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3D Projector ReviewsProjector Reviews
Test Report: Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 5010 3D Projector
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Mar 19, 2012

This is my second time writing this review. I don’t mean that I tweaked and changed it a lot and that this is a second draft. I mean I had to completely rewrite it. No computer error: I simply found something so bizarre, so transformative about Epson’s Home Cinema 5010 projector that it radically changed my opinion of it. So much so that I had to start over completely.

And I almost missed it.

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Other Tech
Tech Trends 2012: The TV Report
Al Griffin  |  Mar 19, 2012

INEVITABLY, WHEN something cool comes out, it will influence everything that immediately follows. That’s what happened with Avatar. In 2009, we all went to see it in 3D, and the following year stores were packed with 3D TVs and 3D Blu-ray players.

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Audio Video News
A Million Miles Away: Billy Altman's SXSW 2012 Diary Wrap-up
Billy Altman  |  Mar 19, 2012

Combine a spring break weekend, a St. Patrick's Day celebration, and the final day of a South by Southwest music festival and you can imagine the insanity reigning supreme all over downtown Austin on Saturday.

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SmartStream
Walmart Disc-to-Digital Service Available Via Vudu
Barb Gonzalez  |  Mar 19, 2012
Physical DVD and Blu-ray collections may soon be a thing of the past—the trend is clearly toward streaming movies from online sources. Walmart and the Hollywood movie studios know this, and they've responded by announcing the Walmart "Disc-to-Digital" service. I've been focusing on streaming media for a number of years, and I'm extremely excited about this forward movement by retailers and Hollywood movie studios.
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Ask S&V
Separate vs. Integrated Subwoofers
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 19, 2012
I have a couple of questions:

1. Should a home-theater speaker system have separate subwoofers instead of subwoofers in the main front towers?

2. Should an amplifier's power-output rating match the power-handing rating of a speaker system?

Bob Spencer

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Tech2
Mark Levinson on Daniel Hertz: One More Time
Brent Butterworth  |  Mar 18, 2012

The name Mark Levinson is familiar even to those who couldn’t care less about audio. It’s been mentioned in numerous Lexus commercials, because Mark Levinson audio systems are an option in the higher-end models. Audio enthusiasts know Levinson as the founder of the company that still bears his name, and that 40 years later still makes some of world’s finest audio electronics, although under different ownership.

Levinson has been a prominent figure in the audio biz since 1972, but he’s been fairly low-key for the last 10 years. Now he’s coming back with what he says will be his last audio company and his last audio system. A couple of weeks ago, I got to be one of the first in the U.S. to give it a lengthy audition.

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Audio Video News
More Fun in the New World: Billy Altman's SXSW 2012 Diary, Day Four
Billy Altman  |  Mar 17, 2012

I've been attending the South By Southwest music festival for many years, but I can't ever recall ever hearing the particular sound I encountered late Friday night at Stubb's: squealing. And I mean the kind of squealing that means only one thing – female hormones on the march. 

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Vote
Have You Used Digital Copy?
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 16, 2012
When you buy a Blu-ray/DVD bundle these days, chances are it also comes with something called Digital Copy. This is just what the name says—a digital copy of the movie to put on your computer's hard drive or NAS (network-attached storage) so you can watch it on other authorized devices in your entertainment ecosystem, subject to the copy's DRM (digital-rights management) provisions and compatibility with various platforms.

Have you used Digital Copy with titles you've purchased? If so, do you find it to be a useful feature?

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

Have You Used Digital Copy?
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Ask S&V
Shopping for a 70-inch Flat Panel
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 16, 2012
I've recently installed some built-in cabinets in my family room, leaving me enough space to fit a 70-inch TV. Currently, I have a 50-inch Pioneer Kuro (non-Elite) that I've been extremely happy with. But now that I've got the space for a 70-incher, I'm strongly considering upgrading. The problem is that I've been pretty disappointed with what's currently available in the way of 70-inch TVs. I realize that I'm limited to the Sharp 70-inch models or the larger Elite (which is out of my price range). I could increase my options if I considered a 65-inch set from Samsung or Panasonic, but hate the thought of giving up those extra five inches.

Also, I'm pretty spoiled by the picture quality of the Kuro. I love the shadow detail and lack of motion artifacts on the plasma, and I'm worried that I'll be disappointed with the performance of some of the larger LED TVs. I was excited that Sharp announced the LE945U line at CES this year, which is supposedly going to include full-array local dimming, but I've seen recent reports that Sharp may not include local dimming on their 2012 sets. Have you heard anything about this? Is this feature really worth waiting for over the full-array LC-70LE735U (with no local dimming) that can currently be obtained at a substantial discount?

Jim Remus

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Audio Video News
The Boss Speaks: Billy Altman's SXSW 2012 Diary, Day Three
Billy Altman  |  Mar 16, 2012

"How important can this speech be if we're doing it at noon?" joked Bruce Springsteen as he began his keynote speech on Thursday at South By Southwest. "I mean, is any musician up at noon?" 

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