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AV Receiver Reviews
Yamaha Aventage RX-A1010 A/V Receiver
David Vaughn  |  Apr 18, 2012

Audio Performance
Video Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
Price: $1,100 At A Glance: Audiophile-quality sound • Great build quality • Outstanding iDevice app

In George Orwell’s futuristic novel 1984, Big Brother takes away the citizens’ free choice. This is one man’s vision of our future—and it’s turned out to be just the opposite. In fact, one could argue we have too many choices. For example, say you’re looking for a new car and have narrowed down your choice to a Ford Mustang. Your decision doesn’t stop there. You must now choose among 11 different models that range from $21k for the base to a jaw-dropping $54k for a Shelby GT500 Convertible. If money is no object, then grab some sunscreen and cruise in style. But for anyone on a budget, some difficult decisions need to be made before your purchase.

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Tech2
Surround Sound Shakeups
Brent Butterworth  |  Apr 18, 2012

This week may be the most eventful in history for surround-sound geeks. Yesterday, one of the biggest names in surround sound — DTS — announced it had acquired another of the biggest names in surround sound, SRS.

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Home Theater Geeks Podcast
Podcast 107: Live from NAB 2012
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 17, 2012
In this special episode live from the 2012 National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention in Las Vegas, Leo Laporte and I walk the show floor, talking to representatives from Canon, Panasonic, JVC, and Sony about new technologies that will improve the consumer experience of TV and movies. Particularly interesting is the rapidly falling cost of 4K digital-video cameras from Canon, JVC, and Sony as well as a new 3D conversion technology from JVC. We also talk to Panasonic's Peter Fannon about the upcoming Summer Olympics in 3D and see 4K flat-panel reference monitors in the Canon, JVC, and Sony booths that look amazing even at relatively small sizes.

Run Time: 1:40:15

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
David Vaughn  |  Apr 17, 2012

When the first Mission: Impossible hit the theaters in 1996, I found the story to be a little confusing and flat. Subsequent viewings showed it to be a movie that got better with time. Unfortunately, the sequel in 2000 was a dud—the action was great, but the screenplay wasn't anything to brag about. Lucky for us, J.J. Abrams took over in 2006 and delivered the strongest movie in Mission: Impossible III with end-to-end action and a compelling story. The fourth installment is produced by Abrams and directed by Brad Bird (The Incredibles), who shows he can deliver a live-action film with fantastic pacing and intriguing characters. I guess Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is just like fine wine—he gets better with age. Not only do I think this is the best film of the bunch, the audio and video quality are demo-worthy with fabulous detail, rich colors, and one of the most engaging Dolby TrueHD 7.1 soundtracks available on Blu-ray.
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Tech2
In the Mix: What Makes a DJ Headphone?
Michael Berk  |  Apr 16, 2012

Today we take a look at some more fallout from the personal listening explosion, with an assist from the vinyl revival and the continuing rise of electronic music. Visit a headphone retailer these days, you'll find a lot of models meant, supposedly, for the professional DJ - or at least meant to make the casual listener look like they might be the sort of person who spends a lot of time at the decks.

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Tech2
SoundBest: An App With a Fix for Faulty Hearing
Brent Butterworth  |  Apr 16, 2012

Many audio manufacturers have addressed the changes that room acoustics afflict on our sound systems. But until a week ago, I knew of no audio manufacturers who’ve addressed the changes that our hearing causes on sound.

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Ask S&V
PIP No More
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 16, 2012
Are there any current or upcoming LCD, plasma, or OLED flat-panel TVs with a two-tuner picture-in-picture feature? Several years ago, many manufacturers offered this feature, but it seems to have disappeared. I do not choose to purchase another tuner device to obtain a PIP image.

A. Craigson

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Vote
Is 3D Conversion of Existing Movies Worthwhile?
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 13, 2012
As I discuss in my blog this week, I just saw the new 3D conversion of Titanic. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would—and way more than the recent Star Wars Episode I conversion. I suspect this is largely due to the fact that writer/director James Cameron is a 3D fanatic, so he was bound to do it right.

How do you feel about converting existing 2D movies to 3D (assuming it's done well)? Is it worthwhile? If so, what movies would you like to see converted? Or do you think this is an abomination and all existing movies should be left alone?

Vote to see the results and leave a comment about your choice.

Is 3D Conversion of Existing Movies Worthwhile?
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The Big Picture
Titanic 3D Floats
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 13, 2012
Last night, I saw Titanic in its new 3D release at an AMC ETX (Enhanced Theater eXperience) venue. Using two projectors and RealD passive glasses, the image was brighter than single-projector RealD and way brighter than Arclight's Xpand active-glasses system. So how was the 3D conversion?
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Vintage Gear
Nakamichi Dragon Cassette Deck
Steve Guttenberg  |  Apr 13, 2012
LPs and 45-rpm singles remained the unchallenged music formats throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and well into the 1970s when the Compact Cassette really took off. Cassettes were more portable and didn’t suffer from scratches and surface noise issues (but tape hiss could be a problem). The cassette was also the first recordable format to garner a bona-fide, mass-market foothold.
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