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Hi-Fi in La La Land

Tom Norton | Jun 06, 2017 |

Live (well, almost) from the Los Angeles Audio Show…

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Hidden Treasures, Guilty Pleasures: The Dish

Thomas J. Norton | Feb 23, 2016 |

We assume you’re into home theater because you love movies, so this blog is the first in an on and off series of movie (and possibly TV-series) recommendations. I first wanted to dub them “Hidden Treasures and Guilty Pleasures.” But while I liked the alliteration, it was too long for a headline so I’ll have to settle for alternating between the two, as appropriate. [Ed. note: We worked a little magic to make the head fit.]

I have a broad taste in movies, from historical to science fiction and a lot in between. I’m not big on crime dramas, grisly horror movies (unless the sci-fi elements outweigh the gore, as in Alien and Aliens), or gross comedies that make me squirm more than laugh. But almost anything else is fair game. The Dish isn’t a story about Hollywood gossip, but rather an Australian film about a 100-ton satellite communications dish parked in a sheep paddock near the small town of Parkes in the rural Down Under. If that sounds boring, it’s anything but...

A/V Veteran

Hidden Treasures: Anonymous

Thomas J. Norton | Apr 05, 2016 |

Yes, I do have an odd taste in movies. But there must be others who can equally enjoy science fiction and action films, animated features, and well-done historical dramas. Only recently I revisited the DVDs of Zulu (the 1964 film with a very young Michael Caine in his first major role), and the first episodes of Shaka Zulu (a late ‘80s mini-series with a riveting performance by Henry Cele as Shaka). The technical quality on Zulu was very good for a DVD (there is a Blu-ray release that has received mixed reports, but I haven’t seen it). The picture quality on Shaka Zulu (1.33:1) is poor, but watchable. Both have mediocre audio at best, but despite their technical limitations are superb.

Anonymous is a much more recent effort (2011)...

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High Definition Wish List

Thomas J. Norton | Feb 17, 2007 |

We've all complained about some of the marginal films coming out on HD DVD and Blu-ray. The situation <I>is</I> improving, though not fast enough for most of us. But as I look through my growing HD DVD and Blu-ray collection, I do see more great titles than I imagined.

A/V Veteran

High Dynamic Range Tests Are Coming Soon

Thomas J. Norton | Jun 07, 2016 |

We’ve been fortunate in the 1080p world in having a variety of test discs available. While a full calibration requires special test tools, such discs can tell you a lot about how your set performs and help get the basic picture settings right. One of the most popular of such discs, and one of the first, is Digital Video Essentials, shown in the photo here.

But while 4K with high dynamic range (HDR) is now here, there’s still a lack of test materials for this format, particularly the high dynamic range end of the equation...

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High, Low, or Middle Dynamic Range?

Thomas J. Norton | Sep 14, 2021 |

As any serious photographer can tell you, color is a complex subject. There are researchers devoting their careers to it. It's also central to properly setting up a television in a process we call calibration.

A/V Veteran

Highlights and Personal Faves from CEDIA 2015

Thomas J. Norton | Oct 27, 2015 |

My first CEDIA was in Dallas in 1995, and it was held there for the next year or two. But unless my memory deceives me, 2015 was its first time back in the Big D. As I rode the Super Shuttle into the city from the airport, the building that housed that 1995 event was clearly visible next to the expressway. I went to a boatload of classes and seminars that year. There was plenty of time for them. You could cover the main exhibit floor in less than an hour—if you lingered. Calling them exhibits that year was a little grandiose; they were simply tables occupied by many new, unknown manufacturers hoping to grab a foothold in the growing but still small home theater custom installation market.

A/V Veteran

Hints for Better Viewing

Tom Norton | Mar 12, 2015 | First Published: Mar 10, 2015 |

Mark Fleischmann’s recent blog on ways to improve your system’s audio inspired me to do something similar for video. Of course you, the loyal readers of Sound & Vision already know much of this. But for those who don’t, or for (welcome) newbies, those who are helping friends avoid common mistakes, it’s useful to periodically emphasize that there’s more to getting you money’s worth from a flat screen set than merely plunking it down in what may at first appear to be the best location and turning it on. Getting your HDTV to sing is serious business. Here, of course, I’m referring primarily to flat screen sets; a projector with a screen is, in many ways, a different topic.

A/V Veteran

Hisense Makes High Sense

Thomas J. Norton | Jan 10, 2017 |

In addition to its Laser Cast short throw projectors (shown further down in the blogs), Hisense brought along a wide range of flat screen LCD sets. The flagship H10 range consists of the 70H10D 70-incher ($6000) and an upcoming 75H10D ($TBD)...

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Hisense Takes on the Majors with Laser Projection

Thomas J. Norton | Jan 06, 2017 |

Chinese HDTV manufacturer Hisense showed a range of new UHD HDTVs. The company claims that it can offer performance that equals or exceeds what you can get from more well-established brands, and at much more competitive prices. But their most interesting demos were of a pair of their “Laser Cast” short-throw projectors...

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Hobbits, Rings, and 48Hz Things

Thomas J. Norton | Jul 06, 2011 |

Recently, I was doing some online research for my review of the new, Extended Edition The Lord of the Rings Blu-ray boxed set, which will appear in the October 2011 issue of Home Theater magazine. A search for director Peter Jackson produced a pile of information. Jackson today doesn't look as much like a slightly oversized Hobbit as he did when the show was in production (Jenny Craig got to him, or something). His earliest cinematic fascination was with gross-out horror—an interest clearly reflected in the designs for the Orcs and other nasties in Rings. There's a particularly disgusting added sequence near the end of the Extended Edition of The Return of the King that clearly shows this fixation is far from conquered. If "The Mouth of Sauron" is any indication, Sauron and his minions need a much better dental plan.

HDTV Tech A/V Veteran

Home on the High Dynamic Range

Thomas J. Norton | Jul 19, 2022 |

High dynamic range is still the hot tamale in today's video world. While it's been around for a few years now, nothing new in video has yet made HDR yesterday's news. Here’s why.

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Homeward Bound: Things to Do In Your Free Time

Thomas J. Norton | Mar 24, 2020 |

As you settle into a new routine during these unprecedented times, here are few things you can in your (mandated) free time.

Other Tech A/V Veteran

How I Put Audyssey Room Correction to Work for Me

Thomas J. Norton | Dec 05, 2018 | First Published: Dec 04, 2018 |

Room correction is a process by which you eliminate (or I should say, attempt to eliminate) the nasty acoustic qualities of a small room. Many variables are at play, not the least of which are the acoustic characteristics of your room, but today’s room correction systems can be very helpful in improving room response. Here I share my recent experience with one of these systems.

Projector Setup Projector Tech A/V Veteran

How to Choose the Right Projection Screen

Thomas J. Norton | Jan 28, 2020 |

In Choosing the Right Projector for a WOW! Experience, we compared the merits of big-screen TV vs. video projection and covered the ins and outs of selecting the perfect projector. Now it’s time to delve into what it takes to choose the perfect screen to go with your new projector.

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