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Audioholics overviews entry level receiver choices

by Steven Kim posted Jul 23rd 2009 at 11:53PM

Entry level receivers
Take one sagging economy, add in advancing technology, bake them with some economies of scale and serve up to consumers hungry for this newfangled digital, HD AV craze -- it's a winning formula. When it comes to AV receivers, however, the pool is so crowded that picking a winner in the entry level category (remember that sagging economy) is daunting enough to push people to HTIB simplicity. The truth is that there's no single "best" entry-level receiver, but Audioholics has gone through the trouble of putting appropriate models from Denon, Yamaha, Harman Kardon, Onkyo and Pioneer into a feature comparison grid. The answer that emerges on which receiver is the "best" is a definite "it depends" -- you basically get to pick two out of three: audio features, video features and price. So the bad news is, you've got some choices to make; the good news is, you've got some choices to make.

Numbers be damned, plasma eats LCD's cake in DisplayMate's tests

by Steven Kim posted Jul 13th 2009 at 1:38PM

Panasonic plasma
Even as the past year has been cruel to plasma, we've stood by the "old" gas capsule technology. The results of DisplayMate's controlled tests clearly show some of the reasons why we love us some plasma. The lineup of 2008-vintage, top of the line LCDs from Samsung, Sharp and Sony were calibrated and pitted against a top-end Pansonic plasma. You'll have to hit the link to get the full blow-by-blow results, but suffice it to say that the plasma set trumped the LCDs in the areas of contrast, color accuracy (to be fair, the Sony came close) and black level -- both on and off axis. Even for LCD fans, these results show that the side of the box with its inflated specs is no place to look for indications of picture quality. For those already in the know about plasma, though, there's a lot of reason to hope that even if the technology is in its autumn years, there's an Indian summer up ahead.
[Via TVSnob]

AVReview pits four high-end receivers against each other

by Steven Kim posted Apr 27th 2009 at 7:28AM

Pioneer SC-LX71, Onkyo TX-NR906, Sony STR-DA5400ES, Yamaha RX-V3900
Despite the trickle down of advanced features on many manufacturers' lower-end receivers, there's still plenty of room for their upper-echelon offerings as well, and the UK's AVReview put four £1,200 - £1,500 ($1,750 - $2,200) receivers in a matchup. Entering the ring were the Onkyo TX-NR906, Pioneer SC-LX71 (SC-07 in the US), Sony STR-DA5400ES and Yamaha RX-V3900; we only wish models from Denon and Marantz would have made it to the contest as well. That said, matching up four receivers is not to be taken lightly, and it sounds like each of the contestants would serve you well in both features and absolute performance. We won't spoil the ending for you, but even though only one receiver snagged the overall crown, at this price point you should know that things are more nuanced than a single "winner;" your personal priorities are going to be the biggest variable in choosing the best model for you.

[Boxing glove image courtesy germes-online]

The HDTVs of CES 2009

by Darren Murph posted Jan 20th 2009 at 2:00PM Featured Story


It's easy to see that a whole slew of new HDTVs were introduced to the world at CES, but actually keeping up with 'em is another thing entirely. In an effort to make sure you aren't duped into thinking that set you're about to buy is actually a CES '09-announced set, we've laid out the entire line of newcomers (ones that'll actually see store shelves -- we avoided the concepts to save you some grief) just past the break, complete with scheduled release dates and prices where applicable. Nah, you won't find any big screen OLEDs in there (maybe next year, kids), but there's plenty of Hz, pixels and inches to go around.

Continue reading The HDTVs of CES 2009

LCD vs Plasma in 2009

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Jan 16th 2009 at 11:00AM Featured Story

Although the debate between LCD and plasma has raged on for years, the real battle only started two years ago when manufacturers started producing LCDs big enough to go head to head with plasmas. Now that it has been raging for two years, we've seen some interesting trends develop. LCDs have been very successful at pushing plasma out of its most popular size, 42-inches, and some manufacturers have stopped producing that size all together. Also a result of the success of LCDs, the number of plasma manufactures has decreased over the past two years. Pioneer is the most notable to announce its plan to stop producing its own plasmas starting with the next model and will instead buy glass from Panasonic, but Hitachi and Phillips have also announced similar plans -- and Fujitsu got out of the display business all together. Some might use these events combined with the latest green movement to conclude that plasma is dead, but not so fast.

Continue reading LCD vs Plasma in 2009

HD quality comparison of online video sharing sites

by Darren Murph posted Dec 9th 2008 at 1:04AM


Sure, you could just surf around the intarwebz and utilize the tried-and-true "eye test" to see which online video sharing site boasts the best HD quality, but there's always a good feeling associated with having some cold, hard facts to back things up. TechVideoBlog has done the hard work for you, spelling out the resolution, codec, audio quality, etc. associated with each. The assembler of the data personally prefers Facebook and YouTube, but we'll let you digest the data in the read link before asking you to share your own choice in comments below.

