http://www.audioholics.comWhere audio and video equipment undergoes rigorous objective and subjective tests by our staff, ensuring that marketing slogans aren't the only guidelines for your home theater choices.Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:25:00 -0000http://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/science-loudspeakersThis article is an opinion piece on why you simply cannot declare Speaker XXX is better than Speaker YYY based on a few measurement graphs or claims from a manufacturer that their speakers are inherently the best because they use anechoic chambers and DBT protocols during their design and testing phases. We explore many of the misconceptions consumers often fall victim to when viewing loudspeaker measurements or falling too heavily into the DBT mantra. In a small market catering to audio enthusiasts, that seems to be continually shrinking, it’s not unreasonable as to why manufacturers often dress up marketing as science. It is important to recognize this and note how a loudspeaker plays into a room and how we ultimately perceive that experience is a far more complex topic than we can fully understand and neatly frame with a few measurements and listening tests (sighted or blind). Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:25:00 -0000/news/editorials/science-loudspeakersEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/why-we-measure-audioThis article explores the question why we measure audio component performance. We take you on a tour of the various A/V components we review, and how our measurements can and cannot be correlated audibly. After Audioholics covers a product and its readers weigh in with their opinions in our forums, you can rest assured the product performance is pretty well covered. You’ll know what to expect should you plan on buying it for your own usage. Nobody has all of the answers but collectively we can at least approach an educated assessment to help other Audioholics reach their goal of sonic nirvana while weeding out the average from exceptional performing audio equipment.Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:50:00 -0000/news/editorials/why-we-measure-audioEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/internet-victory-as-sopa-pipa-lose-steamThe SOPA and PIPA bills are withering away as Internet activism seems to have scored a victory. Several well-established corners of the Internet went dark Wednesday in protest of the anti-piracy bills facing the House of Representatives and Senate respectively. The bills would give content owners heavy-handed powers to shut down or block sites accused of copyright infringement without the benefit of legal discourse or due process. Even worse; the ability to block, shutdown or sue websites accused of piracy involves entertainment industry lawyers tinkering with domain registries, the very backbone of the Internet itself. In a nutshell: Politicians want to give lawyers the ability to tinker with the inner workings of the Internet! What could possibly go wrong?Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:30:00 -0000/news/editorials/internet-victory-as-sopa-pipa-lose-steamEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-3After a carpel-tunnel inducing, twitch-fest Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 marathon - my ears are still ringing from the machine gun and artillery fire. But I'm thoroughly invigorated and pleased to report that the latest installment of the Modern Warfare franchise is the best yet. Unlike the lateral movement that was Black Ops, Modern Warfare 3 is a clear step forward in depth, game options, weapons, builds and overall polish from its predecessor Modern Warfare 2. The all-new MW3 engine is no slouch either, bringing lighting, detail and overall graphics quality that are just a tiny cut above previous Modern Warfare games.Wed, 09 Nov 2011 20:25:00 -0000/news/editorials/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-3EditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/hdmi-forumHDMI Licensing is the organization that licenses HDMI. It's a conglomerate of founders/members that determine the spec and issue licenses and disseminate the design spec for manufacturing members to know how to properly implement the technology into their products. This week, HDMI Licensing created a whole new organization, HDMI Forum, Inc. The new organization is supposedly intended to bring more people into the process of developing the HDMI specification. Presumably, these additional members would be manufacturers, and presumably, they would be comprised of existing HDMI Licensees as well as other concerned parties. Wed, 26 Oct 2011 15:17:03 -0000/news/editorials/hdmi-forumEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/health-audioThe health and CE markets appear