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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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Vote
How Often Do You Listen on Headphones at Home?
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jun 10, 2011
As a die-hard home-theater geek, I love listening to movies, TV shows, and even music on my multichannel speaker system. But speakers must overcome several obstacles—room acoustics, placement issues, and a sleeping family late at night to name a few. Of course, you can avoid all these problems by listening on headphones, the main subject of our new website InnerFidelity.com. On the other hand, headphones mostly provide a 2-channel experience, though systems such as Dolby Headphone, which is available in several AVRs, and the Smyth Research Realiser (profiled here) simulate surround sound in a pair of cans.

These musings lead me to wonder how often you listen to headphones in your home theater? Do you prefer them over speakers, or do you use them only to promote domestic tranquility after everyone else has gone to bed? Do you have an AVR with Dolby Headphone, and if so, do you use it? What make and model of headphones do you have? I really hope you leave a comment after voting with some of these details.

Vote to see the results and leave a comment about your choice.

How Often Do You Listen on Headphones at Home?
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The Big Picture
Super 8
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jun 10, 2011
It's been almost 30 years since Steven Spielberg brought tears to the eyes of moviegoers with E.T.: The Extraterrestrial. Now, J.J. Abrams tells a very similar story for a new generation in Super 8, which opens today. This movie is being shown in 2D only, and like X-Men: First Class, I didn't miss 3D at all.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Just Go With It (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Jun 10, 2011
After telling his new girlfriend that he's married as a means of avoiding real commitment, a plastic surgeon (Adam Sandler) must recruit a fake family to prove his honesty. His loyal assistant (Jennifer Aniston) agrees to play the soon to be ex-wife in order to score a free trip to Hawaii, but things don't go according to the plan when the two discover there's more to their friendship than meets the eye.

After Friends, many people wondered which of the ensemble cast would be the most successful and Aniston has been the most visible with movie projects. Here she plays the same character we've seen hundreds of times before in the romantic comedy genre as the loyal friend who discovers she's fallen in love and must overcome long odds in order to fulfill her dreams. Yawn!

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Audio Video News
Blu-ray Nipping at DVD's Heels
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jun 10, 2011
Blu-ray is making new friends at a healthy pace, according to figures from the NPD Group, while DVD is dead in the water.

Fifteen percent of U.S. households used a Blu-ray player in a six-month period spanning 2010-11, a big improvement from nine percent in 2009-10, while the percentage using DVD remained unchanged at 57 percent. So while Blu-ray remains behind DVD, it is catching up.

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The Big Picture
Scott on The Tech Buzz
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jun 09, 2011

In addition to my own Home Theater Geeks podcast, I'm an occassional guest on Thirsty Thursday Tech, a podcast with Stephen Heywood and Slick from The Tech Buzz. Check it out!

Run time: 1:00:35

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Premiere Design
Meridian 810 4K Projector at T.H.E. Show
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jun 09, 2011
Video demos were mighty scarce at T.H.E. Show last week. One notable exception was located in a ballroom hosted by Digital Ear, a high-end dealer in Tustin, CA. The centerpiece of the demo system was the 810 4K D-ILA projector from Meridian (profiled here) in its first public showing.
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Music Reviews
Rave On, Raveonettes
 |  Jun 09, 2011

My current favorite all-format album is the Raveonettes' Raven in the Grave (Vice), which sounds smoky-fab whether I'm listening to it via CD, MP3, or LP. I asked Raveonettes co-founder Sune Rose Wagner, 38, how the band (Wagner and co-conspirator Sharin Foo) corrals the backbeat for its 21st-century-cool Wall of Sound. Read on for his answers (and for a listen to "Forget That You're Young," a track from the new album.)

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