Panasonic Archive
Hints On Shooting a Classical Video – (From a Grammy-award-winning producer: Choose the piece but film the moment; Set the scenes & shoot it lean; Keep it real; Tell a story; Get intimate. “If the viewer wants to focus purely on the music they’re welcome to shut their eyes. But if they want to watch you making the music, make sure they are watching something interesting.” Most Home Theater Companies Missing from CES – Only four companies were there: AudioControl, Wolf Cinema, James and Vutec. Though the Venetian suites had a $196,000 home theater demo, the lack of true home theater was noticeable at CES in Las Vegas. It is becoming apparent that manufacturers seeking to create trade channel partnerships with integrators are bypassing CES. But there was still plenty to see the show from a display standpoint. LG, Sony and Panasonic showcased impressive flat panel technology, namely OLED. But there were few audio companions. The exorbitant hotel prices are also reducing media traffic, and then there is the huge congestion at the show. Moving between venues generally takes one to two hours. The Return of the Violin – The violin is getting much attention in recordings and live concerts […]
Audio News for October 4, 2016
CBS Radio to Cease – More and more Americans, particulary young people, don’t tune into on-air radio stations anymore. Advertising dollars and audiences are dwindling everywhere. Revenues for terrestrial radio as a whole have been on a downward march for years. The biggest indicator is that CBS Corp. – once the home of Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite – is spinning off its 88-year-old radio business to focus on TV and cable broadcasting. If it can’t find buyers for its 117 stations, it will offer share via an initial public offering. A survey shows that standard radio advertising from 2014 to 2019 will only grow about .5% per year compared with 8.6% for online radio broadcasters. A media consultant states that about half of all AM and FM radio stations will be gone by the middle of the next decade. Audio Over USB Type-C Standard – Apple is not the first firm to release a smartphone requiring an adaptor to use standard 3.5mm headphones. USB-FI’s latest formal standard is the USB audio Device Class 3.0 which carries audio signals over USB via a Type-C connector. There is reduced power consumption, it is easier to implement in devices, and includes […]
Audio News for September 2, 2016
Rotel Introduces New 14 Series Integrated Amplifiers and CD Player – For listeners who appreciate the look and feel of retro high-quality separate components including serious loudspeakers, as long as they can still plug in, Rotel is targeting you with its new 14 Series amplifiers and – courageously so – a CD player. “Stereo playback is enjoying a renaissance, particularly among younger people,” Doug Henderson, president of Rotel’s distributor, the B&W Group, said. Connection options include Bluetooth with AptX, standard analog and phono inputs, two each of coaxial and optical inputs, USB for PC and iOS which supports high-resolution playback of 32-bit/384kHz PCM, as well as DSD and DSD 2X. The three new 14 Series models will debut in October. The A14 integrated amplifier (80 watts per channel and high resolution) will retail for $1,300, the A12 (60 watts) $900, and the CD14 CD $600. Grado’s New Deluxe Cartridges an Audiophile’s Dream – After two years of research, development and a lot of listening, Brooklyn-based Grado is releasing its new Statement Series2 [sic] line of deluxe audiophile phono cartridges. Housed in Australian Jarrah wood, a eucalyptus species renowned for its versatility, durability and strength, and featuring “a fixed coil design […]
Audio News for July 29, 2016
Finnish Composer Rautavaara Dies – At age 87 the composer of many inspirational works passed away, and left this statement: “It is my belief that music is great if, at some moment, the listener catches ‘a glimpse of eternity through the window of time’… This, to my mind, is the only true justification for art. All else is of secondary importance.” Xbox One S to Launch August 2 – It will be the first console to support UHD video and the new larger-capacity Blu-rays, and the smaller version will initially be up available in 25 different countries. Thee will be three different models: a 500GB version for $299, a 1TB version for $349 and a 2TB version of $399. According to Microsoft “availability is limited and demand is high” and they suggest preordering the console soon. Investigation Finds That Millions of Consumers Are Targeted by Malware Operators – A Digital Citizens investigation has found that malware operators and content theft website owners have teamed up to target consumers, with an unexpected assist from U.S.-based tech firms. One in three content theft websites expose consumers to dangerous malware that an lead to ID theft, financial loss and ransomware. The report found […]
Audio News for July 12, 2016
Home Theater Turned Into Star Trek: The Next Generation – Over $1.5 million later, financier Marc Bell has turned sci-fi into reality in his home in Boca Raton FL. The home theater is patterned after the bridge on the USS Enterprise, the spaceship featured on the Star Trek: The Next Generation TV series that ran from 1987 to 1994. Everything in the room is custom, down to the little architectural details. A wraparound control center (often manned by Worf on the series) has a touch-screen control panel that manages everything from the theater lighting to what’s shown on the hi-def projector. The ceiling is lit by a “starfield” – hundreds of fiber-optic lights that twinkle at different frequencies depending on how far away they are. Bell’s collection of Star Trek memorabilia includes the ears worn by the Spock character, and there is a reference to Captain Picard’s office in the series – the “ready room.” Panasonic Australia Integrates Hardware Optimisation and Cost Efficiency in One System – The new Video Insight Management Software (VMS) is a video management security solution which can integrate multiple devices across a network. It supports more than 3000 camera models from 100 manufacturers and integrates […]
