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Does home theater need more than 5.1 channels?

Multichannel movie sound dates back to Disney's "Fantasia." When the film was first released in 1940, the number of speakers used was scaled to the size of the individual theater; 30 to 80 speakers were installed behind the screen and around the perimeter of the ceiling.

Home theater multichannel sound arrived many decades later, and quickly settled on a 5.1 channel system, which is just a scaled-down version of the current movie theater system. The home system uses three front speakers--left, center, right--and two surround speakers placed on the sides of the room. The subwoofer supplies … Read more

Quick Take: Sony KDL-EX710 series

Although CNET did not review the Sony KDL-EX710 series, we did review the KDL-EX700 series.

Sony replaced the EX700 models with the EX710 in its 2010 lineup, and tweaked the screen size selection slightly. The EX710 series is available in 32-, 40-, 46-, and 55-inch sizes (the EX700 had a 52-inch size, which is not available in the EX710). As of January 2011, the only remaining EX700 model on Sony's Web site is a 60-incher.

As far as we can tell, there are no other major differences between the two series. Both are edge-lit LED-backlit LCD TVs with nearly … Read more

Ex-Yahoos, plus Jerry Yang, in new Morado Ventures fund

AllThingsD

A new $10 million micro-venture fund led by former Yahoo top engineering exec Ash Patel--called Morado Ventures and funded by a group largely made up of ex-Yahoos--is about to launch, according to sources close to the situation.

Expected limited partners in Morado, which means "purple" in Spanish, include former Yahoo CEO Terry Semel, former COO Dan Rosensweig, and former advertising sales head Greg Coleman. Ex-Yahoo President Sue Decker is also considering investing, said sources.

Purple, of course, is Yahoo's color.

Interestingly enough, the fund--which has not officially closed yet--is also likely to include Yahoo's two founders … Read more

Shell show

Shell extensions are COM objects that add capabilities to Windows. When you right-click a Windows file, you'll often see menu entries for specific programs like WinZip or backup utilities; those menus were created by adding shell extensions to the operating system. NirSoft's ShellExView is a free utility that displays the details of any shell extensions installed on a PC and lets you enable or disable them individually. You can generate reports and save and export results to different file types for archiving or troubleshooting, such as diagnosing problems with context menus or when right-clicking is slow or doesn'… Read more

New NEC monitors sense humans, possibly other things

Monitors with LED backlights are currently a pretty hot commodity and I've found that while most manufacturers hock their LED wares to the consumer market, some, like Samsung and with its BX2350, are beginning to see that people spend a lot of time staring at monitor screens while at work.

On Monday, NEC stepped on the business monitor bandwagon to introduce a new line of LED-based monitors that, according to the company, are "ideal for corporate users looking for increased productivity and sleek aesthetics."

The new series begins with the 23-inch MultiSync EX231W, an LED-backlit LCD monitor with both DisplayPort and DVI connections. The monitor also offers a 14.6mm-wide bezel, a 9.3-pound weight and a USB port. It also includes a fully adjustable stand with 110mm height adjust, pivot, swivel and tilt, as well as a built-in carrying handle and quick release stand.

The monitor also includes a "human sensor," which detects user activity in front of the monitor and goes into sleep mode when it notices no one is there. No word yet if this works on cats or vampires.

Check out the full list of features (or at least, ones worth mentioning) here (my comments in parenthesis):… Read more

Quick Take: Sony KDL-EX400 series

CNET did not review the Sony KDL-EX400 series of LCD TVs, which includes the 46-inch KDL-46EX500, the 40-inch KDL-40EX400, and the 32-inch KDL-32EX400, but we did review the KDL-EX500 series, which is similar.

The major difference between the two series is the inclusion of a 120Hz refresh rate and Sony MotionFlow dejudder processing on the EX500 (more info). The EX500 also has a slightly better dynamic contrast ratio specification. Aside from these differences, we expect the picture quality of the KDL-EX500 to provide a very good indication of how the KDL-EX400 will perform.

For more information, see the full review of the Sony KDL-EX500 series. … Read more

Peugeot EX1 electric car scares merde out of Tesla

French carmaker Peugeot is about to celebrate its 200th birthday. Rather than hiring scantily clad models to hop out of a giant brioche, or quaffing a skyscraper-size bottle of champagne with its 200 closest mates, it's marking the occasion by building an insane electric sports car.

The Peugeot EX1 concept is based on Peugeot's previous Asphalte and the 20Cup concepts, but unlike those cars (which looked slightly weedy) this thing looks as if it might tear your spine out through your nose if you looked at it wrong.

Read more of "Peugeot EX1 electric concept car scares the merde out of Tesla&… Read more

Casio's H20G megazoom does geotagging indoors

Having tested all the latest GPS-enabled compact megazooms, I can tell you that holding onto a signal isn't easy, particularly in a city. Casio's Hybrid GPS in its Exilim EX-H20G announced today looks like it is up to task, though.

The Hybrid GPS system combines a GPS receiver with a motion sensor that allows for autonomic positioning. Should you lose your signal, a three-way accelerometer and a three-way direction sensor combine to keep track of your movements in relation to the last coordinate received. The camera can then continue to track and geotag your photos even if you'… Read more