Audio Video News

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Audio Video News
Latest Software Reviews
HT Staff  |  Oct 04, 2004
DVD: Saved!—MGM/UA
Video: 3
Audio: 2
Extras: 3
Saved! is the heartwarming story of love, redemption, religion, high school, hypocrisy, and teenage pregnancy. Movies have gone after far less heady subjects and done far worse. Remarkably, this film doesn't make fun of religion per se, but the hypocrisy found in far too many people who claim to be religious. It's a funny movie, but its need to tiptoe around heavy religion waters it down to some extent. Jena Malone plays Mary, one of the cool kids in her Christian high school. She sleeps with her boyfriend because Jesus told her that would "cure" him of being gay. She, of course, gets pregnant and disillusioned. I swear, it's a comedy.
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Audio Video News
Mark Hamill Interview
Chris Chiarella  |  Oct 01, 2004
Those who know me are aware that a chat with Mark Hamill, the star of The Best Damned Movie Ever Made, was the fulfillment of a boyhood dream. I even chose "Mark" as my Confirmation name years ago, my parents thinking it was in honor of one of the four Disciples. ("Luke" is in there too, come to think.) After countless fanboy discussions, I suddenly found myself shifting pronouns, from "When he made Empire. . ." to "When you made Empire. . ." and it felt good. The experience was all the more fun for the fact that Hamill himself is a hardcore fan, passionate about his work—including directing his first feature film, Comic Book: The Movie—and remarkably candid and generous.
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Audio Video News
Dolby Gets Double HD Nod
Ultimate AV Staff  |  Sep 27, 2004

<A HREF="http://www.dolby.com">Dolby Laboratories</A>'s audio technologies have been selected as mandatory formats for both High-Definition Digital Versatile Disc (HD DVD) and Blu-ray Disc, according to a recent announcement. The DVD Forum chose Dolby Digital Plus and MLP Lossless as mandatory audio formats for HD DVD; while the Blu-ray Disc Association announced that Dolby Digital would be a mandatory technology on its new format, the Blu-ray Disc. Both formats are designed to deliver high-definition picture quality.

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Audio Video News
Hollywood Quality Video for Home Theaters
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 27, 2004
It used to be that truly high-quality video, the pristine jaw-dropping images previously available only to the "Golden Eyes" of Hollywood post production and broadcast facilities (and anyone else with a spare $60,000 to spend), was simply beyond the bounds of the typical home theater. But Silicon Optix intends on changing all that with the introduction of their new Realta with HQV single-chip video processor.
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Audio Video News
Component Video Through Thin Air
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 27, 2004
Wireless audio/video senders are nothing new, but until now such accessory devices were limited to the composite video outputs of your DVD player, cable box, VCR, or discretely positioned X10 camera. Belkin Corporation's new PureAV RemoteTV not only lets you send analog audio and video from composite or S-video sources wirelessly, Belkin claims it's the first to incorporate component-video connectivity.
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Audio Video News
Sony Opens NYC "Qualia" Store
Ultimate AV Staff  |  Sep 27, 2004

Sony Electronics has launched its <A HREF="http://www.sony.com/QUALIA ">first US store</A> dedicated to its new Qualia line of upscale electronics.

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Audio Video News
Senators Cave to NAB
Barry Willis  |  Sep 27, 2004

The long-discussed and often-postponed changeover from analog television broadcasting to a purely digital format is still somewhere over the rainbow, thanks to a September 23 vote by the Senate Commerce Committee (SCC).

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Audio Video News
Added to the Archives This Week
Ultimate AV Staff  |  Sep 27, 2004

Robert Deutsch sets up the <A HREF="/videoprojectors/704marantz">Marantz VP-12S3 DLP projector</A> and asks, "Does the new projector represent a significant improvement over the excellent VP-12S2? If so, what is the nature of the improvement?"

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Audio Video News
Easy Video Sharing, The Hard Way
Chris Chiarella  |  Sep 23, 2004
The size of a deck of cards, Verbatim's new 2.1-gigabyte Store 'n' Go HD Drive offers the blazing speed of a USB 2.0 connection (which also powers the little guy), meaning that even enormous MPEG video files can be transferred fast. The vast capacity of the one-inch, 4,200RPM hard disk puts it in a class above the popular flash memory drives, to hold almost half a DVD's worth of video... or music or photos or any other files you care to drag and drop. The Store 'n' Go is plug-and-play for Windows ME or better--Win98SE users, keep that driver CD handy--and is also Mac- and Linux-ready. The built-in USB cable means you never need to search for it, although an extension cable is also included, and at under two ounces this drive is light enough to carry around your neck, with a lanyard and protective carrying pouch supplied for that very purpose.
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Audio Video News
Coming Attractions
HT Staff  |  Sep 20, 2004
Kaleidescape
Keeping track of all your DVDs is a tough feat. Kaleidescape makes the task much easier with their new K2500 Digital Movie Player. To make things even better, the K2500 can deliver DVD and HD movies in digital form from source to display without analog conversion. The unit connects via a switched Ethernet network to a Kaleidescape server ($27,000) and provides an HDMI output to connect A/V processors and displays. It can output HD video in 720p or 1080i, as well as the 480i and 480p NTSC formats. With its onscreen user interface, you can browse your entire DVD collection, create collections, and mark or play your favorite scenes with Kaleidescape's bookmark technology. The K2500 is $4,000.
Kaleidescape
(650) 625-6101
www.kaleidescape.com
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Audio Video News
Latest Software Reviews
HT Staff  |  Sep 20, 2004
DVD: Walking Tall—MGM/UA
Video: 3
Audio: 3
Extras: 3
It's hard to fathom why a DVD for a movie that runs a scant 73 minutes, not counting credits, would even have deleted scenes. After all, it's not like there wasn't room in the film. Still, we find three of them on the disc for Walking Tall, a silly but rather guilty pleasure for anyone wanting to see a good (fact-based) revenge story or the Rock whup some ass with a four-by-four cedar stick. You don't get to know any of the characters, and others are forgotten about altogether, but the fight scenes are well executed, and there are a few explosive moments.
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Audio Video News
Industry Roundup
Ultimate AV Staff  |  Sep 20, 2004

Shaw's HD DVR: Calgary, Alberta telecommunications firm Shaw Communications has announced its new "High Definition (HD) plus Personal Video Recorder (PVR) Digital Terminal." Available to Shaw cable customers in Canada, the new HD + PVR Digital Terminal is said to offer them unprecedented control over their viewing, including the ability to control live TV with pause, rewind and fast-forward functions and record a variety of programming directly on their digital terminal.

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Audio Video News
TVs Leap Ahead
Ultimate AV Staff  |  Sep 20, 2004

TVs have long been the centerpieces of most American homes. New developments will make that position permanent.

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Audio Video News
Sony HD Camcorder
Barry Willis  |  Sep 20, 2004

High-definition video isn't just for professionals anymore. It could soon be in the hands of hobbyists and amateur filmmakers everywhere.

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Audio Video News
Added to the Archives This Week
Ultimate AV Staff  |  Sep 20, 2004

Robert Deutsch provides an in-depth analysis of the <A HREF="/surroundsoundpreampprocessors/704rotel">Rotel RSP-1068 surround-sound processor</A> noting that it's an "evolution of the RSP-1066 that incorporates more advanced digital technology, even more features, and additional refinements of analog circuitry."

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