Here’s what the trailer doesn’t tell you. Extras for the new Blu-ray include:

The E.T. Journals: In this all-new bonus feature, retrace the day-to-day experience of creating E.T from never-before-seen, behind-the-scenes footage shot by Academy Award®-winning cinematographer John Toll. This piece will give viewers a unique feeling of being on the set and living the excitement of what it was like to make E.T.

Steven Spielberg & E.T.: Watch an all-new interview with Steven Spielberg, as he reflects back on the film and discusses his experience working with the actors, as well as his overall and current perspective on E.T.

Deleted Scenes: Two scenes from 2002 version of the film.

A Look Back: A special insider’s look into the making of E.T. featuring interviews with Steven Spielberg, the cast, and others intimately involved with the film.

The E.T. Reunion: The cast and filmmaker reunite to discuss their thoughts on the impact of the film.

The Evolution and Creation of E.T.: From idea to screenplay, through casting and making the film.

The Music of E.T.: A Discussion with John Williams: Interviews and footage focused on the long-standing relationship between John Williams and Steven Spielberg.

The 20th Anniversary Premiere: Composer John Williams played the score of E.T. live at the Shrine Auditorium for the re-release premiere of E.T. This featurette gives us a behind the scenes look at this presentation.

Original Theatrical Trailer

Special Olympics TV spot

Designs, Photographs and Marketing – E.T. Designs by Production Illustrator Ed Verreaux, E.T. Designs by Carlo Rambaldi, Spaceship Designs by Ralph McQuarrie, Designs by Production Illustrator Ed Verreaux, Production Photographs, Marketing E.T.

…plus UltraViolet, a digital copy compatible with iOS and Android devices, pocket BLU app support, and BD Live content.

The set isn’t available for pre-order yet, but you can sign up at Amazon to be notified when it is.

• E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Anniversary Edition (Combo Pack: Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy + UltraViolet)
• List Price: $34.98
• Price: $24.49
• Read Reviews

Hey, call me a rebel, but in a time where most consumers want their speakers to blend or disappear (and that’s especially true of most of Leon Speakers’ designs), I have to respect such a bold departure. I’ll keep my eye on this one and update when more images roll in.

Contact info:
Leon Speakers

See [Leon Speakers on Facebook] Via [Leon Speakers on Twitter]

Source: NPD DisplaySearch Global TV Replacement Study

Consumers the world over are replacing their TVs more quickly than ever. Or at least they intend to within the next year. That’s the take home message from a new study released yesterday by NPD DisplaySearch. “Over the past year, the TV replacement cycle decreased on a global scale, from 8.4 to 6.9 years,” the study says, and although new technologies and updated features are behind most of the replacements (in mature markets, anyway; worldwide, most new TV buyers are upgrading from tube-type TVs to flat panels for the first time), the biggest motivator for most shoppers is simply a desire for a larger screen. (And odd revelation in my book, since the study also says that “LCD TVs in the range of 32-44” are the most popular for planned purchases.” *headscratch*)

A few other key points I found interesting:

• The average age of the primary TV in households ranges between 4 and 7 years, with India the highest at 6.7 years and China-Urban the lowest at 3.5 years.
• Households in emerging markets, such as Russia, Brazil, Mexico, and China, are much more likely to be planning to either replace or add TVs than in the US and European countries.
• Over 40% of households in China are planning to replace their first-generation flat panel TVs, similar to the rates found in mature markets.

Check out the source story for more analysis, as well as a link to the study itself.

Via: [DisplaySearch]

The Cube is a small, 2″ portable speaker that will run about 8 hours, powered by its rechargeable lithium-ion battery.  In addition to the standard 3.5mm aux-in jack, the Cube also allows for a direct USB connection to your computer, bypassing your computer’s DAC and instead utilizing the (most likely higher-quality) DAC on-board the Cube.  There is also a headphone amp built in, which allows you to take advantage of the Cube’s DAC and get a little better audio to your cans.  (The headphone jack is of the 3.5mm variety, and not 1/4″, so this is likely not “audiophile grade,” but it should be a little better than what your music player or laptop would get you.)

