Scott Wilkinson

Audio Video News
Panasonic 2009 Line Show
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 17, 2009  |  Published: Mar 18, 2009

As we saw at CES in January, Panasonic is bullish on plasma, a point that was driven home at the company's product showcase held last week in New York and this week at the Panasonic Hollywood Labs (PHL) in Los Angeles. The 2009 Viera TV lineup includes no less than 17 new plasmas with screens measuring 42 to 65 inches diagonally and seven new LCDs with screens in the 26- to 37-inch range.

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Ask S&V
Separates, Wall Color, HTIB
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 16, 2009
The Perennial Question
Would it be better with a thin budget to buy an AVR rather than separates? I was thinking about getting Denon's flagship AVR-5308CI receiver, but there are separates from Integra, Anthem, Marantz, and Denon that all seem to have similar features but are somewhat lower in price. What would be a good solution?
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The Big Picture
Ultimate Gear Debuts
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 13, 2009

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.

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Premiere Design
Million-Dollar Media Room
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 13, 2009

Unless you're a serious audiophile, you might not know the name <A href="http://www.goldmund.com">Goldmund</A>. After 30 years making ultra-high-end audio components, this Swiss company is expanding into the realm of home theater. But if you think it's simply offering projectors and surround-sound systems, think again. When you contact Goldmund to discuss home theater, you'll be talking about a <I>complete</I> media room that the company will design, build, equip, and calibrate from beginning to end.

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Premiere Design
Is it Live or Wilson?
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 13, 2009

<A href="http://www.wilsonaudio.com">Wilson Audio</A> is well known for ultra-high-end speakers, but most of its products are designed for 2-channel listening. To create a full surround system, all you need do is mate any of Wilson's superlative L/R models with a center, surrounds, subwoofer, and controller from the WATCH (Wilson Audio Theater Comes Home) lineup.

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Audio Video News
Blu-ray Discs on Sale from Amazon
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 13, 2009


If you've been wanting to expand your library of Blu-ray discs but are put off by their high prices, now's a good time to stock up. From March 9 through March 22, Amazon is reducing the price on over 300 Blu-ray titles (roughly a third of the entire Blu-ray catalog), including Iron Man, Transformers, and WALL-E; for a complete list of titles on sale, click here. A few titles are under $10, but most are $10 to $20, representing an average savings of around 50 percent over regular Blu-ray price tags. I'm so there!
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Audio Video News
HTD Nominated for Maggie Award
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 09, 2009
The Western Publishing Association has announced that Home Theater Design, a quarterly spin-off from Home Theater, is one of four nominees to receive the Maggie Award for best new trade or consumer publication. HTD blends high technology and high style, bringing theater inspiration into the home.
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Ask S&V
Ambilight, Scaling, Subs
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 09, 2009
Ambilight Ambivalence
A buddy of mine had an older Philips plasma TV with Ambilight. The first time I saw it, I though it was the greatest thing I'd ever seen and decided I had to have a set of my own with Ambilight. However, the Philips sets seem to get pretty mixed reviews on Amazon. The availability and selection also seems to be a little scarce. Are the Philips plasmas and LCDs really to be avoided? And if so, is there an alternative you can suggest?
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LCD TV Reviews
Toshiba 52XV545U LCD HDTV
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 06, 2009
Price: $2,600 At A Glance: Excellent detail, blacks, shadow detail • SRT sharpens DVD material surprisingly well • Mediocre video processing • Poor onboard audio quality

Upscale Performance

With the format war behind it, Toshiba is concentrating on improving the look of standard-definition content on high-def displays. A new upconversion-enhancement technology called Super Resolution Technology (SRT) is now available in some of Toshiba’s latest LCD HDTVs, including the top-of-the-line Cinema Series. The largest of this series is the 52-inch 52XV545U reviewed here, and 46- and 42-inch versions also available.

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The Big Picture
Lucy to the Rescue
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 06, 2009

<I>I'm looking for a DVD changer that will play five DVDs in succession with no intervention from the user. I have an elderly disabled mother who is terrified of going to sleep at night. She watches DVDs of </I>I Love Lucy<I> all night, but once I go to sleep, she can't change the DVD when it's over. I put an old Toshiba DVD changer in her room, but once the first disc finishes, you have to press Next Disc, then wait until it loads, then press Play. She cannot operate the remote.

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