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Audio Video News
A Flat-Panel TV Cable Cover Up?
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 25, 2006
Wiremold wants do-it-yourself flat-panel TV installers to play hide-and-seek with the many cables plasma and LCD TVs have to have in order to do their thing. Professional installers have the wherewithal to slip those butt-ugly cables in the wall behind a high-tech display; but you and I might not be so inclined, nor do we have the tools necessary to make an in-the-wall install really stay in the wall. (If you think a crowbar might be a good tool to use when installing any kind of electronics in the wall, you should consider consulting a professional.)
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Audio Video News
A Grand New 720p DLP Front Projector
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 25, 2006
If you've been thinking about taking the big step to high-definition front projection entertainment (it's well worth the cost and effort, that's for sure), then Optoma has a thousand dollar offer you just about can't refuse. (Well, you could, but then you'd be forced to continue watching that tiny 42-inch plasma you paid more than $1,000 for last year...)
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Ears On
LCD Invades Plasma Turf
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 25, 2006
In the market battle between LCD and plasma displays, conventional wisdom holds that where they overlap, LCD will always cost more, and therefore plasma is the better value. But in July, the average street price of 40- to 44-inch LCDs fell below that of plasma for the first time, according to Pacific Media Associates. The market research firm's Flat Panel Display Tracking Service also found that LCD's market share went up four points, to 46 percent. Says VP Rosemary Abowd: "We've seen this repeatedly in the past. When the price of LCDs match or drop below the prices for plasma HDTVs of the same size, LCDs win. We expect that LCDs will account for the majority of unit sales in the 40- to 44-inch range soon." Plasma still has the advantage in black level and viewing angle, though it's more subject to the screen-door effect, and that big glass sandwich is heavier and thus a little harder to mount.
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Audio Video News
Universal Next-Gen Player? How About A Universal Disc?
 |  Sep 24, 2006  |  First Published: Sep 25, 2006

Reports have circulated the web that engineers from Warner have filed for a patent application for a triple format disc that would have DVD on one side of the disc and both Blu-ray and HD DVD layers on the other side. Whatever player you put it into, it just plays. Goodbye, triple inventory releases!

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Audio Video News
HD-Day On October 10th: Warner To Release Seven Titles On HD DVD and Blu-ray; Universal Adds Catalog Favorites For November
 |  Sep 24, 2006  |  First Published: Sep 25, 2006

The HD releases continue to pile up in time for the holidays, and Warner is leading the charge in a major way. On October 10th several recent hits and critically acclaimed films will hit stores.

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Tower Speaker Reviews
Infinity Cascade Speaker System
Joel Brinkley  |  Sep 23, 2006

The advertising brochures for Infinity's new Cascade line of speakers tell much of the story. The speakers are pictured nestled snugly up against a plasma TV, the center channel mounted on the wall. The stylized shot is from above, to show that the speakers are barely deeper than that ultra-thin TV. These are speakers designed for acceptance by both the enthusiast and the spouse.

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Fred Manteghian Blog
Using Simple Products You'll Find Around Your House
Fred Manteghian  |  Sep 23, 2006

Out with the old and in with the new.

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Ears On
SanDisk Makes Steve Sweat
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 22, 2006
Last week's announcement of Apple's new iPod line was a historic one. It was the first time a rival maker of music players has made Steve Jobs sweat in public. It was no accident that Jobs introduced a second-generation iPod nano with a capacity of 8GB and a price of $249, essentially doubling the capacity of the old 4GB nano for the same price. SanDisk, number two in the music-player market, has been selling an 8GB, $249.99 nano-killer for months. The Sansa e280 is not nearly as thin as the nano, though it does have a color LCD that's a half-inch taller, and it sounds equally good. I'd love to tell you more, but the blog-review that was slated to appear in this space today has been spirited off to the print magazine where it will appear in the December issue. Say, big spender, isn't it about time for you to finally subscribe? Come on, it's $12.97 a year, just over a buck an issue. It won't kill you.
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Audio Video News
Apple Goes Hollywood- And Streams It To Your Living Room
 |  Sep 21, 2006  |  First Published: Sep 22, 2006

OK, I know this is remedial reading, but Apple's introduction of movie downloads through the iTunes Store and the coincident unveiling of its iTV player is clearly the biggest news that happened last week outside of the <a href="http://blog.ultimateavmag.com/cedia2006/">CEDIA Expo</a> in Denver.

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Ears On
Speaker Constellations Shift
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 21, 2006
Polk Audio's acquisition by Directed Electronics is the latest in a series of shifts among the audio industry's rich assortment of stars. Directed—a power in mobile tech products, judging from its website—had already acquired Definitive Technology. In another noteworthy deal, Klipsch bought API, the Canadian giant whose brand names include Mirage, Energy, Athena, and Spherex. Klipsch is also the proud new owner of Jamo, the cool Danish brand. And all this comes on top of last year's sale of Boston Acoustics to D&M Holdings—a stable that already included Denon, Marantz, McIntosh, Snell, Escient, and RePlayTV—and NHT's move from the Rockford Corp. to the Vinci Group. Why are so many potent and prestigious brands changing hands? It feels as though some invisible hand were rearranging the constellations, and declining audio-component sales are the obvious suspect. But historically, major speaker brands (with the notable exception of Bose) have been sold and resold regularly, and all the brand names involved here are valuable ones that deserve fresh and vigorous marketing.
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