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Audio Video News
Panasonic Expands Plasma Line
Mark Fleischmann  |  Apr 05, 2007
To my eyes, no one makes better plasmas than Panasonic (though Pioneer is a peer). And certainly no company flies the plasma banner more zestily. At a press event in New York last week, Panasonic added three new sizes in 1080p to its plasma line: 42, 50, and 58 inches. The 42-inch TH-42PZ700, shipping in June for $2499, will be the first 1080p plasma of that size.
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Audio Video News
Circuit City Depletes Brain Trust
Mark Fleischmann  |  Apr 04, 2007
Circuit City announced last week that it would fire 8.5 percent of its retail-floor staff and hire replacements at lower pay. Savor the insane panache of the press release: "The company has completed a wage management initiative that will result in the separation of approximately 3,400 store Associates. The separations...focused on Associates who were paid well above the market-based salary range for their role. New Associates will be hired for these positions and compensated at the current market range for the job." Said CEO Philip J. Schoonover: "We are taking a number of aggressive actions to improve our cost and expense structure, which will better position us for improved and sustainable returns in today's marketplace."
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Audio Video News
Instant Movie Downloads?
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Apr 02, 2007
IBM is showing off a prototype optical transceiver chipset that's capable of reaching speeds at least eight times faster than other optical components available today. The new tiny gizmo moves information at 160 Gigabits - that's 160 billion bits of information for the techno-term-challenged - per second. Such speediness is accomplished not by using wires, but by using light.
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Audio Video News
Tiny Bass Monster
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Apr 02, 2007
Axiom Audio says its new EP400 powered subwoofer is designed for maximum bass output in smaller rooms. The sub itself is relatively small, measuring 13.75" high and 10.5" wide, but it's supposed to be capable of generating an in-room SPL of 116 dB and a low-end response of 23 Hz. The sub was designed primarily for use in small rooms, such as bedrooms, dens, or home offices. (It's probably not appropriate for bathrooms, where you really don't want to see another bottom end.)
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Audio Video News
Sony Projects a High Def Bargain
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Apr 02, 2007
Sony took the lens caps off of two new front home theater projector bargains last week.
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Audio Video News
Another HD Milestone For Blu-ray
 |  Apr 01, 2007

Sony issued a press release last week announcing that the latest James Bond film, <I>Casino Royale</I>, has hit another milestone, surpassing 100,000 units shipped to retailers. This follows that same title's debut in the top ten in DVD sales at Amazon, and both feats are firsts for either HD format. In addition, according to Sony this early success also puts BD ahead of where DVD was at its inception.

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Audio Video News
An Xbox For The Elite
 |  Mar 29, 2007  |  First Published: Mar 30, 2007

Microsoft is going up-market with its Xbox 360 gaming console, unveiling the Xbox 360 Elite. At $479 the Elite is clad in black, which undoubtedly looks trick, adds an HDMI interface, and sticks a thumb in Sony's eye with a 120GB removable hard drive. The $299 Xbox 360 basic (like the $499 Sony PS3) features a 20GB hard drive. There is no integrated HD DVD drive, which means that having an Xbox 360 Elite and HD DVD playback is now $679, just about 80 bucks more than the $599 Sony PS3, which is a full-on Blu-ray Disc player. And even more curiously, Microsoft isn't including integrated Wi-Fi, which is a huge plus for the $599 (60GB hard drive) version of the PS3.

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Audio Video News
DLPetite
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Mar 27, 2007
Texas Instruments says its prototype DLP projector is small enough to fit in your pocket, and you'll be happy to see it, too.
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Audio Video News
Home Theater Magazine Announces RAVE Award Winners
user  |  Mar 26, 2007
The editors of Home Theater magazine have announced the winners of the 2007 RAVE Awards (Recognition of Audio and Video Excellence). Open to all manufacturers, the RAVE Awards, now in its fifth year, recognize excellence in the manufacturing of superior audio and video components that have been reviewed and tested by the Home Theater staff and respected contributors over a 12-month period.
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Audio Video News
Multi-Media Server with Mega Memory
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Mar 26, 2007
Bigger is always better, at least when it comes to hard drives - or so thinks Interact-TV. The Linux-based digital-entertainment-device and media-server maker is introducing the company's new T2 Media Server that boasts over 2.25 Terabytes of storage capability. The T2 is a Linux Media Center that includes 720p component video output, new MPEG2 video encoding, as well as DVD and recorded video upscaling to 720p.
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Audio Video News
HD DVD Player Prices Drop
 |  Mar 25, 2007

Starting April 1st that shiny HD DVD player might look a little shinier still. $100 to $200 shinier, to be exact. On that date Toshiba is dropping the price of its entry level HD-A2 HD DVD player to just $399 and cutting the upscale HD-XA2 from $999 to $799. The 1080p-capable HD-A20, which is to be released this Summer, gets an in vitro price drop too, going from $599 to $499. On top of that, if you buy any of these players by July 31st you can still send in a form to receive <A HREF="http://ultimateavmag.com/news/30807hddeals/">five free HD DVD movies</A>, according to TWICE.

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Audio Video News
Matrix Trilogy Hitting HD DVD In Two Multi-Disc Sets.
 |  Mar 22, 2007  |  First Published: Mar 23, 2007

If you follow up a great sci-fi movie with two increasingly inferior sequels, how do you keep selling all three titles? You bundle all of them together so no one can skip out on the sequels, of course! OK, I know I'm being cynical. I love <I>The Matrix</I> and am as excited as the next to snatch this title up on HD DVD when it hits stores on May 22nd. And I'll even go so far as to say that I thought its sequel, <I>Matrix Reloaded</I> had some cool fight sequences and stunts. But I wouldn't watch the incomprhensible <I>Matrix Revolutions</I> again on a bet. Even George Lucas thinks it's whack that I have to buy all three movies to own the first.

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Audio Video News
Bose's New (Sort of) and Improved In-Ear Headphones
Chris Chiarella  |  Mar 20, 2007
Bose recently invited us by their Columbus Circle store in Manhattan to give a listen to their in-ear headphones. While not a new product per se, they wanted to discuss some new and upcoming enhancements that I'll touch on in a moment, but this was my first chance to really evaluate the 'phones and, as someone whose been using earbuds extensively for a decade now, I was genuinely impressed by the sound. While not noise-canceling or sound-isolating, they incorporate the same Bose Tri-Port technology as in their QuietComfort line: small ports in the earpieces that help in bass reproduction without adding great size, so they're a handy accessory to iPods et. al.
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Audio Video News
Electrostatics Think Thin
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Mar 20, 2007
Martin Logan's new on-wall/off-wall Fresco i is another gorgeous speaker from a company known for its pretty, precise speakers.
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Audio Video News
Universal Fighting The Good Fight For HD DVD
 |  Mar 19, 2007

If you're a next-gen format with only three supporting studios total, and only one studio that's exclusive to your format, you could do worse than having that one exclusive studio be Universal. Following up on its promise to release over 100 HD DVD titles in 2007 Universal is releasing 13 catalog titles on the Toshiba-backed format this June. Count 'em- 13!

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