Home Theaters

Several weeks ago the components for a Home Theater PC were discussed, with thoughts on possible choices of case, motherboard/processor combinations, and perhaps the most important item, a tuner or pair of tuners. Two tuners are necessary for those who wish to be able to watch one program while recording another, or recording two programs while another source is being used.

Over at Ars Technica an article recently gave a rundown on the components the editors would use on a HTPC/DVR, and for the most part, I would agree with the assessments made. Where differences are found is in the tuners, where the Ars article calls for tuners by Hauppauge, a well known name in the PC television tuner arena. The Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1800 tuners are PCIe, which allows a very fast connection for all data, however, if a PCI connection is needed the WinTV-HVR-1600 can be used, which is functionally identical.

When making my recommendations, I chose units from ATI, which I knew to be of good quality, and few conflicts when installing with either Linux or Windows solutions. I knew of the Hauppauge models, but had heard several bad things about drivers. Those problems seem to have been resolved, as the recommendation was without reservation, so I will go with their recommendation, as the feature set of these models exceeds the ATI models by a fair amount.

The other area of divergence was in the processor needed. I tend to go a tad overboard (but just a tad), as I always like to be sure I am going to cover the very worst circumstances and still have optimal performance. Here I will stay opposed to their recommendation of a dual core Athlon64 5200, as I can see problems when recording two HD data streams and watching a third HD source from elsewhere, like a Blu-ray movie on disc. Remember that the system is juggling 3 streams of data, using part of the CPUs power to deliver sound, and helping with video decoding if the onboard video is being relied upon. The last thing I would want is a mangled recording of something not to be re-broadcast for some time.

So for a system where the highest level of HD is being used (1080i), I would think a quad core would give the best results, especially if using Windows as the operating system - it always has lots of overhead with running processes started and completed at times unable to be controlled by the user. There is also a possibility that a tri core would do it, but right now the AMD pricing structure dictates that anyone who isn’t brain would pay the extra $20-$25, and get the 4th core.

make sure your motherboard can handle the power requirements of the processor chosen

When I made the last set of choices, I was calling for a motherboard using the 780 chipset from AMD, and that was a good choice for a dual core CPU. The time since has seen quad cores come out, and down in price, so they have become a choice instead, for the reasons stated above, Other factors have been discovered since the 780 chipset recommendation, and this may not be the best choice if a quad core PCU is used. It appears that not many of the 780 chipset boards can supply enough clean power for the quad core chips. There are some manufacturers that say the board is quad core compatible, but when checking further it is found that the power delivery system was skimped on, and should not be used with a Phenom processor. Check to make sure so that no heap of useless fiberglass and metal is created in your lab, Dr, Funkenstein.

As always, a good power supply is needed, and will further help with the possible overheating, as enough power actually creates less heat, and quality supplies usually have better heat extraction.

Sound is another area where differences in taste will make users wish for better than onboard sound. This may cause other changes to need to be made. MicroATX  motherboards will typically be hard to get a sound card in, after adding a higher quality video solution and the two tuners, so a move to a larger case and ATX motherboard may be dictated.

I will be reporting the the latest in sound cards in the nest few days, including the obvious choices from Creative, and lesser known but high quality cards from Asus and M-Audio.

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In a move to increase awareness and promote the sales of an upcoming DVD release, the producers of the documentary ‘Leading to War’, a summation of the steps to the invasion of Iraq by the Bush administration, are offering a 72 minute Quicktime download of the movie. The 440 MB file is being offered free of charge, and is promoting sales of the disc release. Also available is the ability to view the entire film online.

This seems counterintuitive, as many will certainly download the file, and watch at their convenience. Others will watch online, avoiding the space taken on a local drive. But why would anyone then purchase the DVD?

The site, LeadingtoWar.com, has no word on whether the DVD, offered through Amazon, will have any special features, or investigative files not included in the movie. The ability for the easy worldwide understanding has already been provided, as the subtitles are available in 19 different languages.

from itwire.com

They say their strategy is  "pushing the boundaries of film distribution beyond the new media strategies of even the most forward-thinking Hollywood studios," and claim that "This is a far more powerful distribution system than is possible in theatres, as this release is available on demand, around the world."

They describe their business model as being: "what noted venture capitalist and blogger Fred Wilson named ‘The Freemium Business Model’," namely: "Give your service away for free, possibly ad supported but maybe not, acquire a lot of customers very efficiently through word of mouth, referral networks, organic search marketing, etc, then offer premium priced value added services or an enhanced version of your service to your customer base."

In this case the premium offering is the movie on DVD, available for purchase from Amazon.com, which provides a higher viewing experience. The producers expect that DVD sales will be significantly increased by the higher viewership and awareness  resulting from free availability.

