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Acer Launches a New 3D DLP Projector[teaser]The H9500BD utilizes active shutter technology and boasts 2D to 3D conversion. [/teaser] Acer's H9500BD is a 3D projector that's aimed at home theater enthusiasts and gamers alike. It has a 16:9 native aspect ratio but can be adjusted to 4:3 for Wii games and other content that's not quite up to date. The active shutter based 3D technology means that in addition to 3D Blu-ray players and game consoles, the H9500BD is capable of hooking up with NVIDIA graphics cards for a 3D PC experience. The projector offers a pair of HDMI ports as well as DVI, VGA, S-video and RCA. In addition to playing back content that was created in 3D, the H9500BD can convert 2D video to 3D on the fly. It can do pictures too, so if you have some vacation photos to show off you can make them a touch more interesting for your guests. The H9500BD is available now on Amazon for $1,699. Source: eCousticsPosted Tue Dec 13, 2011 at 11:00 AM PST by: -
InFocus Debuts a Pair of HD DLP Projectors[teaser]The slick looking new projectors boast high brightness and a resolution of up to 1920 x 1200. [/teaser] The latest projectors from InFocus are the IN5316HD and IN5318, both of which are designed with a bit of flexibility. InFocus says that thanks to a brightness of 4000 and 4500 lumens respectively, these projectors will be at home in both a larger home viewing environment as well as boardrooms and classrooms. Both projectors offer a trio of lens options - standard, short throw, long throw zoom - and both projectors offer lens shift, making installation a bit more flexible. The IN5316HD offers a 1080p resolution while the IN5318 provides 1920 by 1200. The new projectors both offer HDMI inputs as well as DisplayPort and a few others for good measure. The 5316 runs $5,699 while the 5318 costs $5,999. Source: eCousticsPosted Tue Dec 13, 2011 at 09:00 AM PST by: -
Anthony Gallo Releases Nucleus Classico Speakers[teaser]The new line features proprietary tech and a sharp look. [/teaser] Anthony Gallo Acoustics has announced that the new Nucleus Classico speaker line is now available for purchase. Along with a pair of subwoofers, you'll find two bookshelf mini-monitors, a pair of floorstanding speakers and a center channel. All but the CL-1 bookshelf speaker use the CDT 3 tweeter, S2 technology and the BLAST System. BLAST, or Backwave Linearization and Synchronization Technology) is designed to allow the speaker to be louder and provide better bass without sucking up any extra power. "The development of our new technologies, we found a way to bring the benefits of our critically acclaimed spheres to a box loudspeaker," says company founder Anthony Gallo. "With this, we now offer a speaker that will elegantly blend into any lifestyle or decor." Source: SoundStagePosted Tue Dec 13, 2011 at 07:00 AM PST by: -
'Meatballs' Blu-ray Wal-Mart Exclusive?[teaser]Is the classic 1979 comedy heading to Camp Blu-ray in February?[/teaser] According to this Wal-Mart listing, it looks like Lionsgate may be getting ready to release 'Meatballs' on Blu-ray on February 21. Bill Murray, star of "What About Bob?", "Scrooged", "Ghostbusters", and "Stripes" is an off-the-wall head counselor in this riotous send-up of summer camp, directed by Ivan Reitman, the producer of "Twins", "National Lampoon's Animal House" and "Ghostbusters". Murray is Tripper, the most creative activites director in the whole North Woods, who guides a fun-seeking collection of lovable campers and libidinous staff members through the unique pleasures of a coed summer experience. The wildest summer Camp North Star ever had begins quietly with a runaway camper, an accidental blackout and Tripper's amorous attack on a female counselor. Insanity builds with the most hilarious Parent's Day on record, a scary overnight canoe trip, and the Olympiad - a traditional competition between North Star and the rich kids of neighboring Camp Mohawk. A talented, high-spirited cast, an unlikely romance, and a gang of warm, wicked, wonderful campers are all part of the fireside recipe for "Meatballs": mix togeter outrageousness, irreverence and hysterical fun...and take home a comedy smash. Specs and supplements have yet to be detailed, but suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $14.99. You can find the latest specs for 'Meatballs' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under February 21.Posted Mon Dec 12, 2011 at 11:00 AM PST by: -
