I won’t give you all the details, but the article points out that the system’s sound is clean and detailed no matter what the volume is set at. This is thanks to a dedicated system of amps and processors, along with acoustical enhancements to the vehicle. The system’s single 8-inch sub does not pound per se though. Chances are that the people that can buy the $45k Lincoln new aren’t looking to bump. They just want to make sure El Rushbo comes in nice and clear.

AUTOMOBILES

Test Drive is a new series that we’re starting at CrunchGear wherein we get a hands-on look at new or interesting modes of transportation. It’s not limited to just cars, either. We’ll take a look at just about anything from scooters to rockets and everything in between.

This ain’t your daddy’s Lincoln Town Car. In fact, it’s completely different than anything you’ve ever seen before. With balls to the wall power and a teeth shattering sound system, the MKS from Lincoln is a whole other beast. And I like it.

Like our other Test Drive features, I won’t get into the gearheadesque details of reviewing a car, but, rather, focus on the technological side of it. I will start with a few notes about how fast it is, though.

Flying down Highway 101 at over 100MPH has never been so comfortable and the exact opposite of petrifying. The 3.7-liter Ford Duratec V6 clone musters up 273 ponies and 270 pounds feet of torque. It’s fast and the AWD system ties the beast to the ground. Acceleration is a little wonky when in Standard drive mode. It revved a bit longer than I would have liked and didn’t want to switch gears. But in manual mode, the six-speed Lincoln was a powerhouse off the line. I had no idea how fast I was going on most occasions. How I walked away from my visit to the Bay Area without getting a ticket is beyond me.

The interior of the MKS is plush, to say the least. Covered in black leather the driver’s chair (as well as the rest of the cabin) is extremely comfortable and I’d say 90 percent of the comfort factor comes from the electronically adjustable seat. Sure, it does the standard adjustments, but the MKS has an adjustable lumbar support. You can pump it up or down depending on your preference and move it down towards your bum or upper-lower back.

Climate control systems are usually pretty featureless, but one aspect of the MKS climate control system stole my heart. I don’t do so well when it’s warm out. I’m not as bad as John Biggs wherein I sweat through my clothing in a matter of seconds, but I heat up pretty quickly. If you suffer from swamp of the ass then the cooling fans located in the bottom and backs of the driver or passenger seat will surely keep your core temperature under control. If you get cold easily you simply need to turn up the seat warmer and vice versa. Three variable levels keep you cool or warm at all times. This just might be my favorite feature in the MKS.

Or there’s the shifting headlight system that turns when you turn (while driving). The only downside and maybe this applies to all cars, but I didn’t think the MKS threw out enough light. I felt like I could only see 10 feet in front of me.

Like most Ford vehicles, the MKS comes with Sync and it sure made getting around the Bay easy. It comes at a price, though. The Ultimate Package will set you back $5715, but it comes with a ton of goodies like 19-inch rims, dual panel moonroofs, adaptive headlamps (turn when you turn), rear view camera, THX built 5.1 surround sound system and a voice activated navigation system. But I like the time sensitive greeting it gives me when I fire up the MKS.

Maybe I haven’t spent enough time with PNDs but after using a TomTom XL the weekend prior to receiving the MKS I have to say that in-car nav systems trump any and all PNDs. That shouldn’t really come as a surprise but you should know that Sync works fantastic. It even recognizes voice commands from those that aren’t native English speakers or those with heavy accents. Of course, you have to speak clearly enough for the sytem to register your command, but I was impressed with how well it worked. The only annoyance is the waiting between commands while the system offers you options. Routing and rerouting were snappy and are displayed beautifully on a big 8-inch touch screen. The British lady crammed into the dash is not annoying or berating like the ones found in PNDs.

When you’re roughly one mile from the next turn the display goes split-screen to show you what the exit will look like. If you’ve driven in the Bay or even LA area then you know how complicated some of the on- and off-ramps can be. Needless to say I adored the simplicity and acurateness of the navigation system in the MKS.

Sirius satellite radio service as well as Sirius Travel Link is also offered. Travel Link offers pertinent data to your commute like real time traffic info, fuel prices, movie listings, weather, and sports scores. This service will set you back $7/month.

The center console offers a USB port and line-in port so you can recharge devices and/or plug in your iPod, Zune or “PlaysForSure” devices. A complete list of supported devices can be found here.

