Epson is showing its new Home Cinema LS100 digital laser projector at CEDIA, a 1080p ultra short-throw LCD model capable of beaming a 130-inch picture from a distance of less than 2 feet from a screen.
Bang & Olufsen’s CEDIA press conference kicked off with a demonstration of the company’s BeoSound Shape, a new modular wireless speaker system consisting of alternating hexagonal tiles.
A What’s the problem with HDMI Audio Return Channel (ARC)? I’ve heard that most people simply give up on ARC and use an optical digital audio connection from their TV to their receiver instead because they can rarely get it to work between devices, especially ones from different manufacturers.
What can the HDMI Forum do to improve the situation? —Phis Tomaskovic / via e-mail
Q I recently upgraded my TV to an LG 65B7P OLED. My receiver is an older Pioneer model that I'm loathe to give up. I plan on using an Xbox console, either the One S or the forthcoming One X, as my 4K source. Here’s my problem: both Xbox versions provide only a single HDMI output. I know I could use the TV’s HDMI ARC port to route audio back to a receiver, but my Pioneer doesn’t support that feature. Another problem is that HDMI ARC doesn't support the Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA lossless audio codecs. Which gets me to my question: Is there some kind of HDMI splitter I can buy that will let me route the Xbox’s output separately to the TV and AVR? —David Becker
A I want to upgrade my AV receiver but plan to wait until high-end brands like Anthem and Cambridge Audio provide support for HDMI passthrough of the HDR10, Dolby Vision, and Hybrid
Log-Gamma (HLG) high dynamic range formats. Am I making the right decision? / via e-mail—Estuardo / via e-mail
Q I have a 5.1-channel surround speaker setup in my basement that uses Infinity speakers. Is it better to have overhead speakers that are angled toward the viewer, or ones that fire directly down at the sitting position?
—Steve Thompson
Q How can I tell if a TV has a 10-bit panel to process the full 10-bit color of high dynamic range (HDR) video? I’ve heard that certain TVs accept 10-bit signals, but display them at 8-bit resolution. I’m interested in buying Samsung’s 2016 KS9810 SUHD TV, a top-of-the-line model from 2016, but want to make sure it has 10-bit display. How will I be able to tell the difference?—Jerry Peterson
Q I’m looking to buy a new AV receiver. Denon just came out with the AVR-S930H, a 7.2-channel model that’s Dolby Vision compatible. Should I instead buy a 2016 model with similar features minus the Dolby Vision support? It would save me a few hundred dollars. The only Ultra HD source I plan to use it with is a Roku player. —Steve Guminy