Home Theaters

These days, ask anyone about active equalization and they are likely to show a look of complete incomprehension. Most people have no clue what you might be talking about, as they have not seen an equalizer, or if they have, they had no clue what it was.

An equalizer is a device to enable flat frequency response by electronic means. The tone controls found on most receivers are equalizers, chosen with control of the lowest and highest parts of the sound, leaving (hopefully) the midrange unscathed.

The well made speaker crossover will be an equalizer, smoothing out response near the crossover point between the drivers. It will not, however, usually be adjustable, nor will it usually employ any active circuitry to achieve its ends. The equalizers I am speaking of now are active devices, using either ICs or tuned coils to obtain changes in a band of frequencies.

There are two types of equalizers, fixed frequency and parametric. The fixed frequency equalizer will work at one specific frequency, and have an effect other frequencies on either side of the chosen frequency only because the designer decides that the ‘Q‘ of the circuit will allow for it.

Generally fixed frequency equalizers are what people have seen, with a number of them ‘ganged’ together for each channel. Usually the frequencies are chosen at musical octave centers, so most will have 10 ‘bands’ for each channel. These are aptly named ‘octave band equalizers’, there are also equalizers that choose to affect a larger band of frequencies at once. These are sometimes two-octave controls, for five bands, or 1.5 octaves, giving 7 bands. Lots of people have seen these in car audio - not that these are usually good examples. Car equalizers tend to be of very low quality, and are used to make things sound subjectively better, but the results are usually far from good.

an inexpensive octave equalizer, with a display of dubious usefulness. However, it’s better than nothing.

Parametric equalizers generally are more expensive, less used in the home, and much easier for the knowledgeable person to get good results with, while at the same time making it much easier for disastrous results when the novice uses them. In a parametric equalizer, there will be, for each group of frequencies, two controls. One control will control the amplitude of the changes made, while the other will affect how wide the band is that is acted upon. It makes getting flat response easier, provided a method of calibration is used. Otherwise, very strange results are possible, and likely.

As price goes up, the quality does as well, but sometimes the ability to do finer tuning of the response is also included. The most familiar of the higher end equalizers is the 1/3 octave model, with three controls for each octave of music. This means that there will be that many more control sliders on the front of the unit, and that much more to mess with.

 a one-third octave equalizer, for stereo, with no display for calibration - not a total loss, as other methods can be employed to achieve good results.

I use the words ‘mess with’ because the inexperienced user will almost immediately go to extremes with the controls, trying to emphasize certain ranges, whether or not those ranges need any change. Equalizers are made to repair flaws in the sound, not become toys of the tinkerer. The equalizer can make up for poor recording tonal balance, speakers that are not placed effectively in the room, oddities of the room itself, and defects in the response of the speakers. It must be remembered that this is not a panacea.

Since the primary purpose of an equalizer is to achieve flat frequency response in the listening room, there must be some way to calibrate the system. The very best units will have a noise generator and microphone to get each band equal in volume. This is often incorrectly referred to as ‘white noise’ which if used, would not be good, both for your equipment and your ears. We don’t hear in a linear fashion, and so having absolutely equal energy in each frequency band can hurt our ears at high volumes, and can destroy the speakers, by causing the amplifier to clip at lower frequencies, by causing too much excursion of the woofer,  or by sending too much energy to tweeters at high frequencies. What is used for calibration in home stereo is shaped or ‘pink’ noise, which simulates the way our ears hear, so it is less destructive to equipment, and easier on our ears.

The next installment will include techniques for usage, and some currently available models.

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As we accumulate items on our quest for the perfect home theater, we tend to think in terms of components, connections, and content (software). Few manage to think ahead for the display and housing of this stuff that brings so much pleasure, but can end up being a problem to keep up with, or in severe cases, an eyesore.

We, of the married persuasion, all know how the clutter of the typical stack of audio and video gear makes the significant others significantly upset. It also makes the items less than easily accessed, and can lead to overheating problems.

It seems normal that looking for furnishings to put the equipment in would be a part of our quest. We want to keep things tidy, and safe, both from a aesthetic and ecological standpoint (keeping the peace is a big part of anyone’s ecology).

While some will want to build in equipment, most will know that this route has many drawbacks. First, it is costly, and people tend to move from house to house more than they used to do. Allowing that some have lots of cash to throw around, it still is not financially sound, as what you spend to build in equipment is not able to be recouped in the price of house sale, and you certainly cannot take it with you.

So…furniture of some sort is the choice for most people, no matter what amount of discretionary cash is available. One of the things that was popular 8-12 years ago, and from my standpoint, should still be, is the setup that consists of 2 piers, which hold the main equipment, and a bridge, which sits above the television. While nowadays it would probably be a necessity to spread the bridge further, because of the widescreen format, getting one of these systems used, but in great shape would be a wonderful way to save money and get something that will make it easy to put the components on almost any wall. Unfortunately, this second hand method is probably the only method to this solution, as I have not seen anything like this in quite some time - there seems to be no explanation for this.

Many will state that the components have gotten smaller, so the furniture should also be smaller - seems logical, until you realize that what will soon take up the most space, for any fan of home theater, is the content. Whether it is records (oops, showing age here!), tapes, CDs, DVDs, or any other medium that comes out, the storage of content will eventually be the greatest occupier of space.

this style has grown popular, but only holds a minimum of equipment, other than the television, and any content storage is open - it tends to get dusty that way, and may suffer sun damage if anywhere near a window.

this style provides closed storage for content, but not much room for equipment - it is easy to match to a certain decor, however.

this works well for limited systems, like in a bedroom, but still does nothing for the audio gear - and in earthquake country, becomes a worry.

 

this stereo cabinet makes a great ‘pier’ and can, in pairs, function as part of a wall system, with the television on a matching stand, or flanking the television mounted on a wall. If you are feeling adventurous, you can fashion a flat top to span between the ‘piers’ and have a good place for a center channel mounted from below, and just beneath, on the floor, your subwoofer.

some will prefer to have a more modest system affixed to the wall, including speakers, and television, with the media tower used for storage, the audio equipment can be put on a wall shelf above or below the television.

