LATEST ADDITIONS

3D Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Imax Deep Sea 3D (Blu-ray 3D)
David Vaughn  |  Jan 14, 2011
Narrated by Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet, Imax Deep Sea guides you on an astonishing adventure that lets you swim alongside our planet's most exotic creatures. You'll follow green sea turtles as they gather at the cleaning stop so surgeonfish can strip harmful algae from their shells, see Humboldt squid change color four times per second like a strobe light, and witness a mantis shrimp fight off an octopus.

This is the second time I've seen this documentary on home video, but experiencing it in 3D blows away the DVD. Our oceans house some of the most interesting creatures on our planet and this Imax presentation takes you right into the action with freakishly realistic visuals.

Continue Reading »
Vote
Can Recorded Music Ever Be Indistinguishable From Live?
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 14, 2011

Remember the old commercial—"Is it live, or is it Memorex?" The question of whether or not recorded music can be indistinguishable from a live performance has been bandied about since the first days of Thomas Edison's "talking machine," when many listeners claimed the recorded sound was identical to the original.

Of course, our modern ears are more refined than that, but so are modern recording and playback systems, so the question remains, and much has been written about it. Stereophile editor John Atkinson documented an interesting experiment in which he recorded a live piano recital and immediately played the recording for the same audience, and Michael Lavorgna addressed the issue in Stereophile here. Steve Guttenberg provides more food for thought in an article for Stereophile and his Audiophiliac blog on cnet.com.

So I ask you: Do you think it's at least theoretically possible for recorded music to be indistinguishable from a live performance, perhaps with a massively multichannel recording and playback system? Or is the question moot, since they are two different things altogether?

Vote to see the results and leave a comment about your choice; I look forward to reading your thoughts on this one.

Can Recorded Music Ever Be Indistinguishable From Live?
Continue Reading »
3D Audio Alliance Makes Waves
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 14, 2011

SRS CTO and 3DAA spokesman Alan Kraemer talks about the fledgling organization that's out to change the way audio is mixed in the studio and played at home.

DTS Goes to 11
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 14, 2011

DTS's latest technology is dubbed Neo:X, which is designed for 11.1 audio systems; surround-music mixer and DTS consultant Fred Maher provides the lowdown.

Making Sense of Sensio
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 14, 2011

Sensio announced three new 3D technologies as explained by VP of Marketing and Communications Louis Rousseau.

Continue Reading »
TDVision's 3D Alternative
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 14, 2011

Ethan Schur, TDVision's Chief Marketing Officer, explains the company's 2D+delta approach to 3D encoding.

Affinity for Da-Lite
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 14, 2011

Video guru Joe Kane talks about Da-Lite's Affinity screen and how it makes materials of different gain perform the same.

LG's Passive Resistance
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 14, 2011

John Taylor, LG's VP of Public Affairs and Communications, explains the benefits of passive-polarized 3D TVs.

Accessory ReviewsThe Connected Life
Control Your Remote
John Sciacca  |  Jan 14, 2011

There are so many Pow! Bang! Ka-chow! buzzwords thrown out by the consumer electronics industry's marketing war chariots that smaller, more important things often get lost or completely overwhelmed in the ground clutter.

Continue Reading »
3D Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Imax Under the Sea 3D (Blu-ray 3D)
David Vaughn  |  Jan 13, 2011
Imagine a world of incredible color and beauty. Of crabs wearing jellyfish for hats or of fish disguised as frogs, stones, and shag carpets. Journey into the waters of the Great Barrier Reef and other South Pacific realms and immerse yourself into 3D from the comfort of your own home.

Here's the first of many Blu-ray 3D reviews you'll be seeing at UltimateAVmag.com. For the sake of full disclosure, our household was divided about 3D. My wife and daughter have always enjoyed it, while my son and I haven't, with one exception—Avatar. Everyone enjoyed the 3D experience of James Cameron's blockbuster at our local theater.

Continue Reading »

Pages

X