Gear Patrol

The JVC Black Sapphire HDTV ($1,350) may have the surname of an exotic dancer, but when your brand reputation is worth less than a busy night at the club, you need to go bold or go home. While competing manufacturers duel over pixel counts and apps, JVC’s new JLE55SP4000 120Hz 1080p 3D TV is focused…

After steamrolling the Android tablet market last year with the incredibly popular Kindle Fire, the mega online retailer has finally announced the anticipated sequel, known as the Kindle Fire HD. The latest iteration is available in both the original 7-inch form factor as well as a new larger version that weighs 20 ounces, measures 8.8mm…

When’s the ideal time to unveil a flagship superphone? When your Korean competition is issued a $1,055,855,000 legal sanction of course. Yes, LG’s newly announced Optimus G (we assume P was taken) is a long-rumored 4.7-inch handset that measures 8mm thick and is the first LTE phone to sport Qualcomm’s quad-core, 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro…

Sony’s latest flagship KDL-55HX850 bundles internet connectivity, immersive 3D capabilities and Motionflow XR960 to into a 55” LED backlit beast. Add in Skype, Netflix and Pandora at a button press away, and all those set-top boxes littering your living room can be moved elsewhere; and believe us, that’s a good thing. The “monolithic design” results…

Now that 3D is pretty much standard for new home theater gear, 4K resolution (or Quad Full HD, as it’s also known) is the industry’s new hope for driving consumer upgrades. Sony’s VPL-VW1000ES is the first home theater projector to offer the ridiculous 4096 x 2160 resolution standard at home. The 2,000 lumen rig also…

Prices for quality projectors have dropped faster than Facebook’s IPO over the last few years, making the dream of mancave movie theaters much more realistic. The trouble is sorting out the deals from the doozies. For a street price of often less than $2,000, BenQ’s first full-HD 3D W7000 Projection System is a particularly good…

Think of Mallory Kane (played by MMA Fighter, Gina Carano) as Jason Bourne with a functioning memory and some sweet heels. Carano comes alive in this action-thriller by acclaimed director Steven Soderbergh. As hired heavy for a private black bag ops firm working for the United States Government, Kane is betrayed by the very people…

Apple previously described its foray into the living room as a “hobby”. Now that the tiny black puck has been launched side-by-side with the new iPad, it seems more like the ultimate tablet accessory. Given the new iPad’s crazy-retina display, the new Apple TV finally matches the 1080p output of competing set-top streamers like the…

The annual Mobile World Congress is the ideal place to show off the latest and greatest in cell phone technology, as long as your name isn’t Apple. HTC’s newly revealed super phone, dubbed the One X, is the most exciting handset to emerge from this year’s mobile smörgåsbord so far and is intended to serve…

Contagion is a germophobe’s worst nightmare. Director Steven Soderbergh and his usual team tackle a well-worn niche, ploughed by titles like Outbreak, to create a pandemic horror story that will leave most viewers running to stockpile Purell and hesitant to enter airports. Much of its success comes from a grounded depiction of how the world’s…

Despite what the posters say, Our Idiot Brother is less of a roll-on-the-floor-comedy, and more of a feel-good-indie. That doesn’t mean you won’t laugh out loud while watching though (the parole officer conversations and an attempted threesome are particularly rich moments). Loaded with generation X stars including Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Rashida Jones…

GoPro’s original line of cameras established the brand as the go-to outfitter for documenting the near-death experiences of the outdoor-inclined/insane. Their successor HD Hero 2 ($300) ups the ante by providing professional low light performance, double the image sharpness, and adding a new narrow (90 degree) and medium (127 degree) recording angle to the original’s…

GEAR PATROL SPONSORED POST As much as we love our home theaters, they don’t exactly pack well. So, in this second part of the My Life on the Go series we decided to test the ASUS U46E’s prowess at handling one of our favorite off-hour diversions — movies.

