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Audio Video News
"30 Rock" gives "Hendersons" Netflix boost
SV Staff  |  Mar 06, 2009
 Those of you who watched last night's hilarious episode of 30 Rock know that the gang learned some very valuable lessons from the 1987 John Lithgow classic, Harry and the Hendersons. That show is used pretty regularly for product...
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LCD TV Reviews
Toshiba 52XV545U LCD HDTV
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 06, 2009
Price: $2,600 At A Glance: Excellent detail, blacks, shadow detail • SRT sharpens DVD material surprisingly well • Mediocre video processing • Poor onboard audio quality

Upscale Performance

With the format war behind it, Toshiba is concentrating on improving the look of standard-definition content on high-def displays. A new upconversion-enhancement technology called Super Resolution Technology (SRT) is now available in some of Toshiba’s latest LCD HDTVs, including the top-of-the-line Cinema Series. The largest of this series is the 52-inch 52XV545U reviewed here, and 46- and 42-inch versions also available.

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The Big Picture
Lucy to the Rescue
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 06, 2009

<I>I'm looking for a DVD changer that will play five DVDs in succession with no intervention from the user. I have an elderly disabled mother who is terrified of going to sleep at night. She watches DVDs of </I>I Love Lucy<I> all night, but once I go to sleep, she can't change the DVD when it's over. I put an old Toshiba DVD changer in her room, but once the first disc finishes, you have to press Next Disc, then wait until it loads, then press Play. She cannot operate the remote.

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Tower Speaker Reviews
Definitive Technology Mythos STS SuperTower Speaker System
Mark Fleischmann  |  Mar 06, 2009

Performance
Value
Build Quality
Price: $4,355 At A Glance: Slender, gloss black, extruded-aluminum towers • Dual built-in powered subs with passive radiators • Superb dialogue reproduction

Hide the Sub—No, Subs!

Why build a system around powered towers like Definitive Technology’s Mythos STS SuperTower? Wouldn’t it be easier to live with a subwoofer? Maybe. Maybe not.

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Audio Video News
Circuit City Closes This Weekend
Mark Fleischmann  |  Mar 06, 2009
Circuit City will close all existing stores on Sunday, ending a long-drama over the electronics mega-chain's struggle for survival and its lengthy goodbye.
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Other Tech
Gadget Gary: The Bold and the Blackberry
Gary Dell'Abate  |  Mar 05, 2009

The first thing I noticed about the new Blackberry Bold ($300 with a 2-year AT&T contract and rebate; blackberry.com, att.com) when I took it out of the box was how good-looking it is.

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Music Reviews
Changing to a country horse . . .
Rob O'Connor  |  Mar 05, 2009
ATO
Music ••• Sound ••••
Let's hear it for Kitt Kitterman!

Who?

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
"Blindness" on DVD
Ken Korman  |  Mar 05, 2009
Miramax/Buena Vista
Movie •••½Picture •••• Sound •••• Extras ••••
The end-of-the-world movie has evolved
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AV Receiver Reviews
Sony STR-DA5400ES A/V Receiver
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 05, 2009
Price: $2,000 At A Glance: Superior sound quality and ergonomics • HDMI connectivity • Auto calibration and speaker equalization • Three-zone operation

Sony Adds Major Value

Like the old canine joke punch-line, “Because he can,” electronics designers seem to be adding greater functionality and features to their A/V receivers more because they can rather than because consumers need them, want them, or are likely to use them.

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Audio Video News
Philips Ultrawide LCD
user  |  Mar 05, 2009
If CES 2009 was any indication, it looked like Philips was getting out of the consumer-electronics business, seeing as how the company had no booth or press conference this year. But the Dutch megacorp recently announced a stunning innovation in LCD TVs—the world's first with an aspect ratio of 21:9 (2.33:1). This nearly matches the cinematic aspect ratio of 2.35:1, allowing it to display such movies without the hated black bars above and below the image.
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