Scott Wilkinson

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Video Processing, LED Backlighting, Big Plasma
Scott Wilkinson  |  Nov 11, 2009
Two For One
I have a Pioneer Elite PRO-111FD plasma with a Denon DVD-3800BDCI Blu-ray player, and I have two questions. First, should I set the Denon to output 1080p/24 manually or just leave it set to Auto? Second, a friend is encouraging me to get the DVDO Edge because, he says, its processing is probably better than either the Pioneer or Denon. Do you think this is true, or is my current gear sufficient?
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The Big Picture
Blu State
Scott Wilkinson  |  Nov 09, 2009

Now in its fourth year since the format was launched, Blu-ray remains a bit enigmatic. Of course, most early adopters and movie enthusiasts eagerly embrace it, and rightly so&#151;Blu-ray provides the best picture and sound quality you can get from a home-theater source. But its success in the mass market is less clear, at least so far. To assess this and other issues related to the state of Blu-ray, the <A href="http://www.dvdinformation.com/">Digital Entertainment Group (DEG)</A>, an industry-funded, non-profit organization that promotes various types of home entertainment, hosted a day-long conference last week at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles, calling it Blu-Con 2.0.

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Premiere Design
Eight is Enough
Scott Wilkinson  |  Nov 08, 2009

I had not heard of Swedish speaker maker <A href="http://www.perfect8.com">Perfect8 Technologies</A> until reader Joe G. posted a comment in my blog about <A href="http://blog.ultimateavmag.com/ultimate-gear/glass_ear/">Hario's glass speakers</A>. Like Hario, Perfect8 uses glass as a primary building material, but not in the driver diaphragms as Hario does. Instead, the cabinets and some support structures are made of glass, creating elegant sculptures that are said to sound as good as they look.

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Premiere Design
My Mistake
Scott Wilkinson  |  Nov 08, 2009

Recently, I posted an <A href="http://blog.ultimateavmag.com/ultimate-tech/let_there_be_let/">entry in the Ultimate Tech blog</A> about a new type of tweeter called the Leading Edge Transducer (LET). In that article, I made some statements to which reader Noah Katz, a structural engineer and, presumably, an audiophile, took exception. At first, I was going to ignore him because he refused to engage in a dialog about it. But, being me, I couldn't resist digging deeper to uncover the truth. After all, one of my guiding principles as a technical journalist is to get the facts straight, and if I don't&#151;which, as a human, is inevitable once in a while&#151;I feel compelled to correct my mistakes.

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Speakers, Switchers, Kuro
Scott Wilkinson  |  Nov 04, 2009
Decisions, Decisions
I want to get a new pair of main speakers for my Pioneer Elite SC-27 A/V receiver. I can't decide between the Klipsch RF-83 and the Polk RTi A9. Is one better than the other?
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Premiere Design
Tight Squeeze
Scott Wilkinson  |  Nov 02, 2009  |  Published: Nov 03, 2009

What do you get if you cross Japanese audio acumen with daring Italian design? The Squeezophone 360, that's what. Born out of a collaboration between <A href="http://www.kenwooddesign.com">Kenwood Design</A> and <A href="http://www.colucci-design.com">Claudio Colucci Design</A>, this concept speaker cuts a dashing figure as it pumps sound all around the room.

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Premiere Design
A Legend Returns
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 29, 2009

Audiophiles know the name Mark Levinson well. After his eponymous first enterprise was purchased by Harman International&#151;which means he can no longer use his own name on audio products&#151;Levinson went on to found several other highly regarded audio companies, including Cello and Red Rose Music. Now, in a story exclusive to <I>UAV</I>, the audio designer, recording engineer, and professional musician is launching his latest venture from his adopted home country of Switzerland, calling it <A href="http://www.danielhertz.com">Daniel Hertz, S.A.</A>&#151;"Daniel" after his father and "Hertz" after his mother's great-uncle Heinrich Hertz, whose name is now used as the universal unit of measurement of frequency.

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PIP, Bi-Amping, Burn-In
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 27, 2009
PIP, PIP, Cheerio!
Why is it difficult to find new TVs with PIP (picture-in-picture). I'm looking for a new set to watch multiple sports channels on, so motion blur is also an issue.
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Premiere Design
Glass Ear
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 26, 2009

The materials used to make speaker diaphragms are well established&#151;polypropylene, paper, Kevlar, aluminum, titanium, beryllium, silk, and even diamond, to name a few. So I was surprised to find a speaker system with diaphragms made of glass. Developed over nearly four years by a Japanese glass company called <A href="http://www.harioglass.com">Hario</A> (Japanese for "king of glass"), the Harion system is certainly intriguing, though the English-language website linked here has nothing about it, and the company did not supply much info, even after repeated requests.

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Premiere Design
Let There Be LET
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 23, 2009

Transducers&#151;devices that convert one form of energy into another&#151;are among the most mature technologies in the audio world. The most common musical transducers are microphones, which convert the mechanical energy of acoustic sound waves into electrical signals, and speakers, which do exactly the opposite. Both have been around for a century or so, and despite a few innovations and variations, they haven't changed much in all that time.

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