Dim bulb? How about no bulb!

Specialist video maker Runco QuantumColor Q-750i and Q-750d front projectors got a lot of attention at last year's CEDIA, as they’re the company’s first offerings that include a trio of high-output, light-emitting diodes that provide the light source, in lieu of the traditional high pressure lamp.

When less is more

Established just five years ago, NuVision has steadily expanded their line of premium flat panel HDTVs and are now offering this, their first LED-powered model, the 55-inch NVU55FX5LS (40- and 46-inch models are also available).

Leave the lights on

If you’re considering a front projection system for your home theater but don’t have a dedicated light-controlled environment to put it in, you may want to check out one of the new high-contrast screens like Screen Innovations Black Diamond II.

Using a special screen design, these screens minimize ambiant light while still giving you a bright and punchy projected image.

Three. Two. The One.

Aptly named after the mythological Greek sun god, the helios is outfitted with not one but two 330-watt UHP lamps. These can be operated in single- or dual-lamp modes according to light output requirements.

This flexibility affords a wide range of installation and usage options, including the ability to have the projector put out a sufficiently bright image that allows daytime viewing in a high ambient light environment or dropping light output by half or more for nighttime viewing.

The latest video processors seek to minimize picture artifacts and expand system capabilities

Jaggies, judder, combing, tearing, mosquito noise, block noise —these are just a handful of the terms to describe picture anomalies that degrade high definition picture quality.

Thankfully, the latest generation of stand-alone scalers/video processors aims to fix all of that.

Real Wide Screen and No More Black Bars

One of the most common questions I get is about the black bars that appear above and below the image with many movies.

After all, a spiffy new HDTV and Blu-ray player will banish the black bars we had with DVDs and old TVs, right? Nope.

But with the right projector, screen, and lens, you can have CinemaScope in your home.

And no more black bars.

Splendido Proiettore

“Hello, old friend”, I said to myself as we unpacked the Grand Cinema C3X 3-chip 1080p projector, which features the same gorgeous cabinetry of its 720p predecessor that we reviewed two years ago.

Unlike last time, when that earlier review sample showed up on my doorstep via overnight delivery, this latest model was hand-delivered by SIM2’s affable and knowledgeable Alberto Fabiano.

Plasma Poseur

Within minutes of setting up Samsung’s top-line 46” LCD HDTV (they also offer a 55” version), I knew that this was no ordinary LCD flat-panel, as the picture quality, with just a few picture control adjustments, looked startlingly un-LCD-like and much more reminiscent of what I’m used to seeing with better plasma sets.