Tech2

Has there ever been a headphone brand so controversial as Beats? It’s undeniably popular; just walk around any downtown or airport in any industrialized country and you’re almost sure to see a set. Yet audio enthusiasts—including the ones at Sound & Vision—often deride Beats’ sound quality.

Aiming to ensure Ultra HD 4K looks as good as it can, Technicolor has launched 4K Image Certification. The first product to get certified is Marseille Network’s scaler tech.

Fellow Tech2er Brent Butterworth and I headed to Hollywood for an eyes-on demonstration.

The CEA-2010 subwoofer output measurement lets us separate the great subwoofers from the merely good ones, in a way that's more reliable and repeatable than traditional measurements or listening tests. However, it's still not widely used.

I can remember when there were only two companies, M&K and Velodyne, that made good subwoofers. Thanks to the explosion in Chinese manufacturing, there are now so many companies making subwoofers—and so many making good ones—that it’s impossible even to be aware of them all, much less have hands-on experience with all their products.

At the end of 2011, I wrote about the shutting down of Star Wars: Galaxies, the massively-multiplayer online game set in Lucas's fantasy universe. I hadn't played the game in years, not since Sony irreparably massacred the gameplay, dumbing it down and alienating its core players.

But now it's back. Not in hobbled "NGE" form, but with old-school Jump to Lightspeed-era gameplay.

I couldn't resist this walk down memory lane. So, after all these years... how does it hold up?

I watch one sporting event each year (OK, two if you count the sportball game between the commercials of the "Superbowl"). This one event takes place in a tiny village in western France. An epic battle of men and machines, of endurance and stamina, of danger and skill, fought against weather, distance, and time.

I of course speak of le mythique, le légendaire, le grand Circuit de la Sarthe et les Vingt-Quatre Heures du Mans.

Or simply,

Le Mans

IMAX already enjoys a rep as more or less the ultimate cinematic experience. Now it wants to be known for the ultimate home theater experience. The company's new Private Theatre program creates a 4K 3D theater in your home, with 7.1 sound and a wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling screen.