Taking stock of the system you have, add the pieces you wish you had (and will probably find a way to obtain), and then look at what might contain and protect them.

For many, separates will be found, meaning that an FM tuner, a pre-amplifier, and one or more amplifiers are to be housed. Others will only have an HTPC, and the amplifiers. Those who don’t have an HTPC will likely have a DVD player, and a DVR.

Since both owners, and significant others, have an affection for things that match, it might also be time to look at cosmetically correct speaker stands or wall brackets. Many people don’t stop to think that larger speakers can still be wall mounted, perched on a well braced shelf.

While most people will purchase their audio-video furnishings locally, to avoid large charges for the shipment of heavy items, looking online can give you ideas and choices you might not otherwise see. Most retailers have little space for the display of furniture and stands from several manufacturers, so while they might feature almost the full offerings from one manufacturer, the online store will usually include pictures and descriptions for many different manufacturers. This includes big box stores, which have tightened up what they carry a great deal, so online still is your best choice, followed by a trip to the manufacturer’s website, where then you can find who carries what strikes your fancy nearby.

More on this later.

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Yesterday was a busy one, looking for lots of deals and finding few. Lots of places where I usually look either had no ads for this Halloween week, or had things related to that holiday on sale.

Further investigation brought some more deals, so I’ll continue today - a day late, and (hopefully) a dollar short.

 

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BUY.COM has the Microsoft Xbox 360 HD DVD drive for $165 with shipping included, and 2 HD DVDs free. On top of that, the same rebate I showed you yesterday, from the HD DVD group, applies.

Hot deal on this player ends Nov. 4

For those not paying full attention, that’s 7 DVDs with a price to your door of $165.

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Amazon has the Samsung 40″ 120Hz 1080p Widescreen LCD Television for $1750, including shipping. Model no. LN-T4071F has native resolution of 1920 x 1080, 120 Hz frame rate, and a 25,000:1 contrast ratio. It features 8ms response time, and has ATSC, NTSC, and QAM tuners. It includes USB, RCA, component video, S-Video, and 3 HDMI connections.

Samsung television has it all - except cable card connectivity - nothing is perfect!

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Movies and television programs take up lots of space on those HTPCs, and so home theater buffs are always looking for a better, faster, denser storage method. Those HTPC cases tend to be small and cramped, so throwing in several 500 GB hard drives is not really possible. Newegg is here to help you with the sale of a 1 Terabyte Seagate SATA drive for $330, including shipping. This drive has a 32MB cache and rotates at 7200 rpm. It runs a little bit hotter than a 5400 rpm drive, typically used in a DVR or HTPC, so make sure you have adequate ventilation. Those who have a TiVo will want one of these for those complete season saves. Also, remember how much more space HD content takes up on the drive - you can never have enough space!

Seagate 1TB drive, just the ticket for the avid television watcher - or simply someone who needs a lot of time shifting.

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DEALNEWS has a FREE 1 month trial of Netflix. This offer is only good through the 31st of October, so hurry to take advantage of this.

Can’t hurt to try it! It’s free.

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Best Buy has the 10″ 420 W subwoofer free with the purchase of the Klipsch Quintet SL 5 piece speaker system.

Audition at the store, then order at home online to get deal, and have the items shipped to the store to avoid shipping on a heavy item. The subwoofer lists for $399.

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Best Buy has several other deals that are on sale online only - as usual, audition in store, then order online at home, with shipping that is free to the store. Even making 2 trips to the store will save you money. Also, you can be assured of getting something that has a good chance of pleasing you when you get it home.

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WalMart now has the Toshiba HD-A2 for $279.54 with free shipping to the store. This makes another place to get the player if you can’t find it elsewhere, and although it does not say so, the 5 DVD deal by rebate should apply - it is coming from the HD DVD consortium, not Toshiba or WalMart.

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Since many of these deals are coming up during the week, and not just on Sunday (it’s the start of the holiday buying season, whether you realize or not), I’ll be continuing through the week with updates when I find them. Good shopping, and save an HD-A2 for me!

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Last week, I was speaking about the battle between High Definition DVD formats, and the fact that Sony, with the PS3, has outsold HD DVD movies by a wide margin. Blu-ray is leading by a good margin in sales - for now.

Well, the prediction has come true about the HD DVD consortium and its bold move to make HD DVD the big format on the block. Price is the hammer it is using to beat down the purveyors of Blu-ray.

It was predicted that the Toshiba HD-A2, a new model sporting the standard list of features, would be released at WalMart, at a price under $200. WalMart may have the Toshiba soon, but it hasn’t appeared yet, and Circuit City is stealing any thunder from the world’s biggest retailer.

Announced today, the Toshiba HD-A2 High Definition DVD player is on sale for $198, at Circuit City. Don’t have a Circuit City near by? No problem, as the price above not only includes free shipping, it also includes  a mail-in rebate for 5 HD-DVD movies free. This is putting a huge stake in the heart of the Blu-ray camp, as this pricing will catch many new Christmas buyers, and the movie rebate offer goes until the 28th of next February.

HD-A2 is plain, but sturdy, and CHEAP!     CHEAP is nice when you can get Toshiba quality.

The HD-A2 has upconversion for standard format DVDs, to both 720p and 1080i,and connection for HDMI, component, S-Video, and RCA outputs. Also included is ethernet connection, for those extra features on the special featured discs. Optical output by TOSLink is provided as well, so those who don’t have HDMI for audio need not worry.

full product description follows: ____________________

HD DVD playback: High definition playback delivers 720p/1080i resolution at a transfer rate higher than DVD or even HDTV, resulting in a more detailed, realistic picture.

Built-in multi-channel decoders: The HD-A2 has built-in processors to handle the multi-channel decoders for Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD , DTS and DTSHD. It employs the use of four DSPs to decode the multi-channel streams of the wide array of audio formats. These 32-bit floating-point DSPs are world renowned for their high accuracy and are employed in many high quality audio solutions in the home theater market.

