Thomas J. Norton

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New Sony Projectors
Thomas J. Norton  |  Sep 06, 2007  |  Published: Sep 07, 2007  |  3 comments

We reported on Sony's new VPL-VW60 ($5000) and VPL-VW200 ($15,000) 1080p projectors at Sony's press conference yesterday, but I got to actually see them today. They were exceptional. Both claim dramatically enhanced chip-level contrast relative to prior SXRD projectors, and from the visible evidence this appeared to be the case.

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A/V Veteran
Visions of Sugarplums
Thomas J. Norton  |  Sep 03, 2007  |  0 comments

I'm not exactly sure what a sugarplum is—probably a Christmas treat in Victorian England. But I do know that for those of us in the AV game, it comes early every year. September is time for the CEDIA Expo, to be held this year in Denver.

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AV Receiver Reviews
Onkyo TX-SR875 Surround Sound Receiver
Thomas J. Norton  |  Sep 02, 2007  |  0 comments

In many respects, AV receivers haven't changed much in recent years. There have been no major breakthroughs in amplifier design. 7.1-channels aren't that new. Multichannel analog inputs have been a fixture for some time. Dolby Digital and DTS have been with us since the Jurassic Age&mdash;or at least since <I>Jurassic Park</I>. And FM and AM sections are about as exciting as <I>Halloween 14</I>.

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Samsung HL-T5687S 1080p DLP Rear Projection HDTV
Thomas J. Norton  |  Aug 27, 2007  |  0 comments
Everyone, it seems, wants a flat panel television these days. Not to hang on the wall mind you—studies show that most buyers use them on a stand—but because they're, well, cool.
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Samsung HL-T5687S 1080p DLP Rear Projection HDTV
Thomas J. Norton  |  Aug 26, 2007  |  0 comments

Flat panels. Everyone, it seems, wants a flat panel television these days. Not to hang on the wall mind you&mdash;studies show that most buyers use them on a stand&mdash;but because they're, well, <I>cool</I>.

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A/V Veteran
A Failure to Communicate Part II
Thomas J. Norton  |  Aug 23, 2007  |  4 comments

According to one industry source with whom I spoke recently, the odd communication problem reported on in <I>Part 1</I>, below, is an artifact of CEC. CEC is a new feature offered by many manufacturers that allows the user to control various components through their HDMI connections. Often, these operations are automated.

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LCD TV Reviews
Samsung LN-T5265F LCD 1080p HDTV
Thomas J. Norton  |  Aug 18, 2007  |  Published: Aug 19, 2007  |  1 comments

Samsung has been pushing hard to improve LCD flat panel televisions. Though the company still makes plasmas, its LCD R&D department, judging from the cutting edge technology demonstrated at last January's CES, must be busy. With 120Hz operation, segmented illumination of the image, and LED backlighting, LCD technology at Samsung is big priority.

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A/V Veteran
A Failure to Communicate
Thomas J. Norton  |  Aug 15, 2007  |  3 comments

What we have here is one of those HDMI "features" that drives both consumers and reviewers crazy. I discovered it after my reviews of both the Samsung BD-P1200 Blu-ray player and the Toshiba 52HL167 flat panel LCD display had been turned in, ready for publication.

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LCD TV Reviews
Toshiba REGZA 52HL167 LCD 1080p Television
Thomas J. Norton  |  Aug 13, 2007  |  0 comments
A couple of years ago Toshiba's line was dominated by rear projection DLP designs. Today, flat panel LCDs are pushing those sets aside.
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AV GlossaryOther Tech
High Resolution Audio and HDMI 1.3
Thomas J. Norton  |  Aug 12, 2007  |  0 comments
An important feature of HDMI is its ability to carry both video and audio. If it passes this information in bitstream form, the receiver or pre-pro, rather than the player, decodes the various versions of Dolby Digital and DTS.
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