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Written by Jared Rachwalski
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Monday, 11 February 2008 |
 Now that the Apple Lossless codec is available, do you wish you had a larger hard drive in your iPod? Or, is your iPod hard drive just not working anymore? Here is how to switch it out.
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Written by Rick Schmidt
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Wednesday, 23 January 2008 |
 Generosity is an Indie film in the process of being made. In August of 2007, we talked about Part I - The Writing, and in Part II, we cover Pre-production. If you want to see what a zoo it is to make a movie, get a load of this.
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Written by Chris Groppi
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Friday, 04 January 2008 |
 Impedance is the extension of the idea of electrical resistance to AC signals (like music). In high school, we all likely learned Ohm's law at some time or another. Whether we remember it or not is another story! Luckily, the refresher course is easy. Resistance is a way of relating voltage and current in a simple DC circuit.
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Rebuilding an A/V System with House-Wide Networking
Rebuilding an A/V System with House-Wide Networking
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Written by Colin Miller
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Monday, 01 October 2007 |
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I will start out by saying that this is a feature article primarily for
fellow geeks interested in the process of building or rebuilding an A/V
system. My home isn't exactly a showcase in design or high fashion, and
the A/V system that's going back in is aiming for function ...
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High Definition 1080p TV: Why You Should Be Concerned
High Definition 1080p TV: Why You Should Be Concerned
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Written by Brian Florian and Colin Miller
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Thursday, 01 March 2007 |
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1080p, or 1080 progressive, is a very high resolution video format and
screen specification. It is one of the ATSC HDTV specified formats
which includes 720p, 1080i, and 1080p . . .
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Using the Auto Set-up and EQ Features in an SSP or Receiver
Using the Auto Set-up and EQ Features in an SSP or Receiver
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Written by Brian Florian and Colin Miller
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Monday, 01 May 2006 |
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Many surround sound receivers and processors these days offer an "Auto"
set-up routine that attempts to configure the basic set-up for the
consumer, including whether a speaker should be high-passed or not,
which frequency to high-pass it at if applicable . . .
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Understanding Contrast Ratios in Video Display Devices
Understanding Contrast Ratios in Video Display Devices
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Written by Darin Perrigo
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Monday, 01 May 2006 |
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When we shop for a projector, one of the specifications that we
really want to be aware of is the Contrast Ratio (CR). In general, we
know that it is the relationship between the black and white levels
that a projector can show ...
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THX-Certification
What It Means and How to Use It
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Written by Brian Florian
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Sunday, 01 January 2006 |
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THX is almost a quarter century old, and its Consumer Branch has been
around since 1990, yet people still do not have a proper understanding
of THX. Maybe that's THX's fault, maybe it's ours (the press) . . .
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Bass Management Woes: Trouble on the Slopes
Bass Management Woes: Trouble on the Slopes
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Written by Brian Florian and Colin Miller
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Wednesday, 01 June 2005 |
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It's amazing really. Any decent speaker manufacturer will take
excruciating pains in designing and executing the crossover between
tweeter and woofer. Most go on to devote pages in their literature to
tell you about it, offering up trademarked ways to all say the same
thing.
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DVI and HDMI Connections and HDCP Explained
DVI and HDMI Connections and HDCP Explained
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Written by Brian Weatherhead
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Monday, 01 November 2004 |
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Recently I have had a barrage of e-mails from friends and readers
asking why HDTV connectivity is so complicated. I found myself sending
out the same advice and comments over and over, so I wanted to share
some of this advice. DVI (Digital Video Interface) . . .
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Written by Staff
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Saturday, 01 November 2003 |
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The Secrets DVD Benchmark has been remarkably popular, but in an of
itself not all that remarkable or unexpected. What took us off guard
is that it has been equally popular with our readers and manufacturers
of the equipment.
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DLP vs. LCD: Which is Better?
DLP vs. LCD: Which is Better?
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Written by Steve Smallcombe
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Tuesday, 01 July 2003 |
We often get questions about which TV display technology is "better".
In particular, the question arises in regard to DLP vs. LCD. This
article hopefully will provide some answers . . .
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Written by Colin Miller
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Sunday, 01 December 2002 |
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When humans hear two simultaneous arrivals of the same sound from
different directions at the same amplitude, the "stereo" illusion is
that the source is not from two different directions (i.e., from two
separate speakers), but from a "phantom" location between those
speakers.
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(Almost) Everything You Might Want to Know About Remote Controls
(Almost) Everything You Might Want to Know About Remote Controls
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Written by Avi Greengart
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Friday, 01 November 2002 |
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Everyone hates having so many remote controls, but they are necessary
accessories, right? How important is an accessory, anyway? If you
have eleven remotes on your coffee table, then something to contain the
mess is obviously important. But there's more to it than that ...
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Miscellaneous Ramblings on Subwoofer Crossover Frequencies
Miscellaneous Ramblings on Subwoofer Crossover Frequencies
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Written by Colin Miller and Brian Florian
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Sunday, 01 September 2002 |
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Many die-hard conservative audiophiles at first eschewed the use of a
subwoofer as a novelty trick of home theater, unsuitable for music
reproduction. As the frequency extension benefits of a dedicated
subwoofer became more and more undeniable . . .
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The Misunderstood 0.1 LFE Channel in 5.1 Digital Surround Sound
The Misunderstood 0.1 LFE Channel in 5.1 Digital Surround Sound
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Written by Brian Florian
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Monday, 01 April 2002 |
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In 5.1 digital surround sound, the 0.1 channel is called the LFE or Low
Frequency Effects channel. While in the commercial system it is
referred to as the subwoofer channel, this is not necessarily true for
home theater setups.
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Video Resolution . . . Simplified
Video Resolution . . . Simplified
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Written by Brian Florian
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Thursday, 01 July 1999 |
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Even though we've discussed video resolution in the pages of Secrets more than once, a real understanding of it still eludes a large number of people that I've encountered recently . . .
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Negative Feedback - Fact and Fantasy
Negative Feedback - Fact and Fantasy
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Written by Colin Miller
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Thursday, 01 October 1998 |
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Negative feedback, or NFB, has taken a bad rap in the high-end audio
community. Misunderstood by much of the audio press, and occasionally
abused by audio designers, many audiophiles shun the idea like anthrax.
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What We Hear vs. What We Perceive
What We Hear vs. What We Perceive
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Written by Colin Miller
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Tuesday, 01 September 1998 |
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Audiophiles love to characterize the sonics of pretty much everything
using words that really don't apply to sound. Terms range from the
general such as "Tight", "bright", "laid back", "warm," to the absurdly
abstract such as my all-time favorite, "pace."
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How a Hole-in-the-Box Works
A Big Dig into Bass Reflex
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Written by Colin Miller
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Wednesday, 01 July 1998 |
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Even though loudspeakers utilizing bass reflex techniques (i.e., ported
or passive radiator designs) are quite common, or maybe even the norm
if you carouse the average audio/video retailer. There are, however,
many misconceptions about how a bass-reflex system works . . .
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Technical Articles
