Blu-Ray is supposed to represent the “next generation” of watching movies on our home theater systems.  At least, many consumers think that’s what they are getting when they decide to shell out the twenty-five or thirty dollars to get the disc.  Unfortuntely, we are still seeing many titles being released that don’t deliver on that promise and they skimp on both quality and features thus watering down people’s expectation of what they get with the format.

For instance, there are far too many recent Blu-Ray titles that don’t include a Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD lossless audio track.  Furthermore, a fifty gigabyte disc is available and yet we still see plenty of titles being released on the smaller twenty five gigabyte format thus limiting what will fit on the disc.  Remember, one of the features that made Blu-Ray more desireable than HD-DVD was the extra storage capacity.  Now that Blu-Ray has won the format war its time the studios use that extra capacity. 

Consumers have been paying the full price regardless and they aren’t going to continue doing so until their expectations of high quality are met each and every time.  It seems like Warner Brothers has caught on though and some of their recent announcements indicate they will be devoting more attention to quality in future releases.

When there becomes a consistent high level of quality, the format will really start to thrive and flourish.  It’s been growing here and overseas at a steady rate, but it can grow even faster.  Personally, I have only been buying a sparse few Blu-Ray titles that I’m really a fan of such as No Country for Old Men, Hellboy, and Pan’s Labyrinth.  When more titles start delivering amazing sound in either high resolution Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD and amazing picture with exquisite dynamic range, I will be far less picky and it will be the desire to see and hear the quality of the production rather than my affinity for a film that drives the purchase.

Well, it’s a week after launch, and I still can’t get the new 3G iPhone. All of my local stores are sold out, with estimates of several weeks before new shipments arrive. That’s what I get for not camping out in line, but I haven’t pulled one of those all-nighters since queuing up for tickets to the 1985 Springsteen tour.

But it got me thinking, when was last time (or any time, for that matter) that a new A/V product caused that level of consumer frenzy? I’m taking the traditionalist view, so game consoles don’t count. Do you recall any piece of audio or video equipment that was so unique, paradigm-shifting, must-have cool that people were lined up to get them and the manufacturer couldn’t keep them in stock? I’m drawing a blank. It does make me wonder what would happen if the designers and engineers at Apple decided to sink their teeth into a traditional home theater product.

Two weeks ago I got wind of a sub-C$400 price on Sony’s BDPS300.  At the time I questioned whether that supplier was on the up and up, but now this past week any number of sources indicate that some price relief on Blu-Ray is in the pipe, at least on players.  Even my local dealer pro actively called me up saying he had new pricing on the coveted Panasonic ‘50.

Finally some indication of long-term incumbency for HD-on-disc.

Movies on the other hand seem to remain at a relatively high premium compared to DVD which, although of no consequence to the movie renting masses,  seems like poor reward for the movie collectors who have driven the market up to the present.

Like many, I don’t go to the cineplex that often.  High ticket prices, noisy attendees, and even the higher costs of driving to the theater have kept me happily enjoying my dvd and blu-ray collection at home instead.

Recently though, I have made a couple trips out to the theaters for the movies Hellboy II: The Golden Army and WALL-E .

In both cases, the experiences were well worth the high price of admission.  Okay, I probably should add that I saved money by not buying candy, popcorn, or drinks.

I have been a fan of the first Hellboy movie and I often find myself using it for home theater evaluation because its chock-full of mammoth action scenes that make good use of a surround sound system.  The second film in the series delivers even more visual and aural goodness with enormous battles that are a perfect blend of modern CG, live action, and exciting sound effects.  Fans of director Guillermo Del Toro’s visual style can also appreciate his use of unique character design that combines elements of both fantasy and science fiction genres.  Its somewhere between The Fifth Element and Lord of the Rings.  Needless to say, I will be eagerly anticipating the Blu-Ray release of this film. 