The Cube’s speaker is rated at 3W, so it won’t be earth-shattering sound, but I’m willing to bet that it would out-perform my MacBook Pro’s speakers.  Also of note on the spec sheet is the size of the Cube: 58.5mm x 58.5mm x 60.0mm.  So it’s not an exact cube, but what’s 1.5mm amongst friends?

The NuForce Cube is available now direct from NuForce or via one of their resellers for $119.  It is available in Black, Silver, Red, and Blue.  Included with the Cube is a a short 3.5mm stereo cable, a short USB cable, and a carrying pouch.

Contact Info:
NuForce

In today’s connected home, the network has become the backbone of pretty much everything.  It carries video, audio, computer data, and control data.  Up until now, though, installers integrating all of those systems together were mainly forced to buy off-the-shelf networking products from the usual online and big-box retailers.  These products work, but their reliability and technology are lacking.  The enterprise market offerings are there, but often these products are cost prohibitive.

Legrand’s goal here is to offer networking products, in the custom installation channels, that are up to the task of running today’s connected homes.  The first products they have announced are centered around wired Ethernet and power distribution, but there are plans to cover the installer’s every network need, including wireless access points, coax network, powerline distribution, and more.

At the center of the new lineup is the DA1054, a versatile and reliable triple-speed Ethernet interface that can operate as either a 4-port Gigabit Broadband Router or a 5-port Gigabit Switch, selectable with the flip of a switch. In Router mode, the DA1054 is capable of up-linking with virtually any ADSL or Cable modem, with support for Static IP, Dynamic IP, PPPoE, PPTP, and L2TP protocols, and features a robust SPI/DoS firewall to protect users from Internet attacks, as well as DHCP server support for wired client IP address assignment.  The DA1054 is designed with custom installers in mind, with a double-bay design built to fit into most structured wiring enclosures.

For powering access points, IP cameras, touch screen remotes, IP phones, and other devices that rely on Power-over-Ethernet, Legrand is also introducing a pair of PoE Injectors. Each is designed to power up to four compatible devices safely and reliably, with built-in overload and short circuit protection. The difference between them is a matter of power needs: the DA2400 provides 15 watts of power via Cat5/Cat6 cable to each of its four connected devices; the DA2401 is a high-performance model delivering up to 30 watts of power to each device.

For installations where a more centralized power distribution solution is required, Legrand is also introducing the DA1458, an 8-port 10/100/1000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet Switch with four PoE ports.  Each of the four 802.3af PoE injector ports in the DA1458 delivers up to 15.4 watts of power, along with high-speed data, to compliant powered devices up to 100 meters away, perfect for a centrally controlled IP camera system, or even four wireless access points in a large roaming wireless network. It features auto detection for powered devices and is powered by intelligent green technology to ensure the utmost in energy efficiency.

With the addition of these products, and the products to come, Legrand has positioned itself to be the go-to networking source for integrators.  In addition to providing reliable equipment, in an install-friendly form factor, these products should also allow integrators to increase their margins, especially when compared to readily available, consumer-grade networking products.

Contact Info:
Legrand

The biggest hurdle filmmakers are going to face in the transition to higher frame rates is going to be inserting enough motion blur to keep the experience from feeling like a big screen soap opera, without rendering redundant all that extra image information and clarity that higher frame rates provide. There’s no question that higher frame rate cinematography is great for action shots, and that it creates a much more convincing and consistent illusion for 3D, but I firmly believe that the best use of 48fps will be in creating an ideal 24fps version of a film, smoothing out kicks, punches, and other fast moving material.

Engadget has shot footage of an offroad rally at 50fps, and then downsampled that footage to 25fps in a simulation of the process that The Hobbit will undergo. High frame rate is most problematic (for some viewers) during still and dialogue scenes, so pay careful attention to the people in line for the snack bar, and how the dune buggies seem to be a little too hyper-real in comparison.

Make up your own mind at: [Engadget]

That you might not even know who Billy Joel is at this point in time — since he hasn’t put out any new pop music in nearly 20 years — would be a tragedy.

