LATEST ADDITIONS

Ears On
Format Change
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 16, 2006
This blog has a new name. What was formerly the Diablog has become From the Edge. The new name fits in more neatly with Maureen Jenson’s From the Top and Geoffrey Morrison’s From the Lab. It also signals a change in content. Starting this week, short news items will start appearing in this space several times a week. Now you’ll have an excuse to stop by more often. The news briefs will join the short reviews that have been appearing every third week. The longer, quirkier, dual-voiced Diablog commentaries, my labors of love, will continue at the rate of about one a month. So there you have the new format: news, reviews, and commentaries. Or as it says in the subhead, dispatches, demos, and diablogs. Please visit and comment often.
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Audio Video News
Portable Personal Surround Sound
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 16, 2006
JVC is coming to the rescue of all those multichannel-challenged folks wandering the planet listening to two boring channels flowing from iMP3 players to their ears through a standard pair of headphones or earphones. JVC's new SU-HD1, about the size of a typical wallet (bifold, not trifold), will accept analog (via an analog input cord that can be stored in the bottom of the slender gadget) or digital (courtesy of an optical digital mini-jack input) audio. Built-in Dolby Headphone technology provides a 5.1-channel surround sound experience through standard cheap or really good two-channel headphones. The SU-HD1 runs off of two AA batteries and weighs a mere 3.5 ounces when fully loaded.
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Lexicon RT-20 Universal Disc Player
Steven Stone  |  Jan 15, 2006

When you own a component, discovering it has been replaced by a newer version is always distressing. Suddenly, overnight, you've been saddled with obsolete gear. I've owned a Lexicon RT-10 universal DVD player since fall of 2004 when I bought my review sample. When Lexicon announced the RT-20, a month before the 2005 CEDIA show, I was bummed. The RT-10 had been on the market for slightly over a year when, WHAMMO, it was history. This is not typical Lexicon behavior. Usually they keep a product in their line for several years before they give it the old heave-ho.

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AV Receiver Reviews
Pioneer Elite VSX-74TXVi THX Select2 AV Receiver
Lawrence E. Ullman  |  Jan 15, 2006

Remarkable. That's the word that best describes the THX Select2 approved Pioneer Elite VSX-74TXVi AV receiver ($1500). This gloss-black beauty is remarkably sophisticated, remarkably flexible, and remarkably easy to setup, thanks to an amazing auto calibration function called Advanced MCACC. The feature set is remarkably deep and includes HDMI switching/processing, a built-in XM satellite radio tuner, a dedicated iPod input with fully integrated controls, and a full suite of THX functions. Even the unit's designation is remarkably long, so I'm going to refer to the VSX-74TXVi as the "74" for the duration of this review.

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Audio Video News
Vincent Electronics Home Theater Gear
 |  Jan 15, 2006

Since our CES reports are no longer laundry lists of products, over the next few weeks my news reports will feature some new and interesting gear that slipped through the <I>UAV</I> show coverage cracks. Like the home theater components shown by Vincent Electronics.

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Other Tech
Xbox 360
John Sciacca  |  Jan 14, 2006

Forget about DLP vs. LCoS or Blu-ray vs. HD DVD. The biggest battle heating up in the home-entertainment world right now is over who's going to rule the next generation of gaming. And Microsoft just launched the first strike - 100 megatons worth of silicon known as Xbox 360.

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Other Tech
Showtime: Apple’s New iPod
Peter Pachal  |  Jan 14, 2006
Fact Sheet
•30 GB, $299 ($399 with 60 GB) •23/8 x 41/8 x 3/8 in (1/2-in depth with 60 GB) •43/4 oz (51/2 oz with 60 GB) •320 x 240-pixel, 21/2-in LCD screen •Plays AAC, MP3, Audible, WAV, and
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Other Tech
Super Remotes
John Sciacca  |  Jan 14, 2006

With HDTV, 6.1-channel digital audio, and streaming audio and video files now theoretically at our fingertips, we truly have a bonanza of entertainment options! But let's face it - more often than not it's the fingertip part that becomes a system's Achilles' heel.

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The Custom Installer: Custom is Cool
John Sciacca  |  Jan 14, 2006

Remember back in high school? It seemed like everyone went to the Senior Prom. But as the party started winding down, the cool kids pulled away in rented limos and headed off to hotel rooms around town to continue partying the night away.

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Other Tech
Personal Satellite TV
Michael Antonoff  |  Jan 14, 2006
The Short Form
$599 / 8.25 x 4.25 x 0.75 IN / 1.25 LBS / pocketdish.com / 800-333-3474
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