Al Griffin

DVDs: Reference Disc

Kung Fu Hustle

By Al Griffin
Posted November 7, 2005

Badly dubbed dialogue and exaggerated acting make martial-arts movies unintentionally funny (to Westerners, at least). But in Kung Fu Hustle (Sony; Movie ••••, Picture/Sound ••••½, Extras •••• ), director Stephen Chow sets out to grab laughs by mining the genre's clichés.

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DVDs: Reference Disc

XXX: State of the Union

By Al Griffin
Posted October 3, 2005

The original xXx achieved almost lyrical heights of excess through its digitally enhanced, over-the-top action sequences.

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LCD Universe

With prices falling and screen sizes expanding, your next TV could be an LCD

By Al Griffin
Posted December 4, 2005

When people think about flat, big-screen TVs, they usually think plasma rather than LCD. There's good reason for that - plasma sets were large and widescreen from the get-go, while LCD technology spent most of the past half-decade driving desktop computer monitors. But that situation is changing.

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LG 47LG90 47-inch LCD HDTV

Test report

By Al Griffin
Posted March 18, 2009

The Short Form $2,800 ($3,900 list) / LGUSA.COM Snapshot

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Anthem AVM 50v Preamp/processor

Test Report: A worthy successor to the AVM 50.

By Al Griffin
Posted February 19, 2010

Key Features $5,500 anthemav.com • (8) HDMI (v1.3) inputs; (2) HDMI (v1.3) outputs

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New Tech 2010: 3D At Home

TV makers have made it possible to enjoy 3D in the comfort of your own living room.

By Al Griffin
Posted April 8, 2010

Just days before boarding a plane in January for the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, I made a point of doing something that many other folks the world over had been doing in droves: I watched Avatar at my local IMAX 3D theater. And I don’t think I’m alone in saying that it was the most involving 3D movie I’d ever seen.

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New Tech 2010: 3D Blu-ray Players

Samsung’s BD-C6900 will have built-in Wi-Fi, play 3D discs, and stream multimedia.

By Al Griffin
Posted April 8, 2010

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New Tech 2010: HDTV Extras

Your TV isn't just for movies and cable anymore.

By Al Griffin
Posted April 9, 2010

Features TV PARTY -- Plenty of new TVs feature a Yahoo! widgets bar, which now includes social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

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Sony BDP-S570

Test Report: This budget-friendly Blu-ray player is 3D ready and offers lots of extras.

By Al Griffin
Posted April 29, 2010

Sony took its sweet time in matching other major Blu-ray Disc player makers on the media-streaming front — not surprising, given the company’s history of doing things its own way.

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Samsung UN46C8000 3D LED HDTV and BD-C6900 3D Blu-ray Player

Test report: An in-depth look at Samsung's total 3D set-up.

By Al Griffin
Posted July 23, 2010

The TV that Samsung sent me was its UN46C8000 LED model. Should you, too, decide to live on the edge and view 3D video, two additional things are required: a 3D source and a set of 3D glasses. Sources include 3D Blu-ray Disc players, DirecTV (scheduled to go live in June), certain cable TV providers, and PCs outfitted with special graphics hardware that outputs 3D video.

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