The days of automakers shoving the same OEM radio into all of their cars are long gone – at least for vehicles over $20k. Now if you drop enough coin, you can get a system that will rival your home theater gear. Sound & Vision recently spent sometime with the THX II sound system found in the Lincoln MKT crossover. Spoiler: your audiophile dad should like it. → Read More
You know that audio goes along with THX logo. It’s called the Deep Note apparently and this guy set out to recreate the entire thing in the program SuperCollider. I have no idea what’s going on once he starts explaining the coding behind the creation, but the end result is astonishingly close to the real thing, which is even more impressive when you learn that the original score has never been released. Start at the beginning and listen to all six steps in order. → Read More
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. → Read More
The fine folks at THX have taken note of the current home theater landscape and deemed it sub-par when it comes to surround sound. That may or may not be true, but I’d like to think someone at THX thought that at some point. Developed in conjunction with Radiient, the THX Roomcaster system taps ultra-wideband wireless technology to unshackle your surround system from its wired overlords. The technology can also be embedded into AV receivers, game consoles, headphones and anything that sends and receives content. → Read More
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. → Read More
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? → Read More
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, → Read More
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. → Read More
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. → Read More
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. [photopress:IMGP4953.JPG,thumb,pp_image][photopress:IMGP4955.JPG,thumb,pp_image][photopress:IMGP4958.JPG,thumb,pp_image][photopress:IMGP4959.JPG,thumb,pp_image] [photopress:IMGP4960.JPG,thumb,pp_image][photopress:IMGP4961.JPG,thumb,pp_image][photopress:IMGP4962.JPG,thumb,pp_image] Product Page → Read More
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. → Read More
Specs here. They sounded pretty good from what I could tell in the noisy hall, but they look freaky. → Read More
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. → Read More
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… → Read More
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