Video: 4/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 2/5 Inspired by an incredible true story, "The Way Back" begins in 1940 when seven prisoners attempt the impossible: escape from a brutal Siberian gulag. Thus begins a treacherous 4,500-mile trek to freedom across the world's most merciless landscapes. They have little food and few supplies. They don't know or trust each other. But together, they must withstand nature at its most extreme. Their humanity is further tested when they meet a teenage runaway who begs to join them on their quest.
[UPDATE: This year's event is over now, but the RSD Web site remains active all year.]
Since this is the fourth annual Record Store Day, you should know what to do: Go to your local store and buy lotsa "records," be they vinyl LPs, CDs, or whatever else your shop happens to carry.
At A Glance: Rent iTunes movies and TV shows • Stream Netflix content • View pictures galleries on Flickr and MobileMe • Extends Apple ecosystem with AirPlay
Getting content from our computers to the home’s main entertainment hub is like the Holy Grail. Some manufacturers have achieved it for a high price; others have achieved it poorly for a reasonable price. In the Apple ecosystem, Apple TV has allowed simple, inexpensive iTunes integration for years. The original model required you to sync with your computer but, the latest Apple TV (ATV2)—which is less than half the size of its predecessor—only streams content. You can easily stream whatever you have on your computer in the way of movies (created or ripped), photos and music to your A/V system over a wired or wireless network.
One of the biggest digital-camcorder announcements at NAB is Red Digital Cinema's new Epic camera with 5K (5120x2700) resolution. Why 5K? Because it's one better than 4K? Well, sort of. Having 5K resolution allows content creators to crop or downscale to 4K with better-looking results.
Yesterday, I ran into David Reisner, digital-cinema consultant and recent guest on my Home Theater Geeks podcast, who told me about an exhibitor called Volfoni, which is showing hybrid active/passive universal 3D glasses at NAB. Intrigued, I sought them out.
Sharp yesterday announced a new line of 70" Aquos Quattron LED-backlit LCD TVs, responding to market research indicating that their target market of 35 to 45 year old men-even those already owning 60"-plus sets-felt a "need to go bigger." The new LC-70LE732U (shipping now at an MSRP of $3,799) is truly immense; the launch event-also a fundraiser for Japan earthquake/tsunami relief-featured the
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.
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 monitorsa BVM-L231 LCD, BVM-E250 OLED, and BVM-A25 CRT.
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.