February/March 2005

Features Plasma vs. LCD Our first flat-TV smackdown puts two popular technologies to the test. Beyond DVD The high-def Blu-ray and HD DVD formats both want to be DVD's successor. Format war, anyone? Setup Screwups We diagnose five of the most common problems ailing home theaters — and prescribe the right medicine. A Charles B. Wessler Production A comedy producer's passion for movies and music extends to his home theater — and throughout his new house. Back to Basics: How to Set Up Your Receiver Our step-by-step guide will take your receiver from fresh-out-of-the-box to Control Central. S&V Entertainment Awards The Top 10 DVDs and CDs of 2004.

Test Reports Spotlight: Traditional Values You can get a great picture and save a bundle with classic three-tube HDTVs from Mitsubishi, RCA, and Zenith. Spotlight: DVD Diversity Recorders from Sony, Philips, and JVC do much more than just burn DVDs. Hitachi Exclusive! 42-inch plasma TV Sony DVP-NS975V DVD/SACD player Boston Acoustics Exclusive! Plasma Series home theater speaker system Sonos Exclusive! Multizone digital music system Mirage Exclusive! Nanosat home theater speaker system Quick Take Exclusive! Delphi MyFi: XM satellite radio in your pocket Quick Take Polk Audio XRt12 XM tuner

Entertainment Movies Seinfeld, I, Robot, Harry Potter 3, Short Cuts, De-Lovely, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, more Games Call of Duty: Finest Hour plus sequels aplenty — Metal Gear Solid 3, Bond, Star Wars, more Music U2, Gwen Stefani, Nirvana, Eminem, Le Tigre, Tom Waits, Destiny's Child, the Beatles, more

Departments & Columns Track One Bob Ankosko A note from the editor Random Play DualDisc arrives (sort of), 15 minutes with Kenny Wayne Shepherd, more Tech Update Does multichannel music have a future? Feedback Readers sound off New Products The latest home-entertainment gear Q&A Ian G. Masters and Al Griffin Your audio/video questions answered Tech Talk David Ranada Surround standards: better late than never The Custom Installer John Sciacca To err is human Digital Horizons Ken C. Pohlmann DVD-Audio, SACD: M.I.A. The Connected House Eric Taub Let's get together BackTalk Michael Richards on the Seinfeld DVD set, how he almost became Al Bundy, and more

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