Scott Wilkinson

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Do Audio Measurements Correlate With Sound Quality?
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 07, 2011  |  7 comments
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LED vs. Plasma
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 07, 2011  |  4 comments
I'm moving into a new home, so I have the chance to start from scratch building a small home theater. My room has no problem with reflections, and all my flat-panel TVs up to now have been plasma. I want to get a 60- or 65-inch screen, and I'm trying to decide between a plasma and LED-illuminated LCD TV by Samsung. My seating will be about 10-12 feet from the screen, but I am very critical of the picture. I watch a lot of old movies and TV so I want to get the best bang for the buck. Will a top-of-the-line LED be as good as a top-of-the-line plasma? I'm worried about the heat that a plasma will generate compared to the LED, since the new home is in South Carolina, which is hot enough as it is.

Jeff Stern

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The Big Picture
Steve Jobs: Never Enough
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 06, 2011  |  8 comments
A mere six weeks after stepping down as CEO of Apple and one day after the introduction of the latest iPhone, Steve Jobs passed away after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. His incredible, indelible legacy will be discussed endlessly on TV, on radio, and online in the coming days, and I won't try to summarize it here. Instead, I'd like to share the impact his work has had on my life, both personally and professionally.
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AVR Decoding Light & PS3
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 05, 2011  |  8 comments
I have a Sony STR-DA4400ES AVR connected to a PlayStation 3 via HDMI. Whenever I play a Blu-ray movie on the PS3, none of the audio codec lights come on. But when I watch programs from my cable box or watch DVDs from a different DVD player, the corresponding light does illuminate. Any idea what the problem is?

Mark Barios

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Setting the Backlight Control
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 03, 2011  |  0 comments
What is the proper way to set an LCD TV's backlight? I have two calibration discs, and neither of them address this issue.

Jim Painter

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How Important is 4K in the Home?
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 30, 2011  |  8 comments
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Samsung UN55D8000 vs. Sony XBR-55HX929
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 30, 2011  |  0 comments
I want to buy a LCD TV with LED backlighting. I am not a "ultimate" kind of guy because I do not have the money. I am looking for a 55-incher for $3500 or less. I've heard you say Samsung is the one to get. What the model would that be? I think it is the UN55D8000.

John Phillips

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The Big Picture
By Any Other Name
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 29, 2011  |  4 comments
A few months ago, Netflix separated the subscription plans—and fees—for its disc-by-mail and streaming services, essentially doubling the cost for those who want both. This caused the company to lose as many as a million customers, and its stock price plummeted. So how did Netflix try to salvage the situation? It renamed the disc-rental business, which is now called Qwikster. If you subscribe to both streaming and disc-by-mail, you'll have to go to two different websites, and you'll pay two different bills.

This move has most folks scratching their head, and it further fuels the anger of those who objected to the original rate hike, which could certainly lead to more customer defections. What was Netflix thinking?

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Marantz AV7005 vs. Cary Cinema 11a Pre/Pro
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 28, 2011  |  2 comments
I have a Marantz SR8500 A/V receiver with B&W speakers across the front, and I would like to upgrade to take advantage of the new high-rez audio formats. I'm considering the Marantz AV7005 and Cary Audio Cinema 11a preamp/processor. For amplification, I plan to use my Lexicon 512 amp or the amp section of the SR8500. Considering the equipment I have, would the extra cost for the Cinema 11a give me that much improvement in sound over the AV7005? Should I use the Lexicon amp or the 8500's amp, or would the Marantz MM7055 5-channel amp be the way to go? I'm willing to spend the money for whatever is going to sound best.

Jack Woodruff

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Home Theater Geeks Podcast
Podcast 81: Paul Barton & Greg Stidsen
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 27, 2011  |  1 comments
Paul Barton (left), PSB's founder and chief speaker designer, discusses some of the psychoacoustic research and technology that went into his company's first-ever headphones, which also include active noise cancelling. And Greg Stidsen (right), NAD's director of technology and product development, talks about his company's new Viso 1 all-in-one, all-digital stereo speaker package, which Barton helped design.

Run Time: 54:44

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