Scott Wilkinson

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Premiere Design
Blades of Glory
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jun 01, 2009
In its ongoing effort to advance the state of the speaker art, British manufacturer KEF has created a one-of-a-kind tower dubbed the Concept Blade. And by "one-of-a-kind," I don't mean a unique product that you can buy—I mean a speaker built for the sole purpose of investigating and demonstrating various speaker-design principles. Only one pair exists, and it's not for sale at any price.
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The Big Picture
Ultimate Vizio
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 29, 2009

Last week, I was invited to visit Vizio's offices in Irvine, California, to provide any feedback I might have regarding its upcoming LED-backlit LCD, the 55-inch VF551XVT, which is in the final tweaking stages before its release in early September. This is a very exciting product: an LCD TV with LED local dimming for—get this—$2000!

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Ask S&V
ISF, Speakers, TVs
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 27, 2009
ISF SOS
Is it wise to evaluate ISF technicians when it comes to the calibration of a mid-priced plasma or LCD? I live in downtown Denver, and there are so many techs listed on the ISF site, I cannot find much insight there.
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Premiere Design
$3000 Boombox
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 27, 2009

At the 2007 CEDIA Expo, I attended Meridian's press conference, during which the company unveiled its <A href="http://www.thef80.com">F80</A> table-top clock radio/CD/DVD player. I was a bit late, and the demo was already underway as I walked into the large concrete room with high ceilings. I clearly remember my first impression of what I heard—"Wow, that sounds great!" When I learned it was essentially a boombox, I was flabbergasted.

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Ask S&V
Legacy Connections, Power Strips, Bit Rate
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 22, 2009
Living Legacy
Why is it that most A/V receivers still have 2-channel RCA inputs? Why doesn't a company make a receiver that has only HDMI, maybe with a few component-video and digital-audio ins and outs? Why the need to include legacy stuff?
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Premiere Design
Phoenix Rising
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 21, 2009

When I first heard about the BeoVision 4-103 from Danish design king <A href="http://www.bang-olufsen.com">Bang & Olufsen</A>, I thought I knew the story&#151;a 103-inch 1080p plasma, undoubtedly sourced from Panasonic, with B&O's unique stylistic treatment. That's all true, but there's much more to it, as I discovered at a recent press demo held at the Aston Martin dealership in Beverly Hills, California.

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Ask S&V
HTIBs, Signal Switching, Balanced Cables
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 19, 2009  |  Published: May 20, 2009
HTIB Shopping
I am currently interested in purchasing a 5.1 home-theater-in-a-box system, and I'm reasonably aware of the available products. However, I am unable to determine which is the appropriate system for me. I had short-listed the Harman Kardon HKTS8/AVR-135 bundle (~$630) and the Sony DAV-DZ870 (~$550). I was going through Home Theater's reviews of the best HTIBs, and Onkyo HT-SR800 seems to be pretty good, though I haven't checked it out yet. I am now confused. What would you recommend?
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Premiere Design
Sound All Around
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 18, 2009

Sometimes in this blog, I like to profile new and unusual technologies that may&#151;or may not&#151;actually perform well. Sony's <A href="http://www.sony.net/Fun/design/activity/product/sountina_01.html">NSA-PF1 Sountina</A> speaker is just such a product. I have no idea how it performs since I've never heard it in action and I know no one who has, but the technology is certainly intriguing.

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Ask S&V
AT&T U-verse, HTPC Audio, Sound Color
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 15, 2009
Unhappy U-verse
I've had AT&T U-verse service since 12/08, and I have an issue with audio dropouts on HD channels. I have the set-top box connected to my A/V receiver via optical digital cable. On HD channels with 5.1 audio, I get sporadic dropouts every five minutes or so. I called AT&T and was told it's a firmware issue to be resolved later. I've seen many others mention this problem online.
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The Big Picture
Ultimate Demos Debuts
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 15, 2009

In <I>UAV</I>'s never-ending quest to bring you the ultimate in audio and video, we are proud to introduce a new feature on the site&#151;<A href="http://www.ultimateavmag.com/ultimate-demos/">Ultimate Demos</A>. Each week, movie reviewer David Vaughn will identify a reference-quality Blu-ray title, complete with the chapter number and time code of specific scenes that exemplify different video and audio performance parameters, such as detail, color, blacks, shadow detail, audio dynamics, frequency range, and surround imaging. He'll also point out what to look and listen for in each case.

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