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LCD TV Reviews
Test Report: Sony KDL-55W900A 3D LCD HDTV
Al Griffin  |  Jun 18, 2013

Sometimes, new isn't necessarily better. One example: MP3 downloads provided a convenient way for listeners to store and share music, but MP3 sound quality was a steep downgrade fromthat ofthe long-running CD format. And remember when Windows Vista OS was trotted out to replace Windows XP? Okay, some things are better left forgotten.

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SmartStream
Minx Air 100 Speaker vs. Sonos
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jun 18, 2013
Cambridge Audio's Minx Air 100 speaker streams music via Bluetooth and AirPlay. See how it compares to a Sonos home music system.
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Headphone Reviews
Review: NoiseHush i7
Brent Butterworth  |  Jun 17, 2013

Noise-cancelling headphones shouldn't be so expensive. In most cases, the technology is simple: a couple of tiny microphones, a cheap amplifier chip, and a simple filter circuit.

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Out Of The Blu
At Long Last Love, Adventure Time and House of Cards
Chris Chiarella  |  Jun 15, 2013
Peter Bogdanovich's buried musical resurfaces, a Cartoon Network favorite arrives in complete HD seasons, and a Spacey/Fincher collaboration is no longer a Netflix exclusive.
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Audio Video News
ESPN’s Decision to Close 3D Channel Raises the Question: Is 3D Dead?
HT Staff  |  Jun 14, 2013
Is 3D dead? That’s the question being asked in the wake of news that ESPN plans to close its ESPN 3D cable channel by the end of the year due to low demand—so low that audience ratings were below Nielsen's measurable threshold, according to a StarTribune report.

Voices throughout the industry are questioning whether 3D will ever take off or remain as a little used TV feature that will eventually wither away.

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Audio Video News
Cutting Edge Technologies Supplementing, Rather than Displacing, Older Tech
HT Staff  |  Jun 14, 2013
Tablets Owners in Particular Show Stronger Ownership/Uusage for Just About Every Type of Tech

The technological world moves incredibly fast, with cutting edge trends sometimes getting pushed to the edge of the information and entertainment superhighway almost before the digital ink of their announcements has dried. Netbooks, for example, seemed to be the next big thing for a short time until falling victim to their own limited capabilities. E-readers have faced speculation that they may follow a similar trend, though the jury is still out on this category, with 17 percent of U.S. adults owning one.

In fact, adopters of new technology appear reluctant to let go of the old technology their new devices threaten to replace.

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TV Reviews
Samsung PN60F8500 3D Plasma HDTV
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jun 14, 2013

2D Performance
3D Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
Price: $3,150 At A Glance: Crisp, detailed picture • Superb color performance • Near reference-quality blacks and shadow detail

When Samsung launched its new line of plasma HDTVs at last January’s CES, we were impressed. Those early demos indicated improved black levels and overall good performance. We were surprised to find later that the prices, though not exactly “Attention, K-Mart shoppers!” specials, aren’t Beverly Hills exclusives, either. From what we see here, these new Samsung plasmas, while unlikely to alter the market dominance of LCD, are welcome additions to the battle.

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Audio Video News
Hopper Fights Hate with VROOM
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jun 13, 2013
The war against Hopper—Dish Network’s zippy ad-skipping DVR—has taken a couple of new tacks. TV networks hate it because it enables viewers to breeze through brain-damaging ads. They’ve made their displeasure known by fighting Hopper’s AutoHop and PrimeTime Anytime features in court on flimsy copyright-violation grounds, apparently unaware that the Supreme Court sanctioned home time-shift recording in 1984’s Betamax Decision.
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Audio Video News
Vizio Introduces 80-Inch Smart TV for $4,000
HT Staff  |  Jun 13, 2013
Vizio today introduced its largest HDTV to date, the M801d 80-inch Razor LED Smart TV featuring a new Apps Plus platform and a competitive $4,000 price, the lowest list price for a TV of its size on the market.
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Vote
What's the best home theater demo material?
HT Staff  |  Jun 13, 2013
The demo to end all demos…what’s yours? Come on, everybody has a killer disc to pull out when a buddy from work comes over for a brewski or when a relative you haven’t seen in years visits for a long weekend. Nothing wrong with showing off a little, especially considering how much time and money you’ve put in to your rig. And for the betterment of the greater home theater community, please take a moment to enlighten us in the Comments section below: We want names, chapter numbers and the lowdown on what makes your favorite demo so special.
What's the best home theater demo material?
Computer animated movie
22% (216 votes)
Action/adventure movie
57% (559 votes)
Concert video
10% (102 votes)
Discovery Channel-type documentary
8% (83 votes)
Current hit TV show
0% (4 votes)
Reality TV show
0% (0 votes)
Palladium, the high-def music channel
2% (20 votes)
Total votes: 984
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