It's hard to get too excited about most inexpensive HTiBs. That's not to say a system has to cost a lot to be a great value. In fact, there are plenty of one-box-fits-all systems that pack a lot of punch for what you pay. But there's usually so much emphasis on quantity of features that the quality often suffers. In some cases, the system is a hodgepodge of gear thrown together by a manufacturer that sees how popular HTiBs are with the general public and doesn't want to miss out on grabbing its share of the pie.
The $3,999 TH-50PZ750U is in Panasonic's first group of 50" 1080p consumer plasma televisions. There is even a 50" model in the 700 series that offers fewer features than the set we're reviewing here, but costs $500 less.
Until recently, Sony's popular LCD video projectors carried the Cineza brand name. Apart from the fact that I always wanted to say, "bless you" whenever someone said Cineza, it was perfectly fine name. But Sony has now extended the "BRAVIA" moniker, once used to designate only its flat panel displays, across its line of displays.
The Supreme Court adopted a looser standard for price fixing yesterday, ruling that manufacturers may sometimes set minimum prices for products without violating antitrust statutes. Good thing, say manufacturers. Bad thing, say consumer groups.
According to a report by Video Business, Warner is sending out some mixed messages regarding the launch of its Total HD Blu-ray/HD DVD combo discs. The launch was originally set for later this year, but at the Entertainment Supply Chain Academy conference in LA this week one Warner exec was quoted as saying there was no official launch date and that a Q4 2007 launch for Total HD is "unlikely," while another exec cited a first-quarter 2008 launch for the combo format.
Yes, high-def fans, there is music on those formats. There just isn't much of it, relatively speaking. Back in the January 2007 issue of Sound & Vision, I rounded up the first batch of titles in a review called Found What We're Looking For!...
One of the things we’ll be doing regularly here in da Bitstream is discuss music and DVDs we’re otherwise unable to get to in the magazine proper or cover over in the website’s Entertainment review section. (Ken Richardson has more on that manifesto...
For those who are camping out all night waiting for an iPhone (they go on sale tomorrow at 6 pm), I say save your money. Check out suckbusters.com and read more. And if you do go ahead and get one, drop me a note and let me know what you think. ...
In one nation, at least, downloading--illegal or otherwise--hasn't killed CD sales. British music fans were still buying CDs in 2006 at the same rate as in 2005.
