LATEST ADDITIONS

If you hate opening multiple apps to search for something to watch, you’re not alone. According to TiVo’s latest Video Trends Report, finding TV shows and movies to watch remains a major thorn in the side of Americans and Canadians who simply want to sit down to watch TV without the hullabaloo.

Scarsdale, NY-based AV retailer Value Electronics has been rounding up flagship TVs from the top brands and pitting them against one another for two decades running in an effort to isolate the best of the best. The recent 2023 TV Shootout pegged OLED as the clear-cut winner over mini-LED LCD models in both the 4K and 8K categories.

PRICE $5,500

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Strong and clear sound
Excellent imaging
Made in France

Minus
Best with a subwoofer for action films
2-way center speaker

THE VERDICT
Unless it happened in the long forgotten, misty days of my earliest reviews, I can't recall ever before reviewing a Focal loudspeaker. But years ago, I did visit the Focal factory in France and was impressed by the company's forward, creative thinking. That remains true today, as the new Focal Vestia lineup clearly demonstrates.

Focal is a long-established, high-end French loudspeaker manufacturer that invests heavily in R&D to stay ahead of its competitors. While its flagship models have always commanded nosebleed prices, the new Focal Vestia line (three floorstanders, a bookshelf model, and the Vestia Center) tops out at $4400/pair in the U.S. for the Vestia No.4. Not exactly white van prices, but more than competitive in the international loudspeaker market.

A funny thing happened on the way to the multiplex.

See, when studios invest hundreds of millions of dollars in their intended tentpole movies, they’re betting that sufficient tens of millions of people will be buying seats and popcorn to offset these exorbitant costs.

One of the ways they hedge these bets is to feature familiar characters in sequels, remakes, reboots and other sorts of “franchises'' with (they assume) a certain built-in audience. Of course, the movies need to be of a certain level of watchability and even rewatchability to reach that goal, and therein lies the challenge.