LATEST ADDITIONS

DNP Supernova Projection Screen
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.

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Fred Manteghian Blog
"Er, no, actually, you're watching them . . . ."
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.

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Ears On
Sennheiser PXC 300 Noise-Canceling Headphones
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.
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Audio Video News
Apple Making Its First Forays Into The Digital Living Room
 |  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.

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Ears On
Comcast Bows Indie VOD
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:
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The S&V Interview
Beautiful Music
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.
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Geoffrey Morrison Blog
Blu-ray to be
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:
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A/V Veteran
Blu-Tech
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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Ears On
Killer Apples Yet to Come
Mark Fleischmann  |  Mar 01, 2006  |  1 comments
Yesterday's new product announcements from Apple were sensible but anticlimactic. As expected, there are two new Intel-driven Mac minis, $599 with single processor and $799 with dual processor, that can share video, music, and photos over a wireless network. Then there's the iPod Hi-Fi ($349). Aside from the iPod dock, it looks a lot like a horizontal center speaker from a surround system, but with handles. Dual three-inch full-range drivers flank a five-inch woofer in a ported double-walled plastic shell. The remote-controllable device runs on six D cells or AC. With the power supply built into the enclosure, there's no pesky wall wart. So there you have it, or haven't it—Apple has not taken the home theater or the listening room by storm. Yet.
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Other Source Component Reviews
Samsung DVD-HD950 HDTV-Compatible DVD Player
Chris Chiarella  |  Feb 28, 2006  |  0 comments
Spent almost everything on your HDTV? You can still afford a friend for it.

The war between competing next-generation, high-definition-quality DVD formats is still unfolding, a saga with more twists than an entire season of Lost. As I write this, manufacturers are still not offering specific product announcements or firm release dates. The problem is, HDTV is a reality right now. While the current over-the-air, cable, and satellite content is compelling and continuing to grow, I for one put the enjoyment of packaged media above all others, and I hate the thought that my HDTV's capabilities are often going to waste. What then to feed it?

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