LATEST ADDITIONS

Premiere Design
Pro Audio Technology Programmable Modular Amplifier
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 16, 2010
One of the more interesting press releases to hit my inbox in anticipation of the CEDIA Expo next week was one announcing the Programmable Modular Amplifier (PMA) from Pro Audio Technology (formerly Professional Home Cinema or PHC). Aimed mainly at custom installations, this thing packs a highly configurable punch.
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Gadget Gary
Dre Trippers
Gary Dell'Abate  |  Sep 16, 2010

When I was a teenager, I had these giant Koss headphones. You know the kind. They covered both ears with these giant cups. They sounded great. I remember listening to Blows Against the Empire, the 1970 album by Paul Kantner and Jefferson Starship, with them. Music would bounce back and forth from the left channel to the right and back in glorious stereo.

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AV Receiver SetupHDTV SetupThe Connected Life
It's All Right to Be Wrong
John Sciacca  |  Sep 16, 2010

We definitely don't need to be bogged down with more rules. Practically everywhere we go, someone or something is telling us what to do or what not to do. Walk. Don't walk. This lane 15 items or less. Pants required to eat here. Enough!

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Other Tech
Interview: Jakob Dylan's Eagle Ears
Mike Mettler  |  Sep 16, 2010

"Turntables are incredible!" Noted songcrafter Jakob Dylan, 40, the proud owner of a sweet Rega 'table that he spent months researching, is waxing about the merits of, well, listening to wax on platters &emdash; and appreciating their inherent beauty. "I sit online and look at the ones they make in Europe," he admits. "You can buy a house for the cost of some of those turntables. They're works of art. Some of them really belong in a museum."

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Home Theater Geeks Podcast
Podcast 33: Fred Manteghian
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 16, 2010
A/V raconteur and Home Theater reviewer Fred Manteghian talks about his reference system, products he's reviewed recently, some favorite Blu-ray titles, the advantages of iTunes and Internet radio, automatic room correction, speaker placement, tubes versus solid-state electronics, electrostatic versus dynamic speakers, and answers to chat-room questions.

Run Time: 53:47

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Audio Video News
SRS Scores on Streaming Surround
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 16, 2010
Would you like your streamed movies to include 5.1-channel sound? One way you may get it is through SRS, which is providing its surround technology to the Microsoft Silverlight streaming platform.
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Audio Video News
Audyssey announces its own iPod dock
SV Staff  |  Sep 15, 2010
Audio processing technology company Audyssey has come out with its own hardware, in the form of an iPod dock. The Audyssey Audio Dock: South of Market Edition is a one-piece speaker dock with wireless capabilities and loaded with Audyssey's audio...
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Ask S&V
3D TVs, AVRs, Screen Size
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 15, 2010
3D Quandary
I'm looking for a 3D TV in the 55- to 65-inch range. I was leaning toward the Panasonic TC-P65VT25 until a salesperson at Best Buy told me the Samsung PN63C8000 is better, plus it includes a Blu-ray player. I thought Panasonic made the best plasmas. Also, which is better for 3D—LCD, LED, or plasma? Is Sony, Samsung, or Panasonic the best brand?
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Other Tech
Is Your HDMI-Connected Gear Ready for 3D?
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Sep 15, 2010

Illustration by Raquel Chilson

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
American Beauty (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Sep 15, 2010
Feeling the weight of middle age upon his shoulders, Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) rebels against his cheating wife (Annette Bening) and ungrateful daughter (Thora Birch). Seeking to relive the life of a twenty something, he leaves his high profile job to work at a local fast food joint and along the way develops a dangerous infatuation with one of his daughter's friends (Mena Suvari) that can only lead to trouble.

Time has a strange effect on ones perceptions and tastes in movies and that's certainly the case here. I remember in 1999 how powerful I found this film due to the great performances and wonderful direction from first time director Sam Mendes. As a 41 year old father of a teenage girl, I find the subject matter too disturbing and the behavior of Spacey's character criminal and sickening.

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