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Audio Video News
Verizon Ditches FiOS Contracts
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jun 22, 2010
Thinking of signing up for Verizon's FiOS fiber optic TV, internet, and phone service? The company now offers a new incentive: You can get the service on a month-to-month basis, with no contract and no termination fee.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
She's Out of My League (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Jun 22, 2010
Kirk (Jay Baruches) is a dorky underachiever who through a stroke of fate winds up dating the beautiful and successful Molly (Alice Eve). Now that he's got the girl he has to contend with his own insecurities as his friends and family barrage him negative feedback about his love life.

What a major disappointment and missed opportunity by screenwriters Sean Anders and John Morris. The two leads have genuine chemistry and are so likeable although the supporting roles are so sophomoric and crude any connection to the love story is thrown out the window with a constant barrage of F-bombs. Kirk's friends are a group of losers who don't deserve his friendship and even worse, Molly's best friend Patty (Kristen Ritter) is so crude she could make a sailor blush.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Riverworld (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Jun 22, 2010
After being killed by a suicide bomber in an overseas nightclub, Matt (Tahmoh Penikett) awakes on a mysterious planet populated by other resurrected Earthlings from across history. Determined to find the woman he loves (Laura Vandervoort), he joins forces with a 13th century female warrior (Jeananne Goossen) and riverboat captain Mark Twain (Mark Deklin) as they travel the mysterious waterways of the planet in search of lost love and some answers about the peculiar planet.

Based on a series of novels written by Phillip Jose Farmer, Riverworld had the potential to be a very entertaining sci-fi show. Sadly the excellent first act is wasted with a meandering story that drags through its nearly three-hour runtime. By the final hour I was bored with the characters and couldn't wait for the predictable ending to finally arrive.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Green Zone (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Jun 22, 2010
Roy Miller (Matt Damon) is a U.S. Army officer deployed in Iraq in the early stages of the war who's searching for WMD (weapons of mass destruction). When every search turns-up empty, he begins to questions the veracity of the "solid" intelligence provided by his superiors and goes off the reservation with the help of a CIA operative.

Damon reteams with director Paul Greengrass in this disappointing retelling of the Iraq war. The film is well shot, acted, and edited, but the screenplay is so heavy-handed in its political message it was hard to take seriously.

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Audio Video News
Toy Story 3 busts records for Pixar, 3D, kids' films
SV Staff  |  Jun 21, 2010
Pixar just keeps making gold. Its latest film, Toy Story 3, has captured the hearts of critics and the cash of moviegoers, breaking several records in its opening weekend. According to Box Office Mojo, Toy Story 3 has had both the biggest...
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Bookshelf Speaker Reviews
Wharfedale Achromatic WA-S1 Speaker System
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jun 21, 2010
Price: $599 At A Glance: Beautifully styled satellite/subwoofer set • Keyhole mount for on-wall placement • Well-rounded sound

From England to China

Wharfedale is an Anglo-Chinese speaker brand and one of the most storied names in the high-end audio industry. The brand began in 1932 in Yorkshire, in the north of England, and it went through a few changes of ownership before it became part of the International Audio Group (IAG) in 1996. IAG is owned by two Taiwanese brothers, Bernard and Michael Chang, who made their fortune with karaoke equipment. For a decade and a half, they restored the luster to Wharfedale and its sister brand Quad.

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Blu-ray Player Buying Tips
So You Just Got a Blu-ray Player?
Joshua Zyber  |  Jun 21, 2010
A High-Def Interactivity Primer

I think it’s safe to say that Blu-ray’s early adopter period is finally over. The high-def video disc will celebrate its fourth anniversary on the market in June. Although it hasn’t caught up to DVD yet, the format has grown tremendously. It’s now firmly entrenched in the mainstream. Like many others, you may have waited for the product to work out its kinks before you joined the Blu-ray revolution. Now is a great time to hop aboard. Aside from the obvious benefits of high-definition video and lossless audio, Blu-ray also offers a host of interactive features that distinguish it from DVD and (hopefully) improve the user experience. The following primer will provide an overview of these features and how they work.

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Curtain Call
The Buggles: One-Hit Wonders or Prophets of the Modern Age?
Michael J. Nelson  |  Jun 21, 2010
For every technology that has outlived its usefulness, there remains a (usually) small but highly committed band of enthusiasts who advocate for, preserve, and curate it (primarily by going on Internet forums and comparing doubters to Hitler). For example, the LP has had its best year in a long time, selling more than 2 million units. Yes, that’s roughly 0.01 percent of the number of CDs and downloads Lady Gaga sells in any given week, but still, sales are on the rise. And just dare to tell a fan of old-fashioned mechanical watches that your old $13 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles digital keeps better time than his. He’ll likely threaten to gut you like a fish. If you go on a search for fans of AM radio, you’ll find vanishingly small numbers and a distinct lack of passion. While a large number of stations still broadcast AM, their programming is generally limited to the unglamorous world of sports talk radio, local coupon shows, and the lesser songs of Bobby Goldsboro.
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Premiere Design
Lamm ML3 Signature Monoblock Power Amp
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jun 21, 2010

It seems I spoke too soon. Last week, I profiled the <A href="http://blog.ultimateavmag.com/ultimate-gear/audio_note_gaku-on_monoblock... Note Gaku-On monoblock</A>, calling it the most expensive power amp I know of on a per-watt basis, which was a true statement at the time. But as soon as I posted that profile, Cornelia Davis of <A href="http://www.audiofederation.com">Audio Federation</A> informed me of another tube-based monoblock that, watt for watt, costs even more&#151;the ML3 Signature from Brooklyn-based <A href="http://www.lammindustries.com">Lamm Industries</A>.

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Audio Video News
Ken Crane's Says Goodbye
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jun 21, 2010
A fixture of consumer electronics retailing in Southern California is closing its doors. Ken Crane's will shutter its six remaining stores and liquidate merchandise within 60 days, having already closed four others in January.
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