July 2006 - Posts

• A look at High End Hi-Fi

  I had an interesting chat yesterday with my local high end dealer. He has a store in town called Soundstage that specializes in really esoteric high end stuff. His store carries names like Conrad Johnson, Martin Logan, Arcam and a whack of others I've Read More... Posted Friday, July 28, 2006 11:22 AM by | 40 Comments Filed under: Editorial

• Sony Design AV System TAV-L1/R

  Personally, I don't see what the big deal is but … This is a new all in one Home Theater system coming up from Sony this summer. Model TAV-L1/R combines a Bravia 32" LCD screen with some integrated audio components designed for HT. The audio portion Read More... Posted Wednesday, July 26, 2006 4:02 PM by | 173 Comments Filed under: Previews/Rumors

• AMD Buys ATI

  Advanced Micro Devices, AMD the world's second largest microprocessor developer and bane of Intel announced that it agreed to buy ATI for $5.4 Billion dollars. ATI Tech is a Canadian graphics processor (GPU) manufacturer who makes many of the world's Read More... Posted Monday, July 24, 2006 2:41 PM by | 28 Comments Filed under: News

• Panasonic 103in Maneater Devours Girl: Are You Next?

  "The poor girl didn't stand a chance." Witnesses said at the scene. Panasonic unleashed a monster when it unveiled its world record breaking 103 inch plasma HDTV. Crowds gasped when the monstrosity was first unleashed at a public display. The crowd was Read More... Posted Friday, July 21, 2006 10:59 AM by | 20 Comments Filed under: News

• You can Download - Burn and Watch on TV

  Hollywood is slowly coming to grips with new economic opportunities to sell content over the internet. Movie and TV studios are actively seeking out contracts to distribute media files through the web. Both download to burn and media files that are playable Read More... Posted Thursday, July 20, 2006 9:50 AM by | 34 Comments Filed under: News

• Outlaw 7500 and 7700, Still Affordable Despite Price Hikes

  Outlaw announced that it has had to roll with the times and increase prices on some of its most popular offerings. The 7500 and 7700 multi-channel amps are still the most affordable products in their class despite the modest price increase. Effective Read More... Posted Tuesday, July 18, 2006 5:37 PM by | 117 Comments Filed under: Editorial

• Circuit City Goes hi-fi with D&M Holdings

  D&M Holdings is the hi-fi collective that owns names like Denon, Marantz and Boston Acoustics. Their products by Denon and Boston Acoustics have been picked up by Circuit City . D&M Holdings is originally a Japanese corporation that formed with Read More... Posted Monday, July 17, 2006 4:47 PM by | 12 Comments Filed under: News

• Xbox Live Retro Summer Games

  Well, tie my mullet with a bandana! Xbox Live is throwing an 80s Arcade game revival . I don't know about where you are right now but it's very hot and humid outside over here in HomeTheaterFocus land. Generally sitting around indoors playing video games Read More... Posted Friday, July 14, 2006 12:15 PM by | 20 Comments Filed under: News

• DRM: The Business end of Digital Media

  In our last look at digital media we covered some of the oldest formats including the ever present MP3 and Apple's AAC . The AAC file is Apple's codec based on the audio/video compression used by MPEG or the Moving Picture Experts Group - version 4. Another Read More... Posted Thursday, July 13, 2006 11:30 AM by | 11 Comments Filed under: Tech Advice

• Envisioneering Pronounces CableCard Dead

  A story about CableCard technology ran in the New York Times this month that quotes Richard Doherty of the market research firm Envisioneering Group saying: "The CableCard is essentially dead, It will go down in history like the Edsel." Heralded as successor Read More... Posted Tuesday, July 11, 2006 4:37 PM by | 5 Comments Filed under: News

• Understanding Digital Media Formats

  Have you ever tried to make sense of all the different types of digital audio and video ? Ever thought of creating a digital media library of your own but feel a little overwhelmed by all the formats? Welcome to the first installment of a series that Read More... Posted Monday, July 10, 2006 1:33 PM by | 6 Comments Filed under: Tech Advice

• Microsoft Media Player, DRM10 Goes WiFi

  The NY Times put out a convincing rumor yesterday about Microsoft's plans to get into the MP3 player business . The Times says they received information about a Microsoft digital media player that would be launched by Christmas from: “… entertainment Read More... Posted Friday, July 07, 2006 10:44 AM by | 15 Comments Filed under: News