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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Ping Pong Playa—Image (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Feb 23, 2009
Video: 3/5
Audio: 3.75/5
Extras: 2/5
In this heartwarming hilarious comedy Christopher C-Dub Wang is a Chinese-American gangsta-talking wannabe who tries to save the family business by playing in a ping pong tournament. With some surprising help from an unusual group of kids anything could happen!
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Napoleon Dynamite—Fox Searchlight (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Feb 23, 2009
Video: 3/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 3.5/5
"Napoleon Dynamite" is a new kind of hero, complete with a tight red 'fro, sweet moon boots, and skills that can't be topped. Napoleon spends his days drawing mythical beasts, duking it out with his brother, Kip, and avoiding his scheming Uncle Rico. When two new friends enter Napoleon's life - shy Deb and mustachioed Pedro - the trio launches a campaign to elect Pedro for class president and make the student body's wildest dreams come true. But if Pedro is to beat stuck-up Summer, Napoleon will have to unleash his secret weapon.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
High School Musical 3—Walt Disney Pictures (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Feb 23, 2009
Video: 4/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 5/5
It's almost graduation day for high school seniors Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay, Chad, Ryan and Taylor - and the thought of heading off in separate directions after leaving East High has these Wildcats thinking they need to do something they'll remember forever. Together with the rest of the Wildcats, they stage a spring musical reflecting their hopes and fears about the future and their unforgettable experiences growing up together. But with graduation approaching and college plans in question, what will become of the dreams, romances and friendships of East High's senior Wildcats?
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Miracle At St. Anna—Touchstone Pictures (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Feb 23, 2009
Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 4.25/5
Extras: 2.5/5
Stationed in Tuscany, Italy, four members of the U.S. Army's all-black 92nd Infantry Division, the Buffalo Soldiers, are trapped behind enemy lines after one of them risks his life to save a traumatized Italian boy. Separated from their unit, they find themselves in a remote Tuscan village where they experience the tragedy and the triumph of war. Based on the highly praised novel by James McBride, and filled with exceptional battle scenes and action, it's a gripping and inspiring story drawn from a real incident that will touch the goodness within us all and never let go.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
High School Musical: Remix—Walt Disney Pictures (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Feb 23, 2009
Video: 3.75/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 3.5/5
Troy, the popular captain of the basketball team, and Gabriella, the brainy and beautiful member of the academic club, break all the rules of East High society when they secretly audition for the leads in the school's musical. As they reach for the stars and follow their dreams, everyone learns about acceptance, teamwork and being yourself.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk—Image (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Feb 23, 2009
Video: 4.25/5
Audio: 4.5/5
Extras: 3/5
Set against the immense backdrop of the majestic Grand Canyon, “Grand Canyon Adventure” will take audiences on an exhilarating river-rafting adventure down the Colorado River in the company of a team of explorers who are committed to bringing awareness to global water issues. One of the world's mightiest rivers, the Colorado, no longer reaches the sea. Every drop of river water is allocated to agriculture and populations along the way, many of whom don't even realize their connection to the river. No water remains for the river's end -- the Colorado Delta -- once a thriving estuary that supported the most diverse biosphere in North America. How do we balance our needs with nature's? How do we provide enough fresh water for everyone who needs it, not only along the Colorado River, but everywhere on our planet?
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AV Receiver Reviews
Integra DTR-9.9 A/V Receiver
Thomas J. Norton  |  Feb 23, 2009

If you sometimes get nostalgic for the days of 2-channel audio, you're not alone. Life was simple then. You plugged your CD player in here, your turntable in there, hooked up the preamp to the power amp (unless you were a hair-shirt audiophile with an all-in-one integrated amp) and you were done. Select the source, adjust the volume, sit back, and listen.

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Bookshelf Speaker Reviews
JBL Control NOW AW Speaker System
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 23, 2009
Price: $2,144 At A Glance: Doughnut-shaped speakers fit just about anywhere • Withstands tough environments • Wireless sub makes your life one cable less complicated

Cornered and Wireless

Fade up on an open box of doughnuts. Are they Krispy Kremes or Dunkin? Leave that to the product-placement department.

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Blu-ray Player Reviews
Samsung BD-P2500 Blu-ray Player
Kris Deering  |  Feb 23, 2009
Price: $400 At A Glance: Netflix streaming • Average usability • BD-Live support • Outstanding HD and SD video processing by Silicon Optix HQV

Streaming in Blu

Samsung was the first consumer electronics company to bring a Blu-ray player to market. Since then, the company has released quite a few players with varying degrees of performance. With the BD-P2500, Samsung delves into another market for the first time—video on demand. In the January issue, I reviewed the LG BD300, which was the first player to incorporate Netflix streaming capabilities. The BD-P2500 brings this same feature to the fold and includes some other features that the LG lacks.

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Audio Video News
Some movie tie-in games might actually be pretty good this year
SV Staff  |  Feb 23, 2009
Thanks to the twin nerd-industry wonders of New York Comic-Con and Toy Fair, I managed to get an eyeful of several upcoming movie-branded games. Usually, branded video games are at best mediocre, and at worst horrible. They all too often reek of...
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