Scott Wilkinson

As I watched demo after demo of 3D at CES this year, I kept wondering if 3D is something that consumers really want or if it's being pushed on them by the studios and manufacturers in their quest to sell more products. So I decided to conduct a purely unscientific survey here on <I>UAV</I>. To participate, all you have to do is post a comment on this blog with your responses to any of the following questions, especially the first one:

LED for the Masses

At the 2009 CES, Vizio took the wraps off of its first LCD HDTV with LED backlighting and local dimming, which consumers have been eagerly waiting for ever since. At $2,200, the VF551XVT is the least expensive 55-inch local-dimming LCD available, which makes it mighty attractive to cash-strapped TV shoppers. How well does it fulfill the promise of LED backlighting? Read on to find out...

Driving from Las Vegas to LA, I had to stop and get a picture of my favorite highway sign, which marks the exit to Zzyzx, California, an unincorporated settlement in San Bernardino County and the former site of the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa that is now occupied by the California State University Desert Studies Center. My ride was a 2010 Lincoln MKZ on loan from THX so I could evaluate the car's THX-certified multichannel sound system. I played a wide variety of music on CD and DVD-Audio, including jazz, classical, and rock as well as two CDs I recorded&#151;one with my wife, Joanna Cazden, and the other with my avant-garde trio Many Axes.

I must be a glutton for punishment. After spending five grueling days at CES, I decided to stick around Las Vegas for THX's Home Theater 2 training course. I've already taken the Home Theater 1 and Video Calibration courses, so I figured why not complete the training offered by THX? At least I'd be sitting most of the time.