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Audio Video News
Directors Oppose 60-Day VOD
Mark Fleischmann  |  Apr 22, 2011
Twenty-three film directors have signed an open letter condemning DirecTV's Home Premiere video on demand scheme, which would make movies available on satellite video on demand 60 days after their theatrical runs.

Home Premiere "cannibalizes theatrical ticket sales," said the letter, which was published online by the National Association of Theater Owners and as an ad in Variety. The letter is aimed at four studios who have embraced the DirecTV plan including Sony Pictures, Twentieth Century-Fox, Universal, and Warner Bros.

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Premiere Design
Final Audio Design Piano Forte X-VIII Earbuds
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 21, 2011
These days, earbuds are as important as speakers for delivering music to consumers, but most are woefully lacking in the sound-quality department. Japan's Final Audio Design intends to correct this shortcoming with its Piano Forte X-VIII series.
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Music Reviews
CD Review: Richard X. Heyman
Parke Puterbaugh  |  Apr 21, 2011

For Richard X. Heyman, a pop savant rooted in the fertile loam of the Sixties, the first disc of his new double album is quite literally a labor of love. He takes pains to note that Tiers isn’t a rock opera, but rather a pop opera — or “popera,” for short. 

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Audio Video News
Let Me Ride
Michael Berk  |  Apr 21, 2011

Having captured the headphone market with the his ubiquitous red-cabled cans, Dr. Dre announced yesterday at the New York International Auto Show that he'd extended his Beats by Dr.

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Audio Video News
Discs Still Spinning
Mark Fleischmann  |  Apr 21, 2011
Has streaming killed the shiny disc? The NPD Group says otherwise. A typical household spends 78 percent of its home video budget to purchase and rent DVD and Blu-ray. The 77 percent of consumers who report watching a movie on disc is unchanged from last year.

NPD's "Entertainment Trends in America" report puts streaming at 15 percent, with VOD and PPV comprising the remaining 8 percent. Spending on home video overall has dropped by 2 percent.

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Audio Video News
Geek of the Week: Rob Sabin
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 20, 2011
Rob Sabin, Home Theater's new editor, is this week's guest on the Home Theater Geeks podcast, where he talks about living on the real Jersey shore, his 25 years in the audio/video publication and installation business, his plans for the magazine and website, universal remote controls, 3D, streaming content versus Blu-ray, 4K displays, multichannel versus simulated surround, 3D-audio systems, and answers to chat-room questions. Check it out!
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21:9 TVs, Stealth Speakers, JVC Projectors
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 20, 2011
Are 21:9 TVs worth waiting for? What small speakers do you recommend for whole-house audio? Are the JVC 3D projectors as good with 2D material as their predecessors?
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Light to the Top
Mike Mettler  |  Apr 20, 2011

"From the bottom of our hearts, thank you everyone. I can't wait to answer the 'Is rock and roll dead' question now..." So tweeted @foofighters at midday, and with good reason - the band's hard-charging, all-analog new album Wasting Light debuts at #1 this week with 235,000 copies sold here in the States.

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Home Theater Geeks Podcast
Podcast 62: Rob Sabin
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 20, 2011
Rob Sabin, Home Theater's new editor, talks about living on the real Jersey shore, his 25 years in the audio/video publication and installation business, his plans for the magazine and website, the importance of universal remote controls, 3D, streaming content versus Blu-ray, 4K displays, multichannel versus simulated surround, 3D-audio systems, and answers to chat-room questions.

Run Time: 59:30

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Country Song (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Apr 20, 2011
Country music superstar Kelly Canter (Gwyneth Paltrow) enters alcohol rehab after tumbling during a concert and meets Beau Hutton (Garrett Hedlund), an aspiring small town country singer. Once out of rehab, she wants to give Beau a shot at the big time by having him open her comeback concert, but her husband/manager James (Tim McGraw) has chosen a beauty queen (Leighton Meester) instead.

I'm not a big fan of melodramatic stories, and this has over-the-top sappiness seeping over the edges. Writer/Director Shana Feste can't keep seem to make up her mind on what direction she wants to take the film; is it a story about a pair of up-and-coming singers or about the superstar trying to regain her footing? Overall, it's a tiring two hour experience with mediocre music and horrendous dialog.

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