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Top Picks
2020 Top Picks of the Year
Al Griffin  |  Jan 06, 2021  |  39 comments
The best thing I can say about 2020 is that it's over. You'd think a year that was challenging on so many fronts might result in a drought of interesting A/V gear, but that was not the case for 2020. Logistical issues slowed shipment of certain products, but most eventually arrived. When they did, Sound & Vision's reviewing team eagerly went to work.
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CES 2021New Products
Samsung Readies “Neo QLED” TVs, MicroLED TVs
Joe Palenchar  |  Jan 06, 2021  |  0 comments
Samsung plans a 2021 launch of TVs with contrast-enhancing Neo QLED backlighting technology and its first consumer-installable MicroLED displays, giving video enthusiasts more options to enjoy cinema-like bigscreen entertainment at home.
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Signals
Porky's Prime Cuts
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jan 04, 2021  |  0 comments
When it was first introduced, digital audio was criticized as sounding “cold” or “sterile.” I vehemently disagreed. What some listeners heard as cold, I heard as a lack of distortion. Even after all these years, I suppose that's something we can still debate. But digital audio is indeed cold and sterile. Not the sound quality - the fact that it isn't nearly as funky, quirky, and weird as analog audio. Which brings us to George Peckham.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
First Cow
Al Griffin  |  Dec 31, 2020  |  0 comments
Picture
Sound
Extras
"It's the getting started that's the puzzle—no way for a poor man to start. You need capital. Or you need some kind of miracle. Or a crime." These words, uttered by King-Lu, a Chinese immigrant seeking fortune in the mid-19th century Oregon Territory, set forth a series of events leading to a business selling baked goods to the hardscrabble inhabitants of Fort Tillicum. King-Lu's partner in the venture—which originates from a crime, as opposed to capital or a miracle—is Otis Figowitz, a mild-mannered cook also trying to carve out a future among the fort's traders and trappers.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Good Riddance 2020: New Gear for a New Year
Bob Ankosko  |  Dec 31, 2020  |  0 comments
Ringing in the New Year has new meaning as we say good riddance to a year besieged by a deadly virus and transition to what we all hope will be a fresh start in 2021 — new beginnings without tragic loss, social isolation, and economic devastation. While you contemplate the better world that awaits us, here’s a peek at the latest news and products AV companies have to offer.
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AV Receiver Reviews
Yamaha RX-V6A 7.2-channel A/V Receiver Review
Michael Trei  |  Dec 30, 2020  |  10 comments

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $600

AT A GLANCE
Plus
HDMI 2.1-ready (via firmware update)
Versatile speaker switching
Built-in phono preamp
Minus
Small front panel and onscreen displays
Lacks analog video connections

THE VERDICT
Yamaha's latest mid-priced A/V receiver promises—and delivers—cutting-edge features at an unprecedented price.

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A/V Veteran
The Benefits of Bigscreen TVs Over Projectors
Thomas J. Norton  |  Dec 29, 2020  |  2 comments
A video projector has long been the gold standard for achieving the true theater experience at home. It still is, but there are limitations to projectors that can compromise the big screen experience with today’s best source material.

The relatively limited brightness a projector offers becomes more significant as the size of the screen and the demands of the source material increase. Unlike in the past, where the desire for ever bigger screens could be satisfied (more or less) even by a less than wallet-choking projector, HDR demands far more peak brightness than standard dynamic range...Flat screen TVs in jumbo sizes have become increasingly common lately, at prices far less intimidating than before. A decent LCD/LED, 85-inch 4K set can be had for under $3500.

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CES 2021New Products
LG To Introduce QNED Mini-LED TVs
SV Staff  |  Dec 29, 2020  |  0 comments
The Virtual CES 2021 TV news is starting to roll in. First up, LG, which has announced it will release a series of “QNED” Mini-LED TVs as its 2021 LCD TV lineup’s flagship offering. There will be 10 new 4K and 8K Mini-LED models in all, with screen sizes up to 86 inches.
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Signals
The Rapture of the Rumble
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Dec 28, 2020  |  3 comments
Because everything must be controversial, I am going to be controversial. This blog discusses God, politics, climate change, and Enzo Ferrari. Furthermore, if it causes lightning to strike you, so be it.
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Ghost in the Shell
Roger Kanno  |  Dec 24, 2020  |  0 comments
Picture
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Extras
Mamoro Oshii's beautiful and unsettling anime film, Ghost in the Shell, has been released on Ultra HD Blu-ray to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Based on Masamune Shirow's cyberpunk manga, the film explores themes of existence, and humanity in a technologically advanced world where people are cybernetically enhanced or have their bodies entirely replaced by cybernetics. One such cyborg is the film's protagonist, Major Motoko Kusanagi, who questions her own reality as she battles with the mysterious Puppet Master who hacks not only computers, but also humans.
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