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ShowsCEDIA 2023Audio Video NewsNew Products
CEDIA 2023 Expo Is Off and Running
Bob Ankosko  |  Sep 07, 2023
CEDIA Expo 2023, North America’s largest showcase of smart home and AV entertainment technology, is underway at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. With an estimated attendance north of 18,000, the expo is the place where custom integrators and professionals engaged in the home technology test drive the latest products and services from more than 350 brands spanning 150,000 square feet of exhibit space. Here’s a peek at some of the products AV-focused exhibitors are introducing at this year’s gathering. More show coverage can be found here.
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ShowsCEDIA 2023Audio Video NewsNew Products
CEDIA 2023 Preview: GoldenEar to Showcase Stunning New T66 Tower
Bob Ankosko  |  Sep 06, 2023
The stunning new T66 tower speaker will be front and center in the GoldenEar exhibit when CEDIA Expo 2023 opens its doors tomorrow morning. (Watch these pages for coverage from the show floor.)
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CEDIA 2023ShowsAudio Video NewsNew Products
CEDIA 2023 Preview: Samsung Steps Up its Game with 98-Inch 8K TV
Bob Ankosko  |  Sep 06, 2023
Samsung today expanded its ultra-big-screen offerings with its first 98-inch 8K TV — a move timed to woo custom installers/integrators attending CEDIA Expo 2023, which opens tomorrow morning.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Denon Previews New Flagship AVR
Bob Ankosko  |  Sep 05, 2023
Denon today announced a replacement for the AVR-X6700H, the second from top model in its X-Series line of AV receivers.
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4K TV ReviewsLCD TV ReviewsTV Reviews
TCL 85" QM8 Mini LED QLED 4K TV Review
Tom Norton  |  Sep 05, 2023

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $2,800

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Screen size
Black levels
Price
Minus
Limited off-center viewing
Cluttered remote

THE VERDICT
The TCL 85QM8 has a few annoying ergonomic issues, and like most LED/LCD sets its off-center viewing won't challenge an OLED. But its performance is impressive, and its price unexpectedly affordable. Properly adjusted, and on source material ranging from the routine to the awesomely difficult, its performance was consistently irresistible.

One significant difference between building a home theater around a video projector or a conventional flat-screen television has been image size. Projector fans will point to the immersion that big-screen projection offers, with the screen size limited mainly by your available space, imagination, and budget. Until recently, however, TVs bigger than 65-inches were priced beyond the means of most consumers.

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A/V Veteran
1983’s WarGames Provides a Prescient Look at AI
Thomas J. Norton  |  Sep 05, 2023
1983's WarGames offered a prescient take on today's emerging concerns about artificial intelligence (AI), though the film envisioned something more apocalyptic than worries over being replaced by robots.
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Audio Video News
SVS’s Prime Wireless Pro Series Is Now Roon-Certified
SV Staff  |  Sep 05, 2023
SVS, the Ohio-based company known for delivering high-performance subwoofers and speakers at moderate prices, has announced that its Prime Wireless Pro series has received Roon Tested certification.
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The Connected Life
Creating an Audio Oasis in Your Backyard
John Sciacca  |  Sep 04, 2023
When you think of “entertaining” with your AV system, chances are the first thing that comes to mind is your home theater or media room. But what about your backyard? Is it setup for outdoor entertaining?
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4K TV ReviewsOLED TV ReviewsTV Reviews
Samsung QN95C 65" 4K Neo-QLED TV Review
Mark Henninger  |  Sep 02, 2023

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $3,300

AT A GLANCE
Plus
One of the brightest TVs you can buy
Deep gaming functionality
Relatively wide viewing angles
Mounts flat on a wall
Excellent cable management
Minus
65" model is pricey
Still no Dolby Vision
Quantum-dot OLED has its own charms

THE VERDICT
This sublime ultra-premium multi-use 4K TV has a modern minimalist design and delivers impressive imagery thanks to the use of mini-LED, quantum dots and advanced picture processing. Its premium performance comes at a price but it delivers the goods when it comes to image fidelity.

For the past ten years we've watched 4K LCD and OLED TVs compete in the wake of plasma's demise. There was the death of 3D. And for a while, we even had curved screens to contend with. At first OLED had a distinct picture quality advantage over LCDs, thanks to its use of emissive pixels that can fully shut off individually and deliver true blacks. However LED-lit LCD keeps evolving and keeping pace while offering a different set of benefits.

Samsung's name for mini-LED FALD LCD panels featuring quantum dots is Neo QLED. And the QN95C is king of the 4K Neo QLEDs.

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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Epson to Add Laser Projector to UST Lineup this Fall
Bob Ankosko  |  Sep 01, 2023
Epson today announced plans to cement its leadership position in the burgeoning ultra-short-throw (UST) projector category with a new laser-lit model it plans to ship in the fall.
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