tape deck. Four new minisystems that would sound terrific in an apartment, dorm room or office are Nakamichi's Compact ReceiverSysteml ($350) and companion CDCassettePlayerl ($450), Sharp's CD-C500 ($750), with a six-disc CD changer and a separate subwoofer, Sony's MHC-2600 ($950) and Panasonic's SC-CH10 ($1050), with Dolby Pro-Logic decoder and two speakers.

Play On!

Hand-held video games are no longer kin's stuff. Sega's Game Gear, for example, can be used by one or two players, has a built-in 21/2"x31/4" color-LCD screen and an optional TV tuner/adapter that turns it into a portable color-TV set. The $150 price (plus $120 for the adapter) isn't kid's stuff, either.

Also check out Atari's improved Lynx ($100), NEC's TurboExpress ($300) and Nintendo's Game Boy (black-and-white screen,$90). Of the three, TurboExpress offers the highest-quality visual images and, like Game Gear, it has an optional TV tuner. Another big plus is that TurboExpress uses the same game cards as the TurboGrafx-16 home unit, giving it an instant library of 55 games.

Tape It

Camcorders have come a long way from the ten-pound behemoths that hit the market about eight years ago. A good choice is to pick a model that accepts the same full-sized VHS cassettes used in your home VCR. An S-VHS camera, such as Hitachi's VMS-8200A ($1700), will give your top-quality images, but consider other features such as a zoom lens and variable shutter speeds.

Several S-VHS (and standard VHS) camcorders take special minicassettes called VHS-Cs, which can be played on your home VCR using a special cassette adapter shell. VHS-C cameras are pintsized and eminently portable. However, the tapes can store only about 30 minutes of video when set at the best-quality recording speed. By comparison, all Hi8 (and standard 8mm) Camcorders can record two hours of top-quality video on a single cassette.

If you're serious about editing, investigate Sony's medium-sized Hi8 CCD-V801 ($1900). It's the first consumer camcorder to offer time code, a function that allows you to edit tape with precision.

Canon also offers a near-professional Hi8 unit named the L1 ($3000) that takes a series of interchangeable lenses. The L1 comes with a standard 15-to-1 (8mm to 120mm) VL zoom lens, but you can also purchase an adapter ($350) that accepts the EOS series of lenses that fit Canon's 35mm still cameras.

Another great Hi8 model, Sony's $1500 CCD-TR81, weighs less than two pounds (without battery and tape cassette), fits in your coat pocket and hooks up directly to your TV set for playback.

Once you've shot some memorable footage, consider investing in an editing controller, such as Panasonic's Digital A/V Mixer (model WJ-AVE5, $1800) and Digital Special Effects Generator and Audio Mixer (model WJ-AVE3, $1100), Videonic's DirectED PLUS ($600) or Sony's RM-E700 (the companion to the CCD-V801 Camcorder, $1000).

Now Hear This

If you own a Walkman or drive a car with a cassette player, you'll probably want a home deck for recording personal tapes. The higherst-quality analogue tapes are made on audio cassettes that have Dolby S noise-reduction circuits. They're nearly impossible to tell from the original discs, yet when they are played in portable or car stereos without the S circuitry, there is still very little sonic compromise. Dolby S recorder/players are just reaching the market place and are priced about $250 more than conventional decks.

There's also the digital-audio-tape (DAT) format to consider. DAT machines, available in both full-sized and portable models, can make both live recordings and exact digital copies of CDs. A special chip installed in DAT machines limits digital clones to first-generation copies; however, you can make as many analogue copies as desired.

Another new audio-recording system looms on the horizon. Developed by the Dutch company Philips, the Digital Compact Cassette (DCC) system will be in stores in 1992. Not only do DCC machines record and play music digitally (on special new cassetters), they can play regular analogue cassettes, too.

Other Goodies

What electronic wonders are about to emerge? One is CDTV (for Commodore Dynamic Total Vision), a CD-ROM-based interactive entertainment/education system from the company that brought us the Amiga and Commodore computers. In fact, CDTV is basically a home computer designed to look like a CD player. Software is available in five categories: arts and leisure, education, entertainment, music and reference. CDTV units are currently on sale for about $1000.

Phillips will soon launch its noncompatible competitor to CDTV. It's called CD-I (Compact Disc Interactive) and, like CDTV, it's based on five-inch compact-disc technology. CD-I also offers audio, text, graphics and interactivity and it, too, can play regular audio CDs.

While both CDTV and CD-I claim to be the be-all and end-all in CD-based games and entertainment, there's a third interactive format, DVI (Digital Video Interactive), vying for a share of the market. Unfortunately, none of the interactive/multimedia discs for these systems can be played in one another's machines.

Sony, too, is tossing a couple of discs into this ring. One, called the Data Discman, uses three-inch, CD-ROM discs to store information on a wide range of subjects, including education, business and entertainment. The $599 pocket-sized players, which come with encyclopedia, travel/translator and health-guide discs, are hitting stores this month.

Sony's second innovation, the Mini Disc (MD), is a 21/2-inch CD-type disc that is held in a plastic caddy similar to a 31/2-inch computer disc. Through the use of sophisticated data-compression teachniques, the MD can hold as much digital stereo as a five-inch compact disc. Furthermore, you can record on it, and it's shockproof, too. Sony has plans to bring this product to market in 1992.

Last, there has been a lot of speculation about high-definition television (HDTV), prompting many people to put off buying a new TV for fear that it will soon become obsolete. Not to worry. HDTV is coming but not for several years. When it arrives, it will offer much better picture quality, digital sound and a new screen shape that's 30 percent wider.

In the interim, look for the introduction of wide-screen televisions. Hitachi, JVC, RCA, GE, Sony and Toshiba debuted prototype sets featuring screens with a 16:9 ratio, similar to the width-height ratio found in movie theaters. These sets, which will initially be priced between $5000 and $7000, will have strong appeal to laser-disc owners, because many current LD releases are available in wide-screen (letter-box) format. And, with the addition of an out-board decoder, some of these wide-screen sets may be easily converted to HDTV when the time is right.

"Camcorders have come a long way from the ten-pound behemoths that his the market about eight years ago."