Bonus View Digest - December 9, 2011We've had another week fly by at The Bonus View featuring articles on everything from home entertainment system issues to the new films you can expect to see at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. [teaser]This week was packed full of interesting articles and reviews. Check out some of the stuff you may have missed![/teaser] Blu-ray News Check out Josh's Blu-ray Highlights to get a recap of all the new Blu-rays that came to stores this week. We also finished our 'Tucker and Dale vs. Evil' contest. Check out the results page to see if you were a winner this time around. Theatrical News Luke took time out to review the new film 'Young Adult' along with 'New Year's Eve.' You can also check out Josh's review of the new silent film (yes, I said "silent film") 'The Artist' which is gaining a ton of Oscar buzz. E put together another Trailer Park featuring trailers from 'Carnage' and 'American Reunion.' The 2012 Sundance Film Festival is coming up quickly and Aaron has all the coverage you'll need. He's been recapping the movies that will be at the festival. Check out what movies you can expect to see in the Spotlight and U.S. Dramatic Competition sections of the festival, and be sure to stay tuned to The Bonus View in January because Luke and Aaron will be knee deep in the festival bringing you the latest news about next year's newest movies. For the Mid-Week Poll we asked our readers which December movies they were most excited to see. Check out the results, some may surprise you. Home Theater News We only had one home theater article this week, but that doesn't mean it's not worth reading. Josh presented a story about HDMI Handshaking Woes and his step by step solution to fix the problem he was faced with. TV Recaps With so many of the shows we've been covering heading to early winter hiatuses, we only have a few recaps this week. Check out our recaps of 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia,' 'American Horror Story,' and 'Psych.' This week's Weekend Roundtable was also TV related. Us writers got together to talk about our favorite TV theme songs and what they meant to us.' Well, that's it for this week. We hope you've enjoyed your time with us because we sure enjoy writing for you. Continue to follow along with The Bonus View to keep up to date with news, reviews, and our constant stream of contests.Posted Fri Dec 9, 2011 at 11:30 AM PST by: -
Hulu Face Match Finds Actor Information via Facial Recognition[teaser]You can learn about an actor just by hovering over them with your mouse. [/teaser] Have you ever watched a movie or TV show and wondered where you'd seen a particular actor before or just wanted to learn more about a particular performer? Currently, there's no simple way to go about getting the information. You can skip to the credits and find the person's name or search the show on IMDb, but Hulu has a different idea in mind. If you're watching a movie or TV show on Hulu, you'll be able to hover your mouse over an actor's face and get not only their name, but information about their career and links to their Facebook and Twitter accounts. Face Match is only available on certain shows like 'The Office' and 'Lost,' but Hulu plans to spread the service across the rest of the shows on the service before too long. "Face Match is still very much a work in progress," writes Zhibing Wang, director of research at Hulu, "but we plan to increase the number of faces we recognize in shows and movies as we roll it out." Source: EngadgetPosted Fri Dec 9, 2011 at 11:00 AM PST by: -
Verizon and Redbox are Partnering for Streaming Service According to Sources[teaser]This potential Netflix competitor is starting to look like a very real threat. [/teaser] Just a few days ago we reported on the creation of a Verizon streaming service that aims to compete in the same space as Netflix, but the guys over at TechCrunch uncovered a partnership that makes this seem like it might be a real threat to the current dominant subscription video service. While initially it was reported that pay TV channels like Epix would be the focus, it seems that Redbox is also heavily involved in the new venture. Using the massive content library of Redbox in addition to the incredible retail space penetration, the service will certainly attract a great deal of attention. Reports and leaks indicate that the service will charge a monthly $5.95 fee for six credits which can be used to watch movies, TV shows and the like. Content will be able to be streamed to mobile devices, tablets, computers and set-top boxes in HD though there's no word yet on surround sound. What could be particularly interesting is a combination with this new service and Redbox rentals - allowing customers to use their credits for both streaming and kiosk rentals. We'll certainly be finding out more in the near future as the project is expected to launch in May. Source: TechCrunchPosted Fri Dec 9, 2011 at 09:00 AM PST by: -
Yamaha Receivers Get iOS and Android Streaming Capabilities[teaser]The latest edition of the AV Controller app adds some very cool new functionality. [/teaser] Yamaha's newest version of the AV Controller app for Android and iOS brings with it some new functionality. It's the kind of functionality that seems obvious in hindsight, but didn't enter into minds at launch. You'll still be able to use your device as a remote control for your receiver and other Yamaha products, but now you'll be able to stream music directly from your phone or tablet to the receiver. Not too shabby for a free application. You can pick up Yamaha's AV Controller on iTunes or from the Android Marketplace Source: TWICEPosted Fri Dec 9, 2011 at 07:00 AM PST by: -
