LATEST ADDITIONS

HT Staff  |  Jul 20, 2005  |  0 comments
MoDesign (Monster, LLC)
Are you looking to house your various electronics in a way that will add to your room's décor rather than detract from it? MoDesign's $2,500 Audio/Video Component Tower 6000, part of their Centra line of home theater consoles, is made with a smoked-black-tinted glass door and sleek, lustrous wood. If you don't like the glass, wooden doors with either a light- or deep-cherry finish are also available separately. The unit is functional, too. According to MoDesign, a dual-fan cooling system helps your components perform as they should, and the glass door is specially designed not to interfere with signals from remote controls. The Monster Cable Management System helps keep your cables neatly organized.
MoDesign (Monster, LLC)
(866) 563-6388
www.MDesignLife.com
Joel Brinkley  |  Jul 17, 2005  |  First Published: Jul 18, 2005  |  0 comments

We all know Outlaw as the company that builds and sells sophisticated pieces of audio/video equipment exclusively through the internet at prices that are hard to believe. And no device in a home-theater system is more sophisticated and complex as the preamp/processor. So it was with great interest that I agreed to look at the company's new entry in this market, the Model 990, a 7.1-channel processor that sells for the more than agreeable price of $1099.

Thomas J. Norton  |  Jul 17, 2005  |  0 comments

Viewing a good movie in a darkened room is an immersive experience. The image and sound command your full attention. Nevertheless, large numbers of potential buyers avoid projectors because they don't want to watch television and video in a completely darkened room. Many are infrequent moviegoers whose reference viewing environment is a domestic space, not a darkened theater. (There's an audio equivalent to this. I know audiophiles&mdash;<I>audiophiles</I>&mdash;who prefer watching movies with mono sound because they've been watching movies on their television so long that they consider surround&mdash;or even 2-channel stereo&mdash;to be a distraction!)

Scott Wilkinson  |  Jul 17, 2005  |  0 comments

Sonic Solutions, a leading digital-media software developer, announced last week that it has founded the High Definition Authoring Alliance (HDAA), the first and only worldwide association of DVD authoring houses dedicated to facilitating the rollout of titles for release in the new high-definition HD DVD and Blu-ray optical disc formats. The HDAA is intended to increase momentum for successful introduction of the formats, ensuring the timely availability of quality titles by providing members with exclusive access to key information, HD-enabled tools, and comprehensive training.

Scott Wilkinson  |  Jul 14, 2005  |  0 comments

At the award-presentation ceremony for its annual international design competition on July 4 at the Essen Aalto Theatre in Essen, Germany, the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen bestowed its prestigious "red dot label for high design quality" on six Sony products. Among a record number of 1857 entries in 12 product categories, the international jury selected the following Sony products: HDR-FX1E HDV1080i camcorder, Qualia 001 Creation Box (a video processor/upconverter that is not available in the US), <A href="http://ultimateavmag.com/videoprojectors/504sony/">Qualia 004 SXRD front projector</A>, Qualia 005 LCD flat-panel television, <A href="http://www.ultimateavmag.com/directviewandptvtelevisions/705sony/">Qualia 006 RPTV</A>, and DAV-SR4W wireless home theater in a box.

Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jul 11, 2005  |  0 comments
How many people really are watching analog over-the-air TV broadcasts?
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jul 11, 2005  |  0 comments
First there was the TV, and we saw that it was good. Then came cable and satellite, and we saw that it made TV better. Some years later, the digital video recorder (DVR) was born, and those who fell under its spell knew that it was as close to an electronic gift from God as was humanly possible. But now the sun is shining on the Slingbox, a device that, as the name suggests, slings TV (or other media) from your living room to locations far and wide; and - short of having a Digital TV tuner with a high-capacity DVR hardwired directly to your brain - this could be the best thing to happen to TV since, well, TV itself came along.
Joel Brinkley  |  Jul 11, 2005  |  0 comments

Sony's $30,000 SXRD front projector, the <A href="http://www.ultimateavmag.com/videoprojectors/504sony/">Qualia 004</A>, was hailed as a breakthrough technology when it came out last year. Now comes this rear-projection SXRD model at somewhat more approachable price&mdash;$13,000. No doubt, that is still a breathtaking cost for a television set. But as high-end TVs go, this one may be worth it.

Michael Fremer  |  Jul 11, 2005  |  0 comments

"Name a product the 'Ultimate' anything and you've opened yourself up to a world of potential hurt and ridicule. The name's a boast and it's bound to instigate a challenge. That's what I thought as I unpacked Bob Carver's latest brag, months before this publication was renamed <I>Ultimate AV</I>, and I'm not changing my lead because of that."

Thomas J. Norton  |  Jul 11, 2005  |  0 comments

In my recent review of Fujitsu's remarkable <A href="http://www.ultimateavmag.com/videoprojectors/505fujitsu/">LPF-D711W LCD projector</A>, I commented:

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