The Big Picture

In <I>UAV</I>'s never-ending quest to bring you the ultimate in audio and video, we are proud to introduce a new feature on the site&#151;<A href="http://www.ultimateavmag.com/ultimate-demos/">Ultimate Demos</A>. Each week, movie reviewer David Vaughn will identify a reference-quality Blu-ray title, complete with the chapter number and time code of specific scenes that exemplify different video and audio performance parameters, such as detail, color, blacks, shadow detail, audio dynamics, frequency range, and surround imaging. He'll also point out what to look and listen for in each case.

<I>My question is about "color" in sound. I hear audiophiles talk about this all the time. What is "color" in sound? How do you measure it? How do you remedy it? I'm kinda lost with the jargon. Please help me to understand how to tell if there's too much "color" in my system.

<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.

For many, online distribution of high-def video and audio is the Next Big Thing. There's just one small thing impeding the flood of content&#151;bandwidth. An incredible solution to this problem was quietly demonstrated at CES this year by a company called R<SUP>2</SUP>D<SUP>2</SUP> ("Twice the Research, Twice the Development"). Founded by hippie love child Leia Organic Skydancer, R<SUP>2</SUP>D<SUP>2</SUP> has developed what it calls Hypernet, a system that bypasses the Internet completely, offering nearly unlimited bandwidth and instantaneous transmissions using the principles of quantum physics.

This week, we are proud to debut a new blog called <A href="http://blog.ultimateavmag.com/ultimate-gear/">Ultimate Gear</A>. Seeing as how the word "ultimate" is part of the name of our site, we thought it might be interesting to post profiles of home-theater equipment and systems that can rightly be placed in that category.

Last week, Canadian cable operator Shaw Communications introduced a new Internet service called High-Speed Nitro in Saskatchewan, offering download speeds up to 100 megabits per second (Mbps), the fastest residential Internet speed in North America. By contrast, Verizon FiOS claims download speeds as high as 50Mbps, but customers typically see speeds in the 10-to-20Mbps range due to various factors such as the distance from your home to a Verizon central office, configuration of your computer, and condition of the wiring inside your home.