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Headphone Amp/DAC Reviews
Sieveking Sound Omega Headphone Stand
 |  Dec 21, 2010

Most high-end headphones come with a case or at least a pouch of some kind, but if you're constantly putting them on and taking them off, that kind of storage can get tedious. But, the Omega Headphone Stand solves that problem, offering an extremely beautiful and practical - if expensive - option. Each stand is steam molded into a shape designed to prevent the headband from stretching.

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Premiere Design
Ayre Acoustics DX-5 Universal Disc Player
Scott Wilkinson  |  Dec 21, 2010
The title of this Ultimate Gear entry identifies the DX-5 as a "universal disc player"—the better to snag search-engine hits with—but American manufacturer Ayre Acoustics calls it a "universal A/V engine." Why? In addition to playing every available audio and video optical-disc format, this box also provides a USB port that allows it to act as a portal for the music files on a computer.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Salt
David Vaughn  |  Dec 21, 2010
CIA operative Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie) is implicated as a sleeper agent by a Russian defector when he tells the agency she's going to assassinate the current Russian premier on his visit to the United States. Despite her protests, she's held for questioning and orchestrates the first of many implausible—yet wildly entertaining—escapes in order to clear her name. Let the chase begin!

Sony consistently puts out great looking Blu-rays, and this is no exception. The nearly flawless AVC encode has some jaw-dropping scenes, especially in the concrete jungles of Washington D.C. and New York. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack is just as impressive, with pinpoint placement of discrete effects, impressive dynamic range, and first-rate frequency response.

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Audio Video News
Dish Dishes Up 3D VOD
Mark Fleischmann  |  Dec 21, 2010
The Dish Network is going 3D, at least in a small way, with an initial round of movies in 3D 1080p from Dish Cinema On Demand.

December offerings will include Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, The Last Airbender, A Christmas Carol, and Step Up 3D. In January Dish will dish out Despicable Me, Shrek Forever After, and Saw: The Final Chapter. Pricing will be $5.99-7.99, probably an improvement over your local 3D movie theater. Resolution will be 1080p but the announcement did not reveal the 3D format to be used.

Dish is also running a Home for the Holidays Sweepstakes through the end of this month. Rent a qualifying program and you may win a Sony 46-inch LED-backlit LCD TV, Sony sat nav, Sony Webbie HD camera, a Fox Family Price Pack, "and more."

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Audio Video News
Google TV Juggernaut Slows
Mark Fleischmann  |  Dec 21, 2010
Google has requested that TV makers not make Google TV related product announcements at next month's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

According to The New York Times, which broke the story last week, Google wants to "refine the software, which has received a lukewarm reception." The newspaper cited similar delays in Android-related tablets whose debuts have been pushed into the future, adding: "Industry analysts also say Google's sudden change of plans reflects a weakness in the company's business culture around managing relationships with partners."

In addition to current Google TV products from Sony and Logitech, Samsung will show a Google TV at CES. But the Times says LG, Sharp, and Toshiba will not. No others were raising their heads above the parapet at presstime.

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AV Receiver Reviews
Yamaha Aventage RX-A2000 A/V Receiver
Mark Fleischmann  |  Dec 20, 2010

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
Price: $1,500 At A Glance: Vibration-killing fifth foot and other refinements • HQV Vida video processing, DLNA certification • Proprietary YPAO auto setup and room correction

On the Right Foot

Surround aficionados often look at the front and back panels of an A/V receiver under consideration. But how often do we flip over the AVR and look at its bottom? If you do that with the Yamaha Aventage RX-A2000, you’ll see a total of five feet. The fifth foot, Yamaha’s press release explains, is there “to improve structural rigidity, reduce vibration, and improve sound.” Some Aventage models also include double-bottom construction and other improved parts. With all these changes, Yamaha is confident enough to add an extra year to the warranty, now three years for Aventage AVRs.

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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsOther Tech
3D Content: What's Out There?
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Dec 20, 2010

Most 3D TVs have some sort of faux-3D mode that can add a certain amount of depth to a 3D image. For that real 3D, though, you need original 3D content. There's a fair amount out there, but frustratingly, not all of it is available to everyone.

With this guide, we here at S+V will help you navigate the murky waters of the current state of 3D content.

BLU-RAY

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Premiere Design
Book of Music Teti Speaker
Scott Wilkinson  |  Dec 20, 2010
When Italian speaker maker Book of Music refers to its Teti floorstander as a "no conventional enclosure system," it's not kidding. Standing nearly five feet tall, this 2-way design looks sort of like a twisted stack of books about to topple over.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Town (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Dec 20, 2010
Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) is the leader of a Boston bank robber gang but is not cut from the same cloth as his fellow thieves. When Doug falls in love with the bank manager (Rebecca Hall) briefly taken hostage in one of their heists, he wants to leave his criminal past behind and start a new life. As the Feds close in, his best friend (Jeremy Renner) questions his loyalty he's left with two choices—betray his friends or lose the woman he loves.

I've never been particularly impressed with Affleck as an actor, but he certainly has talent as a director. He gets the most out of the cast—including himself—orchestrates some realistic bank heists, and delivers one of the most intense films I've seen in a long time.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Catfish—Universal (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Dec 20, 2010
In late 2007, filmmakers Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost sensed a story unfolding as they began to film the life of Ariel's brother, Nev. They had no idea that their project would lead to the most exhilarating and unsettling months of their lives. A reality thriller that is a shocking product of our times, "Catfish" is a riveting story of love, deception and grace within a labyrinth of online intrigue.

This film was shot as a documentary with lower budget HD cameras. So compared to most full cinema productions, this one looks pretty low rent. Detail is still quite good though with brighter scenes looking like they should. There is a mix of camera types being used so as the film progresses the video quality bounces back and forth, but given the nature of the film there is nothing to really complain about.

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