http://www.audioholics.com/news/rss.xml Get the latest insider info in the A/V world. hourly 12 2006-12-01T00:00 http://www.audioholics.com/static/logo.jpg http://www.audioholics.com/ http://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/a-fortunate-disaster Several weeks ago, the sump pump in my basement failed me here in Iowa. As I am sure you have read, the flooding was quite extensive in my state. As the water moves southward many towns in Illinois and Missouri are experiencing the mild to major flooding as well. My situation wasn't as bad as many are experiencing, but it was enough water to require some quick equipment and furniture extraction and some rather unpleasant room reconstruction. But, is it really all bad? jim 2008-07-03T00:25:30+00:00 Editorial http://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/happy-4th-of-july Lately I’ve been editorializing science based stuff I happen upon online while taking a break from the A/V stuff. Despite I am an avid Audioholic, I am also a geeky science guy as well. I suppose they kinda go hand in hand, but nonetheless after reading about the successes of our Voyager spacecrafts it kinda fueled my American pride that when we put our minds to a challenge, we can prevail. Gene 2008-07-02T15:47:12+00:00 Editorial http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/nokia-online-music The Finnish cell phone giant is determined to kick its way into the content market. Nokia has already bought handheld operating system Symbian and made deals for a Social Online Network collaboration with Facebook. Now it’s making serious inroads to taking a slice of Apple’s pie in the online music service biz. wayde 2008-07-02T12:11:05+00:00 News http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/199-iphone-599-att Fans of the newly announced $199 iPhone will soon be able to get it... for $599. Huh? According to a report on Reuters today, U.S. consumers who want the new iPhone but cannot or do not want to sign up for a new two-year contract with AT&T Inc will eventually be able to buy it for an extra $400... sort of. Maybe. Kind of. clint 2008-07-02T09:53:46+00:00 News http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/pioneer-kuro-lcd-oxymoron If you go to the Pioneer website and look up Kuro, they talk about one thing - black levels. Pioneer has recently announced that Kuro LCDs will begin shipping in the UK in August with a US release expected to follow. They are starting off with the 32-inch KRL-32V, 37-inch KRL-37V and 46-inch KRL-46V. The 32 and 37 inch displays will be shipping in August though the 46's shipping date has not been announced. We knew that Pioneer was phasing out their plasmas and starting to source LCDs from Sharp, but we didn't know they'd continue the Kuro line. tom 2008-07-01T10:05:07+00:00 News http://www.audioholics.com/news/press-releases/yamaha-introduces-the-ysp-3050-digital-sound-projector The new YSP-3050 features 21 beam drivers, and two woofers, 23 corresponding digital amplifiers, three Cinema DSP programs (movie, music and sports), analog to HDMI video upconversion, high definition video upscaling to 1080i/720p and a 1080p (24Hz and 60Hz) compatible HDMI interface with two inputs and one output to facilitate pure digital connections with the latest home theater components. This new model also sports iPod and XM Satellite Radio compatibility, FM tuner and advanced listening settings. tom 2008-06-30T21:50:28+00:00 Press Release http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/emotiva--4th-of-july-sale Take advantage of big savings and free shipping on Emotiva's award winning, acclaimed loudspeaker system and the classic LPA-1 amplifier! Act now or regret it this weekend! Now, through July 6th: ERM-1 LCR Monitors are only $229 each (regularly $299), and ERD-1 Surround Speakers are only $299 a pair (regularly $349). On top of all that, free shipping! Act now! tom 2008-06-30T21:41:45+00:00 News http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/hancock-download-sony-bravia We've been sounding the death knell of traditional disc-based media for some time, but Sony Pictures seems to truly be ushering it along - at least in an experimental trial fashion. This week's blockbuster-in-waiting, Hancock, will be hitting the silver screen... soon to be followed by downloads - at least if you own a Web-ready Sony Bravia TV. That's right, after its theater run - but before it gets releases to DVD & Blu-ray, owners of Sony Bravia TVs (with integrated Internet connections) can download the movie over the Internet. clint 2008-06-30T09:44:58+00:00 News http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/rhapsody-itunes-drm-free-music Rhapsody, an online subscription music company-turned MP3-download service, is spending $50 million in marketing to take on #1 retailer iTunes, offering DRM-free songs online and working with such partners as Yahoo Inc and Verizon Wireless. Since Rhapsody will sell its songs in the MP3 format, iPod users will now have a choice of where to purchase music. Rhapsody is hoping iPod users will opt for a DRM-free choice. clint 2008-06-30T07:55:10+00:00 News http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/oled-in-the-news Recently there has been a flurry of activity centered around OLED, not the least of which were rumors that Matsushita (Panasonic) was attempting to mass produce the technology (for cheap) as early as 2011. On the heels of that round of news, Samsung SDI (the Korean-based display manufacturing company) announced it would boost OLED production levels six-fold by mid-2009. To