Ripping CDs to the built-in Jukebox is simple and whomever had the car before me left plenty of new and great bands to listen to. If memory serves me correctly, it’s a 20GB HDD that cannot be accessed by the owner. Unless you’re one of those nuts that likes to take things apart to see how they work.

Controls on the steering allow you to make/receive phone calls, control music playback and activate Sync without ever having to fiddle with touch screen or controls on the dashboard. I did run into a few occassions where you have to tag-team the system from the steering wheel and dashboard to pull up what I needed to see on the display.

One of the only issues I encountered with the Sync system was hooking up my iPhone 3G. For some odd reason it wouldn’t play back tracks through the system after having paired the device so I could make hands-free calls. I could search and see my library, but nothing was coming through the speakers. After hooking up another iPhone it started to work again. Not sure what happened there, but it was one of the faulty things I encountered during my review. The only other thing I noticed was that it didn’t list everything that was stored on my iP3G. For example, I have two Nico Vega EPs and only one of the albums would show up. But when I played all tracks in my library the EP that was missing was present in the playlist. Has anyone else encountered this?

In case you didn’t know, you can receive text messages while driving and the Sync system reads them aloud if you want it to. There are 15 existing replies you can choose from that makes things easier while you’re driving.

The MKS has keyless entry and a push button start. While the car was on I tried walking away with the key fob to see if the car would shut off but nothing happened, but I’d imagine it wouldn’t start if the fob weren’t in the car when started.

Understand that I haven’t driven in quite some time so I really liked the rear view camera that appeared when the car was put into Reverse. It displays three stages of closeness denoted by green, red and yellow lines. It beeps like all hell when you’re super close, too. There are also sensors in the front bumper that beep when you or something gets too close to you.

Now let’s talk about the first THX 5.1 surround system built for an automobile. Before we get into how it sounds let’s cover the basics. The MKS is equipped with 15 speakers, one 10-inch subwoofer and is powered by a combined 600W amplifier system that’s broken down over 12 individual amplifiers.

The highlight of the system for me is the center slot speaker that powers the Razer THX Mako 2.1 system. That one speaker alone pulls the entire system together to make it sound phenomenal. It’s also not as big as the speaker grill would have you think. The Ford engineers just want you to know that there’s a speaker there. The slot speaker only takes up a small section that’s roughly four or five inches by an inch or so. Those measurements aren’t correct but I don’t think they’re far off either.

It’s a bassy system and even when the bass is turned all the way down the system had no issues making my brain rattle while listening to Dr. Dre’s The Chronic. That’s not a bad thing but it depends on the type of music you listen to. I like bass, but I realize not everyone else does. You’re also going to need to crank up the volume for it to really bother you, too. Sound quality is top notch and cranking up the volume doesn’t affect that.

The THX system offers two Digital Signal Processing modes: Stereo and Surround Sound. Surround Sound was far superior to Stereo mode.

One of the drawbacks to raising the volume is that it makes it very hard to hear the nav system give commands. The system automatically cuts out the front speakers while giving directions but when it’s loud the rear speakers overpower the front. So be sure you have a rough idea of where you’re going or simply turn down the volume.

As a youth, I was into car stereo systems and having a system like this would have been a dream come true. The overall sound quality is crisp and clear.

The AWD MKS was a fun car to drive while I was at home. I know I drove a lot faster and blasted the stereo system louder than I should have, but it sure was fun. It sucks up a lot of gas, though. Estimated EPA is rated at 16MPG/City and 23MPG/Highway. The MKS we tested has an MSRP of $45570.

Lincoln MKS

Some of these images were taken while driving so they might be blurry.

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While transmitting in the 3-to-10 GHz range, THX Roomcaster beams uncompressed, 24-bit, low latency, eight channel (up to, at least) audio up to 30 feet away. So, if you’re looking for a wireless surround sound solution that delivers high quality audio then you’d be a fool not to ask for a THX Roomcaster system.

[PSGallery=1va5e9x488]

I know, I know. The VGA HD AV cable has been out for three years, but I was in between TVs and only had a monitor to game on. I’ll keep this review short and sweet.

