After two straight years of heady double-digit price drops, it's sometimes hard to get beyond the fact that high-def TVs of all stripes are far more affordable than ever. But to just focus on price misses the bigger picture, so to speak: TVs haven't just gotten cheaper, they've also gotten better.
The sight of a dancing iPod user, and particularly her white earbuds, is a genuine cultural icon. But it would be a mistake to overlook the iPod's nonportable applications. Most of your music collection might be on a 'Pod, but you don't have to condemn your tunes to the lowly fidelity typical of most 'buds.
Q. I'm concerned about the accuracy of the standards used for professional HDTV calibration. In ISF-calibrated sets, the color white always has some other shade mixed in that makes it look slightly gray, brown, or green. But the whites I've seen on most uncalibrated HDTVs look more like the color white as it appears in reality.
What's the most popular audio evaluation tool in the world? It's RadioShack's model 33-4050 sound level meter. What's the most controversial audio evaluation tool in the world? That same little $45 meter.
Hi Theo, There are things I wished I hadn't done with my home theater. For example, I shouldn't have spent so much on my receiver and should have waited for one with HDMI inputs and the new Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio formats. Also, I heard really good things about Sony's 1080p projectors, but was persuaded that a Runco 720p model would look better.
When asked how he'd like to see his own role defined in our ever-escalating high-definition home-entertainment world, Masi Oka, star of NBC's hit fantasy/sci-fi series Heroes, reaches for the stars. "I'd like to be known as a visionary Blu-ray Bluetooth," he smiles.
Some people have the common sense to get alarm systems. Others set up all sorts of lights and timers to make the bad guys think they're home when they're not. I thought I was pretty smart for being a member of the latter group - until last week when my neighbor asked, "Were you gone Monday and Tuesday? I noticed your light timer was on."
The dictionary defines a gadget as "a sometimes small electronic device with a practical use but often thought of as a novelty." Well, I'm here to tell you that the creators of the CHUMBY ($180; chumby.com) have honored the spirit of that definition.
Despite the awesome advances in high-def graphics and killer surround sound, a lot of people still don't even think about playing videogames on their home theater systems. But today's games offer A/V performance that often exceeds some Blu-ray Discs, while delivering excitement that lasts far beyond one or two viewings.
Red states, blue states. Which color do you subscribe to? My fellow Americans, as November approaches, our country faces a monumental decision. Our great society must choose between two very different candidates with visions of the future that are profoundly diverse. All of us must look into our hearts, and answer the question: satellite or cable?
Everyone who's hip to home theater knows the state-of-the-art in video is a constant-height projection system. And everyone who's hip to home theater also knows they can't afford one.
Air travel is such a hassle these days. Seriously, who really enjoys flying anymore? Any way to make that experience just a bit more pleasant is a welcome relief.
For nearly a decade I've been profiling custom home theaters for Sound & Vision, and in all that time I've never really had my own - or even a space carved out exclusively for watching movies or listening to music. And let me tell you, envy can be an ugly thing.