to be merging from what we observed at CEDIA 2011. New sorts of products were born. Future Automation, for example, is the market leader in flat screen mounting solutions and high-tech automation devices. They devised a way for people that are bed-bound to still enjoy their TV without having to travel to their family room or reach for their TV remote at their desk. A company called Presto aims at convenience and ease of use to assist the disabled in staying in touch via wireless email and printing, all without the need of a computer. Take into consideration that a lot of these systems do require a monthly service fee, but that’s a small price to pay for its service and maintenance and enhancement of our lives and security.Sat, 15 Oct 2011 02:45:00 -0000/news/editorials/health-audioEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/av-rant-251-umbrageLiz names her first podcast... and we note the deplorable lack of innuendo. Oh well, she's still learning. If you haven't already, please check out Tom's Master of Macabre story entitled "Fresh Air" and vote here. This week, Tom and Liz are still in need of a Netflix segment song but that doesn’t mean they don't talk about Netflix and their new Dreamworks Animation deal. Clint has an experience on a plane that leads Liz to ask a question about SPL and hearing damage. Liz's Koss Pro4AA Headphones are back (link to the new model, Liz's are vintage) which leads to a discussion of listening tests. Tom tackles a few listener questions, rants a bit on Bose and Atlantic Technology, and Liz sends out an Amazon warning that is completely lost on Tom. Will people cutting the cable finally bring about TV a la carte? Tom doesn't think so. This week's Soup to Nuts is on how to get the Internet into your home theater. Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:05:00 -0000/news/editorials/av-rant-251-umbrageEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/steve-wilson-blu-raySteve Wilson (of Porcupine Tree) is set to release ‘Grace For Drowning’ on September 27th, 2011. This album represents a milestone in audio fidelity as the first-ever new rock album released primarily as a Blu-Ray video disc, with high definition music in 5.1 surround sound and accompanying video content for every song. The video content includes music videos starring Wilson (he’s only appeared in two previous music videos) as well as excerpts from the recording, mixing, and mastering sessions, presented in interactive formats that bring fans closer than ever to the production process. If you are a fan of progressive rock or genuinely good music in general, you owe it to yourself to pick up "Grace for Drowning" in any of the formats it will be offered in. Thu, 22 Sep 2011 20:50:29 -0000/news/editorials/steve-wilson-blu-rayEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/star-wars-the-complete-saga-on-blu-rayWhen the release of Star Wars was finally announced as heading to the Blu-ray format, it was met with much trepidation from fans. Fear and rumor spread across the Internet as to what new and dire bastardizations Lucas would perpetrate upon our beloved childhood memories. But having spent a weekend watching Star Wars on Blu-ray along with loads of special features, I am happy to report that the film has never looked or sounded so good – of course there are a few new edits, but fortunately for us they’re subtle and minimal. Give George Lucas credit... what frustrates us about what he’s done to Star Wars is exactly what makes the series’ arrival to the pinnacle of home video technology something truly special.Wed, 21 Sep 2011 10:15:00 -0000/news/editorials/star-wars-the-complete-saga-on-blu-rayEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/cedia-consumer-a-vThis year, like many others, the Audioholics Team embarked on its trail to CEDIA at Indianapolis. The focus of my CE research and technology would make a drift towards usefulness and practicality, but never excluding the high fidelity arena. Not many women could say this, or so the populous says. According to research, 50-63% of women have the final say and power for purchase, but for some reason they are not engaged like men in consumer electronics. The A/V market is like a rough diamond” that needs to be properly “cut” and “packaged” and “presented” to the buyer in a more emotional fashion that makes it hard to walk away. Check out my take on the CEDIA show which includes some of the highlighted products that really stood out and connected with me. Mon, 19 Sep 2011 19:08:09 -0000/news/editorials/cedia-consumer-a-vEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/cedia-expo-2011-energetic-hopefulI can't explain why, but this year's CEDIA could be best described as energetic and hopeful. While the economy hasn't fully recovered, and this wasn't the busiest CEDIA in recent