LATEST ADDITIONS

Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Kind of Blu
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jun 09, 2008
Will Blu-ray’s state-of-the-art audio codecs become the format’s killer apps?

High-resolution audio is like a drowning man who, just when all seems lost, suddenly bobs back up to the surface for a convulsive gulp of air. CD replaces vinyl—he’s down. CD mastering improves—he’s up. Bad CD mastering squashes dynamic range—he’s down. SACD and DVD-Audio make their debuts with new 5.1-channel recordings and/or mixes—he’s up. The high-rez audio formats tank—he’s down. Vinyl makes a comeback—he’s up. Low-quality lossy downloads gut CD sales—he’s down. Oh Lord, he’s been down there a long time now. Will we ever see his head above water again?

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Audio Video News
Major Label Expands to Survive
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jun 09, 2008
The Universal Music Group is adding a couple of feathers to its record-label cap. Universal, which already controls nearly 30 percent of the classical music recording market, will now manage classical artists and book concerts, moving into territory previously off-limits to most record labels.
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Other Tech
SXSW 2008
Ken Richardson  |  Jun 08, 2008

Vampire Weekend (above), the buzziest of current buzz bands, was one of the hot acts I caught at the South by Southwest Music & Media Conference. For 4 nights in 80 venues, the Texas town of Austin - the self-proclaimed Live Music Capital of the World - hosted the biggest music festival in the world.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
David Vaughn  |  Jun 07, 2008

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/060608butch.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>The president of the Union Pacific Railroad hires the Pinkertons to hunt down and kill Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid for repeatedly robbing his trains. With a lucky escape still fresh in their minds, Butch decides it's time to retire to Bolivia, and who is Sundance to argue?

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
V for Vendetta
David Vaughn  |  Jun 07, 2008

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/060608vendetta.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Remember, remember the 5th of November. The significance of this date in England goes back to 1605, when a Catholic terrorist by the name of Guy Fawkes tried to blow up Parliament in protest over how Catholics were treated. Fast forward to the near future and meet V (Hugo Weaving), our tragic hero, who struts around town wearing a Guy Fawkes mask and is a terrorist in his own right&mdash;or at least the totalitarian government has labeled him as such.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Next
David Vaughn  |  Jun 07, 2008

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/060608next.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Nicolas Cage stars as Cris "Frank Cadillac" Johnson, a small-time magician in Las Vegas. Cris isn’t your ordinary slight-of-hand magician&mdash;he has the ability to see two minutes into the future. Is it a gift or a curse? FBI agent Callie Ferris (Julianne Moore) discovers his ability and will stop at nothing to get him into custody in order to stop a planned nuclear attack on Los Angeles.

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Audio Video News
Sony's Seven New BRAVIA Sets
SV Staff  |  Jun 06, 2008
The Sony Bravia line is expanding with bold new models, and new sizes in previous product lines. These new Bravia XBR flat-panel LCD HDTVs bring the total number of Bravia TVs to thirty, with sizes that range from 19 inches all the way up to 70...
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Audio Video News
We're Not Gonna Take It!!!
SV Staff  |  Jun 06, 2008
Remember that scene from Network, with people hanging out of their windows screaming, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it anymore!" Apparently, the people of Los Angeles took that to heart. The city of Los Angeles is suing Time...
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Audio Video News
ray, Blu-ray
SV Staff  |  Jun 06, 2008
Great wines, fine food, fabulous fashion. What else is fierce about France? Fox/MGM has reportedly announced that they will be releasing six James Bond flics on Blu-ray in November in France. The first six titles are (rumored to included) From...
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Projector Reviews
Planar PD8150 DLP Projector
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jun 06, 2008
Although Planar has a significant presence in the video-display business, it's relatively new to the home-theater market. The company first popped up a couple of years ago at a major trade show with some intriguing prototypes. Since then, it has expanded its home-theater resume by acquiring Runco and Vidikron, and all three brands maintain their separate identities under the Planar umbrella.
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