Scott Wilkinson

Premiere Design
Magnum Opus
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 06, 2009

I'm on a quest to find the most expensive audio cables in the world&#151;not to buy, mind you, but just to see what the market will bear. From what I've learned so far, the leading candidates come from <A href="http://transparentcable.com">Transparent Audio</A>, whose Opus MM2 cables cost more than most automobiles, especially if you're buying enough to outfit an entire multichannel system.

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Premiere Design
The Cat's Meow
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 02, 2009

Normally in this blog, I profile a specific product or product line that can be considered "ultimate" in one way or another. But when it comes to a California company called <A href="http://www.catmbx.com">CAT MBX</A>, this approach doesn't work so well. An offshoot of California Audio Technology, CAT MBX designs and builds ultimate home theaters from scratch, customizing the speakers, electronics, and projection system for each venue. The company's "product" is the entire theater, which is unique for each client.

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BD Burner, Poor Vision, Ambient Light
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 30, 2009
Burning Desire
I have a pretty fancy home-theater system, and I use DirecTV as my broadcast source. I would love to be able to burn widescreen HDTV shows to a DVD. My first choice is to burn DVDs in widescreen high def. My second choice would be to burn DVDs in widescreen, even if not high def. At this time, is there a good high-def DVD burner I could buy? Price is not an issue.
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Audio Video News
Panasonic 3D Plasma TV
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 29, 2009

At the CEDIA Expo earlier this month, we saw a demo of Panasonic's 3D Blu-ray system on a 103-inch plasma. It was mighty impressive, but few consumers are going to buy that behemoth, even at it's recently reduced price of $50,000. Fortunately, they won't have to.

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Premiere Design
Aesthetic Functionality
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 29, 2009

In most high-quality A/V products, form follows function, but in the case of the Gramophone speaker from Swedish maker <A href="http://www.aesthesis.se">Aesthesis</A>, form and function are intertwined, arising together during four years of development. Standing nearly four feet tall, this hand-made, carbon-fiber speaker makes a bold design statement while offering impressive specs.

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Premiere Design
Behind the Curtain
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 24, 2009

Who doesn't love <I>The Wizard of Oz</I>? No one I know. Rated as one of the best films ever made, this timeless classic has been released on various home-video formats no less than 16 times since 1980. Now, 70 years after its theatrical debut, <I>Oz</I> is getting its first high-def treatment on Blu-ray for the 17th iteration. I was fortunate to be invited to a press event celebrating this milestone at Warner Brothers' Burbank studio, and I learned a lot about what went into making this ultimate version.

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TVs, Adaptors, Tuners
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 23, 2009
Funny You Should Ask
I'm looking for a reasonably priced 42-inch HDTV. A standard-definition DVD player will be connected to it as well as digital cable, but no HD service. Plasma or LCD? I can go either way. It won't be wall mounted. I was thinking a 720p set would okay since we don't plan to have HD cable service, but I'd be very interested to hear what you think.
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Premiere Design
Defining Moment
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 21, 2009

I've always loved <A href="http://www.tannoy.com">Tannoy</A> speakers&#151;in fact, I've used a pair of NFM-8 near-field monitors in my home recording studio for many years. And I'm not alone&#151;many pro studios, especially in England, use Tannoys as reference monitors. But the company also makes exceptional consumer speakers, including the new Definition line.

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The Big Picture
What's the Diff?
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 20, 2009

<I>I have heard you and Leo Laporte discuss the merits of 1080p versus 1080i signals. You both agreed that both methods are almost indistinguishable from each other, but neither of you seemed clear as to why they were so close. Well, I believe I may have the reason, but please correct me if I am wrong. The essential feature is their respective frame/field rates. 1080p is 30 true frames or complete pictures per second, whereas 1080i is 60 fields per second, but because it is interlaced, it also results in a true 30 frames per second. Thus, both formats generate the exact same number of true frames or pictures per second, which is why their ultimate picture qualities are identical.

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AVR Setup, AVR Compatibility, VGA
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 18, 2009
Manual Labor
I purchased an SPL meter to level the speakers in my 5.1 surround system. I read an article in Home Theater magazine about how to use this device, but I'm still not sure how to do it. For example, I'm not sure where to put the dial—do I start at 80 or 120?
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