Denon AVR-1613

Even just a few years ago, many home theater receivers required optional iPod docks that were clumsy to set up and featured primitive on-screen user interfaces. The Denon AVR-1613 ($399.99 direct) has baked-in iPod and AirPlay capability, and sits squarely in the mainstream end of Denon's lineup. It's a solid receiver and a good buy as an up-to-date centerpiece to a home theater system, even though it clearly shows signs of its 1990s-era roots.

Design, Inputs, and Features
Measuring 5.9 by 17.1 by 13.0 inches (HWD), the The AVR-1613 weighs just over 18 pounds. A front-panel USB input makes it easy to pop in a thumb drive, or access the stored contents on an iOS device while charging it simultaneously. The power cord is hardwired, which is unfortunate if it fails down the road, but it's not a big issue for a lower-priced receiver. In standby mode, Denon claims the AVR-1613 draws just one tenth of a watt.

There are five HDMI inputs?one more than the Yamaha RX-V473 ($449.99, 3.5 stars)?including a convenient port on the front, which is great for plugging in a smartphone, tablet, or laptop computer. All of the HDMI inputs support video switching, so you won't have to use two remote controls to watch different sources. There are no component or S-video inputs and outputs, though. All you get besides HDMI are two sets of composite inputs and one set of outputs, although at this point that's less of a problem than it would have been, say, two years ago. If you need these connectors, the RX-V473 is a better choice.?

AirPlay support is a recent addition. It lets you stream music over the air wirelessly from an iPhone, iPod, iPad, Apple TV, or even a computer running iTunes. Unfortunately, the AVR-1613 itself does not integrate Wi-Fi. To use AirPlay, you need to connect the receiver to your home network via a wired Ethernet connection. Pandora and Sirius XM streaming, as well as access to Denon's own radio site, which delivers more than 12,000 Internet radio stations, are all onboard.

The AVR-1613 is also DNLA 1.5 certified, but there's no HD Radio or even AM tuner?your only terrestrial option is FM stereo. I would have liked to see stereo Bluetooth support, especially now that Android handsets dominate smartphone sales by a significant margin. On the plus side, you'll still get better sound quality via the phone's headphone output?using an inexpensive Y-cable available at Radio Shack, as the AVR-1613 lacks a front-mounted stereo mini-jack.

The included remote control is much simpler than the one Yamaha bundles with the RX-V473. Unfortunately, it was rather stubborn in my tests. Sometimes the AVR-1613 just didn't respond to my commands, as if it were stuck thinking about the last thing I asked for.?In addition to the remote, the receiver comes with an Audyssey setup microphone for speaker calibration, a Getting Started guide, and an owner's manual in PDF format on a CD. Denon also, inexplicably, throws in a copy of Nero 9 Essentials.

Setup, Calibration, and Amplification
To get started, you'll need an HDMI cable, a set of passive speakers (either stereo or 5.1), and a TV, which you'll need for setting up the receiver and accessing the iPod interface as well as for watching movies.

On first bootup, the AVR-1613 will walk you through an on-screen setup wizard using the remote control. It asks whether you have a center channel, surround speakers, or a subwoofer. Then it offers to measure the acoustics of your room using the included microphone and a series of sound tests. You plug the setup microphone into the Setup Mic port on the front panel. From there, the system walks you through setting up your input devices (such as a Blu-ray player or Xbox 360), and then prompts you to connect to a wired network.

As a proper home theater receiver, the AVR-1613 includes five discrete channels of amplification, with each outputting 75 watts at 0.08 percent THD. Audiophiles still prefer separate preamps and amplifiers, but Denon receivers have always acquitted themselves well in terms of sound quality.

Fortunately, the Denon AVR-1613 simply sounds great?anyone concerned about the actual output will be more than pleased with this receiver. I tested the AVR-1613 with a set of Energy Take Classic 5.1 ($399, 4 stars) speakers, which includes five two-way satellites and a 200-watt, 8-inch powered subwoofer. Through the satellites, I heard clean, powerful sound at full tilt, with smooth, transparent highs and a clearly defined, three-dimensional image. The Take Classic 5.1 satellites offer 89 dB sensitivity, which isn't the most efficient design out there. But even so, the AVR-1613 had no trouble driving these to ear-splitting volumes.

