Brian C. Fenton

High-Def Discs and Tapes

Blue Skies Ahead for High-Def DVD

By Brian C. Fenton
Posted April 3, 2002

Because every new format seems to set off a format war, we were a little surprised when nine major electronics manufacturers announced that they actually agreed on what the next-generation recordable optical-disc format should be.

» Read More

Strings Attached

Thanks to wireless technology, there's never been a better time to install a home network.

By Brian C. Fenton
Posted July 22, 2002

Photos by Eric Yang An Intel AnyPoint PC Card wireless network adapter ($99).

Computer networking isn't a subject you'd necessarily expect to read about in Sound & Vision.

» Read More

No Strings Attached

Thanks to wireless technology, there's never been a better time to install a home network.

By Brian C. Fenton
Posted July 22, 2002

Photos by Eric Yang

Computer networking isn't a subject you'd necessarily expect to read about in Sound & Vision. But because more and more home-entertainment gear wants to get connected to the Internet and because networking is a viable way to distribute compressed audio and video, it makes sense for us to look at where home networks are today.

» Read More

Copy Rights

DVD X Copy is backing it up.

By Brian C. Fenton
Posted April 10, 2003

I finally began to trust my 8-year-old son with my electronic equipment and software-he understands my warnings about disc care now that one of his favorite PlayStation titles got scratched so that it crashes at the same point every time. But now a DVD from my three-disc set of The Simpsons' first season has disappeared.

» Read More

Gateway FMC-901X and 610XL Media Center PCs

By Brian C. Fenton
Posted June 2, 2004

Gateway, which has been making traditional PCs since 1985, recently entered the consumer-electronics industry, producing things like flat-panel TVs, digital cameras, and camcorders.

» Read More

Building Your Home Network

They used to be just for computers, but networks are teaching home-entertainment gear how to share, too.

By Brian C. Fenton
Posted June 2, 2004

A few years ago, it would have been hard to imagine chatting about computer networks at a party. But today, you don't have to be a geek to be interested in networking - and awareness will only increase as more people realize that a home network can be a great way to send movies, music, and digital photos around the house.

» Read More

JVC HD-52Z575 52-inch Rear-Projection HDTV

By Brian C. Fenton
Posted January 27, 2005

The venerable CRT - a fixture of TV since its first days - is now being edged out by brighter, lighter, thinner technologies like plasma and LCD panels. There are also front- and rear-projection TVs with light engines that magnify images from LCD and DLP microdisplays.

» Read More