Have you been waiting for the high-resolution audio formats, Super Audio CD and DVD-Audio, to get their acts together? Have you, like me, said, "Format war? Bah! No flippin' way am I buying two more players just for these things! And it's for major sure I'm not spending a grand or two on a new combi-player!"
Photos by Tony Cordoza
You can get a hint of what's up with Samsung's top-of-the-line DVD player from its model number. The "HD" in DVD-HD931 signifies that it has a special output for "upconverted" DVD video signals that closely match the capabilities of high-definition TVs.
Photos by Tony Cordoza
Not so long ago, the VCR reigned supreme. Much like the proverbial chicken in every pot, there was a VCR in every house. If you wanted to time-shift the soap opera that your job inconveniently caused you to miss, you programmed your VCR. If you wanted to watch a movie, you turned to your trusty VCR.
Photos by Tony Cordoza
Not too long ago, a loyal Sound & Vision reader wrote complaining that the "audio/video" preamps and receivers we regularly review are really just plain-audio components with a few video inputs and switching thrown in. Point taken. So here's an A/V component with some actual video: the Rotel RSP-1098.
Photos by Tony Cordoza
You know a recording medium is going in or out of fashion when you can't find any blanks on the store shelves. Such a revelation hit me in the aisle for blank DVDs and CDs at a Best Buy here in New York City. There were shelf labels for all five recordable DVD formats - DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, and DVD-RAM - but precious few of the discs.
Photos by Tony Cordoza
My old man told me I'd get nowhere trying to be all things to all people, but Denon appears to have done pretty well by flouting this adage with its new DVD-2900. (I always knew Dad was full of it.) It plays optical discs in just about every current video or audio flavor.
Photos by Tony Cordoza
The good old cathode-ray tube (CRT) is up against some stiff competition these days. Leading the charge are sexy flat-panel plasma and LCD TVs that can be mounted on the wall like a picture.
Photos by Tony Cordoza
A newcomer to HDTV has to face so many new abbreviations and technical terms that he could end up feeling like a freshman at MIT. Competing for your hard-earned buck are technologies like LCD, DLP, plasma, LCoS, and CRT - all of which can be found in sets that feature 1080i, 720p, and 480p scanning, ATSC tuners, and DVI with HDCP.
Also: The National, Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke, Audra McDonald, “Women of Brazil,” and more. Plus: notable historical items from the Rolling Stones, Primus, and Captain Beyond.
Also, Side Effects, Ultimate Gangsters Collection: Classics: The Public Enemy, The Petrified Forest, Little Caesar, White Heat, True Bloods: Season 5, Beautiful Creatures, Parker, The Last Stand, My Neighbor Totoro, Howl’s Moving Castle.