Recently Published AV News
Parent Company PML of Paradigm, MartinLogan Buys GoldenEar From Audioquest
PML Sound International, parent of Paradigm, Anthem, and MartinLogan, acquired GoldenEar from The Quest Group. Will engineering-focused leadership unlock GoldenEar's full potential post-AudioQuest?
Early Adopters ‑ Arrogant Jerks That Get Chicks
If you believe in the stereotype of techie-geeks as pudgy social misfits, think again! Evidence from two separate studies on human behavior have combined to say otherwise. Lonely geeks of the world …
Klipsch and Energy Coming to Circuit City
Circuit City has announced it’s expanding its home audio lineup to include Klipsch and Energy speakers. Klipsch has been courting the mainstream consumer with a diversified product line lately, now …
TI Intros Lamp‑free LED DLP Projector
Texas Instruments (TI) introduced what it claims is the industry's first home theater lamp-free projector at this week's InfoComm 2008. It utilizes a Luminus PhlatLight LED light source and a …
Save the World with Remote in Hand – Philips Eco HDTV
Maybe you can make a difference with a remote control in one hand while laying on your couch. Philips has a new line of Eco friendly HDTVs that feature a cleaner parts and a dimmer feature to let …
Researchers get MPAA/RIAA to bust a Printer for P2P File Sharing
After receiving over 200 inadvertent complaints and DMCA takedown notices while studying BitTorrent traffic in 2007, researchers at the University of Washington decided to evaluate the accuracy and …
Invisible Monster Cables Still Cost $600
The Monster Digital Express HD System involves two boxes, a transmitter and receiver, which utilize a UWB (ultra-wideband) signal to carry HDMI information and more developed by Sigma Designs. The …
FCC Approves XM‑Sirius Merger
Kevin Martin, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), is recommending approval of the $5 billion merger between the nation's only two satellite radio broadcasters. Sirius Satellite …
MP3 Obsolete Already?
While the debate rages on (sort of) regarding MP3 vs AAC vs Ogg vs LAME vs (insert CODEC here), one new format seeks to differentiate itself as the new "Music 2.0" system. This month, the Motion …
Boxee: Streaming Media Goes Open Source
As the rest of the world is catching on to the wonder that is streaming media we’re seeing more options for the serious HTPC die-hards. Boxee is the latest, an open source platform, endlessly …
Metal Gear Solid 4: Will PlayStation 3 Finally Get its Halo 3?
Sony Computer Entertainment has a lot riding on the next mission of the Metal Gear series. Not only does the game’s protagonist Solid Snake have to deal with defective DNA causing him to age …
New Snags in the Digital TV Transition ‑ Moola
The Congressionally mandated switch to digital broadcasting on February 19, 2009 may face another obstacle besides senior citizens who have no idea that their TV's will go out and youngsters who …
Photonic Jets Shown to Increase Optical Disk Capacity
Traditional methods of storing data on optical media are bounded by certain physical limitations that current generation technologies are now pushing. Photonics, which involves directly using a …
Apple iPhone Goes 3G
Apple had their WWDC (WorldWide Developer Conference) today and unveiled the next-gen iPhone with faster Internet access. It runs on advanced 3G wireless networks, has GPS support and the cost of …
Klipsch Icon W, a New Icon in Home Theater
Klipsch introduces its new Icon W series of speakers designed with Home Theater in mind. Its wood veneer cabinets harken to a simpler time in audio reproduction, but Icon W brings the latest …
Vizio Battling MPEG‑2 Lawsuit from Mitsubishi and Company
Vizio announced this week that it is aware of a suit filed June 2, 2008 in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan by several electronics company competitors alleging that they failed to enter into a …
Samsung Meets Thomas Kinkade
Even traditional artists are getting into the HDTV craze. Samsung announced today that it has collaborated with The Thomas Kinkade Company to develop an LCD TV that would be able to shift between …
Toshiba’s New BD Attack Vector: Modify DVD for HD Content
When Toshiba ceded the format war back in February, one thing they made clear was that they did not plan to make Blu-ray players and that they would pursue other technologies such as NAND flash …
Online Game Coming to Sci‑Fi Channel?
World of Warcarft players have finally been vindicated - The Sci-Fi Channel is planing on marrying a TV show and a Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG) scheduled to be released in 2010. The idea …
MediaDefender Attacks Revision3, Illuminates Legal Grey Area
MediaDefender is paid by the motion picture and recording industry to defend clients’ intellectual property by going on the offensive. But last Memorial Day weekend it may have gone too far as the …
Flexplay Self‑Destructing DVDs ‑ Take Two
Resurrecting a format that already died a quick death, Staples will begin carrying Flexplay Entertainment’s self-destructing DVD movies next month. These are the discs which, once removed from a …
Harman Kardon Introduces New HDMI 1.3a Receivers
Harman Kardon has finally released a new series of AV receivers which feature three HDMI 1.3a inputs and one output, allowing native internal decoding of all the new high definition audio formats …
Sharp LCDs ‑ Plotting World Domination?
When we spot trends we like to point them out - especially when it's something that gradually occurs over time and might be missed as part of "the bigger picture" by consumers. Well, this week …
Sony Tube Speaker
Sony is targeting the high end professional setting with their new Sountina speaker. Standing about 3.3 feet high, the Sountina (a combination of "sound" and "fountain") is an transparent acrylic …
Get Ready for High‑Res Blu‑ray Audio
High Resolution audio goodness only came in two competing flavors before Blu-ray came along. You had to pick between competing formats DVD-Audio which was built to be the successor to the CD and …
Check That MP3 Player at the Border: ACTA Could Bring Tough New Copyright Laws
Living close to the Canada/US border used to be a lot less stressful. You could head across to either side for a simple lunch date and head back with little more ceremony than a few questions to …
Two‑way Cable Cards Ushered in by Sony
This just in from the "better-late-than-never" department: Sony has negotiated a deal to allow for itself and other television manufacturers to integrate two-way CableCARD technology into television …
Monster Cable is Back! Sues Mini‑Golf Company
Monster Cable has already attracted the ire of hi-fi enthusiasts worldwide. If it's not putting up shady displays at big box stores to lure customers into its Monster Cable scam it's doing the same …
An Environmental Issue We Can All Agree With
My desk is messy, but I never really thought about why until I read this recent article on an industry group aiming to reduce the number of power adapters in the world through standardization. It …