SoundAndVisionMagazine
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Sound and Vision takes a shine to Anthem's Room Correction
The lucky folks at Sound and Vision Magazine put Anthem's ARC-1 Room Correction System to test and liked it pretty well. It was evaluated in combination with the top o' the line Statement D2 processor, so the bar set by the associated gear was pretty high. Setup of the $399 add-on -- gratis if you've got a D2 -- sounds pretty straightforward: connect a PC running the ARC-1 software to the Anthem processor via RS-232 and use the included mic to gather some tone sweeps. From there, bumps and wrinkles in your in-room frequency response curve are smoothed out and multichannel levels, crossovers and delays are all set up. The correction (and the rest of the D2's performance) got a solid endorsement from the audiophiles at S&V: they liked it enough to leave it engaged at all times for both music and movie performances.[Thanks, Rob]
Sound and Vision mag talks tax-deductible A/V gear
Yeah, it's tax time again; time to get creative with your past year's consumerist urges. While we're not in the habit of giving out financial advice (we can never resist buying new gear), S&V mag has some guidelines on how you can claim your A/V purchases as "business related." It's a good guide, and we'd underscore the advice of keeping a detailed paper trail -- and not just of the expenses, either. Usage logs can help immensely if you (cough) get audited. That is, if your logs can accurately reflect that you stay within the 50-percent rule for your enjoyment business-related work. Above all, be honest with yourself about how you use your gear -- and if you decide to list gadget deductions, we'd recommend a brief talk with a financial advisor as a final sanity check. [Via TVSnob]
Tips for those on a quest for a multi-stream CableCARD
There's nothing easy about getting a CableCARD from your cable co' and if you're hoping to save a few bucks by using a multi-stream (aka M-Card) CableCARD in your TiVo HD -- does any other 3rd party host device even support M-Cards? -- then you have an even harder road ahead than most. Recently good 'ol S&V Mag braved the trail and came away semi-scathed. Lucky for us, they documented the journey and have written up a pretty comprehensive list of pitfalls to watch out for. Some are pretty obvious, like the need to be persistent when you meet the cable co's resistance to all things CableCARD, but it's a must read nonetheless. Oh, and one more thing, make sure the card actually says Multi-Stream on it before you even bother inserting it, as many cable co' employees think M-Card means Motorola card!
Plasma vs LCD: Plasma is still better
While the format war gets the most attention these days, our old favorite, -- no, not 720p vs 1080i -- is still kicking: Plasma vs LCD. With each new generation a manufacturer improves its previous best model and with the latest Samsung LED powered LCD (LN-T5281F), Sound and Vision Magazine thought it was time for another technology shoot out. The wait was in LCDs court, as the last time both went head to head, it wasn't even close, and while LCD is still no match for Plasma, it was closer than ever. In fact, even though both sets sell for almost the same price, the Plasma (Pioneer DP-5010FD) bested the best LCD they ever tested in every category -- including glare -- except detail, which was a tie. The biggest discrepancy between the two was viewing angle, which is labeled Uniformity on the scorecard and requires one to sit directly in front of the set, or suffer an inferior experience. The real irony here is that although the three seasoned AV experts on the panel agree on which produces the best picture, the average consumer probably prefers the "LCD's dynamic pop" and unrealistic bright colors to the almost perfect realistic colors of the Plasma.
