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V, Inc. Bravo D1 DVD Player
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 01, 2004

As the age of digital television dawns, one link in the signal chain remains stubbornly analog: the video connection from the DVD player to the display. However, that is about to change. Many displays are starting to appear with a Digital Visual Interface (DVI) input. Now all we need is a DVD player with a DVI output to keep the signal entirely in the digital domain from source to screen—at least with fully digital displays.

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VCR Blues
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 21, 2011
My home-theater system consists of a Sony STR-DB940 A/V receiver with 5.1 speaker setup, Sony KDL-52HX909 LED/LCD TV, Dish Network HDTV receiver, and Sony SLV-N71 Hi-Fi VCR. I have the VCR connected to the TV via composite video and L/R analog audio cables and the TV's audio output connected to the AVR via optical cabling (MD/DAT input). I have the Dish receiver's video connected to the TV via HDMI and its audio connected to the A/V receiver via optical (SAT/TV input). All of this worked great for about nine months until a few weeks ago.

The AVR's SAT/TV input works fine, but when I use the MD/DAT input for watching the TV or VCR, the sound only comes out of the left-front speaker. When I record something via the VCR's line in, the playback has the same audio problem. But when I play a tape recorded over a year ago, the sound does not have the audio problem.

Tony Santana

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Premiere Design
Veloce LS-1 Battery-Powered Preamp
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 23, 2010

AC power has long been the bugaboo of high-end audio&#151;necessary to power the electronics, but prone to polluting the audio signal path with unwanted noise. American boutique manufacturer <A href="http://www.veloceaudio.us">Veloce Audio</A> has come up with a unique and elegant solution to this problem in its LS-1 vacuum-tube preamp&#151;put the power supply and audio electronics in completely separate boxes and run the electronics with a rechargeable battery.

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CEDIA 2010
Velodyne Digital Drive Plus Subwoofers
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 25, 2010
Looking like a scene from CSI, Velodyne's booth is emphasizing the goal to "kill the competition" with its new Digital Drive Plus subwoofers, which come with drivers measuring 10 ($3000), 12 ($3500), 15 ($5000), and 18 inches ($6000). These models feature 4.5 to 7dB more output depending on model, new rohacell driver material, redesigned cabinet, and much easier setup with 8-band EQ. Retained from the previous Digital Drive models is the same high-gain servo technology that reduces distortion to a mere 0.5% at 20Hz.
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Premiere Design
Verity Amadis Speaker
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 28, 2010
This year's Rocky Mountain Audio Fest saw the introduction of many new products, including the Amadis speaker from Verity Audio. The 3-way Amadis is third in Verity's speaker lineup and continues the design philosophy of placing a rear-firing woofer in a completely separate, ported enclosure.
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Premiere Design
Verity Audio Lohengrin II Speaker
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 02, 2010
Canada-based Verity Audio has been making high-end speakers for 25 years, culminating in the flagship Lohengrin. Now in its second generation, this impressive speaker tops the company's eXR (extended-range) lineup.
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VHS-to-DVD Conversion
Scott Wilkinson  |  Aug 19, 2011
I have priceless VHS tapes of my kids growing up over the last 25 years. I was going to take them to a company that converts VHS to DVD, but I read that the quality of these conversion services isn't that good. I also read that the USB conversion programs like Roxio don't do the job either. I cannot find a PCI card solution with software. Is there a solution that you recommend? Can you shed some light on this?

Keith Brown

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Video Dynamic Range and Color Space
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jul 11, 2012
I recently read HT's review of the Panasonic TC-P55ST50 3D plasma TV. (Good review, by the way.) I noticed that the display was calibrated using a brightness range of 0-255. My understanding is that digital video (Blu-ray, DVD, digital TV) is encoded in YCbCr with a video brightness range of 16-235, and one should set the source component to output YCbCr and set the display to accept the brightness range of 16-235 to preserve the signal and avoid processing and interpolation. Just wanted to get your thoughts and reasons if one way is better than the other.

Stephen Lin

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Video Processing
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jul 07, 2011
I have a Pioneer VSX-33 A/V receiver that outputs HDMI to an Epson 8700UB projector (seen here). How do I know which component is doing the video processing? When my Blu-ray player or satellite receiver runs through the AVR and out to the Epson, does the AVR do all the processing, or does the Epson's video processor? I guess I would prefer to have the Pioneer do all the video processing since its Marvell Qdeo chipset has been so favorably rated.

Dan Theis

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Video Processing, LED Backlighting, Big Plasma
Scott Wilkinson  |  Nov 11, 2009
Two For One
I have a Pioneer Elite PRO-111FD plasma with a Denon DVD-3800BDCI Blu-ray player, and I have two questions. First, should I set the Denon to output 1080p/24 manually or just leave it set to Auto? Second, a friend is encouraging me to get the DVDO Edge because, he says, its processing is probably better than either the Pioneer or Denon. Do you think this is true, or is my current gear sufficient?
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