High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI): HDMI is the first industry-supported all digital audio/video connection providing the transmission of uncompressed digital video and multichannel audio on a single cable. When matched to a compatible HDMI-equipped HDTV, this single cable connection ensures that all signals remain in their pure digital form.

HDMI upconversion: Enjoy backwards compatibility and play your collection of standard DVDs on the player. In addition, via the HDMI interface, the HD-A2 scales the standard definition DVD output to a resolution of 720p or 1080i. Not only does this output the video in HD standard resolution, but because the conversion takes place in the player, the signal remains free from excessive digital-to-analog conversion artifacts.

Connections: In addition to HDMI, the HD-A2 also includes component video and S-video outputs, as well as TOSLINK digital audio outputs, so you’ll be able to connect to virtually any TV or home theater system.

Sleek design: The HD-A2 has a slim profile and a depth advantage that allows it to fit into almost any home environment.

Supported formats: The HD-A2 supports HD DVD, DVD, DVD-R, DVD-RW, CD-RW, and audio CDs.

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This well built, quality brand player will do two things; it will put the screws to Blu-ray providers, forcing a good and cheap model before Christmas, and it will also force the players made in China by lesser known names further down in price. The only reason to buy one of the lesser known brands will be a large break in price from the Toshiba, or lack of availability. (Remember, with 5 free movies, the $200 player becomes a $140 player!)

 check those free movies!

Hopefully, Toshiba will have all hands on deck to keep the stockpiles full of HD-A2s.

If you can’t get one for any reason from Circuit City, BuyDig.com has the same deal for the Toshiba player (including free shipping).

 

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Since for many, the speakers used for the home theater will also be the ones listened to for all audio programming as well.

The speaker chosen for the reproduction of music will need to be more accurate in its frequency response and distortion characteristics, as extended listening will bring on listening fatigue with the wrong speakers.

This is precisely why I criticize Bose speakers so fiercely. During the time I was actively selling home stereo and theater equipment, I was frequently contacted by people who had Bose speakers, and wanted to get rid of them. Certainly I know that people change speakers, and move on as their tastes very, and their listening gets more discriminating, but an abnormal number of people had Bose speakers to sell, more so than any other brand, by a factor of three or four to one.

After doing a lot of research, and talking to these owners, I realized that the original purchase was usually done because the speakers sounded subjectively “great” or “super” with material typically used to show the speakers off. In most of the cases, the purchase was made with music that was not familiar to the buyer, and sounded “bright”, “punchy”, and “lively”. This is nice, but what it meant was that certain areas of the frequency spectrum were exaggerated, to impress the listener. In  an otherwise ‘bright’ room, this sound could get painful.

the 901s started the name of Bose, and were very popular. They are also probably the most re-sold speaker of all time. Listening fatigue sets in rather quickly for many.

This impressive sound is normal for these speakers, but it is not natural. For those who wish to criticize me, I suggest you refer to the words of Dr. Bose from a few years back. You see, now it is not popular to describe the sound in those terms - so the brochures and sales people don’t use them. But you must remember, Dr. Bose has his patents in psycho-acoustics and how the brain interprets sound. His own words describe how the original intent of the speakers the company produces was to ‘fool the ear’ (and the mind) into thinking the sound was more complete than what was actually produced. Bose speakers are designed to have that ‘impressive’ sound, and as such do well upon casual listening in the store. But when you get them in your own room, and listen for a number of hours, your brain realizes that tricks are being played, and that above the tricks, the frequency response is not smooth, and the distortion above what should be considered acceptable.

these little cubes are great for pleasing picky wives, and work acceptably for those not so discriminating in their tastes. They are completely unacceptable for anyone who listens to music at realistic levels, as the distortion is unacceptably high - it’s simple physics.

Another facet of the choice is the determination of how loud the listener will have the speakers. As even the casual user should know, speakers that are not being stressed at the upper edges of their output are cleaner, and less distorted.  This is precisely why people who listen to full symphonic music, at the levels found at symphony hall will be so sorely disappointed with mini-speakers, of any brand. Loudness is a function of the amount of air moved, and small speakers, no matter how well made will not play as loudly as their larger brethren.

Still another factor is the type of music listened to most often, and what part of the music is most important to the listener. A listener that values accurate bass response will be wanting speakers with large woofer area - not the same as large woofers. More air can be moved with larger woofers, but the correct amount of air, and when then air stops moving, is more easily done with multiples of smaller woofers. A listener that wants the cleanest, most natural midrange will usually gravitate to a planar speaker, as these reproduce very detailed midrange, and usually detailed highs as well - but will suffer ‘beaming’ of the high frequencies due to the physical size of the driver needed for the midrange output.

 

These are the Apogee Divas, a ribbon planar design. The speakers were very dynamic, but needed very, very powerful amplifiers to sound right. Using most amplifiers would either cause destruction of the amplifier, the speakers, or both. This is not a good thing when talking about speakers costing thousands of dollars.

As wonderful as the mid and high ranges are in a planar speaker, and this includes electrostatic designs, the problem is that as the loudness of sound increases, the ability to remain dynamic is reduced. This means that those things that should ’snap’, or be punchy, aren’t.

Martin Logan speakers use an electrostatic design, with a woofer to add punch to the sound - these designs are carefully designed, and succeed admirably at reproducing quality sound, without the drawbacks of many planar speakers.

Dynamics is the domain of cone speakers. They are easier to make, and usually cost less because of it. Cone speakers cannot reproduce as wide a frequency range acceptably as other designs, so the speakers are used with others, like a larger one for bass and midrange, and a much smaller on for the upper midrange and highs. The speakers are tied together by crossover networks, and they bring a whole list of problems of their own.

Some of the most expensive speakers made are cone type, as the difficulties in making them sound neutral, while retaining the proper dynamics, is very hard. The speakers sometimes use 4 or more drivers, and the crossovers are a nightmare to tune. This tuning takes time to get right, and that is what you pay for, along with the quality of drivers found nowhere else.

This is the Duntech Sovereign. It uses Dynaudio cone drivers. These are some of the best, most accurate cone speakers you can find. Dynaudio no longer sells their drivers separately, but when they were sold, they were extremely expensive. The speakers were / are the finest of the cone variety. The woofers used in the Sovereign, of which there are two, would cost about $300 each. Each separate speaker driver is an engineering marvel.

