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

October 10 – Amidst the upcoming holiday consumer crush, it is easy to get lost among the high-tech rhetoric of the inevitable holiday promotions.

As a boon to the savvy consumer, The Perfect Vision has compiled all of the best HDTVs we have reviewed in the last year.

In this article we will discuss the most highly regarded plasma HDTVs, LCD HDTVs, rear-projection HDTVs, and Front Projectors.

With products ranging from the most cost effective to the most performance oriented HDTVs out there, be sure and check out these reviews so that you are prepared for the chaos that typifies the holiday season.

Click on the model links to read our extensive reviews. Of course you can subscribe to our free digital magazine, The Perfect Vision, and get tons of reviews and news here.

Plasma HDTV:

Model                    Brand                     Price            Issue # 

LG                             42PC5D                  $1400            Download November issue for review

Vizio                          VP50                        $1500             TPV79

Panasonic               TH-50PX77U         $2100              TPV79

Samsung                 HP-T5064              $2700              TPV79

Pioneer Elite           PRO-1150HD        $4500              Download November issue for review

Panasonic               TH-58PZ750U       $5000              Download November issue for review

LCD HDTV:                        

Westinghouse       TX-47F430S           $1800                 TPV 80    

Vizio                         GV47L                      $1700                TPV 77

Sony                         KDL-40XBR4         $2800                Download November issue for review

LG                            47LB5D                    $2800                TPV 80

Toshiba                   46LX117                  $3000                 Download November issue for review

Sharp                       LC-52D64U             $3800               Download November issue for review

Rear-Projection HDTV:

Sony                        KDS-55A2020          $2300                TPV 78

JVC                          HD-58S998              $3300                 TPV 78

NuVision                 52LEDLP                  $4400                 TPV 78

Front Projectors:

Optoma                    HD70                        $1000                 TPV 78

Epson                       PowerLite Home
                                  Cinema 1080           $3000                 TPV 81

Optoma                    HD80                         $2700                 TPV 81

Panasonic                PT-AE1000U           $6000                 TPV 81

Vidikron                   Vision Model 70       $11,995               TPV 78

Check out all of our hundreds of HDTV reviews in our TV/Displays section here.

Back to the News

June 15 - In the current issue of The Perfect Vision, our own Harry Pearson details some of the new HD DVD titles.

More specifically, he lists his personal Top 5 discs on HD DVD that serve to highlight exactly what we love so much about the next-gen formats.

To see the list in its entirety, follow the upcoming instructions. Subscribe to The Perfect Vision for free and download the current issue immediately. It’s that simple. Follow this link to subscribe now.

Back to the News

Edited by Arnie Williams

 

INTERVIEW: Philip Rosedale of Second Life 

Pete Pachal talks with Second Life creator Philip Rosedale, who describes the 3D virtual community as an online country with its own economy, customs, and residents.  

Some background: For those of you who haven’t heard about Second Life, it’s basically the science fiction idea come to life — and probably more than you ever imagined. Linden Lab, the company behind the site, sells residents “landâ€? in the form of server space. Of the 200,000 individuals who go into Second Life on a daily basis, about 30 to 40 percent of them get involved in transactions that involve selling virtual belongings. We’re talking real dollars here. Some users’ assets are valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Transactions are handled by Second Life residents “without our involvement,â€? notes Linden Lab Business Analyst Chris Collins. 

TPV: What did you envision when you created Second Life?

PR: A world completely created by and for the people who live there. 

TPV: Why are so many people taking to Second Life?

PR: Second Life, as a complete 3D online virtual world, can be seen as the next step in the fulfillment of the Internet, which is people creating and interacting with content and each other in a 3D environment. You can envisage Second Life as a type of 3D Internet browser. The potential for interaction, education, ecommerce, and entertainment in a 3D environment is far greater than in the flat two-dimensional world we are now familiar with on the Web. Ultimately, the appeal has to do with complete freedom, content ownership, and significant business opportunity. 

TPV: Why should I play Second Life?

PR: The idea behind Second Life is that it’s whatever you want it to be. It’s an open-ended experience. It’s not a game—there are no levels, no goal, no manufactured conflict. You can spend your time sight-seeing, building, shopping, and socializing. You’re only limited by your imagination. 

(more…)