John Gatski is the Publisher & Executive Editor of Pro Audio Review.
Since 1998, PAR has published the Gear Guide, and it continues to be the source for new professional products.
For 2008, PAR has hundreds more products with photos than last year, and, of course, distribution is not just via the print edition but also digital. We even put the Gear Guide on our web site as a downloadable PDF for a full year.
And, of course, the Gear Guide would not be complete without an up-to-date manufacturer directory. No desk should be without it. By the way, any URL listed in the products capsules and the manufacturer directory can be accessed from the digital edition and the web PDF, as long as a browser is open. If you want more information on the product or the company, just click on the URL.
So enjoy the Gear Guide — no matter how you read it.
And the winner is...
With the recent announcement that major retailers are abandoning HD DVD and going only with its archival format Blu-ray, I am breathing a sigh of relief. Without the diversion of the format war that plagued high res in the 1990s, high-resolution audio for music and video should have a better chance for acceptance this tine around.
I have been sampling Blu-ray over the past three months, thanks to Sony and its BDP-S2000ES player. Blu-ray’s capacity to hold uncompressed PCM and high-quality “lossless” data reduction formats allows accuracy and increased realism that is incredible.
The 24-bit/48-kHz movie music soundtracks are so much more dynamic than standard Dolby Digital or DTS. The same is true with “lossless” formats such as Dolby True HD and DTS Master. I have yet to hear a 24-bit/96-kHz uncompressed movie soundtrack on Blu-ray, but I am sure it is coming.
I am waiting for the music albums to eventually be released on Blu-ray — in all their splendid sonic glory; the bonus features could be high-definition video of a live performance, or the artist actually recording in the studio.
New Digs
I also wanted to let you know that Pro Audio Review has a new home. After years in an old office building in Northern Virginia, PAR and its sibling titles Radio World and TV Technology have moved a few miles down the road to a more modern office building in Alexandria, Va. Besides the nice new office decorum, there is indoor parking and, yay, perpetual coffee service.
My e-mail address has also changed. I can now be reached at jgatski@nbmedia.com.
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