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Audio Video News
TiVo Aims at Cable Ops
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jun 15, 2011
TiVo aims to capture the attention of the cable TV industry with two new cable compatible products as well as an update of its iPad app.

The TiVo Premiere Q boasts four tuners for recording and viewing multiple streams, while the TiVo Preview is the first TiVo HD product not to have a DVR.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Harry Potter Years 5 and 6 Ultimate Editions (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Jun 15, 2011
At the end of the Goblet of Fire, Harry witnessed the return of Lord Voldemort and barely escaped with his life. The Ministry of Magic doesn’t believe Harry's tale and is doing everything within their power to keep the wizarding world from knowing the truth by orchestrating a smear campaign against the boy who lived and Professor Dumbledore. Furthermore, the ministry is taking an active role in educating of the students at Hogwarts by appointing Dolores Umbridge as the new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher. When she refuses to teach practical defensive magic, Hermoine convinces Harry to form Dumbledore’s Army with a select group of students in order to give them a fighting chance.

Director David Yates takes over the helm inheriting the legacy of Chris Columbus, Mike Newell, and Alphonso Cuaron. From a pure directorial aspect, I think he did an excellent job, but my biggest complaint with this movie lies in the writer, Michael Goldenberg, who replaced Steven Kloves who penned the first four movies.

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Other Tech
Streaming for the Masses
David Vaughn  |  Jun 14, 2011
Streaming video has gone mainstream. Are you ready?

Once upon a time, outside factors controlled when and where you could watch a TV show or feature film. Over the past 35 years, that’s evolved dramatically. The revolution began with the introduction of the VCR in 1976. Its ability to record and archive broadcast TV shows and movies on magnetic tape burst open the floodgates for entertainment in the home. Other formats followed, all the way up to our present-day high-density Blu-ray Discs. One thing they’ve all had in common, though, is their physical nature. That’s all changing now. Like it or not, we’re entering a transition phase from physical media to streaming and the cloud. Looks like a revolution all over again.

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Ask S&V
Sony KD-34XBR960 CRT TV
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jun 14, 2011
Do the current high-end and mid-range LCD, LED, or plasma TVs equal the picture quality of Sony's KD-34XBR960 CRT TV?

Dave Butler

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Premiere Design
MBL Reference System at T.H.E. Show
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jun 14, 2011
Even though hotel rooms are not the best environment to show off high-end audio products, some companies managed to achieve a mighty impressive sound at T.H.E. Show in Newport Beach, CA. Among them was MBL, which set up two systems in adjoining rooms. My first stop was the room with the flagship Reference system, including two 101E MkII speakers ($70,500/pair, profiled here) and two 9011 monoblock power amps, which generate 750 watts per channel and cost a staggering $53,000 each.
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Audio Video News
Component Audio on the Upswing
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jun 14, 2011
Consumer interest in component audio is growing, according to a recent survey by MarketSource.

The number of adults who intend to buy one or more audio components has risen to 39 percent, versus 35 percent a year back.

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Ask S&V
HDMI Misconception
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jun 13, 2011
I read somewhere that HDMI only provides 2-channel audio from a Blu-ray player or other source device to an A/V receiver. This implies that the coax digital output from the player must be used for 5.1-channel audio to the A/V receiver. Is this true? If so, does the same apply to the digital out of a satellite receiver?

Don Sigman

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Ears On
In Progress: Sony Spells It Out
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jun 13, 2011
This is the second installment of In Progress, an occasional series on noteworthy things about products under review.

Are you plagued by doubts about the iThing compatibility of a prospective surround receiver purchase? If you're actually inspecting a carton in one of those old-fashioned brick-and-mortar stores, Sony has the solution. Its STR-DN1020 ($500) lists every iDevice with which it's compatible right on the top of the carton! Complete with little graphic representations, no less. Since our 600-pixels-wide image may not be entirely legible, we'll list them below.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Company Men (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Jun 13, 2011
Bobby Walker (Ben Affleck) is one of the best salesmen for an East coast-based multinational corporation who's climbing the corporate ladder. When tough times rock the company, he finds himself one of the casualties of the layoffs and must make adjustments to his lifestyle in order to make ends meet.

Writer/Director John Wells wanted to make this film after the dot-com bust earlier this century but couldn't get the project underway. After the recent downturn in the economy he was able to adjust the script and delivers a fantastic drama about how a layoff can ruin your life. The all-star cast includes Chris Cooper and Kevin Costner, although my favorite character in the film is Tommy Lee Jones who plays the executive with a conscience.

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Editor's Eye
The Other Side of 3D
Rob Sabin  |  Jun 12, 2011

I took the invitation a while back to visit the Panasonic Hollywood Laboratory in Los Angeles, where the company introduced its 3D Innovation Center to members of the press. PHL is a research and mastering center where Panasonic works with filmmakers on new camera, editing, encoding and playback technologies.

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