LATEST ADDITIONS

"I heard a bunch of things in it I had never heard before."

That's Rob Baker, guitarist of Canada's still-favorite sons The Tragically Hip, recounting the feelings he experienced upon hearing the recent, fully completed Dolby Atmos mix of his band's seminal February 1991 release, Road Apples for the very first time.

PRICE $449

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Compact, with exceptional build and sound quality
Built-in Google Assistant and Alexa voice control
Expandable with Sonos speakers and SUB
Minus
Modest bass output
Single HDMI input
No display for volume level or sound mode

THE VERDICT
The next-gen version of the Sonos Beam soundbar is remarkably full-featured considering its size. It’s also attractive, great-sounding, and a snap to set up.

Both the original Sonos Beam and the company's new Beam Gen 2 soundbar use beamforming, a technology that combines an array of drivers with advanced signal processing, to create an enveloping audio experience without need for multiple speakers. With the Beam Gen 2 ($449), Sonos builds upon the virtual surround sound abilities of the original by adding Dolby Atmos processing to up the sense of immersion it can create. The cost for this upgrade: a mere $50 premium over the original's $399 price.

IMAX, as most people experience it, is a high quality movie format used in specialized theaters worldwide. But its history, and development, is complicated. Here's the low-down on a relatively new home theater format that trades on the IMAX name.

The Green Knight, director David Lowery's film adaptation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, an anonymous 14th century poem, is a fantastical, visually intoxicating take on Arthurian legend. Following a night of drinking and carousing at the local brothel, carefree young Gawain of Camelot (Dev Patel) is summoned on Christmas morning to the Round Table, where he is invited to sit beside his uncle, the king. Gawain's feeling of unworthiness is only deepened by Arthur's graciousness, and by his request for the young man to share a story of himself so they may know each other better.