Audio Video News

Despite everything you read in the papers, Congress did get one thing done in the past month. One of the major irritations of TV viewing is about to get fixed thanks to the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act. Having survived passage through the House, Senate, and reconciliation committees, it is heading toward the final OK from President Obama.

The old phrase information superhighway is coming back into style. It's in danger of gridlock and badly in need of a traffic cop, as the recent collision between Netflix and Comcast shows.

Panasonic's Unwrap 3D Tour will offer interactive 3DTV displays in seven shopping malls across the nation. The two-week tour kicks off Wednesday December 1.

The array of streaming options built into a/v products continues to grow with the announcements that Vudu will become available in Panasonic Blu-ray players and Hulu Plus in Sony products.

Mitsubishi's 2010 HDTV line is getting a software upgrade that will enable sets to process 3D formats supported by HDMI 1.4a. The upgrade will apply to "select 2010 Mitsubishi 3D-ready TVs" including 738 and 838 Series sets, enabling them to connect to 3D-capable Blu-ray players and satellite or cable set-top boxes without an adapter.

One of the criticisms aimed at 3D in the home is the dearth of available titles. Then there's all the exclusive deals that make many titles available only in bundles with 3D TVs and Blu-ray players from one manufacturer or another. But according to the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG), a trade association representing the home-entertainment industry, these limitations are starting to ease as more titles are being released for the holiday buying season. In fact, 10 titles are being released today—which is being called Blu-ray 3D Day—in anticipation of Black Friday (November 26 this year).