LATEST ADDITIONS

Meridian, noon, the sun's highest point in the day, a reference for mariners, the pinnacle of light. I almost hated putting the gorgeous Meridian G68ADV surround processor and G98DH DVD player to work in my Salamander Synergy cabinet. For a week, before Ken Forsythe of Meridian America arrived to help me set them up, the two units sat atop my bar in a position of prominence. With fine, architecturally interesting lines and finished on all sides (only the rear panel speaks strictly to function), these star Meridian designs were far more handsome in person than in print. Still, this $8999 processor and $5999 DVD player were here to perform. And what a virtuoso performance.

Video: 5
Audio: 5
Extras: 5
A sweet, charming story of enduring first love, The Notebook follows Noah (Ryan Gosling) and Allie (Rachel McAdams), two teenagers who indulge in a heated summer romance that Allie's mother frowns upon. However, despite efforts to keep the couple apart, a chance meeting seven years later brings the twosome back together again.

Video: 3
Audio: 3
Extras: 3
Films like Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Dazed and Confused come along about once every 10 years. Both manage to cut through the sexual hijinks and drug jokes inherent in all so-called "teen flicks" to really capture what it was like to grow up in a particular time and place. I can watch both of these movies over and over, and that's why I love them: I get older, and they stay the same age.

Although more and more high-definition displays now come with integrated over-the-air terrestrial Digital TV tuners (and some with Digital Cable Card slots), there are still plenty of HDTV Monitors with no Digital TV tuning capabilities whatsoever sitting in people's living rooms. At some point, be it 2006 or 2106 depending on when the FCC and Congress have the gumption to mandate that all analog TV broadcasting must cease and desist, owners of tuner-less HDTV Monitors will need to add some sort of DTV tuner if they want to enjoy all the glorious entertainment that local network television affiliates so graciously provide to a thankful and devoted public (in return for sitting through endless and insufferable advertisements).