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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Hisense Discounts U8K Mini-LED TVs Out of the Gate
Bob Ankosko  |  Aug 01, 2023
Hisense today announced that the U8K series of mini-LED TVs it previewed earlier this year is now shipping. And for anyone who’s been waiting, there’s a surprise bonus: the Chinese company is sweetening the deal with substantial discounts right out of the gate.
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Audio Advice LiveShows
Audio Advice Live A/V Show Kicks Off Friday in Raleigh
Bob Ankosko  |  Aug 01, 2023
Last year’s inaugural Audio Advice Live event was so successful that it will be back bigger and better when the 2023 edition of the show returns to the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Raleigh, NC this Friday. Are you going?
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Disc Roundup – Mission Irreversible: A Summer Vacation Trek with My Looney Bros.
Chris Chiarella  |  Aug 01, 2023
As students on their warm weather break wend their way through their summer reading lists, we tender to SoundandVision.com’s visitors our first-ever Summer Watching List, a menagerie of 4K discs, HD Blu-rays and DVDs selected to entertain us and perhaps even distract from the worldwide heat records that have been broken thus far.

From debut seasons of hot TV shows to complete series, from kid-friendly to adults-only animation, from magnificent restorations of genre classics to reissues of popular film franchises that are returning to the multiplex this season, you’ll find plenty of reasons to hole up in the home theater with the air conditioner blasting and your ice cubes clinking.

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Signals
May I Have the Envelope, Please? No, You May Not.
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jul 31, 2023
I guarantee that you will react to this news item in one of two ways:
First Way: “Oh, no! I wish they'd keep doing that!”
Second Way: “Wait. What? They're still doing that?”

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Spatial Audio File
The Divine Secrets Behind Mixing Stewart Copeland and Ricky Kej’s Grammy-Winning Best Immersive Audio Album Divine Tides in 360 Reality Audio
Mike Mettler  |  Jul 30, 2023  |  First Published: Jul 31, 2023

It’s no surprise that Stewart Copeland and Ricky Kej’s collaborative effort Divine Tides won a Grammy Award in February 2023 for Best Immersive Audio Album for the 360 Reality Audio version of it done by the ace surround-sound mixing team of producer Herbert Waltl and mixer Eric Schilling. Here, Waltl and Schilling discuss how they created that richly expansive 360RA mix, as well as the key differences between stereo mixes and immersive mixes, how to best tap into emotional responses in a spatial audio setting, and how they strive for their mixes to get you to experience hearing certain mix elements both well above and well below your ear height. . .

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Director's IntentSpecial Features
How James Cameron Created an Otherworldly Reality in Avatar: The Way of Water
Matt Hurwitz  |  Jul 28, 2023
“I see you.” That is the line spoken in both James Cameron’s original Avatar (2009) and its first sequel, the incredible Avatar: The Way of Water, released this past December, when the native Na’vi characters look into each other’s eyes and see the person within.

And with the Oscar®-winning visual effects (VFX) he and his team have developed and utilized, the phrase takes on new meaning. The CG animated characters are not cartoons – they are people. And we see them, from the inside out.

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Audio Video NewsNew Products
News & Gear: Summer 2023
Bob Ankosko  |  Jul 27, 2023
From crazy colorful speakers to help you get through a scorching summer to a Class A headphone amp aimed squarely at audiophiles, here’s the latest news from around the A/V world.
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SmartStream
"Barbenheimer" Ignites Movie Going and Restores Theatrical Window
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jul 26, 2023
A sea of pink worn by mothers, daughters, and grandmothers waiting for popcorn to eat while watching Barbie together. It's precisely what movie makers and theater owners hoped for—a sense of community watching a movie together pre-pandemic style. It's an experience that can't be duplicated streaming at home alone. Most studios have ended same-day streaming offerings, and theater-only windows are extending longer.
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Subwoofer ReviewsSurround Sound System ReviewsTower Speaker Reviews
Arendal 1961 9.4.4 Speaker System Review
Mark Henninger  |  Jul 26, 2023

1961 Speakers
Performance
Build Quality
Value

1961 1V Subwoofer
Performance
Build Quality
Value

PRICE $14,490 (as tested)

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Powerful, accurate sound
Relatively compact
Attractive
10-year warranty

Minus
Sub lacks an app
Only available in black or white

THE VERDICT
A perfect match for a flagship AVR, the 1961 9.4.4 system from Arendal performs great and looks fantastic.

The 1961 system from Arendal is one of the company’s three speaker series, the other two being the 1723 and 1723 S. 1961 is more compact and more affordable, but is otherwise consistent with Arendal’s design philosophy and aesthetics. This isn't what you'd call overpriced audio jewelry. It is modern and solidly built and aesthetically pleasing, but most importantly, it performs and offers great value.

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HDTV SetupA/V Veteran
Should You Calibrate Your TV?
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jul 25, 2023
Most TV buyers turn their new TV on and never touch the video controls even though those controls can be invaluable in getting the best possible picture quality. The question is, do you have the knowledge and confidence to make the right adjustments or does it make more sense to hire a professional calibrator to do it for you?
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