Shane Buettner
Sort By: Post Date | Title | Publish Date
CEDIA 2006
Shane Buettner Sep 14, 2006 0 comments

Toshiba wasn’t satisfied with introducing two new HD DVD players. Also announced were two new flagship REGZA LCD flat panels to the new and exclusive Cinema Series Pro Line. The 42” 42LZ196 will retail for $3,399 with the 47” 47LZ196 at $4,599. Both sets will be available this month. Both sets boast full 1920x1080 resolution.

Shane Buettner Apr 06, 2007 5 comments

I'm sure all of you have read by now that in a move to improve its financial performance, Circuit City canned 3,400 sales assistants and will be replacing them with lower paid employees. If you haven't, check out Mark Fleischmann's take here.

Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Shane Buettner Feb 03, 2007 5 comments

In an effort to outperform the original, sequels invariably spend more money, have more explosions, more action, more stunts and more special effects. In this spirit I suppose it's inevitable that Kevin Smith's Clerks II would turn to bestiality (er, "interspecies erotica") in an effort to go where even the original Clerks hadn't gone before. The original did feature necrophilia as a set piece after all. And there's also a hilariously wrong homage to Silence of the Lambs here that anyone who sees this film will never forgive Kevin Smith or Jason Mewes for.

HE 2007
Shane Buettner May 13, 2007 0 comments

Cinepro was here at HE 2007, and had everyone talking about its demo. And talking loudly, because after hearing the Cinepro Mighty surround system odds are you weren't hearing anything else unless you'd brought earplugs too!

Shane Buettner Blog
Shane Buettner Nov 13, 2010 22 comments
Answering a reader letter for a recent print issue provided an opportunity to look at how the flat panel TV has evolved since the demise of the best flat panel TVs yet devised, the gone but hardly forgotten Pioneer KURO line of plasmas. These sets looked better, and the measurements demonstrated that in many key respects, they were in fact better than the competition. In blacks and contrast, objective and subjective, we’ve not yet seen their equal let alone their better. My question is whether anyone is really trying any more. The KURO in a short time built an incredible reputation and brand equity and identification. To this day, when readers email me about these sets, they say “KURO,” not Pioneer or Pioneer Elite. That mark stuck with people. When the KURO walked the Earth the other manufacturers were forced to catch up. Within a short time LCD flat panel manufacturers had to answer, and they did. LCDs improved dramatically, primarily through the advent of full array local dimming. Blacks and contrast with LCDs suddenly stood where no LCD had stood before. When the KUROs were here it seemed LED backlighting with local dimming and the performance increases it afforded LCDs were the next big thing. But the KURO went away. Edge lighting came about and is far more prevalent than full array local dimming, making TVs almost iPhone thin. But these sets don’t compete with local dimmers in blacks and contrast and have uniformity issues that may bother purists. The full-array local dimmers are now apparently confined to premium models from LG and Sony, with only VIZIO offering more affordable models. Since thin has been in, there’s also been a massive fixation on Internet streaming apps and of course, 3D. Rumors persist that engineering talent from project KURO now resides at Panasonic, and that the next KURO-like performance will emerge from there. Panasonic’s latest plasmas are definitely the closest we’ve seen from plasmas, but they’re not quite at KURO level in blacks and contrast even though Panasonic has a full suite of Internet apps and excellent 3D.
CEDIA 2009
Shane Buettner Sep 13, 2009 4 comments
Things are tough all over. This man is the prettiest model that Definitive Technology could afford to show off its new Mythos XTR-50 ($799 each). Bada-bing. Actually that’s Definitive’s man in charge, Paul DiComo. The new XTR-50 is Definitive’s answer to the flat panel’s ongoing bout with anorexia. Although the speaker also ships with attractive table-top stands, the XTR-50’s wow factor is its shocking 1.6” depth, which is all the more startling when wall-mounted around one of the latest wafer-thin flat panels. Wall mounting is ultra simple with the supplied brackets, and they can be oriented horizontally or vertically (even the Definitive logo detaches and re-attaches to match). Now all you need is a flat panel that doesn’t look fat when surrounded by two or three XTR-50s.
Shane Buettner Jan 26, 2011 3 comments

Performance
Value
Build Quality
Price: $3,997 At A Glance: Forward Focused Bipolar Array provides spectacular soundstage, imaging, and focus • Built-in powered subs bring the bass slam for movies and music • Big speakers, big sound, small footprint

Bipolar, Refocused and Refined

Living bipolar isn’t an unfortunate state of mind at Definitive Technology; it’s a chosen philosophy. And stretching further, it’s perhaps even a reason for being. Founded in 1990, Definitive is a stalwart brand and a staggering success story in the CE business. Definitive has made compelling entries in the speaker market in recent years with speakers as diverse as its flat, sexy Mythos XTR-50 on-walls and its ultraslim, floorstanding Mythos STS. But the bipolar Super Towers, which include built-in powered subwoofers, are still the flagship line. To this day, much of Definitive’s brand identity is those tall, sleek, and big-sounding black towers. The reason you’re reading this review is that the bipolar Super Tower series has now been completely redesigned and reborn.

CES 2008
Shane Buettner Jan 13, 2007 1 comments

As the proud parent of Denon and Marantz D&M Holdings came away from CES with a pair of UAV awards. Denon's AVR-5805 was the best AV receiver we saw and heard, while the Marantz VP-11S1 remains the top 1080p projector we've seen in 2006 or any other year.

AV Receiver Reviews
Shane Buettner Sep 13, 2006 0 comments
  • $1,099
  • 110-Watts x 7 into 8 ohms
  • Processing Modes: DD, DD-EX, ProLogicIIx, Dolby Virtual Speaker, Dolby Headphone, DTS, DTS-ES/Discrete/Matrix/Neo: 6, DTS 24/96
Features We Like: HDMI 1.1 and component video switching, auto calibration with Audyssey MultEQ room EQ, transcoding of analog video to HDMI, two coaxial and five toslink digital audio inputs, one 7.1-channel analog audio input, 7.1-channel preamp outs, XM Satellite Radio Ready, AV sync delay, multi-source/multi-zone
CEDIA 2007
Shane Buettner Sep 07, 2007 1 comments

This morning we got our first up close and personal look at Denons' upcoming Blu-ray Disc players- the DVD-3800BDCI ($1,999 December) and the DVD-2500BTCI ($1,199 December). And a chance to ask Denon's Jeff Talmadge (pictured above) more about the interactivity platforms of the players, and more.

Site Map / Direct Links