Panasonic to Offer Free 3D Avatar With Viera 3DTVs – Although the full retail 3D Blu-ray of Avatar may take a year or two to come out according to its director James Cameron, those who buy Panasonic’s Viera Full HD 3DTVs after Dec. 1 can get it a lot sooner. The sets will come with a Panasonic 3D Ultimate Pack, which includes the 3D movie on Blu-ray plus two sets of 3D glasses. Anyone who purchased or will purchase a Viera #DTV prior to Dec. are asked to mail in their receipt to Panasonic with a form and they will be included on the promotion. Panasonic is celebrating a 27% increase in sales and a $1.05 billion profit selling their flat panel plasma TVs.
Is Great Sound Being Wrecked by the Hi-Fi Industry? – According to an Australian writer, the iPod revolution has caused the sound industry to mess up time and time again. It took them about a year and half to wake to the value of the iPod and start offering iPod docks etc. He says the Hi-Fi industry still doesn’t know how to engage with consumers. They should be advertising that sound is the other half of vision and create some really effective ads as does the TV industry. He says buzz words such as receivers, amplifiers, DACs and tuners mead nothing to vast numbers of consumers with disposable income who are buying the iPads, iPod docks, smartphones, tablets and 3D TVs. Large screen TVs have fallen in price hugely, leaving monies for a good home entertainment management system that pulls together all the devices in the home and features excellent surround sound or at least stereo speakers and good subwoofer.
Court Ban Sought for Violent Video Games – An application to the U.S. Supreme Court wants to ban retailers from selling or renting video games to those under the age of 18. The Supreme Court may have to decide if California is required to demonstrate “a direct causal link between violent video tames and physical and psychological harm to minors” before stopping games being sold to them. Some have pointed out the contradiction of the violent films in which California Governor Swarzenegger has starred in the past. But there’s no comparison – anyone who has seen even a few minutes of a typical kill-them-all video so-called game (and all from a subjective personal viewpoint) – will probably agree they are offensive and dangerous.
Daniel Barenboim Signs With DGG & Decca – Conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim – music director of the Staatsoper and Staatskapelle in Berlin as well as Maestro at Milan’s Teatro alla Scala – has signed a wide-ranging recording agreement with Deutsche Grammophon and Decca Classics. Among the many releases in plans stretching beyond 2012 – the artist’s 70th birthday – are his first-ever recordings of the Liszt and Chopin piano concertos, a new Beethoven symphony cycle with his West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, a new Bruckner recording, and several solo piano recordings. The first release will be in early 2011 and will mark the 60th anniversary of Barenboim’s performing debut; it will be devoted to a solo Chopin recital recorded in Warsaw, as well as the two piano concertos.
Republicans and Democrats All Love Technology – A recent Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) survey found that Democrats are slightly more inclined to consider themselves early adopters of technology than Republicans (25% vs. 17%), but ownership rates of consumer electronics are equal across party affiliations. The average American will spend $232 on electronics gifts this holiday season.