CNET UK hosts Blu-ray player load time shootout, PS3 wins

by Darren Murph posted Nov 28th 2008 at 9:08PM

Long load times on Blu-ray players have always been a pet peeve of ours, and obviously we aren't alone. The gurus over at CNET UK rounded up four of their favorite decks and popped in a test disc (Vantage Point) in order to find which was the quickest at getting down to business. Trailing the pack was Pioneer's BDP-LX71, which took a staggering 1:54 to load and play the film. Panasonic's DMP-BD35 nabbed the bronze in unceremonious fashion (1:16), while Samsung's BD-P1500 slipped in second with a 1:09 load / play time. As we gave away in the headline there, Sony's PlayStation 3 easily took first with a test time of just 42 seconds. We'd love to know if any other untested decks could outperform that -- anyone care to time their unit and chime in below?

Netflix Player, Apple TV and VUDU compared: movie STB shootout

by Darren Murph posted Jun 5th 2008 at 1:53PM


Talk about timely, yeah? Just hours after our latest Ask Engadget HD question pondered which of the three big hitters in the movie set-top-box arena was superior, along comes a comparison of the trio from PopSci. Of course, this being Engadget HD, we've all ideas many of you won't agree with the verdict put out (hint: Roku's box is deemed the winner), but some decent points are made nonetheless. For starters, the Netflix library is far more expansive than those offered up by Apple and VUDU; for folks looking for the widest range of titles (and cheapest method of renting), it's hard to overlook the Netflix Player. For junkies that just have to have HD, your choices are clearly defined, and between the Apple TV and VUDU, critics noted that the former's ability to dabble in YouTube was a perk that may sway certain buyers. Regardless of your feelings on the matter, be sure and hit up the read link if for nothing more than the pros / cons -- the decision's still yours, you know.

Vizio / Olevia pitted against one another in LCD shootout

by Darren Murph posted May 22nd 2008 at 1:11PM


If you've been considering buying yourself a budget LCD HDTV, chances are Vizio and Olevia are still on your radar. Thankfully, LCD TV Buying Guide has taken the time to pit the two against one another in order to give you the information you need to choose the best of the pair. In the test, the 46-inch Vizio VW46L and 42-inch Olevia 242T FHD were used, and all of the important issues -- you know, image quality, shadow detail, color accuracy, motion lag, etc. -- were all covered. We don't plan on ruining it for you, so you'll have to exert a bit of effort and check out the read link below if you're interested in finding out which set came out on top.

MyNetflix, vmcNetFlix and NetflixMC plug-ins get compared

by Darren Murph posted May 16th 2008 at 8:16AM


Not really impressed with vmcNetFlix? Just perplexed by the sheer number of Netflix plug-in choices out there? Fret not, as Missing Remote has spent some quality time with a trio of apps: MyNetflix, vmcNetFlix and NetflixMC. The entire trio brings Netflix "Watch Now" content to Media Center Extenders, and reviewers tested each one on performance / usability, features and overall impressions. We're not going to spoil anything, so give that read link some love and see which fits you best.

In-store demo compares Monster HDMI interconnect to composite cable

by Darren Murph posted Apr 21st 2008 at 2:02PM


It's not like we haven't seen Monster Cables used in "A-B" demos before, but the latest in-store comparison is downright laughable. The image shown above was reportedly captured at a Fry's Electronics in Indiana, and as you can see, some clever bloke / dame figured they'd attempt to pull the wool over ignorant eyes by setting up an absolutely absurd side-by-side demonstration. The only difference between the two rigs is the use of a Monster Power Filter versus a vanilla power strip and a Monster HDMI cable versus a... no-name composite cable. Both devices were piped to a 19-inch 720p LCD, and according to the tipster who snagged the picture, the actual image quality was only marginally different -- presumably due to the "nearly monochromatic ocean scene" that did nothing to show off the differences between the two mediums. Donuts to dollars a coat hanger would've actually proven superior to the Monster.


[Thanks, P.]

Ask Engadget HD: Does cable, satellite, or fiber provide more HD?

by Darren Murph posted Feb 6th 2008 at 12:00PM Featured Story


Particularly of late, cable television providers have been bullying each other on the air and proudly proclaiming superiority in the high-definition department. One would immediately assume that there's some black and white somewhere in this equation, but honestly, things are pretty gray. Hard though it may be to believe, there actually isn't a clear cut answer to this week's Ask Engadget HD question, which comes to us from the bewildered mind of Brian:

"I want an unbiased opinion, and more importantly, the facts. DISH Network is looking more and more like the leading HD provider with its weekly HD additions this past fall. However, now my local cable provider, Comcast, is running ads stating that it has More, More, More HD. My question is simple: who has more HD channels including and not including HD VOD?"