My gaming setup consisted of my Xbox 360 Elite, Razer/THX Mako 2.1 speakers and a Viewsonic VX2240W monitor. The monitor itself has no built-in speakers, so I had to connect the audio to an external system. Luckily, there’s enough separation between the VGA cable and the RCA cable so the speaker system didn’t have to sit on top of the monitor. Perfection.

The kit claims to support video resolution up to 1080p and I have to say that it works as advertised. I streamed Netflix and even hooked up my HD DVD player just to make sure. Viewsonic’s monitor has a 1680X1050 resolution, so I’d say the content was as close to full high def as you can get.

On that note, I might as well give you a run down on the VX2240w. I believe the specs are relatively impressive, but I’m not much of a peripherals guy.

Overview and Features:

• 22-inch (diagonal) widescreen LCD at 1680×1050 resolution
• 300 cd/m2 brightness
• 1000:1 static contrast ratio, 4000:1 dynamic
• 170° horizontal, 160° vertical viewing angles
• up to 2ms gray-to-gray; 5ms black-to-white
• Connections: 15-pin mini D-sub/DVI-D (with HDCP)
• Only 2.4-inches thick (not counting the stand; 8.8-inch with) and 14 pounds (including stand)
• Three year warranty
• MSRP of $450, although it can be found for less than $300 in many places

There’s no visible blur/smear when viewing high frame rate video and the contrast ratio is high enough that the colors are very distinctive. You’ll have to calibrate for a bit to get it right, though. The viewing angle is weak so you’d better be sitting right in front of the monitor for optimal viewing. The round stand that comes with the VX2240w is limiting (ugly) and only offers tilt adjustment forwards and backwards.

Overall, it’s a decent monitor but considering the price and specs it falls into the ‘worth buying’ category. Other monitors with similar specs are priced about the same. You can find it on Amazon for as low as $250.

I already reviewed the Makos this year, but it was nice to get them out of the office and really crank them up in my apartment. I love these things.

Xbox 360 VGA HD Cable

Viewsonic VX2240w Product Page

Razer/THX Mako 2.1 Product Page

Today, the HT-S9100THX system was announced and it has its sights set on HD theater buffs across the country. The 7.1-channel system (130W/channel) includes THX’s Loudnes Plus technology and comes with four HDMI v1.3a ports. The more HDMI ports, the better, I say.

Audyssey and Faroudja handle onboard audio and video processing. Faroudja’s DCDi Edge technology bumps all component, composite, and S-video sources up to 1080i while Audyssey’s 2EQ automatically calibrates acoustical output for maximum eardrum popping. Moreover, Audyssey’s Dynamic EQ “algorithm adds moment-by-moment refinement of the receiver’s frequency response and surround levels in order to compensate for volume-dependent deteriorations in the listening experience, particularly at low volume levels.” Can anyone translate this into layman’s terms?

Additional info on the system can be found after the jump. The HT-S9100THX is available now for $1,099.

It features seven two-way speakers that are tonally matched to each other for optimal localization and seamless surround transitions. The front and center channel speakers each include a 1-inch soft-dome tweeter and dual 5-inch woofers constructed from Onkyo’s acclaimed A-OMF (Onkyo Micro Fiber) cones. The front and center channels are also magnetically shielded to prevent interference with video reproduction when placed near a TV. Side and rear surround speakers all feature 5-1/8 inch a-OMF woofers and the same tweeter found in the front channels to deliver a seamless 360-degree soundstage. Deep bass reproduction is handled by a powerful 12-inch subwoofer with an integrated 290-Watt amplifier.

The latest receivers from Intergra are now available, and wow are they spiffy. Both the DTR-7.9 and the DTR-6.9 sport the heralded THX Loudness Plus certification with the former earning the Ultra2 Plus cert. as well and the later the Select2Plus certification too. The big boy is equiped with five HDMI 1.3a – little guy gets four – and will upscale component video to 1080p through the Faroudja DCDi Cinema chip. The $1,300 DTR-7.9 rocks out at 130 watts-per-channel while the $1,000 6.9 pumps out 100 per channel. Not bad prices for a fully custom installable THX receivers and they are both available now.

UPPER SADDLE RIVER, NJ (9/18/08) — Integra, the first company to build audio-video receivers designed specifically for custom installers, has announced that it is now shipping two new receivers engineered to meet demanding technical requirements of THX’s new Ultra2 Plus and Select2 Plus certification standards. Both have 1080p video upscaling and advanced two-zone capabilities.

