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Audio Video News
Does Free HDTV Still Matter?
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jun 08, 2011
Does free HDTV broadcast over the air still matter? The Consumer Electronics Association contends the answer is no. And it has trotted out a survey to prove its point. Among 1256 adults questioned in December 2010, just eight percent said they get over-the-air HDTV signals. And the number has declined since 2005.

"Using huge swaths of wireless spectrum to deliver TV to homes no longer makes economic sense," said CEA CEO Gary Shapiro. "Congress should pass legislation to allow for incentive auctions so free market dynamics can find the best purposes for underused broadcast spectrum, such as wireless broadband."

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Audio Video News
KEF rocks (and rolls) for children
Michael Berk  |  Jun 07, 2011

Our friends at KEF are looking to raise some money this summer for the ChildLine Rocks Foundation, and naturally they're doing it in a high-octane, high-volume fashion. The organization works to prevent child abuse.

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The Big Picture
X-Men: First Class
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jun 07, 2011
On Sunday, my wife and I saw X-Men: First Class at the Pacific Theaters Glendale 18 in Glendale, CA. It was the first film presentation I've seen in a while, and I was a bit surprised that this movie is not being offered in 3D at all. And you know what? I didn't miss it at all.
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Ask S&V
TV Popping Sound
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jun 07, 2011
We bought a Sony XBR-52HX909 with full-array LED backlighting and local dimming, and we love it! But 30 seconds to a minute after turning it off, we hear a click/pop, almost like the sound you sometimes hear when turning off a fluorescent bulb. Is this typical of sets with full-array backlighting or most likely an internal issue?

John Diamantopoulos

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New Products
"Golden Years" Remixed - for your turntable and your iPhone
Michael Berk  |  Jun 07, 2011

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Custom Installation Equipment Reviews
Stylish Mounts and Lifts for Thin HDTVs
Kim Wilson  |  Jun 07, 2011
We marvel at how thin flat panel TVs have gotten and it stands to reason that these lighter, thinner sets would usher in a new wave of mounts and lifts. Naturally, mounts have gotten smaller and lighter offering some unique designs that were not possible with previous generation sets. Lifts conceal your TV when you are not using it, offering even greater creativity and integration into your decor. These eight models will hold, lift, tilt and swivel your TV for optimum viewing in any location.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
True Grit (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Jun 07, 2011
Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) wants justice when her father is killed by Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). Headstrong to the nth-degree, the teenager hires U.S. Marshall "Rooster" Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) and insists she's part of the posse. Cogburn grudgingly approves but Matty isn't happy when he allows a Texas Ranger (Matt Damon) into the group who's in search of the same man for a murder in Texas.

Filling the shoes of John Wayne is an impossible task, but Bridges did the best he could do and still doesn't measure up to Wayne's Oscar-winning portrayal of the gruff Cogburn. Having watched the original less than six months ago I couldn't help compare each of the respective roles and other than Bridges impossible undertaking, the other two main characters (Damon and Steinfeld) more than make up the difference.

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Audio Video News
iTunes Lofted Skyward
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jun 07, 2011
What game-changing moves did yesterday's Apple software announcements hold for home theater enthusiasts?

Among the few mentions of Apple TV, the company's video streaming set top box, came in connection with Photo Stream. This new app pushes photos and other content to the cloud, then sends them to your computer, portable, and other devices. Apple TV is one of those devices.

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Bookshelf Speaker Reviews
Cambridge Audio Minx S215 Speaker System
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jun 06, 2011

Performance
Value
Build Quality
Price: $850 (updated V2 system)
At A Glance: Single-cube speaker with full-range driver • Polymer and extruded-aluminum enclosure • Wireless option

Surround Cubed

The cube speaker at the heart of Cambridge Audio’s Minx satellite/subwoofer set has become an enduring form factor for people who don’t like loudspeakers. Of course, in their zeal to get speakers off the floor, some speaker-haters poke holes in their walls for in-walls. But not everyone is willing to go to that extreme. And while in-wall and on-wall speakers have no footprint, they do have what you might call a wallprint. For folks who don’t like speakers, don’t like holes in their walls, and don’t like wallprints, but do like movies and music, the cube speaker—something the size of a Girl Scout’s fist—shapes up as the least invasive solution.

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Curtain Call
Int. Bedroom, Night
Michael J. Nelson  |  Jun 06, 2011
Back before he started marrying his daughters, Woody Allen used to make funny films. In one of the better of them, 1977’s critically acclaimed Annie Hall, Allen’s character, Alvy Singer, is standing in line for a film while the guy behind him pontificates loudly on various things, among them influential scholar Marshall McLuhan. Singer challenges him, and the man pompously reveals that he teaches a class on media at Columbia University. So Allen replies, “I happen to have Mr. McLuhan right here,” and retrieves him from behind a lobby card. McLuhan retorts, “I heard what you were saying. You know nothing of my work. How you ever got to teach a course in anything is totally amazing.” 
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