The inability to find a clear cut answer hasn't stopped us from forging ahead in the past, and it won't be slowing us down today, either. Ready to plunge deep into the increasingly murky waters of HD offerings? Join us after the jump as we take a critical look at high-def options from DirecTV, DISH Network, Verizon, AT&T and a slew of traditional cable operators in order to best address the above inquiry.

Continue reading Ask Engadget HD: Does cable, satellite, or fiber provide more HD?

HD movie downloads to trump Blu-ray / HD DVD? Not so fast.

by Darren Murph posted Feb 2nd 2008 at 7:49PM


We'll be the first to say we truly hope that HD downloads -- be it on one's computer or main HDTV -- take off, but we're not so certain the technology is poised to overtake either Blu-ray or HD DVD anytime soon. A opinionated piece over at Economist takes a look at the current state of the format war, and interestingly enough, even goes so far as to call both HD discs "interim solutions, if even that." Apparently, it expects both formats to soon be "eclipsed" by some alternative, most likely the instantly gratifying downloadable movie offered up by various carriers in the form of HD VOD. Of course, we also expect this outlet to gain traction once broadband speeds ratchet up across the nation, but our main beef with the article comes with the proclamation that "[HD DVD and Blu-ray] are marginally better than upscaled DVDs." We've expressed our true feelings about upconverting DVD players before, and quite frankly, unless one hooks up their high-definition movie player with composite cables, we simply can't see anyone not being able to tell the difference.

[Image courtesy of GenerationMP3, thanks Paul F. and Daniel D.]

Ask Engadget HD: DISH Network or DirecTV?

by Darren Murph posted Jan 12th 2008 at 12:00PM Featured Story


It's a question that's as old as the service itself, but as each wave of updates passes, the answer can vary wildly. Case in point: just days ago at CES, DISH Network unveiled its 100 HD channels / 100 markets initiative, essentially throwing the ball back in DirecTV's court. Of course, the back-and-forth between the two sat providers is nothing but beneficial for end users, but we still believe that there is enough differentiation between the two to give users something to debate. That said, we present Keith's totally timely inquiry:

"I live in Austin, Texas and I'm considering both DirecTV and DISH Network. For me, it basically comes down to channel lineup versus hardware. Though I like DirecTV's channel selection more, from all the research I've done, DISH has the better HD DVR. I am leaning towards DISH because I think adding more HD channels is much easier than manufacturing and then distributing a new receiver. What do you guys think? Am I off base here?"

We'll be straight with you -- we're not looking to incite any sort of flame war with the above question. Indeed, it's a legitimate concern that a myriad individuals mull over on a daily basis. So we're posing the question to you, and we're looking for your input on the performance of your HD DVR, the general quality of service, appearance of HD channels and overall satisfaction. C'mon -- give poor Keith some advice to keep him from tearing any more patches of hair out, would ya?

Got a burning question that you'd love to toss out for Engadget HD (or its readers) to take a look at? Tired of Google's blank stares when you ask for real-world experiences? Hit us up at ask at engadgethd dawt com and keep an eye on this space -- your inquiry could be next.

De-interlacing and scaling the most important buying factors?

by Darren Murph posted Jan 14th 2007 at 3:55AM

While the whole "1080i vs. 1080p" debate could likely go on for a good decade or so, having that oh-so-coveted "Full HD" logo slapped on your set evidently isn't the answer to all your HD problems, at least if you watch a good percentage of cable / satellite-provided content. A rather informative writeup / rant over at HD1080i lends a bit more insight into the ongoing discussion of when 1080p differs from 1080i, and goes on to explain that many incorrectly processed images cause quite a bit of dissatisfaction when it comes to quality, and oftentimes, it's not even your fault. Sure, folks outputting 1080p from an HD DVD or Blu-ray player get the benefit of seeing a progressive, pre-cleaned-up image, which basically removes all the hard work from your TV's internal scaler; however, for those watching a processed episode of TNT HD's Charmed, for instance, could witness a bit of "interlacing crop errors when de-interlacing is not done properly," rather than just a correctly rendered motion blur. Essentially, this fellow attempts to convince us that 1080p is an important matter, and it's great to have it there "when you need it," even though it's not likely that we see 1080p content coming through our cable STB anytime soon. So be sure and hit the read link to take a gander at yet another perspective, because a bit more research never hurt anyone, eh?




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