I'm always on the lookout for extreme A/V products, so when I came across a Dutch company called <A href="http://www.kharma.com">Kharma</A>, I was intrigued by its Grand Enigma, one of the world's most expensive 2-channel speaker systems at a cool $1,000,000. I don't have enough info to profile that product just yet, but meanwhile, I thought it might be fun to take a look at the company's next-most-expensive Exquisite line, which offers a complete—and still <I>very</I> pricey—home-theater package.
Welcome to the world of technological convergence. While they were once restricted to the desktop, PCs have all the power and functionality necessary to make them a vital part of the home theater experience. They can play DVDs and Blu-rays, run video games, load streaming audio and video from the Internet, and store a tremendous amount of media.
When I heard the news, I was in the S&V sound room listening to (wait for it) "Shine On You Crazy Diamond." True! Specifically, when my mother called (a true rocker, she), I had just heard "Shine . . . Part VII," which ends...
Following on the heels of recent agreements between Sony and two theater chains—<A href="http://www.ultimateavmag.com/news/4k_coming_to_a_theater_near_you/">AMC</A> and Regal—to deploy Sony's 4K SXRD projectors, Texas Instruments has announced it will provide 4K DLP imaging engines to its three projection customers—Christie, Barco, and NEC—for their next-generation digital-cinema projectors. No indication of a rollout timetable was given in the announcement.
I just got back from seeing Disney/Pixar's <I>Up</I> in digital 3D. The movie itself is beautiful, both visually and conceptually. The story is charming yet poignant with lots of laughs, the voice actors—led by Ed Asner as the gruff Carl Fredricksen—are superb, and the animation is stunning. Interestingly, many of the animated items, even most of the dogs, are essentially photorealistic, but the humans are deliberate caricatures. I suspect Pixar goes this route because it's so difficult to animate truly realistic-looking people thanks to the exquisite human sensitivity to facial detail and body language. I have no problem with that, but I was disappointed in the 3D presentation for several reasons.
The U.S. International Trade Commission is banning imports of certain models of Sharp LCD, due to an ongoing 2007 patent dispute with Samsung. Out of four patent infringement claims from Samsung, an ITC judge ruled that one was indeed violated by ,...
If you're a hardcore film buff, you're probably used to looking up information online during or after a movie, when the curiosity bug bites. Thanks to a new BD-Live feature, you won't have to use a computer to do it.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/genkill.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>From the creator of <i>The Wire</i> comes an in-depth look at the Iraq War from the perspective of the 1st Recon Marines—and it isn't pretty. <i>Rolling Stone</i> correspondent Evan Wright rode along with the platoon for 40 days in 2003 before writing a series of articles that ran in the magazine, which led to a book, then the mini-series.
The outlook for DTVs includes a renewed focus on smaller sets and higher sales for sets with double or quadruple frame rates, which reduce image lag in LCD displays.