years, there was something in the floor that could almost be felt. People were generally happy to be there and were really enjoying each other. Maybe it was the shared camaraderie of having survived the bulk of the recession. I mean, everyone who was there was limping along - at least - or excelling despite the downturn - at best. And some companies were not there. While this didn't necessarily place them in the "we closed our doors" category, there was a definite feel of shared accomplishment by those who attended. And as for attendance, there were over 17,500 dealers, manufacturers and other professionals at the show, not counting 444 exhibitors from over 70 different countries. Wed, 14 Sep 2011 14:25:00 -0000/news/editorials/cedia-expo-2011-energetic-hopefulEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/cedia-goes-greenCEDIA is a show that encompasses not only the mere commercial territories of AV, but also the newest technologies in the fields of health and home integration. CEDIA takes on leaps and challenges to be the number one force to stand behind it all. This year is not an exception and barriers will be broken, not only in the AV arena but in the hosting city itself. See how Indianapolis and CEDIA "Green Up" and find out what new technologies are available right now. Get to see firsthand what the human engineering can do in solving relevant issues in our everyday life. Let’s bring viable home technology to our homes today.Fri, 26 Aug 2011 20:59:33 -0000/news/editorials/cedia-goes-greenEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/best-buy-sells-soul-rent-center-kiosksI've been a big proponent of budgeting for years - and that includes spending within your means. If only the federal government were so restrained. In any case, there are natural resistors in place that hold back people from doing things they really shouldn't be doing - like getting that additional credit card when their credit score is already in the hole - or buying a house that's too much mortgage for them. When you take away those natural constraints built into the financial system you end up with a real mess - like the one we're in now with housing. I guess that single mom, or waiter, or married couple earning $50,000 per year really couldn't afford that $350,000 house after all... but the 5-year ballooning no interest loan looked so good on paper! It's not that these people were evil - they just had banks telling them "yes" when they should have said "no way!". So what on earth does this have to do with home theater? Normally nothing... except for the fact that Rent-A-Center (RAC) is lining up to do the same thing with home theater electronics shoppers. And they are teaming up with Best Buy. Thu, 25 Aug 2011 09:30:00 -0000/news/editorials/best-buy-sells-soul-rent-center-kiosksEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/steve-wilson-compressed-audioAs I sit here listening to Porcupine Tree's "Fear of a Blank Planet" on DVD-A, I wonder to myself why this band has not caught on into the USA music mainstream. Wanting to find out a little more about what makes Steve Wilson of Porcupine Tree tick, I went to Youtube and searched out some interviews. I was pleasantly surprised to discover he shares many of the views I have about the constant degradation of audio quality and musical substance happening in the music industry these days. In an age of convenience winning out over quality, more and more people are settling for poorer and poorer audio quality. This is leading to generation of youngsters never being exposed to anything better and accepting highly distorted and compressed music as the norm. We now live in an era of people totally content with the sound quality of XM radio and steaming music via Bluetooth from their iPods to their car or home stereos.Thu, 11 Aug 2011 22:05:00 -0000/news/editorials/steve-wilson-compressed-audioEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/hdmi-licensing-not-evilAll joking in our title aside, HDMI Licensing has made some pretty questionable decisions in the past. The first that comes to mind is the declaration that everyone should stop using version numbers in favor of simply listing the various features implemented in the latest HDMI version. That went over like a pile of bricks and most of us, and many manufacturers for that matter, completely disregarded the "order" and carried on with business as usual. The latest "snafu" had to do with HDMI Licensing declaring HDMI to Mini DisplayPort cables persona non grata and (more or less) telling HDMI Licensees not to sell them.Mon, 08 Aug 2011 01:25:00 -0000/news/editorials/hdmi-licensing-not-evilEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/cea-study-high-quality-audioSo this week the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) ventured into the realm of user listening preferences and released the results of a new study. The study explored the demand for high-quality audio electronics - and it included surveys and findings from all walks of life, from die-hard two-channel listeners, to more casual users. Apparently, 4 out of 10 consumers (around 39%) who demonstrated a "moderate" interest in audio claimed they are willing to pay more money in order to have high-quality audio electronics equipment. While all that's well and good, it struck us funny for two reasons: 1) it's incredibly vague - I mean, how much money? 