LATEST ADDITIONS

Audio Video News
Will Feds Grab DTV Spectrum?
Mark Fleischmann  |  Apr 25, 2011  |  2 comments
A clash is shaping up between DTV broadcasters and other potential users of their spectrum. Broadcasters are getting ready to defend the spectrum they received in the DTV transition which concluded in 2009. But some in the federal government say much of that spectrum that would be better used for expanded cellphone networks and a new generation of wireless internet service.

What The New York Times describes as "an old media vs. new media lobbying battle" is now underway.

Continue Reading »
3D Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Gulliver's Travels 3D (Blu-ray 3D)
David Vaughn  |  Apr 25, 2011  |  0 comments
To impress the pretty newspaper travel editor Darcy (Amanda Peet), an underachieving mailroom clerk named Gulliver (Jack Black) takes a writing assignment traveling to Bermuda. On his way there he's swept into a giant cyclone and ends up on the island of Lilliput and discovers he's a giant compared to the little inhabitants.

When you take classic literature and modernize its story, sometimes something can be lost in the translation, and that's certainly the case here. While Black is his usual funny self, the screenplay is quite shallow and contains a litany of two-dimensional characters. I have to admit, I laughed out loud on a number of occasions, but I was equally grossed out when Gulliver needed to extinguish a blazing fire and chose a rather unique way to putting it out.

Continue Reading »
Vote
What Is Your Favorite Blu-ray To Demo Video?
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 22, 2011  |  0 comments
As far as I know, UAV's Ultimate Demos blog is unique among A/V resources. Author David Vaughn identifies specific scenes and shots—down to the time-code second—that offer exemplary video and/or audio content, scenes you can use to demonstrate your home theater's "wow factor" to friends and family.

David has featured nearly 60 titles in Ultimate Demos, and he will continue to add to the list. But there are many more movies available on Blu-ray than he can possibly cover, so I'm asking for your help in identifying more demo-worthy discs.

This week, I'd like to know which 2D Blu-ray you think has the best video qualities—detail, color, black, shadow detail, etc.—with which to demonstrate the capabilities of a display system. (Next week, I'll ask the same question about audio.) Simply select "Here it is" below and leave a comment with your favorite title(s) and which qualities of the video are particularly outstanding; you might even identify specific scenes to help the rest of us find the best moments.

Vote to see the results and leave a comment with your favorite title(s); thanks for your input!

What Is Your Favorite Blu-ray To Demo Video?
Continue Reading »
3D Blu-ray Player ReviewsBlu-ray Player Reviews
Oppo BDP-93 Blu-ray Player
David Vaughn  |  Apr 22, 2011  |  1 comments

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
Price: $499 At A Glance: Flawless playback of Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D Discs • Outstanding build quality • The best customer support in the industry

Oppo Ups the Ante

The Blu-ray format has seen its fair share of changes since its introduction in 2006. Its initial launch included players with base playback functionality and poisonously slow boot-up and disc-loading times. Then came BonusView-enabled players, which added a minimum 256 megabytes of local storage with secondary audio and video decoders for picture-in-picture. Next were the BD-Live-capable players. These required an Internet connection via Ethernet or Wi-Fi and a minimum of 1 gigabyte of local storage (sometimes purchased separately), which allowed access to mostly useless online content. After the wild success of Avatar, the studios have jumped into 3D with both feet. Blu-ray 3D players now support a maximum data rate of 72 megabits per second (up from 48 Mbps in previous generations), include HDMI 1.4, and of course, these players support 3D video, 3D menus, and 3D subtitles.

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Apr 22, 2011  |  1 comments
Precocious siblings Lucy (Georgie Henley) and Edmund (Skandar Heynes), along with their cousin Eustance (Will Poulter), are sucked into a painting and transported back to Narnia. They join King Caspian (Ben Barnes) and the noble mouse Reepicheep in a quest to rescue lords who had been lost fighting evil on a remote island. Aboard the magnificent ship The Dawn Treader the courageous voyagers travel to mysterious islands, confront mystical creatures, and reunite with the Great Lion Aslan on a mission that tests their characters to determine the fate of Narnia itself.

I haven't been a big fan of this theatrical franchise (nor the books, for that matter), but I do appreciate the family friendly message and just adore Georgie Henley's character. Fortunately, the director keeps the runtime under two hours and the brisk pacing helps keep the film more entertaining than the bloated second installment Prince Caspian. Disney decided the dump the franchise after the poor box office showing of the second film and Fox stepped in to the mix, but with a much lower budget (about $80 million less), and it shows in the finished product. The CGI isn't nearly as good and the cinematography takes a step back compared to its two predecessors.

Continue Reading »
Audio Video News
Directors Oppose 60-Day VOD
Mark Fleischmann  |  Apr 22, 2011  |  0 comments
Twenty-three film directors have signed an open letter condemning DirecTV's Home Premiere video on demand scheme, which would make movies available on satellite video on demand 60 days after their theatrical runs.

Home Premiere "cannibalizes theatrical ticket sales," said the letter, which was published online by the National Association of Theater Owners and as an ad in Variety. The letter is aimed at four studios who have embraced the DirecTV plan including Sony Pictures, Twentieth Century-Fox, Universal, and Warner Bros.

Continue Reading »
Premiere Design
Final Audio Design Piano Forte X-VIII Earbuds
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 21, 2011  |  0 comments
These days, earbuds are as important as speakers for delivering music to consumers, but most are woefully lacking in the sound-quality department. Japan's Final Audio Design intends to correct this shortcoming with its Piano Forte X-VIII series.
Continue Reading »
Music Disc Reviews
CD Review: Richard X. Heyman
Parke Puterbaugh  |  Apr 21, 2011  |  0 comments

For Richard X. Heyman, a pop savant rooted in the fertile loam of the Sixties, the first disc of his new double album is quite literally a labor of love. He takes pains to note that Tiers isn’t a rock opera, but rather a pop opera — or “popera,” for short. 

Continue Reading »
Audio Video News
Let Me Ride
Michael Berk  |  Apr 21, 2011  |  0 comments

Having captured the headphone market with the his ubiquitous red-cabled cans, Dr. Dre announced yesterday at the New York International Auto Show that he'd extended his Beats by Dr.

Continue Reading »
Audio Video News
Discs Still Spinning
Mark Fleischmann  |  Apr 21, 2011  |  1 comments
Has streaming killed the shiny disc? The NPD Group says otherwise. A typical household spends 78 percent of its home video budget to purchase and rent DVD and Blu-ray. The 77 percent of consumers who report watching a movie on disc is unchanged from last year.

NPD's "Entertainment Trends in America" report puts streaming at 15 percent, with VOD and PPV comprising the remaining 8 percent. Spending on home video overall has dropped by 2 percent.

Continue Reading »

Pages

X