Audio Video News

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Audio Video News
Screen Innovations Expands Black Diamond Series
SV Staff  |  May 28, 2014  | 
Screen Innovations (SI) has announced that it is offering its popular Black Diamond ambient-light-rejecting screen in 120- and 150-inch sizes with 16:9 and 2.35:1 aspect ratios, respectively.

The screens become the largest in the series rated for 1.4 gain and have a multi-layer optic said to reflect only the light generated by the projector resulting in a significant boost in contrast. In dark environments, the screen is designed to reduce light scatter by more than 75 percent for a sharper image with deeper blacks.

As with all Black Diamond screens, the new models are 4K ready and support active 3D. Prices start at $2,199.

Audio Video News
B&O Ultra HDTV Has All The Right Moves
Rob Sabin  |  May 28, 2014  | 
Bang & Olufsen, the Danish firm best known for the high performance and high-tech industrial design of its audio and video gear, has introduced a unique, motorized HDTV.

In what amounts to a wow-inducing visual treat, the show on the new BeoVision Avant starts well before you begin watching TV. Pressing the power button on the set’s one-piece, milled aluminum remote control causes the stand-mounted, 55-inch Avant to begin shifting.

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Audio Video News
'Star Trek Mansion' Boldly Goes Where Few Men Can Afford to Go
SV Staff  |  May 19, 2014  | 
Listen up trekkies: The 27,000-square-foot "Star Trek Mansion" in Boca Raton, Florida, can now be yours for a cool $35 million. The heart of this palace? A 1,400-square-foot theater meticulously modeled after the bridge of Starship Enterprise.
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Audio Video NewsNew ProductsPremiere Design
Immaculate Reception
Bob Ankosko  |  May 19, 2014  | 

Bang & Olufsen BeoLab 18 Wireless Speaker System

About that headline...It’s inspired by the sheepish “Immaculate Wireless Sound” moniker Bang & Olufsen uses for the wireless system integrated into the stunning BeoLab 18 tower speaker. Actually, the phrase is code for WiSA, the standard that makes it possible to for speakers to receive uncompressed 24-bit/96 kHz audio over the air from B&O’s stand-alone transmitter or one built into the BeoVision 11 TV. We asked Senior Vice President of Product Creation Lou Schreurs to tell us about this impressive speaker.

S&V: How did the BeoLab 18 come into being? What led to the desire to “go wireless?”
Lou Schreurs: We felt the need to rejuvenate our iconic BeoLab 8000 from a design perspective and, at the same time, wanted to bring the speaker into the 21st Century by making it wireless and digital, using our proprietary Digital Signal Processing (DSP) capabilities. The integration of a high-quality wireless system was driven by the desire for convenience without sacrificing audio quality. In some of our customers’ homes, it was not easy to run cables in a neat way, particularly rear speakers, limiting their ability to experience true surround sound...

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Audio Video News
Poll: S&V Readers Enthusiastic and Frustrated by 4K/Ultra HD
Bob Ankosko  |  May 16, 2014  | 
S&V readers are generally enthusiastic about 4K/Ultra HD, with 18 percent planning to buy an Ultra HD set, but still frustrated by the lack of programming and the piecemeal way in which the technology is being rolled out (we’re with you on that), according to the results of this week’s survey in which we asked for your take on 4K/Ultra HD.

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Audio Video News
Sony 4K Ultra HD Media Player Due Out in July
SV Staff  |  May 15, 2014  | 
Sony today announced that its second-generation 4K Ultra HD Media Player will be available for purchase in July for $699. Designed for downloading 4K titles from Sony’s Video Unlimited 4K service and streaming 4K content from Netflix to Sony TVs and only Sony TVs, the FMP-X10 player can be preordered between now and July 15 for $499.
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Grace NotesAudio Video News
Apple’s Buyout of Beats for Billions: Is Music Still Alive?
Leslie Shapiro  |  May 12, 2014  | 
Any second now, confirmation is expected on Apple’s buyout of Beats Music for a reported $3.2 billion. That’s billion with a “b”. There’s no doubt that Beats is a valuable commodity. They did for headphones what Nike’s Air Jordans did for sneakers: No one cares if they’re the best product, they just care if it’s got the right logo. Is this a smart business move for Apple? Frankly, I don’t give a damn.

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Audio Video News
Subscription Video Streamers Are Voracious ‘TV Everywhere’ Viewers
SV Staff  |  May 07, 2014  | 
One out of five (21 percent) pay TV subscribers use the TV Everywhere streaming services provided by their pay-TV operator at least once a month, according to the new “TV Everywhere” survey from NPD Group.
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Audio Video News
Sony to Launch 350 ‘Sony Experience at Best Buy’ Stores Nationwide
SV Staff  |  May 06, 2014  | 
Sony announced it will open home theater retail spaces at approximately 350 Best Buy locations nationwide starting in mid May. The ‘Sony Experience at Best Buy’ shop-in-shops are designed to provide an enhanced shopping experience through interactive demonstration areas and a dedicated team of product experts.
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Audio Video News
New HTC Smartphone Boasts Harman’s Clari-Fi Audio Technology
SV Staff  |  May 01, 2014  | 
Ever long for better sound quality from your smartphone? Harman Kardon hears you. The HTC One M8 – Harman Kardon Edition is the first smartphone to incorporate HK’s Clari-Fi technology, which is said to improve the audio quality of compressed, digital music sources.
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Audio Video News
Elite Introduces Starling Line of Motorized Projection Screens Starting at $299
SV Staff  |  Apr 28, 2014  | 
Elite Screens has introduced the Starling series of motorized 16:9 format projection screens in a range of sizes, including 100, 120, 135 inches (diagonal), at prices starting at $299.
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Audio Video News
Survey Shows Most Unwanted Phones, Tablets, and MP3 Players Are Not Recycled
SV Staff  |  Apr 27, 2014  | 
Americans are well educated on the benefits of recycling bottles, cans, and paper but when it comes to electronics devices all bets are off. The proliferation of cell phones and tablets has led to a growing glut of "e-waste" piling up in people's homes, as well as a lack of understanding about what to do with broken, unwanted, or outdated devices.
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Audio Video News
Sony Focuses on High-Rez Audio with New Line of Affordable AV Receivers and Speakers
SV Staff  |  Apr 24, 2014  | 
Sony is aiming to make high-resolution music available to a broader audience with the introduction of high-rez-capable AV receivers, a Blu-ray-based home theater system, and a series of speakers, all due out in May. Two of four new receivers and the Blu-ray system are equipped to handle a variety of audio formats from FLAC to Sony's own Direct Stream Digital (DSD), originally developed for Super Audio CD.
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Audio Video News
Zeroing In on Cord Cutters
SV Staff  |  Apr 22, 2014  | 
A recent survey by Morgan Stanley found that one in 10 pay-TV subscribers have definite plans to “cut the cord” sometime in 2014 year, reinforcing something most of us already know: Americans are getting fed up with the ever-escalating cost of cable and satellite TV subscription packages and seeking alternate ways to watch their favorite shows.

Winegard, which has been making TV antennas for 60 years, examines the cord cutting phenomenon in an infographic...

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Audio Video News
Poll Results: Sonos Preferred for Wireless Music
SV Staff  |  Apr 20, 2014  | 
The results of last week’s survey are in. We asked if you have a wireless music system at home and a full one third of the respondents reported having—and loving— a Sonos system, followed by one quarter who have yet to venture into wireless audio. Apple AirPlay was the second most favored wireless setup, followed by Bluetooth, which came in a distant third. The complete breakdown is as follows…
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