LATEST ADDITIONS

Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jan 08, 2003
Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee. Directed by George Lucas. Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 (anamorphic). Dolby 5.1 Surround EX (English), Dolby 2.0 Surround (Spanish, French), THX. Two discs. 142 minutes. 2002. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 2005544. PG. $29.98.
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Tower Speaker Reviews
Cambridge SoundWorks Newton Series T500 surround speaker system
Michael Fremer  |  Jan 08, 2003

The late electronics wizard Henry Kloss, founder of Advent and co-founder of Acoustic Research and KLH, devised the concept of the high-performance compact radio back in the 1960s, and he invented timeless products to back up that innovative idea: His classic KLH Model 8 tabletop radio is still sought after, still sounds great, and fetches $500 and up on Internet auction sites. Cambridge SoundWorks, established by Kloss in 1988 and later sold to Creative Technology Ltd., began as a direct marketer of innovative, inexpensive, overachieving radios and powered multimedia speaker systems.

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Audio Video News
2003 CES, Day One
Jon Iverson  |  Jan 07, 2003

<I>Bigger, better, more.</I> That's the future as envisioned by technological giants Zenith Electronics Corporation and Royal Philips Electronics, which kicked off this year's edition of the world's largest trade show with huge flatscreen television sets and plans to make technological interconnectivity deeper and more seamless than it has ever been for the average citizen.

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Other Tech
Hewlett-Packard Media Center PC 883n
Michael Antonoff  |  Jan 06, 2003
Sure, Hewlett-Packard's ambitious Media Center PC 883n ($1,999) could replace many of the A/V components in your home theater-including your DVD player, TiVo or ReplayTV hard-disk video recorder, and CD jukebox. But HP will be the first to admit that its chrome and black computer is not likely to become many families' main entertainment center.
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Audio Video News
Singin' in the Rain: 50th Anniversary Edition
Robert Deutsch  |  Jan 05, 2003

<I>Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor. Directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen. Aspect ratio: 4:3. Dolby Digital 5.1 (English), Dolby Digital 2.0 (French). Two DVDs. 103 minutes. 1952. Warner Home Video 125695621 27. G. $26.99.</I>

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Audio Video News
Added to the Archives This Week
 |  Jan 05, 2003

Thomas J. Norton gets his hands on the <A HREF="http://www.guidetohometheater.com/showarchives.cgi?76">Krell Home Theater Standard 7.1 surround processor</A> and explains all the pluses and minuses of what you get for your $8000.

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Rotel RSP-1066 surround preamp-processor
Robert Deutsch  |  Jan 01, 2003

There's no rest for the wicked or for manufacturers of surround preamp-processors. By this, I don't mean to imply that makers of these devices are wicked. In fact, the ones I'm acquainted with are all nice folks devoted to bringing high-quality sound to home-theater fans while making a bit of money in the process.

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Sony DVP-NS999ES DVD/SACD player
Joel Brinkley  |  Jan 01, 2003

Sony has produced first-class DVD players ever since their first one, the DVP-S7000, was introduced early in 1997, just after the format was launched. At that time, the S7000 was the company's only offering. Now, of course, Sony makes a full line of DVD players, and many include the capability to play Super Audio CDs as well.

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AV Receiver Reviews
Harman/Kardon AVR 8000 A/V Receiver
Chris Lewis  |  Jan 01, 2003
The new flagship from the creators of the form.

Where's the first place you look when you saddle up to the bar at your favorite watering hole? Some may say the waitress station or the sorority party in the back room; but, when it's time for business, you look at the top shelf. For it's in that rarified air that you'll find the 30-year-old Springbank, the Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit, or the Old Rip Van Winkle. Then you scan the middle sections and find the 8-year-old Springbank, the Wild Turkey 101, or maybe some Crown Royal. Finally, it's down to the bottom shelf for the Banker's Club, the bottle that just says "whiskey," or my personal favorite: the jug with three Xs.

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The 2002 Direct-View HDTV Face Off
Mike Wood  |  Jan 01, 2003  |  First Published: Jan 02, 2003
Four manufacturers go head to head in our HDTV Demolition Derby.

What could be better than a head-to-head competition between four direct-view HDTVs and HD monitors? How about four direct-view HDTVs modified to function as robot-smashing dump trucks, then placed in a ring to beat each other's video-processing brains out! OK, so the Home Theater version of garage/robot wars didn't quite come to fruition. Budgets, deadlines, and wisdom greater than mine prevailed, and we stuck with our tried-and-true formula: several judges and several products, all in the same room at the same time. Still, the resulting upset was exciting.

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