Audio Video News

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Audio Video News
Added to the Archives This Week
 |  Mar 08, 2004  | 

Thomas J. Norton listens to the <A HREF="/amplifiers/104theta">Theta Dreadnaught II multichannel amplifier</A>, the latest in a growing family from a company known for its digital converters, transports and surround processors. TJN determines if the amp, which is configurable from two to five channels, lives up to Theta's admirable audiophile reputation.

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Audio Video News
New Sony Lineup
 |  Mar 01, 2004  | 

Sony is angling for a big slice of the home theater market with its new product lineup. At a late February retailers' showcase held in New York, the manufacturing giant trotted out no fewer than 12 new integrated HDTV sets and two new high-definition digital video recorders.

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Audio Video News
Added to the Archives This Week
 |  Mar 01, 2004  | 

Format wars got you down? Steven Stone settles in with the <A HREF="/dvdplayers/104lexicon">Lexicon RT-10 universal disc player</A> to see if you can have it all in one box. As SS notes, the RT-10 performs well with "All discs great and small."

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Audio Video News
Green Light for HD-DVD
Barry Willis  |  Mar 01, 2004  | 

HD-DVD is ahead by a nose in its race against Blu-ray. On Wednesday, February 25, the 20-member steering committee of the DVD Forum voted to approve technology developed by Toshiba and NEC for use in the coming generation of high density/high definition DVD recorders.

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Audio Video News
TiVo Series2
HT Staff  |  Feb 29, 2004  | 
TV fans that can't get enough should flock to the new TiVo Series2 DVR.
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Audio Video News
The Stars of the Battlestar
Chris Chiarella  |  Feb 27, 2004  | 
Once more into the breach with Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict.

Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict helped make Sunday nights a lot more interesting in the autumn of 1978, starring as the best-in-fleet space pilots Captain and Apollo Lieutenant Starbuck in the science fiction series Battlestar Galactica. Upon the release of a lavish new DVD set of the TV show's first and only season, not coincidentally on the eve of the premiere of The SCI FI Channel's reinvented Galactica mini-series, the two gentlemen traveled back in time with Home Theater Magazine.

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Audio Video News
Latest Software Reviews
HT Staff  |  Feb 27, 2004  | 
DVD: Time Bandits DiViMax Special Edition—Anchor Bay
Audio: 2
Video: 3
Extras: 4
This is the third DVD release of Terry Gilliam's 1981 fantasy about a British schoolboy and his adventures with a motley band of time-traveling thieves, assorted historical figures (including John Cleese as Robin Hood and Sean Connery as Agamemnon), a tech-obsessed Evil, and a not-so-wrathful Supreme Being. Anchor Bay's release includes several special features not previously available on disc. There's a funny and revealing interview with Gilliam and co-writer Michael Palin about the production of the film, an AFI-produced documentary on Gilliam's filmography (up to 1998's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), and a DVD-ROM copy of the screenplay. The specials are well done, but a commentary track would have been a welcome addition. A 1999 Criterion release includes such a track from Gilliam, Palin, Cleese, and others.
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Audio Video News
Coming Attractions
HT Staff  |  Feb 27, 2004  | 
Niles Audio
Looking for a sexy touchscreen to finish off that custom install? Niles' new IntelliPad TS-1 Ci touchscreen keypad uses the latest LCD touchscreen technology for a new level of elegance and control convenience, the company says. Use the TS-1 with Niles' multizone systems to distribute audio and video to destinations within your home. The hard keys are backlit, and your favorite function keys, which give you one-touch access to your favorite radio stations and satellite channels, are clearly labeled. The TS-1 features both manual and PC programming using the free software. With the white faceplate, the unit measures 5.19 inches wide by 4.5 high. The TS-1 will cost you $550.
Niles
(305) 238-4373
www.nilesaudio.com
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Audio Video News
LA Video Editing Classes
HT Staff  |  Feb 25, 2004  |  First Published: Feb 26, 2004  | 
Video enthusiasts both amateur and professional will be able to hone their editing and production skills through a series of classes to take place at Creative Computers, 1505 Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica, CA, during the months of February, March, and April.

Hosted by DVDcreators.net, all courses will be taught by Larry Jordan, a well-known Final Cut Pro (FCP) expert and one of only a few instructors in the world certified by Apple to teach advanced FCP classes. All workshops (except the free preview) are completely hands-on, according to an announcement released in mid-February. All students will have their own Power Macintosh G5 workstations for the duration of the workshop.

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Audio Video News
Sony KDL-42XBR950
HT Staff  |  Feb 24, 2004  |  First Published: Feb 25, 2004  | 
Feeling the pressure from Sharp and Samsung, Sony Electronics has introduced what it describes as "the world's largest integrated high-definition flat-panel LCD television."
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Audio Video News
ClearPix2 Projection Screens
HT Staff  |  Feb 24, 2004  |  First Published: Feb 25, 2004  | 
Many home theater experts contend that the proper place for a center channel speaker is directly behind the screen, as in a commercial theater. Such arrangements require perforated screens that are acoustically transparent but visually reflective, an arrangement that can wreak havoc with some fixed-pixel projectors. Annoying moire patterns can result from the relationship between a projector's image elements and the holes in a perforated screen.
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Audio Video News
321Studios Loses a Round
Barry Willis  |  Feb 23, 2004  | 

If you were thinking about buying a copy of <A HREF="http://www.321studios.com">321Studios</A>' DVD-backup software, you'd better hurry. On Friday, February 20, a San Francisco federal judge ruled that the company's popular "DVD X Copy" software is illegal, and ordered a halt to its distribution within seven days.

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Audio Video News
Blockbuster Aping Netflix?
Barry Willis  |  Feb 23, 2004  | 

Warren Lieberfarb's "sell through" agenda for DVD pricing has had some unintended consequences. The former head of Warner Home Entertainment pushed hard for an industry-wide pricing policy that made movies on DVD one of the greatest bargains in the history of entertainment. For compact disc prices, movie fans can own archival copies of films that cost tens of millions to produce&mdash;a strategy that has had serious consequences for the video rental business.

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Audio Video News
Added to the Archives This Week
 |  Feb 23, 2004  | 

In a home theater world filled with knobs, buttons and flashing lights, Michael Fremer finds the <A HREF="/surroundsoundpreampprocessors/1203arcam">Arcam FMJ AV8 7-channel preamp-processor & FMJ P7 7-channel amplifier</A> "sleek, refreshingly simple, and clean looking." As to its performance, MF provides the complete rundown.

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Audio Video News
Star Wars on DVD
 |  Feb 16, 2004  | 

Something that legions of science fiction fans have long hoped for will become a reality this September: the release of a four-disc set of George Lucas's <I>Star Wars</I> trilogy.

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