Audio Video News

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Audio Video News
Dolby Atmos Movie-Theater-Sound Technology Heading to Home Gear
SV Staff  |  Jun 23, 2014
Onkyo, Integra and Pioneer Announce Atmos-Equipped Products

If you haven’t heard of Dolby Atmos—Hollywood’s attempt at delivering a “powerful new listening experience” that’s more enveloping than the best of today’s Dolby Surround 7.1 theaters—you might want to find an Atmos-equipped theater near you and see (actually hear) what it’s all about now that Atmos is heading home.

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Audio Video News
Home Automation Is for Everyone
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jun 19, 2014
Consumer desire for home automation is rising, with 48 percent of those surveyed by the NPD Group “extremely” or “somewhat interested” in buying home automation products. The use of smartphones and tablets to control systems is driving the interest. And it’s not just the wealthy who are interested. A whopping 37 percent of automation-happy homeowners have incomes of less than $75,000.
Audio Video News
RIP: Tom Nousaine, Colleague and Friend of S&V
Bob Ankosko  |  Jun 17, 2014
Tom Nousaine, former contributing technical editor and columnist for Sound & Vision, died June 8, 2014 in Pinckney, MI. He was 69.

A life-long audio enthusiast, Tom’s work appeared in numerous publications, including Stereo Review (predecessor to S&V, Audio, Sound & Image, Video, Car Stereo Review, Mobile Entertainment, Road Gear, Audio/Video International, The Audio Critic, The $ensible Sound, and Telephony.

Tom was a long time member of the Southeastern Michigan Woofer and Tweeter Marching Society (SWTMS) and served as regional vice president of the Audio Engineering Society and chairman of the AES Chicago Section. He founded the Prairie State Audio Construction Society and the Society for Depreciation Professionals while employed as director of capital recovery for Ameritech, one of the seven regional “Baby Bell” companies that arose out of AT&T’s 1984 divestiture.

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Audio Video News
Madison Fielding Plants Music Outdoors
SV Staff  |  Jun 16, 2014
Madison Fielding, maker of high-end outdoor speakers that masquerade as planters, has introduced the Flagstone PlanterSpeaker series. The lineup comprises three “fully weatherproof” models made of UV-rated industrial-grade poly resin, each featuring a planting tray for flowers or plants.

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Audio Video News
Disney Rolls Own Cloud Initiative
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jun 12, 2014
Disney Movies Anywhere is the studio’s foray into cloud-based content distribution. Buy a Disney movie title on iTunes, and you can enjoy it on multiple platforms—for starters, iOS devices, Apple TV, and major Web browsers, with others to follow. The digital rights management scheme is Disney’s own long-rumored KeyChest, a notable departure from the UltraViolet cloud DRM supported by other major studios. DMA is launching with 400 titles to start, including Frozen. Those who activate DMA and connect it to an iTunes account get a free digital copy of The Incredibles. If you’ve bought a Disney title on Blu-ray or DVD over the past six years, your disc may include a code for cloud access on the DMA platform.
Audio Video News
Music Industry Announces Formal Definition for High Resolution Audio
SV Staff  |  Jun 12, 2014
The Digital Entertainment Group (DEG), in cooperation with the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and The Recording Academy, announced today the results of their efforts to create a formal definition for High Resolution Audio, in partnership with Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group.
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Audio Video News
Poll Results: Many Paths to Music Outdoors
SV Staff  |  Jun 08, 2014
Having music on or around a patio or deck for barbecues, pool parties and just lounging around is important to S&V readers who responded to last week’s poll question: “What kind of outdoor music setup do you have?” It turns out more than a third of the respondents have hard-wired weatherproof speakers but beyond that it’s very much a mixed bag. Here’s the breakdown...
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Audio Video News
Lutron Announces DIY Lighting and Shade-Control System
SV Staff  |  Jun 05, 2014
Lutron Electronics has introduced a wireless lighting and shade-control system for do-it-yourself consumers. The system comprises the Lutron Smart Bridge wireless bridge, which connects the company’s Caséta Wireless dimmers, Pico remote controls, Serena remote-controlled shades, and other third-party devices, and an app for controlling lights and shades inside or outside the home from any iOS or Android-based smartphone or tablet.
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Audio Video News
Lutron Announces DIY Lighting and Shade-Control System
SV Staff  |  Jun 05, 2014
Lutron Electronics has introduced a wireless lighting and shade-control system for do-it-yourself consumers. The system comprises the Lutron Smart Bridge wireless bridge, which connects the company’s Caséta Wireless dimmers, Pico remote controls, Serena remote-controlled shades, and other third-party devices, and an app for controlling lights and shades inside or outside the home from any iOS or Android-based smartphone or tablet.
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Audio Video News
Denon Introduces Multiroom Wireless Sound System
SV Staff  |  Jun 02, 2014
Denon today introduced its first multiroom wireless sound system. Dubbed HEOS, the compact system is available in three versions ranging in price from $299 to $599 and operated by an iOS/Android app designed for whole-house control.
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Audio Video News
TCL Launches Roku-Ready 3600 TV Series
SV Staff  |  May 30, 2014
Chinese consumer electronics giant TCL (The Creative Life) today announced the 3600 Series of 720p LED/LCD TVs, which kicks off with 32- and 39-inch special edition models endorsed by professional surfer Erica Hosseini.
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Audio Video News
Screen Innovations Expands Black Diamond Series
SV Staff  |  May 28, 2014
Screen Innovations (SI) has announced that it is offering its popular Black Diamond ambient-light-rejecting screen in 120- and 150-inch sizes with 16:9 and 2.35:1 aspect ratios, respectively.

