For a company that recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, Harman Kardon looks maahvelous. Consider the sleek industrial design of the company's new AVR-series receivers. With minimalist gloss-black front panels and distinctive, ring-shaped, blue-illuminated volume controls, these components look both strikingly modern and a tad retro—an appropriate synthesis coming from the company that introduced the world's first receiver back in 1954.
<I>Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci. Directed by Peter Chelsom. Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 (anamorphic). 106 minutes. 2004. Dolby Digital 5.1 (English and French). Miramax 39202. PG-13. $29.99.</I>
Anyone who has ever shopped for A/V equipment knows the pain of having to choose between two (or more) pieces of gear. Although each one may be almost exactly what you wanted, neither is 100 percent perfect in terms of features and performance. A new web-based build-to-order product configuration tool from Integra and Integra Research aims to eliminate such buying dilemmas.
Like most people planning on "popping the question," I wanted everything to be perfect the night I asked my wife to marry me. We started the evening with coffee at the café in San Francisco where we met, followed by dinner where we had our first date, then Phantom of the Opera, and finally dessert at a restaurant overlooking the city.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/headshot150.sw.jpg" WIDTH=150 HEIGHT=200 HSPACE=6 VSPACE=4 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Most of the content on this Web site concerns how to get the most out of watching movies in a home theater. However, I readily admit that I spend most of my tube time watching television programming, both HD and SD. Now, don't get me wrong—I love watching a fine film from a high-quality DVD on a big screen with surround sound in cozy comfort. But I also love to watch TV, and a quality home theater system enhances this pastime as well.
With all the hoopla surrounding digital rights management (DRM), which strives to protect A/V content from being illegally copied in the digital domain, there's been little attention paid to copies made from analog outputs. That could soon change if the recent agreements between Macrovision and Microsoft are any indication.
After many years in plasma-manufacturing partnership, Fujitsu and Hitachi have agreed to change their relationship. Specifically, Hitachi will acquire Fujitsu's stock in Fujitsu Hitachi Plasma Display Limited (FHP) as well as Fujitsu's plasma display panel (PDP) technology patents. Once both companies have provided financial assistance to eliminate FHP's excessive debt by the end of March, the stock transfer will proceed quickly, making FHP a consolidated subsidiary of Hitachi.
The most expensive and problematic component of any home theater system is the room. Changing speakers or electronics seems like child's play compared with trying to change the room in an attempt to tame its resonant frequency nodes (areas where certain frequencies are cancelled) and antinodes (areas of reinforcement). Correcting a room electronically is a far more practical solution to most rooms' problems.