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To: JohnM who wrote (27201)	1/6/2010 9:48:43 PM
From: Sultan	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 51698

You might want to explore different settings your TV allows.. Samsung model that I have, LNT5265F for example allows 3 picture modes, movie, standard etc.. for each of the mode, you can calibrate your various display choices and save it and depending on the program you are watching, you can thru the remote, flip the mode so that you are getting the best Picture for the type of program.. Depends on your room, light to how you like to actually see the movie/TV shows etc.. Actually, an amazing number of combination and makes a big difference.. avsforum has a number of posts on various calibration that folks have tried for all the different sizes, so start here.. avsforum.com However, when it comes to TV, cable signal, you will have to put up with quality difference between channels a lot of times.. Specially with old programs..

To: JohnM who wrote (27201)	1/19/2010 4:27:50 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 51698

Cleveland Orchestra Reaches Agreement With Musicians (Update1) By Philip Boroff Jan. 19 (Bloomberg) -- The Cleveland Orchestra, one of the top U.S. symphonies, reached a tentative agreement with its striking musicians following an 18-hour negotiating session. The announcement was made today by Howard Landau, a spokesman for Local 4 of the American Federation of Musicians, which represents northeastern Ohio. Musicians went on strike at midnight Sunday after balking at a proposed 5 percent pay cut. “We’re thrilled there is a settlement,” orchestra spokeswoman Ana Papakhian said in a telephone interview. Papakhian and Landau declined to provide details of the agreement. Terms must be approved by the 101 musicians employed by the orchestra. Earlier, the orchestra called off concerts and master classes scheduled to run through Thursday at Indiana University in Bloomington. A concert series in Miami beginning Jan. 22 will go on as planned, Papakhian said. Declining contributions and shrinking endowments have pressured U.S. orchestras to seek concessions from musicians. Over the weekend, musicians with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra rejected a new five-year agreement. The New York Philharmonic reported a record $4.6 million operating deficit last season. N.Y. Philharmonic Katherine Johnson, a spokeswoman for the New York Philharmonic, said its contract with musicians expires in September 2011. She declined to say whether the organization will seek concessions during the next negotiations. Unlike the major orchestras in Cleveland, Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia, the New York Philharmonic doesn’t perform on Sundays. The Cleveland Orchestra was founded in 1918. Like other orchestras around the U.S., it is “challenged by the economy on top of aging demographics, families moving to ever-more distant suburbs, and rising white-collar unemployment,” Executive Director Gary Hanson said in the orchestra’s 2008-09 annual report. In recent years, the orchestra has dipped into its endowment to cover operating losses. The endowment dropped to $97.3 million in June 2009, a 33 percent decrease from $145.7 million two years earlier. If the orchestra doesn’t resolve its structural deficit, “we face an uncertain future,” Hanson wrote in the report. Pay Scale Median musician pay in Cleveland was $140,200 last year, the orchestra said. That would have dropped to $134,100 in the first year of the proposed contract that musicians rejected. Current benefits include 10 weeks of paid vacation, according to the orchestra. Salaries have increased faster in recent years at the New York Philharmonic and other big-city orchestras, according to the Cleveland musicians union. The minimum annual musician salary at the New York Philharmonic is $129,740, 12 percent above the $115,440 figure in Cleveland. In 2007-08, the top-paid musician at the Cleveland Orchestra was concertmaster William Preucil, who made $433,817 in pay and benefits, according to the orchestra’s tax return posted on Guidestar.org. In the same period, music director Franz Welser-Most was paid $1.3 million. In January 2009, he volunteered to take a 20 percent pay cut. Senior staff also had their pay reduced. To contact the writer on this story: Philip Boroff in New York at pboroff@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: January 19, 2010 14:45 EST