2) It's sort of an obtuse question. Of course you would be willing to pay more for high quality electronics. That doesn't mean you actually have the money, or you're actually going to do it. With that said, the study didn't disclose everything in the brief, so perhaps some of these items will be cleared up upon further investigation.Sun, 07 Aug 2011 20:00:00 -0000/news/editorials/cea-study-high-quality-audioEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/av-rant-243-stuck-on-stuffPart two of Liz's Soup to Nuts on streaming this week is about storage. More than you ever wanted to know about servers, clouds, and NAS (links at AV Rant). Tom has a few things to say about the entire "modular design" idea. Velodyne starts selling subs - directly. AppleTV allows ownership (again). Logitech throws a Hail Mary for the Revue. AT&T drops ESPN3D. Receives nearly 15 complaints. Fri, 05 Aug 2011 07:00:00 -0000/news/editorials/av-rant-243-stuck-on-stuffEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/active-vs-passive-3d3D HDTV technology has polarized the TV industry! Two opposing camps have emerged with different methods of achieving 3D effects for home televisions, and each side is claiming superiority. In one corner we have active 3D, supported by most of the top manufacturers and video expert Joe Kane. In the other corner is passive 3D, the upstart contender in 3DTV that’s being evangelized by LG and film director James Cameron. So, before glasses-free 3D renders moot this dispute - let’s delve into the differences between the two and learn how many years it will be before we can ditch the glasses permanently. Mon, 01 Aug 2011 13:15:00 -0000/news/editorials/active-vs-passive-3dEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/av-rant-242-swearingTom couldn't be more excited about this week's podcast. For the first time in the four years of this podcast, Tom's cohost is tackling a Soup to Nuts topic. That's right, hear Liz's first in a three part series on streaming content. This week it is on where to get it. Also on the table, Tom talks about his $2k receiver comparison article, Liz hates on George Lucas, and Tom and Liz both ogle some cool installs. Plus, they announce that they are going to be holding periodic Google+ hangouts with fans. Thu, 28 Jul 2011 10:00:00 -0000/news/editorials/av-rant-242-swearingEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/av-rant-241-put-a-glove-onIf you read our $600 receiver comparison article, you'll want to hear this podcast. Tom talks all about it. Plus Liz breaks down Spotify for you and promises to host the next Soup to Nuts. This week, we hear the final in the David Janszen interview about Electrostatic speakers (Tom confronts him about the cost of his own speakers and about future offerings). Liz and Tom weigh in on Google+, Netflix pricing, and future reviews. Listener questions are answered and Tom talks about his adventure in projector lamp replacement.Fri, 22 Jul 2011 06:00:00 -0000/news/editorials/av-rant-241-put-a-glove-onEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/netflix-rate-hike-streamingWhile Netflix would like to hide rate increases under the garb of "better reflect[ing] the costs of each" and giving its customers "a choice", what it really amounts to is the company passing along its increased costs of operations to consumers. Normally, that would be fine, but with consumers living under a recession that simply won't go away, and having the mindset that cutting costs is "the thing to do" right now, it's hard to get excited about what amounts to a 28% rate increase for those using both DVD-by-mail and streaming services. We break down the math on our unlimited 2-at-a-time plan and the results are not exactly heartwarming.Thu, 14 Jul 2011 12:00:00 -0000/news/editorials/netflix-rate-hike-streamingEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/av-rant-240-cat-baconDespite the random name, there are quite a few important issues discussed on this podcast. This week Tom and Liz talk about the new Vizio CinemaWide displays. Is this a good idea? Do you want to control your apps while watching TV? Of course, they have to follow up on the MoviePass debacle. Facebook and Netflix can't connect (correctly at least). PlayLater - a service that will never, ever make it out of beta. This week's Soup to Nuts is part 3 (of four) of an interview with David Janszen. This week he really gets into the guts of the speakers.Fri, 08 Jul 2011 11:10:00 -0000/news/editorials/av-rant-240-cat-baconEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/av-rant-239-primedThis AV Rant podcast contains part two in a series of interviews with one of the foremost designers in the field of electrostatic speakers. David Janszen is the son of Arthur A. Janszen, the inventor of the first practical electrostatic high fidelity loudspeaker. If you wanted to know about electrostatic speakers, you'll want to tune in for these interviews. This week Liz and Tom take on the new $50 unlimited movie deal. "Just" $50 a month and all the in-theater movies you want. Tom has a point about Piracy and DRM, Liz has a point about violence in videogames, and they both love getting email from listeners suggesting topics. Tom's article on the Double Blind Test has two points - participants and "proving" the null hypothesis. Fri, 01 Jul 2011 03:23:54 -0000/news/editorials/av-rant-239-primedEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/active-hdmi-cables-futureWith a recent tear-down by ArsTechnica on the new Thunderbolt cable Apple is selling for $50, we're starting to wonder if active cabling is the future of all A/V electronics. With a desire by content providers to keep everything digital and protected in the realm of high definition television, and A/V manufacturers scrambling to provide features that will generate more 'oohs' and 'awes', it's a wonder if we aren't digging a hole. A great big hole. We've espoused What's Wrong with HDMI before, but we're now wondering if we've just hit a wall. If, from here on out, even shorter runs of HDMI are going to more or less have the requirements of being active in order to support the bandwidth needed for future technology and throughput.Thu, 30 Jun 2011 11:43:46 -0000/news/editorials/active-hdmi-cables-futureEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/video-gaming-celebrates-a-supreme-court-victoryA California regulation that would ban the sale or rental of violent video games to minors met final defeat at the Supreme Court on Monday. The highest court in the land ruled that any level of government that would restrict the sale of violent video games to children would be in violation of the First Amendment right to freedom of speech. The law was first struck down by the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Sacramento, and the decision to keep it that way was upheld by the Supreme Court in a resounding 7-2 vote. Wed, 29 Jun 2011 10:00:00 -0000/news/editorials/video-gaming-celebrates-a-supreme-court-victoryEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/av-rant-238-the-bootThis AV Rant podcast begins a series of interviews with one of the foremost designers in the field of electrostatic speakers. David Janszen is the son of Arthur A. Janszen, the inventor of the first practical electrostatic high fidelity loudspeaker. If you wanted to know about electrostatic speakers, you'll want to tune in to the next four podcasts. Of course, Liz and Tom start the show off with the usual talk of industry news and home theater. Fri, 24 Jun 2011 12:00:00 -0000/news/editorials/av-rant-238-the-bootEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/overview-of-testing-methodologiesHow Many Blind People Does it Take to Know that Your Speakers are the Best? Double-blind, single-blind, ABX…all these terms and more are bantered about on the forums and elsewhere when discussing someone's subjective experience with a piece of audio equipment. This editorial is meant as a primer for the testing methodologies used to validly measure someone's subjective experiences. This article explores various testing methodologies while also discussing some of the hidden biases that may exist.Fri, 24 Jun 2011 08:00:00 -0000/news/editorials/overview-of-testing-methodologiesEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/av-rant-237-staticIf you haven't tuned in to AV Rant in a while, Liz Vinci is the new cohost (Dina finally had enough of Tom). There has also been an interesting "Soup to Nuts" series going on where Tom talks about setting up your home theater from the beginning. How far back? Buying your home with a home theater in mind. This week is light on topics and Tom's side of the audio is staticy. Sorry about that.Fri, 17 Jun 2011 02:50:00 -0000/news/editorials/av-rant-237-staticEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/nintendo-wii-u-technology-and-bushidoNintendo announced Wii U last week and failed to impress investors with behind-the-curve technology. But what the investors don’t know is that Nintendo is demonstrating the true code of the samurai