Anybody who is a home theater afficionado probably has a couple of Pixar titles in his library as the films highlight exceptional color depth and detail and are a great way to show off a modern HD display.  But, besides that, Pixar animations are just plain fun to watch and there is often a positive message behind the storylines.  Wall-E is entertaining because of all of the superb visuals and sound effects and also because the story is unique in that it is developed with a minimum of dialogue.  Its not too far off from the way a silent film spins a tale.  The way this story was told combined with its intense visuals made it one of the most entertaining movies I have seen recently.    

Ok, I admit it. This blog is just my recommendation to go out to the theaters and see either or both of these films while they are available at a cineplex that has good equipment.  Everything from the visuals and sound effects to the characters and storyline make them worth watching on a really large screen.  I’m sure you’ll enjoy them as much as I did.     

Coming home from a benchmark training trip a few evenings ago, I looked in my driveway and saw these packages stacked one on top of the other.

Believe it or not, these represent one turntable.

The McIntosh MT10 turntable that I have been using for our Vinyl vs. CD article series is reference quality, and in order to test other cartridges, I would have had to remove the one in the MT10. The McIntosh is not configured for exchanging cartridges easily, and I also wanted to be able to go back and forth between two cartridges in my listening tests. So, I decided to acquire a second reference quality turntable.

Searching all over the place on-line and reading a lot of reviews, I decided on VPI Industries, which makes a number of very high quality units. I chose the HRX. It’s there in all those boxes in the photo. Actually, it’s the same model in the photo on Page 3 (Turntables, Tonearms, and Cartridges) of the Vinyl vs. CD article series.

I also ordered a cartridge to compare with the one in the MT10. The new cartridge is an MC (moving coil) unit, but it has 2.5 mV output instead of the 0.75 mV output of the MC cartridge in the MT10.

Results will be forthcoming shortly.

I have been using the “diNovo Edge” keyboard from Logitech for some time and it has worked out well. There are several features I like. Among them:

• An integrated TouchDisc, so I don’t need a separate mouse. The TouchDisc is responsive and can be used to scroll both horizontally and vertically.
• Communication with the PC is handled over BlueTooth and the range is good.
• A built-in rechargeable battery with a quick charge cycle. A charging base is provided and the charge holds for a good length of time.
• A slim-profile
• Light-weight
• Some special function keys with labels that light up; I would have liked the entire keyboard to be backlit.

Logitech’s line also includes a keyboard for use with the PS3, the “MediaBoard Pro”, offering similar functionality. It does not include a built-in rechargeable battery, and some of the media control keys are also missing. This keyboard should work with a PC, although it may require some tinkering. It is also less expensive, so if your budget cannot accomodate the “diNovo Edge”, you can consider this alternative. Hopefully the price of this keyboard will come down over time. I would also like to hear about other options that people are using, so if you have a keyboard (BlueTooth or RF based) that you like to use with your HTPC, please post.

I was helping my son shop for a birthday present, particularly focusing on his interest in a game console. I tried not to nudge him towards a PS3, but a little voice kept saying “Blu-ray player, Blu-ray player. . . .” Eventually, the angel on my other shoulder won out and I decided I would just buy a stand-alone player rather than co-opt my own child’s birthday present. As of today, the best Blu-ray player with Profile 2.0, relatively fast-loading time and a decent price, is the PS3. A game console, for $400.

I appreciate that having the studios line up behind different formats made for an untenable situation. But the “old” Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD player in my rack, like every other HD DVD player, was based on a stable set of specifications (as Adrian just noted,  BD-Live is still ramping up).  And I paid $99 for it.

I had hoped that, with the end of the format battle, consumers would rapidly see a stable set of specifications, and more players available at a wide range of price points. Especially that all important entry-level player to introduce people to the joys of high-def video (kind of like those $999 HD flat screens).

Well, the big CEDIA show is less than two months away. I can still hope, right?

With more major studios lining up to add BD-Live content to Blu Ray discs in the upcoming months there are some features that I am looking forward to and then there are some I’m not.

