Devices View – Page 12 – a Techsponential Company

Blu-ray Not Dead?, Part Whatever

January 21, 2009 - by Avi Greengart - 1 Comment

CNET lists 9 Reasons Why Blu-ray Will Succeed.Jeremy Toeman says CNET is wrong.Jeremy is right. Look, it's a great format, and I certainly try to rent Blu-ray (from Netflix) and buy Blu-ray discs in the rare cases where I'm buying. I'm even upgrading a few discs from DVD to Blu-ray: Groundhog Day is coming out on Blu-ray on January 27! We watch that one at least annually. When Star Wars comes out on Blu-ray, yeah, I'll buy it yet again even though the DVD is pristine. The thing is, even CNET admits that the only reason a consumer would buy …

Post CES Thoughts and Unintended Poetry

January 12, 2009 - by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

As usual, I attended CES 2009 and spent a lot more time talking with mobile devices vendors (my day job) than home theater. This was a good strategy for anyone this year because the Palm pre stole the show, but there were still plenty of thin LCD TVs, 3D TV, mobile TV, and a few speakers and receivers sprinkled throughout the sprawling show floor. I didn't make it to the Hilton, where most of the high end audio was housed, at all. Still, it's hard to avoid home theater when you have to attend press conferences from Sony, Samsung, LG, …

Uncategorized

2008 Holiday Gift Guide

December 17, 2008 - by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

My annual holiday gift guide, the Last Minute, Mostly Non-Obvious Holiday Gift Guide has been posted over at LiveDigitally.com. Due to the bad economy, all items on the list are under $200. Past versions can be found here for 2007, and here for 2006. Happy holidays!

Audio / Computing

Klipsch vs. Klipsch

December 7, 2008 - by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

Another one from the email bag today: I've been searching for a great sounding speaker system for computer use (Pc & MacBook Pro in the near future). I mainly want it for music, it will also be used for movies & games since I have a 40" connected to my pc. I've heard a bunch of systems, but nothing stands out of the crowd (I like to hear all sounds in a track as recorded). I ended up deciding on the (Axiom Audio Audiobytes and EPZero Subwoofer) till I read your review of them. What is your choice since I …

Home Theater Basics: 720p vs. 1080p, Analog/Digital Switchover

October 19, 2008 - by Avi Greengart - 1 Comment

Here's one from the mailbag: Avi, We want to buy a 37" LCD TV. Is there a significant difference between 720P and 1080P? Yes, there is a significant difference between 720p and 1080p – though it depends on what you’re watching on it, and even then you may not be able to see the difference. The bottom line is that you can almost always get away with buying a 720p set and saving the money, but nobody seems to believe this answer, so here’s a slightly more involved one: First, two quick definitions: 1. the “p” in 1080P …

Computing

Help me learn the new lingo (also the SlingCatcher is finally shipping)

October 9, 2008 - by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

I was talking to my wife this evening, telling her about the new SlingCatcher (her term for these conversations is "lectures"), and she pointed out that my terminology, "wicked cool," is really, really old. Sad thing, I'm really really old. I have no idea what current slang for that would be. Tight? Sweet? Five by five? (That last one was on Buffy. Which has been off the air for years now, sadly.) Any help appreciated. Oh, and the SlingCatcher is now shipping. The "wicked cool" feature I was trying to describe to my wife – before she so rudely interrupted …

Accessories / Audio / Computing

Odds and Ends

September 23, 2008 - by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

Logitech sent over Z-5 Omnidirectional notebook speakers. They're not going to put my Klipsch THX speakers of business (not by a long shot), but you need to remember that they're powered entirely via USB and don't take up too much desk space. Simplicity is clearly the goal here; the last USB-powered speakers I looked at, Altec Lansing's XT1's were designed with portability in mind. Compared to the XT1's, Logitech's Z-5's play extremely loud and sound extraordinary. They should make a great holiday gift for the notebook user who listens to music through fuzzy notebook speakers. Logitech also sent over triple.fi …

Accessories / Industry

Blogging for Dollars

September 3, 2008 - by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

Blogging is strange. I can’t tell you how many times I get asked to provide links or link exchanges or even the occasional "please review our stuff and we’ll pay you for placement." Now, if this were about my day job (Research Director for Mobile Devices), it would be somewhat understandable – I am quoted by the press, and it’s my job to influence industry decision makers. But Home Theater View? Who reads this? Coverage here basically just influences my brother – my mother doesn’t even read this! Perhaps all they’re trying to do is up their Google rankings. So, …

Audio / Computing

Is it a Receiver or a PC?

August 28, 2008 - by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

CEDIA and IFA news is filling up my inbox, but one press release jumped out at me. I’ve seen similar features from other manufacturers (Onkyo immediately comes to mind), but the emphasis on digital media features in a new receiver from Yamaha was a big enough shift for me to write about it. Here’s the headline: NEW YAMAHA RX-Z7 7.1 CHANNEL HOME THEATER RECEIVER EXPANDS ON YAMAHA’S HIGHLY ACCLAIMED Z-SERIES, OFFERING SOPHISTICATED HOME ENTERTAINMENT AND BEST-IN-CLASS HD PERFORMANCE Well that sounds like any other high end super receiver. But wait, here’s the subhead: Following the Lead of the Company’s Flagship …

Accessories / Audio / Industry

Logitech Buying Ultimate Ears

August 14, 2008 - by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

Logitech announced today that it is buying high end earbud vendor Ultimate Ears. UE is best known for $1000+ custom headphones for professional musicians, but it also has a line of consumer headphones in the $40 – $400 range. Its business model is incredibly similar to Shure – both come from professional audio (initially microphones in Shure’s case) and branched out into the consumer space. In contrast, etymotic’s background was in hearing aids, and V-MODA seems to have come from the fashion world. Without the custom business, Ultimate Ears is just another headset vendor, and its brand differentiation will be …