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Audio Video News
Hey Buster, You Got Game?
SV Staff  |  Apr 29, 2008
True story: a guy walks into a Blockbuster wearing a NetFlix T-shirt, and the clerk shoots him dead. Just kidding. But it's been a long time since Blockbuster's profits from VHS rentals impressed Wall Street. What with that Interweb thing, it's...
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Audio Video News
Are YOU a Slacker?
SV Staff  |  Apr 29, 2008
Hey! What the hell's the matter with you? Why aren't you slacking off? Stop working so hard, and kick back and listen to some tunes. And for true slackitude, go to Slacker.com. It's an intuitively adaptive Internet radio service that learns what...
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Fred Manteghian Blog
Real Men of Genius
Fred Manteghian  |  Apr 29, 2008

One of the myriad benefits we can enjoy now with the end of the high definition disc format war is the elimination of competition that threatened to drive down prices of hardware and software. Imagine what would happen if cars came in different colors. What a mess.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
First Sunday—Columbia Pictures (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Apr 29, 2008
Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 3/5
Extras: 2.5/5
When the first trailers hit for Ice Cube's new comedy, I somehow thought this might be a new addition to the Friday series. That is definitely not the case, though the films do have some slight resemblances. In the beginning I thought this one was actually borrowing a bit too much from the themes and setups of Friday but once the story really got rolling things settled out a bit. I'm not going to lie; this one stumbles a lot out of the gate. My wife and I weren't clicking with the rather forced comedy early on in the film, but if you give this one a chance it makes up for it in the second and third act and actually turns out to be a fun film with a good heart. The comedy can be a bit hit or miss at times since some of the jokes are a bit forced, but overall we had a good time with it.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Golden Compass—New Line (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Apr 29, 2008
Video: 4.75/5
Audio: 5/5
Extras: 4/5
New Line's epic gamble from last Christmas finds its way to Blu-ray in stunning 2-disc form. The Golden Compass is the first of three stories in the His Dark Materials trilogy, a rather popular set of young adult stories. The film was met with mixed enthusiasm and a subtle amount of controversy because of "religious overtones". Frankly, I don't see what all the fuss was about. The story has a very wide arc and excellent character work. As far as fantasy films go, this one was solid from start to finish. The production values were superb and I really hope we see a continuation of the trilogy since this one leaves off on a high note that almost demands a sequel.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Shall We Dance?—Miramax (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Apr 29, 2008
Video: 3.5/5
Audio: 4.5/5
Extras: 3/5
Unbeknownst to most people Shall We Dance? is actually a remake of a Japanese movie. Thankfully it fares much better than the endless amount of Japanese horror remakes we see on this shore. Gere plays a husband who is in search of some spark in his life as he continues the daily grind day in and day out. A young dancer catches his eye on his way home so he decides to check out the school where she works. What he finds is a new passion and direction in his life that has him feeling young and motivated again. This film takes an interesting look at relationships and how people need to find their own niche in life. It's a great film for couples and fans of dance alike.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Untraceable—Screen Gems (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Apr 29, 2008
Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 3.5/5
A disturbing thriller in the vein of Saw, Untraceable stars Diane Lane as the head of an FBI internet watch team that stumbles onto a killer who uses the internet to broadcast the torture of his victims. The twist is, the more people that watch the faster the person dies. The FBI tries desperately to shut him down but to no avail. Things go really bad when the killer starts targeting members of the team. The movie doesn't bring anything real new to the table but it is effective at what it is. The torture methods are on the disturbing side so I wouldn't suggest this one to the casual thriller fan. I think a few more twists or a bit more character depth from the killer would have improved the film some.
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Audio Video News
Velcro. . .secret to world's thinnest TV mount!
SV Staff  |  Apr 29, 2008
I'm not gonna lie; it's nice to be proven right. For the "CES 2008 in Perspective" article, I wrote, "Note to flat-panel wall-mount manufacturers: 2-inch-thick mounts aren't going to cut it anymore. Start working on new designs now!" And today,...
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Audio Video News
Netflix Wants Extra Green for Blu-ray
Mark Fleischmann  |  Apr 29, 2008
Proving that no good deed goes unpunished, cutting-edge videophiles who rent Blu-ray discs from Netflix will be charged extra. High res equals high price.
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The Big Picture
The Mathematics of Value
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 28, 2008  |  First Published: Apr 29, 2008

Once again, I am very gratified at the thoughtful responses to last week's blog that were posted here and e-mailed to me. Clearly, <I>UAV</I> has many intelligent, articulate readers, and I thank you for sharing your insights, which will help me select the best products to review. Instead of posting inline replies to the comments left during the week (sadly, an activity I don't often have time for), I'll summarize my thoughts here, partly so I can devote some undivided attention to them and partly in the hopes that the discussion will continue...

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