Hands-on with the Pioneer VSX-1021-K- AirPlay and iControl2 app

Hands-on with the Pioneer VSX-1021-K: AirPlay and iControl2 app
AirPlay: The ultimate digital music remoteSimply put, built-in AirPlay lives up to the hype.Once you get the VSX-1021-K on your home network (either via Ethernet or Wi-Fi, using the $150 adapter), streaming music from an iOS device (any iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad) is as simple as playing a song, hitting the AirPlay icon, and selecting the VSX-1021-K. Music played using the iPod app will have full cover art and artist info displayed on the connected TV, plus you can adjust the volume of the receiver using your iOS device's built-in volume controls.AirPlay also works with a ton of third-party apps, so we were streaming music from Pandora and Rhapsody in no time. Even though we've had plenty of experience using other digital music streamers, like Squeezebox, there's no denying that it's pretty fun to stream audio straight from an iPhone. AirPlay also isn't limited to music on your iOS device. Fire up Apple's Remote app, select an iTunes library from a networked computer, and you can stream music from that computer using your iOS device as the remote.Or, if you don't have an iOS device, you can use your computer as the controller--just hit the AirPlay icon the bottom right and select the VSX-1021-K. The only slight downside is you'll need to leave your computer (with iTunes running) on for both of these methods to work.The VSX-1021-K's AirPlay functionality isn't exactly a clone of what you get on an Apple TV, as it doesn't handle video. The lack of video streaming does bring up the strongest argument against the Pioneer: why not just get a cheaper AV receiver and buy a more fully featured separate Apple TV box? It's definitely worth considering, especially because it's easier to replace a $99 Apple TV with an updated model, when new features get added.While AirPlay with the VSX-1021-K is overall pretty responsive, you'll occasionally run into some hiccups. Changing the volume is nearly instantaneous, but there's a little lag between hitting pause and music actually stopping. And although the vast majority of our listening was dropout-free, we did have a rare stutter or two when streaming music from a Wi-Fi-connected laptop using the Remote app. (We had similar dropouts in this testing environment with the Apple TV, so it's entirely possible that it's an issue with our testing environment.)Still, the hitches were far and few between. Short of a more elaborate music streaming system like Sonos or Squeezebox, we found sitting on the couch holding an iOS device to be one of the best ways to listen to our digital music, especially now that it's spread among several locations and services.iControlAV2Pioneer also has a dedicated remote control app for the VSX-1021-K, called iControlAV2. The app looks great, especially on the iPad, but most the functionality feels gimmicky. The emphasize and balance sections let you alter the sound processing in various ways either tilting the iOS device or "drawing" an EQ curve with your finger, but we felt like it was difficult to control. It's easier and more precise to adjust those controls the old-fashioned way. It's definitely something that's cool to show off--especially drawing an EQ curve and hearing the difference nearly immediately--but it's just not that practical. "Finger EQ" on Pioneer's iControlAV2 app for iPad.Matthew Moskovciak/CNETExclusive to the iPad app is the ability to control Pioneer's automatic speaker calibration system, called MCACC. These controls are pretty geeky, so they'll be for home theater enthusiasts only, and it's going to take us more time to fully evaluate it. We'll be taking a more in-depth look at MCACC when we do a full evaluation of the VSX-1021-K's sound quality. The "control" section of Pioneer's iControlAV2 app for iPad.Matthew Moskovciak/CNETThe "control" section of the app will be the most useful for the average person, allowing you to adjust volume and select inputs. We doubt we'd even use this app much if we had the VSX-1021-K as our home AV receiver, since it's easier to control all your home theater devices from a single universal remote, like a Logitech Harmony. However, if you were planning on only using AirPlay, it's nice that you can turn on the receiver using the app, since you'll already have your iOS device out to use as the controller.DLNA: A quasi-AirPlay for AndroidWe haven't spent that much time testing non-iOS devices with the VSX-1012-K yet, but we did a quick test with an Android smartphone running the DLNA-friendly Skifta app and we were easily able to stream music to the VSX-1021-K, using the HMG ("home media gallery") input. It wasn't quite as pretty as AirPlay (no album art) and the big difference is that you're limited to music stored locally on the phone. You also can't stream music from third-party apps like Pandora and Rhapsody--at least as far as we've tried. So far, Pioneer only has the iOS iControlAV2 app available--no word on whether dedicated Android apps are on deck.Full review coming soonWe'll be doing more extensive testing with the rest of the functionality with the VSX-1021-K, but our early impressions is that built-in AirPlay is a killer feature if you own an iOS device. Expect a full review of the VSX-1021-K, directly compared with the Denon AVR-1912 (which also has AirPlay) and the Onkyo TX-NR609 later next week.

