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Audio Video News
New Canon Cam/Camcorder
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Feb 26, 2007  |  0 comments
Canon has expanded its consumer line of HD-capable camcorders with the addition of the 7.1-megapixel PowerShot TX1 digital camera that incorporates a high-definition video recorder in the same housing, making it a double bonus for those who would prefer not to lug both a still camera and a camcorder to their kids' birthday parties and soccer games. (It'll get through airport security a lot faster, too.) As indicated by the "PowerShot" moniker, The TX1 is a digital camera with an optically image-stabilized 10x (optical) zoom lens and a 115,000 pixel swivelling side-mounted LCD screen.
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Ears On
Will iPods Lose the Clickwheel?
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 26, 2007  |  0 comments
Reading patent applications provides happy bloggers with ample fodder for blue-sky speculation. I rarely report these what-ifs for the same reason that I avoid Japanese new-product introductions: it may not happen, or it may not happen here. But the San Jose Mercury News uncovered an especially interesting what-if in an Apple patent application several months back, one that may affect the user interface of the iPod—revered by many as the Michelangelo's David of industrial design. Reporter Troy Wolverton explains: "The company had previously explored replacing the click wheel with a virtual one as part of a touch-sensitive display." As it has with the iPhone, touching off speculation. "But now," Wolverton continues, "Apple appears to be looking at a third option: a touch-sensitive frame surrounding the display. Rather than click a physical button or press a virtual one on the screen, users would touch an area on the frame to operate their iPod." Needless to say, Apple didn't return the reporter's calls, and this cataclysmic ergonomic shift may never happen.
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Music Disc Reviews
Tracking Surround: Depeche Mode
Parke Puterbaugh  |  Feb 25, 2007  |  0 comments

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Music Disc Reviews
MUSIC REVIEW: moe.
Andrew Nash  |  Feb 25, 2007  |  0 comments
The Conch Fatboy
Music ••••½ Sound •••••
It's been four years since moe.'s last studio album, Wormwood
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Other Source Component Reviews
Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD player
David Vaughn  |  Feb 25, 2007  |  0 comments

The first car I owned was a VW Bug that cost a whopping $500 in 1986. It wasn't the prettiest car on the block, but it got me from Point A to Point B. When Toshiba's first generation HD-A1 HD DVD player arrived on the scene it reminded me an awful lot of that trusty old bug: slow, ugly and clunky, but once the movie started to play, the picture was so outstanding that I could forget it's little quirks. Oh yeah, and it cost a cool $500 as well!

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NAD Masters Series M55 Universal DVD Player
Thomas J. Norton  |  Feb 25, 2007  |  0 comments

I recently reviewed the <A HREF="http://www.ultimateavmag.com/surroundsoundpreampprocessors/207nadmaster/... Masters Series </A> M15 AV Surround Preamplifier and M25 seven-channel power amp. A full report on a third entry in the Masters Series, the M55 upconverting universal player, was delayed pending arrival of a second sample.

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Audio Video News
PS3 Lagging In Game Console Sales
 |  Feb 25, 2007  |  0 comments

Can you sell a million game consoles in three months and still be behind? Apparently so. Game console sales numbers through January have been distributed, and while Sony's overall numbers for the PS3 are impressive, Nintendo's Wii has outsold the PS3 in total units by aroung 50% in North America- 1.5 million units compared to around 1 million for the PS3. Microsoft's Xbox 360, which launched well over a year ago is in the overall lead with around five million units.

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If You Can't Laugh At Yourself...
Shane Buettner  |  Feb 24, 2007  |  7 comments

Here's a freebie. I love this industry, and I love HDTV in spite of the format war. But this is too funny to not pass along to as many people as possible. Check out this <A HREF="http://www.wired.com/news/columns/0,72768-0.html?tw=wn_index_11">HDTV FAQ</A>, and have a good laugh. As an industry, we probably deserve this.

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Best Buy Serious About HD on a Disc?
Shane Buettner  |  Feb 24, 2007  |  0 comments

It might surprise you to know I read the Best buy pullout in every weekend's Sunday paper (which now arrives on Saturday for reasons I can't discern). I'm primarily interested in seeing what's being pushed on the mass market and how.

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Fred Manteghian Blog
Consumer Distorts
Fred Manteghian  |  Feb 24, 2007  |  8 comments

One of the biggest ripoffs in the world is from a company that professes to be in business of preventing the commitment thereof. Yeah, I'm talking about the folks at Consumer Reports. For them, it's business as usual and their modus operandi hasn't changed in years. I remember shopping for a car years before the Internet had anything worthwhile on it, and going to the newsstand and picking up a copy of "Edmund's guide to New Cars" for seven bucks. There, in plain English, was a guide that gave me the MSRP, the dealer invoice, the "holdback," the list of options and anything else I might need to drive the best deal I could when I entered the showroom.

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