Audio Video News

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Audio Video News
NASA Chooses JVC
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jul 28, 2005  | 

NASA has geared up for the space shuttle's return to flight with an upgrade of the visual-analysis equipment at its Ice/Debris Image Analysis Facility at Kennedy Space Center. The JVC DLA-QX1 will be used to analyze flight data in conjunction with the SGI Onyx visualization system from Silicon Graphics.

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Audio Video News
Tilt and Deliver
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jul 25, 2005  | 
Anyone who has ever tried to integrate a pair of floor-standing or even a pair of bookshelf speakers into a living room or bedroom knows that it's virtually impossible to make them invisible. Multiply that single pair by 2.5 (or more) for a home theater system, and you've got the makings of a decor disaster. Wall-mounted speakers eliminate the use of valuable floor space, but even the best visual designs suffer from being visible. In-wall speakers are about as close to seamless, seen-less speaker integration, but they're not always practical in terms of wall space thanks to little things like doors, windows, fireplaces, picture frames, indoor plants, and other decorative items. The final frontier for the heard-but-not-seen speaker is the ceiling where there's plenty of available space, and, when mixed in with the various light fixtures and vents, the speakers look absolutely natural.
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Audio Video News
Brighten Your Daytime Viewing
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jul 25, 2005  | 
There are two (actually three depending on how you look at it, but who's counting?) major benefits to owning a front-projection HDTV. The size of the image, ranging from 60 to 120 inches in most home theater systems, makes movie watching at home almost as enjoyable as - and, in some cases, better than - what you'd see at the local multiplex. When it comes to images under 80 inches, of course, you can always rely on a rear-projection HDTV for the center of your home theater. But that's where a front-projection television has its second advantage. Even with the slimmest of the current rear-projection television designs, there's still the issue of the amount of physical space in the room that's taken up. While the amount of actual space is fairly small, the emotional space is still pretty high. ("You're not putting that in my living room!") With a paper-thin screen hanging on the wall or descending from the ceiling plus a small projection unit located across the room, the physical and emotional space used is negligible. What about plasma or LCD flat-panel HDTVs? When it comes to 60-inch or larger televisions, front-projection HDTVs can be purchased and installed for much less than an equivalently sized flat-panel - and, in many cases, you'll enjoy a better quality image.
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Audio Video News
Brave New World
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jul 24, 2005  |  First Published: Jul 25, 2005  | 

TiVo Inc. last week launched a new interactive advertising technology with ad campaigns from General Motors and The WB Television Network. The new technology enables advertisers to insert a customized "tag" in their commercial, replacing the generic ad tags previously used by TiVo's advertising clients. TiVo customers can select the tag and "telescope" from the traditional 30-second ad to view long-form content, request more information, or take advantage of new recording opportunities. It also ensures advertisers' traditional TV spots will be more visible in TiVo homes, whether viewed in normal play or fast forward mode.

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Audio Video News
Home Theater Reader Survey
HT Staff  |  Jul 24, 2005  | 
One thing we've learned about Home Theater readers is that, no matter the subject, they all have opinions. We'd like to hear yours and also enter you in a chance to win a $250 American Express gift certificate.
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Audio Video News
Ultimate AV Reader Survey
Ultimate AV Staff  |  Jul 24, 2005  | 

One thing we've learned about <I>Ultimate AV</I> readers is that, no matter the subject, they all have opinions. We'd like to hear yours and also enter you in a chance to win a $250 American Express gift certificate.

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Audio Video News
HDTV Conference 2005
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jul 21, 2005  | 

DisplaySearch, a major flat-panel display (FPD) market-research and consulting firm, it holding its third annual HDTV Conference at the Beverly Hills Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on August 23 and 24, 2005. A special conference room rate of $175/night is available for a limited time and may be reserved by calling the hotel directly at (310) 274-7777.