The screens become the largest in the series rated for 1.4 gain and have a multi-layer optic said to reflect only the light generated by the projector resulting in a significant boost in contrast. In dark environments, the screen is designed to reduce light scatter by more than 75 percent for a sharper image with deeper blacks.

As with all Black Diamond screens, the new models are 4K ready and support active 3D. Prices start at $2,199.

Audio Video News
B&O Ultra HDTV Has All The Right Moves
Rob Sabin  |  May 28, 2014
Bang & Olufsen, the Danish firm best known for the high performance and high-tech industrial design of its audio and video gear, has introduced a unique, motorized HDTV.

In what amounts to a wow-inducing visual treat, the show on the new BeoVision Avant starts well before you begin watching TV. Pressing the power button on the set’s one-piece, milled aluminum remote control causes the stand-mounted, 55-inch Avant to begin shifting.

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Audio Video News
'Star Trek Mansion' Boldly Goes Where Few Men Can Afford to Go
SV Staff  |  May 19, 2014
Listen up trekkies: The 27,000-square-foot "Star Trek Mansion" in Boca Raton, Florida, can now be yours for a cool $35 million. The heart of this palace? A 1,400-square-foot theater meticulously modeled after the bridge of Starship Enterprise.
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Audio Video NewsNew ProductsPremiere Design
Immaculate Reception
Bob Ankosko  |  May 19, 2014

Bang & Olufsen BeoLab 18 Wireless Speaker System

About that headline...It’s inspired by the sheepish “Immaculate Wireless Sound” moniker Bang & Olufsen uses for the wireless system integrated into the stunning BeoLab 18 tower speaker. Actually, the phrase is code for WiSA, the standard that makes it possible to for speakers to receive uncompressed 24-bit/96 kHz audio over the air from B&O’s stand-alone transmitter or one built into the BeoVision 11 TV. We asked Senior Vice President of Product Creation Lou Schreurs to tell us about this impressive speaker.

S&V: How did the BeoLab 18 come into being? What led to the desire to “go wireless?”
Lou Schreurs: We felt the need to rejuvenate our iconic BeoLab 8000 from a design perspective and, at the same time, wanted to bring the speaker into the 21st Century by making it wireless and digital, using our proprietary Digital Signal Processing (DSP) capabilities. The integration of a high-quality wireless system was driven by the desire for convenience without sacrificing audio quality. In some of our customers’ homes, it was not easy to run cables in a neat way, particularly rear speakers, limiting their ability to experience true surround sound...

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