I am the entertainer
And I know just where I stand
Another serenader
And another long-haired band
Today I am your champion
I may have won your hearts
But I know the game, you'll forget my name
And I won't be here in another year
If I don't stay on the charts*

That you may have missed this reissue would also be a shame, as it contains a legendary slice of rock and roll history that kick-started Billy Joel’s then-struggling career: a live radio broadcast which led to regional airplay which led to his getting a perfectly timed major label contract leading to the release of his first proper LP, Piano Man,  a recording that has since gone four times Platinum (this means its sold more than 4 million copies worldwide!).

Sure, its nice that Piano Man, Billy Joel’s first “real” album, has been given the deluxe treatment, with a really nice CD remaster that sounds good (no brick-walling either!). But it is the bonus disc that makes this release special:  the first official issue of the 1972 live radio concert that effectively got Billy signed to Columbia Records and kicked off a quite marvelous career of one of the great pop songwriters of our times.  I am writing this from the road, so I’ve only listened to this on my car stereo and headphones via my computer — and I only own Piano Man on on LP at home, so I can’t compare the album proper to a prior CD — but I am comfortable saying that the live show sounds better than any version you may have heard from the original radio broadcast, since it is a fresh mix off the original 16-track multi-channel masters.

I am the entertainer
I come to do my show
You've heard my latest record
It's been on the radio
Ah, it took me years to write it
They were the best years of my life
It was a beautiful song
But it ran too long
If you're gonna have a hit
You gotta make it fit
So they cut it down to 3:05*

MEET THE CHAMPION

How this all came about is the stuff of olde tyme rock and roll fantasy… a tale that involves someone that this writer knows personally: Jonathan Takiff. Jon is a writer for The Philadelphia Daily News who covers music and consumer electronics technologies.

I met Jon many years ago via my “other” job as a publicist for consumer electronics technologies (Sony, Sega, Sharp, DTS and beyond) and over the years we have become good friends. And now you, Dear Readers, can bask in the joy of knowing the fact that, in many ways, Billy Joel’s career got the crucial kick start it needed because of Jon — an early champion of Billy’s music. Billy in fact had Jon write the liner notes to the still-new-to-most-of-us Legacy Edition reissue (which came out late last year and more or less disappeared from public consciousness as far as I’ve been able to ascertain — thus this review coming out now) of his seminal breakthrough album, Piano Man.  

EVERYBODY HAS A DREAM

Back in the day, you see, Jon Takiff was a DJ on the then fledgling WMMR-FM in Philadelphia, working weekend graveyard overnight shifts and such. He was also an early fan of Billy’s, who had been playing the local music scene for a while at that point. By 1971, Billy had roughly four albums under his belt:  two with his first band, The Hassles, which were released on United Artists in the mid ’60s, one in the guise of a forgettable hard rock duo on the self titled album Atilla (released, amazingly enough, on Epic) and one as a solo artist called Cold Spring Harbor (released on a small label with poor distribution and quality control issues). Even locally, Billy was far from a household name, and his dreams of stardom were pretty much on the line. Fortunately, his stature as a songwriter was growing due to a bunch of new tunes that would eventually form the basis for his next album.

EVERYBODY NEEDS SOMEBODY

In early 1972, Jon had seen Billy perform at The Main Point, a Philly area club of now legendary status (the site of many breakthrough radio shows by the likes of Bruce Springsteen, among others).  It is here that Jon’s influence comes into play, effecting a turn for Billy that would impact the rest of his entire career. Jon was an early — in his words — “rooter” for Billy at The Philadelphia Daily News. Jon was also playing tracks from the pretty much stalled Cold Spring Harbor album on his radio show. This was a time when FM radio was a brand new thing, and growing in popularity among young adults who liked the diverse musics played there — there were no playlists or rotations then, and no worries about ratings.  The “free form” music played on WMMR was chosen by the DJs who effectively became a voice of their listening publics (note: it doesn’t work this way anymore on radio, folks  – big business dictates what gets played, for the most part).

