With the February release of Netscape's Navigator 2.0 Web browser, the web may have taken one large step toward becoming "...a more dynamic, interactive medium." So says Mike Homer, vice president of marketing at Netscape Communications Corporation.

At the heart of Navigator 2.0 lies one crucial improvement: an open-architecture design, which allows third-party software developers to create their own plug-in applications. This means that any software company--with the appropriate licensing from Netscape--can provide a wider range of capabilities for the Navigator interface.

InterVU, for example, has already created a plug-in called PreVU that allows users to view MPEG files as they're downloaded from a web page. Dozens of other third-party plug-ins are already available from such companies as Adobe, VDONet and Macromedia.

Microsoft has announced that future versions of their Windows operating system will support the IEEE 1394 "Firewire" serial bus interface standard. IEEE 1394 enables high-performance multimedia connections and control of business and consumer electronic devices such as camcorders, televisions, stereos and CD changers, to name a few.

In addition, Microsoft and Sony have signed a letter of intent to develop open device driver interfaces (DDIs) and other open-architecture solutions for IEEE 1394. Microsoft has also signed a letter of intent with Compaq to accelerate adoption of the IEEE 1394 high-speed serial interface as a standard in the PC industry.

For videomakers, this means that we'll someday see a wealth of new Firewire applications on the market--solutions that are capable of handling the high data transfer rates that digital video requires.

Sony has achieved a new record with blue laser technology: a 100-hour operation time at room temperature. Use of the blue laser, which has a shorter wavelength than the red lasers in use today, would allow greater storage capacity for optical media such as the DVD (Digital Video Disc). Before it's ready for consumer use, however, the blue laser will have to be able to operate for around 10,000 hours at room temperature. Still, the 100-hour operation time represents a significant increase over last year's 4.3-hour mark.

With the advent of their new SCH985 and SCH996 camcorders, Samsung adds two low-cost Hi8 models into the U.S. video market. The SCH985 offers a manual focus ring, headphone jack, color viewfinder, 12:1 zoom, fade in/out and one digital effect for a suggested retail price of $900. The step-up model, SCH996, has all of the above features plus electronic image stabilization, 20:1 digital zoom and a suggested retail price of $1000.

Two German interests, Deutsche Telekom AG and Robert Bosch GmbH, have unveiled a joint venture that will send digital audio and video services to moving vehicles via RF (radio frequency) signals. The firms intend to roll out the system, dubbed Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB), for commercial use in 1997, and make the first portable terminals available in 1999. DMB will transmit voice, data, music, still pictures and MPEG video to moving vehicles using the 1.5MHz block designated for digital audio broadcasting (DAB) in Europe.

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With the release of their 3-chip Digital ViewCam, Sharp has joined the ranks of manufacturers offering camcorders in the DV format. Incorporating the industry's first built-in 5-inch LCD monitor, the VL-D5000U offers the color fidelity of 3-chip recording technology as well as the superior resolution powers found in other DV camcorders. Features include 12:1 optical and 30:1 digital zoom, 16-bit PCM stereo sound and digital image stabilization. For more info, visit Sharp's web page at http://www.sharp-usa.com.

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Web Watch

Desktop Video

http://godzilla.inre.asu.edu/~guy/Video1.html

The first line you'll read at this web site pretty much says it all: "This document is designed to present the basic concepts of Desktop Video Production." Originally conceived as a Master's Thesis for the site's author, it now serves the public as a free guide to this often confusing subject.

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If your child (or grandchild) has visions of becoming the next Steven Spielberg, you'll be glad to know that a new joint venture between Tyco Toy Co. and Vision, a Scottish electronic imaging company, has produced a children's video camera.

The Tyco VideoCam is designed to be lightweight, sturdy and simple to operate and is aimed at children aged between 6 and 12 years old. It will provide black-and-white video pictures, which will be relayed direct into a television via a standard VCR player. VISION CMOS imaging technology has enabled the video camera to be manufactured cost-effectively, and at a price which the company claims will be attractive to the consumer.

Of course, as these kids become more video-savvy, they'll want manual focus and iris control, LANC jacks, external microphones, a Kiddy-onics editor...

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