The movie, ‘Leading to War’ runs for 72 minutes and can be either watched in streaming mode or downloaded as a single file (440Mbytes in QuickTime format). In conjunction with the movie, a companion website, www.LeadingToWar.com , "examines the strategies and rhetorical techniques used by Bush officials." The film and website together are claimed to "create the most comprehensive online resource about the build-up to the Iraq War."

Leading to War is available with subtitles in 19 languages and, according to producer, Lewis Wheeler, "Within days of LeadingToWar.com going live, the film was viewed in each of the 19 subtitled languages, and within two weeks the site was visited from 142 different countries… We are amazed at the initial results." (However he does not disclose the number of downloads).

To optimise the online Leading To War the producers are using the Akamai content delivery network which has 20,000 edge servers worldwide. This, they say "improves the quality of the streaming as well as the speed of download in virtually every country."

Leading To War was directed by Barry Hershey and edited by two-time Emmy Award winner Marc Grossman. It has been constructed from selected news footage.

 

I personally believe that if the content was more entertaining (like most home theater content), and less disheartening, the purchase of a DVD would be assured. The thing is, no one really wants to see this more than once. It does point to the fact that content producers are thinking ahead to downloadable content, certainly fee based, and getting a look ‘at the lay of the land’.

Certainly many will eschew the purchase of a hard copy, thinking that the packaging, including any notations, additional information, and printed pictures are unnecessary. Should I feel inclined to see this again, I would certainly purchase the DVD, in the same vein as musical content - downloading the (possibly adulterated) material is simply not enough.

Perhaps the producers are not crazy after all.

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This morning, after scouring for more deals on home theater equipment (yes, I was looking yesterday, I did not forget!) I happened across an article in Wired about the coming changes in the state of broadband, which the article calls ‘Broadband 2.0′. The article states that the landscape of broadband will change significantly in the next 2 years.

these will be the companies bring most of the digital goodness in the next 2 years

As someone who follows this daily, I was a bit surprised at the time frame, and the claimed increase in speed. I was also surprised by the claimed impetus for the entire change. The next two years, according to largest national purveyors, Verizon and Comcast, will bring us speeds in the vicinity of 60Mb/s average downloads, and uploads in the 15 Mb/s range. And the reason for this almost order of magnitude difference? Why YouTube, of course! The video giant apparently has everyone but the neighbor’s cat excited about the ability to enjoy the embarrassment of anyone caught unaware. The service is taking the form of early television’s ‘Candid Camera’ with its ability for anyone to put interesting content up for the entire connected world to see. Arthur Godfrey is smiling from somewhere right now!

The article states that with the help of FiOS and DOCSIS 3.0, Verizon and Comcast will bring us up to at least these average speeds, up from the paltry 4.8Mb/s we now have as a nation. Currently Verizon is building out the fiber in 17 states, and Comcast seems to be preparing its upcoming claimed 200 Mb/s  ( the top speed of the DOCSIS 3.0 specification) network everywhere it has presence.

With this speed available, perhaps video streaming of HD movies won’t be the pie-in-the-sky concept it seems now. At even the full capability of standard definition, downloading missed television episodes would be trivial for anyone in the family.

and a tower PC in the corner, quietly providing everything but the popcorn

What is going to be needed for this? An HTPC with the latest processor, a quality video card (no current onboard graphics will do - we’ll see what nVidia has upcoming), and hard drive space like you’ve not imagined in your wildest dreams. Most motherboards have 4 or more SATA ports on them now, and you’ll want a terabyte-sized drive on each one of them. If you really want to be prepared, perhaps a Promise SATA controller allowing 4 more drives can be added. Cost? Well, it won’t be cheap, but it won’t cause a run on the Fed either. Big drives are getting scarily cheap. Perhaps Iomega will be able to make a comeback with the number of Rev drives purchased for backup of content.

So in the next few days I’ll be looking forward, and giving  a complete assessment of the new, next generation HTPC will look like, both inside and out.

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For so long, there just have not been that many things on sale (at one time) involving home theater. Now, there are finally some deals that make sense to speak about. So, without further delay…

Frys.com offers the Panasonic Viera TH-50PX80U 50" Widescreen Plasma HD Television for $1,199 with free shipping.  Sales tax is added where applicable. Features include built-in ATSC, NTSC, and QAM tuners, 1024×768 16:9 native resolution (720p), 15,000:1 contrast ratio, Secure Digital Card slot, and HDMI, component, S-Video, and RCA video inputs. Deal ends April 29. This is one of the newest lines from Panasonic, many accolades have been heaped upon these designs already.

