EHomeUpgrade points out that DivX just announced their latest 6.4 codec, with some nice improvements. Check em out.

DixX 6.4 Codec Highlights:

• Compress digital video 5 to 10 times more than MPEG-2/DVD format and hundreds of times over raw digital video
• Encode high-definition (HD) video at resolutions up to 1080p or 1080i
• Maximized performance for all HyperThreaded, dual core and dual CPU (SMP) systems
• Improved support for interlaced video
• Six carefully optimized encoding modes for balancing visual quality and performance
• Automated noise reduction reduces grain and low-light noise (common with DV cameras) without significantly degrading the video

Read the rest here. 

Ahh It must be my lucky day to catch a few speaker reviews on the net. Courtesy of Sound& Vision, this next review takes a look at the ins and outs (no pun intended) of the JL Audio Fathom f112. Weighing in at $2400 the Sound & Vision crew find nothing wrong with this 12 inch bad boy except a case of hernia and a lost paycheque or two.

From the article:

Widely respected in high-end mobile sound, JL Audio has only recently navigated into home theater waters. Domestic notoriety may come quickly, however. The new JL Audio Fathom f112 subwoofer has a high-tech 12-inch driver rated at more than 3 inches peak-to-peak linear excursion, mated with a digital amp said to produce "unclipped output voltages equivalent to 1,500 watts." Weighing in at a measly 115 pounds (less than half the mass of JL's largest sub), the f112 certainly has a big-bass recipe.

Home Theater Mag has a quick review of Sony's next generation SXRD 1080p TV. Right of the bat you notice that this TV comes in a few hundred dollars cheaper then the previous gen and finally has proper 1080p support. I have to say, that will a little fiddling Sony TV's are typically my favorite picture. All the usual features, connections and widgets were onboard and accounted for. 

From the article: 

The black level is commendably low. I measured it at 0.008 foot-lamberts, which, as far as RPTVs go, is bested only by the last 60-inch SXRD RPTV we reviewed (which was also our Product of the Year last year). That TV was a little darker (0.007 ft-L at its darkest) and a little brighter (between 93 and 100 ft-L, depending on the mode, versus 63 and 83 ft-L here). Of course, that TV was $1,300 more expensive. Just for comparison, that 0.008 ft-L is better than every LCD, plasma, and many front projectors we've reviewed.

EPSON's Powerlite 400 lives up to its name with 1500 ANSI lumen output, which should be enough for rooms with moderate amounts of ambient light. For $1500 you wouldn't expect a 1080p projector and this case you would be right. However, it appears that that money will be well spent on features like 5,000:1 contrast ration, trio of HD hookups, In the end, it falls a bit short due to its color accuracy.

From the article:

The Cinema 400 really shines when it comes to the display of video games due to its high brightness and deep color saturation. It performs equally well with dark games like Splinter Cell where one spends 99% of the time in the shadows, or bright, colorful games like Halo. No matter what type of gaming material was being played, the Cinema 400 delivered a bright, three-dimensional image that lent a great deal of excitement to the gaming experience.

This is like the Vista of Blu-Ray players :-P Supposed to be out in May, now postponed yet again to December. They better hit it or they're going to miss the Christmas shoppers.

The BDP-HD1, originally expected to ship in October, will now be available in December. The player has not passed the company's quality control requirements, and it will be available when it does. 

Read the rest here. 

55 inches of plasma goodness is great, but did they have to use such a cheesy naming for their DVR feature?

Well, actually that's just a poorly-translated description of PVR functionality that will "pause, record and reply [sic] TV programs for two hours after the original broadcast."

Read the rest here.