When you get the money, then you get the $700 limited edition Scarface Blu-ray. Then, when you get the power and Blu-ray, then you get the women. That’s probably not the exact curriculum of the Tony Montana life coaching system, but we’re pretty sure he’d still splurge on this ridiculous version of Brian De Palma’s…

Precision glass isn’t cheap. Photographers and Apple Store architects have known that for years, as have those in the market for a quality pair of binoculars. In that context, Sony’s digital recording binoculars ($1400+) offer an interesting value proposition and represent an entirely new category of devices — at least for those whose business card…

Utter the Runco name around most men, and you’ll trigger a chain reaction that ends with their wallet hiding in a cave of happiness, shivering in anticipation of the pillaging to come. The company’s new Light Style 1 HD DLP Projector ($4,000) still packs a wallop of sticker shock, but it’s down right affordable compared…

You all know the lines, scenes and what Shooter eats for breakfast, but for more than a decade, anyone hoping for a rage-fueled trip through the PGA circa 1996 has had to put up with standard def. The wait is over starting tomorrow. Yup, Adam Sandler’s instant-classic Happy Gilmore ($20) has finally received a 1080p…

The Dude would surely approve of the leisurely 10+ years it’s taken the Cohen Brothers to release their cult-classic on Blu-ray. Based on what’s included in the newly announced, limited edition version ($21), however, — the extended patience from fans will be paid back in full. For starters, the studio announced that the film has…

Le Mans is a movie that was driven by passion, instead of the bottom line. Steve McQueen desperately wanted the film made to showcase his talents as a actor and driver, and authentically at that. Subsequently, he dumped millions of his own cash into the film, which nearly bankrupted him. The way he saw it,…

Get it straight people. HP’s new x2301 monitor isn’t thin, it’s Micro Thin. What exactly does Micro Thin mean? Well, we’ll skip today’s lesson on redundancy, and just presume it’s a new adjective for describing things measuring 9.8mm (0.39 thick) or less — because that’s how thin the x2301 is. It’s a pretty incredible spec…

James Franco may have trouble delivering teleprompter lines realistically, but you shouldn’t let his Oscar hosting skills dissuade you from watching his excellent performance in 127 Hours ($20). If you happened to miss the memo on Danny Boyle’s latest masterpiece, Franco plays the role of outdoor legend Aron Ralston, who earned his notoriety by sawing…

Before Christopher Nolan was a mega-star director, he made Memento, based off a short story written by his brother, Jonathan Nolan. If you’ve never seen this cinematic mind-bender, you should, because it’s his finest work to date in our humble opinion. This film was released originally in 2002 on Blu-ray, but that copy was done…

While you’re waiting for David Fincher and co. to provide their own cinematic interpretations of Stieg Larsson’s break away “The Girl Who Played With..” series, we’d recommend checking out the original Swedish films. Those who have read the books will find that each of the films stays relatively close to their original novel story lines…

We’ll be honest. The Expendables isn’t a good movie per se — and it certainly won’t be up for any golden statue nominations. If you approach the film as the ridiculous farce of a blockbuster action film that it is however, watch it and you’re bound to have a good time. We won’t divulge any…

We’ve been patiently waiting for this Blu-ray release ever since we walked out of the theater back in March. It’s hands down one of, if not the funniest movie we’ve seen so far in 2010, and should not be missed if you happened to skip it while it ran in theaters. Trust us, we know…

Last December, Robert Downey Jr. proved to the world that he didn’t need the help of special robotic armor to hold his own in a big budget blockbuster. Then again, it shouldn’t have surprised anyone that Jr. fit right in as Holmes, who was characterized by Arthur Conan Doyle as a brilliant, substance abusing man,…

Despite conflicting opinions from critics about the stylistic and emotional merits of the film, at least everyone could agree that Judd Apatow’s 3rd movie is worth a watch. Now out on Blu-ray, unlike most comedic releases, this 2-disc special edition comes packed with features that dive deep into the production process and past’s of the…

Chances are if you missed this in theaters, you probably mistook it as a kids movie, or worse. Perhaps as a dumb comedy along the lines of “Soul Plane”. Though the title may ring bells of “Disneyland”, Adventureland is really a film for the nostalgic adults of our generation. Hilarious at sometimes and thought provoking…

Whatever your current experience is with Video chatting, I think we can all agree that streaming in HD is better; and that’s just from a personal standpoint of connecting with loved ones. We’re opting to ignore the roaring cheers from the amateur porn industry for purposes of this mention. Though many have claimed to create…

If Transformers and G.I. Joe haven’t pulled at enough of your childhood heart strings, today’s release should. All four feature length TMNT films are now out on Blu-ray and, like pizza, are available for purchase in one convenient box. Regardless of who your favorite hero on the half shell is, watching these early 90′s classics…