Al Griffin

CEDIA 2013
Roaming With TiVo
Al Griffin  |  Sep 27, 2013
TiVo, the savvy couch potato’s alternative to a cable company DVR, just rolled out its 5th-gen Roamio platform. Roamio comes in 3 flavors: Core ($200), Plus ($400), and Pro ($600). The difference between the three comes down to storage (the Pro tops things off at 3 Terabytes) and options (the core Roamio has just cable and off-air tuning, while the Plus/Pro add streaming capability). TiVo service will run you $14.99/month.
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CEDIA 2013
Stewart Filmscreen Transformed
Al Griffin  |  Sep 26, 2013
Stewart Filmscreen is a company whose name is strongly linked with the dedicated home theater concept, but even they acknowledge that the concept is in decline. People are starting to gravitate toward viewing movies and TV in open, multiple-use living spaces, not dark, isolated viewing vaults.
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CEDIA 2013
Sonos Adds Surround
Al Griffin  |  Sep 26, 2013
Sonos’ Playbar soundbar uses proprietary tech to beam surround sound from its 9-driver array. To judge from the demo I caught at CEDIA — my first-ever experience with the Playbar — the effect is impressive. But some people may prefer real surround speakers located in the rear of the room. The company offers up its Play:3 wireless speakers for that very purpose, but custom installers have been bugging them to provide a solution that expands surround speaker options for the Playbar.
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CEDIA 2013
Wireless HD and HDMI 2.0 Switching From DVDO
Al Griffin  |  Sep 26, 2013
DVDO showed off its new Air3 WirelessHD adapter ($199), a wireless HDMI solution that sends uncompressed HD video (up to 1080p/60-rez) and 7.1 channel audio over the 60 GHz band. DVDO says that the new unit has a more robust radio its previous version of the Air, which means less possibility for interference. The Air3 also has a much smaller footprint, along with flexible mounting options that let you squeeze the receiver component behind a flat-panel TV mount. The receiver draws power via USB, so you can simply plug it into your TV’s USB port, while the transmitter features an MHL2-capable HDMI input that accepts up to 1080p/60-rez signals from a compatible smartphone or tablet.
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Blu-ray SetupAsk S&V
Video Oppo-timization
Al Griffin  |  Sep 23, 2013
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com.

Q. I recently bought an Oppo BDP-103 Blu-ray player. A key reason for buying it was to connect a cable TV box to the Oppo’s HDMI input and tap the player’s superior video processing to improve TV picture quality. Will it be necessary to set the equipment up in such a way as to avoid the TV’s video processing? —Doug Crowley / Santa Monica, CA

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Blu-ray Setup
Q&A: Video Oppo-timization
Al Griffin  |  Aug 29, 2013

Q. I recently bought an Oppo BDP-103 Blu-ray player. A key reason for buying it was to connect a cable TV box to the Oppo’s HDMI input and tap the player’s superior video processing to improve TV picture quality. Will it be necessary to set the equipment up in such a way as to avoid the TV’s video processing?

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LCD TV Reviews
Test Report: Sony KDL-55W900A 3D LCD HDTV
Al Griffin  |  Jun 18, 2013

Sometimes, new isn't necessarily better. One example: MP3 downloads provided a convenient way for listeners to store and share music, but MP3 sound quality was a steep downgrade fromthat ofthe long-running CD format. And remember when Windows Vista OS was trotted out to replace Windows XP? Okay, some things are better left forgotten.

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Wide Angle
Blu-ray Review: Spider-Man (Mastered in 4K version)
Al Griffin  |  May 29, 2013

The 2002 film version of Spider-Man was a success on many levels, but most of its magic can be attributed to director Sam Raimi (he of Evil Dead fame), who put his distinctive visual stamp on the production. Spider-Man is also perfectly cast, with Tobey Maguire playing a wide-eyed Peter Parker, Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane, and Willem Dafoe chewing up the screen as Spider-Man nemesis Green Goblin.

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HDTV Tech
Tech Trends 2013: Video
Al Griffin  |  May 09, 2013

In this four-part article, Geoff Morrison examines the future of Ultra HD and OLED TV (below); Al Griffin looks at the latest developments in Smart TV; Geoff gives us an update on what's happening with plasma TV; and Al finishes with a discussion of the devices and technologies that will deliver 4K Ultra HD content to homes.

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New Products
Report: New York Audio Show, Part II
Al Griffin  |  Apr 16, 2013

 

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