The Integra DTR-7.9 is THX Ultra2 Plus certified for large-room applications with a powerful 130 watts-per-channel amplifier, five HDMI inputs, and upscaling for component video inputs. The Integra DTR-6.9 is THX Select2 Plus certified with 100 watts per channel and four HDMI inputs. Both include the new THX Loudness Plus processing which improves the listener’s aural experience at moderate and low volume levels. 

These receivers use Audyssey’s highly regarded MultEQ room correction technology to automatically set optimal speaker levels and time delay for any given room. They also add Audyssey’s new Dynamic EQ circuitry, which corrects the surround channel equalization and level relative to volume levels.

As the audio and video control centers for advanced home theater installations, these receivers are fully compatible with HDMI v. 1.3a, including 1080p and Deep Color™ 36-bit video signals. They include Faroudja DCDi Cinema HDMI upscaling to 1080p, and the DTR-7.9 also includes component video upscaling to 1080i. Both receivers feature onboard decoding for the Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD and DTS Master Audio lossless audio formats specified for Blu-Ray disc formats.

Like all Integra products, the DTR-7.9 and DTR-6.9 include comprehensive packages of features specifically tailored to the needs of custom installers, including Ethernet ports for integration with Network-based control systems such as E-Control™ and AMX Device Discovery™. These two-zone receivers also include bi-directional RS-232, RIHD (Remote Interactive over HDMI) system control integration over HDMI, programmable 12-volt triggers, dual IR inputs, and three unique assignable IR code sets. The back channels can be reconfigured for powered Zone 2 or front-channel bi-amping for large speakers. Because these receivers will frequently be set up by professional installers, the customized dealer settings can be independently stored for easy recall.

The Integra DTR-7.9 and DTR-6.9 are both now available with manufacturer’s suggested retail prices of $1,300 and $1,000 respectively.

Integra designs and manufactures premium Home Theater receivers, processors, amplifiers, and DVD players that are specifically designed to meet the needs of custom audio/video systems installers. Systems integration and convergence technology protocols include RS-232, IR and on-board Ethernet for network connectivity and TCP/IP control. Integra has access to vast technical resources, and bears a proud heritage of 60 years of audio engineering excellence. For more information about Integra and its many fine products, visit www.integrahometheater.com or call 800 225-1946.

DENVER, September 4, 2008 – JVC expands its award-winning line of D-ILA home theater projectors with the launch of four new full high-definition models, including two THX® Certified* models. The new JVC projectors establish new benchmarks in performance and value, breaking new ground in color accuracy, black levels, ease of use and flexible adjustment. Like current highly-acclaimed JVC projectors, they achieve unprecedented contrast ratios without the use of an auto iris, and in fact the two THX Certified models offer a 30,000:1 native contrast ratio — the highest among all currently available home theater projectors.

The new projectors are the DLA-HD750 and DLA-HD350, to be marketed by JVC’s consumer group, JVC Company of America, and the DLA-RS20 and DLA-RS10 from JVC’s professional group, JVC Professional Products Company. The DLA-HD750 and DLA-RS20 are both THX Certified to ensure accurate and exceptional picture quality in the home theater environment. A trusted cinema and consumer brand, THX certification provides JVC a means to further differentiate its projectors from competitive offerings and communicate a clear message about quality to customers.

Core technologies and many of the features that earned earlier JVC projectors accolades from reviewers and users alike are also incorporated into the new projectors. But improvements in several key areas allow all four new models to deliver brighter, more intense images. What’s more, JVC has engineered an all-new chassis that is both smaller and more cost-efficient to manufacture.

eTHX certification is pending final testing and approval by THX Ltd.

Critical carried over technologies include JVC’s proprietary 0.7-inch full HD D-ILA devices and the company’s wire-grid optical engine. These will once again deliver the industry’s highest native contrast ratio, meaning that there is no dynamic iris to artificially inflate contrast specifications. As a result, the projectors simultaneously deliver true blacks and extraordinary luminance detail thanks to native contrast ratios of 30,000:1 (DLA-HD750/DLA-RS20), 17,000:1 (DLA-RS10) and 15,000:1 (DLA-HD350).

