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Audio Video News
UWB Reaches Milestone
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 05, 2005  |  0 comments

Focus Enhancements, one of the primary developers of ultra wideband (UWB) wireless networking technology, has successfully demonstrated the transmission of two HDTV datastreams through the walls of its Hillsboro, Oregon, facility. This is an important step toward enabling consumer products to wirelessly transmit multiple HD streams throughout the home using Focus Enhancements' UWB chipsets, which should become available later this year.

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Audio Video News
HE2005 - Day III
Darryl Wilkinson  |  May 04, 2005  |  0 comments
Sunday is the day of the week when I like to sit back, relax, and ponder the unanswered questions in life. On the third and final day of the Home Entertainment show, I was startled to discover that both April Music and May Audio were here in the hotel. Was it by sheer coincidence, or was something more sinister going on? Then, of course, there's the follow up question of why April and May were the only months involved? What devious mastermind could be behind this - and does it have anything to do with fluoride in the water supply?
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Canton LE 100 Series Home Theater Speaker System
James K. Willcox  |  May 03, 2005  |  0 comments

Recently, a friend pointed me to an interesting Web site called youhavebadtasteinmusic.com.

Apparently, they send a strangely dressed guy with a megaphone out to the concerts of some popular bands to harangue attendees about their musical taste.

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Other Tech
One Channel Serves All
Michael Antonoff  |  May 03, 2005  |  0 comments

Conventional TV broadcasting, whether over the air or by cable or satellite, sends out multiple channels all at once, and it's up to the viewer to tune in a particular one at a set time to watch or record a show. Akimbo is promising the next step: speedy interactive delivery of video directly from the Internet to a hard drive connected to your TV.

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Other Tech
Kenwood RFU-6100 Adapter
 |  May 03, 2005  |  0 comments

The biggest challenge facing most people installing a surround system (after approval from the spouse!) is the wiring. Getting wire from your component stack to the surround speakers in the back of the room can be especially challenging.

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New Products
New Products - May 2005
SV Staff  |  May 02, 2005  |  0 comments

Samsung The latest DLP big screens from Samsung are led by the HLR5688W, which measures 56 inches (diagonal) and boasts a native resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. Yep, that's enough for ultra-high 1080p (progressive-scan) resolution, folks.

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Audio Video News
HE2005 - Part II
Darryl Wilkinson  |  May 02, 2005  |  0 comments
It wasn't a Saturday matinee; it was a Saturday Home Entertainment show - and there was even less elbow room in the hallways than during Friday's opening day. Squeezing edgewise into each room, those of us who were here to bask in the adulation of grateful readers discovered that we were yesterday's news compared to the equipment on display. (When, oh, when will the adulation begin...?)
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Home Theater Systems Reviews
Philips MX6000i Wireless Home Theater System
Chris Chiarella  |  May 01, 2005  |  First Published: May 17, 2005  |  0 comments
HTIB goes Wi-Fi.

In case you're just joining us, there's a whole new world of entertainment material to be enjoyed in your living room, beyond what you'll find in your DVD rack or emanating from your cable/satellite feed. Many folks like me are amassing quite a large collection of music, videos, and photos on the PC, and that there Internet has a lot to offer, too. The convergence of PC and home theater is certainly nothing new, but, until now, this union has been attainable only through a series of clever add-ons (not the first marriage to benefit from the use of electric appliances). What if the connection to the computer—and its many perks—was an integral part of your home theater gear, and it was wireless to boot?

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Other Source Component Reviews
Sony DVP-NS975V DVD/SACD Player
Adrienne Maxwell  |  May 01, 2005  |  First Published: May 17, 2005  |  0 comments
Upconversion, and then some.

Ah, it seems like only yesterday that we reviewed the first DVD player that upconverted the video signal to 720p or 1080i. It was the defining feature in last year's first-generation players. Now, as second-generation models are announced, manufacturers are already asking upconversion to share the spotlight with other features like DVD recording, DVD/VHS combo drives, and high-resolution audio playback. Sony's first entry into the upconverting category is the DVP-NS975V, which adds SACD playback without adding much to the bottom line.

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Other Source Component Reviews
Panasonic DMR-E75V DVD/VHS Player
Robert Scott  |  May 01, 2005  |  First Published: May 17, 2005  |  0 comments
This combo unit lets you copy VHS tapes to DVD (and vice versa) and watch either format from a single device.

Panasonic is among the many manufacturers that now make combo VHS/DVD recorders; one of their current models is the DMR-E75V. This unit includes a VHS hi-fi VCR and a DVD drive that records on DVD-RAM and DVD-R discs (but not on DVD-RW), and it plays these formats, as well as DVD-Video, CD, CD-R/-RW (recorded with either normal CD or MP3 audio), and videoCD. It can even play DVD-Audio discs, but it only outputs two channels. I found out that playing DVD-Audio involves some sort of downmixing, but I was unable to get any more specific details of the process.

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