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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Unstoppable
David Vaughn  |  Feb 23, 2011
Director/producer Tony Scott is no stranger to action movies. His resume includes hits like Top Gun, Deja Vu, and Man on Fire, the last two starring Denzel Washington. The two team up again here in one of the better action movies to come out of Hollywood in 2010.

Based very loosely on a 2001 story of a runaway train in Ohio, writer Mark Bomback jazzes it up for the sake of entertainment and action. As in real life, the adventure begins when an idiotic engineer jumps from the slowly moving train in order to reposition a switch before the train can damage it. Successful in this task, he then tries to reboard the moving train as it gains speed, but to no avail.

From this point on, the facts go out the window as the fictional train loaded with toxic chemicals hurtles toward Scranton, PA, where an elevated curve in the track will cause the train to derail, creating an environmental catastrophe and costing many lives. Despite its best attempts, the rail company can't slow the train down, and two unlikely heroes emerge to hopefully save the day. Along the way, we witness a few narrow escapes, corporate incompetence, and one hell of a thrill ride.

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AV Receiver Reviews
Anthem MRX 700 A/V Receiver
Fred Manteghian  |  Feb 23, 2011

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
Price: $2,000 At A Glance: Light on bells and whistles, heavy on high-end sound • Anthem Room Correction worth the additional effort • High value from a true high-end brand

Anthem Lite and Right

When I hear “Anthem,” I also usually hear “ka-ching!” Anthem’s Statement D2v surround processor sells for a cool $8,500, which is enough cash to keep a Colorado hippie blazing in medical marijuana for years. The MRX 700 is the company’s welcome foray into the world of down-to-earth-priced AVRs, punctuated by the inclusion of the same Anthem Room Correction (ARC) system the company uses in its costlier separates. Anthem’s proprietary room correction alone might be enough to swing some consumers’ decision. Those who’ve used ARC with Anthem’s separates (including some people employed by this fine publication) hold it in high regard. An AVR at the MRX 700’s $2,000 price point is going to be up against a lot of stiff competition. Will Anthem pull it off, or is its first attempt at a killer AVR for the masses about to go up in smoke?

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Blu-ray Player Reviews
Arcam FMJ BDP100 Blu-ray Player
Thomas J. Norton  |  Feb 23, 2011
Price: $1,500 At A Glance: Crisp, vivid imagery • Superb audio playback • Limited features

Back to Basics

The fundamental purpose of an optical digital disc player is to play back optical digital discs. While that may be self-evidently redundant, there’s a wide selection of players on the market that offer a numbing range of additional, gee-whiz features. These include such things as SACD and DVD-Audio playback, streaming and downloading of movies and other Internet content (sometimes wirelessly), and of course, today’s top banana, 3D.

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Audio Video News
Heavyweights Form AllVid Alliance
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 23, 2011
Say hello to the AllVid Tech Company Alliance, which intends to promote a next-generation interface that would seamlessly combine distribution of traditional and internet video. This puts the members of the alliance on a collision course with Big Cable.

The Alliance's founding members are Best Buy, Google, Mitsubishi, Sony, TiVo, Nagravision, and SafeTV.

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Custom Installation How-ToHome Movie Theaters
European Delight
Kim Wilson  |  Feb 22, 2011
Beginning with some postcards depicting old european towns and villages, the homeowners of this “French cobble-stone town” wanted a themed area that would lead into their theater. Designed by JP Themed Theaters along with systems integrator Audio Advice, this basement theater whisks you away to an early 20th century French Quarter.
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The Big Picture
Dual-Projector 3D at Home
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 22, 2011
Recently, I came across a blog by George Walter, VP of home cinema at Digital Projection, about why dual-projector 3D systems should be avoided in the home. It's important to note that Digital Projection makes single-projector 3D systems, so Walter has a dog in this fight, but his arguments make sense for all but the richest home-theater owners.
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Premiere Design
NBS Eva & Butter/Fly Speaker Systems
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 22, 2011
Almost exactly one year ago, I profiled the Universal Power Amplifier from NBS, an American boutique audio company known mostly for its high-end cables. It also offers some audacious speakers, including the Eva (shown above) and Butter/Fly.
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Audio Video News
Comcast Bows Latest 3D Channel
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 22, 2011
The latest 3DTV channel to hit the scene is Xfinity 3D from Comcast.

The 24-hour channel launched Sunday, February 20 (just last weekend) at 6 p.m. Its debut offering was the 2011 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic with the Montreal Canadiens squaring off against the Calgary Flames. Next up was a Kings of Leon concert. The channel plans to show concerts, sports, movies, and original programming.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Blu-ray Disc Review: Salt
 |  Feb 21, 2011
Review
Sony
Movie •• Picture ••• Sound ••• Extras •••

Coming across like a Bourne wannabe that also steals a lot from Bond, Salt tells of Soviet sleeper spies attempting to assassinate the Russian president, blow up the world, and generally keep

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Unstoppable—20th Century Fox
Kris Deering  |  Feb 21, 2011
Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 4.5/5
Extras: 3/5
A runaway train, transporting deadly, toxic chemicals, is barreling down on Scranton, Pennsylvania, and only two men can stop it: a veteran engineer and a young conductor. Thousands of lives hang in the balance as these ordinary heroes attempt to chase down one million tons of hurtling steel and prevent an epic disaster.
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