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HDTV Tech
Flat Panel Display Lab
Mike Kahn  |  Feb 26, 2008  |  First Published: Jan 26, 2008
Your tax dollars at work.

Nestled deep within the corridors of the sprawling NIST (the National Institute of Standards) campus lives the Flat Panel Display Lab. This special facility is dedicated to the development and implementation of metrology, or the measuring methodology, for flat-panel displays. Founded in 1992 and located in Boulder, Colorado, the lab's scientists have created a comprehensive and robust set of measurement methods for accurately evaluating the quality and accuracy of displays.

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AV GlossaryHDTV Tech
Local Dimming LED
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Feb 26, 2008  |  First Published: Jan 26, 2008
The greatest thing to happen to LCD, ever.

The coolest demo I saw at CEDIA 2007 was a demo I saw at CEDIA 2006. The original demo was at the Planar suite. Dolby now owns the company that was working with Planar, BrightSide Technologies, and the technology shown in these demos has a name—Dolby Vision. The short version is this: Using LEDs, you can dim specific areas of the backlight to go along with what is happening with the video. In other words, you can dim certain areas of the screen, while keeping other areas bright. In the simplest form, picture a split screen with black on one side and white on the other. Local dimming would allow the LEDs on the black side to be off and the LEDs on the white side to be lit. The result is a fantastic, legitimate contrast ratio, along with possible energy savings and a host of other potential benefits. But first, we have to understand the problem before we can talk about this solution.

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Audio Video News
TiVo's Lawyers Trash EchoStar's Lawyers
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 26, 2008
It's not nice to steal intellectual property. That's what the U.S. District Court of Appeals said last month, ending a legal fistfight between TiVo and EchoStar. The court upheld a lower court ruling that the owner of the Dish Network infringed patents for a "multimedia time warping system."
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Audio Video News
With HD DVD Gone, Now What?
SV Staff  |  Feb 25, 2008
Just how big a victory the Blu-ray Disc camp scored when Toshiba pulled the plug on HD DVD remains to be seen. Blu-ray may have won the hearts of Hollywood, which is dedicated to preserving traditional media (note Jon Stewart's jabs at viewing...
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Audio Video News
Feds Mail Analog-TV Adapter Coupons
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 25, 2008
Owners of obsolete analog television sets, rejoice. The $40 federal subsidy designed to keep your old TV going is in the mail--if you've requested it.
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Shane Buettner Blog
Blu-ray's Real Battle Begins
Shane Buettner  |  Feb 24, 2008
Stepping away for a few days and returning to find the format war over is sort of like being in a restaurant, hitting the rest room, and returning to find your meal waiting for you. Time to dig in!
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The Big Picture
The Results Are In
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 24, 2008

It's been two weeks since I asked readers to weigh in on whether they want more audio reviews with no objective measurements or fewer reviews with measurements. I've received 58 responses so far&mdash;thanks to everyone who expressed their opinion! Many of you supported your position with additional thoughts&mdash;in fact, a rather lively debate appeared in the <A href="http://blog.ultimateavmag.com/scottwilkinson/021008question/">comments section</A> of that blog, which offers some entertaining reading.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Revolver—Sony Pictures (Blu-ray Import)
Kris Deering  |  Feb 24, 2008
Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 3/5
Extras: 0/5
Guy Ritchie made quite the name for himself with the comedy capers Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. He also gave action star Jason Statham his big break. Revolver breaks new cinematic ground for Ritchie but unfortunately it didn't get much attention here in the US and barely made a cinematic release. I saw this film a few years ago and while I admit it does present some challenging and often confusing ideas, it is still a strong film. Ritchie's visual style continues to impress and his knack for stylish wit is plastered all over this one. As of right now this film will only be released as a standard DVD here in the US but anyone with internet access can find this one from Norway on Blu-ray as a region free release.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Pan’s Labyrinth—New Line (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Feb 24, 2008
Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 4.5/5
Extras: 4.5/5
Last year director Guillermo Del Toro scored a huge hit with the international release of Pan's Labyrinth. The film went on to win acclaim at most of the film festivals and even got a few Oscar nominations including Best Foreign Film. This adult fairy tale is a dark and twisted ride that shows the more horrific side of war painted alongside a child's imagination. The film takes place during the later part of World War II in Spain where a pregnant mother and young child move in with a vicious Spanish captain who is trying to track down and kill the last of the resistance in the area. The young girl is lured by a fairy into a labyrinth near the headquarters and meets a Fawn who has the key to a kingdom long forgot. The young girl faces challenges to enter the kingdom while also dealing with the horrors around her.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Gone Baby Gone—Miramax Films (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Feb 24, 2008
Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 3/5
Ben Affleck stepped out of the limelight for quite some time before returning to the Hollywood scene with a brief role in Hollywoodland and now behind the camera for Gone Baby Gone. This is his directorial debut and I must say it is a very impressive one. This rather haunting film revolves around a young couple that is asked to help an investigation searching for a missing child in inner city Boston. Ben Affleck's brother, Casey, plays the lead private detective and delivers his second outstanding performance of the year (he's nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Robert Ford). The supporting cast is excellent as well, especially Ed Harris. There are some nice twists in the story and some difficult moral questions raised. This is a film that is affecting in multiple ways and will probably have you questioning your own ideas of what is right and what is wrong. What I do know is, Affleck has shown that he can already pen a great screenplay (he also co-wrote the screenplay here) but now he's shown he can direct a great film as well. Highly recommended.
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