David Vaughn

Ultra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Ultimate Demo Disc? Planet Earth II on 4K Blu-ray
David Vaughn  |  Aug 01, 2017
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It was about ten years ago that BBC debuted their original Planet Earth on both Blu-ray and HD DVD here in the United States to much critical acclaim. Not resting on their laurels, the Planet Earth team went to work on their next project, appropriately named Planet Earth II. While 1080p was cutting-edge a decade ago, simple HD wouldn’t cut the mustard any longer since we are living in a 4K world that expects wide color gamut (WCG) and high dynamic range (HDR)—or at least readers of Sound & Vision do.
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Hacksaw Ridge
David Vaughn  |  Jul 07, 2017
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One of the bloodiest battles in World War II happened on Okinawa in 1945, and it definitely wasn’t the place you wanted to be if you didn’t carry a weapon. But for conscientious objector Desmond Doss, this wasn’t an option. While he believed the war was justified—which is why he volunteered—his personal belief was that killing was wrong and he wasn’t going to be a party to it. He was in the war as a medic, and he was there to save lives, not take them. And save lives he did—75 of them over the course of one night when he was stuck behind enemy lines.
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3D Blu-ray Movie ReviewsBlu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
David Vaughn  |  Jun 23, 2017
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3D-ness
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Director Ang Lee’s middling story really isn’t the reason to force your way through this film; it’s the innovative photography that’s worth your time. Lee shot the film at 120 frames per second, which is a perfect multiplier of the UHD Blu-ray’s 60 fps and Blu-ray/Blu-ray 3D’s 24 fps, so it made it easy on Sony to release the film on multiple formats and into theaters.
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Inferno
David Vaughn  |  Jun 09, 2017
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Symbologist Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) finds himself in Italy suffering a bout of amnesia. When he awakes, he’s in a strange hospital room where an attractive doctor, Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones), is caring for him and tries to explain how he ended up in Florence, Italy. Before you know it, an assassin attacks the hospital, and Langdon and Brooks are on the run trying to figure out who wants him dead. As the pieces fall into place, Langdon discovers he’s on the hunt for Dante-inspired clues leading the pair on a chase to save the world from a crazy billionaire (Ben Foster) who has a diabolical plan for the planet.
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Deepwater Horizon
David Vaughn  |  May 19, 2017
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April 20, 2010 started out like any other day for oil rig chief of maintenance Mike Williams (Mark Wahlberg) and superintendent Jimmy Harrell (Kurt Russell). As its shore leave ends, the crew boards a helicopter for the flight out into the Gulf of Mexico to begin their duty on Deepwater Horizon, an offshore rig. Standard protocol is broken when the old crew leaves and the new one arrives, raising the suspicions of Harrell that something is amiss. The project is overdue and over budget, and BP is doing whatever it can to cut costs—penny wise, pound foolish.
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Now You See Me 2
David Vaughn  |  May 12, 2017
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With the FBI hunting them after their last “show,” the Horsemen have been in hiding, honing their skills in preparation for their next Robin Hood–inspired adventure. Their target this time around is an unethical tech mogul, whose new product isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Unfortunately for our heroes, their plan backfires when the FBI crashes the show and they must make a fast getaway. They end up on the other side of the world where they’re blackmailed into performing their most impossible heist yet.
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Magfinicent Seven (2016)
David Vaughn  |  May 05, 2017
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When industrialist Bartholomew Bogue starts to terrorize and take control of the town of Rose Creek, its concerned citizens pool their money in order to hire a group of mercenaries to drive the villain—and his private army—from the town. The widow of one of Bogue’s victims hits the road and meets Sam Chisholm, who accepts the job and goes about recruiting six other men to the task, all with varying skills that complement one another in order to bring justice to Rose Creek.
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Suicide Squad
David Vaughn  |  Apr 21, 2017
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What if Superman hadn’t been a good guy? Could the government do anything about it? After the events in Batman v Superman, members of the U.S. government are nervous that aliens and metahumans could wreak havoc upon the Earth at their whim and there would be nothing the human race could do about it. With this in mind, a covert government agent named Amanda Waller hatches a plan to use incarcerated supervillains to form her “Task Force X” in order to combat evil forces in the world. To control them, she has explosive devices implanted in their necks that will detonate if they decide to not follow orders. As circumstances have it, her team is needed shortly after it’s formed to battle an ancient villain named Incubus who has invaded Midway City.
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Power Amplifier Reviews
ATI AT527NC and AT524NC Amplifiers Review
David Vaughn  |  Mar 21, 2017

AT527NC Amplifier
Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value

AT524NC Amplifier
Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $3,695, $2,595

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Very powerful
Natural and balanced
Made in the U.S.A.
Minus
LEDs are too bright

THE VERDICT
The days of looking down on Class D amps are over.

Two and a half years ago, I reviewed my first ATI amplifier, and to say I was impressed would be an understatement. The ATI Signature AT6005 five-channel amp set a new benchmark for its designer, Morris Kessler—to the point where he put his John Hancock on the faceplate.

Last year, S&V editor-at-large Bob Ankosko sat down with Kessler to talk about his design philosophy over the years, and the subject of Class D amps was broached. Kessler mentioned that his current designs were all Class A/B, but he was following the developments of Class D very closely—though the initial efforts in this area didn’t meet his high standards because frequency response varied greatly as the impedance of the speaker changed. He hinted at the time that he may have finally found a Class D solution that he could deem acceptable, which turned out to be the latest Hypex Ncore modules.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Star Trek Beyond
David Vaughn  |  Feb 24, 2017
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Three years into their five-year mission, the crew of the Enterprise is in dire need of shore leave. Fortunately, they’re in a sector of space with an advanced star base, and they drop in for a visit. Shortly after their arrival, a distress call comes from a remote nebula, and their leave is cut short since the Enterprise is the only ship in the sector that can navigate through it. Once inside, they meet a deadly alien race in search of a rare artifact that just happens to be located on the Federation ship and will kill anything in their path to obtain it—even the Enterprise crew.
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