CompUSA.com offers the factory-refurbished Vizio GV52L 52" Widescreen LCD HD Television for $1,449.99 with free shipping. That’s a $412 drop since February and the lowest total price seen for any 52" Vizio LCD. Features include a native resolution of 1920×1080 (1080p), 1,000:1 contrast ratio, 5ms response time, integrated ATSC and NTSC tuners, and HDMI, VGA, component, S-Video, RCA, and coaxial video inputs. A 90-day Vizio warranty applies. Vizio is an acknowledged leader in LCD value. Don’t let the 90 day warranty scare you, if the unit makes it through 90 days it should have a good long life. Don’t forget to protect the unit from voltage problems and buy a good surge protector or UPS!

 Yet another deal from Frys.com,  offers the Samsung LN-T4669 46" 1080p 120Hz Widescreen LCD HD Television for $1,799 with free shipping. That’s  the lowest total price ever seen for a 120Hz Samsung 46" LCD TV, excluding refurbished units. Features include a 120Hz refresh rate, 1920×1080 (1080p) native resolution, ATSC, NTSC, and QAM tuners, 20,000 dynamic contrast ratio, 550 cd/m2 brightness, 8ms response time, and three HDMI, VGA, component, S-Video, and RCA inputs. Samsung at a great price, and 1080p!

Frys.com offers the Sony BRAVIA W-Series 46" 1080p Widescreen LCD HD Television, model no. KDL-46W3000, for $1,799. With free shipping, that’s $100 under the mention from a month ago and the lowest total price seen. Sales tax is added where applicable. It features a native resolution of 1920×1080 (1080p), ATSC and QAM tuners, 1800:1 contrast ratio, three HDMI inputs, and VGA, component, S-Video, and RCA video inputs. Deal ends April 29. Sony top of the line from Fry’s!

newegg.com offers the Linksys WRT150N Draft 802.11n 4-Port Wireless Router for $59.99 with free shipping. That’s the lowest total price we could find by $20. This router uses a draft version of the 802.11n standard. It features MIMO technology. This is one of the best prices seen for a draft N router, and this unit has gotten a couple of great reviews. Another nice thing is knowing that it will be flashable to the N standard once ratified, due to Cisco quality assurance.

Dell Home offers the Logitech MX Air Wireless Air Laser Mouse, model no. 931633-0403, for $99.99. With free shipping, that ties our mention two weeks ago as the lowest total price we’ve seen by $30. Sales tax is added where applicable. This gyroscopic mouse allows you to operate it in the air, without the use of a desk. It features a USB receiver / cradle, 30-foot range, polishing cloth, and more. Deal ends May 1. This unit is perfect for those running XP Media Center Edition, or any Linux version as a DVR/ Media Center.

Logitech quality at a great price - jump on this quick!

Staples has a great deal for those looking for a new computer monitor that will also do duty as a small theater screen. The Dell 22" widescreen LCD has a native 1440 by 900 resolution, a 5 ms response time, and 1000:1 contrast ratio. The 5ms response may be a tad slow for gamers, but should give beautiful results with video. It is currently $50 off at 279.98. Also available is the 24" widescreen monitor at $50 off standard pricing. No picture available - unit is black on black with no accents.

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Still looking, more later today!

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Much ado is made of the On Demand services offered by several purveyors of content. The word is bandied about as though it was a foregone conclusion that it was true.

Let us be clear. There is no On Demand for anyone. On Demand connotes that the user can order anything ever committed to video tape or DVD and have instantaneous results. At best, the On Demand that I have seen is a small subsection of the content of a few purveyors available in a few minutes time.

the basic Series 2 unit - a model of simplicity that pleases like nothing else for the avid television fan!

TiVo is the best design of DVR software that I have ever seen. It outclasses the offerings of any cable or satellite purveyor, and has usability that must have been worked on by many people who genuinely cared about the outcome. Everything works as you would expect, kind of like the original Apple Mac operating system. The only other thing today that I can compare usability with and not be talking about another level of convenience would be the best of the Nokia cell phone offerings.

the  HD unit will make you, and your LCD or plasma screen very happy…

Times have been tough for TiVo, and lots of red ink was used on their profit charts. However, with the updates to the software, the deals with content providers to bring content directly to the units from the internet, and the outcome of the litigation against Dish Network, the future looks rosy for the foreseeable future. also, with each one of the updates, the TiVo itself gets closer to the ideal of the instantaneous concept of On Demand. The provisions being made for content to be made available proves that the same sort of care to design the ergonomics is used with content acquisition.

