LATEST ADDITIONS

Tinker Bell (voiced by Mae Whitman) finds herself trapped in the bedroom of Lizzy (Lauren Mote), a polite and lonely nine-year-old in dire need of a friend. While Tink's friends launch a dangerous rescue mission braving the hazards of a summer rainstorm, Tink and the young girl develop a special bond during their time together.

Disney has created quite a franchise around the adorable Tinker Bell with a series of books, apparel and toys, video games, and these Tink-specific films. While my family is older than the intended demographic, the story is heartfelt and the animation is spectacular. Normally I shy away from direct-to-video releases but the house of mouse have given these films the A-list treatment.

Another new product on static display at the Meridian party was the Audio Core 200 2-channel analog/digital preamp with a chassis designed by Alan Boothroyd. It provides a SpeakerLink digital input to accommodate a Sooloos media server and SpeakerLink outputs for any of the company's DSP speakers. The price? $2500.

On hand at the Meridian party was the latest and smallest member of the company's well-regarded DSP speaker line, the DSP3200. This self-powered, bi-amped gem accepts a digital signal and sports a 6.5-inch woofer and 3-inch full-range driver that's the same as the one used in the McLaren supercar audio system. By Meridian standards, it's a bargain at $6500/pair.

Sharp has finally introduced a 3D LCD TV in its Quattron line, which adds a yellow color filter to the conventional red, green, and blue filters. The LE925 will be available in two sizes—52 and 60 inches—for $4200 and $5300, respectively. Several technologies, including the separate yellow color, are said to almost double the brightness of 3D content compared with 3-color LCDs. The demo did look relatively bright, but Sharp's use of Despicable Me as demo material was unfortunate, since the 3D in that particular movie is very unimpressive. A different disc of custom content looked much better.