Good luck in your search for the perfect speakers for you, and feel free to ask questions.

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After announcing a partnership with Rhapsody, and getting some tepid reviews, along with little interest, TiVo rolled out its newest features, certainly to cause a more emotional response from the faithful.

one of the most comforting screens on television!

The features come to the Series 3 and HD boxes, with release for Series 2 still uncertain. Support was promised for Series 2, but then nothing has been said about this in the interim, and now the feature gain may only be partial for Series 2.

For the two newer series, the most useful, and very cool feature is multi-room viewing. The multi-room view feature will allow owners of multiple TiVo units to share content, and recording capabilities. The sharing can allow even 2nd series units to share content, but only in one direction - sent from a Series 3 box, or non-HD content from an HD box. The control is said to extend the programming capabilities as well, so that with no one watching in the other room, 2 more things could be recorded for later playback, in either room.

Series 3 and HD units will also support what is called TiVoToGo, which means that the film you recorded on your TiVo last night after you went to bed can be sent to a laptop so that you can watch it on the plane flight today. It can also be viewed on any desktop computer running Windows with Desktop Plus, or (shock) be burned to a DVD. For OS X, Roxio Toast 8 or Popcorn 3 can be used.

TiVo Series 3 with Western Digital ‘MyDVR Expander’

Also new is the ability of the Series 3 and HD units to gain external storage capability, using an eSATA solution called ‘MyDVR Expander’. The Western Digital  drives will be able to be purchased from Best Buy for $200 for 500 GB. That’s a tad expensive for 500 GB, but it must be remembered that no fuss, nor muss, nor bother, is worth something.

For those who wish to avoid the extra baggage of an external box, a trip to WeaKnees will do the trick. 

Oh, mighty TiVo, please bring the Series 3 goodness to all of us (including those with Series 2 boxes)!

Those of us with Series 2 units will have to supplicate to the powers that be TiVo for assistance with our meager models. For DirecTiVo users, we were promised this rollout coming in January 2008 - let’s certainly hope the plan doesn’t change.

Series 2 boxes have plenty of room for another drive, and WeaKnees is the place to get it!

 

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While many of us wait on the sidelines, for a clear victor in the format wars, Home Media Research is there to bring a clear and unambiguous light shining on the situation.

The HD DVD format camp is trumpeting the success and sales of Transformers, but the format is still trailing Blu-ray sales by a large margin. The Sony format has seen 2.6 million discs sold from January 1 to September 30 of this year, and the HD format has 1.4 million sales to its credit.

The situation will be different after the holidays, as Warner Bros and Paramount have begun selling many of the new movies as dual format discs, with one format per side. This is a very nice feature, because buying a regular DVD now, with the promise of greater quality later is a good one. No word yet on price variations - as that will matter too.

Blu-ray will continue to lead if the Sony stable of movies keep trotting out while the other large factor - the Play Station 3, can push out a couple of killer titles before Christmas.

Many families will go with the way of least dollar output, especially with the economy not looking so good in the last quarter of the year. If having the kids playing happily with a PS3 on the widescreen, with Mom and Dad being able to have Blu-ray movies when the kids are in bed or otherwise occupied is a choice costing less for the family, that will do it.

The HD camp is also waiting for the extended content to take off, and the players that are now being updated so as not to freeze on those features. If the content proves popular, that too could sway many to the HD side.

Another change is the reported low cost HD players

sub-$200 players for HD will sway many at Christmas time.

soon appearing at WalMart. Low cost is powerful motivator. Although other factors should influence the choice of format, cost is one that makes it hard for many to look past. The quality of the players at those sub-$200 prices will make a difference. Should the players be problematic, as some of the current crop of Blu-ray players are, that too would skew people’s choices.

This is another area where making the PS3 choice is an easy one. The PS3, designed to be networked, is easy to get patches to its firmware applied. Stand alone players for Blu-ray and HD format are not, and it is more difficult to update them - ease is another factor that skews choices.

PS3s are easily updated, since the network connection is already there - updates and fixes couldn’t be easier, which makes this a logical choice for many.

Movement by another company to the Blu-ray camp wouldn’t hurt, either, as it is starting to look to many that Sony, and its pictures division is going this fight alone. Lots of people remember Beta, and the loss there. I certainly hope this doesn’t work the same way.

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 First, I must apologize for being late, the smoke in the air has made it hard to do much around here. Yes - I’m in California, and although I’m thankfully not near the fires, they are not that far, and the air quality is so extremely bad that I’m not able to accomplish much. Not sniveling, just telling it like it is. Those who have it much worse are also on my mind.

It doesn’t feel so much like any holiday here in California right now, but they continue to approach. More and more box sets are starting to appear - obviously with a Christmas target. I’ll be reporting on those soon, separately.

 

Now, those movies from the theater to disc (many of these are foreign, which I’ll indicate, there isn’t a great number of films in English this time.

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10 Questions for the Dalai Lama (2006)
Starring: Dalai Lama
Director: Rick Ray
Documentary filmmaker Rick Ray embarks on a journey to the monastery of the Dalai Lama where he is allowed a 45 minute audience with the holiest man in the Buddhist faith.

Not Rated

American Pit Bull (2007)

Director: Marilyn Braverman
Documentary - American Pit Bull explores the evolution of the breed from an upper-class working dog and beloved companion to a fighter and guard dog for inner city residents.

Not Rated

foreign film

Black Mirrors: Forough Farrokhzad (2007)

Directors: Forough Farrokhzad, Nasser Saffarian
Documentary - Forough Farrokhzad, Iran’s most celebrated contemporary poet, became a legend in her own time for her innovative and controversial poetry. In this exclusive two-pack, Farrokhzad’s only film, The House is Black, is offered alongside Nasser Saffarian’s The Mirror of the Soul, an extensive, three-part documentary on her life and work.