do this, they have committed to spending over half a billion dollars ($529 million to be more precise). clint 2008-06-30T07:28:09+00:00 News http://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/atom-smasher The world’s largest atom smasher comes online this August in Switzerland. Some critics fear it could create a black hole that would envelop the Earth while others fear it will turn our planet into Dr. Evil’s infamous “liquid hot magma”. As a result, we have put together a top 10 survival tips to ensure you’re safe and sound when the switch is flipped this August. So polish your tube amps, raise your cables off the floor and get ready for the big event. Gene 2008-06-28T18:10:09+00:00 Editorial http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/sony-loses-3-billion-xbox-price-drop While Sony has lost an estimated $3.3 billion on its PS3 console sales, that isn't all that surprising. Consoles routinely lose money at the beginning of their life. Software sales and eventual reduction in production costs are supposed to make up for it. But with Sony's Chief Executive Howard Stringer promising not to lose money this year on the PS3, the stage seems set for an Xbox 360 price drop. But will they when Microsoft has lost around a billion dollars (and counting) on the "Red Ring of Death" fiasco? tom 2008-06-27T13:16:34+00:00 News http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/sony-es-receiver-str-da4400es Sony’s new ES line of receivers may bring to mind the words of the Who’s Pete Townsend: Meet the new boss – same as the old boss. The company’s new ES line of audio/video receivers looks suspiciously like last year’s new ES line of audio/video receivers with a slight rearrangement in features to price points. wayde 2008-06-27T10:03:20+00:00 News http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/onion-riaa-strategy-pirate-radio As an age old battle, as old as the dawn of radio and the phonograph, between the RIAA and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) over royalty payments heats up with a pending bill in Congress, a music industry group, musicFIRST, that was instigated by the RIAA, has begun doing silly things in public like calling radio just another form of piracy. david 2008-06-26T16:23:21+00:00 Editorial http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/playstation-3-movie-downloads-announced Soon your options for movie viewing won’t be limited to media-streaming, Blu-ray and extended cut-scenes in your favorite games. Sony Computer Entertainment Pres. Kaz Hirai announced that a movie download service will hit PlayStation 3 this summer. wayde 2008-06-26T11:01:05+00:00 News http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/blu-ray-outsell-dvd-2012 There are two ways to look at a report filed by the Entertainment Merchant Association: 1) Somebody is really excited and optimistic about Blu-ray, or 2) The fact that everyone already owns a DVD player means that it will still take 4 more years before consumers are buying into new technology at a rate that exceeds the replacement rate for set-top DVD players - presumably including existing and new game consoles which sport the embedded technology. clint 2008-06-26T10:33:25+00:00 News http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/mpaa-burden-proof-constitution Pesky legalities like having to prove copyright infringement is too hard says the MPAA, therefore they and other copyright holders should be allowed to just accuse anyone they see fit, provide any slapdash, inconclusive evidence that they feel like, and then receive a favorable judgment against the defendant. This whole copyright protection business is going just a little bit overboard. david 2008-06-25T18:28:47+00:00 Editorial http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/panasonic-oleds-2011 According to the Sankei Shimbun daily (a major Japanese newspaper), Japan-based Matsushita Electric Industrial Co (Panasonic) let out that it is finalizing plans to mass-produce 37-inch organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TVs in three years. The article said that Matsushita would be the first to mass-produce OLED TVs of over 30 inches, and that the company was positioning itself to take on Samsung Electronics, another pro-OLED company to dominate the flat panel market. clint 2008-06-25T00:14:27+00:00 News http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/beatles-music-coming-to-video-games The memorable tunes of the Fab Four might soon appear in video games. Reps from Apple Corps are currently in talks with Activision and MTV Games to put Beatles songs into their hit console games Guitar Hero and Rock Band. wayde 2008-06-23T11:34:40+00:00 News http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/denon-avp-a1hdci-avr-5308ci-firmware-update Denon has just announced firmware updates for their flagship AVP-A1HDCI 12CH A/V Processor and AVR-5308CI receiver. There are two updates which are tabulated below. The updates will only benefit users experiencing these operational issues. All updates are cumulative; meaning the latest one will include the previous ones if the unit had not been updated prior. These update corrections are for North America units only – other updates are available for other markets as well. Gene 2008-06-23T08:00:00+00:00 News http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/denon-electronics-mitt-romney Missed it by that much. D&M Holdings and Bain Capital Partners LLC today announced that they have entered into an agreement, under which Bain Capital Partners will launch a tender offer