As many of you are undoubtedly aware, Fox recently jumped back into Blu-ray Disc, which is certainly welcome news. But as many are also aware, Fox' participation was apparently contingent on BD+, which to our knowledge is used for additional layers of copy restriction. Among other titles the day-and-date-with-DVD release of <I>Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer</I> and <I>Day After Tomorrow</I> came out, which also feature some BD-J encoded interactivity features. And that's where the problems started for owners of standalone Blu-ray players.
The advent of Blu-ray and HD DVD isn't the first time I've covered a format launch- DVD was still pretty fresh and new when I started in this biz in the late 90s. Things have changed a lot since then, especially in the way that the PR machines are operating and interacting with the online community. And what better evidence of that is there than the fact that esoteric technical details like "yield rates" and "cycle times" are a frequent water cooler topic among the uninitiated?
Getting back from CEDIA after being out of the office for a week is like traveling to a hurricane and finding out an earthquake happened while you were away. After two weeks back, I can actually see the top of my desk in spots, under all the receipts, press releases, mail from last week, bills and everything else that piled up on me over here.
Alright, this is the least interesting Blog I've posted in some time. But I thought some of you might want to kick around the piece that posted today on Blu-ray Disc interactivity. So, here's a spot to ask me any follow-up questions you wish. Fire away!
Sometimes we say as much by not reviewing one component as we do by reviewing another. There are some components, often made by smaller, high-end manufacturers, that lag behind with technologies that become so essential that lacking them precludes a recommendation for that component by this publication. When we know a recommendation is precluded from the get-go based on a lack of essential technology, there is no point in acquiring the product for review.
No, I'm not referring to myself with that title. TI's booth had the funnest demo of the show, to be sure, a 3D demo on a Samsung DLP RPTV with the attractive and active 3D goggles shown above (modeled by yours truly). A little ballyhoo is good for this industry.
To those of us chasing the Nth degree of performance from our home theaters, it's always exciting when a truly audiophile company like Sim Audio attempts to define the state-of-the-art.
Every show has a surprise, and for me CEDIA's 2007 surprise was the demo I saw from the St. John Group, the importer/distributor perhaps best known for handling the Cabasse line of loudspeakers. This group has picked up Screen Research for distribution, and now has a projector line to shine on those screens: CineVERSUM.
The most recent projector I reviewed here at UAV was a real standout, Epson's <A HREF="http://ultimateavmag.com/videoprojectors/607epsonprocin/">Powerlite Pro Cinema 1080p</A>. This projector is among the more marvelous packages of peformance and price I've seen. Especially susprising was that the color fidelity was so pristine and on this LCD projector, along with a relaxed and naturally detailed image with real depth. The only thing that held this proejctor back was slightly dim light output and softer image. The Pro Cinema 1080p UB is here to settle both scores.
Tell me about it. I have a Pioneer Elite BDP-94HD back at home, and a review ready for a fact-check. Hell, the virtual ink isn't even dry and I don't think a full month has passed since I got the thing, and here's its replacement, The $999 Pioneer Elite BDP-95HD.