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Receiver Options for an Atmos 7.1.4 Setup
Al Griffin  |  Mar 28, 2016
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q I am in the market to buy an AV receiver with Dolby Atmos for my basement home theater. I have short-listed the Yamaha RX-A3050, Denon AVR-X5200W, and Marantz SR7010, but it appears that with each of these receivers I will need to buy an additional amplifier to run a Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 configuration. Is this the case? Are there any receivers that support 7.1.4 right out of the box without requiring an external amp? —Bhaskar Vooradi / via e-mail

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Tech2
Robinson's Mars Trilogy: Books to TV Pre-Preview
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Mar 25, 2016
Did you watch The Expanse? I hope so. I’d written about the TV show and the excellent books they were based on last year, and now I’ve got some info on another sci-fi series headed to TV.

It’s called the Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson, and if you’ve never heard of it, allow me a few minutes to recommend it, and why the TV show will probably be great.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
In Cold Blood
Chris Chiarella  |  Mar 25, 2016
Picture
Sound
Extras
Truman Capote’s career-defining “nonfiction novel” In Cold Blood recounted with fastidious nuance a violent crime that shocked America. Absent Capote’s masterful prose, the movie adaptation gives us a precise chronicle of the events with laudable authenticity. But under the inspired guidance of director/screenwriter Richard Brooks, the film goes beyond rote police procedural, introducing us to killers Perry Smith and Dick Hickock as a couple of troubled, down-on-their-luck ex-cons.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Gift
Corey Gunnestad  |  Mar 25, 2016
Picture
Sound
Extras
Remember that kid from high school that nobody liked and you and your friends mercilessly tormented him just because he was different? No? Well, he sure remembers you. Now imagine that all these years later, that person still bears a grudge against you and wants a little payback.
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Audio Video News
VR Gets Real (Finally) as Oculus Rift Ships
SV Staff  |  Mar 25, 2016
The parade of prototypes and development kits of the super-hyped Oculus Rift ends on Monday with delivery of the first consumer version of the virtual reality headset.

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Audio Video News
Smartphone Video Streaming Now Commonplace
SV Staff  |  Mar 24, 2016
Four out of five (81 percent) of all U.S. smartphone users now stream video on their devices, according to a new report from the NPD Group’s Connected Intelligence division. The streaming is being driven primarily by users who are 25 and younger, who spend twice as much time watching video content on YouTube and Netflix mobile apps compared with users who are over the age of 25.
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Surround Sound System ReviewsBookshelf Speaker ReviewsSubwoofer Reviews
Wharfedale Diamond 220 Speaker System Review
Mark Fleischmann  |  Mar 24, 2016

Diamond 220 Speaker System
Performance
Build Quality
Value

WH-D10 Subwoofer
Performance
Features
Build Quality
Value
PRICE $1,546 as reviewed

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Superb sound for price
Bottom port cuts unwanted noise
Dressy cosmetics
Minus
Odd binding-post layout

THE VERDICT
The Wharfedale Diamond 220 speaker system looks and sounds far better than its modest price tag would suggest.

When a venerable audio brand leaves its founders behind, sometimes it loses its way. But sometimes it gets a whole new lease on life. That’s what happened when the International Audio Group (IAG, originally of Taiwan, now of mainland China) acquired a handful of British brands, including Wharfedale, Mission, and Quad. When I visited IAG’s design and manufacturing facility in Shenzhen a dozen years ago, I was surprised at how self-reliant it was. The resident speaker designer could have a custom part made and tested in 24 hours, rather than having to outsource it and wait for months, as Wharfedale’s British forebears had to do. Thus, he has the luxury of endless tweaking. Even so, Wharfedale hasn’t had a commanding presence in the U.S. market commensurate with the brand’s engineering resources and expertise. Will the new Diamond 200 series change that?

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The S&V Interview
JD Souther Hastens Down the Hi-Res Wind
Mike Mettler  |  Mar 24, 2016
Consummate singer/songwriter JD Souther pours a lot of history into every line he writes and records. “I can’t consciously put my finger on it, but I can remember probably every piece of music I’ve ever heard,” he admits. “But it’s just at certain times, not all at once. I’m sure bits of it come out in everything I write.” Souther, who's co-written songs and worked extensively with the likes of the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt, also has an uncanny knack for making a melody all his own, and he has a critical ear for just how good the finished product has to sound. And now, thanks to Omnivore Records, we get to revisit Souther’s own recorded canon with the triple-threat CD reissuing of his first three heretofore hard-to-find solo albums: John David Souther (1972), Black Rose (1976), and Home by Dawn (1984). Souther, 70, and I got on the line to discuss the improved sonics of this reissue series, writing with Glenn Frey, sharing golden-ear minutiae with Ronstadt, and his passion for high resolution and great stereo gear. Some people call it music and some people call it gold, but nobody knows how to hone a mix quite like JD does.
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Throwback Thursday
Sixties Flashback: The Color TV Revolution
SV Staff  |  Mar 24, 2016
Color TV became commercially viable in the early 1950s but didn’t really take off until the mid-1960s when the big three (and only) television networks made a concerted effort to significantly increase the amount of color programming, broadcasting classic shows like Gilligan’s Island, My Favorite Martian, and Lassie in “brilliant, true-to-life color” for the first time. An epic event if you were around to experience it and arguably more dramatic than the transition to HDTV.
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Ask S&V
Clearing Up Confusion: HDMI 2.0 vs. 2.0a
Al Griffin  |  Mar 24, 2016
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q I am looking to buy a Pioneer Elite AV receiver, but I hear that they have problems with 4K/Ultra HD video passthrough. Is this correct? —Charlie F. / via e-mail

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