Thomas J. Norton

Sort By: Post Date | Title | Publish Date
Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Kong: Skull Island
Thomas J. Norton  |  Oct 13, 2017  |  2 comments
Picture
Sound
Extras
It’s 1973, and a U.S. survey and mapping expedition, supported by an Army helicopter unit recently released from the wind-down of the Vietnam War, heads toward the previously unexplored Skull Island.

If they’d brushed up on their old movies, they wouldn’t have been gobsmacked, and soon simply smacked, when they spot and engage with a really big ape. Big enough to squish all previous versions of the character under his big toe. Big enough to easily challenge the helicopters and crews. I mean really, really big.

Continue Reading >
Krell Home Theater Standard 7.1 surround processor
Thomas J. Norton  |  Dec 05, 2002  |  0 comments

Fred Manteghian reviewed the Krell Home Theater Standard 2 in our January 2002 issue, and while he raved about its performance, a few features were missing that any well-turned-out, high-end surround-sound preamplifier-processor should have to compete on even terms in today's hot home-theater market. Those features, as promised, are now available in the Home Theater Standard 7.1. But owners of the earlier model haven't been left out in the cold; the HTS 2 can be upgraded to the HTS 7.1, and while Krell charges $1500 for the upgrade, the HTS 2 originally cost $6500, so your total out-of-pocket costs will be comparable to the price of a new HTS 7.1. And just as the HTS 2 can be upgraded to the HTS 7.1, the basic flexibility of the design allows for possible future upgrades to the hardware and software of the HTS 7.1 as well.

Continue Reading >
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Kubo and the Two Strings
Thomas J. Norton  |  Feb 24, 2017  |  0 comments
Picture
Sound
Extras
In old Japan, young Kubo lives in a mountain cave with his mother, whose mental clarity comes and goes. As an infant he lost an eye, and his father is long gone. Every day he goes to the market in a nearby town to entertain the locals with his three-string shamisen and wondrous stories, told with magic origami that fold and unfold into lifelike characters. His stories never have an ending, much to the disappointment of the townsfolk. Nevertheless, they’re ready for more the next day (Kubo apparently invented the miniseries cliff-hanger).
Continue Reading >
A/V Veteran
Laserdiscs, Blu-rays...and Egypt
Thomas J. Norton  |  Aug 16, 2022  |  5 comments
I've written early and often about where the current mania for streaming will take us, and the slow, possible demise of packaged media. Yes, new and re-releases on disc are still common, to which anyone who follows the website The Digital Bits website can attest. But what does the future hold for disc-based entertainment?
Continue Reading >
A/V Veteran
Let the Ultra HD Game of Thrones Begin
Thomas J. Norton  |  Sep 01, 2015  |  3 comments
Last year the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) laid down what it considered the minimum standards for a 4K Ultra HD set. A few months later it introduced a voluntary UHD logo program that manufacturers could use in advertising and labeling sets that meet the standards. This logo also clarified the name to be used for these sets: 4K Ultra HD. While manufacturers are free to make and sell 4K Ultra HD sets of any description (the CEA has no legal authority to stop them), they can’t use the logo if their sets don’t meet these standards. The logo will read either 4K Ultra HD or 4K Ultra HD Connected (though there’s nothing to stop a manufacturer who doesn’t meet the standards from calling their sets simply 4K, or Ultra HD)...
Continue Reading >
A/V Veteran
Let's Get Small: The Incredible Shrinking Man
Thomas J. Norton  |  Nov 30, 2021  |  1 comments
Tom Norton jumps into his Movie Time Machine to revisit the enduring 1957 sci-fi classic, The Incredible Shrinking Man.
Continue Reading >
A/V Veteran
Let's Put On a Show!
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jun 14, 2012  |  1 comments
The weekend before last, I drove to Newport Beach, CA, for the second iteration of The Home Entertainment (T.H.E. Show), Newport Beach, or THESNB. (Just kidding on the latter, though the full name is a bit cumbersome.) Last year's installment was fun but a little thin on exhibitors. This year, the show was so much bigger that it had to spread out from the main venue of the Hilton Hotel to the Atrium Hotel next door. If I had known it was going to be so big, I would have arranged to spend two days there instead of simply making it a day trip.
Continue Reading >
CES 2014
Lexicon Pre-Pro
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jan 10, 2014  |  0 comments
Lexicon’s venerable MC-12 preamp-processor, which has been on the market for over ten years (with important upgrades alinbg the way to accommodate the changing times) is about to be replaced by the MC-14. The latter (April, $10,500) will offer a full complement of inputs and other ports, including HDMI, USB, 7.1-channel analog, Ethernet, RS-232, and a headphone output. It accepts all current consumer sources, and also has a selectable analog bypass for playback. Oddly, however, there is no provision for any form of manual or automatic room compensation.
CEDIA 2017
LG & Technicolor Create Performance Picture Mode
Thomas J. Norton  |  Sep 08, 2017  |  0 comments
LG has partnered with Technicolor to produce a picture mode that's said to offer their standards for color performance.
Continue Reading >
LCD TV Reviews
LG 42LG60 LCD HDTV
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jul 07, 2008  |  0 comments
A face in the crowd?

Korea-based LG, which absorbed Zenith a few years back, is one of the world’s largest flat-panel HDTV manufacturers. The company is working on some exciting new stuff, including plasmas that meet the new THX video specifications. LG will also produce LCDs that employ local dimming, a technique that improves the black level and contrast of LCD sets. Some of these models will be in stores by the time you read this, or by the fall season.

Continue Reading >

Pages

X