Audio Video News

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Audio Video News
Atlantic Technology's System 4200e - New Woofer, New Look
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 24, 2005  | 
Not content to rest on their laurels (laurels can be so uncomfortable at times), Atlantic Technology has upgraded their well-regarded System 4200 THX Select home theater speaker system by adding an "e" to the model number. Well, in all honesty, Atlantic Technology has done more than simply reprint brochures with the new nomenclature. (Although it is a great, money-saving idea...) The new improvements include permanently attached finishing panels on the front- and center-channel speakers and a couple of improvements to the system's subwoofer.
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Audio Video News
VOOM and Gloom
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 24, 2005  | 
Cablevision's recent announcement of the pending sale of the VOOM satellite (along with other assets related to VOOM) to Echostar Communications Corp. (DISH Network) should cause a twinge of sadness in the hearts of all HDTV lovers. Whether you admired VOOM's pluck in attempting to go against the two established satellite services (DISH Network and DIRECTV) or thought that Cablevison Chairman Charles Dolan must have been smoking something beyond cigars when he came up with the idea for an HD-centric satellite service, the virtually certain discontinuation of VOOM (Echostar will most likely use the satellite to expand its own channel offerings) is no happy event. During its brief existence, VOOM brought more high-definition content into the homes of its approximately 26,000 subscribers than all other providers put together (cable, satellite, and over-the-air terrestrial broadcast). As many a pair of eyeballs with HDTVs sitting in front of them know, HD content is an addiction that continually demands to be satisfied. Where, oh where, will we now go to get our daily HD fix?
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Audio Video News
Winter Game Roundup
Chris Chiarella  |  Jan 24, 2005  | 
One of the most realistic World War II videogames ever created, Call of Duty: Finest Hour (Activision) presents an often frantic, unsettling true-to-life series of exploits on the frontlines at the peak of WWII. We are among half a dozen soldiers on Russian, British, and American campaigns that take us to Russia, North Africa, and Germany on both vehicle- and infantry-based missions. T-rated for its graphic imagery, the story unfolds movie-style with a musical score by The Incredibles’s Michael Giacchino; single player or up to 16 online. The PlayStation 2 and GameCube versions offer Dolby Pro-Logic II audio while GameCube and Xbox deliver progressive scan video, and Xbox alone packs Dolby Digital 5.1-channel sound.
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Audio Video News
Coming Attractions
HT Staff  |  Jan 17, 2005  | 
Conextion Systems
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Audio Video News
Latest Software Reviews
HT Staff  |  Jan 17, 2005  | 
DVD: Tanner '88—Criterion and Tanner on Tanner—Sundance Channel Home Entertainment
Audio: 3
Video: 2
Extras: 4
If last year's contentious presidential race wasn't enough to demonstrate how ridiculous politics can be, Tanner 88 and Tanner on Tanner should drive the point home.
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Audio Video News
Video Dreams
John J. Gannon  |  Jan 16, 2005  | 

"Rain, rain go away" was my mantra on the trek down to the annual audio-video Mecca; the forecasters were warning that the winter desert was set to deliver wet weather for the Consumer Electronic Show. I never thought my prayers would be answered so obliquely&mdash;Las Vegas enjoyed more than a few moments of <I>snow</I> on Friday of the convention. You could tell those who had never seen flurries of the chilly white stuff before: they wandered comically in circles with w-i-d-e eyes and slack jaws.

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Audio Video News
High-End Audio Makes the CES Scene
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jan 16, 2005  | 

According to the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the organization that runs the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), 140,000 people attended this year’s annual confab in Las Vegas, NV. In past years, attendance has typically hovered around 100,000. But with the shrinkage of the normally even larger computer show, COMDEX, in 2003, followed by its cancellation this past November, the Intels, IBMs, Apples, Hewlett Packards, and other assorted bits-and-bytes vendors, and their customers, descended on CES with a vengeance.

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Audio Video News
Making Sense of It All
Peter Putman  |  Jan 16, 2005  | 

It was easy to be overwhelmed with all the plasma and LCD flat-panel displays at CES 2005. But upon closer inspection, there were a few clear trends and some truly significant advances in technology.