JVC-developed D-ILA technology employs three (RGB) devices for a naturally rich, flicker-free picture even when there is rapid movement in the image. In addition, the optical engine with wire grid polarizers ensures precise light polarization without light leakage for true black level reproduction. Together, the D-ILA devices and the engine guarantee a smooth picture with vivid colors and high contrast.

Among key new developments is the use of the HQV Reon-VX video processor developed by Silicon Optix to ensure excellent image reproduction with precision I/P conversion and scaling. In addition, the DLA-HD750 and DLA-RS20 feature color management that interpolates colors individually by R, G, B, C, Y, or M, in three separate axes of color phase, chroma saturation and brightness. Up to three customized color settings can be stored for future use.

Also unique to the DLA-HD750 and DLA-RS20 is THX certification. With a strict focus on image quality and signal processing performance, THX certification promises that the HD750 and RS20 are capable of presenting a wide range of video content at maximum resolutions with the correct color and luminance levels. In addition, THX has created a battery of signal processing tests that challenge the projector’s scaling, motion conversion and de-interlacing capabilities. This type of in-depth analysis predicts how the HD750 and RS20 will present a variety of high definition and standard definition content.

The JVC HD750 and RS20 will also feature THX Movie Mode, a pre-calibrated video setting for watching movies on DVD, Blu-ray HD or broadcast television. This playback feature is designed to recreate the cinema experience at home by setting the display’s gamma, luminance, color temperature and other settings to mirror those used by filmmakers in post-production. THX Movie Mode also ensures projector brightness is optimal for large screen viewing.

Features shared by all four new projectors include:
1. High-performance 2x motorized zoom lens
A new high-performance 2x zoom lens with motorized focus features a large diameter, all-glass lens system with 16 elements in 17 groups that includes an ED lens to project a full HD image with exceptional depth.

2. Customized on-screen gamma control
Manual adjustment of the gamma curve is possible via an on-screen display, allowing the viewer to adjust projector luminance levels by either increasing contrast in scenes that are too dark or dimming washed-out scenes to ensure precise brightness levels suited to individual preferences. Up to three settings can be adjusted and stored for future use.

3. Flexible set-up
Setup is easy with the ±80 percent vertical and ±34 percent horizontal motorized lens shift function that allows the projected picture to be moved horizontally or vertically via the remote control.

Other features include an external 12-volt trigger that can be used to automatically raise and lower a screen or draw curtains, or it can be linked to engaging the V-Stretch mode and move an optional anamorphic wide screen lens system into place. Also, an automatic lens cover opens and closes with power on/off.

All four projectors comply with HDMI version 1.3 (Deep Color/CEC) specifications, which provide for billions of colors and reproduce subtler shades of grey, and CEC compatibility for system control.

The DLA-HD350, available in either glossy piano black or glossy white, and the DLA-HD750, available in a pearl black finish, will be available in November through JVC Company of America. The DLA-HD350

will be available for less than $5,000, while the DLA-HD750 will be available for less than $8,000. Both projectors will be part of the company’s Procision series of premium-level products.

The DLA-RS10 and the DLA-RS20, available in a pearl black finish, will be available from JVC Professional Products Company in November for less than $5,000 and $8,000, respectively.

Speaking of TiVo and DVRs, it looks like the company has begun shipping its HD XL DVR. The $600 device has a 1TB hard drive; off-the-shelf 1TB hard drives can be had for as little as $150 by my count.

As you might guess, TiVo is going to be pushing the HD XL at hardcore TiVo users, the high-end folk who need to record every single episode of Degrassi and whatever else it is people watch these days. It’s also worth noting that the HD XL is THX certified.

But, if you’re TiVo thorugh and through and need “more power,” as Tim Allen would say, then yeah, the HD XL would be the way to go. Hope your job pays well enough.

Alviso, CA — September 04, 2008 – TiVo Inc., the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVRs), announced today the launch of the TiVo® HD XL Digital Video Recorder. Available online today, the TiVo HD XL box offers more recording capacity than any other DVR available, be it satellite or cable. Boasting 150 hours of high definition television recording capacity, the HD XL has enough space to appease even the most devoted entertainment fans. The TiVo HD XL is also THX® Certified to ensure it delivers accurate and exceptional sound and video playback in your home theater.

