Takinghome movieviewingto the next level

by Adam Greenberg assistant a&e editor

Zooming asteroids and Titanic disasters make an impressive impact when seen in today's digitally-charged movie theaters.

However, reliving the silver screen experience in the comfort of your own home often proves to be a disappointment: explosive flames lose some of their luster, sonic booms are more like sonic t>ores and Godzilla seems to be missing some of the stomp in his step.

Shoving videotapes into the old VCR is no longer the only option for home movie viewing.

Digital versatile discs, also referred to as digital video discs, offer a new level of picture quality and sound, unrivaled by traditional videotapes.

DVDs are the same size as CDs, but instead of containing music, they have entire movies on them.

In comparison to videotapes, the resolution of a DVD is about three times clearer, while the audio boasts sterling, CD-quality sound.

The C05t of a DVD player ranges from about $300 to over $1,000 and the average price of a DVD runs between about $20 to $40.

An offshoot of the DVD format is a system known as Digital Video Express, or Divx, which is being marketed as an enhancement to the standard DVD player. The cost of a Divx-enhanced player is about the same.

Divx discs offer the same quality as DVDs, but at bargain basement prices of about $5. The difference is that these discs are encrypted, and the initial cost includes

Busta Rhymes' new release

a viewing period of two days. This two-day period begins whenever the disc is inserted and played for the first time.

Additional viewing periods for Divx discs can be purchased through the player for around $3. The player contains a modem that communicates with the Divx Host Computer on a regular basis to update billing information. Certain discs may be purchased for unlimited viewing.

Divx players can also play the standard, or "open," DVDs, while a DVD player cannot play the Divx discs. Looking past the technological issues, film buffs are primarily concerned with the movies themselves.

Many of the DVDs offer all kinds of extra goodies, in addition to the film itself. The "Good Will Hunting Collector's Series" DVD contains an alternate audio track with the director's commentary, extra scenes that were not included in the final cut and a collection of the film's trailers and television ads. There are many other discs that have similar extras, such as "The Wedding Singer,'' which includes an interactive karaoke segment on the DVD. Browsing the Divx racks reveals that these cheaper discs do not seem to carry any of these attractive additions.

Another plus for film fans is that most DVD and Divx movies are presented in a widescreen format. Widescreen, or letter-

Music Review

by Jim Snook photography editor

Few MCs can touch his verbal somersaults. No one can match his charismatic swagger that gushes forth from intro to outro on his much-anticipated new album "Extinction Level Event."

Hyperactive MC Busta Rhymes dished out plenty of apocalyptic predictions on his first two records, "The Coming" and "When Disaster Strikes." Now, on "Extinction Level Event,'' he is back with more pronouncements about Armageddon (Busta Rhymes is a genius at mixing old school threads with his signature futurespeak). But, when he is not forecasting doom and gloom, Busta is capable of making very entertaining music.

Unlike other MCs who fashion a frenetic style of rapping, there is no air of panic in Busta's antics. He hits the ground standing, so to speak, reclaiming one of the most influential vocal styles in music by playfully dominating the rhymes and trusting his instincts, never dodging the dark or difficult phrases. Busta's solid sense of humor and superior rhyming skills hit their high point on "Iz They Wildin Wit Us & Gettin Rowdy Wit Us?," which also features Master P protege Mystikal. Janet Jackson joins Busta on the bot boxed, movies will have black bars on the top and bottom when viewed on a television. This keeps the film in its original format, with the rectangular movie screen shape. When films are formatted to fit a television screen, they have to be altered to fit the square proportions of a TV set. This can sometimes cut off significant portions uf the film's picture. track "What's it Gonna Be." The towering rapper also pairs with Ozzy Osbourne on "This Means War,'' which the two attack with sufficient energy to ward off accusations of jumping on the rap-rock bandwagon.

The VCR has not earned a place in the attic next to the 8-track player quite yet; though DVDs and Divx discs bring theater quality sound and vision home, recording is one feature they still lack.

Besides, a healthy dose of skepticism never hurts when considering new technologies.

The thing about Busta Rhymes that makes him so great is the flow of the way he brings the music to you and the wonderful and creative beats he uses in his compositions. Busta always strives to make hip-hop music on the cutting edge; to set new standards. Busta Rhymes, to put it simply, is a force of nature not to be reckoned with.

(out of a possible four stars) I