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Audio Video News
Blockbuster in danger of busting
SV Staff  |  Apr 07, 2009
Yesterday, Blockbuster disclosed that it might not be able to stay in business. This comes only a week after the company revealed that it had a recently-amended $250 million revolving loan that matures in September of next year. The loan relies on...
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Audio Video News
Beatles CDs remastered. Finally.
SV Staff  |  Apr 07, 2009
That's right, the press release just arrived this morning at 9 o'clock on the dot. Here it is, in full. And stay tuned to our Bitstream blog in the coming days because, after I've had some time to mull over the press release myself,...
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Other Tech
Tech Trends '09: Special K
Rob Medich  |  Apr 06, 2009

In a wintry scene on a certain Blu-ray Disc I'm watching, I can see subtle shadings in the whites of the snow-covered yards. All around, contrast is crisp, and color is stunning - such as the perfect-hued skin tones of the leading man's face. Not to mention the brilliant shade of azure in his matching scarf and hat. (Has such a tint ever appeared onscreen before?)

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Audio Video News
Baseball now better on the Web than on TV
SV Staff  |  Apr 06, 2009
Try as they may, there's still nothing that compares to sitting in an uncomfortable stadium seat for nine innings. The battle for runner-up, however has gotten to be quite interesting. While plunking down in front of the TV to watch a game is...
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Tower Speaker Reviews
Sonus faber Toy/REL T1 Speaker System
Michael Fremer  |  Apr 06, 2009
Price: $6,044 At A Glance: Elegant, understated styling • Sweet yet detailed sound • Excellent dialogue intelligibility • Coherent three-dimensional picture • High SPLs without strain

Leather-Clad Pleasure Toy

What’s in a name? If a 1960s-era General Motors marketing consultant had suggested a car brand-named Toyota, he’d have been laughed out of the room and probably lost his job. “Are you crazy, man? No one’s gonna buy a car with toy in the name!” No one at GM is laughing at Toyota today. The car brand was named for its founder, Kiichiro Toyoda, so the company had a reason to toy around with the designation.

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Pioneer Elite Kuro PRO-141FD Plasma HD Monitor
Thomas J. Norton  |  Apr 06, 2009
Price: $7,000 At A Glance: Pricey, but offers unsurpassed image quality • No tuners or audio system • Last of the breed

The Last Hurrah for Kuro?

As I was finishing up this review, word arrived that Pioneer will exit the video display business. The economic climate, Pioneer’s premium prices, and the increasing market share of LCD displays combined to create a perfect storm that the company could not overcome. Pioneer panels will continue to be available through the end of 2009, including the Elite Signature Series monitors.

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Audio Video News
Music Industry Loses Grip on Young
Mark Fleischmann  |  Apr 06, 2009
More bad news for the music industry: Not only are young listeners buying fewer CDs--they're also downloading less music, even from illegal sources. They still like music, but they're getting it from new alternative sources, and the shift in listening habits is both remarkable and recent.
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Other Tech
Tech Trends '09: Screen Dreams
Al Griffin  |  Apr 05, 2009

Each year, people like me attend the Consumer Electronics Show hoping to see indications of a forthcoming display technology that will make current TV tech - LCD and plasma, mostly - seem as outdated as the tube TVs piling up in landfills around the world (or not - see "Tech Goes Green" on page 56 for more on that story).

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
No Country For Old Men—Miramax (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Apr 05, 2009
Video: 5/5
Audio: 4.5/5
Extras: 3.5/5
When a man stumbles on a bloody crime scene, a pickup truck loaded with heroin, and two million dollars in irresistible cash, his decision to take the money sets off an unstoppable chain reaction of violence. Not even West Texas law can contain it.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Mean Girls—Paramount Pictures (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Apr 05, 2009
Video: 4.25/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 3.75/5
Raised in the African bush country by her zoologist parents, Cady thinks she knows all about the "survival of the fittest." But the law of the jungle takes on a whole new meaning when the home-schooled 15-year-old enters public high school for the first time. Trying to find her place among jocks, mathletes and other subcultures, Cady crosses the meanest species of all - the Queen Bee, aka the cool and calculating Regina, leader of the school's most fashionable clique, The Plastics. When Cady falls for Regina's ex-boyfriend, though, the Queen Bee is stung - and she schemes to ruin Cady's social future. Cady's own claws soon come out as she leaps into a hilarious "Girl World" war that has the whole school running for cover.
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