for all of the shares of D&M Holdings at a price of 510 yen per share of common stock. To most people this will sound like "Denon Electronics purchased by blah blah blah blah blah..." but if you look into Bain Capital you will find that it has Mitt Romney as one of its principle founders back in 1984. We came this close to having a major electronics company at least partially owned by a Presidential Candidate. Bain Capital is also responsible for putting money behind Staples, Clear Channel Communications, Philips, Warner Music Group, Burger King, Home Depot, and Guitar Center (and a whole host of other high profile companies too lengthy to be listed here). clint 2008-06-20T22:44:16+00:00 News http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/early-adopters-get-chicks If you believe in the stereotype of techie-geeks as pudgy social misfits, think again! Evidence from two separate studies on human behavior have combined to say otherwise. Lonely geeks of the world take heart! Many of us have an inner James Bond just waiting to come out and slay the ladies. wayde 2008-06-19T21:16:42+00:00 News http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/klipsch-energy-circuit-city Circuit City has announced it’s expanding its home audio lineup to include Klipsch and Energy speakers. Klipsch has been courting the mainstream consumer with a diversified product line lately, now it’s bringing Energy with it. wayde 2008-06-19T11:57:10+00:00 News http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/ti-lamp-free-led-projector Texas Instruments (TI) introduced what it claims is the industry's first home theater lamp-free projector at this week's InfoComm 2008. It utilizes a Luminus PhlatLight LED light source and a BrilliantColor chipset. PhlatLight is MIT-inspired technology which uses a new type of solid state light source that combines the benefits of both LED and laser technologies. This unique solid state lighting technology is geared towards display and illumination applications that require high brightness and the efficient harnessing of light from a small point source. clint 2008-06-19T10:58:46+00:00 News http://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/games-prove-content-is-king Content is king. Always has been and always will be. Many will argue that games have little or nothing to do with the music industry. Indeed both are about as far apart as you can get in terms of industry and development. However, it's important to point out some things that have been prominent in the news lately and have signaled to me the real problem that faces the music industry - and a possible solution, if the industry will raise up off its laurels and get to work. clint 2008-06-18T10:33:19+00:00 Editorial http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/philips-5000-7000-series-hdtv Maybe you can make a difference with a remote control in one hand while laying on your couch. Philips has a new line of Eco friendly HDTVs that feature a cleaner parts and a dimmer feature to let your LCD panel use less energy. wayde 2008-06-17T16:06:54+00:00 News http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/researchers-mpaa-riaa-printer-p2p-file-sharing After receiving over 200 inadvertent complaints and DMCA takedown notices while studying BitTorrent traffic in 2007, researchers at the University of Washington decided to evaluate the accuracy and effectiveness of monitoring agents employed by copyright stakeholders. What they found was not a particularly encouraging state of justice. So, with all the possible sources of error, why are content providers and their watchdogs relying on unreliable methods? To cut costs. david 2008-06-16T14:51:51+00:00 News http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/invisible-monster-cables-still-cost-600 The Monster Digital Express HD System involves two boxes, a transmitter and receiver, which utilize a UWB (ultra-wideband) signal to carry HDMI information and more developed by Sigma Designs. The transmitter has two HDMI and component inputs, a composite/s-video input with audio, and single coax and TOSLink digital audio inputs. The receiver has HDMI and optical outputs. The unit promises that you'll be able to stream 1080p wirelessly with no loss of resolution. From what we've read it seems like only the picture is streamed wirelessly. No word yet on how to handled a high definition picture and audio simultaneously. tom 2008-06-16T12:11:39+00:00 News http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/fcc-approves-xm-sirius-merger Kevin Martin, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), is recommending approval of the $5 billion merger between the nation's only two satellite radio broadcasters. Sirius Satellite Radio Inc (~8.3 million subscribers) is now free and clear to buyout rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (~9 million subscribers) A final vote on the closely watched merger can occur at any time now and is expected to pass the merger through without further interruptions - this after over a year of FCC-based delays during the approval process. clint 2008-06-16T09:28:14+00:00 News http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/mp3-obsolete-already While the debate rages on (sort of) regarding MP3 vs AAC vs Ogg vs LAME vs (insert CODEC here), one new format seeks to differentiate itself as the new "Music 2.0" system. This month, the Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG) will decide if MT9 - the new kid on the block - will be adopted as a new international standard. clint 2008-06-16T08:30:40+00:00 News