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Test Tool Reviews
Digital Video Essentials: Short Take
 |  Jul 17, 2006  |  0 comments

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/706dve.jpg" WIDTH=148 HEIGHT=198 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>$25<BR>
The latest iteration of video expert Joe Kane's <I>Video Essentials</I>, the <I>DVE</I> DVD is already an industry standard. Revised and updated, <I>DVE</I> has everything you need to dial in your home theater, and more than a few patterns we use in our reviews at <I>UAV</I> to evaluate the performance capabilities of source components and displays. In addition to providing the test patterns, it also tells the less initiated how to go about making adjustments in a clear, concise fashion. For just $25 you can elevate the performance and accuracy of your entire system.

New Products
Richard Gray's Power Company 400 Pro and 1200 Custom: Short Take
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jul 17, 2006  |  0 comments

$400 Pro- $795, 1200C- $2,195

RGPC's staple device is the four outlet 400 Pro, and it stands out in a very densely crowded category as a no BS product that actually works. Inside each RGPC is a large inductor core, or choke, and a fast-blo fuse. Unlike so many of the surge protectors or line conditioners out there the RGPC is wired in parallel with the incoming AC, which means there's no current limiting, and components don't have to be plugged directly into the RGPC units to receive the full effect. The RGPC simply has to be plugged into an outlet on the same circuit as your gear. Several RGPC units can be "star clustered" in groups for improved performance, and the 1200 Custom is in fact two 400 Pro devices in a single box with 12 outlets. Inductive power filtering is becoming very popular in many high-end products, and the results that can be reaped from the RGPC devices with both audio and video systems can be noticeable, if not staggering (especially with power hungry components like CRTs and plasmas screens). RGPC devices are the only PLC devices in SB's reference system.

Stewart Filmscreen Studiotek 130: Short Take
 |  Jul 17, 2006  |  0 comments

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Audio Video News
Downloads to Burn
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jul 17, 2006  |  0 comments
It had to happen, but it's not quite reality yet.
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Ears On
CableLabs Eyes IP-Based Video
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jul 17, 2006  |  1 comments
CableLabs is working up a new version of the OpenCable Application Platform, according to Cable Digital News. OCAP is the R&D program that gave birth to the CableCARD. The new Version 1.1 would support IP-based video and multimedia streams. That would give the cable ops a leg up in their coming struggle against the telcos, especially AT&T, which is rolling out IP video delivery. OCAP 1.1 would also mesh with mobile applications to be launched this fall by Sprint, Comcast, Time Warner, Cox, and Advance/Newhouse. It would support home networking, switched broadcast, advanced graphics, and other goodies. And it would allow cable companies to more easily insert commercials into VOD programming (yippee). The technology would likely take the form of a new set-top box. Whether it would migrate directly into television sets is up to the TV makers, but for the moment, they're not thrilled with the outcome of the existing CableCARD agreement.
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Blu-ray Player Reviews
Samsung BD-P1000 Blu-ray Disc Player
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jul 16, 2006  |  0 comments

The battle is starting to heat up. HD DVD has been out for just two months. Two weeks ago Samsung launched its first Blu-ray player, the BD-P1000 ($1,000), the subject of this report.

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Marantz DV9600 DVD Player
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jul 16, 2006  |  1 comments

At $2,099, the DV9600 is Marantz' flagship "universal" DVD player. You can read about this player's many features in the Specifications section of this review, or on Marantz' own website. Some of the more significant ones are:

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Denon DVD-2910 DVD Player: Short Take
 |  Jul 16, 2006  |  0 comments

<UL CLASS="square">
<LI>$739</LI>
<LI>Digital Video Output: HDMI and DVI</LI>
<LI>Video Upconversion: 720p and 1080i</LI>
<LI>Audio Decoding: DD, DTS, DVD-Audio, SACD, HDCD, MP3, WMA</LI>
<LI>Ins and Outs: HDMI, DVI, component, composite and S-Video, coaxial and Toslink digital audio, two-channel and 5.1-channel analog audio </LI>
<LI>Feature Highlights: Universal player with HDMI and DVI outputs, Faroudja deinterlacing w/DCDi, 12-bit/216MHz video DACs, full bass management with delays for all formats except SACD </LI>
</UL>
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/706denon2910.jpg" WIDTH=450 HEIGHT=247 BORDER=0>

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Arcam DV78 DVD Player: Short Take
 |  Jul 16, 2006  |  0 comments

<UL CLASS="square">
<LI>$999</LI>
<LI>Digital Video Output: No</LI>
<LI>Video Upconversion: No</LI>
<LI>Audio Decoding: CD, MP3 </LI>
<LI>Ins and Outs: Component, composite and S-Video, RGB/SCART, coaxial and Toslink digital audio, two-channel analog audio </LI>
<LI>Feature Highlights: CD performance designed to be on par with dedicated CD players</LI>
</UL>
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/706arcamdv78.jpg" WIDTH=450 HEIGHT=167 BORDER=0>

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Simaudio Moon Orbiter DVD Player: Short Take
 |  Jul 16, 2006  |  0 comments

<UL CLASS="square">
<LI>$6,500</LI>
<LI>Digital Video Output: DVI (video compatible with HDMI)</LI>
<LI>Video Upconversion: No</LI>
<LI>Audio Decoding: DD, DTS, DVD-Audio, SACD, MP3</LI>
<LI>Ins and Outs: DVI, component, composite and S-Video, optional SDI digital video, coaxial (one on RCA, one on BNC), Toslink and AES/EBU digital audio, two-channel and 5.1-channel analog audio </LI>
<LI>Feature Highlights: Universal player w/DVI output, Silicon Image deinterlacing, advanced switch mode power supply w/shielding and eight stages of regulation</LI>
</UL>
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/706simmoonorbitor.jpg" WIDTH=450 HEIGHT=173 BORDER=0>

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