Not Rated - Subtitles  (language Farsi)

foreign film

Breathless (1959)(Criterion Collection)
Starring: Jean Seberg, Jean-Paul Belmondo
Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Vastly influential revisionist noir/romance involves young French thief on the lam hiding out with his American girlfriend. This “ultra-cool” classic is a must-see for students of French New Wave, noir fans.

Rated PG - Subtitles (language French)

foreign film

El Bruto (1952)
Starring: Pedro Armendariz Sr., Katy Jurado
Director: Luis Bunuel
Gripping melodrama about slaughterhouse worker recruited as sleazy landlord’s strong-arm man. Taut direction, poised between realism and surrealism, pleases fans of Bunuel’s Mexican period and lovers of politically-conscious art-house drama.

Not Rated - Subtitles (language Spanish)

foreign film

Carnival in the Night (1982)
Starring: Kumiko Ota, Akemi Edo
Director: Masashi Yamamoto
Blurring the line between documentary and fiction, Carnival in the Night follows a young woman who leaves her son and ex-husband to explore Japan’s underground punk rock scene of the early 1980s.

Not Rated - Subtitles (language Japanese)

Chip Factor (2007)
Starring: Professor Griff, Tasia Grant
Director: Michael K. Harris
Five strangers participate in a 72-hour research study where they are implanted with ability enhancing microchips. The subjects are unaware of the chips deadly side effects as they are challenged to survive for three days trapped in a test facility.

Not Rated

The Company (2007)
Starring: Chris O’Donnell, Alfred Molina
Director: Mikael Salomon
A miniseries that traces the CIA’s involvement in world affairs over a 40-year period, from the beginning of the Cold War through the demise of the Soviet Union.

Not Rated

Dark Storm (2006)
Starring: Stephen Baldwin, Rob LaBelle
Director: Jason Bourque
A group of scientists try to prevent their new invention, a device more powerful than the nuclear bomb, from falling into the wrong hands.

Rated PG -13

 

Days of Heaven (1978)(Criterion Collection)
Starring: Richard Gere, Brooke Adams
Director: Terrence Malick
Slow-paced, atmospheric, engrossing account of murder, love, and betrayal on turn-of-the-century American frontier. With its luminous cinematography and haunting soundtrack, this is a poetic experience best-appreciated by the art-house crowd.

Rated PG

foreign film

The Devil (1972)
Starring: Malgorzata Braunek, Wojciech Pszoniak
Director: Andrzej Zulawski
Synopsis: Jakub, a young 18th century nobleman, rots in prison for conspiring against the king. A mysterious stranger frees him, but in exchange he demands a list of Jakub’s fellow conspirators. Jakub follows the stranger on a journey across a nightmarish, snowbound countryside where they witness countless acts of brutal violence. Affected by the overall chaos and moral corruption, the young nobleman descends into madness.

Not Rated - Subtitles (language Polish)

foreign film

Dog Bite Dog (2006)
Starring: Edison Chen, Sam Lee
Director: Pou-Soi Cheang
A Cambodian assassin finds himself chased by a sadistic cop from the Hong Kong police force after completing his assignment.

Not Rated - Subtitles (language Cantonese)

foreign film

Eternal Summer (2006)
Starring: Jui-chia Chang, Joseph Chang
Director: Leste Chen
Two best friends grow up together and discover their dormant feelings for one another only after a female schoolmate expresses interest in each of them.

Not Rated - Subtitles (language Mandarin)

Fido (2007)
Starring: Carrie-Anne Moss, Billy Connolly
Director: Andrew Currie
Fido chronicles the adventures of a young boy and his pet zombie who live in an alternate version of the 1950s where a cloud of mysterious space dust has reanimated the dead.

Rated R

foreign film

Forecast for Tomorrow (2003)
Starring: Jerzy Stuhr, Malgorzata Zajaczkowska
Director: Jerzy Stuhr
A man, after having abandoned his family to live in a monastery, returns to the real world after 17 years and realizes that his family is on the verge of collapse.

Not Rated - Subtitles (language Polish)

Gag (2006)
Starring: Brian Kolodziej, Trent Haaga
Director: Scott W. McKinlay
Synopsis: Two thieves try to do a good deed when they find a man beaten beyond recognition. Unfortunately their willingness to help the man ensnares them in a trap set by a serial killer, who proceeds to torture them.

Not Rated

foreign film

History of a Secret (2003)
Director: Mariana Otero
French filmmaker Mariana Otero tries to learn the truth why her mother abandoned her when she was a young child.

Not Rated - Subtitles (language French)

Home of the Brave (2006)
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Jessica Biel
Director: Irwin Winkler
Three soldiers have a difficult time adjusting to civilian life after serving in Iraq. The film is modeled after 1946’s The Best Years of Our Lives.

Rated R

Hostel: Part II (2007)
Starring: Lauren German, Heather Matarazzo
Director: Eli Roth
Three young American women who are studying art in Europe take a vacation in Slovakia. Unfortunately for them, their trip turns into a nightmare.

Rated R

Interkosmos (2006)
Starring: Jim Finn, Nandini Khaund
Director: Jim Finn
Faux-documentary about a fictional 1970s East German space project with musical interludes in between.

Special effects alert!

Not Rated

foreign film

Karas: The Revelation (2006)
Starring: Keiji Fujiwara, Hitomi Nabatame
Director: Kei’ichi Sato
Acclaimed anime takes place in a fictional version of Tokyo, where humans and ghosts coexist. As the city’s guardian, it is Karas’s responsibility to keep all these different forces in balance, a task that proves manageable until the power-hungry Eko intervenes at all of Tokyo’s expense.

Not Rated - Subtitles (language Japanese)

Kaw (2007)

Starring: Sean Patrick Flanery, Kristin Booth
Director: Sheldon Wilson
Panic breaks out in a small town after blood-thirsty ravens attack the residents.

Rated R

Meet the Robinsons (2007)
Starring: Tom Selleck, Laurie Metcalf
Director: Stephen J. Anderson
An inventor gets into a time machine with a mysterious stranger, and before they know it they’re in the future having a showdown with a guy in a bowler hat.

Subwoofer alert!

