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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Star Trek: The Next Generation Collector's Edition Page 1
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 17, 2003  |  0 comments

<I>Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner, Wil Wheaton, Denise Crosby. Aspect ratio: 4:3. Dolby Digital 5.1 (English), Dolby Surround 2.0 (English). 48 discs. 132 hours. 1987&ndash;1994. Paramount Home Video. NR. $139.99 per season.</I>

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Projector Reviews
SIM2 Grand Cinema HT300 Plus 16:9 DLP projector
Thomas J. Norton  |  May 17, 2003  |  0 comments

The CRT is a relatively stable, mature technology, but the new digital projection systems, particularly Texas Instruments' Digital Light Processing (DLP), are moving targets. Last year, DLP really came into its own for home theater with the introduction of TI's HD1 Digital Micromirror Device (DMD). Not only did the HD1 have a true 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio with 1280x720 resolution, but DLP projectors based upon it were significantly better than earlier designs, particularly in the depth of their blacks.

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Audio Video News
Focus Enhancements and Good Guys
HT Staff  |  May 16, 2003  |  0 comments
West Coast electronics chain Good Guys has been enormously successful in its effort to remake itself into an upscale specialty retailer. The company's partnership with Focus Enhancements is its latest move into high-quality video.
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Audio Video News
Coming Attractions
HT Staff  |  May 15, 2003  |  0 comments
Bang & Olufsen
For a widescreen plasma display, B&O's BeoVision 5 might at first appear to be strangely shaped. Upon closer inspection, though, you'll see that its beautifully finished aluminum frame incorporates a 42-inch-wide, 16:9 plasma screen and a pair of magnetically shielded, front-firing speakers mounted below the screen. The BeoVision 5 measures 42 inches wide, 45.25 tall, and 6.75 deep, and it arrives with a stand, as well as a wall-mounting bracket. With a retail price of $19,500, the BeoVision 5 might not qualify as a budget plasma; however, its unique industrial design and your choice of a silver, red, black, blue, or green brushed-aluminum frame are sure to appeal to the décor-conscious theaterphile.
Bang & Olufsen
(847) 590-4900
www.bang-olufsen.com
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Audio Video News
Software Reviews
HT Staff  |  May 15, 2003  |  0 comments
DVD: 25th Hour—Buena Vista
Audio: 3
Video: 4
Extras: 3
I'll admit that 25th Hour seemed slow at first. Yet, as it went on, I noticed that, instead of Hollywood's usual mind-numbing blizzard of special effects, this film has something much rarer: a great script. Edward Norton plays Monty, a drug dealer who gets picked up by the cops and sentenced to seven years in prison. The film follows Monty for the 24 hours before he has to go in, raising many interesting questions, the most simple of which is: What do people think about right before they're locked up? Through strikingly realistic dialogue and a refusal to sugarcoat any issue, 25th Hour allows you a fascinating look into the mind of an ex-criminal, ending in a satisfying twist.
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Projector Reviews
Marantz VP-12S2 DLP video front projector
Peter Putman  |  May 14, 2003  |  0 comments

The struggle to displace CRT front projectors from their lofty perch continues in the home-theater world. Cathode-ray tubes still produce the most lifelike images, with wide gray scales and excellent contrast, but they require a fair amount of setup, calibration, and periodic maintenance to keep looking their best.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Salaam Bombay!
uavKrissy Rushing  |  May 14, 2003  |  0 comments

<I>Shafiq Syed, Hansa Vithal, Chanda Shrma, Nana Patekar, Aneeta Kanwar, Rughbir Yadav. Directed by Mira Nair. Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 (anamorphic). Dolby Digital 5.1, Mono. 114 minutes. 1988. MGM 1004335. NR. $24.98.</I>

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NAD L70 DVD Player/Receiver
David Ranada  |  May 12, 2003  |  0 comments

Photos by Tony Cordoza Anyone interested in an ultra easy-to-set-up home theater system usually has only one recourse: a system-in-a-box, comprising a combination DVD player and A/V receiver, five satellite speakers, and an optimistically designated "subwoofer." The weakest links in most of these systems are generally the speakers.

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Home Theater Systems Reviews
Onkyo Envision LS-V500C HTIB
Kevin Hunt  |  May 12, 2003  |  First Published: May 13, 2003  |  0 comments
Divide or unconquerable? Onkyo's speakers-optional HTIB.

Instant home theater—speakers, a receiver, and a DVD player packaged tidily in a single box—is the hottest thing since the bare midriff. So why does it bug me so much? Maybe because so many sub-$1,000 systems bundle generic speakers that are about as flashy as the cardboard box they came in. Onkyo's response to this HTIB speaker crisis? With the Envision LS-V500C, you can take the speakers or leave 'em.

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Sony Grand Wega KF-50XBR800 LCD HD Monitor
Geoffrey Morrison  |  May 12, 2003  |  First Published: May 13, 2003  |  0 comments
Funny name; serious TV.

Sony insists that I pronounce this TV's name correctly: Wega (Vay-guh). I think Wegg-ah is so much more amusing. Perhaps Wee-ga. If only Sony had gone all out and put an "e" at the end of Grand. I can hear the annoyance of salespeople everywhere as customers come in looking for one of them thar Grand-ee Wee-gas. It's too bad that the rest of the model nomenclature is hard to poke fun at. After all, how funny is KF-50XBR800? KF-50Exburrerr… never mind. Names aside, the TV itself is very hard to make fun of. Mostly.

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