With purveyors of upgrades and repairs like Weaknees, the ability to personalize, update and care for each TiVo is possible. The only thing that will cause devastation is catastrophic hard drive failure, and thankfully, that happens less and less.

sometimes deals can mitigate the up-front cost, but even if you can’t find a deal, biting the bullet leads to lots of happiness!

It’s too bad that Dish Network did not have the sense to work with TiVo, as they could have been the envy of all the customers of other cable and satellite services. Those of us who have DirecTV cling to our DirecTiVos for dear life, as the powers that be seem to have forgotten how happy these units make their subscribers. With the move to HD by many, and the extra dollars generated by classification of that as premium content, it would make sense for every content provider to make a deal with TiVo, but sadly, humans don’t always choose the best course.

Although buying a TiVo outright isn’t as appealing for some as renting one from their content provider, the joy that the unit provides must be factored in - simply recording the content is not enough. Getting to the content, working the controls, and classifying and prioritizing is also important, and cannot be easily quantified. It’s like driving a great car versus a Yugo - both might get you from A to B, but how happy you will be when you arrive is wildly different.

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First, for those not familiar:

Occam’s razor - n.   A rule in science and philosophy stating that entities should not be multiplied needlessly. This rule is interpreted to mean that the simplest of two or more competing theories is preferable and that an explanation for unknown phenomena should first be attempted in terms of what is already known. Also called law of parsimony.

also - when two competing hypotheses explain the data equally well, choose the simpler. Named for Eng. philosopher William of Ockham (c.1285-c.1349).

- from Dictionary.com

like the straight razor, the concept of Occam’s Razor gets to the point - the best way of doing things is usually the simplest

Knowing that Occam’s razor works in science in mathematics, I thought it might be good to apply it to home audio reproduction.  The trend these days is to go the other direction, and I feel that is wrong.

The very best example is well mic’ed, well recorded productions of an orchestra. When reproduced on very good quality equipment, there is absolutely no need for a center channel, for rear speakers, or for any manipulation of the signal, such as surround processors or time-delay devices. When looking at the signal from a scientific standpoint, anything changed or modified from the original signal is distortion. Now we look at components like amplifiers, and look for the lowest possible total harmonic distortion, the lowest intermodulation distortion, and the lowest transient intermodulation distortion. We would not think of accepting an amplifier with 5% TIM distortion, yet we introduce changes in sound of 10% and above routinely, not realizing this is also distortion.

That was the example of best circumstances. Not that it happens that often. What often happens is that the source material is not recorded well, both in terms of quality of equipment used, such as inferior microphones, but also the placement of the microphones does not allow correct soundstaging. This is precisely what multichannel sound was made for.

so many microphones, so many types, how does one choose? It’s not only a problem for the average human, professionals often argue about choice of, and placement.

Microphones not correctly placed? Putting more of them in the setup will pick up more of the total performance, hopefully gaining more realistic sound. This is how the theory goes.

On the other end of things, where we are trying to reproduce the sound, there are reasons why we don’t want omniphonic sound.  Each speaker we introduce into the mix means more hardware that must be purchased, and, for the same amount of cash we have lesser quality. Lower quality speakers and lower power amplifiers do not yield the same quality sound. As a matter of fact, given all else being equal, it would be preferable to have 5 full-range channels, as opposed to  the current 5.1 arrangement, where bass is only reproduced in one place, with a mix that many times produces strange aural clues.

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Today gives us the release of yet another contender in the online media maze, as Adobe releases AMP, or Adobe Media Player. The release version is 1.0 and comes in at only a little over a megabyte, but that is deceptive, as the installer calls up the installation of the AIR platform, also from Adobe.

another winner it seems

While the player might be dismissed as simply another attempt to get a piece of the multimedia online pie, Adobe seems to have done things right, as they have enlisted the help of some heavyweight content providers to assure the success of the project. Users can find, then sort their favorite content and can search for new material. They can also subscribe to favorite shows that are featured, and are then reminded when new episodes are available.

During the product’s beta period of almost exactly one year, it had already obtained official partners — including CBS, MTV Networks, and NBC/Fox joint venture Hulu — which began using the non-release version anyway as an alternate delivery platform for their shows. So the player was already receiving widespread attention before its official release.

some content heavyweights have been enlisted

The player was designed from the start to be advertiser supported, so it will, ostensibly, remain free throughout its life - nice to know, since many things begin as a labor of love, then the profit motive rears its ugly head. At least here both sides are getting what they want, with only minor inconveniences to the users.

The guys at Adobe know how to appeal to many, with things like full episodes of programs like CSI: Miami all the way to 79 episodes of the original Star Trek, complete and uncut.

Another nice thing is that the content will be available for online or offline viewing. The media player will also be delivering high definition content in either 720p or 1080p. Very nice since this will allow machines with less raw power to share the high def experience, albeit slightly truncated.

For the budget home theater user (discussed here) this means another way to get quality high definition content on the cheap.

Just a few hours old, and the player looks like another winner from Adobe. (and something else for Microsoft to try to copy!)

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Adobe, Media Player, AIR, CBS, MTV, high definition content, FOX, NBC, television programming

It’s a welcome thought for all users of TiVo, as the software now in place, although rock solid, could use some refinements. It seems that customer dissatisfaction with a couple of points of service has not escaped the powers that be, and a new software update, revision 9.3, will address the lack of speed when setting up or modifying a Season Pass.

with the updates, you’ll be seeing less of this, if only a few seconds less

Reported by Betanews is that the TiVo software version 9.3 will significantly speed up nearly all of the common tasks that customers do with a TiVo. No longer will the DVR pause for nearly a minute while it reorders Season Pass priorities or stall for half a minute when a Season Pass is created. Users will see between 10 and 30 second speed improvements in these areas

the Series 2 TiVo, not as pretty as Series 3, but a workhorse that many cling to

All changes to programming are said to feel snappier, with a two to 6 second speed change for all choices. As someone who owns two DirecTiVos, I am certainly hoping that the changes will be made available to us, but I won’t be holding my breath, as the past two change cycles reported to be passed on by DirecTV were not, and the ‘droids of Customer Service seem to have their heads in the sand, as they seem unable to state anything, save that which is on a script in front of them.

will DirecTiVo users get the update? Maybe, as it has nothing to do with DRM or other content management

These changes will find their way only to Series 2 TiVo units, which the DirecTiVos are, but as usual, the best thing for standalone Series One users is the upgrade cycle. For standalone Series 2 users, the update is currently available on the TiVo website, if you’re feeling anxious - otherwise the update is scheduled for the next few weeks, and as all others will certainly be staggered.

So again TiVo gives its customers what they want, a sure way to engender loyalty, and something to look forward to in an otherwise bleak year.

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Now that the high definition wars are over for awhile, and things have settled down somewhat, we can get back to the DVD weekly releases. I must say the developments of the last few months have made me wish for the days of one format - DVD, period. After all, how many movies take advantage of the quality that high definition can provide, and more than that, how many hnew movies that are good are being released? I know that, as I get older, I wonder why the movie studios keep remaking movies that are the same name, and basically the same story - and usually not done as well. I remember thinking that the problem was what I was used to, as though I was unwilling to see that a newer revision could be better, but that just is not so. After seeing some movies that I thought were original, and then seeing the actual original, older movies, I still thought the older version was better.  A case in point is ‘The Scarlet Pimpernel’ the original version, in black and white, is still the best. Opinion hat removed, let’s get to the new releases.

Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007)
Starring: Jason Lee, Ross Bagdasarian Jr.
Director: Tim Hill
Synopsis: Three chipmunk brothers—Alvin, Simon, and Theodore—are adopted by a man named Dave.
Runtime: 90 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG - for some mild rude humor.
Genres: Animation, Comedy, Family

Avida (2006)
Starring: Kati Outinen, Fernando Arrabal
Director: Gustave K/Vern
Synopsis: The heavyset daughter of a millionaire is kidnapped by three captors with disabilities even more apparent than her own.
Runtime: 83 minutes
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Genres: Comedy, Foreign
Country of Origin: France
Language: French

Beware of My Love (1998)
Starring: Nathalie Baye, Daniel Duval
Director: Jeanne Labrune
Synopsis: A woman begins a torrid love affair with a stranger she meets on a train. Despite his abusive nature, she can’t tear herself away from him, causing drama and tension as the relationship strains towards breaking point.
Runtime: 110 minutes
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Genres: Drama, Foreign
Country of Origin: France
Language: French

Christie’s Revenge (2007)
Starring: Danielle Kind, Cynthia Gibb
Director: Douglas Jackson
Synopsis: A teenager blames her uncle for her father’s devastating suicide and sets out to take revenge.
Runtime: 94 minutes
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Genres: Horror, Suspense
Country of Origin: Canada

The Cook (2008)
Starring: Mark Hengst, Penny Drake
Director: Gregg Simon
Synopsis: A handful of unsuspecting sorority girls find themselves at the mercy of a cook-turned-cannibal.
Runtime: 85 minutes
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Genres: Comedy, Horror

The Cutting Edge: Chasing the Dream (2008)
Starring: Matt Lanter, Francia Raisa
Director: Stuart Gillard
Synopsis: When an accident leaves Zack Conroy’s ice-skating partner down and out, he defies convention by replacing her with a female hockey player named Alex. The unlikely pair begin generating sparks on and off the ice!
MPAA Rating: PG-13 - for some sexual references.
Genres: Romance, Sports

Farm Aid: 20th Anniversary (2005)
Starring: Wilco, Willie Nelson
Director: Lawrence Jordan
Synopsis: Contains highlights from the Farm Aid 20th Anniversary Concert on September 18th 2005 at The Tweeter Center, Tinley Park, IL.
Runtime: 164 minutes
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Genre: Music Video

Fear House (2008)
Starring: Matthew Montgomery, Aleece Jones
Director: Michael R. Morris
Synopsis: Friends and family pursue a reclusive writer to an isolated house in the California desert only to find that, once they’ve entered, their own fears will kill them if they attempt to leave.
Runtime: 85 minutes
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Genre: Horror

Fiorile (1993)
Starring: Claudio Bigagli, Galatea Ranzi
Directors: Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani
Synopsis: Events during the Napoleonic era cast a curse over a Tuscan family which continues through the generations to the present day in this drama.
Runtime: 118 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Genres: Drama, Foreign
Country of Origin: Italy
Language: Italian

The Good Night (2007)
Starring: Gwyneth Paltrow, Penelope Cruz
Director: Jake Paltrow
Synopsis: A former pop star who now writes jingles for a living experiences a mid-life crisis, then he meets an exotic woman.
Runtime: 93 minutes
MPAA Rating: R - for language and some sexual content.
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Kaos (1986)
Starring: Margarita Lozano, Enrica Maria Mudugno
Directors: Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani
Synopsis: Four short stories by Luigi Pirandello ("The Jar," "Requiem," "The Other Son," and "Moonstruck") tell about peasant life, both comic and tragic, in Sicily.
Runtime: 188 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Genres: Drama, Foreign
Country of Origin: Italy
Language: Italian

Kevin Downey Jr.: I’m Not Gay But Don’t Stop (2008)
Starring: Kevin Downey Jr.
Synopsis: Kevin Downey Jr., best known for his appearances on Queer Eye For the Straight Guy, presents his unique take on life before a packed crowd.
Runtime: 47 minutes
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Genre: Comedy

Ring of Honor: Bloodstained Honor (2007)
Synopsis: Ring of Honor continues to amaze audiences and fill arenas across the country. This special compilation DVD includes star-filled mat action featuring Mick Foley, Samoa Joe, CM Punk, Matt Hardy and more.
Runtime: 200 minutes
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Genre: Sports

Ring of Honor: Stars of Honor (2007)
Synopsis: Ring of Honor continues to amaze audiences and fill arenas across the country. This special compilation DVD includes star-filled mat action featuring Mick Foley, Samoa Joe, CM Punk, Matt Hardy and more.
Runtime: 170 minutes
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Genre: Sports

Slave Widow (1967)
Starring: Naomi Tani, Noriko Tatsumi
Director: Yazuru Watanabe
Synopsis: After her husband commits suicide when his business collapses, his young widow must serve as the personal sex slave of a wealthy businessman in order to settle her family’s debts.
Runtime: 73 minutes
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Genres: Cult, Erotica, Foreign
Country of Origin: Japan
Language: Japanese

Steve Byrne’s Happy Hour (2008)
Starring: Steve Byrne
Synopsis: Stand-up comic Steve Byrne covers everything from how to lay down like a man to the nutritional benefits of macaroni and cheese in this comedy event taped in Los Angeles.
Runtime: 79 minutes
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Genre: Comedy

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
Starring: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter
Director: Tim Burton
Synopsis: Benjamin Barker, a.k.a Sweeney Todd, sets up a barber shop down in London which is the basis for a sinister partnership with his fellow tenant, Mrs. Lovett.
Runtime: 116 minutes
MPAA Rating: R - for graphic bloody violence.
Genres: Drama, Music, Thriller

That ’70s Show: Season Eight (2005)
Starring: Mila Kunis, Wilmer Valderrama
Director: David Trainer
Synopsis: That ’70s Show revolves around a group of teenagers who grow up in a Wisconsin suburb during the 1970s.
Runtime: 506 minutes
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Genres: Comedy, TV show

Wakeful Nights (2005)
Starring: Hiroyuki Nagato, Kiichi Nakai
Director: Masahiko Tsugawa
Synopsis: A dying patriarch’s misunderstood final wishes set in motion a night of emotional reminiscence and hilarious performances as the remaining family members look back on the pivotal moments of their lives.
Runtime: 110 minutes
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Genres: Comedy, Foreign
Country of Origin: Japan
Language: Japanese

