People who move to the Metro area should be informed about trigger-happy police groupies and litigious serenaders, but they can expect no such enlightenment from the Newcomer Video: Washington, D.C. The video, 30 minutes of clean vistas and cheerful tips for living inside the Beltway, pronounces that “from the palaces of power to the playful parks, from the peaceful Potomac to the pealing bells of the Washington National Cathedral, Washington offers a endless array of adventures.” The folks at Atlanta-based Innovative Media, who make the Newcomer series, confess they omit the most vivid experiences of some area residents: carjackings, muggings, contaminated water, and relentless traffic ticketing. “It’s a Chamber of Commerce-type presentation; we didn’t intentionally leave that type of information out, we just never considered it,” says president Richard Steele. The ad-supported video is mailed free of charge to anyone who cited a Metro-area residence on postal, periodical, or credit-card change-of-address forms. The tape does provide useful information on voter registration and licensing requirements, as well as enough basic knowledge of the city to make good suburban small talk.