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Audio Video News
Bafflingly Beautiful In-wall Sound
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Nov 02, 2006  |  0 comments
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but the folks at SpeakerCraft think it's quite possible you've never seen a more beautiful rear - speaker, that is.
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Audio Video News
1080p on the Cheap
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Nov 02, 2006  |  0 comments
NeoDigits says the company is now shipping the only DVD player on the market with built-in upscaling that's capable of providing output resolutions up to 1080p through HDMI and component connections. The new H4000 can also send 1080i or 720p via the player's VGA/RGB-HV outputs.
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Ears On
WirelessHD to Untether HDTVs
Mark Fleischmann  |  Nov 02, 2006  |  0 comments
Would you like to fling HDTV around your living room without wires? Seven major names in consumer electronics have banded together to do just that with the forthcoming WirelessHD standard, according to TWICE. They want to transmit high-def signals up to 32 feet using the 60GHz frequency band, also used by the military, universities, and offices. Up to 7GHz of that band would support simultaneous streaming of three 1080p signals. There would be no compression—at least, none in addition to the usual MPEG-2 and other HD codecs—so there would be no compromise in picture quality, in contrast to current low-bandwidth wireless video schemes. Look for WirelessHD in HDTVs, of course, but also in DVD players and adapters for set-top boxes. The WirelessHD Consortium includes LG, Matsushita, NEC, Samsung, Sony, and Toshiba plus newcomer SiBEAM, the startup providing the underlying technology. The spec will be finalized in 2007 with products to follow in 2008. For updates, hit the official site.
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Other Source Component Reviews
Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD Player: First Look
Ultimate AV Staff  |  Nov 01, 2006  |  First Published: Nov 02, 2006  |  0 comments


  • $499

  • Digital Video Output: HDMI

  • Video Upconversion: 720p, 1080i

  • Audio Decoding: DD, DD+, Dolby TrueHD, DTS

  • Ins and Outs: HDMI, others TBD

  • Feature Highlights: 2nd gen HD DVD player with full Dolby TrueHD decoding, upconverting HDMI and component outputs for standard-def DVDs


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Other Source Component Reviews
Toshiba HD-XA2 HD DVD Player: First Look
Ultimate AV Staff  |  Nov 01, 2006  |  First Published: Nov 02, 2006  |  0 comments


  • $999

  • Digital Video Output: HDMI (ver. 1.3)

  • Video Upconversion: 720p, 1080i/p

  • Audio Decoding: DD, DD+, Dolby TrueHD, DTS

  • Ins and Outs: HDMI 1.3, others TBD

  • Feature Highlights: HDMI 1.3, 1080p output, full Dolby TrueHD decoding, upconverting HDMI and component outputs for standard-def DVDs


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Audio Video News
X-Men: The Last Stand Hitting Blu-ray In Time For PS3
 |  Nov 01, 2006  |  First Published: Nov 02, 2006  |  0 comments

Hollywood Reporter reports that Fox is doing a rush job on a Blu-ray Disc release of <I>X-Men: The Last Stand</I> to get it on store shelves on November 14th, just three days ahead of the arrival in the US of Sony's Blu-ray based PlayStation3 game console. The story quoted Fox executives as saying that the PS3 will lend Blu-ray an "unbeatable advantage" over the rival HD DVD format, hence the rush to market for <I>X-Men</I>.

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Ears On
Pioneer Delays Blu-ray Player—Again
Mark Fleischmann  |  Nov 01, 2006  |  2 comments
Looks like 2006 is not the year of Blu-ray after all. Pioneer has announced that its BDP-HD1 won't hit until December, having already been postponed from May to June to November. Sony had previously delayed its own BSP-S1 until December 4. The Panasonic DMP-BD10 has been out since September. And the Samsung BD-P1000 hit in July, though plagued by a problem with the video processing chip. Well, maybe 2007 will be the year of Blu-ray.
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Other Tech
Making Sense of Speaker Specs
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Oct 31, 2006  |  0 comments

Choosing a good loudspeaker is pretty much the same as choosing a good woman. Obviously, they come in all shapes and sizes, and you want the model that's perfect for you. Looking for a speaker that's rich, or perhaps a woman with a wood-grain finish? Don't forget to consider the size of the woofers (or whether, in fact, they are tweeters).

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New Products
iPod Traveling Companions
Ken Richardson  |  Oct 31, 2006  |  0 comments

Pelican i1030 ($45; pelican.com). Think "pelican" and you may rightly think "watertight." But the i1030 micro-case is dustproof and crushproof, too, so take that, big bird! The polycarbonate case is available in yellow or white.

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New Products
New Product: DirecTV Titanium
Ken Richardson  |  Oct 31, 2006  |  0 comments

DirecTV's Titanium plan gives you everything the satcaster offers: up to 10 receivers, more than 250 regular and HD channels, unlimited pay-per-view (without paying for it), 70 XM satellite radio channels, "personalized concierge customer service, 24/7," and more.

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