“With so much HD content now available, we felt it was vital to offer consumers an easy way to record as much television programming as they’d like to watch at a later time without ever having to worry about capacity,” said Andrew Morrison, Director of Product Platforms at TiVo. “What is great about the XL is it gives content lovers plenty of room for all the programming they love, saving them from having to decide if they need to prematurely delete a favorite movie or a big game memory when space gets tight. Satellite or cable DVRs simply can’t match it.”

On top of increased recording capacity, the TiVo HD XL DVR offers all the innovative broadband features that TiVo lovers have grown accustomed and addicted to. Users can download thousands of movies & TV shows directly to the TV, browse and watch endless YouTube videos, listen to thousands of songs from Rhapsody, or view hundreds of music videos from Music Choice.

Features exclusive to TiVo HD XL include the 150 hours of HD recording space, THX certification, a Series3 premium backlit remote control and an included HDMI cable.

Similar to TiVo HD, dual tuners allow subscribers to record two different shows in HD at the same time, while watching a third pre-recorded show. The TiVo HD XL is designed to fit seamlessly into the most discerning home theater systems, compatible with HD digital cable, analog cable and over-the-air digital HD (ATSC).

As with the TiVo HD, the TiVo HD XL box delivers the best in high definition entertainment, allowing the consumer to experience TiVo’s acclaimed service features, such as Season Pass(tm) recordings, Universal Swivel Search and WishList® searches, in sharp, vivid high definition images. Extensive video analysis and performance testing by THX ensures content will always record and playback at the maximum quality and resolution.

“TiVo pioneered the DVR category, and they are maintaining that position with the new high performance, high capacity TiVo HD XL,” said Dr. Michael Rudd, Chief AV Architect at THX. “As more consumers adopt high definition programming, they will expect their recorded content to reflect the same level of quality and consistency as the original broadcasts. With a Terabyte hard drive, the TiVo HD XL lets users enjoy more HD movies, sports and other programs in high definition than ever before, and THX certification ensures that the quality is always superb.”

The TiVo HD XL box joins the existing TiVo product line, and is available online today for $599.99 at www.tivo.com. Other retailers that will unveil TiVo HD XL as early as next week include Magnolia Home Theater, Amazon, and various other high-end retailers and customer installers.

This product will be shown at CEDIA in booth 1083 from 9/04/08 – 9/07/08.

This is first residential home theater dubbed Ambleside and it’s located in Hillsborough, CA. This is the type of setup that’s perfect for Serious Materials door. Ambleside is also rigged with QuietRock material from SM.

Attention serious home theater buffs:

The door of your dreams has finally arrived. Today, Serious Materials announced the world’s first THX certified soundproof door and it’s not one of those metal acoustic doors you see everywhere else. The QuietHome has an STC rating of 50 and is only 2.25-inches thick. If you’re really crazy then you can order two doors and put them back-to-back with a three-foot air gap for an STC rating of 80. You’ll likely be looking at a price tag of $2,500 for the THX certified model, but there is a lower end model, STC 44, that isn’t THX certified starting around $1,000. What makes these doors so special?

The new QuietHome Doors incorporate Serious’ proprietary viscoelastic polymer-based
constrained layer damped system, a multi-layer design and advanced seals throughout the
door edge.

The headline on my previous post regarding an interview with THX chief scientist Laurie Fincham was misleading. Fincham doesn’t actually state that Blu-ray is dead, rather, just that optical media, in general, is on a slippery slope.

Here’s what THX PR Manager Graham McKenna had to say,

“THX recognizes the quality and benefits that the Blu-ray HD format brings to the home theater experience. We are dedicated to supporting Blu-ray with new THX technologies and other initiatives. At its very core, THX is about advancing the quality of the entertainment experience, whether that is on optical disc, downloads or other emerging media. I believe Mr. Fincham’s comments reflect that broader goal.”

Some of you pointed out that inaccuracy because you read the quote correctly and for that you get a cookie. It’s in the mail, I swear. How long will optical media last? Would you carry around a USB drive to your local video store to get fresh new movies? Are you already on the DLC bandwagon or would you rather have an optical disk?

Guess what? One of THX’s chief scientists says Blu-ray is toast. Laurie Fincham was recently interviewed by Home Cinema Choice Magazine and when asked about HD DVD’s recent death he commented with this,

“Personally, I think it’s too late for Blu-ray. I think consumers will only become interested in replacing DVD when HD movies becomes available on flash memory. Do we really need another spinning format?” he told the magazine.