HDD Study Hall: Gary Oldmanby Luke Hickman [teaser]In theaters this week is the new highly complex and equally confusing espionage investigation flick 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.' At the top of the credits is Gary Oldman, easily one of today's best working actors.[/teaser] During his 30 years on screen, Oldman has played nearly every type of character imaginable – hero, villain, cop, outlaw, rebel, vampire, drug dealer, musician, reverend, doctor, spider, terrorist, traitor, devil, and werewolf hunter. He's even done Robert Zemeckis' creepy motion capture stuff. While a lot of folks learned to love Oldman from his roles as Sid Vicious in 'Sid and Nancy,' I was too little to have that be my first experience with him. A few years after it was released, after visiting the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas, Texas, my old man and I sat down and watched a VHS copy of 'JFK.' Watching Oldman's performance as the notorious Oswald marked the first performance I saw him in. It wasn't until 'The Fifth Element' that I saw him again. After that, he became an actor and a face that I'd look forward to seeing in every movie – both the good and the bad. I'm not going to make the bold statement that the list below contains the best of Oldman's roles. Instead, I'm going to fill it with what I consider to be the most memorable of them all. Be warned, there are spoilers lurking in these waters. Commissioner Gordon in 'Batman Begins' and 'The Dark Knight' Let's go ahead and get these out of the way first. If you think back to the pre-Nolan 'Batman' movies, Pat Hingle's Jim Gordon was nothing more than a scenery-chomping side character that carried no weight or relevance to the story at hand. He didn't protect or serve Gotham City – no, that was Batman's task. Batman was doing everything that Commissioner Gordon and his men couldn't. Then Christopher Nolan took over and gave that role a lot more importance. Gary Oldman not only entered the picture giving it his standard best, but he made you love him. I'd go so far as to say that if he wasn't in the series, it simply wouldn't be as good. All along, with Nolan's series, he's made the familiar elements from the graphic novels unpredictable by tweaking the comic book mythos. My prediction is that the Bane character's well-known story will be twisted around by having him break Commissioner Gordon's back in 'The Dark Knight Rises.' If I'm right, it will be a lot more devastating to see Oldman's back broken than it would to see Hingle's. You wouldn't even care if that had happened to Hingle's character, but if / when it happens to Oldman's, you'll surely feel it. Sirius Black in 'Harry Potter and Prisoner of Azkaban,' 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,' 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' and 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2' With the exception of 'The Deathly Hallows,' I walked into the 'Harry Potter' movies fresh, not knowing who was good, who was bad, nor the fate of any of the characters. When Sirius Black was introduced in 'The Prisoner of Azkaban' (arguably the best 'Potter' film in the franchise), I was excited to see Oldman playing a crazy dark wizard. As the movie progressed and he became more evil and ominous, I was eating it up. But when the surprise was revealed that he was actually good, much to my surprise, I loved him even more. At the risk of sounding cheesy, he was reminded me of how my cool uncles treated me when I was a kid. 'The Goblet of Fire' (arguably the worst film of the franchise) missed out on the opportunity to let him shine once again, using a horrendous CG effect to his recreate his face out of smoldering talking embers. It's ridiculous how bad that effect looks compared to all of the other effects in the 'Potter' movies – even the corny Chris Columbus ones. They managed to ruin the one scene of 'The Goblet of Fire' in which he appeared. Luckily, 'The Order of the Phoenix' hurried along and brought Sirius back in a great way. While watching 'The Order of the Phoenix,' I was again eating up all of great Oldman moments. It was a best case scenario. But it quickly turned into a nightmare during the climax. The second Sirius stepped through the deadly archway, I started my trail down the five stages of grief: Denial – "He's not really dead. Just like Gandalf, they'll find a way to bring him back." But they didn't; Anger – "This is bull! They just killed the best character! I'm done with this series!" But I wasn't; Bargaining – "I'll just keep watching 'The Prisoner of Azkaban' over and over again. Then he won't be dead." But he was; Depression – "Who cares if Voldemort wins? It's just a stupid kid's book anyway." But it's so much more than that; and Acceptance – "Don't worry, dude. If Harry keeps seeing the ghost of his parents, before long, he'll see Sirius' ghost too." And