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Written by Marshal M. Rosenthal
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Wednesday, 24 January 2007 |
Are We There Yet!
 Pioneer Elite BDP-HD1
And while we’ve excelled at being timely, the physical reality of a magazine doesn’t allow for any changes to be made once it’s headed for the printer. So when great products show up too lake for the issue, they have to sit on their hands (so to speak) until we can get them into the next one!
That annoys the heck out of us. Let me cite two examples.
Example #1
Pioneer’s Elite BDP-HD1 is a solidly constructed Blu-ray player whose physical attributes (like an IR terminal and Ethernet port) and rigid construction denote quality both in how it plays, as well as in the signal going out to the display. The review would have noted how quickly it can sync with a home network and PC to view photo stills and music (streaming movies was a bit more problematic, but that’s Windows for you)—plus, the upconversion of the standard-def DVDs looks very good. That the player handles home-brewed DVD-R/RE and DVE-R+/Rw+ discs I s all good stuff, but no, it can’t play CDs.
Of course, viewing 1080p movies is really where it’s at: For example, Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride was splendid with its wide spectrum of gray shading and distinct colors. And Click(BD) was just plain fun to watch. Overall, the Pioneer is like a Hummer compared to the sedan models of other Blu-ray players. While $1,500 might be a bit pricey, it really can become the center of your home theater’s high-def universe.
Example #2
 Mitsubishi HC5000BL
The upshot of all this is that it’s time to fully embrace the 21st Century, and that’s what we are doing with HDTV Etc. LIVE! Through an interactive, up-to-the-minute online experience, we can eliminate all the problems and slowdowns and limitations of print. This means we can provide readers with the kind of timeliness you expect and deserve. It will also allow us, the folks who enjoy getting you the news and reviews, to be more connected and responsive to your needs, as well as the needs of the industry at large. Is it going to take some work to realign with this new system? Sure. But the results are well worth it—both for those who will be enjoying it, as well as for those producing the content.
I look forward to seeing you on the electronic side.
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