Audio Video News

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Music ReviewsAudio Video News
The Rolling Stones Catalog Comes to HDTracks.
Stan Horaczek  |  Mar 03, 2011  | 

It was kind of a big deal with The Beatles finally made their way onto the ever-growing digital music behemoth that is iTunes, but we find this news just as, um, satisfying. Starting this week, 27 Stones records will be finding their way onto the audiophile music service, HDTracks.com. The tracks have been pulled from remasters that were originally created for and released on SACD in the early 2000s.

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Audio Video News
It's here: Bambi 2
SV Staff  |  Mar 02, 2011  | 
That's "2" as in Disney's Second Screen technology, introduced on the 1942 animated classic's Blu-ray debut, which was unveiled yesterday in a Diamond Edition. Yes, confusingly, there are...
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Audio Video News
Netflix to Expand Use of Subtitles
Mark Fleischmann  |  Mar 02, 2011  | 
Movie subtitles are a must for the elderly, the hard of hearing, and those for whom English is a second language. They're a universal part of Blu-ray and DVD releases but rarer in video streaming. Netflix aims to fill that need by expanding the use of subtitles in the majority of its online offerings.

Specifically, Netflix aims to have subtitles in 80 percent of its streaming programming by the end of 2011, up from 30 percent now.

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Audio Video News
7.1 From Day 1
Brent Butterworth  |  Mar 01, 2011  | 

Home theater enthusiasts have had seven speakers in their systems for a decade now, but only now is Hollywood finally catching up. Last Saturday, Dolby Laboratories feted the release of the Megamind Blu-ray Disc, which it says is the first movie released in 7.1-channel sound in theaters and on Blu-ray. A screening of the Blu-ray Disc in the company's technically unassailable theater was preceded by a discussion with Erik Aadahl, one of the movie's two supervising sound editors.

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Audio Video News
Pssst, Mac, Wanna Buy a Video Rental Chain?
Mark Fleischmann  |  Mar 01, 2011  | 
Blockbuster Inc. is looking for a buyer. The chain has already been in bankruptcy since last fall. Selling itself to the highest bidder is the only way to avoid liquidation.

Not that the rot hasn't started already. The news comes as Blockbuster has been shedding brick-and-mortar stores, closing 609 of 3400 last month.

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Audio Video News
There's an App for That Movie
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 28, 2011  | 
Warner is trying a new approach to movie sales. It's simple and logical: Just download the movie as an app.

There's only one problem. Apple may kill the idea.

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Audio Video News
Amazon Announces Free Streaming Content for Prime Subscribers
Stan Horaczek  |  Feb 25, 2011  | 

I've been a subscriber to Amazon's Prime service for a while now for the free shipping it affords. But now there's a new reason to sign up in the form of a full-on free streaming media service not unlike the one offered by Netflix.

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Audio Video News
Denon Retrofits Flagships
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 25, 2011  | 
Manufacturers of surround gear typically upgrade products by replacing one model with another. But Denon is taking a different path with upgrades of a pair of four-year-old products.

The Denon AVR-5308CI flagship audio/video receiver and AVP-A1HDCI preamp-processor are geting Audyssey MultEQ XT32 room correction, Audyssey DSX width- and height-enhanced listening modes, and the Dolby Pro Logic IIz height-enhanced listening mode.

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Audio Video NewsPremiere Design
Thunderbolt Ups the Ante for HTPCs
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 24, 2011  | 
Intel and Apple today announced the introduction of a new computer I/O technology called Thunderbolt, which makes its debut on the latest MacBook Pro laptops. Yet another connection might seem the antithesis of cool, but this is big news for home-theater PCs.
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Audio Video News
iTunes to Go High-Res
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 24, 2011  | 
Apple's iTunes music store will soon support audiophile-approved high-res files, according to CNN.

Music industry executives have been discussing the possibility with Apple, reports the news network. If the plan moves forward, it would allow consumers to buy music files encoded at 24-bit resolution, as opposed to the 16 bits used for CDs and compressed files.

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Audio Video News
Heavyweights Form AllVid Alliance
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 23, 2011  | 
Say hello to the AllVid Tech Company Alliance, which intends to promote a next-generation interface that would seamlessly combine distribution of traditional and internet video. This puts the members of the alliance on a collision course with Big Cable.

The Alliance's founding members are Best Buy, Google, Mitsubishi, Sony, TiVo, Nagravision, and SafeTV.

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Audio Video News
Comcast Bows Latest 3D Channel
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 22, 2011  | 
The latest 3DTV channel to hit the scene is Xfinity 3D from Comcast.

The 24-hour channel launched Sunday, February 20 (just last weekend) at 6 p.m. Its debut offering was the 2011 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic with the Montreal Canadiens squaring off against the Calgary Flames. Next up was a Kings of Leon concert. The channel plans to show concerts, sports, movies, and original programming.

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Audio Video News
Comcast Debuts Xfinity 3D Channel
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 18, 2011  | 
It seems that 3D channels are starting to make a few significant inroads in the broadcast landscape. Last week, I reported that DirecTV rolled out 3net, a 24/7 3D channel co-founded by Discovery Communications, Sony, and Imax. Now, Comcast, the country's largest cable provider, is getting in the game with its Xfinity 3D channel, which debuts on Sunday, February 20, 2011.
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Audio Video News
Going Ultra: Klang Ultrasonic Speakers
 |  Feb 18, 2011  | 

Going Ultra: Klang Ultrasonic speakers Industrial designer Adam Moller'concept speakers are cut from a different billet. The idea behind the Klang Ultrasonic speakers came from an invention by Lemelson-MIT Prize-winner Woody Norris. Norris's HyperSonic Sound generates ultrasonic waves - as in, above the range humans can hear - that are modulated in very specific ways to create an audible sound.

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Audio Video News
Redbox Refines Streaming Strategy
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 18, 2011  | 
A little while ago we reported that Redbox was contemplating the launch of a streaming service to supplement its ubiquitous rental kiosks. No, the company still hasn't announced its streaming partner, but it has said a little more about its plans.

And it looks as though the strategy will be subscription, not a la carte.

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