he did! Agent Norman "Stan" Stansfield in 'Leon: The Professional' Three great loves were born from 'The Professional' – my love of Natalie Portman, Jean Reno and, of course, Gary Oldman. This was it. This was the film that I walked away from thinking that he was one of the very best actors. This was the movie that made me realize that even when he appears in terrible movies like 'Lost in Space' and 'Red Riding Hood,' he still gives it his all, usually making his performance the only thing worth watching. In 'The Professional,' Oldman plays one of the most evil, despicable characters put on screen. "Stan" held the title of Most Evil Movie Villain in my book up until I saw Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh in 'No Country for Old Men.' Stan is a sleazy, dirty junkie pretending to be something that he's not - a DEA agent. Watching him gun down innocent men, women, and children is highly disturbing, but Oldman's ability to make you forget his past the second you see him in another film keeps the dark roles from distracting you during the light ones, and vice versa. Some actors carry about that weight, always making you associate them with past performances – but not Gary Oldman. Carnegie in 'The Book of Eli' The concept behind 'The Book of Eli' is much better than the movie itself. Falling victim to poor execution, it starts strong but gradually falls apart. Despite the good movie turning into a mediocre one, Oldman stands strong and I give him full credit for this not turning into a laughably bad movie. When a blind man (Denzel Washington) carrying a precious gift wanders into a post-apocalyptic town, Carnegie, the leader of this territory's gang, does everything he has to in order to uncover the blind man's secret. The film turns into a battle between the two, where Washington's character, the nameless man with integrity and a good heart, is tempted to give up something sacred to a man promising temporal rewards. 'The Book of Eli' isn't the most driven film, but the conflict between Oldman and Washington is what keeps it going. This is one of the films in Oldman's credits that leaves you wondering why he took the part – but had he turned it down, it would have been filled by some B-list actor with whom the film would have failed miserably. No other actor could have played Carnegie and made the slightly above par movie work. Lord Shen in 'Kung Fu Panda 2' Too many movie actors undeservedly land voice roles in animated movies. Just because an actor is great in front of the camera, it does not imply that he / she has what it takes to command a purely vocal performance – but Gary Oldman pulls it off perfectly. DreamWorks has pointlessly given a few 'Kung Fu Panda' voice roles to celebrity actors who don't add a thing to the motion pictures, but the decision to cast Oldman as the villainous peacock Lord Shen in 'Panda' sequel was brilliant. Just as the story of 'Kung Fu Panda 2' is a bit darker than the first (it's like the 'Empire Strikes Back' of the 'Panda' universe), so is its bad guy. When a soothsayer prophesied that a panda would stop him from ever reigning over China, Shen sent his henchmen wolf pack to ethnically cleanse the nation of pandas – which is why our Dragon Warrior central character Po was raised by a goose. The genocide began when Po was just a cub. When the wolves raided their village, his mother placed Po in a radish box that ended up in a vegetable delivery on his "dad's" porch. For such an evil villain, an actor with the rich talent of playing heinous characters was necessary. Oldman knocks it out of the park. He's disturbing, creepy and absolutely ruthless – a bad guy you love to hate. This one is well worth checking out! Now that I've shared what I believe to be some of Oldman's most memorable roles, let us know which are your favorites in the forums.Posted Thu Dec 8, 2011 at 11:55 AM PST by: -
Blu-ray Sales Up 35 Percent in 2011 - Even Stronger Overseas[teaser]As you might imagine, 'Star Wars' gave the format quite a boost. [/teaser] Blu-ray sales are up significantly this year, with growth reaching 35 percent in the U.S. Last year, 85 million Blu-rays were sold. This year the estimate is sitting at 115 million. It's a big step forward and certainly a sign of things to come. Part of the reason, of course, is the release of 'Star Wars' on Blu-ray. The HD version of the series inspired quite a few first-time Blu-ray disc purchases and spurred on sales of players. What may be even more important is the price of Blu-ray players. Customers are seeing Blu-ray players and DVD players at similar price points and at that point there's no reason to stick with DVD. It's getting to the point that making DVD players seems a bit pointless. One thing that needs to happen, according to Futuresource analyst Jim Bottoms, is a reduction in the prices of Blu-ray discs. In Europe, where sale growth is even stronger, there's a much smaller difference between DVD and Blu-ray prices. Source: Home Media MagazinePosted Thu Dec 8, 2011 at 09:00 AM PST by:
