LATEST ADDITIONS

The Gawker
I’m Going to Miss DVD.com When it Closes its Doors
Michael Antonoff  |  Aug 21, 2023
The announcement by Netflix that it would stop mailing out DVDs changed my behavior. I now regularly race to a street mailbox before its 9 a.m. pickup to return a disc I received the previous day. The sooner the company gets it back, the quicker it will send out the next title in my ever-expanding queue.
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Ultra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
John Wick: Chapter 4
Ralph C. Potts  |  Aug 21, 2023
Picture
Sound
Extras

John Wick: Chapter 4 is the latest installment in the popular action film series starring Keanu Reeves in the titular role. This story picks up with John on his way to uncovering a path to finally defeat The High Table, to whom he is beholden for his past choices. But before he can earn his freedom, he must face off against a new enemy with powerful alliances across the globe, turning old friends into foes.

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Audio Video NewsNew Products
More News & Gear for Summer 2023
Bob Ankosko  |  Aug 17, 2023
The volume of AV news and product announcements is picking up as summer winds down and home entertainment companies set their sights on Labor Day specials, CEDIA Expo 2023 (watch for our preview in early September), and, ultimately, a holiday selling season that can make or break a brand’s financial standing for the year. Let’s have a look…
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SmartStream
Downloading Movies To Go
Barb Gonzalez  |  Aug 17, 2023
A lack of internet connection doesn't mean a lack of entertainment options. Most streaming services offer the option to download content to watch offline when you are off-grid or dealing with spotty service areas like airplanes, subway tunnels and mountain passes.
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Bluetooth Speaker Reviews
Sony XV800 X-Series Bluetooth Portable Party Speaker Review
Mark Henninger  |  Aug 16, 2023

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $650

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Works upright and on its side
Omnidirectional sound
25 hour battery life
Light show & karaoke
Charge other devices using its battery
Minus
Poorly designed wheels and handle

THE VERDICT
Sony's party speaker impresses with its sound quality and features but its wheels and handle make it difficult to move around.

Is there room for a party speaker in your life? How about this question instead: do you like to have fun? If so, then the answer is yes! This sometimes scorned category stands out in my experience because in recent years, whenever I see people having a good time with music, more often than not it's been some sort of lifestyle, entertainment-friendly, wireless, portable speaker dishing out the tunes. A party speaker.

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Music Reviews
Remaster Class – Tears for Fear: Songs From The Big Chair
Mike Mettler  |  Aug 15, 2023
Tears For Fears vaulted into the international big leagues with the take-no-prisoners layered-sound approach to their February 1985 sophomore album, Songs From The Big Chair. It was a calculated production leap from the aural cocoon of their more minimalistic, electronic-leaning debut, March 1982’s The Hurting — and it was a move that paid off handsomely with multi-platinum sales and upper-echelon chart domination around the globe.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Technics Adds Active Noise Cancellation to Entry-Level Wireless Earbuds
Bob Ankosko  |  Aug 15, 2023
Technics has updated the entry-level model in its line of high-performance wireless earbuds with the addition of noise cancellation and new features to improve connectivity and fit.
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EISA Awards
EISA Home Theater Audio & Video Awards 2023-2024
SV Staff  |  Aug 14, 2023
EISA, or the Expert Imaging and Sound Association, is an organisation representing 58 of the most respected special interest publications and websites from 29 countries that cover Hi-Fi, Home Theater Video, Home Theater Audio, Photography, Mobile Devices, and In-Car Electronics. Every year EISA's Expert Group members, including editors from this publication, test a very wide range of new products from their field of expertise before comparing results and voting to decide on the cream of every product category.
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Audio Advice LiveShows
Epson and KEF Create Triple-UST Gaming Simulator at Audio Advice Live 2023
Mark Henninger  |  Aug 14, 2023
At Audio Advice Live 2023, the regional AV show held last week in Raleigh, North Carolina, I encountered a unique application for UST (ultra short throw) projectors I had never seen before. As a gamer who enjoys racing and flight simulators, this demonstration resonated with me as much as the massive 9.4.4 or 9.4.6 Atmos home theater systems also found at the show.
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Ultra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Double Feature – Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water
Chris Chiarella  |  Aug 14, 2023
Avatar (2009)
Picture
Sound
Extras
Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
Picture
Sound
Extras
Are we officially in the post-originality era of film? Is everything now based on, inspired by or an homage to something else? When Avatar premiered in 2009, critics sussed it as a sci-fi riff on Dances with Wolves, an observation writer/director James Cameron apparently accepted, compliment or not. Here’s the thing, though: Does the story even matter here? The script — while certainly clever in places — served its purpose to set up a new generation of visuals effects that utterly dazzled audiences, making Avatar the highest-grossing film in history, for a time.
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