Mark Fleischmann

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AV Receiver Reviews
Pioneer VSX-55TXi Receiver
Mark Fleischmann  |  Aug 19, 2004  |  Published: Aug 01, 2004
This receiver's front panel is black but sets itself apart with a high-gloss finish and Pioneer's traditional (and rather attractive) amber display. It doesn't depend excessively on the jog dial. To the left, above the jog dial, are buttons labeled "music" and "movies," which make it easy to switch between Dolby Pro Logic II's music and movie modes (there's no IIx). To the right are buttons that choose the external line inputs for a universal player, select modes for the room EQ (including off), and bypass the tone controls for direct stereo playback. Touching any button on the remote activates red-orange backlighting.
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AV Receiver Reviews
Pioneer VSX-816 A/V Receiver
Mark Fleischmann  |  Aug 17, 2006
Set me up, and let me fly.

Back when Jimmy Carter was president (or was it Ford?), my first audio system featured a Pioneer SX-434 receiver. Even then, manufacturers had figured out that SX sells. My old receiver was rated at 15 watts per channel and weighed 18 pounds. Today, I'm reviewing a Pioneer VSX-816 A/V receiver (SX still sells) with 110 watts times seven. At 20.3 pounds, it's put on some weight, but what a difference a couple of pounds can make.

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AV Receiver Reviews
Pioneer VSX-918V A/V Receiver
Mark Fleischmann  |  Aug 18, 2008
Happy with what you have to be happy with.
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CEDIA 2010
Pioneer's Speaker Genius Hits Low Price Point
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 23, 2010
Andrew Jones of TAD has been designing hugely underrated speakers for Pioneer for years. Until now his bleeding-edge designs have been high-priced. But the SP-BS41-LR hits a new low price point of $199/pair in hopes of moving units through big-box retailers. The curved cabinet is cooked and formed, in lieu of the more conventional cut and fold process. Center and surround models are available to form a 5.1 system that will go for under $1000. The slim tower at far right is the Series 9, whose drivers were designed specifically for the enclosure. A vertical tube feeding out the bottom sucks away standing waves.
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Audio Video News
Piracy Claim Stings Warner
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jun 14, 2010
Electronic libertarians with a taste for irony are doing spit-takes with their morning coffee over a patent snafu involving Warner Bros. A German company has sued the studio, claiming it is actively pirating an antipiracy technology.
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Audio Video News
Pirates May Target HDR
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 06, 2017
HDR improves picture quality but also makes content more tempting to steal. Writes a Fox studio executive in Multichannel News: “Fox’s experience is that the moment a high-quality pirate source becomes available, it immediately becomes much more popular than lower-quality sources such as theater camcorders or ‘ordinary’ HD sources, and is therefore a bigger threat to our legitimate business.”
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Audio Video News
Plasma Rebounds
Mark Fleischmann  |  Oct 15, 2008
Conventional wisdom has it that plasma is the less popular form of flat-panel TV. But plasma is rebounding, according to DisplaySearch.
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Audio Video News
Plasma Rebounds
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 08, 2011
What hot new video display technology grew in every quarter of 2010? Well, plasma isn't new, but aside from that, there's your answer.

"2010 was a great year for plasma TV panels," reports DisplaySearch. "Growth seems to be supply-limited."

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Audio Video News
Plasma's Got Game
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 15, 2008
What a difference a year makes. It wasn't long ago when LCD sales were trumping plasma in flat-panel land. But manufacturers like LG and Panasonic now expect higher plasma sales in 2008, according to Reuters.
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Audio Video News
PlayStation Achieves HD Quorum
Mark Fleischmann  |  Mar 17, 2010
Sony's PlayStation Network has become the first platform to carry high-def movie content from all six major studios, the company says in a press release.
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