The 404 590- Where we we get all Miranda on you (podcast)

The 404 590: Where we we get all Miranda on you (podcast)
Wilson's taking a leave of absence today and tomorrow, but none of that matters because Natali Del Conte is taking his seat for both shows! Today, she gives us a quick review of "Sex and the City 2" and shows off the nerd bling schwag they gave her at the premiere!MTI and NDC at the premiere of "Sex and the City 2: Lost in Dubai."Natali Del Conte/Mark LiceaNatali and our own MTI checked out the premiere of "Sex and the City 2" courtesy of HP, and all she got was a bedazzled USB key necklace. In fact, she tells us the movie is worse than "Prince of Persia" because a lot of the scenes trivialize the suffering and injustices to women common in the actual UAE.Perhaps equally heinous is the fact that Carrie Bradshaw uses a Mac, while everyone else in the movie suffers with PCs. In short, I'll leave it to Natali's tweet to tell you everything you need to know about SATC 2: "Thankfully we didn't pay for it. It was a press event. So I'd say worth the money we paid."Natali also brings us a full rundown of stories, including a mysterious phone that might have belonged to the Grim Reaper. A service carrier overseas has finally suspended the number 0888-888-888 after every person who owned it within the last 10 years died an untimely death.No, this is not a "Lost" spinoff; the phone number might actually hold a curse similar to the "Amityville Horror" houseor the curse of the Black Pearl. We should also note that all three previous owners heavily engaged in criminal activity and subsequently suffered brutal deaths: a Russian mafia lord, a crooked businessman, and a drug smuggler--oh my!We also have plenty more stories about why certain songs get stuck in your head and five reasons why it's still not cool to admit you're a gamer, but we also want to send a huge thanks to our buddy Jim, currently stationed overseas in Afghanistan.Jim sent us a video of a sticker attached to a resupply drop, as well as a handful of awesome photos of his base (now adorned with 404 stickers). Stay safe, Jim, and let us know if you need more stickers or temporary tattoos! Check out the slideshow below!Jim sent us more 404 sticker pictures from...See full gallery1 - 4 / 19NextPrevEPISODE 590PodcastYour browser does not support the audio element. Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) |Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video This content is rated TV-MA, and is for viewers 18 years or older. Are you of age?YesNoSorry, you are not old enough to view this content.PlayFollow us on Twitter!The 404Jeff BakalarJustin YuWilson TangAdd us on Facebook!The 404 Fan PageThe 404 GroupJustin YuJeff BakalarWilson Tang

How iTunes can save music

How iTunes can save music
And this in a week in which the band was sued by guitarist Joe Satriani. He believes his track "If I Could Fly" was recorded with excessive similarity by the English melancholians. And the song Mr. Satriani believes is excessively similar to his own? Why, the Grammy-nominated (and iPod ad-featured) "Viva La Vida."So here's what iTunes should do. Every time a user attempts to make a dubious purchase, iTunes should send a message.Imagine someone is downloading their third Josh Groban track of the day (or of the week, or of the year). A sensitive iTunes algorithm would immediately suggest: Are you sure you want to do that?Or, perhaps: If you really want to feel miserable, why don't you try a little Leonard Cohen? Or Morrissey? Or 'Button My Lip' by the devastatingly soothing The Miserable Rich?Or even: We love you, dear customer. But there comes a time in your life when you should enter the world of Shostakovich. This is that time.The listener would then be offered a free Shostakovich download. Perhaps, in the event of severe Grobanal behavior, the listener might even be made to go cold turkey- no Josh Groban downloads for the next year. Or ten. I know it sounds severe, but we are trying to save world culture here.Perhaps you feel I am unfairly picking on Mr. Groban's dulcet tonsils. But did his Christmas opus really deserve to be, as the San Francisco Chronicle shivered this week, the second best-selling album of last year?Which reminds me. It was beaten out of top spot by "High School Musical II."Now will you agree that something needs to be done?Of course, the software should be democratic enough to allow for some dialog. Perhaps the purchaser would like to explain his or her urges: I know Josh Groban isn't much good, but there's this girl in class who really likes him a lot. And I like her a lot. iTunes might then answer: Yes, but has she ever heard Van Morrison's 'Crazy Love'? Please believe us, that song can have a very liberating effect on just about everyone.And what if a customer attempting to download Coldplay declared: I think Gwyneth Paltrow is really cool and I want her family to have even more of my money?Well, iTunes might reply: But don't you remember Gwyneth singing with Huey Lewis? Isn't that reason enough to try a little Bats For Lashes?iTunes is a brand with so much positive equity that it is surely in a unique position to help us march to a more enlightened tune. It can make the point of purchase a moment of musical truth.And it can help adults and children alike to bring sweet and refreshing music (Low vs Diamond, Bang on a Can, Les Blanks, Piotr Andreszewski, to name but four) to their ears.Even to the ears of those who sit next to them on various forms of public transportation.