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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Unknown—Warner Bros.
Kris Deering  |  Jun 18, 2011
Video: 4/5
Audio: 4.5/5
Extras: 3/5
Liam Neeson plays Dr. Martin Harris, who awakens after a car accident in Berlin to discover that his wife suddenly doesn't recognize him and another man has assumed his identity. Ignored by disbelieving authorities and hunted by mysterious assassins, he finds himself alone, tired and on the run. Aided by an unlikely ally, Harris plunges into a deadly mystery forcing him to question his sanity, his identity and just how far he's willing to go to uncover the truth.
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Audio Video News
Cutting (most of) the cords
Michael Berk  |  Jun 17, 2011

Seems like everybody's trying to cut down on your desktop clutter these days, paring down the collection of cables it takes to run all of your gear - and introducing new standards in the process.

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Other Tech
The Missing Link: Streaming Connections
Rob Sabin  |  Jun 17, 2011
Successful streaming is about making the right connection.

If you’ve just read “Streaming for the Masses”, you’ve got some idea of the range of hardware that lets you stream video and music from the Internet to your home entertainment system. The primary options include HDTVs, Blu-ray players, A/V receivers, game consoles, and various DVRs and dedicated streaming appliances. To some extent, it does matter which you choose, both in terms of the content you can access and your ability to connect it for the best picture or sound quality.

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Vote
What Type of Surround Speakers Do You Use?
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jun 17, 2011
Back in March, I asked what is your main speaker configuration, and 52 percent of respondents picked 5.1, with another 28 percent saying 7.1. So now I wonder what type of surround speakers you use—bipole, dipole, and/or monopole.

What's the difference? Bipole and dipole surround speakers include two sets of drivers that fire more or less in opposite directions—with bipoles, the drivers are in phase, while a dipole's drivers are out of phase, creating a null region along the central axis between the drivers. Monopoles are simply conventional direct-radiating speakers with a single set of drivers that many prefer for multichannel music, but they don't create a diffuse surround soundfield that benefits most movie soundtracks.

Vote to see the results and leave a comment about your choice, especially if you use a combination in a 7.1 system. What combo do you use, and why?

What Type of Surround Speakers Do You Use?
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Ask S&V
Dream Home Theater
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jun 17, 2011
What gear would you get if you were building your dream home theater? Let's say you had an unlimited budget for video and $100,000 for audio. What speakers, amp, preamp, projector, and screen would you get? Also what would your surround configuration be? 7.1, 9.2, 11.4? Where would you put the speakers? Would you utilize the back surrounds or front height and width channels?

Spencer Torgan

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Unknown (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Jun 17, 2011
Arriving in Berlin for a technology conference, Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) must make a mad dash back to the airport in order to find his left-behind briefcase that contains some valuable information and his passport. In his haste, he leaves his wife (January Jones) at the hotel check-in and doesn't tell her where he's headed. After a horrific accident, he awakens in a hospital four days later and is troubled to learn that no one has come looking for him. He tracks down his wife at the conference and discovers that she doesn't recognize him, and another man (Aidan Quinn) has assumed his identity. Is he going mad?

With his starring role in Taken, Neeson showed he had the chops to handle the action genre and he delivers another solid performance here. The pacing is fantastic and the story keeps you on the edge of your seat until the tidy and disappointing ending.

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Audio Video News
Comedian to Do Streaming-Only Show
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jun 17, 2011
Dave Chappelle intends to launch a new comedy show that won't appear on broadcast, cable, or satellite TV. If you want to see it, you'll have to stream it. The show would mark Chappelle's return to TV after his highly rated Comedy Central show crashed and burned.

From whom you'd be streaming was still up for grabs at presstime. Some observers said Netflix would be the obvious choice. But Hulu or some other streaming service could turn out to be the lucky winner.

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Premiere Design
Plinius Hiato Integrated Amplifier
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jun 16, 2011
According to the brochure for the Hiato 2-channel integrated amplifier from Plinius Audio, "Benefiting from our tranquil location in the inspirational natural environment of New Zealand, the Plinius design team brings you products that faithfully reproduce the emotional touchstones of your favourite music. The holistic integrity of nature's designs inspire Plinius to combine wonderful sound, superb finishes, and technical excellence to delight the senses." Sounds good to me.
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Review: Thiel Audio SCS4T Tower Speakers
Brent Butterworth  |  Jun 16, 2011

TEST BENCH

Frequency response (at 2 meters)
51 Hz to 20 kHz ±4.2 dB

Sensitivity (SPL at 1 meter with 2.8 volts of pink-noise input)
86 dB

Impedance (minimum/nominal)
2.8/4 ohms

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3D Projector ReviewsProjector Reviews
Review: Sharp XV-Z17000 3D DLP projector
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Jun 16, 2011

Sharp was once king of the $10,000 projector class, a class now nearly disappeared. With the 3D era under way, it returns to the game with this $4,995 offering, only to find the market far more competitive than before. Most notable is the $500-cheaper JVC DLA-X3, the baby brother of the X7 model I reviewed in the April/May issue. 

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