News of the World

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It can be taken for granted that if Tom Hanks is starring in a movie, we will become acquainted with a compelling lead character. Also, if Paul Greengrass is directing, it will be an exciting ride. Following the South's loss in the Civil War, Texas circa 1870 was a complicated place and time in the United States. World-weary Captain Kidd (not Phillips) ekes out a humble existence traveling from town to town, reading the news of the day to small groups of dime-paying customers who might otherwise remain oblivious.

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Best Gear of May 2021

As a pandemic-free summer beckons, we look back at the unique collection of products we had the pleasure of evaluating in May. From a dynamic duo of subwoofers that deliver impressive performance and unparalleled setup flexibility for $600 or less to what may be the world’s first “smart” ceiling-mount video projector, we present our latest Top Picks in the hopes that at least one of them will inspire you.

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LG HU810PW 4K Laser DLP Projector Review

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value

PRICE $2,999

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Ample brightness and good contrast
Flexible zoom and lens shift range
Built-in streaming apps
Minus
Requires calibration for best performance
Smart features may be overkill for some

THE VERDICT
LG's 4K laser DLP projector is packed with smart features and offers impressive all-around performance at a reasonable price.

As the "Smart TV" has become the norm, projectors in contrast have remained steadfastly dumb. For many home theater enthusiasts, that arrangement has worked out just fine, with streaming, voice control, and other forms of internet-connected interaction handled by front-end components on the A/V rack and the projector serving as little more than a means to display an image.

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Hands On: Second Generation Apple TV 4K

The Apple TV 4K second generation has arrived. Not much has changed from the first generation Apple TV 4K. It has an upgraded processor chip and a newly designed Apple TV remote. It is possibly the best-performing streaming player available. Still, depending on your current setup, you may not need to upgrade.

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How Do I Connect a Subwoofer for Music Listening?

Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q What’s the best way to connect a subwoofer used mainly for music listening? I’ve been trying both the stereo RCA and mono LFE input connections on my Klipsch R 120SW subwoofer, but am not sure which works best, and also where I should set the low-pass/LFE filter on my Onkyo TX-NR717 receiver. My front speakers are Klipsch R-28F towers. I would appreciate any recommendations on crossover settings for the receiver and the subwoofer itself. —Ken Zarubi, via email

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Yamaha Revamps Flagship Aventage AV Receiver Line

Yamaha’s flagship Aventage line of A/V receivers is undergoing its most significant upgrade since the line was introduced 11 years ago.

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Remaster Class: The Who: Quadrophenia

The Who had pioneered—and seemingly perfected—the art of the rock opera with May 1969's all-seeing Tommy, but the ever-provocative British quartet's chief visionary Pete Townshend wasn't done with his honing of the overarching story-arc concept just yet. October 1973's magnum opus Quadrophenia—the 81-minute, 17-song cycle chronicling angst-driven youth-culture clashes and a yearning to break free from a preordained societal rut—reinforced how guitarist/ vocalist Townshend was a musical architect of the highest order.

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AV Industry Makes a Home Theater Wish Come True

All photos courtesy of Make-A-Wish’s Mary Holguin and Screen Innovations’ Jason Russell (projection screen, AV rack, Cinema Now Showing sign).

ProSource was busy making plans for a fundraising event to support the Make-a-Wish Foundation (MaW) last year when the pandemic struck. The buying group, which represents hundreds of A/V specialty retailers and custom integrators around the country, was hoping to top the $110,000 it raised in 2019 but was forced to regroup. Then they received a fortuitous call: MaW’s Central and South Texas Chapter wanted to know if ProSource would be interested in making a donation to help make an 8-year-old’s wish come true. Turns out, Miles, who had been diagnosed with a semi-rare liver disorder known as portal vein thrombosis, thought it would be cool to have a home theater.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/av-industry-makes-home-theater-wish-come-true

SVS SB-1000 Pro and PB-1000 Pro Subwoofers Review

Performance
Features
Build Quality
Value

PRICE SB-1000 Pro: $499.99 (Black Ash), $599.99 (Piano Gloss Black/White); PB-1000 Pro: $599.99 (Black Ash)

AT A GLANCE
Plus
ig, deep bass from a small box
Best-in-class control app
45-day in-home trial period
Minus
No auto-calibration/room correction
Best suited for smaller rooms

THE VERDICT
SVS outdoes itself again by offering a pair of budget-friendly subwoofers controlled by the company’s best-in-class app.

Innovative technologies tend to debut in more expensive goods so that companies can recoup their research and development costs. Take Mercedes, for example. When new tech gets introduced, the company does not debut it in its A or C class of cars, but instead reserves it for its S class to entice buyers to "trade up" to the more expensive—and likely more profitable—model.

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Inflation Now! Will A/V Prices Increase?

In case you haven't noticed, prices in the consumer world are creeping up. It's not yet a tsunami, but the signs are there. This should be a concern for everyone, and audio- and videophiles won't be immune from it. Some of the rising costs are due to unexpected events, such as the hacking of an oil pipeline, which might settle back in time. Others are due to government monetary policies, for better or worse in the unsettled time of Covid-19. Inflation is always produced when too much money chases too few goods. And there's no money tree in the back room of the Capitol in Washington. We're borrowing from Peter to pay Paul, but Peter can't object; he's just a printing press. The typical payback is inflation, a hidden tax on everyone.

Economics is a boring, black art, but it could inevitably affect our own little A/V corner of the wider world...

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Apple Music Adds Atmos, Lossless Audio in Sound Quality Makeover

Apple today announced a sound quality makeover for its subscription-based Apple Music streaming service that expands its Spatial Audio surround-sound platform with support for Dolby Atmos and brings lossless audio to its music catalog.

