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Audio Video News
Roku Announces 5 Streaming Players, Updates OS
SV Staff  |  Oct 02, 2017
Roku today announced five new streaming players said to offer better performance, improved wireless reception, and new convenience features at prices ranging from $30 for a more powerful Roku Express to $100 for a new Roku Ultra.
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Audio Video News
September 2017 Top Picks at a Glance
SV Staff  |  Sep 30, 2017
As September gives way to October, it’s time to reflect on what the past month (or two in this case) has brought us in the way home entertainment goodness. A fair amount, as it turns out. Recapping the virtues of our eight most recent Top Picks, we find four remarkable (and remarkably different) speaker systems to meet almost any need, an AV receiver that has been boldly reinvented for the wireless age, a spectacular soundbar from a brand you forgot about, headphones that will make even the most reluctant “speakers-only” audiophile smile, and a super-capable AV processor from one of audio’s stalwart companies. Which ones will make your upgrade list?
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Fifth Element
David Vaughn  |  Sep 29, 2017
Picture
Sound
Extras
Korben Dallas, a retired space fighter pilot, has been relegated to driving a cab in New York City, and since leaving the military, his life has been on a downward spiral. His luck begins to change when a beautiful girl named Leeloo drops into the back of his cab, and before he knows it, he’s stuck in the middle of an intergalactic feud that happens every 5,000 years. It turns out the lovely young lady is the Fifth Element, who when combined with earth, wind, fire, and water becomes the perfect weapon to save the human race from destruction.
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Power Rangers
Brandon A. DuHamel  |  Sep 29, 2017
Picture
Sound
Extras
The long-running Japanese franchise Power Rangers is rebooted in this 2017 film from director Dean Israelite and writer John Gatins. The somewhat camp story follows a group of teen misfits who uncover a collection of ancient artifacts and a buried alien ship; endowed with superpowers, the teens must muster their new powers and learn to work together to save the world. Power Rangers is hardly high art, and it never has been. The American version of the series was culled from stock Japanese footage edited together with new English-speaking scenes.
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Audio Video News
Sony’s Top Soundbar Gets DTS:X, Dolby Vision Update
SV Staff  |  Sep 29, 2017
Sony has announced the availability of a firmware update for its high-end HT-ST5000 soundbar that adds DTS:X surround sound decoding, DTS-HD Master Audio, DTS Digital Surround, Dolby Vision pass-through, and other features.
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Apptitude
AR Leapfrogs VR
Michael Antonoff  |  Sep 29, 2017
Ya got trouble, folks, right here in virtual reality. It begins with a lowercase “i,” and that rhymes with “my,” and that means iPhone!
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Surround Processor Reviews
Onkyo PR-RZ5100 Surround Processor Review
Daniel Kumin  |  Sep 28, 2017

Audio Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $2,399

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Unimpeachable audio and basic video quality
Generally good ergonomic design
Eminently useful pop-up Quick Menu
Minus
No aptX for Bluetooth
Local-streaming audio doesn’t display file type/sampling info
Fairly downscaled remote

THE VERDICT
Onkyo’s latest A/V preamp/processor adds the Dolby Atmos/DTS:X and 4K/HDR capabilities needed to bring the brand’s pre/pro current, while maintaining very solid value in the field.

The A/V preamp/processors from Onkyo (and sister brand Integra) have been through five or six generations over the years, and I think I’ve tested or at least used just about all of them. And for that decade-plus span, my overall reaction to them has remained pretty consistent: all the A/V-system quarterbacking any rational being needs at a fair price. Onkyo’s latest iteration, the PR-RZ5100 network A/V controller, seems unlikely to change that conclusion while updating the series to 11.2-channel, 4K/HDR status.

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Throwback Thursday
Flashback 1997: Apple Launches ‘Think Different’ Campaign
SV Staff  |  Sep 28, 2017
Twenty years ago today, Apple launched the iconic “Think Different” ad campaign, which still resonates today, 15 years after it ended.
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Ask S&V
What Does a TV’s Backlight Control Do?
Al Griffin  |  Sep 28, 2017
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q I am trying to find a TV with low light intensity since my eyes are extremely sensitive to light. I have been told that an LCD TV with a full array LED backlight will let me dim the screen’s intensity without compromising picture quality. Is this true? If so, how does that work? —Patrick Forte

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Audio Video News
TDG’s Skybar Puts the Soundbar in the Ceiling
SV Staff  |  Sep 28, 2017
You may have heard of in-wall soundbars but how about an in-ceiling soundbar?
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