Film Festivals

Sundance Film Festival 2018

It was another super-fun year at the Sundance film festival. Since there was a severe lack of snow (so not much skiing) I was able to see a whopping 17 feature films as well as shorts collection and a pair of “Indie Episodics”. Knowing how to get around, and acquire tickets...

Telluride 2016

In the intro for the 2015 Telluride Film Festival I wrote about how Aretha Franklin was suing to stop the presentation of the performance-documentary “Amazing Grace”. I’m happy to cut and paste that information into this year’s intro. We were shocked to see that it was on the schedule...

Toshiba 55WX800U 55″ LED Edge Lit LCD 3D HDTV

At the Consumer Electronics Show last January, every television manufacturer had at least one 3D-capable display in their booth. Over the next few months, new models trickled into the marketplace. Now that CEDIA has come and gone, the floodgates are officially open and every brand has at least one and in some cases multiple models to choose from. I attended CEDIA with the primary goal of securing as many 3D TVs as possible for review. Toshiba was kind enough to be the first to provide me a sample, the flagship 55WX800U Cinema Series 55" LED Edge Lit LCD HDTV.

Runco Q750i DLP Projector with LED Illumination

Since the first LCD units were pressed into service as home theater displays, digital projection has suffered from one limitation, the bulb. No matter the technology – DLP, LCoS or LCD – all digital front projectors use(d) either a UHP (Ultra High Pressure) mercury or xenon lamp as a light source. The use of LEDs as the light source in projectors is now emerging. Here, we review Runco's Q750i projector which has a single DLP 1920 x 1080 chip with an LED light source.

Earthquake CP-8 Subwoofer

Is there a more apropos name for a manufacturer of subwoofers than Earthquake? True, they now make a fine line of speakers and their power amplifiers have won many awards, but their real claim to fame has always been their subs. During my recent trip to CEDIA last fall, I had the pleasure of meeting with Abraham Sahyoun, Earthquake's marketing director. He encouraged me to attempt to lift the Super Nova Subwoofer off its display pedestal…he grinned while I attempted and failed…and then told me that it weighed in excess of 300 pounds. He then introduced me to a new sub, the CP-8, a subwoofer that is designed to fit behind or under your couch. The CP stands for "Couch Potato."