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Audio Video NewsCES 2015
2015 CES Coverage Begins Monday
SV Staff  |  Jan 05, 2015  |  First Published: Jan 02, 2015
The largest consumer technology show on the planet is just around the corner. 2015 International CES opens in Las Vegas on Tuesday, January 6 and runs through Friday, January 9, but our coverage kicks off on Monday with pre-show news from LG, Sharp, Panasonic, Dish, Samsung, and others.

A dozen S&V correspondents will be combing more than 2 million square feet of exhibit space in search of the latest and greatest audio/video gear so be sure to check back frequently. Lots of news is heading your way.

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Ask S&V
What Processes What in the Video Chain?
Al Griffin  |  Jan 05, 2015
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q What processes what in the video chain? Say you have an Oppo Blu-ray player hooked up to a good AVR that’s hooked up to an Epson 5030 projector. Does each do its own thing? Or do you need to turn some types of processing off while leaving others enabled? Also, what is the meaning of life? —Jeff Riddick / via e-mail

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Tech2
Cowboy Bebop Blu-ray Box Set Review
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Jan 02, 2015
Though released multiple times on disc, Cowboy Bebop gets a new release on Blu-ray, with a new transfer, mix and features.

This show is… something else. Easily in my top 5 TV shows of all time, it’s a magical blend of action, story, characters, setting, and music.

Oh the music. The music is why you should buy this.

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4K TV ReviewsLCD TV Reviews
JVC Diamond DM65USR LCD Ultra HDTV Review
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jan 02, 2015
Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $1,999

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Bargain price for a 65-inch Ultra HD set
Good blacks and shadow detail
Impressive sound
Minus
Clips above white and below black
Odd gamma
Typical LCD off-axis performance
Wobbly stand

THE VERDICT
The JVC required considerable tweaking to get the best from it, but once dialed in, it looked excellent with 4K test patterns and 1080p Blu-ray material.

AmTRAN plans to raise the 4K Ultra HD bar by lowering the price. AmTRAN who, you may ask? Based in Taiwan, the company is a major maker of video displays, both consumer and professional, for a variety of brands, the biggest of which is Vizio. In 2010, AmTRAN licensed the JVC brand to put on its flat-screen HDTVs in North America, which are sold and marketed by its U.S. subsidiary AmTRAN Video Corporation. This is the first JVC flat panel we’ve tested since that company left the TV business a few years ago to focus its display business on LCOS projectors.

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Ears On
'X Is Dead' Is Dead
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 02, 2015
Why do tech critics and readers alike persist in saying "X is dead?" Do we have a morbid fascination with death, mirroring society at large? Or is it just that we never feel more powerful than when we are the arbiters of life and death, giving technology that is already moving along a certain trajectory a further push into oblivion? X, in this context, is a mature audio format or technology. (I won't address video or computer technology here. Death somehow seems more final in those categories.) A whole lot of Xes have been prematurely declared dead over the years. Maybe what "X is dead" really means is "X does not fit into my agenda."

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Editor's EyeTrack One
A Theater and a Gentleman
Rob Sabin  |  Jan 01, 2015
The Closer Is a Class Act

Last summer, Sound & Vision was invited to visit retired Yankee relief pitcher Mariano Rivera to profile a renovation that had been done, with JBL’s help, to his private home theater. Baseball fans know Rivera as the Major League’s all-time leader in saves, and undoubtedly a future Hall of Famer. As a New Yorker, I knew him as a fixture in my city for the nearly two decades he played here, when, on any given day from April through September (and frequently, October), he might be the figure gracing the back-cover sports page of the New York Daily News or Post. The very nature of Rivera’s work as a closer—to be trotted out in the late innings to hold a slim lead or demoralize the competition and give his team a chance at the tying or walk-off run—made him an exciting figure.

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SmartStream
Streaming in 2014 — Growing Services, Shrinking Dongles, and Net Neutrality
Barb Gonzalez  |  Dec 31, 2014
Looking back at 2014 we find more people streaming, 4K video and hi-res audio, TV networks getting in on the streaming action and a continued struggle to keep the internet free and fast.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Draft Day
David Vaughn  |  Dec 31, 2014
Picture
Sound
Extras
After pulling off a blockbuster trade, general manager of the Cleveland Browns, Sonny Weaver, Jr. (Kevin Costner) now controls the number-one pick in the draft. The expectations of the fans are through the roof, and the ambitious owner of the team (Frank Langella) and new head coach (Denis Leary) are putting pressure on him to take the consensus first pick, but his gut is telling him to go in a completely different direction. Should he risk his job by following the instincts that got him to the top in the first place, or should he bow to the immense peer pressure?
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Home Movie Theaters
All-Star Upgrade: A Peek Inside Mariano Rivera’s Home Theater
Rob Sabin  |  Dec 31, 2014
Photography by William Psolka

With a little help from Harman, retired Yankee closer Mariano Rivera brought his aging home theater into the big leagues.

Mention the name of retired Yankee relief pitcher Mariano Rivera, and it evokes the image of a lean, lanky stick of a man in pinstripes, standing on the mound at the Stadium in the late inning of a big game, focused like a laser on his catcher before winding up and throwing yet another blinding, physics-defying cutter. This is the Rivera who, in 19 Major League seasons, played in 13 All-Star Games and was instrumental in helping the Yanks win five World Series, delivering both pinpoint strikes and wild thrills to millions of New Yorkers watching from the stands and at home.

Win or lose, when The Sandman was on the mound, it was always a great show.

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Accessory Reviews
Logitech Harmony Ultimate Home Universal Remote Control/Automation System Review
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Dec 30, 2014

Performance
Features
Value
PRICE $350

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Color touchscreen with vibration and gesture support
Emits IR from remote, hub, or blasters
Integrates with multiple home automation hubs
Minus
Inconsistent performance with SmartThings Hub
No remote control locator feature
Limited external IR emitter outputs

THE VERDICT
The apply named Harmony Ultimate Home Control is the ultimate home and AV controller you can buy, program, and use without the help of a professional integrator.

It was January of 2013, and Logitech, in an effort to “refocus its strategic direction,” announced it would divest itself (by end of the year) of several non-core product categories—among them speaker docks, digital video security cameras, and, notably, its Harmony activity-based universal remote controls. Unfortunately, by that time, short of the fancy installer-only control systems from the likes of URC, Control4, and others, Harmony had pretty much eliminated the competition for remote controls selling for more than $50. So a dim, non-Harmonious future looked imminent for DIY home theater enthusiasts wanting more than the standard, three-in-one, el-cheapo universal hanging on a peg at Walgreens...

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