Rated G

Mr. Brooks (2007)
Starring: Kevin Costner, William Hurt
Director: Bruce A. Evans
A psychological thriller about a man sometimes controlled by his murdering alter ego

Rated R

Nearing Grace (2006)
Starring: Jordana Brewster, Gregory Smith
Director: Rick Rosenthal
A teenage boy deals with his mother’s death by failing his classes and falling for the high school bad girl.

Rated R

foreign film

Rose’s Songs (2003)
Starring: Maia Morgenstern, Ildiko Bansagi
Director: Andor Szilagyi
A Jewish family hides out from Nazi occupancy with an opera singer whose beautiful voice is said to protect all from capture.

Not Rated - Subtitles (language Hungarian)

Sheriff (2004)
Director: Daniel Kraus
Slice-of-life documentary chronicles the everyday world of a small town lawman in rural Brunswick County, NC.

Not Rated

Think Tank (2006)
Starring: James Avery, Eric Artell
Director: Brian Petersen
Four 20-something slackers try to save their local hangout from the clutches of a sleazy entrepreneur.

Rated PG

foreign film

Trace of Stones (1966)
Starring: Manfred Krug, Krystyna Stypulkowska
Director: Frank Beyer
The popular foreman of a construction site vies with a Party secretary for the affections of a pretty young engineer.

Not Rated - Subtitles (language German)

Trap (2006)
Starring: Amanda Lamberti, Heather Kozlakowski
Director: James Bonner
A manipulative woman convinces her online pal to murder an abusive spouse, while driving her own husband to the brink of insanity

Not Rated

The Tripper (2007)
Starring: Balthazar Getty, Jamie King
Director: David Arquette
A group of free-love hippies attend an outdoor music and camping festival only to find themselves stalked by a maniac.

Rated R

Under the Volcano (1984)(Criterion Collection)

Starring: Albert Finney, Jacqueline Bisset
Director: John Huston
Slow-paced, richly detailed, critically acclaimed portrait of alcoholic British diplomat in 1930s Mexico. This Albert Finney vehicle pleases fans of complex character studies who enjoy evocative, atmospheric period pieces.

Rated R

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Lots of low budget horror, and lots of foreign films of dubious quality. Probably best to stay with the movies in the Criterion Collection - it’s hard to go wrong there - and if you don’t like it, it will be easy to resell.

Now for television

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American Gangster: The Complete First Season (2006)
Starring: Ving Rhames
BET docu-series explores the historical, socio-economic, and political context surrounding the rise and fall of several notorious African-American criminal minds.

Not Rated

The L Word: The Complete Fourth Season (2007)
Starring: Jennifer Beals, Leisha Hailey
Directors: Bronwen Hughes, Marleen Gorris
This TV series follows the lives and loves of a group of lesbian friends in Los Angeles.

Not Rated

Mind of Mencia: Season 3 Uncensored (2007)
Starring: Carlos Mencia, Brad Williams
Director: Liz Plonka
Sketch-comedy show hosted by stand-up comedian Carlos Mencia.

Not Rated

The Sopranos: Season Six, Part 2 (2007)
Starring: James Gandolfini, Edie Falco
Directors: David Chase, Alan Taylor
The head of a New Jersey crime family deals not only with the hazards that come with his job, but also with the trials and tribulations that come with having a family.

Not Rated

Veronica Mars: The Complete Third Season (2006)
Starring: Kristen Bell, Jason Dohring
Directors: John T. Kretchmer, Harry Winer
After her best friend is murdered and her father is removed as the town sheriff, Veronica Mars, a fearless 17-year-old teen, dedicates her life to cracking the toughest mysteries in the wealthy seaside community of Neptune, CA.

Not Rated

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Wow - every one of these television collections deserves a place in your video library.

 

Check into some of the foreign films - perhaps a rental before the purchase.

More next week - if California is still around!

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Back in January, at the Consumer Electronics Show, AMD allowed a peek at a new standard it would be bringing out soon. Well, other irons have been in the fire, and so the DTX form factor was put off by a few months.

Today the first real designs were released, showing how the form factor will be smaller than microATX, better than mini-ITX, and will allow powerful components, in small, standard, and inexpensive boxes.

This has been the biggest problem with really small systems until now. The power of the system was barely enough to get the job done, any job. The expandability was very compromised with mini-ITX, with only one PCI slot, usually not able to accommodate a full length card. Also, when any non-VIA chip was put on these motherboards, heat became a distinct problem. Heat dissipation by the CPU was a problem for case design, and power supply beef.

With DTX, AMD shows the promise of really fast processors, that are very efficient, and onboard graphics that allow some level of gaming without excuse. All of this will be wrapped in a compact case with two expansion slots.

 the DTX specification - flexibility allows design freedom - lower costs overall

DTX is smaller than microATX, but larger than mini-ITX, and will break the cost penalty of mini-ITX boards and cases.

Cases will be small but flexible, and this case can be used horizontally or vertically -

 

 

 

 

The case allows lots of power, in a size relegated to thin clients before.

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

Someone clearly thought about this design. Lots of expansion ports, and this will fit with audio and video equipment, or make a really nice small PC for medium duty computing. As Borat would say, ‘Thatsa nice!’

 

Crowded but neat, and easily worked on.

This prototype uses a Athlon64 X2 BE-2350 dual core processor with 45W thermal dissipation - at maximum draw! The AMD 690 graphics is a very powerful on board solution, also with little thermal output.

This is the type of system we can look forward to, and for those like me, who like to stuff lots of things in a system, a larger case can be used, like one of the HTPC cases offered now, so that more items will fit and thermal stability will still be no problem.

-

Buzz is all over the web this morning. It seems that HD DVD is poised to break the barrier that will assure a blow for ubiquity. Toshiba is reported to be releasing an HD player that will come in under $200 in time for holiday shopping. Remember, VHS was made much more popular than the superior Beta format because of pricing.

Toshiba leads innovation, and now might be leading in price - a Christmas bonus for all!

While this cannot be seen as a death knell for Blu-ray, it certainly will not help. It will undoubtedly force the hand of Sony, who will release a lower priced player. Perhaps one has already been in the works.

