Home Theater Week in Review, April 14-18, 2008

by Oliver Amnuayphol

Industry consolidation storms are a brewin': D&M holdings--parent company of Denon, Marantz, McIntosh, and Snell, among others--have put themselves up for sale this week. Perhaps the most interesting development in the D&M courting process has been their potential suitors, chief among them Harman International (owners of Harman Kardon, Mark Levinson, Revel, Infinity and others), Best Buy and surprisingly, Kenwood (!). Jeez, I didn't know Kenwood even had any interest in home theater; I thought they were long gone. But who knows? Stranger things have (and continue) to happen on the home theater front...

...Like Blockbuster's recent announcement of their interest in acquiring electronics retailing giant Circuit City. Huh? With both companies in fairly dire straights at this point, I'm not even sure how either party could benefit from this. Would it be along the lines of a "Hey, while you're shopping for electronics, why not rent a movie, too?" kind of marriage? Like I said, it befuddles me; I just don't see the benefit. But I guess that's why I'm a Home Theater Guru and blogger and not a corporate exec.

And for the news this week that made sense: Verizon is planning to role out FIOS to all five NYC boroughs. Verizon promises over 400 standard res and 150 HD channels (not to mention more than 10,000 videos on demand) to NYC residents, competing with Warner Cable and Cablevision. In Verizon's press release, Monica Azare, Senior VP of New York and Connecticut emphasized their commitment to quality with the following:  "For too long, residents have been locked in to one provider for their cable TV entertainment.  With an award of the first-ever Citywide franchise, Verizon will be able to throw open the doors to competition, providing real choice and real value." Amen sister, amen.

Movie Releases for Next Week.

DVD: Charlie Wilson's War; The Savages; Cloverfield; My Boy Jack; The Orphanage; Death of a Cyclist; Bellydance Show Basics for Beginners.

Blu-ray: The Orphanage; National Geographic: Six Degrees Could Change the World; One Missed Call; Sublime.   

HD DVD: Ganges; Sublime; Animal Room.