Audio Video News

A good soundbar performs a valuable service: It elevates TV sound quality far beyond what the TV’s tiny speakers TV could ever hope to achieve and, in some cases, it will even deliver a legit surround-sound experience. Does that mean a soundbar can replace a full-blown home theater speaker system? Nope, but that’s rarely the goal. Instead, most soundbar shoppers are looking for a simple, space saving setup. We’ve compiled snapshots of the best soundbars — and soundbases — we’ve reviewed over the past 18 or so months. Prices range from $270 to $799 and all but one model received a four-star or higher rating in the important Performance category. If you’re in the market for a soundbar, start here.

Atlantic Technology has announced that the Gatecrasher 1 smart speaker it previewed in June is now available on amazon.com for $499.

Vizio today announced the availability of the flagship 65-Inch 4K smart TV it previewed at CES 2018 in January.

Vanco, an Illinois-based distributor of electronic accessories, has announced an HDMI extender that wirelessly extends signals up to 131 feet and a Bluetooth transmitter/receiver kit that brings wireless connectivity to components that lack it.

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan will be the first Amazon video release to carry a Dolby Atmos soundtrack when it becomes available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video August 31.

AudioQuest has announced a hybrid optical/HDMI cable that uses an electro-optical conversion module and four glass-fiber optical conductors to carry 18Gbps of data — including HDR-enabled 4K video — up to 100 feet.