To test the Denon AVR-1613's home theater prowess, I ran scenes from the the 2010 DTS Demonstration Blu-Ray Disc through the receiver, a Samsung BD-D5500 ($159.99, 3.5 stars) Blu-ray player, a Sony Bravia KDL-46EX620 ($809.99, 3.5 stars), and?the Energy Take Classic 5.1 speakers. Generally speaking, the Denon handled the job with aplomb; it sounded slightly warmer than the Yamaha RX-V473, with less treble emphasis and a slightly more full-bodied lower midrange. Even so, voices, arrow shots, and horse gallops sounded clear and distinct in Robin Hood (the 2010 film with Russell Crowe), and the Take Classic 5.1 had no problem rendering many sound sources simultaneously throughout the image. With the DTS-encoded Despicable Me, the AVR-1613 clearly separtated the rocket ship engines and low rumble while in flight, and put up clear dialog throughout.

iPod Playback and UI Issues
The AVR-1613's digital music chops need work. I plugged my iPhone into the front-mounted USB port and switched the Denon's source to iPod/USB. (Unfortunately, it doesn't work with iPads in this mode.) You can play stored iPod music two ways: In Remote Mode, which lets you control playback directly from the iPod, and Browse Mode, which puts up track and artist info on the screen, and lets you select it using the Denon's remote control. I tested the iPod playback with two devices: the aforementioned iPhone, and a 4th-generation iPod nano. Both worked, although the AVR-1613 was temperamental. Sometimes it played music back fine; other times, it remained stuck at the beginning of the song.

A firmware update became available toward the end of the review period, which promised to take 21 minutes to install. Excited by the prospect of eliminating the bugs, I installed it?only to see that the on-screen menu text, already buggy, pixelated, and slightly wobbly, became downright unreadable on the music playback screen. Everything looked doubled; rebooting the monitor and the receiver didn't help. Worse, iPod playback was buggier than before. Once, it started a song at full blast, threatening to deafen me and blow out the speaker system. It wouldn't respond to the volume dial, and wouldn't even shut off with the power switch; I had to hold it down for five seconds to get the receiver to power down. (Next up would have been pulling the plug.) It didn't do this again, but the intermittent playback issues continued.

AirPlay and Conclusions
On the plus side, AirPlay connectivity worked great. Once I configured the unit over wired Ethernet, I had no problem streaming music from various AirPlay-compatible devices to the AVR-1613. The receiver displays album art on screen whenever available, which is something the Yamaha RX-V473 doesn't do. Pandora playback also worked well; I logged in with my account, started several of my stations, and listened to uninterrupted streaming Internet radio.

I also tested Denon's free iOS remote control app, which works with the AVR-1613 and other networked receivers from the company. It does the job, but it has a very confusing UI?it took plenty of tapping and head-scratching to figure out where everything was. Yamaha's free iOS app is much more thoughtfully designed, although actual functionality differences between the two are less than they appear once you figure out where Denon hid the source select, DSP modes, and other playback and setup controls.

All told, the Denon AVR-1613 makes a solid centerpiece to a proper home theater system in 2012. But thanks to its lack of Wi-Fi and its rudimentary display graphics, there's a bit of a disconnect between 1980s and 1990s-style home theater components, and the complex, fragmented world that is music listening today. So while the AVR-1613 could use more refinement, it's impressively well specified otherwise, and should let you do just about anything you'd want with a home theater setup today.

More Audio Reviews:
??? Yamaha RX-V473
??? Denon AVR-1613
??? Avid Pro Tools 10
??? Cakewalk SONAR X1 Producer
??? Steinberg Cubase 6.5
?? more

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Short Sales Afford Opportunity For Smart Buyers | Real Estate ...

June 26, 2012 Hans Anderson Real Estate Investing,

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short sales Afford Opportunity For Smart Buyers ? Real Estate

Article by Charlie Pigeon

Southwest Florida has some of the most sought-after high priced oceanfront real estate in the nation, but many buyers are also finding great deals here. A wide variety of new custom condos and homes in the area are being sold at surprisingly affordable rates, discounting the notion that only the wealthy can afford to live in cities like Fort Myers and Cape Coral.

Find properties at Real Estate Matchmaker

In fact this trend can be spotted in high-end markets throughout the nation, and not because of anything wrong with homes in these areas. In many cases it?s due to a high percentage of ?short sale? properties. A short sale can occur just before a property enters the foreclosure stage when the owner is behind or defaulting on mortgage payments. At this point the bank or lender may decide to re-sell the property at a discount, rather than go through with a time-consuming and expensive foreclosure.

During the most recent national real estate boom, high demand in hot markets like Southwest Florida drove prices way up and left many property owners with mortgages and property taxes they couldn?t afford to pay. The lenders who financed much of this speculation found themselves willing to take a slight loss in the short sale market for a couple reasons: a) with property slightly overvalued due to speculation, any resales would necessarily fetch a lower price; b) foreclosures take much longer to complete than short sales, require a lawyer in most cases, and risk leaving the lender with a much lower price if the property goes to auction.

