"Best headphone setup for a home theater?"

None.

/article

First off, kudos to Ben D. for discussing such an important topic. While I may not always agree with his opinion, it's the argument that counts. Again, many thanks.

IMHO, it isn't that BR is failing as much as it's not winning in a landslide. There are simply too many choices to consumers - BR, DVD, upscaling DVD, upscaled VOD, VOD in HD, Vudu HD/HDX, Hulu HD, NetFlix HD, P2P HD downloads (cannot ignore this), and more...

For a format to win, Joe-Six-Pack, the average consumer, wants to invest in something that is convenient, easy to use, has lots of entertainment choices and will last at LEAST 5 years. With so many choices and no clear winner in the HD realm, staying with DVD is a SAFER (and cheaper) choice to J6P.

I find it ironic that Hollywood, in its infinite greed and lack of wisdom, is actually prolonging this state of confusion or lack of a clear HD winner. I suppose that they feel that they win either way. It would be in their interest to promote a scaled solution - maybe buy/rent the VOD/download to watch first. Then buy the BR to get the best presentation and all the extra stuff.

To the pundits, stop calling for the sky to fall and point out what is needed to win "the war" for a format - or better yet - to win for consumers.

-KLH

Ben, I have to hand it to you - you really do know how to make articles with interesting premises. Keep it up!

Isn't DVD and Blu-Ray similar to VHS and SVHS? If we hold to that analogy, SVHS was successful at improving both video quality (by increased resolution) and audio (by using 2-channel sound) over VHS. In addition, SVHS also introduced a new cable (s-video) and was even backwards compatible!

Was SVHS successful? I think so, but before it could hit its stride DVD made it obsolete. I think that we'll have the same thing happen to Blu-Ray with something else. While all evidence points to some version of streaming over a network, it's the user interface and convenience that user cling to rather than how it works.

Ben, your post shows how ill informed the public and the media is on the new HD media codecs and capabilities.

If you do your homework (which I agree IS the problem), you would realize that you don't NEED HDMI 1.3. You can stream LPCM from the PS3 to your AV receiver. Using that method allows all HDMI receivers to receive up to 7.1 channels of sound in an UNCOMPRESSED format!

When you pair that with the fact that the PS3 can be upgraded to decode more codecs - the PS3 is one of the best BD players out now!

-KLH

This is one of the best articles I have ever read on this site. Well done!

-KLH

What about flat-panels with completely non-HD native resolutions of 1366x768 advertised as 720p (1280x720)?

It's just a mess... and for no clear reason.

-KLH

"Mainstream" means two things in general:
1. It is safe to buy for your grand-mother
2. She can use it correctly by herself

IMHO HDTV isn't there yet. There is too much education needed to make an informed decision on exactly WHAT is needed to enjoy the HDTV experience:

* Resolution: NTSC, SD, HD, aspect ratios(and 1366x768!!!!)
* Displays: CRT, DLP, LCD, LCOS, and Plasma
* Sources: OTA, cable, FIOS, Satellite, Blu-Ray, and HD-DVD
* Non-HD up-conversion: Digital TV, External Scaler, DVD players, game consoles, computers

IMHO, most of the American public is buying HDTVs to get either a big TV (DLP/LCoS) or a flat-panel (LCD/Plasma). They just happen to be HDTVs.

-KLH

There's no such thing as an "HDTV" antenna. A standard TV antenna should work - depending on what is broadcasted and the landscape. However, keep in mind that most DTV channels are broadcast in the UHF range.

The best UHF antenna seems to be the Channel Master 4228 - see here: http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/cm4228.html

-KLH

I don't think that that last paragraph is correct.

See the HDMI site for details on the levels:
http://www.hdmi.org/about/faq.asp#hdmi_specification

Essentially:
* 1.0 - Gave DD, DTS, and PCM 5.1 audio and video
* 1.1 - Gave DVD-Audio in addition to 1.0
* 1.2 - Gave DSD (SACD) in addition to 1.1
* 1.3 - WILL give native support for new codecs (TrueHD and DTS-HD) in addition to 1.2

-KLH

(This is the third time posting - I keep getting rejected as being promotional; I'm just trying to be helpful)

I found a great place for affordable high quality HDMI cables - monoprice. I have two of 'em and they perform just as good as the 80 buck+ varieties.

Just a tip, 'cause I hate paying top dollar for cables.

-KLH