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Audio Video News
A Titanic Announcement
Thomas J. Norton  |  Apr 10, 2005  |  0 comments

It's no secret that the original DVD release of <I>Titanic</I>&mdash;about a zillion years ago in DVD time&mdash;was a technical dud. Oh, it looked okay, and the excitement of actually being able to put it on your very own shelf to watch whenever you wanted kept the disappointment to a low simmer. But it was released during the period when studios were just beginning to adopt the anamorphic or "enhanced for widescreen" format. Unfortunately, <I>Titanic</I> was not a beneficiary of that superior technology. As ordinary letterbox transfers go, it was among the better ones. But it wasn't what it should have been.

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The Custom Installer: Got Picture, No Sound?
John Sciacca  |  Apr 09, 2005  |  0 comments

My friend Jon is a wiz with pretty much anything mechanical, and he has a Rain Man-like gift for motors. Whether it's a pool pump, a lawn tractor, or a car, Jon is the man to call. What amazes me is that he can often diagnose my motor problems over the phone with only the most basic description.

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Other Tech
BackTalk: Billy Bob Thornton
 |  Apr 07, 2005  |  0 comments

How do you like to watch movies?I tend to watch them at home, but frankly, I don't watch many. I hardly go to the theater because it's kind of a pain in the ass, and many movies are overrated. When I do go, I take my children. You see, I love making movies. I'm just not crazy about watching them. I like music better.

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Panasonic SA-XR70 extended lab
 |  Apr 07, 2005  |  0 comments
PDF: Panasonic SA-XR70 extended lab results
Right On! extended lab results
 |  Apr 07, 2005  |  0 comments
PDF: Extended lab results
Audio Video News
Coda: Irving M. Fried
Thomas J. Norton  |  Apr 07, 2005  |  0 comments

Speaker-industry pioneer Irving M. ("Bud") Fried passed away on March 31 at his home in Philadelphia. A lifelong resident of that city, his first exposure to audio was listening to the sound of Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1928. But it wasn't live. Though he was to become a fixture at Philadelphia Orchestra concerts, he first heard the ensemble's music emerging from the theater horns of his father's movie theaters in 1928. That was not only the year movies learned to talk, but also the year young Fried became a confirmed music lover and audiophile&mdash;decades before high fidelity even had a name.

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Audio Video News
HDTV Gets Racy (Again)
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Apr 06, 2005  |  0 comments
After a short pit stop, HDNet and NASCAR are once again putting the pedal to the metal. Both organizations jointly revealed the schedule for the second season of NASCAR's HDTV package to be telecast by HDNet. The pioneering HD network will feature a total of 20 live HD telecasts from NASCAR Grand National Division races. The NASCAR Grand National Division (for those living in blue states who have no earthly idea what we're talking about) includes two independent NASCAR series, the Busch North Series and the West Series (the West Coast's oldest stock car racing circuit), which feature drivers competing using identical race cars. (Well, they're not exactly identical or we wouldn't be able to tell them apart.) HDNet will provide additional coverage of some races from NASCAR's AutoZone Division. With each car in the race powered by a 350 to 358 cubic-inch V-8 engine and weighing a minimum of 3,300 pounds, the series of telecasts will be a high-definition orgy of minimum miles per gallon and maximum emissions. (Oh, what the heck. We all need something to keep our minds off the ever escalating price of gasoline.)
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Audio Video News
Hide, Side, or on the Bottom
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Apr 06, 2005  |  0 comments
In a market that's rapidly becoming crowded with LCD TV suppliers, manufacturers need to do something to differentiate themselves - preferably something other than simply lowering the price. (Although, all other things being equal, a lower price sure gets our attention.)
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Custom Installation How-To
GoVideo VR2940 DVD/VHS Recorder
David Ranada  |  Apr 05, 2005  |  0 comments

Most of the DVD recorders we test nowadays are pretty routine devices. They're great for displacing your aging VCR for time-shifting TV programs or making archival DVDs of precious and fragile camcorder footage.

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Panasonic SA-XR70 Digital Surround Receiver
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Apr 05, 2005  |  0 comments
A surround sound receiver has a lot in common with a boat anchor. They are both formidably large, usually painted black, and heavy - the heavier, the better.
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