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Power Amplifier ReviewsSurround Processor Reviews
Krell Showcase Pre/Pro and 7 Amplifier
Chris Lewis  |  Nov 04, 2002  |  First Published: Nov 05, 2002  |  0 comments
With the Showcase pre/pro-and-amp combo, Krell hits a new low—price point, that is.

Much is made of the intense competition that goes on in the receiver game, and understandably so. For the most part, these are companies that have piles of money to spend on advertising, have the resources and inclination to bring out new models every year, and have hordes of accountants and marketing types to keep watch on things likemarket placement, pricing, competitor activity, and so on. But what about the healthy (and growing) competition in the separates arena, especially at the lower (all things being relative) price points? It may not draw the receiver war's headlines, involve a fraction of the corporate expenditure and model turnover, or feature dueling laser shows from multilevel booths at industry trade shows. But, make no mistake, the competition here is no less intense, no less important to the industry as a whole, and no less beneficial to its particular crop of potential buyers.

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Other Tech
Personal MP3 Players
Michael Riggs  |  Nov 03, 2002  |  0 comments
Photo by Tony Cordoza

Portable MP3 players have gone from novelty to staple item in four short years. But with popularity has come proliferation, and many MP3 players aren't just MP3 players anymore. A growing number play files encoded in the Windows Media Audio (WMA) and Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) formats as well, and the storage options are many.

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Other Tech
Video Killed the MP3 Star?
Michael Antonoff  |  Nov 03, 2002  |  0 comments
Palm-size jukeboxes that hold hundreds of hours of MP3 music on an embedded hard drive are no longer a novelty. Now Archos has taken the category to the next level by adding a 1 1/2-inch color LCD, the ability to store and play photo slideshows or highly compressed but full-motion video, and direct A/V output to a TV.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The King of Swing
Jamie Sorcher  |  Nov 03, 2002  |  0 comments
(Movie Images Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.)

"This, like any story worth telling, is all about a girl," Peter Parker tells us at the beginning of Spider-Man-not what you'd expect to hear from a superhero. But, as delighted audiences soon discovered, Spider-Man doesn't play by the rules.

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New Products
New Products -- November 2002
SV Staff  |  Nov 03, 2002  |  0 comments
Sunfire Forget about separate power amps for your back surround speakers-Sunfire's Ultimate Receiver is rated to deliver 200 watts each to seven channels, which should satisfy even the most demanding Dolby Digital EX or DTS-ES soundtrack.
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Audio Video News
Kansas City Confidential: Special Edition
Dan Yakir  |  Nov 03, 2002  |  0 comments

<I>John Payne, Preston Foster, Coleen Gray, Lee Van Cleef, Jack Elam, Neville Brand. Directed by Phil Karlson. Aspect ratio 4.3 (full frame). Dolby Digital Mono. 99 minutes. B&W. 1952. Image Entertainment DARD1450DVD. NR. $24.99.</I>

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Audio Video News
Added to the Archives This Week
 |  Nov 03, 2002  |  0 comments

Thomas J. Norton runs the <A HREF="http://www.guidetohometheater.com/showarchives.cgi?58">Snell XA 2900 surround speaker system</A> through its paces, and is reminded why he's always liked the company's products. "The best way to describe the overall sound of <I>Farscape</I> on the Snells is awesome," declares TJN.

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Audio Video News
End of the Trail for DBS Merger?
Barry Willis  |  Nov 03, 2002  |  0 comments

Opposition from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) wasn't enough to keep EchoStar and Hughes Electronics' DirecTV from seeking a merger, but a lawsuit launched by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) may be.

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Audio Video News
Blockbuster Revamping
Barry Willis  |  Nov 03, 2002  |  0 comments

DVD has done more than change the way people watch movies at home. It's also changed their rental habits. The format is so superior to VHS tape, and so affordable, that many movie fans are choosing to buy rather than rent.

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Audio Video News
Gateway's $3k Plasma TV
Barry Willis  |  Nov 03, 2002  |  0 comments

Sports fans watching NFL football games this past Sunday may have noticed something unusual among the dozens of commercials: an ad for a 42" <A HREF="http://www.gateway.com">Gateway</A> plasma television.

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