Scott Wilkinson

On May 20, members of the press got up close and personal with Denon's 2008 lineup of products at the Laguna Cliffs Marriott in Dana Point, California. After a detailed briefing, we heard a remarkable demo of Audyssey's new Dynamic Volume technology, which will make its debut in Denon's new A/V receivers.

It seems that predictions of higher Blu-ray player prices now that the HD DVD competition has been eliminated are somewhat unfounded. Wal-Mart just announced it will sell a Magnavox-branded Blu-ray player for under $300 starting May 26. The NB500MG9, which is built by Funai, will conform to BD Profile 1.1 with picture-in-picture functionality.

As I write this, I am 34,000 feet above the Bering Strait traveling at 575mph aboard a new Boeing 777-300. We just crossed the International Date Line, turning Monday into Tuesday, after passing over Adak Island, a small member of the Aleutian chain stretching westward from Alaska. I can't help thinking of my father, who spent much of his Navy service there during WWII as a member of the band that played for high-ranking officers and other dignitaries who stopped at the remote base going one way or the other.

When you think of LCD TVs, NuVision is probably not the first name that comes to mind. Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, the company is aiming its Lucidium line at the custom-installation market with high-end displays at high-end prices. How does this 52-inch model measure up? Let's see...