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Blu-ray Player Reviews
Oppo BDP-83 Universal Blu-ray Player
Kris Deering  |  Jul 08, 2009
Price: $499 At A Glance: Reference-quality Blu-ray performance and video processing • Full interactivity and audio decoding • Fast operation and load times • SACD and DVD-Audio

Dawn of a Blu Universe

Oppo Digital may not be the most recognized name on the block, but if you’ve used its products in the past, you’ll certainly remember it. Oppo has been in the DVD player market for a few years now and does all of its business online. You won’t find its products stocked in your local Best Buy or specialty retailer, so the brand doesn’t have the broad market awareness of other Blu-ray player manufacturers. But Oppo’s DVD players have a loyal following and offer incredible performance for the dollar. Oppo’s reputation for excellent performance at a lower price point and its outstanding customer support quickly gained a big following. So it’s been with bated breath that many of us have waited for Oppo to enter the Blu-ray market.

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The Big Picture
Man in the Mirror
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jul 08, 2009

A friend of mine is a correspondent for KCET, the Los Angeles PBS station. A few days ago, he told me that he had been assigned to cover the Michael Jackson memorial held yesterday at Staples Center and that he was not looking forward to it at all. Aside from the logistical nightmare of getting through the traffic jams and police barricades, he didn't get what all the fuss is about. "Sure, Jackson was a good entertainer," he said, "but was he really important enough for all this?" He also wondered why so many people can become so active over Jackson's death—showing up at the gates of Neverland Ranch and the Jackson family home, signing up for tickets to the memorial—but not over much more important issues such as health care.

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Audio Video News
New Pirate Bay to Pay File Sharers
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jul 08, 2009
Let's say you've just paid $7.7 million to purchase Pirate Bay, a Swedish site popular with copyright-oblivious torrenters all over the world. What new business model would you devise to make it a legit business? How about paying people to engage in file sharing?
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Audio Video News
LEDs light Sharp's newest line of HDTVs
SV Staff  |  Jul 08, 2009
Yesterday, Sharp announced its newest HDTV line, the Aquos LED series. As its name implies, the Aquos LED HDTVs use LED backlighting instead of conventional CCFL. Because LEDs lack the toxic chemicals of CCFL backlights, use far less energy, and...
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Ask S&V
240Hz, High-End Projectors, Plasma Calibration
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jul 07, 2009
Twice as Sharp
I intend to buy an LED-illuminated LCD TV. Since I like action sports, should I get a 240Hz set rather than a 120Hz?
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Audio Video News
File Sharing Court Brawl Continues
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jul 07, 2009
The long-running legal battle between a single mom and the recording industry's trade group continues with the defendant's latest motion.
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Audio Video News
Yamaha announces newest A/V receiver
SV Staff  |  Jul 06, 2009
Yamaha announced today a new A/V receiver with an impressive feature set and a price tag just shy of a grand. The RX-V1065 is a slightly more powerful version of the RX-V665 receiver. It retains all the features of its little brother, including...
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Premiere Design
Long Time Coming
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jul 06, 2009

I've been waiting a long time for the SSP-800 surround preamp/processor from <A href="http://www.classeaudio.com">Class&#233;</A>. Originally announced in May 2008 and scheduled for delivery in July of that year, this Canadian company's statement pre/pro is finally about to ship.

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Projector Reviews
Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 6500 UB LCD Projector
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jul 06, 2009
Price: $2,999 At A Glance: Excellent video processing • Superior color and color adjustability • Near state-of-the-art black level • Natural detail

Epson is one of the major players in the business projector business, and it’s now making inroads into the home theater market as well. Its Ensemble HD Home Cinema System, which includes a projector, screen, speakers, and electronics, is priced to tempt consumers who would not have otherwise considered a projection setup. The company’s UltraBlack (UB) projectors have also made a big splash at recent electronics trade shows.

The PowerLite Home Cinema 6500 UB is one step down in the Epson lineup from the top-of-the-line PowerLite Pro Cinema 7500 UB. The latter is $1,200 more expensive. However, apart from some added features (an anamorphic aspect ratio option and ISFccc Day and Night modes), a black case, a year longer on its warranty, and a spare lamp ($300 if bought separately), it does not appear to add anything that would enhance its basic performance relative to the 6500 UB. The 6500 UB is clearly the bargain buy.

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Projector Reviews
Sharp XV-Z15000 DLP Projector
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jul 06, 2009
Price: $2,500 At A Glance: Outstanding video processing • Deep blacks (with auto iris) • Brightness to spare for a big screen

Sharp has a long history in the home theater projector business. It began with a successful run of LCD models. But the company soon shifted its projectors to Texas Instruments’ DLP technology, which appeared to be ready to dominate the projection business for a time.

However, with the development of new and vastly improved LCD chips and designs in the recent past, all that has changed. LCD (and its second cousin, LCOS—a variation on liquid crystal technology) now dominates the projection market. Sharp is sticking to DLP, and its new XV-Z15000 is one of the first DLP designs to sport a new 0.65-inch digital micromirror device (DMD) from Texas Instruments. The DMD is the imaging chip at the heart of the DLP system.

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