To establish some ground here, BD-Live is the feature that allows ethernet or wi-fi capable Blu-Ray Players (Sony Playstation 3 for example) to connect to the internet and obtain additional content not already loaded onto the disc.  Features such as downloadable trailers, library search, and live chatting are some of the ideas that studios have already announced.

I’m not really going to get excited about the live chatting feature.  I think it might be pleasant to discuss a movie after its finished and perhaps some interesting conversation can result involving interpretation or some other aspect of the film but my main concern is, will there be a way to filter out trashy , meaningless, or spam comments that are frequently seen on internet discussion.   Probably not.

I am, on the other hand, interested to see how the informational resource features pan out.  I’m all for guided recommendations for other movies based on my personal preferences.  They can potentially save me the time from watching movies I feel are disasters such as Sony Pictures “Are We Done Yet” for instance.

I think companies like Netflix or Blockbuster Online would be smart to get themselves involved in BD-Live so that if during watching a disc when a preview or trailer of a desired movie is watched, one could add it to their rental queue with a convenient push of a button.

Also, are the studios favoring BD Live going to give the consumer extras free as charge as a reward for purchasing the higher priced Blu-Ray discs or are they going to use BD-Live as a tool to generate more revenue by making the extras for sale only.  Probably the latter.  Personally, I’d like to see a lot more of these novelties such as theme song ringtones or other such goodies come free of charge as appreciation to the consumer.  A little goes a long way. 

It’s July 4th weekend here in the U.S., which traditionally means standing over a grill filled with searing animal meat, beer in one hand and BBQ tongs in the other. Why this is an appropriate way to celebrate the birth of our country is the topic of another blog (in a different publication). I have a nice set of Paradigm outdoor speakers, so will at least be able to enjoy my music while manning the grill.

But how about watching a movie in the backyard? Now you can stop by the local big-box store and buy an inflatable outdoor screen. I have seen commercial versions of them at parks, and while not a videophile experience, the image quality is at least on a par with the drive-in movies of my youth; plus you don’t have the metal speaker affixed to the car window or idiots who keep flashing their headlights at the screen every time there’s a romantic scene. Now that’s something I can celebrate.

I had an interesting experience this past weekend that I want to tell you about.

A product that I use for outdoor exercising wore out. This happens about every five years, and I simply replace the product with a new one.

So, I went into the store to get it, and they took me over to a display that showed a new model. It was priced about $150 more than the model l usually purchase. He said there was a $150 rebate on the new model, and the old model was not in stock anyway. It did not appear to have the heft of the old model, but I decided what the heck, and bought one. They gave me a rebate slip that I was supposed to send in and would get my $150 rebate check within a couple of weeks.

OK, so I get home and install the new model. Well, it did not perform nearly as smoothly as the old model. Part of the problem was the lower weight of the new one.

I thought about this and realized what was going on. The company that makes this product didn’t have any competition at first. Now, they have some, and the competition makes good units.

What they are trying to do is build a new version that is much cheaper to manufacture, stock it fully in dealer showrooms, not stock the old one very much, price it higher so you think it is a better model than the old one, offer it with a rebate so you will be tempted to buy the new one (with the rebate, you then get it at the same price as the old model), and slowly work their customer base into using the new, cheaper made model. They raise the price and build it cheaper. What could be better?

Well, how about a customer base that is stupid enough to fall for this? It does not exist. Customers are just too shopping-wise these days. There is too much info out there and we have been screwed too many times before.

So, I took the new model back and said I want the old model. He gave me a $132 refund, with the rest of the money going to pay for the old model when it comes in next week.

The thing I really want to say here is that I have not seen this kind of shady marketing in the Audio Video world, and the reason is that there is just too much competition. There are only three competitors to the exercise product that I bought. There must be 100 speaker manufacturers out there. Anyone who tried to fool us would be out of business within a year. Can you imagine what would be said about them on all the audio video forums?