in the game console war and that’s why it might once again rise to the rank of Shogun. Dig into the details of Nintendo Wii U, announced at last week's Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) the company’s latest strike against rivals in console gaming, Microsoft and Sony. And we’ll take a closer look into the zen-like business strategy of Nintendo.Mon, 13 Jun 2011 07:10:00 -0000/news/editorials/nintendo-wii-u-technology-and-bushidoEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/smoke-and-mirrorsUpgraditus. In the AV community, it is a real phenomenon. What is it? Well, simply defined, it is the feeling that something in your AV system needs to be changed or added. Unfortunately, manufacturers know all about upgraditus. They're counting on it. But just because a speaker manufacturer is changing the model number and the shape of the speaker, doesn't mean they are making a better one. When upgraditus strikes, and it will, make an informed decision. Take your time. Don't be blinded by the hype, and most importantly... DON'T PANIC!Tue, 07 Jun 2011 05:50:00 -0000/news/editorials/smoke-and-mirrorsEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/michael-bay-james-cameron-3dWhen Michael Bay and James Cameron sit down together to talk about 3D as it pertains to filmmaking, it's something any film aficionado should take notice of. James Cameron is a filmmaker that feels "all films can benefit from 3D in some way" - a phrase we would not agree with at all, but still, the man that brought Avatar to life deserves our attention. With respect to Michael Bay, the discussion centered around the new 3D Transformers movie, which set up 3D with a nice foreground, midground, background layout - a technique of filmmaking that works extremely well with 3D. They even rigged 3D helmet rigs on top of men using parachutes who followed "winged men" who dove down through the cities.Mon, 30 May 2011 10:25:22 -0000/news/editorials/michael-bay-james-cameron-3dEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/bose-why-audiophiles-should-stop-the-hateLet’s give it up for Amar Bose – founder of Bose Corporation, easily the most controversial company in hi-fi. Serious audiophiles might smirk at the mention of the name Bose in the same breath as high-end audio. But it’s an association built on a clever combination of honest technical research, patents and successful marketing. Amar Bose made headlines recently when he donated a majority stake in his company to his alma mater, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A closer look at the company many love to hate reveals a good corporate citizen at its helm that has influenced acoustic science in several positive ways. Tue, 17 May 2011 10:35:00 -0000/news/editorials/bose-why-audiophiles-should-stop-the-hateEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/survive-the-playstation-network-hackNothing gets in the way of shooting zombies online with cross-continent friends in Black Ops like a total PSN outage due to hackers. The possibility of your credit card number being in the hands of the aforementioned hackers doesn’t sit too well either. In this article we’ll run down the events that lead to the recent PlayStation storm, the risks and what you should do if you’re a PlayStation Network user that has provided Sony sensitive personal information. The same rules apply if you've ever used a credit card online because as we've seen these days - nobody is immune. Thu, 28 Apr 2011 06:15:00 -0000/news/editorials/survive-the-playstation-network-hackEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/taxi-driver-blu-ray-reviewThe Martin Scorsese thriller Taxi Driver makes its Blu-ray debut, marking the 35th anniversary of the film’s theatrical release. But this is no ordinary high-def transfer to Blu-ray - Taxi Driver was chosen by Sony as one of only three films to go through a painstaking 4K restoration process. The process involved Scorsese and cinematographer Michael Chapman injecting color saturation that had been removed in the film’s original theatrical release. Now, you can own the vividly restored version of Taxi Driver that has been making rounds in limited release at theaters, and see it with all the paranoia-fueled blood and tension that was supposed to be in the original. Tue, 05 Apr 2011 06:15:00 -0000/news/editorials/taxi-driver-blu-ray-reviewEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/race-to-the-cloudIf you have a twitter account or visited the Internet at all in the last few days you've heard that Amazon has released a new cloud-based service. This service, dubbed Cloud Drive, gives users 5 gigs of free cloud based storage for them to use to store anything they like. While you can store anything on your Cloud Drive, the real issue for now is music. Amazon's Cloud Player will allow