LATEST ADDITIONS

Audio Video News
Added to the Archives This Week
Ultimate AV Staff  |  Aug 23, 2004

Thomas J. Norton evaluates the <A HREF="/directviewandptvtelevisions/704sony">Sony Grand Wega KF-50 WE610 LCD rear-projection television</A>, noting that the CRT is pretty much dead as new technologies take its place. TJN checks to see how this one measures up.

Continue Reading »
Audio Video News
Coming Attractions
HT Staff  |  Aug 23, 2004
PSB Speakers
Nothing pleases us more than to hear that the manufacturer of a solid product has introduced a complement to said product. Such is the case with PSB's new SubSonic 9 subwoofer ($1,599), which the company designed to be the perfect complement to their Platinum Series speakers. The sub has dual 10-inch woofers in an opposing-woofer design. According to PSB, this design cancels the opposite directional force exerted by a single woofer so that less energy is lost as the two forces interact with the cabinet. The Class H amp delivers a rated 400 watts of continuous output. Look for the SubSonic 9 early in the fourth quarter.
PSB Speakers
(905) 831-6555
www.psbspeakers.com
Continue Reading »
Audio Video News
Latest Software Reviews
HT Staff  |  Aug 23, 2004
DVD: The Girl Next Door—20th Century Fox
Video: 4
Audio: 3
Extras: 3
OK, I'll admit up front I'd give this movie a good review if Elisha Cuthbert sat for two hours reading the 9/ 11 Commission Report. But here we get to see Cuthbert—best known as Jack Bauer's daughter on 24—in the role she was born to play: a porn actress who's house-sitting next door to a sexually frustrated high school senior (Emile Hirsch). As such, she swims, teases, drips and, yes, strips, more than once. Ah, the joys of DVD, and the A-B repeat function.
Continue Reading »
Audio Video News
Industry Roundup
Barry Willis  |  Aug 23, 2004

USDTV makes headway: Fledgling over-the-air pay TV service US Digital Television (USDTV) has signed more than 8000 subscribers in its six months in business, according to a <I>Broadcast Engineering</I> report August 16. The startup is the first terrestrial digital subscription TV service in the US to piggyback new digital broadcast channels of local television stations by leasing unused spectrum from participating broadcasters. Based in Salt Lake City, USDTV is also available in Albuquerque, NM and Las Vegas.

Continue Reading »
Audio Video News
Sex, Surveys, and Your Home Theater
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Aug 23, 2004
Having nothing better to do with their time after installing FlatTVs with Ambilight technology in George Clooney's (and other cast members') Hotel de Russie hotel room so he (and they) could live better than the average bear while filming the new "Ocean's Twelve", the friendly folks at Philips commissioned Harris Interactive to ask pointed questions about home entertainment of consumers in 13 countries. (Sorry, Iraq wasn't included.) The results of the Philip's Global Home Entertainment Survey are sure to be studied by generations of historians to come for the deep insights they provide into the shallow nature of humans all over the globe.
Continue Reading »
Audio Video News
The Sweet Snell of THX Home Theater
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Aug 23, 2004
Snell Acoustics is tightening the grilles and polishing the dust caps on three new upgraded speakers which they'll introduce to the world during the CEDIA Expo in Indianapolis on September 7th. But you don't have to wait to hear about these new THX Ultra 2 Certified models, because we're going to spill the beans here before anyone else does. (Besides, unless you're a dealer or custom installer - or unemployable writer-type like most of us here - you wouldn't be able to crash the heavily armed security at the CEDIA Expo anyway. Just be thankful you've got us working for you. We sure are.)
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Last Samurai
Thomas J. Norton  |  Aug 22, 2004

<I>Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Timothy Spall, Billy Connolly, Tony Goldwyn, Hiroyuki Sanada, Koyuki. Directed by Edward Zwick. Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 (anamorphic). Dolby Digital 5.1 (English, French). Two discs. 154 minutes. 2003. Warner Home Video 28383. R. $29.95.

Continue Reading »
Sony Grand Wega KF-50WE610
Thomas J. Norton  |  Aug 22, 2004

It's a new world. Though many of us lament the passing of the CRT as the premier video-display technology in most manufacturers' catalogs, that passing is happening rapidly. One of the favored alternatives is LCD, in both flat-panel and rear-projection designs. The latter, which use small LCD panels in conjunction with a projection lamp and optical path, are at present the more economical of the two&mdash;particularly in the larger screen sizes.

Continue Reading »
AV Receiver Reviews
Sherwood Newcastle R-865 Receiver
Mark Fleischmann  |  Aug 19, 2004  |  First Published: Aug 01, 2004
The most reliable guide to power ratings isn't the specs provided by the manufacturers but the measurements made by our technical editor. He follows the mandates of the Federal Trade Commission in measuring power output and distortion with all channels continuously driven (along with a less-demanding two-channel spec). When objective third-party measurements aren't available, here's a quick-and-dirty means of sorting high-power receivers from the junk: Just feel the weight. Aside from the nefarious inclusion of useless lead weights, more pounds indicate either the presence of a heavier power supply or a heavier, more-sturdy chassis—ideally, both. All things being equal, with conventional amplifiers, you don't need expensive test gear to figure out that a 50-pound model is likely to play louder and cleaner than a 15-pound lightweight, even if both are rated at 100 watts per channel.
Continue Reading »
AV Receiver Reviews
Pioneer VSX-55TXi Receiver
Mark Fleischmann  |  Aug 19, 2004  |  First Published: Aug 01, 2004
This receiver's front panel is black but sets itself apart with a high-gloss finish and Pioneer's traditional (and rather attractive) amber display. It doesn't depend excessively on the jog dial. To the left, above the jog dial, are buttons labeled "music" and "movies," which make it easy to switch between Dolby Pro Logic II's music and movie modes (there's no IIx). To the right are buttons that choose the external line inputs for a universal player, select modes for the room EQ (including off), and bypass the tone controls for direct stereo playback. Touching any button on the remote activates red-orange backlighting.
Continue Reading »

Pages

X