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James K. Willcox

HD DVD vs. Blu-ray: The Format War Goes Nuclear

Ready to launch, Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD head for Red Alert, forcing movie fans to take sides
Remember when the DVD was introduced? Remember how all the hardware companies and Hollywood studios played nice together, bringing out a steady flow of players and movies? Well, you can forget about that when the HD DVD and Blu-ray high-def disc formats debut over the next few months.
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Top 10 Questions About HD DVD and Blu-ray

A complete introduction to the new high-def disc formats
1. I'm happy with DVD. Why should I care about high-definition discs?

While both HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc offer a number of improvements over DVD, the most obvious one is picture quality. DVD was a huge leap in both convenience and performance over VHS, but its 480i resolution is well below the 720p, 1080i, and 1080p images both high-def disc formats can produce.

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HD DVD vs. Blu-ray: LeaderSpeak

Perspectives on the new formats from leaders of the competing camps
Bob Chapek President, Buena Vista Home Entertainment Because of his position at Buena Vista, which is responsible for the home-video products for the various Walt Disney companies, Bob Chapek has been a tireless advocate for Blu-ray Disc.
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Installations: The House That Jim Built

One writer's journey into the world of do-it-yourself custom installation
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The Future of Recorded Music - Part 2

The Artists' Perspective

Just a week before the May 9 release of their two-CD set Stadium Arcadium, the Red Hot Chili Peppers found that the whole album had been leaked to the Internet, letting fans download it free from file-sharing sites. These days, of course, leaks are hardly novel - but the reaction of the band's bass player, Flea, was.

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Inner Workings: Inside a Video iPod

With its eye-catching design and seamless integration with the iTunes Music Store download service, Apple's iPod has taken the portable-music market by storm. But once you get beyond the iPod's distinctive, sexy styling and crack open its case, you'll find a collection of off-the-shelf components not all that different from those used in other personal media players.

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Installations: The House That Jim Built - Part Two

Reaching the limits of his DIY skills, our intrepid writer finds it's time to call in the custom installers.
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Installations: Mile-High Fidelity

Despite some bumps along the way, a spacious Colorado home winds up wired for sound
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Installations: Great Plains Theater

An Iowa-based installer had to be both a diplomat and a technician to create this high-end home system

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