General

The Happiest Baby on the Block - The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Baby Sleep Longer (DVD)

Do you learn better by watching rather than reading? Here is a chance to see how to transport your baby from screaming into serenity...in minutes. Watch as, step-by-step, Dr. Karp teaches new parent how to switch on their baby's powerful calming reflex. English and Spanish In "The Happiest Baby" Dr. Karp reveals a treasure sought by new parents for centuries... the "calming reflex" (the automatic "off-switch? for any baby?s crying). No wonder thousands of Los Angeles parents, from working moms to superstars like Madonna and Michelle Pfeiffer have turned to Dr. Karp to learn his secrets for making babies happy. Elisabeth Bing author and co-founder of Lamaze International "The Happiest Baby on the Block is fun, fascinating and convincing. I highly recommend it to all new parents." (Running time - 38 minutes.) The DVD also contains 3 bonus chapters: 1) Dr. Karp answers 25 questions from parents about calming babies and helping them sleep. 2) A Spanish dubbed audio track of the entire 38 minute teaching video. 3) Three tracks of calming white-noise sound that is an extraordinary mix of womb sounds and a newly designed pulsation that babies love (even though it sounds a little odd to the ears of an adult) Each track can be played individually, played in sequence or repeated for hours to gently guide your baby into a deep level of relaxation. This video is designed in NTSC not PAL or SECAM. It is meant for use in most countries in the Western Hemisphere as well as Japan, South Korea, Greenland, Guam, Samoa, and the Philippines.

Leap Frog - Letter Factory

Teaches young children letters, letter sounds and listening skills.
Genre: Children's Video
Rating: G
Release Date: 9-DEC-2003
Media Type: DVD

Tad, Leap, and Lily hop from the pages of the amazingly popular Leap Pad learning toys onto the television screen in this attention grabbing phonics program. Tad's disappointment at being unable to help his family with an important presentation at the letter factory quickly turns to excitement when he meets Professor Quigley and joins each of the letters of the alphabet in their own fun-filled classroom devoted to learning their unique sound. Tad practices karate kicks with the k's, digs the vibes with the cool cat d's drumming on the bongos, and snores peacefully with the z's while learning to recognize each letter and the sound it makes. A catchy, fun song serves as a summation of each letter's "class" and entices even the most reluctant of toddlers (and their parents) to sing each letter's sound. An interactive game follows the program and gives children a chance to practice their newfound skills of recognizing letters and their sounds. Consumers expect great educational products from LeapFrog and this DVD won't disappoint. (Ages 2 to 5) --Tami Horiuchi

Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics [Blu-ray]

DVD International Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics (Blu-ray)
Created by home theater industry legend Joe Kane, HD Basics is thedefinitive High Definition home theater calibration tool. It promises toimprove your picture and give you an understanding of the concepts thatare vital to getting the most out of your HDTV.Easy to use menu system25 minute 'quick set-up" option including an in depth description and explanation of how to use specific test patterns to calibrate your displayAudio calibration test signalsDescriptive text in the menu to help navigate each optionA 90 minute overview of the basics of HDTVIntroduction to the world of creating HDTV programsAudio commentary by Cinematographer Allen Daviauand Joe Kane.
Features:
* Easy to use menusystem
* A quick set-up option including an indepth description and explanation of how to use specific test patterns to calibrate your display
* Audio calibration test signals
* Descriptivetext in the menu to help navigate each option
* A 97 minute overview of the basics of HDTV
* Introduction to the world of creating HDTV programs
* Audio commentary by Cinematographer Allen Daviau
* Audio commentary by Joe Kane for the demonstration materials
* Joe Kane's Tri-Color Optical Filter

Sesame Street - Elmo's Potty Time

Always educational and entertaining the loveable puppets of SESAME STREET help preschoolers learn how to use the potty in this fun-filled musical episode. Favorite characters like Elmo Baby Bear and Grover steer kids toward healthy bathroom habits in an imaginative program of songs games and skits designed to ease children's potty-time anxieties and fears.System Requirements:Running Time 45 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY Rating: NR UPC: 828768411599 Manufacturer No: 82876841159

Leap Frog - Talking Words Factory

Teaches young children about vowels, consonants, word building, rhyming, and vocabulary.
Genre: Children's Video
Rating: G
Release Date: 9-DEC-2003
Media Type: DVD

Building words is an exciting and empowering experience for young children (and frogs) who have mastered individual letters and their sounds. When young Tad wants to nominate his Dad for a "Best Dad" contest he asks his brother Leap and sister Lily for some help filling out the application. The three young frogs go see Professor Quigley at their Father's Talking Word Factory for a little instruction and get to watch the "Sticky-ick-o-rama" and the "Word Whammer" machines at work. Tad quickly discovers that vowels act as the glue that sticks letters together and then learns to combine individual letter sounds to make three-letter words, use common ending sounds to create rhyming words, and blend letter sounds to make even longer rhyming words. Phonemic awareness, vocabulary building, and rhyming are entertaining and fun thanks to familiar Leap Pad characters, colorful animation, and short songs. An interactive word game challenges young viewers to fill in the missing first letter in a variety of three-letter words. This program is a great next step for graduates of Leap Frog: Talking Letters Factory and children ages 3 to 6. Tami Horiuchi