“In the future I want to be able to carry four to five movies around with me in a wallet, or walk into a store and have someone copy me a movie to a USB device. Stores will like that idea, because it’s all about having zero inventory. I don’t want to take up shelf space with dozens of HD movies.”

“By the time Blu-ray really finds a mass market, we will have 128GB cards. I would guess that getting studios to supply movies on media cards, or offer downloads, will be a lot easier than getting them to sign up to support a disc format.” he concluded.

DVD Town brings up a good point regarding Star Wars, though. We may not see the epic intergalactic love story on a HD format. That would suck. Big time.

If there’s one single gadget out there that I’ve been longing to review this year it’s the 2.1 speaker system from Razer. We caught a glimpse of them at last year’s CES and then there were teases that it would be out towards the end of last year, which never came about, but we’re getting much closer. You can pre-order now on Amazon and I’ve heard whispers that it’ll be another three weeks or so before they ship. Enough rambling, let’s get on with the review.

Setup on the Mako system was a breeze and took about five minutes. The two downward firing mushrooms plug into the sub via CAT-5 cables. A stereo mini-jack connects to the sub and then your PC/Mac/MP3 player and you’re almost ready to rock out. To activate the system you need to hold down the Razer logo on the touch wheel until the dial lights up. From here you can flip between volume, bass, line 1 and line 2 or you can mute the system. The touch wheel includes a line-in and headphone ports.

I’ll start with the negatives as there are very few. My biggest gripe with the system is the touch-sensitive LED control wheel. When I first set it up, I was either blasting music full throttle or it was dead silent. Maybe my hands were clammy or dry, I’m not sure, but I couldn’t get a proper level. After some trial and error, I found that you need a soft touch and adjusting levels just below the LEDs yielded much better results. So, really, it’s not a problem anymore. Just keep those two things in mind: soft touch and below the LEDs.

The only other thing I wasn’t too fond of was the low-end. It wasn’t quite thumpy enough for me even with the bass turned all the way up, which is a stark contrast, obviously, when the volume is cranked up a tad. But then again, when are you really going to be playing your music or gaming with the volume at 1 or 2? So, really, my two nitpicks don’t really account for anything other than observations. Take them for what they’re worth, I suppose.

On to the goodies. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, these are some BOMBASS speakers. I got a taste for what they were capable of at CES and was impressed, to say the least. THX had a heavy hand in making these speakers as great as they are. What makes these such great speakers is the omni-directional expanded soundstage combined with THX’s Ground Plane and Slot Speaker design. The downward-firing design creates a full 360 degrees of sound that isn’t rivaled in the market today. You get a range of sound that can be heard from anywhere in the room and eliminates that pesky desk bounce thing.

What makes the Mako stand out is the ClassHD digital amplifier technology. This particular technology basically provides the amplifier with varying amounts of power only when the amplifier needs it, which results in lower distortion levels since the amplifier will have enough power for the louder portions of whatever track you’re listening to. It reduces power consumption during lower levels as well.

Overall, I’m thoroughly impressed by the THX’s first foray into the speaker business and Razer is a perfect match to bring the highest quality 2.1 speaker system to market. It’s loud, sounds great, thumps hard and looks badass. I can’t wait to use these for an upcoming party. Do yourself a favor and spend the extra coin on this system. You won’t regret it.

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That is if you have a Neural-THX AV receiver. In any case, this will be the first time the Super Bowl will be available with true 5.1 surround sound, which is pretty darn hot. If you don’t have a Neural-THX receiver then you’re pretty much screwed. Heh. Not really. You can still experience the ‘game’s soundtrack’ with existing surround sound formats.

Neural-THX Surround provides a revolutionary new approach to surround sound production and playback for live broadcasts. It enables broadcasters to create and deliver true, multi-channel surround sound experiences using minimal bandwidth over stereo channels. For the Super Bowl, the technology will let the NFL’s on-site broadcast teams produce the game in 5.1 surround sound then transmit the sound mix in a stereo format to audiences around the globe. Television viewers can then decode the 5.1 mix using any AV receiver featuring Neural-THX Surround.

We’ve covered the Mako speakers on more than one occasion, but now we finally have a set in the office to test out. I think the majority of the team saw, rather, heard these at CES and everyone was blown away at how good they actually sounded. We’ll run a few tests and see who we can piss off in the office in the next couple weeks. In the meantime, enjoy the pics.