If this rumor is true, the Japanese would also be one-upping the Chinese, who had promised, through Venturer Electronics, to bring a $199 HD DVD player to the United States.

The rumor continues that WalMart will be the one to have the Toshiba player, as a natural leader in low pricing. This was brought about by the forum posting by a WalMart employee, who reported that a new SKU was available, showing a Toshiba HDA2-W at $198.

older model Toshiba HD DVD player - perhaps the HDA2-W will be this unit in a different chassis

This is not only a big deal for Christmas, but the mental image of HD DVD being under $200 is a big boost for the format. It might bring players with fewer extras, as features are the easiest things to cut when moving toward a lower price point. At least one more manufacturer will be releasing a competitive player and starting the price reduction cycle that makes consumers start to purchase in great numbers. It is like chum in shark infested waters.

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As the holidays approach, I will continue to feature the number one requested items this year as Year End Holiday Gifts. It doesn’t matter whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, you want to celebrate with gifts. Each week brings a cycle of new things, some not repeated twice as sales items before the middle of December. So…look carefully, compare, and grab while available.

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Computer Displays, Monitors, and Televisions

_______________________________________________

Hyundai 46″ 1080p Widescreen LCD HDTV  $1,300 + $100 shipping

Newegg is big into big screens, and here is another from a company known for automobiles. The TV features a 1920×1080 (1080p) native resolution, integrated ATSC, NTSC, and QAM tuners, 5,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 500 cd/m² brightness, 6ms response time, and dual HDMI, VGA, component, and other video inputs.

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Olevia 747i 47″ 1080p Widescreen LCD HDTV  $1,900 + $100 shipping

Another Newegg deal, this time from Syntax Olevia. Ölevia’s top-of-the-line LCD HDTV features a native resolution of 1920×1080 (1080p), SiliconOptix Realta Hollywood Quality Video processor (remember the explanation here?), ATSC and NTSC tuners, 1,600:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 8ms response time, and dual HDMI with HDCP, VGA, component, S-Video, and RCA video inputs.

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Accessories

_______________________________________________

6-Foot HDMI Cable 2-Pack - $10 shipped

Meritline.com offers its 6-Foot HDMI Cable 2-Pack for $9.99 with free shipping. That’s $5 each! The cables are standard male to male connection.

_____________________________________________________

LOGITECH S510 Cordless Desktop® and Mouse Combo  $44.99 @ Office Max

A very nice keyboard and mouse combination for the coffee table if you need one for the living room computer / HTPC.

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WalMart has some great online deals for setting up the Home Theater or HTPC that you’re expecting to get for the holidays.

These are online deals, that continue for a while, but they are not found in the stores.

Monster Cable XP 100′ roll $79.95

12 gauge cable, low resistance, high purity, for excellent sound.  Free shipping to your local store - take advantage, this stuff is heavy.

Atlantic 5 pack Universal Speaker Brackets $19.28

Just the thing to allow perfect placement of smaller satellite speakers. These can be found in the stores.

Various Pioneer speakers from $35 to $80 each - not ultimate quality, but excellent value for rumpus room or bedroom system. Free shipping to local store.

These will not wow the local audiophile, but provide nice sound and solid build quality.

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Just Deals .com has this Logitech Harmony Universal Wireless Remote with LCD readout for $44.99

from Logitech -

The Harmony Remote is the world’s only remote with Activity Control. Just scroll and click with the thumb wheel to choose an Activity such as “Watch Television” or “Watch a DVD” on the Harmony’s screen, and the Harmony Remote figures out how to set up the home theater without the need for ‘macros’. By selecting the activity, the appropriate commands are automatically sent to the entertainment devices, resulting in simple, intuitive control of even the most elaborate entertainment system.

Easy Web Set-up
The Harmony Remote’s Activities are completely web configured through Web Wizard questions on a Member’s web page at HarmonyRemote.com. By utilizing the world’s only Smart State Database of electronic devices, set-up is a snap. Even if a brand new device is not already in the database, the Harmony Remote will “Learn” any command or add any IR device directly to the database. This way Harmony Remote will never be out of date, and changes are quick and easy.
USB Plug ‘n Play
The Member’s configuration is transferred directly from their account to the Harmony Remote via the USB port their computer. The configuration is always safely stored on the Member’s web page so they can make changes any time they want with their Web browser. Context sensitive Help

With the Harmony Remote you will never hear complaints such as “I can see a picture, but I can’t hear the sound”. Simply press the Help button and the Harmony Remote asks a few simple questions on its screen such as “Is the television on?” or “Is the stereo set to the DVD input?”. Just click Yes or No to each question and the Harmony Remote will automatically send the correct commands to get the entertainment system back in sync. Anyone can do it!

Dynamic and Customizable Buttons
Each of the Harmony Remote’s button functions is tailored to the Activity, so the remote is always intuitive to use. In addition, each button is customizable, and “seldom used” functions are always available through the Harmony Remote’s screen. Everything is at one’s fingertips. The Harmony Remote SST-768 comes with additional transport and number buttons for simple home theater control, while maintaining single-hand operation of the original model.

This is a very nice remote and it ships for $2.00!

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Polk Audio RTi12 Black Pair
Floor-standing Speakers   Tower speakers don’t get much better than this. The RTi12 features an impressive driver array!

Crutchfield has these babies for $950 for the pair, these were $1400 before, and are a closeout of this model. These would make great front speakers in any home theater.

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The deals just keep coming! More later, as several sites are down right now - undoubtedly putting up some great stuff in a new ad! I’ll be watching for you.

Keep in mind that deals at sites like Buy.com change daily, as do the deals and dealers featured on Amazon - checking frequently will allow you to garner the best deals.

-

Best Buy has become the first of the big retailers to remove analog televisions from the shelves. While the company tries to spin the removal as purely a move on behalf of its customers, it plainly sees that it is now the time when analog televisions are not the profit maker they once were, even in the largest sizes. The consumer purchasing in Best Buy will have to look among the high margin digital televisions, and that is the real bottom line.

This move makes the customer purchase the newer digital compliant television, or move on to another store. It also will keep the stores away from any customer service problems, as no one will be buying an analog television, only to find that it has to be augmented with a black box come February 2009.

No longer will best buy have to use signs at each of the analog televisions, indicating that the units days are numbered as a stand - alone device. No chance of the nasty fines levied by the FCC.

these are definitely easier to lug home, as most newer televisions are much lighter than their CRT brethren

The company also announced that they will participate in the NTIA DTV Converter Box Coupon Program to help people purchase digital converter boxes for their analog televisions. Coupon-eligible converter boxes will be available in Best Buy stores beginning in early 2008, in time with the phase-out of American terrestrial analog TV broadcasts.

No word on whether other analog - only devices, such as TiVo digital video recorders, and any remaining VCRs will also be removed.

No more analog televisions at the blue box stores!

Competitor Circuit City will not be pulling ‘old fashioned’ televisions just yet, instead going with the education program mandated by the FCC, with clear signs at each analog television, and the mention of the coupons being given through governmental decree, which take $40 dollars from the cost of the set top boxes needed to make the televisions useful after February’s deadline in 2009, with terrestrial broadcasting.

 

Sports fans are really rewarded when moving to HD, or just digital television.

-

We all know how crappy the economy is for everyone, except for the wealthy, and the wealthy are not as sure as they used to be that things are good.

So not to continue a gloomy picture for those of us trying our best to be cheerful, be positive, and watch movies, let’s see how we can save money while buying things we want and need.

Many people know that there is money to be saved in buying refurbished items. Refurbished is such a bad description when it comes to video and audio equipment. Most of these items are things that were not the 5th or 7th on the assembly line, so they were shipped without the Quality Control checks, and just happened to be bad when the box was first opened. The worst that happened to most of these things is that the original consumer got fingerprints on the item when hooking it up.

Not only will the fingerprints be gone when you purchase a refurbished item, you can bet that a complete check was done, and the product you are getting is fully working, and within all specifications. It has gotten a better workout than 97% of the other identical models, and you can be fully happy with your purchase. The manufacturer has lost money, had to ship the product at least 3 times, done more checking  than usual, and made you the owner of a great piece of gear.

Crutchfield Request a free catalog and sign up for e-mail offers

Crutchfield is known for great deals on closeout items.

There are many ways to get these refurbished products. It is possible to go to any retailer at the end of a product cycle and find closeouts, and usually refurbs, at a slightly lower price. Because of what you just learned above - go for the refurb!

Also, there are stores that have been established by larger retailers, usually grouped together, where closeout and refurbished merchandise can be had easily, as that is all the stores have. These ‘outlet stores’ are usually near a freeway, and far from any other retailer of that company’s products.

 

Bose has several outlet stores, if you want a deal on their products, these are the places to obtain one.

In the area where I live there are 3 outlet malls within 50 miles. In those malls, I can find closeout or refurbished Sony, Bose, and Harmon-Kardon equipment. I can also find a store that has prices almost as good as Amazon for CDs and DVDs.

Sony doesn’t like to advertise their outlet stores, but they are listed in the phone book - and if you go to their website, look for ’special deals’.

Another way to find these deals is online shopping. Of course, you say. But then you don’t really know what I am speaking of. Several manufacturers prefer to keep closeout and refurbished items quiet, as they believe it gives the customer a higher impression of quality. These companies stress that the quantities are very low, as very few mistakes are made. While this is true statistically, as the company would not be viable if large numbers of mistakes came through the line, the sheer quantity of product makes for large amounts available. Onkyo is one of these companies, and if you look carefully on their website, you’ll find a link to join ‘Club Onkyo’. This is a great deal for two reasons. First, it gets you on the e-mail list, and you become aware of products you want very quickly. Also, if you are being contacted by e-mail, no money is used for advertising, allowing the manufacturer to sell these items to you without ruffling the feathers of its dealer network.

this is a good thing, and you will save money on things you want - otherwise you wouldn’t be seeing the sign.

Onkyo is a good name in audio and video gear. It does not have the brand recognition of other companies, but in audio especially, is not eclipsed by any other Japanese brands except Sony ES and Sony Esprit.

If you are buying something very unique or normally costly, you can sometimes strike a deal with the manufacturer to become a ‘dealer’. Even if you only do this on a limited basis, it allows the company to get more of their product out in the public eye, and you to get a deal. The more expensive, as less well-known the brand is, the greater your chances of doing this. Remember that this is totally dependent on you allowing at least some others to audition what you are ‘dealing’. An example would be, let’s say, Ampzilla 2000. If you were going to pick up one of these pieces of art and science, you might - remember, that’s might - be able to convince Mr. Bongiorno to cut you a deal when you tell him you will allow the audition of the product by others. No guarantees here - but I will say I have personally done this with a couple of different manufacturers.

Let’s face it, when you have one of these to listen to, you want to share the goodness!

Remember, where there is a will…

-

It has been quite a while since ATi has released anything really new in tuner cards, and the cards from other companies don’t show much new for the HTPC crowd. Anyone who wishes to build an HTPC with DVR qualities will want to keep a constant eye on the crop of tuner cards available.

Now ATi has released a 2 new cards that allow the tuning of terrestrial digital signals, non-encrypted cable signals, and analog signals of terrestrial or cable origin. The first card has two tuners, making it very useful for those not having lots of open slots on the motherboard, and simplicity of set up.

This card is PCI Express, and has no major drawbacks, save for the limitation of not being able to tune two of the same type of signal concurrently. As terrestrial analog television will soon be gone, it seems a little shortsighted of ATi to do this. Perhaps a newer version is forthcoming.

The second of these tuner cards is a PCI card, and employs only one tuner. It will do all that the PCI Express card will do, but would have to be used in pairs to provide the service that the PCIe model does. Of course, it costs less, but I think that the lion’s share of buyers will opt for the dual tuner card, if purchasing in the near future.

(Of all the manufacturers making tuner cards, ATi has the widest range of features, and has demonstrated quality of build in the past. It is truly a shame that no manufacturer has a really