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Home Theater Systems Reviews
Onkyo HT-S9400THX Home Theater in a Box
Kim Wilson  |  Jan 26, 2012
Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
Price: $1,099 At A Glance: THX I/S Plus Certified • 3D compatible • Audyssey 2EQ auto calibration and room EQ • Network capable • Qdeo 4K upscaling

Home Theater in a Box (HTiB) systems generally cater to the extreme low end of the market, offering complete multichannel speaker and electronics packages (often including a DVD player) for as little as $300. The Onkyo HT-S9400THX is a cut above, offering a highly competent HTiB that is far beyond the all-in-one packages you can drop into a shopping cart at your local Target, though it does not include a disc player.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Real Steel
David Vaughn  |  Jan 26, 2012

Robots have been all the rage in Hollywood over the past few years with Michael Bay's popular Transformers trilogy. I haven't been a big fan of any of those films, but I have to say that each has been an audio and visual treat on Blu-ray. Well, here comes another robot movie, but unlike the aforementioned garbage, there's actually a plot (though hardly original), good acting, and a lot a heart. What it does have in common with the Bay films is a reference-quality presentation with exquisite detail in the video encode and some of the most intense bass you'll ever experience in your home theater.
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Ask S&V
Best Blu-ray Output for 1366x768 TV
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 25, 2012
I have a Sony KDL-32M4000 LCD TV, which has a native pixel resolution of 1366x768. It can accept a 720p or 1080i video signal, but not 1080p. So which looks better for watching Blu-ray, 720p or 1080i? The TV seems to auto-select 1080i.

Jim Irwin

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Tech2
The Dumbest Thing Reviewers Say
Brent Butterworth  |  Jan 25, 2012

I almost did it myself. I was listening to "King Contrary Man" from The Cult's Electric, through Phonak Audéo PFE 232 in-ear headphones while sitting in a 757 somewhere over Colorado, trying to get an idea of how well Phonak's PerfectFit design blocks out airplane noise.

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Home Theater Geeks Podcast
Podcast 96: Phil "Captain 3D" McNally
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 24, 2012
Phil "Captain 3D" McNally, stereoscopic supervisor at DreamWorks Animation, talks about why he thinks 3D is here to stay after several previous attempts to bring it to the market, why people have such strong opinions about 3D, the difference between real-life 3D and stereoscopic images, what makes a good 3D presentation, how filmmakers can support the story with 3D while avoiding eye strain and other negative side effects, active versus passive glasses, autostereoscopic displays, answers to chat-room questions, and more.

Run Time: 1:01:30

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Music ReviewsBlu-ray Movie Reviews
This Week in Blu-rays and Music, January 24, 2012
Ken Korman  |  Jan 24, 2012

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Music Reviews
Inside the Ultimate Download Experience
Brent Butterworth  |  Jan 24, 2012

What do you want to hear when you listen to music? Do you want a lower-fidelity version of what the artists, engineers, and producers heard in the studio? Or would you prefer to hear exactly what they heard in the studio?

Of course, you'd prefer the latter. But you're probably getting the former - unless, that is, you're listening to high-resolution downloads from HDtracks. If you're listening to CDs, MP3s, or even vinyl records, what you're hearing is not a precise copy of the original digital recording or analog tape. It's downconverted. If it's on CD, the digital resolution has been reduced. If it's on vinyl, the audio has been remastered and the record you're listening to is actually a third-generation mechanical copy.

Sure, it might sound ok. But it's not the best fidelity you can get. HDtracks is. And HDtracks and Sound+Vision have put together an introductory sampler to show you just how good high-resolution listening can be.

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Ask S&V
Best Connections to Older AVR
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 23, 2012
I have a Cambridge Audio 540R V3 receiver, Panasonic DMP-BD210 Blu-ray player, Pace RNG200N HD/ENP cable box, and Panasonic TC-P42ST30 plasma TV. The guy at the store where I bought the two Panasonic products told me to connect the cable box and Blu-ray player to the TV with HDMI and connect the TV's digital audio output to the receiver with a Toslink cable. I am new at all this, but I do not think this is the best way to have the best sound considering my receiver—which, by the way, can only deal with video via HDMI, not sound. What do you think ?

Luc Lesage

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Boardwalk Empire
David Vaughn  |  Jan 23, 2012
HBO has quite a history of delivering fantastic Blu-ray presentations, and it continues the trend here. Be prepared for reference-quality video throughout all 12 season-one episodes in the clothing, sets, and flesh tones. The 1920s costume design is absolutely fantastic, and if you're a fan of period pieces, this is right up your alley. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio track is just as impressive and certainly holds its own with its rich atmosphere and crystal-clear dialog reproduction. While it took me a couple of episodes to get into the series, it ranks up there with some of the best I've seen from HBO and is definitely worth a look on Blu-ray.
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Tech2
Review: Q2 Internet Radio
Brent Butterworth  |  Jan 23, 2012

Think of tech products that are easy to use, and you’ll almost certainly think of Apple. But a new product called the Q2 Internet Radio makes the iPhone look as user-friendly as ENIAC.

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