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3D Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Gnomeo and Juliet 3D—Walt Disney
Kris Deering  |  May 24, 2011
Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 3/5
Caught up in a feud between neighbors; Gnomeo and Juliet must overcome as many obstacles as their namesakes. But with flamboyant pink flamingoes and epic lawnmower races, can this young couple find lasting happiness?
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Audio Video News
Lot of water under the bridge, lot of other stuff too
Michael Berk  |  May 24, 2011

 

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The Big Picture
DreamWorks Animation Campus
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 24, 2011
During our visit to DreamWorks Animation for the Samsung reviewers' workshop, we weren't allowed to take photos inside any of the buildings (except the motion-capture stage where the event was held), but we were free to take pictures of the grounds. Here are a few of my shots to give you an idea of just how idyllic the place is.
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Ask S&V
Picture Control & Backlight Settings
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 24, 2011
I've always used the Spears and Munsil High Definition Benchmark Blu-ray disc to set up my TVs, and I find that there are many ways to skin a cat as far as settings are concerned. For example, I get the same result if I set contrast to 87 and backlight to 33 or brightness to 67 and backlight to 22. Is there any real difference as long as the result on screen meets the suggested result on the Spears and Munsil disc?

In a related question, does it make a difference in the cadence tests to use the deinterlacing of the TV versus the AVR ?

Kevin Cochran

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Other Source Component ReviewsBlu-ray Player Reviews
Ayre Acoustics DX-5 Universal A/V Engine
Shane Buettner  |  May 24, 2011

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
Price: $9,950 At A Glance: Breathtaking picture and sound with all 5-inch silver discs • State-of-the-art audio performance with USB audio • No 3D

The Last Great Silver Disc Player?

The era of 5-inch silver disc players began in the 1980s, and it isn’t over yet. But even quality-driven, Blu-ray- and CD-playing dinosaurs like me are compelled to admit that there are fewer days ahead for the disc player than there are behind it. The Ayre Acoustics DX-5 Universal A/V Engine ($9,950) builds a bridge between yesterday and tomorrow. The DX-5 is a universal disc player. It plays CD, SACD, DVD-Video/Audio, and Blu-ray Discs. But it’s also a cutting-edge digital-to-analog converter for digital audio files from a variety of sources, up to 24-bit/192-kilohertz. Its supertrick analog audio outputs are stereo only, so the only people who need apply are extreme videophiles and two-channel audiophiles who want a reference-quality universal Blu-ray player and state-of-the-art playback of digital audio files. The DX-5 is loaded with crucial and daring proprietary technology, and it’s the best-sounding, most versatile digital source component I’ve had in my system. The price tag? Who cares. Don’t you want to know more?

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Audio Video News
Vizio Products to Get Vudu Button
Mark Fleischmann  |  May 24, 2011
In the mood for Vudu's 1080p video stream with Dolby Digital Plus surround? Vizio is going to make it easy for you by building a dedicated Vudu button into 2011 TVs, Blu-ray players, and set-top boxes.

Vudu says other manufacturers will offer the button too though their names weren't disclosed at presstime.

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Streaming Device ReviewsCustom Installation How-To
Review: Sonos S5 ZonePlayer and 3.4 System Update
Michael Berk  |  May 23, 2011
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The Big Picture
Samsung Reviewers' Workshop
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 23, 2011
Last Thursday, Samsung held a day-long workshop for TV reviewers on the campus of DreamWorks Animation in Glendale, California. About 25 journalists assembled in the studio's motion-capture stage, which is painted the same Munsell gray as our own video-testing lab and ringed with cameras to capture the motion of actors wearing bodysuits with reflective dots all over them. Fortunately, we were not asked to wear such suits!
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Ask S&V
In-Wall/In-Ceiling Speakers
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 23, 2011
I have a 15x32 living room with a plasma TV above a fireplace in the center of the 32-foot wall. I would like to put in a pseudo-home theater with 5.1or 7.1 surround sound, but I'm limited to a 5-inch-high center speaker/soundbar (up to four feet wide) under the TV, two in-wall speakers in front, and two or four in-ceiling speakers. What do you think of Polk, Gallo, Revel, and Episode (or other) in-ceiling and in-wall speakers, and what would you get on a $3000-4000 budget?

Chuck

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Subwoofer Reviews
Paradigm Reference Signature SUB 2 Subwoofer
Shane Buettner  |  May 23, 2011
Price: $9,000 At A Glance: Room- and house-threatening LFE bass for movies • Surprising rhythm, pacing, and articulation for music • Relatively small footprint for a behemoth sub

Because You Can

So, I’m wheeling this ginormous 230-pound Paradigm subwoofer down and around the side of my house, to the double-door, daylight basement that serves as my home theater room. Being impatient, I’m doing this by myself and hoping like hell I don’t tip the thing over and watch it roll end over end down the slope in my backyard. About this time, it occurs to me to wonder, “Why am I even reviewing something this big?” The answer that came to mind is probably the same reason people will buy this $9,000 powder keg of bass. Because I can.

Of course, there’s more to it than that. At CES 2010, the best home theater demo I saw and heard was in the Anthem room, with Anthem’s electronics and sister brand Paradigm’s speakers and subwoofers. The bass was sensational, thunderous, and room shaking, and yet it was strikingly refined. That was the first time I saw the SUB 2, a 4,500-watt subwoofer (rated RMS, and never mind if you can actually get that out of your wall), with six 10-inch woofers arrayed in pairs, firing out of three sides of the cabinet. You read that right. I was every bit as awestruck as you probably are now. Why would Paradigm design and build such a thing? Because they can. In home theater and in life, it’s my firm belief that anything worth doing is worth overdoing. If that’s your philosophy too, read on, because the SUB 2 is a helluva ride.

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