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TV Reviews
Samsung PN60F8500 3D Plasma HDTV
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jun 14, 2013

2D Performance
3D Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
Price: $3,150 At A Glance: Crisp, detailed picture • Superb color performance • Near reference-quality blacks and shadow detail

When Samsung launched its new line of plasma HDTVs at last January’s CES, we were impressed. Those early demos indicated improved black levels and overall good performance. We were surprised to find later that the prices, though not exactly “Attention, K-Mart shoppers!” specials, aren’t Beverly Hills exclusives, either. From what we see here, these new Samsung plasmas, while unlikely to alter the market dominance of LCD, are welcome additions to the battle.

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Audio Video News
Hopper Fights Hate with VROOM
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jun 13, 2013
The war against Hopper—Dish Network’s zippy ad-skipping DVR—has taken a couple of new tacks. TV networks hate it because it enables viewers to breeze through brain-damaging ads. They’ve made their displeasure known by fighting Hopper’s AutoHop and PrimeTime Anytime features in court on flimsy copyright-violation grounds, apparently unaware that the Supreme Court sanctioned home time-shift recording in 1984’s Betamax Decision.
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Audio Video News
Vizio Introduces 80-Inch Smart TV for $4,000
HT Staff  |  Jun 13, 2013
Vizio today introduced its largest HDTV to date, the M801d 80-inch Razor LED Smart TV featuring a new Apps Plus platform and a competitive $4,000 price, the lowest list price for a TV of its size on the market.
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Vote
What's the best home theater demo material?
HT Staff  |  Jun 13, 2013
The demo to end all demos…what’s yours? Come on, everybody has a killer disc to pull out when a buddy from work comes over for a brewski or when a relative you haven’t seen in years visits for a long weekend. Nothing wrong with showing off a little, especially considering how much time and money you’ve put in to your rig. And for the betterment of the greater home theater community, please take a moment to enlighten us in the Comments section below: We want names, chapter numbers and the lowdown on what makes your favorite demo so special.
What's the best home theater demo material?
Computer animated movie
22% (216 votes)
Action/adventure movie
57% (559 votes)
Concert video
10% (102 votes)
Discovery Channel-type documentary
8% (83 votes)
Current hit TV show
0% (4 votes)
Reality TV show
0% (0 votes)
Palladium, the high-def music channel
2% (20 votes)
Total votes: 984
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Audio Video News
E3 2013 Highlights
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Jun 12, 2013

I'm the wrong person to cover E3. I loathe it. True, I'm a gamer of the 1st degree, but being a E3 has nothing to with being a gamer. It has everything to do with the shouty, misogynistic, terrified-of-the-new, big-business industry of gaming.

Also, I fraking hate crowds of aimlessly wandering people. Haaaaaaaate.

That said, this year was less horrible than year's past. Here are some pictures and highlights. 

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Audio Video News
Aereo Spreads to Boston
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jun 12, 2013
Aereo has brought its live-TV-over-Internet service to the Boston metro area as of May 15, following a controversial launch in New York. The move expands Aereo’s reach to 4.5 million viewers spread over 16 counties in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
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Bluetooth Speaker Reviews
Review: NYNE NB-250
Brent Butterworth  |  Jun 11, 2013

Thanks to the runaway success of the Jawbone Jambox, it seems most of the new Bluetooth speakers coming out are cute little things that can barely muster enough volume to hear in the next room.

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SmartStream
Apple to Offer Music Streaming with iTunes Radio
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jun 11, 2013
Apple announced their new streaming music service, iTunes Radio. Here's a look at its features compared to Google Play Music and Spotify.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Skyfall
Chris Chiarella  |  Jun 11, 2013
Picture
Sound
Extras
Interactivity
Half a century after the release of Dr. No, director Sam Mendes and a gifted team of screenwriters have managed to give audiences a James Bond film unlike any other. Skyfall is Daniel Craig’s third outing as 007, and yet the star is unafraid to show his advancing age, as we are reminded that the job of international secret agent apparently takes a heavy toll on all who dare to sign up for it.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
On The Waterfront
Fred Kaplan  |  Jun 11, 2013
Picture
Sound
Extras
Interactivity
All of you know the taxicab scene from On the Waterfront in which Marlon Brando tells Rod Steiger, “I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am. Let’s face it.” But I’d bet not many have recently seen the whole movie—and never have you seen it looking as breathtaking as it does on this Blu-ray Disc, a wondrous collaboration between Sony’s 4K digital-restoration lab and the Criterion Collection’s special-features team.
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