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Audio Video News
Latest Software Reviews
HT Staff  |  Jul 20, 2005  | 
DVD: 12 Monkeys Special Edition—Universal
Based on the short French film La Jetée, 12 Monkeys follows poor, hapless convict and time traveler Cole. He is tasked with preventing a plague that wiped out most of humanity. Time travel not being an exact sport, he is tossed around a bit, and everybody thinks he's insane. Monty Python alum Terry Gilliam directs one of the best science fiction movies of the 1990s. Bruce Willis plays poor Cole, while Brad Pitt is truly incredible as nutcase Jeffrey Goines.
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Audio Video News
Coming Attractions
HT Staff  |  Jul 20, 2005  | 
MoDesign (Monster, LLC)
Are you looking to house your various electronics in a way that will add to your room's décor rather than detract from it? MoDesign's $2,500 Audio/Video Component Tower 6000, part of their Centra line of home theater consoles, is made with a smoked-black-tinted glass door and sleek, lustrous wood. If you don't like the glass, wooden doors with either a light- or deep-cherry finish are also available separately. The unit is functional, too. According to MoDesign, a dual-fan cooling system helps your components perform as they should, and the glass door is specially designed not to interfere with signals from remote controls. The Monster Cable Management System helps keep your cables neatly organized.
MoDesign (Monster, LLC)
(866) 563-6388
www.MDesignLife.com
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Audio Video News
Sonic Solutions Forges High Definition Authoring Alliance
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jul 17, 2005  | 

Sonic Solutions, a leading digital-media software developer, announced last week that it has founded the High Definition Authoring Alliance (HDAA), the first and only worldwide association of DVD authoring houses dedicated to facilitating the rollout of titles for release in the new high-definition HD DVD and Blu-ray optical disc formats. The HDAA is intended to increase momentum for successful introduction of the formats, ensuring the timely availability of quality titles by providing members with exclusive access to key information, HD-enabled tools, and comprehensive training.

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Audio Video News
Sony Sweeps German Design Awards
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jul 14, 2005  | 

At the award-presentation ceremony for its annual international design competition on July 4 at the Essen Aalto Theatre in Essen, Germany, the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen bestowed its prestigious "red dot label for high design quality" on six Sony products. Among a record number of 1857 entries in 12 product categories, the international jury selected the following Sony products: HDR-FX1E HDV1080i camcorder, Qualia 001 Creation Box (a video processor/upconverter that is not available in the US), <A href="http://ultimateavmag.com/videoprojectors/504sony/">Qualia 004 SXRD front projector</A>, Qualia 005 LCD flat-panel television, <A href="http://www.ultimateavmag.com/directviewandptvtelevisions/705sony/">Qualia 006 RPTV</A>, and DAV-SR4W wireless home theater in a box.

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Audio Video News
Money for Nothing (to Watch)
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jul 11, 2005  | 
How many people really are watching analog over-the-air TV broadcasts?
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Audio Video News
Location, location, location.
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jul 11, 2005  | 
First there was the TV, and we saw that it was good. Then came cable and satellite, and we saw that it made TV better. Some years later, the digital video recorder (DVR) was born, and those who fell under its spell knew that it was as close to an electronic gift from God as was humanly possible. But now the sun is shining on the Slingbox, a device that, as the name suggests, slings TV (or other media) from your living room to locations far and wide; and - short of having a Digital TV tuner with a high-capacity DVR hardwired directly to your brain - this could be the best thing to happen to TV since, well, TV itself came along.
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Audio Video News
Intel Invests in Online Movie Distribution
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jul 08, 2005  | 

Intel Corporation announced on Wednesday that they will invest in a new venture with Revelations Entertainment, an entertainment-development company headed by actor Morgan Freeman and producer Lori McCreary. The deal is based on the formation of a new digital entertainment company called ClickStar, Inc., which will focus on distributing premium movies directly to consumers over the Internet, connecting filmmakers to film fans worldwide.

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Audio Video News
Space Shuttle Lifts Off Live in HD
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jul 07, 2005  | 
It's the next best thing to being there - or maybe even a better thing - for space buffs, ultimate gear heads, and just plain ordinary folk who want to see the United States manned space program get back on orbit. When the Space Shuttle Discovery launches with its crew of seven astronauts at 11:00 AM (EDT) on July 13th (the currently scheduled launch date), HDNet will be in Cape Canaveral, Florida to provide exclusive, complete high-definition coverage of the historic event (NASA mission STS-114).
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