Also known as a ?pre-forclosure? sales, short sales represent a great opportunity for savvy buyers and investors. Those willing to do the little extra work can often obtain a discount of 20-25 per cent, without waiting for a further decrease in the market. So what extra work does a short sale require? It is a bit of a process, but knowing the steps can save you a lot of time and energy. short sale transactions typically start with the original borrower who?s defaulting on the mortgage. It?s up to the investor to liaise with the borrower and lender, and make sure all financial information is shared. The investor must also work to portray the short sale property as one that?s lost market value, and in need of improvements. A high contract bid for repair work on the property, forwarded to the lender, can be a convincing piece of evidence here. Finally, the lender will ask to see a contract between the investor/buyer, and the seller, to make sure the seller isn?t making any money from the deal ? the ?net cash? paid to the seller in this transaction should be the same amount paid to the lender.

Smart buyers can make a good return for their investment in a cooling but dependable market like Southwest Florida, and short sales are an effective strategy for this.

About the Author

Charlie Pigeon is an experienced Fort Myers real estate with all the strategies for buying and selling in this market. Visit Charlie?s Southwest Florida website for more information on short sales, and information on the Fort Myers real estate area.

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forclosure sales, foreclosure, Foreclosures, mortgage payments, oceanfront real estate, property owners, property taxes, real estate boom, southwest florida

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Euro zone's ESM fund could backstop bank deposits: document

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Karrueche Tran vs. Rihanna: Who Would You ...

Ever since Chris Brown violently beat up and subsequently broke up with Rihanna ... he's been romantically linked to Rihanna. It's an unusual situation.

Although he's been dating Karrueche Tran for some time, Chris can't avoid the Rihanna rumors, especially after their two recent collaborations.

This month's Chris Brown-Drake fight was allegedly over her, some reports say ... but is there anything really going on between Rih and Chris?

Every rumor of a reunion between them seems to be followed immediately by a Twitpic of Karrueche and Chris, so we'd say no. But it got us thinking ...

Who'd you rather date? Vote in our survey below!

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Greek Finance Minister Rapanos Is Resigning - Business Insider

Reuters is reporting that? Greek finance minister Vassilis Rapanos is resigning.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has reported accepted the resignation.

It was only a few days ago that we learned that Rapanos checked into a hospital after suffering from abdominal pain, nausea, and other ailments.

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Scientists set to reveal Hawking's 'brain hack'

Ted S. Warren / AP

To produce the words for text or speech, British physicist Stephen Hawking currently uses an infrared sensor mounted on his eyeglasses, visible here during an appearance this month in Seattle. The sensor picks up twitches from his cheek, which are translated into the desired letters or words. Hawking and neuroscientist Philip Low are experimenting with a system that can translate brain waves directly into text and speech.

By Alan Boyle

After months of tweaking, researchers are finally ready to show off a high-tech headband that can translate Stephen Hawking's brain waves into speech?? providing what could eventually become an easier avenue for the paralyzed British physicist and many others to share their deep thoughts.

The system, developed by San Diego-based NeuroVigil and known as iBrain, uses a head-mounted receiver the size of a matchbox to pick up different types of brain waves. iBrain employs a computer algorithm called SPEARS to analyze the brain emanations and encode them for a text-based speech reader. Philip Low, NeuroVigil's founder, chairman and CEO, is to present the latest results from his work with Hawking on July 7 at a Cambridge conference on consciousness.

---

"I haven't discussed doing a demonstration with Stephen, but we could do that, of course," Low told me today. During the conference, Low will be showing video clips of Hawking using the iBrain to communicate.

For decades, Hawking has been coping with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a degenerative nerve disease that has left the theoretical physicist confined to a wheelchair and unable to move even his fingers. To write or speak, he currently uses an infrared sensor system mounted on his eyeglasses: His cheek twitches are read by the sensor to control a wheelchair-mounted computer system that slowly encodes the patterns of those twitches. It can take a half-hour for Hawking to twitch out a couple of sentences in response to a question.

In an abstract prepared for next month's presentation, Low and Hawking describe how they worked out their technique for the iBrain system. Hawking (who is described as a "high-functioning 70-year-old ALS patient" in the abstract) was told to try moving one of his hands or feet ? for example, flexing his foot or scrunching his hand into a ball. The limbs didn't move, of course, but just thinking about trying to move them generated readable brain-wave patterns.

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"The subject's brain activity demonstrated distinct broad-spectrum pulses extending to the gamma and ultra-high gamma ranges," the researchers wrote. "Such pulses were present in the absence of actual movement, and absent when the subject was not attempting motion."

The abstract said Hawking's brain also buzzed with alpha brain waves when he closed his eyes, as expected.?Alpha waves are associated with wakeful relaxation, and are probably familiar to anyone who's undergone biofeedback training. Gamma waves, in contrast, are associated with increased attention?? and in the past have been linked to?activities ranging from running to learning.

