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Shopping for a 70-inch Flat Panel
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 16, 2012
I've recently installed some built-in cabinets in my family room, leaving me enough space to fit a 70-inch TV. Currently, I have a 50-inch Pioneer Kuro (non-Elite) that I've been extremely happy with. But now that I've got the space for a 70-incher, I'm strongly considering upgrading. The problem is that I've been pretty disappointed with what's currently available in the way of 70-inch TVs. I realize that I'm limited to the Sharp 70-inch models or the larger Elite (which is out of my price range). I could increase my options if I considered a 65-inch set from Samsung or Panasonic, but hate the thought of giving up those extra five inches.

Also, I'm pretty spoiled by the picture quality of the Kuro. I love the shadow detail and lack of motion artifacts on the plasma, and I'm worried that I'll be disappointed with the performance of some of the larger LED TVs. I was excited that Sharp announced the LE945U line at CES this year, which is supposedly going to include full-array local dimming, but I've seen recent reports that Sharp may not include local dimming on their 2012 sets. Have you heard anything about this? Is this feature really worth waiting for over the full-array LC-70LE735U (with no local dimming) that can currently be obtained at a substantial discount?

Jim Remus

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Audio Video News
The Boss Speaks: Billy Altman's SXSW 2012 Diary, Day Three
Billy Altman  |  Mar 16, 2012

"How important can this speech be if we're doing it at noon?" joked Bruce Springsteen as he began his keynote speech on Thursday at South By Southwest. "I mean, is any musician up at noon?" 

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Tech2
Review: Journey
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Mar 16, 2012

I’m not sure where to begin. In a Heisenbergian fashion, I can’t describe the game without ruining the game. I can’t really say what it’s about, what goes on, or really, what my feelings are after playing it.

I can only use words like “ethereal,” “haunting,” “absorbing,” even “beautiful.”

Well, maybe I can describe how I feel about it. I think. . . I loved it.

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Audio Video News
Alabama Shakes, Black Flamingo, and Gemma Ray: Billy Altman's SXSW 2012 Diary, Day Two
Billy Altman  |  Mar 15, 2012

The first full day at the 2012 South By Southwest music festival was really all about the ladies, as a number of talented women from all points of the stylistic compass made their presence felt at various hot spots throughout the day and night.

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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Your Budget AirPlay Companion: iHome's iW2
Michael Berk  |  Mar 14, 2012

As our own Geoffrey Morrison pointed out earlier this week, a lot of AirPlay-enabled speakers are expensive enough that they're bound to get you thinking about building your own system around a cheaper device like an AirPort Express.

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Audio Video News
Compact Discs - Not Dead Yet: Parasound Rolls Out Futureproofed Zcd CD Player
Michael Berk  |  Mar 14, 2012

The writing may be on the wall for the CD and for physical media in general; but we're still seeing interesting disc players emerge as we enter the format's end times (of course, we could be totally wrong about that; vinyl certainly hasn't gone away, and nor has innovation in the turntable arena). But simple CD-playback devices may be a thing of the past.

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Signals
The Physics of Unphysics: Walmart Takes to The Cloud
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Mar 14, 2012

You’ve got to hand it to Walmart. First, they make a zillion dollars selling DVD and Blu-ray discs to everyone. Now, they’re set to make another zillion dollars so you don’t have to actually use the discs. Brilliant, simply brilliant.

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Home Theater Geeks Podcast
Podcast 102: Renato Pellegrini
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 14, 2012
Renato Pellegrini, co-founder of Sonic Emotion and my first guest geek to appear live from Europe, explains the company's Absolute 3D audio technology, which uses wave-field synthesis to create a 3D soundfield throughout the room, putting every listener in the sweet spot. He reveals several consumer products that incorporate the technology and introduces Sonic Emotion's new 3D audio app for the iPhone/iPod/iPad (and soon Android devices) called Headquake. Also discussed are several commercial installations using Absolute 3D and the company's Music in Our Schools donation program.

Run Time: 1:00:41

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Audio Video News
Keep Austin Weird: Billy Altman's SXSW 2012 Diary, Day One
Billy Altman  |  Mar 14, 2012

"Keep Austin Weird" is a catch phrase that adorns many a T-shirt in this Texas town that for well over two decades has hosted the South By Southwest music festival.

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Tech2
Projectors for Imperfect Rooms
Brent Butterworth  |  Mar 14, 2012

I’ve been covering video projection since the early 1990s, but last week was the first time I walked into a product display and had a hard time figuring out which projector was showing which picture.

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