Potty Power - For Boys & Girls

Initiates and motivates children's interest in toilet training.
Genre: Children's Video
Rating: NR
Release Date: 25-MAY-2004
Media Type: DVD

Sesame Street - The Best of Elmo

The Sesame Street character has fun singing some catchy new songs (you and your toddler just might, too), explaining the difference between light and heavy, having a laugh over pictures and numbers, and sharing the screen with a good-natured Whoopi Goldberg and Julia Roberts. Of the various Elmo videos, this one really does have the choicest material and stands up to repeat viewings--a big plus with little ones. --Tom Keogh

Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan: The Complete Third Season

Emmy-award nominated Cesar Millan has an uncanny ability to rehabilitate problem dogs of all shapes and sizes. With the major success of his hit show on National Geographic Channel and DVD, Cesar has captured the national spotlight as America's favorite dog expert. Each episode of the Dog Whisperer documents the remarkable transformations that take place under Cesar's guidance by teaching and helping dogs and their owners achieve happier lives together.

Stranger Safety

Kid safety is an important, yet often difficult topic of discussion between parents and children. The Safe Side's "Safe Side Super-Chick" is a decidedly zany host who successfully combines slapstick humor with serious, practical safety tips for kids. "Safe Side Super-Chick" breaks the population down into three quickly discernable categories: "Safe Side Adults" that kids know well and can always trust to keep them safe, "Don't Knows" like the mail carrier or the lady at the park and "Sorta Knows" like a coach or a schoolmate's parent. As "Safe Side Super-Chick" interacts with "Don't Knows" and "Sorta Knows", she offers seven specific safety tips to keep kids safe and, with the help of real kids, details simple, concrete actions and phrases that empower kids in a variety of potentially dangerous situations. Best of all, the presentation is never scary, but always extremely funny--that means that kids ages 2 to 10 will actually enjoy learning about safety. Kudos to Julie Clark (creator of Baby Einstein) and John Walsh (host of America's Most Wanted) for creating a safety video that's highly entertaining, informative, and practical. --Tami Horiuchi

A message from John Walsh: I'm the host of a television show that I wish wasn't needed. But it is. Thankfully, 38 missing children have been recovered by our work at "America's Most Wanted." In 1981, the lives of my wife Reve and I were changed forever. Our beautiful son Adam was abducted from a mall in a nice area of South Florida. Sadly, two weeks into the biggest search for a child ever in Florida, our son was found murdered. In my quest to find justice and fight back for victims, I lobbied Congress to change the laws and to change how police search for missing children. I'm proud to say that the movement I started is still going strong. There's a national organization dedicated to helping children (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children) and now this country and its media are beginning to understand that our children need to be informed about how to stay safe. In 1981 not much was known about child abduction and exploitation. Parents knew very little and, tragically, children knew even less. Today we're proud of the awareness that children have about the dangers that face them. Children see images everywhere of kidnappings and exploitation. We only need to think about what we've seen in the past year--pedophiles in the clergy, Internet predators, and others who are in positions to take advantage of children's trust in them--to know that kids are still being victimized at an alarming rate. I hope that's about to change. As a crime fighter and host of a popular TV program that has saved lives, I'm proud to be teaming up with a woman who knows how to teach children. Kids want to know what to do, and parents need to be prepared. Like me, Julie Clark is a parent who cares. She has a proven track record of teaching kids. Her passion and experience make this series of safety videos for children something that parents and kids will want to watch. Now parents and kids will do what I've been doing for more than 23 years--they'll fight back.

Baby Einstein - Baby Mozart - Music Festival

It's called "the Mozart Effect," the notion that exposing youngsters to the melodies of the maestro can improve verbal ability, spatial intelligence, creativity, and memory. It's a pretty big leap of faith to understand that effect unless you personally see a toddler react to the stimulation. The Baby Einstein folks have a series of tapes (Baby Einstein, Baby Bach) that add visual stimulation to the bouncy recordings (using vibraphone, Rhodes electric piano, and even a glockenspiel). The melodies are heard against colorful imagery of spinning tops, wave machines, soft baby toys, mobiles, and the like. Several parenting groups and magazines have heralded the tapes for children 1 to 36 months, but the Orwellian aspect of introducing babes in arms to the TV screen may cause many to just pick up the CD. --Doug Thomas

A trusted, award-winning musical banquet for little eyes and ears!
-- Exposes babies to the brilliance of Mozart's music
-- Provides captivating visual stimulation
As your baby grows, and the world beckons with amazing things to see, hear and do, every moment of every day provides a brand-new opportunity for discovery. It's an incredible journey you'll embark on together, and to accompany you along the way there's BABY MOZART™ MUSIC FESTIVAL. Acclaimed by parents, this vibrant, award-winning musical feast for little eyes and ears exposes babies to the splendor and delight of classical music. Treat yourself and your little one to mesmerizing, multi colored images accompanied by enchanting versions of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's most popular compositions. It's a fun way to share the joy of discovering music -- and the world -- together!

DVD Features
-- Repeat play
-- Language tracks (Spanish, French and English)
-- Discovery cards
-- Puppet shows
-- Toy chest