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LCD TV Reviews
Sharp AQUOS LC-57D90U LCD HDTV
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Aug 14, 2006  |  0 comments
What the big bucks get you.

Per screen inch, this is the most expensive TV we've reviewed in years. The early 50-inch plasmas were certainly more expensive (and obviously smaller), but, in the era of higher yields and vicious competition, it's rare to see any company come out with a model that unabashedly eschews the price wars. An obvious comparison would be one of a Ferrari, and Sharp would indeed love that comparison. For the extra money, does this 57-inch offer greater performance compared with the Camrys of the LCD world? The better question would be, does it offer enough better performance to justify its substantial premium?

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Ears On
How Big Is Too Big?
Mark Fleischmann  |  Aug 14, 2006  |  0 comments
"My editor recently queried me about my TV set," wrote Matthew Gilbert of the Boston Globe. Shock, horror: This professional TV critic does his work with a 20-inch screen! And judging from the size, probably analog. Now, before you all pile on, be advised that Gilbert's decision to use a small screen is carefully considered: "Without a lot of sophisticated sensory overload, I think, a show's writing, acting, and editing stand out more clearly. I can stay in touch with the true marks of good storytelling, without having to parse them out from a dazzling barrage." More shock, more horror: I downsize a lot of my own viewing, though for different reasons. I watch movies on a 72-inch-wide Stewart Firehawk, but when I watch TV, I retreat to a less intense 32-inch LCD. Why? The reduction in scale eases both the headache-inducing quick cuts of advertising and the sorrows of real-life suicide bombings. Still, I think "the marks of good storytelling" are as perceptible on a big screen as on a small one—more, in fact, if you consider camerawork and other aspects of visual style as storytelling tools—and now that shows are being produced in (1) widescreen (2) HDTV and (3) surround, the Boston Globe's TV critic may be missing the boat.
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LCD TV Reviews
Sony BRAVIA KDL-46XBR2 LCD Digital Color TV
Thomas J. Norton  |  Aug 13, 2006  |  0 comments

Two years ago you would have paid over $10,000 for a large, widescreen flat panel LCD display. And "large" might well have meant 32" diagonal. The picture would have been bright and crisp, but a pale reflection of the overall image quality available from still-plentiful CRT direct view sets. Its resolution would have been 1280x720, tops, or one of those bizarre resolutions like 1365x768 that are still featured in many flat panels.

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Tower Speaker Reviews
The Sonus faber DOMUS Surround Sound System
Michael Fremer  |  Aug 13, 2006  |  0 comments

A decade ago Sonus faber introduced the Concert line, a series of loudspeakers designed to deliver Sonus faber performance and industrial design at a more affordable price point. That's what high-end companies do after establishing a strong reputation at the upper echelon of the marketplace. Once your products become the object of lust, you feed the hungry beast. And make no mistake: early Sonus faber products made waves both for their spectacular looks and their intoxicating sound.

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Fred Manteghian Blog
No Really, Let's Do the Time Warp, Again.
Fred Manteghian  |  Aug 13, 2006  |  0 comments

When it comes to hard news about consumer electronics, I get it pretty much the same way you do. I read it on the internet. Sure, I could take time out of my day to call a certain Korean hardware manufacturer and ask them if the on-again-off-again combo HD drive is on again or off again, but it would be so much easier just to read someone else's report on the internet which, depending on which temporal continuum you're surfing could be accurate or fallacious or, if you're hanging out with Tim Rice decked out as a transvestite, both.

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Audio Video News
M:I3's Triple Threat And A New All-In-One Front Projection System From Hasbro
 |  Aug 13, 2006  |  0 comments

<B><I>M:I3</I> Hitting Stores In Three Formats</B>
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On October 30th Paramount will release the Tom Cruise blockbuster <I>Mission: Impossible 3</I> on not one but three separate formats- DVD and the competing Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD high-def formats. While retailers certainly aren't enthused to be carrying triple inventory, this is unequivocally the highest profile release on either of the rivaling next-gen HD formats.

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Ears On
M:I-3 Will Be First Triple DVD Title
Mark Fleischmann  |  Aug 11, 2006  |  0 comments
It had to happen eventually. Paramount announced today that Mission Impossible III will be the first title to receive simultaneous release in three disc formats: high-definition Blu-ray and HD DVD, and standard-definition DVD-Video. Each release will be a two-disc collector's edition with five deleted scenes, four documentaries, theatrical trailers, and other features. Blu-ray and HD DVD releases will have soundtracks in next-generation Dolby Digital Plus. The special-edition sets will have commentaries by Tom Cruise and director J.J. Abrams—but only the HD DVD release will show them talking in a corner of the screen during the movie. A single-disc DVD-Video release will include the deleted scenes, commentary, and the "Making of the Mission" documentary but will omit the other documentaries and features.
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Audio Video News
Two Subwoofers - One Choice
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Aug 11, 2006  |  0 comments
Outlaw Audio has introduced an enhanced companion model to the company's much loved and loudly played LFM-1 subwoofer. In standard mode, the new LFM-1 Plus performs almost identically to the original version, which Outlaw Audio says is capable of delivering linear bass response down to 25 Hz with an output level of up to 115 dB "in most rooms".
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Audio Video News
Sopranos On HD DVD In November
 |  Aug 10, 2006  |  0 comments

According to the Hollywood Reporter on November 7th, HBO Video will release <I>The Sopranos: Season 6</I> day and date on DVD and HD DVD, making the critically acclaimed HBO series the first TV series to appear in high-definition on disc. According the article, a Blu-ray release is being planned for 2007.

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Ears On
Japan to Ease DTV One-Copy Rule
Mark Fleischmann  |  Aug 10, 2006  |  7 comments
The Japanese government is asking broadcasters and DVR manufacturers to relax the "copy once" rule, according to Nihon Keizai Shimbun. It allows programming to be copied from DVR to DVD, but the program is then erased from the DVR, and the DVD cannot be copied. News and educational programs will be the first to allow relatively unfettered copying. Other kinds may take longer, depending on the preferences of copyright holders, and it's hard to imagine budging (say) the movie industry from its existing anti-copying vigilance. Why this, why now? The government is looking ahead to Japan's transition from analog to digital broadcasting, currently scheduled for 2011, and wants to salvage at least some of the viewer conveniences associated with analog. A panel of broadcasters, manufacturers, copyright holders, and consumers will begin studying the matter and the first copy-once exceptions may take effect before year-end.
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