The Perfect Vision…now merging with Playback
January 3rd, 2008 — By Monica Williams
Dear The Perfect Vision Readers,
The January 2008 issue will be the last issue of The Perfect Vision. As you may have noticed, we have been transitioning The Perfect Vision from a home theater magazine to a more comprehensive consumer electronics magazine. The response has been encouraging from both readers and advertisers. As our reader base has grown, we’ve realized that most consumers are interested both in home theater equipment and in the movies and music that the equipment is meant to optimize.
To maximize our coverage of the world of home entertainment, The Perfect Vision will merge with Playback, our newest online magazine, which offers extensive music and movie reviews as well as reviews of home audio and theater equipment.
Playback is a free online magazine written for music lovers who care as much about sound quality as they do discovering new music. Playback is loaded with music reviews and artist interviews from across all music genres - rock, pop, classical, jazz, and more. Starting in the January 2008 issue, Playback will also incorporate the same kind of coverage for movie lovers, focusing on the complete home-theater experience - from picture quality to surround sound to new video formats - that makes watching a movie at home more satisfying than going to the movie theater.
But it won’t stop there. Playback will also offer reviews of the latest home audio and home theater equipment, focusing on those products that help you get the most bang for your home entertainment buck.
We invite you to give Playback a try. Just go to Playback and click “Subscribe” to get a free subscription to this completely new online magazine. You’ll also receive a monthly email reminding you to pick up the latest issue.
If you subscribe to the print version of The Perfect Vision:
If you are currently not a subscriber to The Perfect Vision’s sister print publication, The Absolute Sound, you will begin receiving The Absolute Sound each month until we fulfill your outstanding subscription to The Perfect Vision. If you already subscribe to The Absolute Sound, we will extend your subscription for the number of outstanding issues still owed from The Perfect Vision.
If you subscribe to the digital version of The Perfect Vision:
Starting January 8, look for an email from The Perfect Vision that will introduce you to your free subscription to the digital edition of Playback. We invite you to browse a few issues of the monthly digital magazine. If at any time you no longer wish to receive emails announcing the latest edition of Playback, you may click the Unsubscribe link in the email or from the Playback site.
Thank you for your support of all our print and digital publications, and we look forward to your continued reading enjoyment through the pages of Playback and The Absolute Sound.
Questions or comments? Feel free to send me an email at mwilliams@nextscreen.com.
Sincerely,
Monica Williams
Managing Editor
AVguide.com
I am very disappointed that you are discontinuing The Perfect Vision, and in particular that you are merging it with an online only magazine. I, for one prefer print over online reading. I find having a magazine in my hands is easier to read, portable and accessable without having to be tied to a computer.
Comment by steven miller January 3rd, 2008 @ 3:51 pmWhat’s the world coming to? First the Stereophile Guide to Home Theater disappears into the online ghetto (after becoming UltimateAV in an effort to drum up more advertiser dollars) and now the same has happened to the Perfect Vision. That only a single videophile publication left, Widescreen Review, in a field that used to have three videophile magazines. It’s very sad. Even though the editorial choices of The Perfect Vision had gone downhill during the last 18 months (cell phones in a videophile magazine? and no in depth movie reviews?), I still still mourn this passing.
Comment by nathan January 4th, 2008 @ 12:25 amVery disappointed and alienated. In its earlier days I was attracted to the Perfect Vision because it was not afraid to print the good or bad aspects of each product with critical in-depth reviews. To help convey this it created a rating system that has been invaluable. The reviews included those often hard to find technical details too. All of this was done with a focus on video presentation and multi-channel listening. In these areas it aspired to be what The Absolute Sound is to a stereo audiophile. It appears all has been lost with your transition to a more comprehensive consumer electronics magazine. While I applaud your business decision to create a more comprehensive magazine I feel you have abandoned what attracted me to the The Perfect Vision. Playback is far too general and misses the critical and technical details I desire. The Absolute Sound is an excellent example of what I’m looking for, but it misses the audience I’m in. I’m looking for the NPR of news, not the mainstream news everyone else offers. I’m very disappointed and sorry to see you abandon the audience you first attracted.
Comment by David D. January 5th, 2008 @ 8:04 amNot only has the Perfect Vision been far from perfect, or barely useful in the past one to two years, its sister publication, Absolute Sound has deteriorated from what HP first initiated. The redundancy of these publications has been woeful, the review of new product dismal, and the quality of insight for the videophile and audiophile progressively disappearing– much like the US economy. Purchased a Pioneer Elite plasma screen based on your raving review only to have the unit electronically fail within thirty-six hours (review of reliability has been lacking) and the Pioneer service center cannot even put it on the bench for four weeks (review of support?)– there are that many failed units in this area!
Comment by lawrence block January 6th, 2008 @ 10:21 pmI truly regret having to write this diatribe of what used to be the Absolute and Perfect vision of HP. Rest in pieces.