The Big Picture

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The Big Picture
Good Enough Isn't
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 17, 2008  | 

Last week, I asked readers to weigh in on whether they want more audio-product reviews without objective measurements or fewer reviews with measurements. I've gotten quite a few responses so far, for which I'm grateful, but I'm going to wait one more week before revealing the results and <I>UAV</I>'s policy in this regard. If you haven't voted yet, feel free to do so by adding a comment to <A href="http://blog.ultimateavmag.com/scottwilkinson/021008question/">last week's blog</A> or e-mailing me at <A HREF="mailto:scott.wilkinson@sourceinterlink.com">scott.wilkinson@sourceinterlink.com</A>

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The Big Picture
Good News and Bad News
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jul 08, 2008  | 

Mike Slough in Australia has some questions about A/V receivers:

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Audio Video NewsThe Big Picture
Good News for Plasma
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 08, 2011  | 
Whenever anyone starts proclaiming that plasma is a dying technology, I put my hands over my ears and start singing, "La, la, la, I can't hear you!" Sure, LCD TVs have come a long way in terms of black levels and motion detail thanks to LED illumination and frame interpolation, but these are work-arounds for problems that most plasmas never had in the first place—and they often come with their own odious artifacts, such as frame interpolation's "soap-opera effect." So it was with great glee that I read a report in This Week In Consumer Electronics about a study from market-research firm DisplaySearch, which found that shipments of plasma panels to TV manufacturers in 2010 were way up from the previous year.
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The Big Picture
Grammys 2011: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 14, 2011  | 
My favorite awards show of the year is the Grammys, because it's all about music and musicians, and except for the occasional backing track, all the performances are live. I've attended the show twice, but aside from the excitement of being with 20,000 of my closest friends at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, I prefer to watch at home, where I can control the volume and see the performers up close in high-def.

This year, the show was held on Sunday, February 13, and I have to say I was disappointed overall, though there were a few worthwhile moments…

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The Big Picture
Greetings from NAB
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 11, 2011  | 
This week, I'm in Las Vegas for the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention. (It seems like only yesterday that I was here for CES, but it was actually three months ago!) Many have questioned my reasons for attending this trade show, which is aimed at broadcasting and content professionals rather than consumers. It's quite simple, really—I'm here to answer one basic question: How is the consumer experience impacted and improved by what is we see at NAB?
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The Big Picture
Hollywood's Biggest Night
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 27, 2012  | 
I really enjoy watching the Academy Awards show, the 84th edition of which was held last night and broadcast to an audience of some 40 million viewers. The high-def image is beautiful, the staging is lavish, the music is live, and Jennifer Lopez always looks gorgeous. But the main reason I watch is that movies are the driving force behind home theater, and the Oscars are one of the driving forces behind movies.
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The Big Picture
Home Theater Geeks Among iTunes Best Podcasts of 2010
Scott Wilkinson  |  Dec 10, 2010  | 
I'm pleased and proud to announce that Home Theater Geeks is among iTunes' "Best of 2010" podcasts. It shares this honor with 12 other shows produced by our friends at TWiT, which garnered more entries on the list than any other network—NPR has the next highest number with eight.

The TWiT podcasts in the list are:

Audio: Tech News Today, This Week in Computer Hardware, Home Theater Geeks, NSFW

Video: This Week in Tech, MacBreak Weekly, TWiT Live Specials, iPad Today, Tech News Today, The Tech Guy, This Week in Google, Windows Weekly

Classic Audio: This Week in Tech

Congratulations to all my TWiT cohorts!

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The Big Picture
Home-Theater Harbingers
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 04, 2010  | 

Now that we've entered the "tweens" of the 21st century, we finally leave the "aughts" behind. It was an eventful decade for home theater, and I could wax rhapsodic about how far we've progressed in the last 10 years, but I'd rather focus on what's to come, especially since CES starts this week. What home-theater harbingers might we see in Las Vegas?

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The Big Picture
Hotlanta, Here I Come
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 07, 2009  | 

As many of you know, the CEDIA (Custom Electronics Design and Installation Association) Expo is this week, so I'm on my way to Atlanta, Georgia, which, by all accounts, will be hot and muggy the whole time&#151;yuck! Oh well, the show must go on. I'll be blogging throughout the convention, but before I start, I thought I'd preview a few of the trends I expect to see there...

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The Big Picture
I've Been Framed!
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 15, 2009  | 

<I>I'm currently in the final stages of framing a theater room. The walls are up and electrical/drywall is next. I framed up a spot for a Mitsubishi 73-inch RPTV, but now I'm having second thoughts. I'm scared away from the disappearing RPTV category, but I've ruled out front projection because my memory of projector pictures is that they looked pretty bad. On the other hand, I admit that I'm not up on the latest technology.

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The Big Picture
In Praise of Plasma
Scott Wilkinson  |  Nov 25, 2009  | 

I've always been a bit bummed that plasma TVs hold such a small market share compared with LCDs. And it doesn't help when companies like Vizio and Pioneer drop out of the plasma business altogether. Yet when I visit my local CostCo, I can see why—the LCDs on display are definitely brighter than the plasmas, which is why they fly off the shelves while the plasmas languish.

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Investing in Yourself
Scott Wilkinson  |  Aug 05, 2008  | 

I got home from my THX adventure on Saturday, after three <I>long</I> days of hard-core tech training in a darkened room while the most perfect weather I can imagine beckoned just beyond the walls. But it was worth it&#151;although I already knew most of the material, I did learn a number of useful things, and I got to observe the course itself to see what aspiring calibrators can expect if they take it.

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The Big Picture
It's the Economy, Stupid!
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 15, 2008  | 

Several months ago, I <A href="http://blog.ultimateavmag.com/scottwilkinson/050408pain/">posed a question</A> in my blog, asking you how high gas prices had affected your entertainment activities. Now, of course, things are much worse as the entire economy circles the bowl, even while gas prices ease up a bit. So I thought it would be interesting to revisit the question in light of the worsening economic crisis.

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Audio Video NewsThe Big Picture
James Cameron Plans Better 3D for Avatar 2
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 03, 2011  | 
As wildly successful as Avatar was, many people still complained of eye fatigue, headaches, and other symptoms of what I call 3D sickness. (If you haven't yet taken our poll on whether or not you suffer from this malady, I invite you to do so here.) So director James Cameron plans to significantly improve the 3D experience of Avatar 2—scheduled for release in December 2014—as revealed in an interview with the Wall Street Journal's Speakeasy blog.
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The Big Picture
Japan, Day 0
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 13, 2008  | 

As I write this, I am 34,000 feet above the Bering Strait traveling at 575mph aboard a new Boeing 777-300. We just crossed the International Date Line, turning Monday into Tuesday, after passing over Adak Island, a small member of the Aleutian chain stretching westward from Alaska. I can't help thinking of my father, who spent much of his Navy service there during WWII as a member of the band that played for high-ranking officers and other dignitaries who stopped at the remote base going one way or the other.

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