LATEST ADDITIONS

Audio Video News
Fascinating
Michael Berk  |  Apr 14, 2011

It's no secret that there's a connection between progressive rock and Star Trek fandom - but who woulda thunk it ran so deep?

Continue Reading »
Streaming Device Reviews
Apple TV 2
Kim Wilson  |  Apr 14, 2011

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
Price: $99

At A Glance: Rent iTunes movies and TV shows • Stream Netflix content • View pictures galleries on Flickr and MobileMe • Extends Apple ecosystem with AirPlay

Getting content from our computers to the home’s main entertainment hub is like the Holy Grail. Some manufacturers have achieved it for a high price; others have achieved it poorly for a reasonable price. In the Apple ecosystem, Apple TV has allowed simple, inexpensive iTunes integration for years. The original model required you to sync with your computer but, the latest Apple TV (ATV2)—which is less than half the size of its predecessor—only streams content. You can easily stream whatever you have on your computer in the way of movies (created or ripped), photos and music to your A/V system over a wired or wireless network.

Continue Reading »
The Big Picture
Red Epic 5K Camcorder
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 14, 2011
One of the biggest digital-camcorder announcements at NAB is Red Digital Cinema's new Epic camera with 5K (5120x2700) resolution. Why 5K? Because it's one better than 4K? Well, sort of. Having 5K resolution allows content creators to crop or downscale to 4K with better-looking results.
Continue Reading »
The Big Picture
Volfoni ActivEyes Hybrid 3D Glasses
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 14, 2011
Yesterday, I ran into David Reisner, digital-cinema consultant and recent guest on my Home Theater Geeks podcast, who told me about an exhibitor called Volfoni, which is showing hybrid active/passive universal 3D glasses at NAB. Intrigued, I sought them out.
Continue Reading »
Audio Video News
From Sharp minds come large products
Michael Berk  |  Apr 14, 2011

Sharp yesterday announced a new line of 70" Aquos Quattron LED-backlit LCD TVs, responding to market research indicating that their target market of 35 to 45 year old men-even those already owning 60"-plus sets-felt a "need to go bigger." The new LC-70LE732U (shipping now at an MSRP of $3,799) is truly immense; the launch event-also a fundraiser for Japan earthquake/tsunami relief-featured the

Continue Reading »
Audio Video News
Audio Industry Loses Pioneer Sidney Harman
Mark Fleischmann  |  Apr 14, 2011
The man who put the Harman in Harman Kardon and Harman International has died at the age of 92. Sidney Harman was a true pioneer in the consumer electronics industry.

With his partner Bernard Kardon, Harman introduced the first audio receiver in the 1950s, the Festival D1000, combining the hitherto separate functions of power amp, preamp, and radio tuner. Shortly afterward came the first stereo receiver, the Festival TA230.

Continue Reading »
The Big Picture
Sony BVM OLED Reference Monitors
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 13, 2011
For outstanding blacks, nothing I've seen at the NAB show comes close to the Sony BVM-E250 25-inch and E170 17-inch OLED monitors ($26,000 and $17,000, respectively). One of the most amazing demos at the show was presented in a totally blacked-out room with three pro reference monitors—a BVM-L231 LCD, BVM-E250 OLED, and BVM-A25 CRT.
Continue Reading »
The Big Picture
Panasonic BT300 Reference Plasma Monitor
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 13, 2011
In a secret, blacked-out room, Panasonic was demonstrating its new professional reference monitor, the TH-42BT300, shown here between last year's TH-42PF11 to the left and this year's TH-42PF20 on the right. In addition to a 42-incher (~$4000), the new model will be available in a 50-inch size for around $5000.
Continue Reading »
The Big Picture
Sony SRM-L560 4K LCD Monitor
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 13, 2011
A short movie shot on the Sony F65 8K camera was being shown on the new 56-inch SRM-L560 4K LCD monitor. The detail was super-sharp, but the contrast was not great—the accompanying placard spec'd it at 1200:1, big whoop—and much of the movie consisted of fairly dark scenes. The same material looked much better from a Sony 4K digital-cinema projector on a 16x9-foot Stewart StudioTek 130 screen.
The Big Picture
Sony F65 8K Camcorder
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 13, 2011
With all the 4K digital video cameras at the show, I was surprised to find an 8K camera, the Sony F65. However, even though it has an 8K imager, it outputs 4K. So why use an 8K imager? Because capturing images at a resolution higher than they will be shown can result in better picture quality than capturing at the intended resolution to begin with. No pricing was announced, but I bet it will be six figures.

Pages

X