Introduction In a recent poll conducted as a part of an Audio Video Revolution sweepstakes, a question was asked to the nearly 20,000 respondents as to what AV product they are planning on buying next within the next six months. We asked a very similar question in 2003: for a resounding majority, the answer was an HDTV set. In 2004, the most likely purchase was an HD-DVR (or TiVo). This new AV component category led all others, including HD sets themselves, with 28 percent of our readers saying this would be their next purchase. To say HD-DVR is a scorching hot new category of gear is to understate its importance. To not mention how bad and overpriced the category of HDTV tuners have been since the early adopters started dialing into HDTV would be to forget an important piece of recent AV history. Up until now, nearly every HDTV receiver has been practically pathetic in ...

Introduction The Escient FireBall DVDM-100 retails for $1,995 and is a high-tech solution to the ever-growing problem of AV media management. The FireBall unit is best described as the brain or control center for up to 1200 CDs and/or DVDs. The Escient unit itself does not hold any discs, nor does it have an internal hard drive to store data (like the insanely overpriced Kalidescape products). Instead, these discs are housed in up to three of Sony or Kenwood’s 400-disc changers. The FireBall then acts as a switcher and controller for the external changers. The FireBall also thoughtfully has a built-in Internet radio receiver. For those of you with large MP3 libraries, the FireBall, when connected to a hard drive-based music storage system from Escient or another manufacturer, can access and manage playback of MP3 encoded music as well. The unit itself measures 17-3/8 inches wide by four-and-five-eighths inches high and 11-7/8 inches deep, about the size ...

Introduction ReplayTV is working hard to gain ground in the booming DVR (digital video recorder) market. Over the past few years, TiVo has obtained a dominant marketing position, while ReplayTV has had to fight off lawsuits brought by some who feared ReplayTV’s powerful DVR technology. ReplayTV has since put that lawsuit behind them and has been bought by D&M Holdings. D&M Holdings is one of the biggest players in AV, owning several top audio/video companies, including Denon, Marantz and Macintosh and Rio. Now D&M Holdings has Escient as well and, with DirecTV threatening all sorts of ugly moves with TiVo, ReplayTV is quickly becoming the DVR choice of discriminating TV viewers. ReplayTV launched its 5500 DVR series in October 2003. The series is comprised of 40, 80, 160 and 320-hour versions, the 5504, 5508, 5516 and 5532, respectively. The DVRs range in price from $149 to $799, and service can be purchased separately for $12.95 ...

Introduction Playing your MP3 files isn’t just for sketchy speakers and poorly developed free software on your computer any more. Sales of Apple’s iPod are through the roof and now a new category, the music server, is gaining popularity. Talk of the computer and your home theater being one and the same (AKA: convergence) has been going on for quite some time and, with the NC-500 Nettunes Audio Network Receiver, Onkyo has taken another step closer to making the personal computer a fundamental part of your home theater system. For $399 (or $499 with two D-N3XA 2-way bass reflex speakers), the Onkyo NC-500 Net-Tunes™ Audio Network Receiver gives you powerful access to audio files stored on your computer from a remote location in your home or office. It also provides enhanced support for Internet radio and allows you to listen to both WMA (Windows Media) and MP3-format Internet radio stations. An AM/FM tuner allows you ...

TiVo for DirecTV on the Cheap As one of the millions of subscribers of DirecTV’s satellite service, I was compelled by an ongoing campaign to promote their own Hughes PVR (personal video recorder) for a seemingly unbelievable price of $199 per unit – installed. The unit completes the same tasks as the famous Sony SAT T-60 (about $500 retail – now discontinued), being both a satellite receiver and a TiVo recording device with a 35-hour recording capability, all in the same chassis. The value of the DirecTV offer was too compelling for me to resist, especially considering that to get another used Sony SAT T-60 from eBay was going to cost me close to the same $500 it costs to get a new one. I had a new bedroom system going in with a kickass new Sony 34XBR910 34-inch CRT HDTV set along with all of the other goodies. Why shouldn’t I have ...