Lots of possibilities
The fact that Hawking's brain signals could be read reliably is a good sign, not only for one of the world's best-known scientists but for hundreds of thousands of others around the world.?Low and Hawking say their work "opens the possibility to link intended movements to a library of words and convert them into speech, thus providing ALS sufferers with communication tools more dependent on the brain than on the body."

Low told me that the brainwave-reading device could be used to control prosthetic devices "to give ALS sufferers mobility"?? sort of like a real-life version of the Stephen Hawking robotic exoskeleton proposed in an Onion parody 15 years ago.

The iBrain device could have other applications, such as diagnosing sleep apnea, studying autism and monitoring other brain conditions. It's already been used in a clinical trial to monitor the effects of experimental drugs on brain activity. The U.S. military is also looking into how the device can help treat traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, which are big issues for combat veterans. Direct brain-to-speech communication, however, represents the highest-profile application, particularly when Stephen Hawking is involved.

"We'd like to find a way to bypass his body, pretty much hack his brain," The Telegraph quoted Low as saying.

The key question for Hawking is whether iBrain represents an improvement over the system he currently has. Back in April, the professor told The New York Times?that the project hadn't quite reached that point. "At the moment I think my cheek switch is faster ... but should the position change I will try Philip Low's system," he wrote in an email sent by an assistant.

In that quote, Low said Hawking was talking about brain-computer interfaces in general, rather than specifically about iBrain. "What we are seeing is in fact an immediate response, so the question is going to be to productize this, so that he can communicate reliably should he lose control of his cheek muscles," he said.

TEDMED via YouTube

Neuroscientist Philip Low (at right) demonstrates how the iBrain device can send brain-wave readings to a cellphone with an subject who's wearing the headband (at left) during a TEDMED 2009 presentation. Click on the image to watch the YouTube clip.

Personal quest
Low said the iBrain project was already moving on to Version 2.0, and the iBrain 3 device is due to be built next year. "That will be about the size of a U.S. quarter," he told me. "People will be able to check their brain activity much like you or I can check our blood pressure."

The 32-year-old, Vienna-born researcher's company has come a long way since its founding, which Low says he initially financed by putting $240,000 on his credit card. Someday, he hopes brain-monitoring systems will be used to pick up the signs of neurological problems early enough to do something about them. For Low, this is not just business. It's personal.

"I would have loved to see this 20 years ago, when my father suffered from a side effect of a commonly used sleep drug," he told me. "He threatened someone with a weapon ... a gun, actually. And it destroyed our family."

His father was eventually pardoned, but it took a long time to put everything back together. That experience led Low to look into the neurological basis of sleep, including experiments with bird brains. That was what led him to come up with the SPEARS algorithm in the first place.

"It's very ironic that an algorithm I initially developed to analyze the brain patterns of birds has found its way to dealing with Stephen Hawking's brain patterns, the U.S. military and autistic children," he told me.?

More about Stephen Hawking:

---

Alan Boyle is msnbc.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the?Cosmic Log page?to your Google+ presence. You can also check out?"The Case for Pluto,"?my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

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Phelps sticks with 400 IM on 1st day of US trials

Michael Phelps speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, Saturday, June 23, 2012, in Omaha, Neb. The trials starts on Monday. At right is Phelps' coach Bob Bowman. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Michael Phelps speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, Saturday, June 23, 2012, in Omaha, Neb. The trials starts on Monday. At right is Phelps' coach Bob Bowman. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Michael Phelps speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials on Saturday, June 23, 2012, in Omaha, Neb. The trials are to start on Monday. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) ? Michael Phelps could have a showdown with rival Ryan Lochte on the very first day of the U.S. Olympic swimming trials.

USA Swimming announced Sunday that Phelps passed on the deadline to scratch from the 400-meter individual medley, meaning the winningest Olympian ever will at least swim the preliminary round Monday morning. Should he qualify for the evening final and decide to race it, he likely would be pitted against Lochte and Tyler Clary, who went 1-2 in the event at last year's world championships.

Phelps will swim in the 10th of 12 prelim heats. Clary will go in the 11th, followed by Lochte in the final heat.

"We would like to see what he can do in the event," Phelps' coach, Bob Bowman, said in a text message to The Associated Press. "He's done a few decent ones in season, so we are taking a shot and seeing how it goes."

Phelps won the 400 IM at the last two Olympics, but vowed after Beijing to give up the grueling event that requires all four strokes. He had a change of heart, putting the race back in his program at several Grand Prix meets leading up to Omaha.

Lochte said Saturday he looked forward to facing Phelps in as many events as possible.

"He's the world's best swimmer ever," Lochte said. "I love racing against him. It's fun. He's one of the hardest racers in the world. He'll go toe-to-toe with you until the end. That's excitement for me. I really hope he does swim that."

___

Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963

Associated Press

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