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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Jam Audio Unveils Inexpensive Wireless Lineup
SV Staff  |  Aug 14, 2018
Los Angeles-based Jam Audio has introduced a new line of inexpensive Bluetooth speakers and wireless headphones/earbuds aimed at young consumers as part of a rebranding campaign built around the “Just Add Music” tag line.
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Signals
"Unstoppable" Force, Meet Immovable Object
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Aug 14, 2018
Look at you! All sleek and cool, speeding down the road! A beautiful sunny day! Nothing can hold you back now! You are unstoppable!

Then you hit the wall. A brick wall. No, better yet, a massive Machu Picchu-style wall. An immovable wall. Then you remember — you forgot to put "unstoppable" in quotes.

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Audio Video News
Nintendo to Launch Switch Online Service in September
SV Staff  |  Aug 14, 2018
Nintendo has announced that its Switch Online game service will launch in the second half of September.
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Audio Video News
‘Stranger Things’ Season 3 Pushed Off to 2019
SV Staff  |  Aug 13, 2018
Netflix has confirmed that Season 3 of the smash hit show Stranger Things that was teased for a release this summer has been delayed until 2019.
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Audio Video News
Samsung Previews Smart Speaker
SV Staff  |  Aug 13, 2018
Samsung teased its long-anticipated entry into the smart speaker arena with a peek at Galaxy Home.
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Matrix
David Vaughn  |  Aug 10, 2018
Picture
Sound
Extras
Thomas Anderson leads a double life. During the day, he is a computer drone for a big corporation; by night, he’s Neo, hacker extraordinaire. Morpheus opens Neo’s eyes to the real world, a vast wasteland where most of humanity has been enslaved by machines that use our bodies as a power source. To reclaim the Earth, Neo must reenter the Matrix in order to overthrow the machines and discover his true destiny in life.
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Audio Video News
Tampa to Host Florida Audio Expo in February
SV Staff  |  Aug 09, 2018
Florida will get its own audio show when the Florida Audio Expo opens in Tampa next February.
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Audio Video News
Best TVs: 3 Top Brands, 3 Top Picks
SV Staff  |  Aug 09, 2018
We’re on a roll. In the past month we’ve reviewed three top-performing TVs from three top brands. You might call it a TV trifecta. All have 65-inch screens and all earned Sound & Vision’s prestigious Top Pick designation, reserved for the very best home entertainment has to offer. And with prices ranging from $2,300 to $3,499, each model — one OLED and two state-of-the-art LCDs — more than holds its own on the value scale. Read on and get your credit card ready.
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Ask S&V
Is Audio Upsampling the Same as Video Upscaling?
Al Griffin  |  Aug 09, 2018
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

QWhen researching DACs, I ran across the Cambridge Audio CXN, a network audio player that upsamples all inputs to a 24-bit/384kHz hi-res format using “polynomial curve fitting interpolation.” This seems to be the only DAC that offers that kind of feature. Most Ultra HDTVs and Blu-ray players also provide upscaling, but for video. In my experience, this is a very effective feature that improves the experience of watching a regular DVD. Here’s my question: Does audio upsampling have the same effect as video upscaling? —Mike Yang / via e-mail

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AV Receiver Reviews
Denon AVR-X8500H AV Receiver Review
Michael Trei  |  Aug 08, 2018

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $3,999

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Clear, punchy sound
Beefy 13 x 150W class-AB power amp
Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, and Auro-3D decoding up to 7.2.6 or 9.2.4
Minus
No HD Radio
Flagship price to go with flagship performance

THE VERDICT
Denon’s latest flagship receiver checks off every box on the A/V receiver feature wish list, and it provides plenty of brawn to back up its brains.

Some people get weird about anything with a 13 in it. Fear of this seemingly innocuous number, otherwise known as Triskaidekaphobia, has brought us buildings with no 13th floor, and even the renaming of the 13th Space Shuttle mission. But Denon has shown us they don’t have time for silly superstitions by delivering the world’s first A/V receiver with 13 channels of onboard amplification.

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