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Power Amplifier ReviewsSurround Processor Reviews
Classé SSP-300 Surround Processor and CA-5100 Amplifier
Steve Guttenberg  |  Jul 14, 2006
Classy Classés.

Even before you hear Classé's new Delta series of electronics, you'll probably want to do what I did—feel them up. This is not just because their curved aluminum-and-steel chassis are exquisite works of industrial art—your fingertips wield extraordinary control over the SSP-300 surround processor. The matching CA-5100 five-channel power amplifier will supply the muscle to make your home theater roar.

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Other Source Component Reviews
Antex SRX-3 TriplePlay Sirius Tuner
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jul 14, 2006
One tuner to free them all.

Back when our ancestors lived in caves, when storytelling was the main form of entertainment around the evening fire, the biggest alpha male would designate the storyteller and club to death anyone who interrupted. This social arrangement has survived well into the age of the remote control.

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Audio Video News
High-Def Camcorder Upgraded for Low-Def Screens
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jul 14, 2006
Sanyo made news earlier this year when the company introduced what it touted as the world's smallest and lightest high-definition digital media camera. The original $800 HD1 is being replaced by an upgraded model, the HD1a. The new model is scheduled to debut in September at $699.99 MSRP. In addition to retaining all the features of the previous model, the HD1a will add a selectable 16:9 widescreen still picture mode, in-camera video editing capability, and a recording mode optimized for viewing on small-screen portable media players.
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Audio Video News
Warner Announces First Blu-ray Titles; Paramount Announces 10 HD DVD Titles
 |  Jul 13, 2006  |  First Published: Jul 14, 2006

Warner Home Video has officially announced its first titles on the Blu-ray Disc format. On August 1st the studio will bow <I>Good Night and Good Luck</I>, <I>Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang</I>, <I> Rumor Has It</I> and <I>Training Day</I>.

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This Week's Video: Westinghouse LVM-42w2 42-inch LCD HDTV Monitor
 |  Jul 13, 2006

Report for 7/14/06:

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Ears On
M-Card Does New Cable-Ready Tricks
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jul 13, 2006
CableLabs, the cable industry's development arm, has certified the first multi-streaming CableCARD. The hip new Motorola M-Card "enables consumers of retail set-top boxes and integrated digital television sets to watch and/or record their programming from multiple simultaneous tuners using a single CableCARD (e.g., handling picture-in-picture or simultaneous watch-and-record of multiple digital video channels)," according to a CableLabs press release. The M-Card is backward-compatible with existing unidirectional CableCARD sets and boxes, and will support only a single stream when used that way—but when paired with an M-Card compatible product, it will do all its new multi-streaming tricks. How far the M-Card will get in TVs (as opposed to set-top boxes) is debatable given the sorry state of the existing CableCard standard. Major cable operators will deploy it within a few months, says CableLabs. Talk to yours for details.
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Audio Video News
Who's the Best Brand in Town?
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jul 13, 2006
Sony is the best brand around - or so say the majority of the 2,351 U.S. adults surveyed online by Harris Interactive between June 7 and 13, 2006. This marks the seventh consecutive year that Sony has made it to the top spot beating out other brands such as Dell, Coca-Cola, Ford, Honda, and Apple.
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Audio Video News
Who's the Best Brand Around?
user  |  Jul 13, 2006
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Ears On
CableCARD Cooperation Collapses
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jul 12, 2006
Were you hoping that the CableCARD standard would enable you to ditch your cable box? Four years after cable operators and TV makers signed the historic CableCARD agreement, many consumers are still running into problems, according to FCC filings from the warring cable operators and TV makers. Each side blames the other for the snafus. And they're both worsening the problem: The initial standard is unidirectional, meaning no video-on-demand without the box, so some cable operators are obstructing CableCARD adoption by failing to support it at the head end. But the ever price-conscious TV makers aren't helping by eliminating CableCARD compatibility from their lines and walking away from the problem. For years the conventional wisdom has been that a VOD-capable bidirectional standard would someday heal all wounds. But the video-delivery landscape is changing and now CableLabs, the industry's R&D arm, is approaching digital cable readiness from some new angles. I'll report on them over the next few days.
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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory—Warner Brothers
Ryan Vincent  |  Jul 12, 2006
Video: 5
Audio: 4
Extras: 4
When a movie is rated PG for "quirky situations," that alone should build curiosity. Throw in another perfect team-up between director Tim Burton, star Johnny Depp, and composer Danny Elfman, plus story by Roald Dahl, and you've got a visual and musical delight for young and old. Charlie Bucket (Freddie Highmore, who starred in Finding Neverland with Depp) has lived in the shadow of the Wonka Chocolate Factory all of his short life, yearning to see inside. Willy Wonka's desire to find an heir to his empire causes him to hide golden tickets in five Wonka bars, which are sent around the world. The children who discover the tickets will be admitted entry into the factory, along with one guardian. Charlie, the fittingly pale, poor, and very kind British lad that he is, finds the last golden ticket. Along with his grandfather and the other winners, Charlie goes on a wondrous tour of the chocolate factory up the hill, learning about its secrets, including the Oompa-Loompas, the miniature muscles behind the factory.
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