Audio Video News

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Audio Video News
Added to the Archives This Week
Ultimate AV Staff  |  Sep 13, 2004

Keith Yates decided to do the definitive subwoofer survey and <I>UAV</I> published the results. We start with the first two parts of the three part series: <A HREF="/features/604way">Way Down Deep, Part One</A>, and <A HREF="/features/704way">Way Down Deep, Part Two</A>.

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Audio Video News
The Star Wars Trilogy DVDs
Chris Chiarella  |  Sep 08, 2004
1. These are the essentially the 1997 Special Edition versions of all three films. Sort of. Yes, this means that Greedo still fires first in the notoriously rethought Star Wars cantina scene and modern special effects are everywhere, but further modifications have been made, and not just visual tweaks: The Return Of The Jedi Emperor now appears in The Empire Strikes Back for example, bringing new dialogue with him, and young Anakin from Revenge Of The Sith also replaces old Anakin in the finale of Jedi.
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Audio Video News
HDTV Forum a Big Hit
Ultimate AV Staff  |  Sep 06, 2004  |  First Published: Sep 07, 2004

Overshadowed by the Athens Olympic Games and the start of the Republican National Convention, the second annual HDTV Forum 2004 was a resounding success. Held the last week of August at the Westin Century Plaza in Los Angeles, the event was completely sold out, according to organizing companies DisplaySearch of Austin, TX and Insight Media of Norwalk, CT.

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Audio Video News
Digital Cable Growth
Ultimate AV Staff  |  Sep 06, 2004  |  First Published: Sep 07, 2004

It's no secret that the cable industry has taken a big hit from satellite services DirecTV and DISH Network. Prospects for growth in the cable industry look decidedly stagnant, except for the "digital cable" segment, expected to grow at an annual rate of 11%, according to projections released September 1 by research firm JupiterResearch.

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Audio Video News
New at CEDIA
Barry Willis  |  Sep 06, 2004  |  First Published: Sep 07, 2004

This week's CEDIA Expo 2004 in Indianapolis is certain to offer a few head-turning new products, among them <A HREF="http://www.bostonacoustics.com/">Boston Acoustics</A>'s Avidea 610 integrated home theater system and NAD Electronics' new NetCap network receiver.

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Audio Video News
Added to the Archives This Week
Ultimate AV Staff  |  Sep 06, 2004

Fred Manteghian goes flat out to review the <A HREF="/speakersystems/704magnepan">Magnepan MG 3.6, MG 1.6, and CC3 surround speaker system</A>. FM ponders, "A long-gone pair of Maggies was my first true audio love. But could these new Maggies sustain me?"

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Audio Video News
Latest Software Reviews
HT Staff  |  Sep 06, 2004
DVD: Soul Plane Mile-High Edition—MGM/UA
Video: 4
Audio: 4
Extras: 3
If the Zucker brothers had made Airplane with bling, this comedy about the maiden voyage of a black-owned airline might have been the result. But don't confuse Soul Plane with that 1980 classic. While some of the visual jokes score, most of the humor is of the raunchy, make-you-wince variety. Nonetheless, the cast members, including Snoop Dogg, Method Man, Kevin Hart, and Tom Arnold as the token white guy, all got game; as a result, the film reaches a steady cruising altitude, even if it doesn't quite earn its wings.
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Audio Video News
Coming Attractions
HT Staff  |  Sep 06, 2004
Toshiba
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Audio Video News
Home Theater Speaker Three-For-All
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Aug 30, 2004
Plasma, plasma, on the wall, who's the fairest speaker of them all? ("Fairest", of course, meaning "least visibly obnoxious while sitting next to one of those sleek, sexy, and usually silver-finish flat-panel TVs" with added elements of "gee, it'd be nice if it were easy to install - like maybe if the L, C, and R speakers were all one unit".) Boston Acoustics claims to have the answer with the new P400 slim theater speaker, a unique compound speaker unit that incorporates discrete left, center, and right front speakers in a single, thin chassis that's "designed to perfectly complement a 42-inch plasma or LCD television or monitor, a DLP rear-projection console, or a traditional screen."

Yes, Boston Acoustics knows all you plasma lovers out there hate speakers - or at least hate to look at speakers. (It's truly a love/hate relationship. You love to listen to good sound, but you hate to look at the speakers that are necessary to create it. My advice is that you should seek professional help about this, you know.)

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Audio Video News
Hide-Away-Home-Theater Exposed
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Aug 30, 2004
Considering how focused they are on designing ways of incorporating high-performance home theater gear into the smallest amount of space possible, you might think that the folks at Ginni Designs spent their formative years growing up in one of the tinier regions of Munchkin Land. (Although they deny it, I suspect that Ginni Designs has at least one elf - or perhaps a couple of interior-design-oriented descendants of the Seven Dwarfs - secreted away in the back offices helping design their magical cabinetry. It's a "Small Eye for the Home Theater Guy" kind of thing.)
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Audio Video News
Added to the Archives This Week
Ultimate AV Staff  |  Aug 30, 2004

Thomas J. Norton evaluates the <A HREF="/accessories/704avia">Avia Pro multi-disc test suite</A>, remarking, "it wouldn't surprise me to see more than one enthusiast invest in the package&mdash;especially after seeing just how much it offers."

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Audio Video News
Flat Panels Surging
Ultimate AV Staff  |  Aug 30, 2004

All bodes well for those who've waited for flat-panel display prices to drop.

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Audio Video News
Hollywood vs. Chipmakers
Ultimate AV Staff  |  Aug 30, 2004

For the second time, the Motion Picture Association of America (<A HREF="http://www.mpaa.org">MPAA</A>) has sued chipmakers for selling chips to makers of DVD players capable of violating industry-wide copy-protection rules.

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Audio Video News
Latest Software Reviews
HT Staff  |  Aug 30, 2004
DVD: Dallas: The Complete First and Second Seasons—Warner Brothers
Video: 3
Audio: 2
Extras: 2
Dallas' premiere in 1978 helped to usher in a new television genre: the prime-time soap opera. It had been tried before, but the amazing success of Dallas spawned an instant wave of imitators. Flamingo Road, Falcon Crest, and Dynasty all soon hit the airwaves in an attempt to cash in on the craze. The attentive viewer will notice something similar about these shows: All of the characters are filthy rich. Yes, it seems that America loves to watch shows about miserable wealthy people. They say that money can't buy happiness, but I bet you'll have some trouble convincing Aaron Spelling of that fact.
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Audio Video News
Coming Attractions
HT Staff  |  Aug 30, 2004
AViC
Now that everyone's jumping aboard the DVD and high-definition bandwagons, it's time to start thinking about the necessary cables for your system. At the top of your short list are component video cables, no doubt. AViC has what you need with their CV3002 RCA-to-RCA component video cable. The company says that upgrading to this cable will give you brighter colors and more-vivid detail from your DVD player or HDTV receiver. The color-coded connectors make installation trouble-free, and the 3.3-gigahertz bandwidth capacity supports all ATSC signals with room to spare. Two meters are available now for $130.
AviC
(215) 825-5310
www.aviccables.com
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