When Sound & Vision reviewed the original ZVOX 315 sound system in October 2004, the notion of a single-box surround sound solution for movies and music was utterly revolutionary. The 315 so strongly answered a market need and performed so well that we honored it that year with one of our Reviewers' Choice (now called Editors' Choice) awards.
A couple of years ago, when the Dells and Gateways of the world were trying to build a flat-panel TV business by rebranding products purchased from other manufacturers, HP was quietly engineering its own HDTVs from the ground up. So far, so good.
If you've been following the HDTV market for a while, you know that LCoS (liquid crystal on silicon) projection technology really took it's sweet time maturing. Going back at least three or four years, manufacturers including JVC, RCA, Toshiba, Mitsubishi, and Hitachi all briefly introduced LCoS rear projectors, with all but JVC exiting the business.
Noise-canceling headphones - once a luxury reserved for hard-core business travelers living on jets - have gone mainstream. Though fancy models still cost north of $200, today you'll find name-brand phones for as little as $50. That's clearly within reach of iPod-toting everyday Joes.
It all began with my obsession with snakes. Not the slithering, on-a-plane type; I mean the kind that pull wires through walls. What is it about hidden cables that so impresses people? As A/V buffs, we conquer the imposing web behind our racks with hardly a bored yawn from our wives or girlfriends.