you to listen to any of your music from any computer or device with a browser (provided you are in the US). The big labels, of course, aren't happy with the cloud. Frankly, when they look up at a summer sky, all the see are dollars they aren't pocketing. But does their argument have merit?Fri, 01 Apr 2011 07:45:00 -0000/news/editorials/race-to-the-cloudEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/treme-the-complete-first-season-blu-ray-reviewTreme is a new drama series on HBO, sprung from the mind of David Simon, creator of the The Wire. Set in New Orleans not long after hurricane Katrina, Treme brings us average people as they rebuild following the worst man-made disaster in American history. But don’t expect a somber look at life in the Big Easy. Instead you’ll find Treme populated with colorful characters of indomitable resilience as they pick up the broken pieces of their lives in this musical city. Treme switches effortlessly between subplots and unique perspectives, woven together with a thick thread of New Orleans’ unique culture, food and most of all music. You’ll not only forgive this series for breaking into a song – the music is what keeps you coming back. Finally, television that rewards your musical sound system!Wed, 23 Mar 2011 20:35:00 -0000/news/editorials/treme-the-complete-first-season-blu-ray-reviewEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/the-tourist-blu-ray-reviewThe Tourist is a lighthearted caper film complete with Interpol vans, overtones of romance and international espionage. Starring Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie, it features beautiful people in beautiful, exotic locales being chased by the kind of generic baddies that were rejected from a James Bond movie. There – you’ve just decided if you’ll like this film or not and you’re almost certainly right. Despite its wide berth of mixed reviews, The Tourist is neither a great movie nor an abomination of modern filmmaking. I found The Tourist surprisingly entertaining if equally forgettable.Mon, 21 Mar 2011 06:45:00 -0000/news/editorials/the-tourist-blu-ray-reviewEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/verizon-uses-directvSo I was driving my motorcycle downtown today and scoped this out of the corner of my eye. What's that? Could my eyes deceive me? A DirecTV dish positioned right next to the big Verizon Plus Corporate sign? It certainly was... so intrigued was I that I pulled out my camera - riding gloves and all - and risked the shot while perched on the bike. This is one heck of an endorsement from the company that brings you Fios! Now I don't know if it's there because someone else in the building put it there, or because Verizon can't get its own service downtown (I live downtown and it's not available to my home) - but in either case it's good for a laugh... and hopefully it doesn't get anyone in trouble.Fri, 18 Mar 2011 18:54:22 -0000/news/editorials/verizon-uses-directvEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/audioholics-tom-andry-publishes-first-novel-and-gives-it-awayIt is rare that we have something to announce other than product news or reviews. However, we are proud to announce that our very own Associate Editor, Tom Andry, has released his first book Bob Moore: No Hero. While we are sort of obligated to read it, we weren't obligated to like it. And we do. We love it. Bob Moore, the titular protagonist, is a fairly stereotypical private eye who lives in a world of super powered humans. They started appearing about 30 years ago and now supers have become commonplace. They have their own country and government and Bob, once married to a super, specializes in investigating them. This doesn't make him very popular with the supers but he stays on top through a combination of a few defensive gadgets and his wits. We sat down to ask Tom a few questions about Bob Moore: No Hero.Tue, 01 Mar 2011 09:00:00 -0000/news/editorials/audioholics-tom-andry-publishes-first-novel-and-gives-it-awayEditorialsNews & Opinionhttp://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/guitar-hero-the-future-new-cokeIt seems like only yesterday we were hearing about the newest phenomena in video gaming, the meteoric rise of music games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Activision - Blizzard, the group behind blockbusters like World of Warcraft and the Call of Duty series, announced it will end the Guitar Hero franchise on February 9 and shut down the division that produced it. The decision follows closely behind Viacom Inc’s sale of Harmonix, the developers of Rock Band after one too many money losing fiscal quarters. But does this spell the end of music games or even the Guitar Hero franchise? Not likely! Fri, 18 Feb 2011 18:25:43 -0000/news/editorials/guitar-hero-the-future-new-cokeEditorialsNews & Opinion