theater

For some people, an ordinary old giant flat-screen television and Blu-ray player just aren't enough.

How much would you spend for the best of the best? Some hard-core videophiles and audiophiles dump incredible amounts of cash on home theater equipment (and fancy home theaters) that can cost as much as the average car or house. … Read more

Recently we took a poll where we asked "What's stopping you from getting a plasma?" A majority of voters rebuked my premise, picking "I love my plasma." The other responses were fairly evenly split among the choices.

However, there was a surprisingly common reason given in the comments that baffled me, and it's so bizarre it's clearly worth debunking, or at least shining the light on the facts.

So how much do TVs weigh?… Read more

It comes up again and again: "Steve, please recommend a great speaker." Good question, but there are a lot of factors to consider before coming up with a definitive answer. A lot depends on what you're looking for and how you define "great." Nailing down the price is the first step, but if there's one thing I've learned about audiophiles, it's that taste always plays a big part in evaluating sound quality. That's why, in my reviews, I describe how a speaker sounds with different kinds of music.

There's no … Read more

If you've done any research into TVs, Blu-ray players, or Blu-ray in general, you've likely seen the alphanumeric 1080p24 (or 1080p/24).

Understanding what it is, and keeping a lookout for products that can take advantage of it, can result in smoother, more natural-looking movie and TV show playback. I'm not talking about the artificially hypersmooth look of the Soap Opera Effect, but instead the correct cadence of motion at which the film or TV show was shot.

All the judder reducing -- and causing -- awesomeness after the jump.… Read more

The original "Spears and Munsil HD Benchmark", released in 2009, offered some excellent patterns to help setting up TVs, and ingenious test patterns to judge the performance of deinterlacers and scalers. Though anyone could buy it, it wasn't as entry-level or as user-friendly as "Disney's World of Wonder" setup discs.

The updated second edition adds myriad new setup patterns, and a host of new tests for 3D, refresh rates, motion interpolation, additional patterns for TV setup newbies, and more.

So is it worth your $30?… Read more

The Anthony Gallo Acoustics Micro SE speaker ($239) is a tiny steel sphere, just 4 inches in diameter -- that's the size of an orange. It's an audiophile quality performer, capable of delivering high-resolution sound and a big, downright spacious stereo image. In fact, the imaging of the Micro SE and the slightly larger A'Diva SE reminds me of the wide-open, boxless sound I get with large, flat-panel speakers. Since these Gallos have just one full-range driver, they don't need a crossover network to direct high frequencies to the tweeter and bass to the woofer, and … Read more

While the TV industry figures out what to do with itself as the enthusiasm for 4K, OLED, and 3D trickles out, many of you are making a very basic request. You just want a big ol' honkin' screen.

For an elegant solution that will fit through the door and won't break the bank, you need to ditch the TV and go with a home theater projector.

CNET's running list of the best home theater projectors is the first place to check for the best options available. But since it's a subject we haven't touched on Top … Read more

I think of it less as a cell phone than as a self-phone.

So in a land so fond of the individual's primacy over the group, it's inevitable that having a gadget that contains the whole of your life is more mesmerizing than, well, anyone else or anything else.

The proof of this in public places is constant. And yet some choose to fight back.

In the very latest incident of someone using a cell phone when they should have been watching a cultural performance, Kevin Williamson decided he'd do something about it.… Read more

Google Glass isn't the only pair of high-tech specs making a splash on the personal viewing scene. Sony Entertainment Access Glasses are about to give deaf moviegoers a way to watch first-run films with closed captions at the theater.

The glasses project closed captions at the bottom of the viewer's eyesight. The text is sent via a wireless system to a receiver that feeds the data to the glasses. Regal Cinemas also is offering an audio headset option for the blind, providing descriptive audio tracks to match what's happening on screen.… Read more