War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave (2008)
Starring: C. Thomas Howell, Fred Griffith
Director: C. Thomas Howell
Synopsis: A hostile alien race returns to Earth to complete their plan of human domination, launching a second wave of attacks that threaten to destroy what is left of humanity.
Runtime: 85 minutes
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Genres: Action, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

What Love Is (2007)
Starring: Cuba Gooding Jr., Anne Heche
Director: Mars Callahan
Synopsis: It’s Valentine’s Day, and Sarah has just kicked longtime boyfriend Tom to the curb. Now, as Tom’s friends Sal, Ken, George, and Wayne drop by to discuss the shortcomings of the female gender, Sarah and her friends congregate in the bathroom to bond over stories about sex and relationships.
Runtime: 93 minutes
MPAA Rating: R - for pervasive language including graphic sexual dialogue, and some erotic dancing.
Genres: Comedy, Romance

Woody Guthrie: This Machine Kills Fascists (2005)
Starring: Woody Guthrie, Arlo Guthrie
Director: Stephen Gammond
Synopsis: This Machine Kills Fascists chronicles the life and achievement of Woody Guthrie, one of the most important folk and protest singers of his generation. Narrated by Billy Bragg.
Runtime: 160 minutes
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Genres: Documentary, Foreign, Music Video
Country of Origin: United Kingdom

So there we have it, the releases for the week of April 1. No fooling! Quite a few foreign language films, a few comedy performances, and a couple of good musical presentations. Oh, and a couple of horror choices - although not great ones. Still, with a few careful choices, it is possible to relax at home and forget about your troubles for a few hours, just you and the home theater!

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It is important to the fullness of music. Many people quibble about the amount needed. It all comes down to individual taste, for which there is no accounting.

What am I talking about? Low notes in the music we listen to, of course. And for home theater, not just music, but all sounds in general. Low frequencies are a part of everything, and when gone, the quality of reality is missing. From the most early music, it was known that the lower octaves make the sound ‘right’, and natural. If we remove the bass, we remove musical reality, for it is not very often that we listen to any instrument that cannot reach into the low end of the spectrum. There just aren’t that many pieces of music written for D-flat piccolo as a solo instrument.

true bass fanatics start salivating when they hear this baby, a JBL B460 subwoofer, complete with 8 cubic foot enclosure and 18" driver, a legendary 2245H.

It used to be that most people used  what were known as full range speakers, so that the rolloff of the very bottom octave in music was not that noticeable. The trend of the last 15 or so years is to have smaller speakers, known as satellites, to produce much of the audio spectrum, with a subwoofer for the lowest notes. Care must be taken here to be specific, as what most people refer to as a subwoofer is, in reality, a woofer, with no means of reproducing what a true subwoofer would be producing. In truth, a subwoofer, by definition, reproduces below what a woofer does, and by convention, that is any frequencies below 40Hz. Because the satellites in use today have woofers that are 6.5" in diameter, or less, and they are housed in enclosures that are quite small, they have little hope of reproducing  bass frequencies down to 40Hz - at realistic levels. What does this mean? Many speakers of that ilk will reproduce a 40Hz tone with no problem at 75db, but when the music is being played at 85-90db, that woofer is being asked to double the apparent acoustic output (an increase of 10db is equated by human ears as twice as loud, although the actual power is much more, the ear is not very linear in its response to sound pressure). The woofer struggles to do this, and all frequencies it reproduces are adversely affected.  All of that to say this, no one would truly be happy with a subwoofer when used with current satellite speakers, as there would be a huge hole in the bass, and this would be very unnatural. What happens, in most cases, is that the ’subwoofer’ is being asked to provide the musical content to around 125Hz, and sometimes higher. (Remember that crossovers are not brick walls, and that both the higher and lower drivers are still reproducing frequencies on the far side of their crossover points.) So the subwoofer that most speak of today is, in fact, a woofer, but I won’t try to change the world, it can be much like trying to teach pigs to sing.

a Sumo Samson subwoofer, with an active crossover, the Delilah, which made integrating the Samson into any room sonically much easier. It has provisions for stereo or mono output, and continuously variable output levels, along with several fixed crossover points.

What we must realize, now, that we have accepted the fact that most will be using a ’subwoofer’ to reproduce the first 2.5 octaves of music, is that the ear will be able to localize the woofer, and if the placement is not correct, the sound will be off. Some will not notice, but it can be very apparent under the right circumstances.

So - one of the first rules, whether listening to music, or watching movies, should be that the subwoofer should be in the middle of the room, or under the screen, or between the satellites. This will prevent sonic anomalies most of the time.

