LATEST ADDITIONS

Audio Video News
Audio Industry Loses Pioneer Sidney Harman
Mark Fleischmann  |  Apr 14, 2011  |  0 comments
The man who put the Harman in Harman Kardon and Harman International has died at the age of 92. Sidney Harman was a true pioneer in the consumer electronics industry.

With his partner Bernard Kardon, Harman introduced the first audio receiver in the 1950s, the Festival D1000, combining the hitherto separate functions of power amp, preamp, and radio tuner. Shortly afterward came the first stereo receiver, the Festival TA230.

Continue Reading »
The Big Picture
Sony BVM OLED Reference Monitors
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 13, 2011  |  1 comments
For outstanding blacks, nothing I've seen at the NAB show comes close to the Sony BVM-E250 25-inch and E170 17-inch OLED monitors ($26,000 and $17,000, respectively). One of the most amazing demos at the show was presented in a totally blacked-out room with three pro reference monitors—a BVM-L231 LCD, BVM-E250 OLED, and BVM-A25 CRT.
Continue Reading »
The Big Picture
Panasonic BT300 Reference Plasma Monitor
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 13, 2011  |  3 comments
In a secret, blacked-out room, Panasonic was demonstrating its new professional reference monitor, the TH-42BT300, shown here between last year's TH-42PF11 to the left and this year's TH-42PF20 on the right. In addition to a 42-incher (~$4000), the new model will be available in a 50-inch size for around $5000.
Continue Reading »
The Big Picture
Sony SRM-L560 4K LCD Monitor
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 13, 2011  |  0 comments
A short movie shot on the Sony F65 8K camera was being shown on the new 56-inch SRM-L560 4K LCD monitor. The detail was super-sharp, but the contrast was not great—the accompanying placard spec'd it at 1200:1, big whoop—and much of the movie consisted of fairly dark scenes. The same material looked much better from a Sony 4K digital-cinema projector on a 16x9-foot Stewart StudioTek 130 screen.
The Big Picture
Sony F65 8K Camcorder
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 13, 2011  |  4 comments
With all the 4K digital video cameras at the show, I was surprised to find an 8K camera, the Sony F65. However, even though it has an 8K imager, it outputs 4K. So why use an 8K imager? Because capturing images at a resolution higher than they will be shown can result in better picture quality than capturing at the intended resolution to begin with. No pricing was announced, but I bet it will be six figures.
The Big Picture
JVC 4K Camcorder
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 13, 2011  |  0 comments
One clear trend at this year's NAB show is the proliferation of digital video cameras with a native resolution of at least 4K (roughly 4000x2000 pixels). Among the entries in this field is a prototype from JVC, which doesn't even have a model designation, much less a price or shipping date.

I was particularly impressed that JVC was displaying the camera's output on a 55-inch 4K flat panel, probably a Sharp, though the rep I spoke with couldn't say for sure. Unfortunately, the photo above, taken directly off the screen, does not do the razor-sharp image justice. Even more amazing was an IBM 4K monitor nearby measuring only 20 inches or so diagonally—I could get close enough so my eyeball was almost touching the screen, and I could barely see the pixels. These flat panels give me hope that 4K will migrate to consumer displays.

Audio Video News
Anywhere, anytime, anyhow
Michael Berk  |  Apr 13, 2011  |  0 comments

An interesting argument about the future of the music market is brewing over a newly released Nielsen study of online music li

Continue Reading »
Audio Video News
Sidney Harman 1918–2011
SV Staff  |  Apr 13, 2011  |  0 comments
Most recently, he was known as the executive chairman of the merger between Newsweek magazine (which he bought last year) and The Daily Beast. But the readers of Sound+Vision — and before that, Stereo Review, Hi/Fi Stereo Review, Hi/Fi...
Continue Reading »
Audio Video News
DirecTV Folk Get HBO GO and MAX GO
Mark Fleischmann  |  Apr 13, 2011  |  1 comments
DirecTV subscribers who buy premium channels are in for a pair of new treats. They've gotten HBO Go and MAX GO, allowing instant access to a broad array of HBO shows and Cinemax movies.

On the HBO GO side, that means every episode of every season of selected shows. The service will launch with 1400+ titles from old favorites like The Sopranos to the new Game of Thrones. A Season Pass offers alerts to favorite programs.

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Casino Jack—20th Century Fox
Kris Deering  |  Apr 13, 2011  |  1 comments
Video: 4/5
Audio: 3.5/5
Extras: 2/5
Spacey stars as Jack Abramoff, the real-life Washington power player who resorted to jaw-dropping levels of fraud and corruption. High-rolling excess and outrageous escapades are all in a day's work for Abramoff, as he goes to outrageous lengths to promote the Indian gambling industry, earning him the nickname "Casino Jack." But when Jack and his womanizing protégé Michael Scanlon enlist a dimwitted business partner for an illegal scheme, they find themselves ensnared in a web of greed and murder that explodes into a worldwide scandal.
Continue Reading »

Pages

X