November may be gone but it has left us with a bevy of holiday deals to consider as well as a handful of new Top Picks to ponder, including a surprising entry in the world of 4K TV and two products that have serious gift potential.
Wow! Congratulations! You sure got a good deal on that jumbo-sized TV! Black Friday deals rule! But you know what? It's a new TV, you might not be familiar with its operation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation would like to have a word with you.
Ari Aster's second feature—the first was 2018's thoroughly unnerving Hereditary—continues the director's preoccupation with family as a wellspring of horror. This time around, horrific familial events occur in the film's first fifteen minutes, and the main protagonist, college student Dani, ends up trailing her ambivalent, unsupportive boyfriend to a rural community in Sweden that's in the midst of celebrating Midsommar, a festival occurring only once every ninety years.
Okay, so Black Friday ain’t quite what it used to be but there are still plenty of deals to be had, not only today but over the next few days. Here’s a look at some of the AV discounts we’ve come across.
AT A GLANCE Plus
Super-punchy HDR performance
Class-leading local dimming
App-based picture calibration
Minus
Typical limited off-center viewing window
No VRR or FreeSync for gaming
THE VERDICT
The Chinese TV maker TCL has been rattling the budget sector for several years. But with its new 8-Series, the company has boldly entered the rarified high-end Ultra HDTV realm.
TCL made its mark worldwide over the last few years largely by selling budget sets with built-in Roku streaming. But with its new 8-Series, available in 65- and 75-inch screen sizes ($2,000 and $3,000, respectively), the company has elbowed its way into the high end and managed to do so at a highly competitive price point.
It's hard to say whether my interest in music and audio started with my first experiences with multichannel sound in the movie theater or whether my interest in movies in theaters, and later in home theater, started with my interest in music. But the fact remains that the film score, mainly of the orchestral variety but sometimes of other sorts (looking at you, Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol.1 and Vol.2), remains one of my favorite forms of music.
Film music doesn't have an enviable reputation among classical music connoisseurs. But I see no reason to disparage it because it was written for a more popular type of entertainment...
Starting today, SiriusXM is offering anyone with an inactive SiriusXM car radio or SiriusXM app the opportunity to listen free through December 3 without having to enter credit card information.