SOMETIMES A FANTASY IS ALL YOU NEED

Without going into every detail — you need to buy the CD set and read the wonderful detailed liner notes written by Jonathan Takiff himself — here is a quick summation of what happened next:

The station’s producer had heard Cold Spring Harbor and had an idea of doing a radio show with Billy. Jon, learning of the possible radio show, enthusiastically recommended Billy, having seen his show weeks earlier, telling the producer “He will KILL in a radio concert.”  Fast forward, the radio show airs, and everyone is happy, especially Jon, who now has access to good quality recordings of as-yet-unreleased new Billy Joel songs.

Here comes the rock and roll fantasy/dream part of the story as far as Billy is concerned:

Jon tracks down the two-track master of the concert in the station’s archives and makes his own copy of the key new song, “Captain Jack,” and starts playing it on his shows on the sly. In short time, due to Jon’s play and then subsequent play by other DJs who were getting call-ins from fans, “Captain Jack” became (and remained!) the most requested song in WMMR history — bigger than “Hey Jude,” “Stairway to Heaven,” and “Freebird,” Jon reports in his liner notes.

CAPTAIN JACK “GOES VIRAL”

As Billy himself puts it in the liner notes: “… it got people in New York excited about me… helped me get my deal.” By this point, tape copies of “Captain Jack” were circulating around college campuses, so when Billy played in NY, NJ, Connecut, Ohio, or Massachusetts, fans there knew the song and would cheer when he started to play it.

Think about it:  40 years before illegal MP3s existed, unauthorized copies of an unreleased song cemented a place for Billy Joel in rock and roll history!   How cool is that? Consider that next time some artist complains about their MP3 getting “leaked” or unofficially previewed or whatever. This is the stuff most artists only fantasize about then and now. And we are all the luckier for it, since Billy went on to make even greater music in the years to come, from “New York State of Mind” (now a pop jazz standard) to duets with greats like Ray Charles (“Baby Grand”) and even touring the globe with Elton John.

This 1972 performance — recorded before a small audience at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia — is still fresh and honest. It is arguably Ground Zero for Billy Joel, before all the fame and fortune, playing his heart out as he would continue to do so for the next 20 years. Whether you are a hardcore fan who already has the original radio broadcast tape and wants the upgrade (spoiler: they “fixed” the drummer’s clam at the start of “Captain Jack” and it’s just fine!) or a casual fan interested in learning more about what makes a special rock and roll moment, you should check this out.

So give a shout of thanks to Jonathan Takiff for championing Billy and to Billy for sticking to his dream, inspiring us all along the way.

* from The Entertainer, on Billy’s second album, Streetlife Serenade

There are a lot of people out there making replicas of their favorite props from the movies. Stormtrooper armor, Ghostbuster packs, and even Deckard’s iconic sidearm are all popular subjects.
But who does MAGAZINES?  Kevin from the website PropSummit, that’s who.

He’s replicated, in incredible detail, magazine covers that were probably originally created by production designer Tom Southwell during the original shoot over 30 years ago, and placed on various newsstands and kiosks around the world of the future. Check out more designs, and more details about the hunt for the origin of these images, at the source story below.

Via: [The Atlantic]

Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey speculates that Apple’s existing technology could be applied, at least in the short term, to an “iHub” that could become the nerve center of a family. Like the clock in the Weasley household, this  flat panel could manage people’s schedules, leave notes, or a hundred other things

“Apple should sell the world’s first non-TV TV,” McQuivey wrote.” Instead of selling a replacement for the TV you just bought, Apple should convince millions of Apple fans that they need a new screen in their lives. Call it the iHub, a 32-inch screen with touch, gesture, voice, and iPad control that can be hung on the wall wherever the family congregates for planning, talking, or eating.”

A Microsoft Surface for the home sounds like it could be kind of snazzy, and definitely something that could later be adapted for monitoring security feeds, controlling lighting, thermostats and the rest of the house on a larger, more easy-t0-use scale. The concept has promise, and I hope that Apple has already though of it (or at least cut Mr. McQuivey a nice check.)

Via: [Boy Genius Report]