I've been impressed by the image quality of many of the 1080p HDTVs I've seen lately, but to me the biggest surprise over the last year has been the excellent pictures produced by variants on LCoS (liquid crystal on silicon) technology. LCoS uses light reflected from silicon chips covered with liquid crystals - 1080p models boast more than 2 million pixels' worth.
A motherload of great products passed through the February/March 2006 issue, resulting in six adds to The List. Among them are Pioneer's 50-inch Elite plasma, JVC's new 70-inch HD-ILA rear projector, and Control 4's affordable whole-house music/automation system.
With so many new brandnames entering the flat-panel TV business, it's hard to keep track of them all. Would you know a Proton from a Protron? That's what seems to be worrying the Proton Electrical Industrial Co. of Taiwan, which has just filed a trademark-infringement suit against the Prosonic Consumer Group for marketing sets under the similar-sounding Protron brand. Proton has a 23-year pedigree as a high-end TV maker, is just re-entering the North American market with a line of LCD DTVs, and wants to avoid "confusion in the marketplace," says a press release. The name Proton is also used by numerous other companies, though not to sell TVs. The name Protron is also used by a computer-software company.
Video: 5
Audio: 3
Extras: 4
Watching March of the Penguins, it's hard not to feel as though the cast, fleets of emperor penguins, is imbued with human nature. I kept catching myself thinking of the penguins as people—I kept searching for humanlike motivations to understand their behavior. But perhaps this is unfair of me to say, if not a little arrogant. After all, we humans are all animals (some of us more untamed than others), and this documentary essentially focuses on the central function of all mammals—procreation and the successful nurturing of offspring into self-sufficient beings. I guess what I'm trying to say is that this movie beautifully demonstrates that even something as complex as love is not reserved for humans.
Video: 4
Audio: 3
Extras: 2
When writers Mitchell Hurwitz and Jim Vallely accepted the 2005 Emmy for Arrested Development's season-two finale, "The Righteous Brothers," they kindly reminded everyone that they were receiving an award for a show that no one watches. In fact, three of the five nominees in the Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series category were from Arrested Development. Does that give you an idea just how good this show is?
Video: 4
Audio: 4
Extras: 4
What Harold and Maude was to funerals, Wedding Crashers is to nuptials. A rollicking buddy comedy that spearheaded the great "Return of the R-Rated Comedies" campaign of 2005, this Owen Wilson/Vince Vaughn team-up proved to be a true word-of-mouth box-office success. Besides wonderful comedic chemistry between Wilson and Vaughn and the writing's total immersion in sexual frankness (e.g., "Why don't you go enjoy yourself while I go ice my balls and spit up blood?"), David Dobkin's assured pacing and direction won over audiences with both the film's infectious energy and the sincerity of the romantic subplot.
Video: 4
Audio: 5
Extras: 5
The search for salvation, fortune, and a new world are all familiar things that many continue to fight for today; during the Crusades, it was no different. Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven is yet another masterpiece created by the father of the director's cut, who is best known for his unique vision. Orlando Bloom is Balian, a Frenchman who becomes a knight and travels to the Holy City to find redemption. As the words "I am Jerusalem" are uttered from both sides, Balian must defend his people in this historical clash between Europe and the Middle East.
The Federal Communications Commission has a new member. Deborah Tate was quietly sworn in by chairperson Kevin Martin on January 3. A native of Tennessee, Tate is a lawyer with Republican credentials, but not necessarily a cookie-cutter political operative. Her varied public service background includes telecommunications, public utilities, senior mental health, and juvenile justice. That breadth of experience may prove valuable over the next few years as the FCC grapples with controversial issues involving obscenity, censorship, media concentration, digital rights management, and its traditional mission of regulating the broadcast spectrum.
