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Submission + - GoogleTV uses outdated Netflix (audioholics.com)

Submitted by SchlimpyChicken
SchlimpyChicken writes: Audioholics did a fairly comprehensive screenshot-laden review of the Logitech Revue GoogleTV. While the review praises its tight integration with Dish and the beauty of the RF Harmony remote control integration, it does include some interesting commentary about its overcomplexity, and lack of Netflix "2.0" support among other things. It seems Google is using a the antiquated no-search interface found on older BD players and televisions instead of the advanced system being deployed in PS3 and the Xbox 360 this year. Overall, it seems most of the GoogleTV awesomeness is waiting for 2011 — the question is whether or not it came out too soon and if anyone else (Apple?) will have time to gear up major competition.

Submission + - HDMI is Dead. Introducing HDBaseT Networking 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: HDMI is dead according to Audioholics.com A new standard is set to replace HDMI sources say. HDBaseT technology runs over STANDARD Cat5e/6 cable and implements something it calls 5Play, an unrivaled feature-set that converges full uncompressed HD video, audio, 100BaseT Ethernet, and various control signals. Oh, it also transmits up to 100W of power — that's enough to drive a 37-inch TV. And it can extend up to 100 meters passively. HDBaseT has the bandwidth to support the highest video resolutions such as full HD 1080p as well as 3D and 2Kx4K formats. HDBaseT is the first to provide all-in-one connectivity, making it possible for a single-connector TV to receive power, video/audio, Internet and control signals from the same cable. Think HDMI has a chance? Think again.
Medicine

Submission + - Warning: 3D Hazardous to Your Health (audioholics.com)

Submitted by SchlimpyChicken
SchlimpyChicken writes: Turns out 3D television can be inherently dangerous to your developing children — and adults as well. There's a malaise in children that can prevent full stereopsis (depth perception) from developing, called strabismus, or lazy-eye. It is an abnormal alignment of the eyes in which the eyes do not focus on the same object — kind of like when you watch a 3D movie. As a result, depth perception is compromised. Acting on a hunch, the guys over at Audioholics contacted Mark Pesce, who worked with Sega on its VR Headset over 15 years ago — you know, the headset that never made it to market. As it turns out, back then Sega uncovered serious health risks involved with children consuming 3D and quickly buried the reports — and the project. Unfortunately, the exact same dangers exist in today's 3D, and the electronics, movie and gaming industries seem to be ignoring this and pushing ahead with a technology. If fully realized, 3D just might affect the vision of millions of children and, according to the latest research, many adults, across the country.

Submission + - Jury Rules All Table Saws are Unsafe (protoolreviews.com) 2

Submitted by SchlimpyChicken
SchlimpyChicken writes: An editorial over at ProToolReviews.com cites the first case in which a jury essentially ruled that all table saws should include flesh-detection systems. The verdict was in favor of a defendant who lacerated his hands — apparently due to his own misuse of the table saw. The problem is that they ruled negligence based on technology they felt the Ryobi table saw should have had. The similarity seems to open the door for a veritable onslaught of lawsuits like, for example, penalizing any vehicle manufacturer for accidents involving a car not equipped with anti-lock brakes. The article mentioned the now infamous SawStop technology, which was at the heart of the lawsuit and is no stranger to pushing its technology through the judicial system. If mandated, it would put millions of dollars in licensing fees into a single company and raise the price of every table saw — all but eliminating entry-level models.

Comment Re:How many more products like this are there? (Score 1) 397

by SchlimpyChicken (#30797168) Attached to: THX Caught With Pants Down Over Lexicon Blu-ray Player
He removed all the comments that got put on that site... It was a VERY interesting example of apparent corruption (of the Editor) who was obviously defending one of his advertisers. He was attacking everything and everybody EXCEPT Lexicon and THX. Of course, in the end, when he was being attacked from all sides he deleted the thread entirely.

Comment Re:Audio/Videophiles Beware (Score 5, Interesting) 397

by SchlimpyChicken (#30789714) Attached to: THX Caught With Pants Down Over Lexicon Blu-ray Player

I have been told (directly, not third party) by one of the highest authorities at Denon Electronics that their cable is a shielded Cat5e cable... They only made it to satisfy custom installers who wanted something ridiculous to sell clients who had more money than sense. Off the record of course...

In this case Denon aren't bad guys, they just aren't stupid. They had enough requests and knew these guys would simply go elsewhere to get what they wanted (another product they could sell people who, if they dropped a $100 bill on the ground, would think it a waste of time to stoop over and pick it up).

In this case, the people at fault are the installers who can't seem to charge for their time and instead want to cultivate an industry where their services are "free" and everything is paid through them buying products at cost and selling them at retail to clients. The really big installers know how to run a business, but the middle and lower tiers are largely fueling customer ignorance of the value of their services.

Comment Re:How many more products like this are there? (Score 3, Interesting) 397

by SchlimpyChicken (#30789660) Attached to: THX Caught With Pants Down Over Lexicon Blu-ray Player
There are a ton. In particular, JVC's DLA-RS2 projector got rebadged by a ton of companies (Audioholics also exposed the Meridian MF10 as a rebadged JVC), all of whom insisted that they made "dramatic" improvements to the picture quality. The problem is - reference is reference, and black is black. The system can only get so black, and a $350 calibration can bring the JVC DLA-RS2 to near-perfection. Happens all over the industry. Lexicon actually has a history of doing this, but this time they got caught in a more blatant example - and pulled THX down with them in the process.

Submission + - THX Caught with Pants Down over Lexicon BD player (audioholics.com)

Submitted by SchlimpyChicken
SchlimpyChicken writes: Lexicon and THX apparently attempted to pull a fast one on the consumer electronics industry, but got caught this week when a couple websites exposed the fact that the high-end electronics company put a nearly-unmodified $500 Oppo Blu-ray player into a new Lexicon chassis and was selling it for $3500. AV Rant broke the story first on its home theater podcast with some pics of the two players' internals. Audioholics.com then posted a full suite of pics and tested the players with an Audio Precision analyzer. Both showed identical analogue audio performance and both FAILED a couple of basic THX specifications. Audioholics also posted commentary from THX on the matter and noted that both companies appear to be in a mad scramble to hide the fact that the player was ever deemed THX certified.

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