What is better, although more expensive, is the use of a pair of subwoofers. This will make placement easier, and also allow for a stereo amplifier to drive them. (Because of the way the market is, it is much easier to get a good, inexpensive 200wpc stereo amplifier, rather than a good, inexpensive 400wpc mono amplifier.  This allows the bass to have more of the characteristics it should, as explosions originating on the left of the screen will be reproduced there, and not out of phase from the middle. It is a factor that once heard, will annoy the listener when only one sub is used.

Smaller subwoofers, like this Velodyne Acoustics model, are easier for smaller installations, and can be easily used in pairs. Although powered, these units are ruggedized to withstand the pounding, and the amplifiers fare well.

This leads to the next point. Using a non-powered subwoofer is usually preferable to a powered one in that the amplifier can usually be of higher quality, and is also not taking a pounding - most subwoofer failures today are electronic in nature, as the pounding of the air mass moves or breaks a circuit component.

More specifics about woofers in our next installment, including output levels, acceptable distortion, and crossover points. Also covered will be active versus passive crossovers, and the benefits and problems with each type.

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So many people today are trying to help the planet by trying to be green. energy saving is usually a good thing, as it means less heat is being produced, and less carbon is being emitted as carbon dioxide during the production of that energy. Usually I am all for this, except when it comes to amplification.

Carver amplifiers continued in the tradition of Phase Linear, as high power quality amplifiers

Quality sound needs big robust amps, not for average volume levels, but for realistic reproduction of peaks. Back in the days when Carver was a big name in audio equipment, there was a story put into one of the company’s brochures. The story, to put it simply, was a propaganda item for buying the Carver amplifiers, as they had lots of power, and basically explained how Mr. Carver was trying to reproduce the sound of a scissors cutting a piece of paper. The upshot is that it took an amplifier of a thousand watts to properly reproduce the initial sound of the paper as it was cut in two pieces.

  a great album, and a sonic spectacular as well!

Many moons ago, I used to sell fine audio equipment. One of the best records (yes, records - that piece of black vinyl used to store music before compact discs) to demonstrate why lots of power was needed was a tune from the Carlos Santana album "The Swing of Delight" called ‘Song for My Brother’. Anyone who knows this song knows it is a typical Santana guitar piece with an almost lilting melody, until it gets to the refrain, and a wicked couple of thwacks of the kick drum cause your pulse to race, and your (if you have one) poorly designed and underpowered amplifier to clip like crazy. Clipping is when an amplifier tries to reproduce higher volumes than it is able to, and runs out of power. Some do it gracefully, most do not.

Infinity Reference Standard IIa - a great speaker, but an amplifier shredder!

I was fond of demonstrating this song using a Soundcraftsmen MA-5002 amplifier and Infinity Reference Standard II speakers. Anyone who ever heard these speakers knows how great they sounded, and for a price of $1250 for the pair (1983 dollars) they were amazing in both the quality of their sound, and their ability to shut off or destroy badly designed amplifiers. When the kick drum would hit, the LED display of the 5002 would go from an average of around 3 watts, which was moderately loud, to peaking at +6db, which was approximately 1000W. The LED display was only pegged for a fraction of a second, but the point was simple - if you didn’t have an amplifier capable of high power for those short periods, you didn’t get quality sound. If I had someone that I thought might need further evidence of why power was needed, I would hook the same turntable and speakers to the best receiver we sold at the time, which was rated 120W per channel, and had about 2db of headroom. This meant it was capable of almost 200 watts for short bursts. When I would play the average levels at 3 watts, verified by another meter, and then allow the song to continue through the peaks, the receiver would shut down. No sound other than the clicking off of the amplifier protection circuitry was heard. Then after about two seconds of silence, the music would continue. Two seconds of nothing is pretty irritating, but better than gross distortion, as some amplifiers produce. Worse yet, some of these same amplifiers will continue clipping until the output transistors fry, and - when the smoke comes out of an amplifier, there is just no way to put it back in.

What does this show? First, most speakers that are of any quality are not efficient. That is to say, in 97% of the cases where someone might make a point of how efficient their speakers are, you can also bet they have poor sound quality. Second, music is dynamic, it doesn’t take the explosions of a recording of the 1812 Overture to tax an amplifier. Third, many people were not able to identify the clipping of the amplifier as such, but almost all were able to say how the amplifier that did not clip significantly was much better sounding. This had nothing to do with the shutting off of an amplifier, as we could use a different amplifier of less power, but of enough quality to not shut down, to show how much better the higher powered amplifier made the music sound.

These are not esoteric differences. These are things that anyone can hear - whether the difference is enough to persuade them to buy quality is another story, but 99 people out of 100 will hear the difference.

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