Other Tech

Seven new products join the list this month. Thanks to our big shootout among budget HDTV front projectors, we've found four highly recommendable models from Samsung, Infocus, Panasonic, and Optoma. B&W's gorgeous XT speaker system also comes on, along with Vizio's highly affordable 42-inch plasma TV.

This issue was long on whole-house audio solutions. The Netstreams DigiLinx system and Polk IP speakers we reviewed were remarkable for their cutting-edge technology and high performance, but their lofty prices make them difficult to recommend for now. On the other hand, the three streaming music systems in our Spotlight report proved equally remarkable for their elegance and value.

If you’ve just read “Streaming for the Masses”, you’ve got some idea of the range of hardware that lets you stream video and music from the Internet to your home entertainment system. The primary options include HDTVs, Blu-ray players, A/V receivers, game consoles, and various DVRs and dedicated streaming appliances. To some extent, it does matter which you choose, both in terms of the content you can access and your ability to connect it for the best picture or sound quality.

It's Oscar time! And since no one on the Sound & Vision staff actually belongs to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (our applications keep getting kicked back to us), we're celebrating this past year's best pictures our own way - by declaring which films (and TV shows) actually have the best pictures . . . and sound!

Ah, Netflix. Killer of brick-and-mortar video stores; red-jacketed savior of people having a crappy day who come home to find that at least there's a decent flick waiting for them.

One of the main things record producers strive for is to effectively communicate the emotional content of the music. It begins with trying to make a recording that's as universal as possible, one that sounds good on any playback format.