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Audio Video News
CES 2005 Oddz 'n' Endz
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 16, 2005  | 

For me (and, I'm sure, for many others), CES 2005 marked the year that 1080p took off. I'm not talking about 1080p broadcasts or pre-recorded content; it will be a few more years before we see that, and even when we do, it will likely be 1080p/24, not 1080p/60. But 1920x1080 fixed-pixel displays&mdash;plasma, LCD (panels and projectors), DLP, and LCoS&mdash;were suddenly <I>everywhere</I>, unlike last year, when they were as rare as than hens' teeth.

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Audio Video News
Coming Attractions
HT Staff  |  Jan 11, 2005  | 
Meridian
Meridian's modular, card-based 800 Version 4 disc player is an upgrade on the company's popular 800 player. It comes with Meridian's V100 video input card and VE12 HDMI/progressive component output card. The V100 provides two composite, two S-video, and one interlaced component video input. You also get the VE00 video encoder card, which generates NTSC and PAL in composite, S-video, and component formats. The 800 Version 4 is supported by Meridian's latest computer-based step-by-step MConfig configuration system. This standout design is available in a black-lacquer or a sleek silver finish and costs from $18,000 to $20,000, depending on configuration.
Meridian
(404) 344-7111
www.meridian-audio.com
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Audio Video News
Latest Software Reviews
HT Staff  |  Jan 11, 2005  | 
DVD: This So-Called Disaster—MGM/UA
Video: 2
Audio: 2
Extras: 0
This avant-garde documentary traces the weeks of rehearsal leading up to a 2000 play by playwright and director Sam Shepard, based on his relationship with his own alcoholic father. Shepard assembled a cast that included Nick Nolte, Sean Penn, and Woody Harrelson, and while it's interesting to watch these pros prepare for their curtain call, they all seem to get along too well to make this more than an occasionally interesting behind-the-scenes look at live theater. The best drama—whether fiction or reality television—comes from conflict, but there's none to be found here, despite the disc jacket's claim that the play's characters "set off a powder keg of emotions so explosive that the actors themselves are drawn into the fray." This is just dull, and even Shepard appears to be dozing off during some of the script-reading sessions. The best moment comes when Harrelson and Penn, apparently competing with Nolte for the title Most Scruffy Looking Actor, bust each other's chops on some of their past film choices (yes, Shanghai Surprise comes into the conversation).
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Audio Video News
CES 2005: Day 4
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 10, 2005  | 
The final day of CES always brings a little sadness with it - sadness that you didn't bring more comfortable shoes. Yet, when all is considered, CES is still one of the most exciting times for consumer electronics geeks (and the Consumer Electronics Association counted over 140,000 of them at the Show). Since all the press conferences and nearly all of the scheduled meetings are over, it's a great day to wander the 1.5 million square feet of the show floor and catch up on all the things you missed (and find some nice surprises, too).
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Audio Video News
2005 CES: Day 3
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 09, 2005  | 
One of the main reasons why dealers and press types come to the Consumer Electronics Show every year is to see first hand the just-released and soon-to-be-released electronic gadgets and home entertainment gear. But, if you've got "connections", the best thing about CES - other than free dinners and drinks - is the chance to get an up close and personal look at technology that's still in the development stage. These "revealing" meetings generally take place in an unassuming hotel room off the beaten path, are bereft of any glowing press releases, and require a secret handshake (or sometimes a signed non-disclosure agreement) to gain access. HP, for example, showed us some things that we could tell you about, but we'd lose the ability to use our knee caps if we did. (I'm just kidding about the knee caps, but we did swear ourselves to secrecy until they're ready to let the electronic cat out of the bag.)
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Audio Video News
2005 CES: Day Four, Audio at Last
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 09, 2005  | 

<B>Thomas J. Norton</B><BR>
Finally, news from the audio side of CES. My coverage of the limited surround-sound demos at the official specialty audio venue of the Alexis Park Hotel will have to wait for our upcoming in-depth show report. Today's report will catch up on a few important demos held at hotels near the Las Vegas convention center, plus one surprise discovery at the Alexis. And the news it hot.

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Audio Video News
CES - Day 2
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 07, 2005  |  First Published: Jan 08, 2005  | 
Something is funny in Las Vegas today, and I don't mean the Penn & Teller show. Just as CES is ready to open for another delightful day, the light rain - rather unusual for this dry, desert town - begins turning into snow (really unusual for around here). Veteran CES-goers scratch their heads in amazement as they run from the taxi drop off area to the doors of the Convention Center. It's hard to remember the last time it snowed in Las Vegas during CES. It was a surprising, albeit wet, beginning to a day full of much nicer surprises.
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