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Audio Video News
And More Cyber Monday Deals…
SV Staff  |  Nov 27, 2017
As a follow-up to the Black Friday deals we published on the eve of Thanksgiving, and as a companion to the deals offered through our own Shop:Sound & Vision portal, here are a few of the Cyber Monday deals that hit our inbox today. Most are only good through midnight so act quickly if you see something you can’t live without.
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Audio Video News
Big Cyber Monday Deals @ Shop S&V
SV Staff  |  Nov 27, 2017
Attention online shoppers! Your big day has arrived, and our own Shop:Sound & Vision portal has done your homework for you. Click here for one-stop access to all the hot Cyber Monday deals offered by our retail partners including Amazon, Crutchfield, Best Buy, Wal-mart, and others. You can easily search by product category, brand, or retailer to identify just the right holiday gift!

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Ask S&V
Can I Play 4K/Ultra HD Discs On My 1080p TV?
Al Griffin  |  Nov 27, 2017
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

A I’m interested in buying a new Ultra HD Blu-ray player but don’t yet own a 4K TV due to budget constraints. Can an Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc be played on a regular HDTV? What quality issues would I run into? —Billy Keener / via e-mail

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Audio Video News
And More Hot Black Friday Deals...
SV Staff  |  Nov 24, 2017  |  First Published: Nov 22, 2017
Along with a variety of manufacturer-direct offers being served up for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, our own Sound & Vision shopping portal has identified a ton of attractive online deals from our retailer partners including Amazon, Crutchfield, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and others. Click here to drill down by product category, brand, or retailer for all the hot bargains.

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Audio Video News
Here Comes the Deal
SV Staff  |  Nov 24, 2017  |  First Published: Nov 22, 2017
Are you ready for the Big Sale Day? Or are you planning to skip the whole kerfuffle and go to the movies or play a round of Top Golf? If you are, indeed, a BF shopper here are a few of the manufacturer-sponsored deals we’ve been alerted to in recent days. And don't miss the great online deals identified by Sound & Vision's own shopping portal from its retailing partners Amazon, Crutchfield, Best Buy, Wal-mart, and others.

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SmartStream
Xbox One X: All the 4K HDR You Want in One Box
Barb Gonzalez  |  Nov 22, 2017
The new Xbox One X launched in early November so I have had a couple weeks to test it. With streaming 4K HDR capabilities, 4K HDR gaming, and a built-in 4K/Ultra HD player, this game console has all the 4K content you could want in one device. However, Microsoft is pushing gaming at the expense of simplified streaming and movie/TV/video playback.
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New Products
Tech the Halls: 2017 Holiday Gift Guide
SV Staff  |  Nov 22, 2017
'Tis the season to start driving yourself crazy trying to figure out what the heck to get friends and family members for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa (insert your holiday here). The 2017 Holiday Rush is fast approaching, soon to be top of mind—unless you’re Scrooge or just really good at procrastinating. Me? I fall into the latter camp, so the rush won’t start until a week before December 25th. Same- and next-day delivery has spoiled us and made it exceedingly easy to perfect the art of...well, you know.
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The S&V Interview
Arlo Guthrie Gives Thanks for 50 Years of “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree”
Mike Mettler  |  Nov 22, 2017
Is there a more hallowed Thanksgiving tradition than the annual spinning of Arlo Guthrie's magical 18-minute tale about one fateful Thanksgiving Day encounter that's also celebrating its 50th birthday this year, “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree”? Guthrie and I discuss the song’s sonic origins, what had to be done to ensure it fit perfectly onto one album side, and the Guthrie family’s storied annual holiday tradition of playing Carnegie Hall in New York.
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The S&V InterviewAudio Video News
How Origin Is Making Beautiful Music with Amazon
Bob Ankosko  |  Nov 22, 2017
15 Minutes with Origin Acoustics CEO Jeremy Burkhardt

Spend a few minutes on Jeremy Burkhardt’s LinkedIn page and you quickly gain an appreciation of his passion for custom installation and desire to create products that simplify installation and push the boundaries of performance — to “innovate,” as he would say. You also find an executive who is anything but your typical corporate CEO — a man who talks about breaking “all the corporate rules” in describing his work history as CEO for SpeakerCraft, the pioneering custom-installation company he helped build before leaving in 2012. Today, Burkhardt is at the helm of Origin Acoustics, the architectural speaker company he founded in 2014, and his desire for innovation is as strong as ever. Origin was the talk of CEDIA 2017 with the launch of its Valet amplifier, which provides an ingenious way to integrate voice control into a whole-house music system. We caught up with Burkhardt to learn more about the system and get his take on the future of voice control.

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Bluetooth Speaker ReviewsWireless Multiroom Speaker Reviews
Riva WAND Wireless Music System Review
Rob Sabin  |  Nov 21, 2017

Arena Wireless Speaker
Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value

Festival Wireless Speaker
Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE Festival, $499; Arena, $249

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Excellent build and sound quality
Chromecast, AirPlay, Bluetooth built-in
Away mode and optional battery for portability
Minus
Chromecast multiroom interface

THE VERDICT
Riva Audio continues a tradition of excellent sound quality with the WAND series, the company’s first wireless multiroom speakers.

I first met Riva Audio founder Rikki Farr and chief engineer (now also president) Don North in the fall of 2014 when they marched into Sound & Vision’s New York City conference room to demo their first product, a Bluetooth speaker called the Turbo X. North was a youthful, glasses-wearing geek who had just enough of the right credentials and tech swagger to suggest he really knew what he was doing.

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