Posts Tagged ‘Home Theater’

by
05-24-2012

8
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My Week of Audio: Part 4 – SRS Labs Multi-Dimensional Audio

My Week of Audio: Part 4 – SRS Labs Multi-Dimensional Audio

My trip to California last week had already brought me to both Dolby and DTS to experience new home theater product demos. Knowing that I’d be in L.A., however briefly, my friend (and occasional Roundtable contributor) Chris from Big Picture Big Sound clued me in to the existence a third audio-themed conference that I might want to make time for. After some last-minute schedule adjusting, I was able to squeeze in a presentation for SRS Labs’ new Multi-Directional Audio (or “MDA”) format.
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by
05-23-2012

11
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My Week of Audio: Part 3 – DTS Tour

My Week of Audio: Part 3 – DTS Tour

After spending two days in San Francisco witnessing the latest products that Dolby Labs wanted to showcase, I next jetted off to the Los Angeles area to visit Dolby’s biggest competitor: DTS, Inc. I’ll be honest that I had no idea what to expect when I walked into the company’s headquarters in Calabasas. My arrival was not scheduled around a specific event or product introduction, but was rather more of a general meet-and-greet and facility tour. Nonetheless, the folks at DTS had some interesting stuff to show me, including one product prototype that really blew me away. I’m not kidding; when this thing is ready, it may be a game-changer in home theater audio. I’ve never experienced anything like it.
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by
05-21-2012

16
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My Week of Audio: Part 1 – Dolby 96k Upsampling Explained

My Week of Audio: Part 1 – Dolby 96k Upsampling Explained

While last week wound up being a lot busier around here in The Bonus View than I initially expected (thanks to our staff of regular bloggers and special guests), I was absent for much of the week to attend not one, but three audio-themed conferences. As someone who has always considered himself a videophile much more so than an audiophile, I found this very instructive and educational. My first stop was a two-day visit to Dolby Labs in San Francisco, where I attended a tour and experienced some very interesting product demos from the company. Our site’s Mike Palmer was also present and will write up more coverage of the event for the HDD front page. What I wanted to do here is to focus on the technical side of the new products that Dolby unveiled, and explain what they are and why you should care. The first is a new process that the company calls “Advanced 96k Upsampling.” Sounds intimidating, doesn’t it?
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by
05-16-2012

16
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Mid-Week Poll: Voice and Gesture-Controlled TVs

Mid-Week Poll: Voice and Gesture-Controlled TVs

With the success of the Wii and Kinect videogame systems, several TV manufacturers have worked to revolutionize the way we interact with our televisions by adding gesture or voice controls in place of the traditional remote control. Are these worthwhile innovations, or useless gimmicks? Tell us what you think in our poll.
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by
04-25-2012

51
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Mid-Week Poll: What Brand Is Your Home Theater TV/Display?

Mid-Week Poll: What Brand Is Your Home Theater TV/Display?

In recent polls, we’ve asked you how large your home theater screen is and how old your TV or display is. This week, let’s take a look at what brand names you favor.
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by
04-19-2012

0
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Lumagen’s Latest Feature – Convert Any 3D Format to Any Other

Lumagen’s Latest Feature – Convert Any 3D Format to Any Other

Some time back, I detailed the installation of a Lumagen Radiance video processor into my home theater system. Despite a difficult learning curve regarding its complicated set-up (which I still find a little frustrating, to be honest), the Radiance has been an extremely powerful and useful device, and I’ve been very pleased with the purchase. One of the great advantages of Lumagen over its competitors is the company’s dedicated support for its products. Lumagen constantly updates the Radiance with firmware enhancements based on user feedback. One recent upgrade added a new feature that I find particularly interesting: the ability to convert a 3D picture from one 3D video format to another.
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by
04-11-2012

42
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Mid-Week Poll: How Large Is Your Home Theater Screen?

Mid-Week Poll: How Large Is Your Home Theater Screen?

I can remember the day when any TV over 25″ was considered almost obscenely large. I recall having trouble loading a behemoth 27″ model that I’d just bought into the back seat of my car. I had to take it out of the box to squeeze it in. It was so heavy that carrying it was a two-man job. We’ve come a long way since then, haven’t we? How large is your home theater screen today?
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by
03-28-2012

4
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The Buzz About the 3D-Bee

The Buzz About the 3D-Bee

It’s been over two years since the rollout of the new generation of 3D home theater, yet 3D fans still suffer a relative lack of content to play on their 3D HDTVs and projectors. New Blu-ray 3D releases seem to trickle out at a frustratingly slow pace, and broadcast 3D content is erratic at best. Looking for something to watch, some viewers will even settle for converting 2D material to 3D. To that end, many 3D displays and Blu-ray players now offer 2D-to-3D conversion functions. Unfortunately, not all do, and many of these features produce really lousy quality 3D images. Hoping to improve that situation, several companies now offer real-time 2D-to-3D outboard conversion boxes. Perhaps the most promising of these is the VEFXi 3D-Bee. The company was gracious enough to send a review sample recently, which allowed me the opportunity to put the 3D-Bee through its paces.
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Mid-Week Poll: How Old Is Your Home Theater TV/Display?

Mid-Week Poll: How Old Is Your Home Theater TV/Display?

If the Consumer Electronics industry had its way, we’d all upgrade our TVs and home theater gear like clockwork every single year. Certainly, the companies involved try to tempt us into doing so by adding new features and gimmicks (such as 3D or internet connectivity) with each new product generation. However, the reality of the situation is that most consumers consider the purchase of an HDTV or projector to be a major investment that should last a long time. How long has it been since you last upgraded yours? How old is your primary home theater display?
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by
03-16-2012

6
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Home Theater Is Dying… Or Maybe Not

Home Theater Is Dying… Or Maybe Not

It’s doom and gloom time for this crazy hobby of ours, folks. We home theater fanatics are dwindling to an ever-shrinking niche. Homeowners these days don’t even want home theater rooms in their houses… Except for the ones who do, of course.
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