The 66th Cannes Film Festival kicks off with killer custom sound systems from JBL. Four JBL Synthesis systems, large-scale and according to JBL, ultra-high-end, are going to be installed in the theaters built in the Hotel Gray d'Albion to showcase...
While 45 rpm records aren't exactly news, and even 45 rpm LP records aren't news, most pop and indie fans will be surprised when they see these as new releases. Over at CNET, it's an interesting read. What's the frequency, Kenneth? R.E.M. released...
Okay class, let's settle down. Today's topic is "Globalization." Please remember that term, because I want you to know what to blame when you're wondering what happened to your livelihood. Globalization is when trade barriers drop and...
Yamaha is making a big splash to bring Bluetooth convenience and ease to a whole new line of products. Some of them are quite exciting, and include receivers, home-theater-in-a-box systems, and perhaps the most interesting, a portable speaker,...
The dance has begun. The first moves are subtle. One partner dances slowly around the other, the other shows a vulnerable side. Certain moves are expected, others a surprise. In the world of corporate takeovers, actions speak volumes when it comes...
Videophiles of a certain age recall the way Criterion swept through the laserdisc domain like a fresh wind, radically raising standards for both film to video transfer quality and alternate track interviews. Having continued its high standards in DVD releases, Criterion is now about to apply its magic touch to Blu-ray.
In a scene from a great Kabuki play, some of the biggest players in the Japanese manufacturing arena are shaking things up. Stick with us in this -- the plot's complicated. Especially in Japanese. Panasonic's parent company Matsushita is also...
Know any retrogrouch Luddites that have resisted the temptations of cable TV, to say nothing of the latest in satellite TV? Here's your chance to bring them up to date, and win some cool schwag for yourself too. The Consumer Electronics Association...
While it's not big news that Amazon's Unbox has partnered with TiVo, it is news that HD content will also be available. Unbox is the service that lets you buy and download movies and TV shows directly from Amazon to your PC or broadband-connected...
An interesting press release crossed my desk (read: popped into my e-mail Inbox) on Friday: "John Mellencamp's Life, Death, Love, and Freedom, from Hear Music, July 15." Buried down in the fourth paragraph is this: "The album will...
So, you've read all the reviews, scoured all the forums, even asked your know-it-all next door neighbor for his opinion. You agonized for months, debating back and forth between plasma and LCD. You finally got permission from the significant other...
Panasonic recently announced the upcoming release of its new DMP-BD50 Blu-ray player, which I got to see in person on May 9 at the Panasonic Hollywood Labs right next to Universal Studios in Los Angeles. The BD50 follows the <A href="http://ultimateavmag.com/hddiscplayers/1107panabd30/">DMP-BD30</A>, which was the first standalone BD player to conform to Final Standard Profile 1.1 (aka BonusView). As you might expect, the new player is fully equipped for BD-Live (Profile 2.0), which lets it access the supplementary Internet content and online interactive features that are planned for future Blu-ray releases by connecting the player to a broadband access point such as a home-network router.
Not really known for being a big player in the consumer electronics world, DuPont just entered into a strategic partnership with Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co., Ltd. The goal is to create a more affordable manufacturing process for printed...
Did you miss the Futuresonic 2008 Festival this year? If so, you also missed Aleks Kolkowski's seminar during the Urban Festival of Art, Music, and Ideas. Mr. Kolkowski is using a vintage record cutting lathe to create 45rpm records on your own...