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Even your parents can make it all work. Well, that’s if your mom and dad have an AV system going and you’re not around to set it up for them. What THX’s Media Director aka Blackbird does is basically turn all your content (games, movies, or music) into ‘smart content’ that sends out its AV settings, which is then dynamically configured for the best playback experience. We’ve all encountered situations where the aspect ratio is not correct and the audio isn’t suitable for the content that you’re viewing, right? Well, Blackbird takes care of it all for you.

THX’s initial partners are Anchor Bay, Lyngdorf Audio, Portrait Displays and Sequoyan Media Technology.

Anchor Bay – Anchor Bay designs and manufactures advanced digital semiconductor and system-level solutions for next-generation digital television and high-definition digital video products. Anchor Bay’s DVDO iScan™ VP50PRO video processor will be one of the first HD video products to support THX Media Director.

Lyngdorf Audio – Lyngdorf Audio manufactures and designs high-end amplifiers, loudspeakers, digital preamplifiers, room processors and AD converters. The Lyngdorf D-1 Home Theater Processor will be the first audio product to feature THX Media Director.

Portrait Displays – Portrait Displays develops software for leading display companies. Portrait Displays’ TV Tune technology will aid in decoding THX Media Director metadata, triggering HDTVs to automatically adjust brightness, sharpness, aspect ratio and other video settings.

Sequoyan Media Technology (SMT) – SMT develops professional-grade software and hardware solutions that enhance the quality control procedures for leading DVD authoring facilities around the world. THX has partnered with SMT to develop an external authoring tool to provide the post-production community with a means to insert and verify THX Media Director metadata during the authoring of DVD, HD-DVD and Blu-ray discs.

Mr. Biggs already informed you about the Mako speakers from Razer, but I gleaned a few more details over the weekend from some THX folks thanks to Don Julio. So, the Razer Mako 2.1 THX Certified Multimedia bi-amplified speaker system is hitting online retailers this December and brick & mortars in January. They may be labeled as a Razer product, but this is all THX’s work. It’s equipped with THX Ground Plane and THX Slot Speaker technologies and with its downward firing design allows the Mako to fill up an entire room with rich sounds and deep bass. I’m also digging the mushroom design and can’t wait to get this into the TC/CG office for review and bump some tunes. A few more details after the jump.

* Patented THX Ground Plane and THX Slot Speaker downward-firing mid-range drivers and tweeters design which creates a spacious soundstage that turns any desktop surface from an acoustic hindrance into an integral part of the soundstage.

* True, bi-amplified satellites with two channels of 50W with full digital DSP control.
* An overall system frequency range of 30-20,000 Hz and Axial Response Limits of +/- 2dB at 40-18,000 Hz (-6dB at 30 and 20,000Hz)

* 300W of total system power, with 6 channels @ 50W each.
* ClassHD™ Digital Amplifier technology with full DSP control that makes previous-generation Class AB and Class D amplifiers obsolete.

* ClassHD™ technology scales power in sync with the music, resulting in operation at a much higher efficiency curve, improved Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), improved EMI, reduced idle consumption, and lowered amplifier delay.

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THX Loudness Plus, an audio technology to be built into various AV receivers, including Yamaha’s upcoming RX-Z11 (more on that later), should help those of you who have to watch TV and movies *extra quiet* for whatever reason: baby in the next room, having a fight with the wife… The technology boosts bass, surround and ambient sounds so that you don’t have to turn the volume up of your entire rig. In other words, you’ll get surround sound, but without having to violate local noise ordinances.

Speaking of that Yamaha…

Yamaha’s latest receiver goes to 11. That is, it has 11.2 channels of sounds, a number I can’t even wrap my head around. I remember when 5.1 made you the Man. It supports just about every AV format out there, with a special focus on HD—both audio and video, though calling audio “HD” is still a little strange to me—including Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD. A rear USB port allows for connection to various DAPs.

It’s really kinda silly to try to talk about all of its features in a quick blog post. Let me put it this way: if you can imagine the technology, it’s probably compatible with the RX-Z11. It better be, what with its $5,500 price tag.

THX Loudness Plus Delivers Reference-Level Sounds at Lower Volumes [Electronic House]