LATEST ADDITIONS

 |  Mar 05, 2006  |  0 comments

While the good news is that we now apparently know when Blu-ray is going to launch, a pair of news stories from last week dovetail to paint a fairly ugly picture for the Blu-ray Disc. If the reports of the <A HREF="http://ultimateavmag.com/news/022606ps3delay/"> delay of PlayStation3 </A> hold, that means there will not be a single BD player available at launch for less than $1000. Add to that the uninspiring list of titles announced to accompany Blu-ray’s May 23rd launch and you’ve got to wonder, who’s going to bother?

 |  Mar 05, 2006  |  0 comments

Walking around at CES 2006 it wasn't difficult to ascertain what's coming down the road in video: 1080P and lots of it. While in years past it's been simple to embrace 720P front projection due to the lack of 1920x1080 HD sources, that argument is losing some steam. There's more HD on satellite and cable all the time, and according to the companies involved HD DVD and Blu-ray will arrive in the first half of this year. And Marantz and all the other companies who are in the 720P DLP business made it clear that this year will see them enter the 1080P DLP business.

Thomas J. Norton  |  Mar 05, 2006  |  0 comments

If there's one factor limiting the wider acceptance of front video projection in the home it's the need to view the projected image in a darkened room. I can't count the number of times I've seen visitors to various on-line forums asking how well this or that projector works in a room with only partial light control. In <I>every</I> case, the answer should have included (but didn't always), "Not nearly as well as it will in a totally darkened room." The simple fact is that video screens reflect light, and if that light comes from something other than a projector—a partially covered window, perhaps—the screen doesn't care. Stray light, reflected off the screen, will inevitably degrade the richness and depth of the image. At worst, it will make it washed out and unwatchable.

Fred Manteghian  |  Mar 04, 2006  |  0 comments

If it weren't for the courts, Directv would be able to simply broadcast ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX's primetime HD lineups over their existing birds without so much as a yawn. But thanks to the network's local affiliates and the cable companies who presented legal arguments (i.e., paid a lot of lawyers a lot of money) to prevent that from happening with standard definition stations, the option wasn't even on the table when talk of network HD came around. Hence, we have the billion dollar solution to the million dollar problem. Thank you, yer Honor, may I have some more.

Mark Fleischmann  |  Mar 03, 2006  |  1 comments
Why would anyone pay the price of an iPod nano for a pair of headphones? Better sound is one reason—Apple's earbuds are wretchedly tinny. Sennheiser provides another good reason with the PXC 300 headphones. These midsized cans have noise cancellation, resulting in both better sound and greater safety for those most precious and irreplacable audio components, your ears.
 |  Mar 02, 2006  |  0 comments

On Tuesday Apple introduced the iPod Hi-Fi and two new Intel-based Mac Mini computers, each orders of magnitude faster than their predecessors. Of course, the iPod Hi-Fi stole the headlines, but it was one of Mac Mini's new features, Front Row with Bonjour, that offered the best and clearest glimpse of what an Apple-powered digital living room might look and feel like.

Mark Fleischmann  |  Mar 02, 2006  |  3 comments
Cinematic cognoscenti who want to catch the latest indie films without driving to an art house are in luck—at least if they're Comcast subscribers. The cable giant has inked an agreement with IFC Entertainment to offer IFC in Theaters. IFC is a division of Cablevision-owned Rainbow Media. The arrangement will bring four to five independent titles per month, including two with same-date VOD and theatrical release. The price is $5.99 each and all titles will be in standard definition (though Comcast's non-IFC VOD operation does offer other titles in high-def). Coming attractions include:
Adrienne Maxwell  |  Mar 01, 2006  |  0 comments
Behind the scenes at the 2006 Grammy Awards. Organized chaos. That's what I witness as I walk backstage and move through the adjoining corridors of the Staples Center. It's the day before the Grammy telecast, the final of three rehearsal days leading up to the big event. U2 has just finished their hour-and-a-half rehearsal, and breaking down their set has taken longer than planned. While one team maneuvers U2's massive equipment through the ramps backstage, another works feverishly to ready the stage for the next act. Still other crew members hurry to and fro with no apparent destination.
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Mar 01, 2006  |  4 comments
Yesterday Sony invited a bunch of us down to the Sony Pictures lot to get briefed on the latest about Blu-ray. They had just announced that the first BD titles would be hitting the street May 23, with more on June 13. These first titles are:
Thomas J. Norton  |  Mar 01, 2006  |  0 comments

With the HD DVD competition set to launch within a month, Sony invited members of the CE press to the Sony Studios in Culver City, California for an update on Blu-ray technology and a demonstration of that format's formidable capabilities.

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