Some people watch the Super Bowl to see some football. Some just want to see the commercials. I tune into the Super Bowl to hear the music. Unlike the game, this year didn’t disappoint. I was blown away by an opera singer selling nothing, and a folk singer selling his soul.
The results of this week’s survey are in. We asked for your take on the most compelling story of 2014 CES and the decided lack of activity in OLED TV raked in the most votes, capturing nearly one third of all. The preponderance of 4K/Ultra HD TVs was deemed to be the second most important story, followed closely by the LG’s 77-inch hybrid OLED/Ultra HD TV. Here’s the complete breakdown…
Okay, it’s the end of January. Be honest: how are you doing with your New Year Resolutions? Stop groaning. I know, it’s hard. Good habits are tough to build, and life has a sneaky way of creating obstacles on the path towards good intentions. But never fear, I have a few tech ideas that might just help you kick start your resolve. Pick a resolution to learn how.
Beats Electronics who brought us the ubiquitous Beats headphones brings us their own music steaming service. Here's a first look at the Beats Music streaming experience.
AT A GLANCE Plus
Sweet dedicated midrange
Solidly musical bass
Multilayer lacquer finish
Minus
Sub is merely average
THE VERDICT
The Pinnacle Black Diamonds are stellar performers with a winning personality, delivering consistently pleasing sound.
Even in our industrial twilight, the USA still has a cornucopia of great loudspeaker brands, and Pinnacle Speakers is one of them. Since the company’s founding in 1976, it has always been a family-owned business—and if there’s one kind of outfit you don’t want to mess with, it’s a family outfit. I haven’t reviewed a Pinnacle product in eight years, but just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.
A limousine screeched to a halt outside my building, and two bulky guys in Men’s Wearhouse suits got out. They didn’t leave me much choice: I was blindfolded and driven around for hours and hours until I had no idea where I was. At one point, I thought I smelled Secaucus, New Jersey. Another time, the blindfold slipped, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Satriale’s Pork Store.
2D Performance 3D Performance Features Ergonomics Value
PRICE $999
AT A GLANCE Plus
Bright 1080p for $1,000
No rainbows (for those
who care)
Minus
Contrast ratio is mediocre
Color accuracy is only average
THE VERDICT
Despite a bright image, poor contrast and otherwise average performance put Epson’s 1080p budget projector out of contention at the $1,000 price point.
I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised it was bright. I mean, it’s an Epson projector; of course it was going to be bright. But 42 foot-lamberts and 1080p for $1,000? That’s not too shabby. It’s perhaps even more impressive that all of that light bursts forth from such a tiny package.
Small, bright, a pair of HDMI inputs, even 3D capability: The PowerLite Home Cinema 2030 ticks all the boxes for a projector in our modern era. But box ticking is one thing, and not the thing we’re interested in.
Legacy. Some artists embrace it, some resist it. Early-period Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett decided to go the extra mile to dance on the volcano of his past, charging firth, er, forth to majestically recast the arrangements of a top-drawer selection of his ’70s output with the British prog giants.
Kaiju is a Japanese word meaning, monster—typically a big monster and a very bad hombre with anger issues. Kaiju are hard to miss, and the founder of the Kaiju feast was, of course, Godzilla the Great.
In Pacific Rim, Kaiju (gesundheit) are popping up all over, emerging from a rift in the ocean floor and stomping all over the biggest cities around the Pacific. To counter the looming apocalypse, mankind has built mechanical monsters of its own, mechas known as Jaegers. Jaeger means hunter in German, but while my first encounter with a Jaeger was a schnitzel, these Jaegers are huge machines, matching the size and strength of the Kaiju.
Every year the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) asks its brain trust to identify trends shaping the technology landscape. The 2014 report—Five Technology Trends to Watch—offers some intriguing insights…
Q Both my TV and Marantz AV8801 surround processor provide video adjustments. If I tweak the settings for both, will they conflict with each other? Also, if the Marantz does a good job handling video processing, will there be any advantage to using a high-end player like the Oppo BDP-93 instead of a
PS3 for Blu-ray playback?—Michael McGehee / Macon, GA