Audio News for June 7, 2016
On Panasonic Giving Up On Plasma TVs – The TV set made Panasonic a household name from Singapore to San Francisco. Their TV engineers pointed out that though plasma flat-panel technology gave a better picture, consumers preferred the lighter, durable rival: liquid LCD TVs. When the new president Kazuhiro Tsuga took over in 2012, he announced that he would downsize the TV business as a whole and shutter the plasma plants. He re-organized Panasonic’s myriad businesses, ditched other beloved but moneylosing operations, and refocused investment on more promising businesses. The company no longer sells TVs in the U.S. and has a minimal presence in China. It has conquered extreme losses and is doing much better than competitors Sony and Sharp. Monolith Seven-Channel 200-watt Amp – At $1499 the new 7×200 multichannel home theater power amp from Monolith provides a serious shot of adrenaline for your audio surround systems at a low price. It is a massive Class AB amp with dual torodial power supplies with weights 92 lbs. Unlike most multichannel amps, the Monolith is measured for its 200-watt rating with all seven channels driven across the full power bandwidth – not just two. It has a three-year replacement warranty […]
Audio News for March 29, 2016
Benefits of a Curved Screen HDTV – Almost none. Perhaps if you’re a single person sitting right in the center of the screen it might be nice, but it prevents good viewing from the sides and takes up more room, as well as being more expensive. It may be nice in some commercial theaters but in the home the better visual quality is in fact unverified. Basically it’s just a commercial ploy to get you to spend more on a TV. And wait for the next generation of 4K HDTVs – this one doesn’t address the many other areas needing upgrading besides the resolution, and you need to sit extremely close to see any improvement in resolution anyway. And there is almost nothing reasonable available in 4K until the higher-capacity Blu-rays come out in a few months. MIT Launches Battery-Operated Headphone Amp – MIT has put their patented Multipole Technology inside an active circuit to make their Vero HCA 29 high current, silent-powered class AB headphone Amp. The new amp, which features 29 poles of articulation, is so far only on Indiegogo. Multipole Technology has been used on many films and recordings as well as MIT cables, but this is […]
Audio News for June 19, 2015
Sleep – An Eight-Hour Work Intended to Put Listener to Sleep; Panasonic Joins “Netflix Recommended” 4K TVs; Toshiba Goes 4K With New Notebooks; RDA Gets a Boost
Audio News for June 12, 2015
Ornette Coleman and Christopher Lee Die; Consumer Electronics Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment for 2015; Flat Panel TV Shootout at CE Week in NYC; Smart Plug Automates Electronics, Lighting, and Boosts Wi-Fi Signals
Audio News for March 24, 2015
Consumers Not Satisfied with Audio System Quality; Panasonic Comeback – Best Profit in Seven Years; Common Chemicals in Home Electronics and Furniture May Contribute to Obesity; “Stringquest” Takes Classical Music on a New Turn
Audio News for December 16, 2014
You’ll Probably Be Watching More Movies at Home
Audio News for November 4, 2014
New Martin-Logan Flagship Speaker; Classical News; Supreme Court Verdict on Klinghoffer: Not Guilty; Is the Berlin Philharmonic Still the Tops?; Panasonic “4K” UHD TVs Now Capable of Receiving Netflix UHD Programming
Audio News for August 1, 2014
Surprising Q1 Profit for Sony; Panasonic Has Higher Sales and Operating Profit; Radio Shack Opens 21 Interactive Stores in SF; Vizio Adds First Under-TV Speaker
Audio News for July 18, 2014
Omnifone to Deliver Catalog for PonoMusic; Panasonic to Integrate aptX Codec in Viera TVs; Computer Audiophile Says Hi-Res Is Not Coming From Apple; Vinyl – Back in Vogue
Audio News for June 3, 2014
Classical Music for a Modern Age; Free Classical & Jazz Music; OLED TV May Not Be the New Technology
Audio News for May 6, 2014
Very Modern Reinterpretations of the Classics; Gibson Brands Acquiring Philips’ Audio & HT Business; J&R Closes E-Commerce Site; TV App Developers Team Up; Rockford Gets Car Audio Level-Matching Patent
Audio News for March 18, 2014
Latest on Neil Young’s Pono; Low Public Awareness of UHD TV; Aupeo: Panasonic’s Radio Streaming Service; RCA Internet Music System
Audio News for March 11, 2014
Archival Disc Proposed by Sony & Panasonic; Neil Young’s Pono Actually Happening; Krell Offers Two Preamps
Audio New for February 7, 2014
Panasonic Reports Higher Sales & Profits; Pianist Christopher O’Riley Brings Rock to Classical; Bandwidth Continues to Increase with Esoteric Components; SiriusXM Has Record Q4 Revenue
Audio News for January 31, 2014
Panasonic to Shoot Sochi in 4K; Sony’s Investment Credit Downgraded to Junk; Classical Music Improves Children’s Listening Skills; Year’s Busiest Musicians, Conductors, Composers
Audio News for January 14, 2014
2014 International CES Wrap Up
Audio News for January 7, 2014
New York Times Favorite Classical Recordings of 2013; Best Jazz Discs of 2013; Benedictines of Mary Again Top Traditional Classical Album of 2013; Forecast of Growth of Sensors Industry; DEG Honors Industry’s Finest at CES 2014
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
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