Audio News for September 15, 2006

iTunes Begins Selling Movies – Apple CEO Steve Jobs gave a one-hour presentation on the newest iPods and updates to iTunes. iPods are better and cheaper, and movies are now part of the iTunes Music Store, with releases from ABC Disney and Pixar. The movies will be about $13 to $15 for new releases and $2 for TV shows, and will be in 640 x 480 format for viewing either on flat-screen TVs or iPods. The major breakthru may be the iTV set-top box which uses AirPort to stream the videos from your Mac or PC to your TV, wherever it is in the home. It is controllable on screen with the Apple remote. SRP is listed at $299.  Of course you will need broadband to take advantage of this, and it will also work with Ethernet if you don’t have wireless. The new iTunes now makes available all the album covers for your CDs; when you log into your account it will scan your library and upload all the covers you lack. There is also a scrollable window for scanning thru your music collection and stopping on any album you want to play. Internet video has become hot: Sprint just announced full-length feature films which can be streamed legally to video-capable cell phones to help people kill time when stuck in places such as airports.

MusicGiants Sells Music Videos – The leader in hi-res music downloads has announced an agreement with NuTech Digital to enable MusicGiants to provide 18 classical and ballet performances in standard definition and eight pop concerts in HD. NuTech’s DRM technology enables secure distribution of hi-def digital content via the Internet. The selections include works of Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy, Faure, Mozart, Haydn, Highlights of Vienna Symphonies, the Hilliard Ensemble, Marilyn Horne in famous arias, a piano recital by Zoltan Kocsis, pianist Mitsuko Uchida, and the Swan Lake ballet. The HD concerts include Kool & The Gang, D12, Fat Joe and Macy Gray. The new videos will be provided in 480p, 720p, 1080i and 1080p formats.

Surge Protection Tips – Standard voltage in America is 120 volts, and anything over that is considered transient and can damage electronic devices plugged into an outlet.  Power surges are brief but can cause considerable damage. There can also be longer periods of raised voltages which are often equally damaging. Surge protectors channel the extra voltage into the grounding wire of the outlet, preventing it from flowing thru the electronic device – where it can burn the wires, destroy components, or wipe out saved data in computers. Most surge protectors won’t do much good protecting systems from lightning, the most familiar source of power surges. It is best to always completely unplug electronic devices when a thunderstorm approaches. Faulty wiring, downed power lines and faulty equipment at the utility company can also cause power surges.

A simple power strip offers no surge protection. For real protection you have to spend $50 or more for AV surge protectors that click off after a surge; but then the protection circuitry is lost.  Whole-house surge suppressors are available for the central power panel. In areas subject to frequent lightning storms, lighting arrestors on the house should be considered. Many varieties of AV power centers with surge protection are now offered by makers such as Monster Power, PS Audio and Panamax.  They safely shut themselves down whenever power varies dangerously, and they can also clean up noise in the power line. Some come with a guarantee that insures all connected equipment.