Audio Video News

The venerable Miller & Kreisel loudspeaker brand is making a comeback. When a Danish company bought the brand in 2007, it was forced to take the name MK Sound. But new products being released for the 40th anniversary will wear the M&K (as opposed to MK) badge. These THX Ultra2–certified products include the S-300 monitor ($3,500/each), MP-300 on-wall speaker ($3,350/each), and S-300T on-wall tripole speaker ($4,000/pair).

The results of last week’s survey are in. We asked how you are watching the 2014 Winter Olympics and just over half of you chose cable/satellite TV. Off-air antenna was the next closest choice with 19 percent of the vote, followed by DVR recordings and “other,” which netted 12 and 11 percent, respectively. We interpret “other” as meaning you are watching two or more ways—say, streaming and cable/satellite—which in hindsight probably should have been a choice. Remarkably, streaming via a smart TV got no votes. Here’s the complete breakdown…

Netflix is interested in expanding its reach to the world of cable television—and is doing so on two fronts.

Why does the Kindle Fire HDX have that blue tint around the edges of the touchscreen? Amazon says it’s actually to improve overall color: “Most LCD displays use white LEDs, and then apply filters to extract the desired color. The result is oftentimes a compromise to tone and color accuracy, or—if attempting to address these compromises—an increase in battery consumption and, thus, device weight. We’ve taken a different approach. To achieve perfect color accuracy on the Kindle Fire HDX 7-inch at the lowest possible battery consumption and weight, we used blue, not white, LEDs. Blue LEDs allow for a much more accurate and rich representation of color and result in an up to 20 percent improvement in power efficiency.” Amazon was selling the device for $229 at press time.

The results of this week’s survey are in. We asked for your take on the most compelling story of 2014 CES and the decided lack of activity in OLED TV raked in the most votes, capturing nearly one third of all. The preponderance of 4K/Ultra HD TVs was deemed to be the second most important story, followed closely by the LG’s 77-inch hybrid OLED/Ultra HD TV. Here’s the complete breakdown…

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) announced today a yearlong campaign to honor the studio’s storied 90-year legacy. Founded in 1924 when theater magnate Marcus Loew bought and merged Metro Pictures Corp. with Goldwyn Pictures and Louis B. Mayer Productions, MGM and its legendary roaring lion signify the golden era of Hollywood. Since its inception, the company has produced more than 175 Academy Award-winning films, including 14 Best Pictures.