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OK, Boomer, Listen Up

As the saying goes, it sucks to grow old, but the alternative is much worse. And as we grow old, our hearing acuity declines. Ergo, we have hearing aids. But that product category is about to undergo rapid change, thanks to Bose and other audio companies.

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Soul

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Pixar O.G. and now Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter touched our hearts with Up, then plumbed the intricacies of the human mind in Inside Out. It would follow, then, that his next movie would be Soul.

Together, these are arguably the most grown-up entries in the Pixar canon, not for any sort of overly mature content, but rather for their sophisticated themes and storytelling. And Soul might be the most adult-skewing: It's the longest of the three, exploring The Great Hereafter and even "The Great Before," namely where souls originate prior to their arrival on Earth. This concept requires quite a bit of exposition, and it's executed masterfully by Docter, co-writer/co-director Kemp Powers, and co-writer Mike Jones, through bold visuals and pithy gags.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/soul

CEDIA’s Walt Zerbe on the Importance A/V Standards

Since CEDIA sold the rights to the annual CEDIA Expo trade show a few years ago, the organization has been busy honing and expanding the world-class educational programs it produces for professional integrators who design and install A/V entertainment and smart-home systems. The Indiana-based association also plays a key role in developing industry standards with the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). We recently caught up with Walt Zerbe, CEDIA’s senior director of technology and standards, to learn why industry standards and recommended practices are important and what they mean for enthusiasts.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/cedia-s-walt-zerbe-importance-av-standards

Roku Channel Adds Content Removes YouTube TV Channel

Roku officially announces the addition of live TV channels and Roku Originals while in the middle of a feud with Google that has resulted in the YouTube TV channel being removed. Here's the details.

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KEF LS50 Wireless II Powered Speakers Review

Performance
Build Quality
Ergonomics
Value

PRICE $2,500 (pair)

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Serious all-in-one streaming solution
Remarkable tonal and dynamic range
Excellent ergonomics and app
Roon Ready Certified
Minus
High volume level slightly reduces resolution

THE VERDICT
KEF's wireless speaker package is an ergonomic marvel that delivers true audiophile performance—especially when paired with the company's complementary KC62 subwoofer.

We live now in wireless world, and the major loudspeaker makers have been quick to embrace it with serious-performance, near-full-range designs. But each seems to have a different idea of what a "wireless speaker" should entail. Some simply connect to an existing component stack via a supplied small wireless transmitter. Others incorporate the whole smart-speaker thang, with full multiroom audio system and Alexa-Google-Siri voice control integration.

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Evolution of the App

The introduction of the iPhone in 2007 — or, more specifically, Apple opening its App Store to third-party developers in 2008 — turned out to be one of the most consequential developments ever to hit the home automation market. It was mind-blowing to watch this small, handheld device being used as a full-blown system controller to operate all manner of equipment and it became clear that this was a game-changing technology. Fast forward to 2021: Here are some key categories where app-based control has made an impact.

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Bluesound Announces Updates for Streaming Portfolio

Bluesound, the sister company of Canada’s NAD and PSB specializing in wireless streaming gear, today announced the next generation of its popular Node hi-res music streamer and PowerNode streaming amplifier.

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Peter Frampton Forgets the Words, But Still Nails All the Riffs

News and New Gear for Spring 2021

As we continue to emerge from the Great Pandemic with even the most reluctant of reluctant states finally looking to lift restrictions, Spring 2021 continues to pay dividends with an eclectic and, in some cases, season-specific mix of A/V news and gear, ranging from outdoor TVs and speakers to solar-powered headphones and new wireless speakers that don’t rely on Wi-Fi. Let’s take a closer look…

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Hisense Announces Availability of 2021 TV Lineup

Hisense, one of several Chinese brands vying to gain a foothold in the U.S. market, has announced a release schedule for TVs it previewed during the virtual CES 2021 gathering in January.

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Polk Audio Reserve Surround Speaker System Review

Performance
Build Quality
Value

PRICE $3,195 (as tested)

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Crisp, near full-range performance
R900 module delivers immersive sound
Impressive build quality for price
Excellent value
Minus
Revealing sound can be slightly bright with some sources

THE VERDICT
Packed with tech developed for Polk Audio’s flagship Legend series, this Reserve series speaker package delivers dynamic and immersive sound at a budget-friendly price.

Back in 2019, Polk Audio rolled out its Legend series speakers. For a brand known to maintain a laser-like focus on value, the Legends, with their finely constructed cabinets (featuring real wood veneer) and fully redesigned driver complement, not to mention an enhanced version of the company's SDA (Stereo Dimensional Array) technology in the line's flagship L800 tower, seemed an atypically cost-no- object offering.

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A Tale of Two SVS Subwoofers

David Vaughn reviewed the SVS SB-3000 sealed subwoofer for Sound & Vision's June/July 2019 issue (https://ift.tt/3xLrC0O). This inspired me to request a pair of them for a feature article on finding the best locations for dual subs; they were small and light enough to move easily around the room. (https://ift.tt/2SpNsXI). The results were excellent.

But because my listening space is open to much of house I had the urge to experiment with two larger, ported subs. The SB-3000's big brother, the ported PB-3000, was an obvious candidate. SVS agreed to send me a pair. The SB-3000s were still on hand, so a comparison of the two was inevitable.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/tale-two-svs-subwoofers

Can You Spot(ify) the Fake?

I'm old enough to remember walking to the neighborhood record store, buying a record, taking it home, and listening to it. My biggest worry was that the record might have a scratch on it, or might even be warped. Oh, how times have changed.

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