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Home Theater Geeks Podcast
Podcast 33: Fred Manteghian
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 16, 2010
A/V raconteur and Home Theater reviewer Fred Manteghian talks about his reference system, products he's reviewed recently, some favorite Blu-ray titles, the advantages of iTunes and Internet radio, automatic room correction, speaker placement, tubes versus solid-state electronics, electrostatic versus dynamic speakers, and answers to chat-room questions.

Run Time: 53:47

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Audio Video News
SRS Scores on Streaming Surround
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 16, 2010
Would you like your streamed movies to include 5.1-channel sound? One way you may get it is through SRS, which is providing its surround technology to the Microsoft Silverlight streaming platform.
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Audio Video News
Audyssey announces its own iPod dock
SV Staff  |  Sep 15, 2010
Audio processing technology company Audyssey has come out with its own hardware, in the form of an iPod dock. The Audyssey Audio Dock: South of Market Edition is a one-piece speaker dock with wireless capabilities and loaded with Audyssey's audio...
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Ask S&V
3D TVs, AVRs, Screen Size
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 15, 2010
3D Quandary
I'm looking for a 3D TV in the 55- to 65-inch range. I was leaning toward the Panasonic TC-P65VT25 until a salesperson at Best Buy told me the Samsung PN63C8000 is better, plus it includes a Blu-ray player. I thought Panasonic made the best plasmas. Also, which is better for 3D—LCD, LED, or plasma? Is Sony, Samsung, or Panasonic the best brand?
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Other Tech
Is Your HDMI-Connected Gear Ready for 3D?
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Sep 15, 2010

Illustration by Raquel Chilson

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
American Beauty (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Sep 15, 2010
Feeling the weight of middle age upon his shoulders, Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) rebels against his cheating wife (Annette Bening) and ungrateful daughter (Thora Birch). Seeking to relive the life of a twenty something, he leaves his high profile job to work at a local fast food joint and along the way develops a dangerous infatuation with one of his daughter's friends (Mena Suvari) that can only lead to trouble.

Time has a strange effect on ones perceptions and tastes in movies and that's certainly the case here. I remember in 1999 how powerful I found this film due to the great performances and wonderful direction from first time director Sam Mendes. As a 41 year old father of a teenage girl, I find the subject matter too disturbing and the behavior of Spacey's character criminal and sickening.

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Audio Video News
HDMI's HDCP Hacked
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 15, 2010
The digital rights management scheme that protects HDMI inputs has been undermined with the recent revelation of a master key that unlocks HDCP.
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Audio Video News
TiVo toys with free, contract-based DVRs
SV Staff  |  Sep 14, 2010
After years of selling its DVR as a relatively pricey piece of consumer electronics, TiVo is experimenting with adopting the cell phone model of product and service pricing. According to Engadget, TiVo held a short-lived test promotion where the...
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
David Vaughn  |  Sep 14, 2010
It's a race against time when a rogue prince (Jake Gyllenhaal) reluctantly teams up with a rival princess (Gemma Arterton) to safeguard a magical dagger that gives its possessor the power to reverse time and rule the world.

Adapting a video game into a feature film is a challenging task, but producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Mike Newell actually pull it off here. Sure, the story isn't very thought-provoking, but there's plenty of action and enough comic relief from Alfred Molina to entertain the family for a couple of hours. The demo-worthy DTS-HD MA soundtrack features everything you'd want from an action movie—impressive dynamics, ample bass, and 360-degree envelopment.

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Custom Installation How-ToHome Movie Theaters
Balancing the Budget
Kim Wilson  |  Sep 14, 2010

Meeting the client’s budget while providing the home theater of their dreams is often a balancing act that Barrett’s Home Theater of Naperville, Il. is used to. “Homeowners usually don’t realize what it takes to build out a room like this theater,” says John Wettlaufer, Barrett’s Custom Audio Video Manager. “In this instance, we were able to have an informed dialog with the client and make key decisions and compromises that made it possible for us to design a great home theater at a price they could live with.”

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