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Is Your HDMI-Connected Gear Ready for 3D?
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Sep 15, 2010

Illustration by Raquel Chilson

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
American Beauty (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Sep 15, 2010
Feeling the weight of middle age upon his shoulders, Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) rebels against his cheating wife (Annette Bening) and ungrateful daughter (Thora Birch). Seeking to relive the life of a twenty something, he leaves his high profile job to work at a local fast food joint and along the way develops a dangerous infatuation with one of his daughter's friends (Mena Suvari) that can only lead to trouble.

Time has a strange effect on ones perceptions and tastes in movies and that's certainly the case here. I remember in 1999 how powerful I found this film due to the great performances and wonderful direction from first time director Sam Mendes. As a 41 year old father of a teenage girl, I find the subject matter too disturbing and the behavior of Spacey's character criminal and sickening.

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Audio Video News
HDMI's HDCP Hacked
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 15, 2010
The digital rights management scheme that protects HDMI inputs has been undermined with the recent revelation of a master key that unlocks HDCP.
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Audio Video News
TiVo toys with free, contract-based DVRs
SV Staff  |  Sep 14, 2010
After years of selling its DVR as a relatively pricey piece of consumer electronics, TiVo is experimenting with adopting the cell phone model of product and service pricing. According to Engadget, TiVo held a short-lived test promotion where the...
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
David Vaughn  |  Sep 14, 2010
It's a race against time when a rogue prince (Jake Gyllenhaal) reluctantly teams up with a rival princess (Gemma Arterton) to safeguard a magical dagger that gives its possessor the power to reverse time and rule the world.

Adapting a video game into a feature film is a challenging task, but producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Mike Newell actually pull it off here. Sure, the story isn't very thought-provoking, but there's plenty of action and enough comic relief from Alfred Molina to entertain the family for a couple of hours. The demo-worthy DTS-HD MA soundtrack features everything you'd want from an action movie—impressive dynamics, ample bass, and 360-degree envelopment.

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Custom Installation How-ToHome Movie Theaters
Balancing the Budget
Kim Wilson  |  Sep 14, 2010

Meeting the client’s budget while providing the home theater of their dreams is often a balancing act that Barrett’s Home Theater of Naperville, Il. is used to. “Homeowners usually don’t realize what it takes to build out a room like this theater,” says John Wettlaufer, Barrett’s Custom Audio Video Manager. “In this instance, we were able to have an informed dialog with the client and make key decisions and compromises that made it possible for us to design a great home theater at a price they could live with.”

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Premiere Design
DreamVision Starlight 3 LCoS Projector
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 14, 2010
Video projectors are always front and center at the CEDIA Expo, and this year is certainly no exception. Among the many introductions in this regard will be the Starlight 3 from French maker DreamVision.
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Audio Video News
Comcast Texts Cable TV Listings
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 14, 2010
Comcast has a new nicety for texting-oriented subscribers. With COMCAST4U, they can now access cable TV listings and other account information via SMS.
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Audio Video News
Roku gets Frightology horror movie channel, hilarious movie names
SV Staff  |  Sep 13, 2010
The new Apple TV poses a major threat to Roku's set-top box with its Netflix-streaming capabilities and $99 price point. To keep an edge over Apple, Roku is adding additional premium content to its box. The most recent addition to the Roku service...
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Se7en (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Sep 13, 2010
With one week until retirement the last thing detective William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) needs is a serial killer on the loose in his city, but life isn't fair. Teamed with a young detective (Brad Pitt), the pair discover the killer is out to murder people he feels are guilty of committing one of the seven deadly sins—gluttony, lust, envy, pride, sloth, greed, and wrath. Can they get their man before Somerset turns in his badge?

David Fincher's resume includes many notable films like Fight Club, Zodiac, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, but Se7en may be his best. His villain feels justified to mete out his vengeance as he sees fit given the sad state of society and Freeman's character shares many of his views but doesn't agree with his methods.

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