"Watermark could reduce the perceived quality of DVD-A to somewhere betweena good MiniDisc and a below-average CD," says a leading classical recording engineer. The record industry's search for a "watermarking" system that would make itpossible to trace the origin of digital audio recordings despite their processing through internet audio compression techniques such as MP3 (MPEG I Layer 3) and the copying of high-density digital media such as DVD-Audio discs, has run into another major problem.

BEHIND LOCKED DOORS (Kino on Video) is part of the latest batch of black-and-white film noirs being released from this distribution company (see below for more titles). This 1948 drama, directed by Oscar "Budd" Boettincher, stars Richard Carlson as a private detective who goes undercover at a mental hospital. Lucille Bremer, Douglas Fowley and Tor Johnson also star.

AROUND THE FIRE (A-Pix), a 1999 drama about Manhattan teens dealing with love and drug abuse, stars Devon Sawa, Bill Smitrovich, Eric Mabius, Tara Reid and Charlayne Woodard under John Jacobsen’s direction. The DVD comes with a 5.1 soundtrack that features numbers by Dire Straits, the Grateful Dead, Bob Marley, the Neville Brothers and Phish. Extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette and interviews with the cast and filmmakers.

Without question, the Richard Gray's Power Company AC Un-Conditioner is currently the most controversial product in high-end audio. Now Richard Gray launches his first home theater AC product, the $2,000 RGPC 1200, at CBS Studio Center in Studio City, California. The new Richard Gray Un-Conditioner will begin shipping September 1, 2000, and is customized for rack-mounting, complete with 12 Hubbell 20-amp receptacles. The first Richard Gray's Power Company units are physically more suited for audio systems based on their upright configuration and four receptacles.

The news of Napster’s possible demise sent users into a downloading frenzy over the past 18 hours, but now downloading freaks can relax a little. The injunction served to the online file sharing service Napster this past Wednesday was lifted today. Originally scheduled to be shut down tonight at 3am (EST), Napster has been temporarily granted a stay until a formal appeal can be heard by the U.S. Court of appeals for the Ninth Circuit. This appeal is not expected to be until September with Napster’s opening brief due on August 18, the RIAA’s response due September 8 and Napster’s optional reply due on September 12. Napster was granted the say primarily based on the claim that the injunction would have caused the company to "suffer irreparable injury" and would force them to terminate many of their employees. Legal experts say that it is common for this type of stay to be ...