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Ask S&V
How Do I Set Up My Blu-ray Player When Using a Soundbar?
Al Griffin  |  Feb 08, 2016
Q I recently purchased a Bose SoundTouch 130 soundbar and have a Samsung BDP7500 Blu-ray player connected to it. Here’s my question: There’s a setting in the Samsung player’s menu for speaker size and distance. Since I’m using a soundbar that gets calibrated using a headset in five positions, is it necessary to also adjust the Blu-ray player’s speaker size/distance settings, or should I just leave those alone? I called Bose tech support, and they had no answer for me. —Peter Palagonia/Las Vegas, NV
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Tech2
I’m Going to Talk About Star Wars (finally)
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Feb 05, 2016
It’s been nearly two months, and if you haven’t seen it, I have to assume you don’t want to. Cool, have fun with that. You’ve probably skipped past this post anyway.

But if you’re still here, I have some thoughts about Episode VII that I want to talk about and I figure it's been enough time not to spoil anything... even though there are no spoilers here (I don't think).

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Audio Video News
Now You Can Watch Telly on Apple TV, Mate
SV Staff  |  Feb 05, 2016
Acorn TV, a streaming service specializing in popular TV content from Britain and around the globe, is now available on Apple TV and in a new iOS app for the iPhone and iPad.

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Ears On
A Guide to Today's Wireless Audio Options
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 05, 2016
It is now blindingly obvious that music has burst free of its chains. Even the traditionalist audio categories I cover have ways to make music fly through the air. Let me run through some approaches to wireless connectivity—some well established, others new and novel. When we get to the finish line, I'd love to hear about what you use and what you would like to try.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The World According to Garp
Corey Gunnestad  |  Feb 05, 2016
Picture
Sound
Extras
The Warner Bros. Archive Collection has remastered and released another contemporary classic from their vaults: The World According to Garp, and a welcome arrival it is. Adapted from the novel by John Irving and released back in 1982, this quirky comic drama featured star-making performances from three relative newcomers: Glenn Close, John Lithgow, and a gifted young comedian named Robin Williams. Appropriately, Lithgow and Close were both nominated for Academy Awards for their supporting performances, but it was several years too soon for Williams to be taken seriously as a dramatic actor. George Roy Hill, who directed Paul Newman and Robert Redford in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting, showed inspired brilliance in giving the lead role to Williams, an actor whose only prior characterizations were a manic alien named Mork from Ork and a one-eyed sailor named Popeye.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
San Andreas
David Vaughn  |  Feb 05, 2016
Picture
Sound
Extras
A massive earthquake hits an unknown fault line in southern Nevada, causing a chain reaction along the San Andreas in California that will have disastrous effects on the nation’s most populous state. Fortunately for L.A. Fire and Rescue helicopter pilot Ray Gaines, he’s good in a crisis, and he’s put in position to single-handedly save his loved ones while the world is literally crumbling around him.
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Headphone Reviews
Sennheiser HD 598 Headphone Review
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 04, 2016

Performance
Build Quality
Comfort
Value
PRICE $250

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Musically coherent sound
Comfortable velour earpads
Moving parts don’t creak
Minus
Not especially rugged
Limited low bass
No carry case

THE VERDICT
The affordable Sennheiser HD 598 is styled differently from its famous and more costly sibling, the HD 600, but is just as beautifully voiced and just as insanely comfortable.

The motley crew that lives in my headphone drawer was getting long in the tooth when I decided to add a widely acknowledged classic to the collection. The new acquisition was the Sennheiser HD 600, now more than 20 years and umpteen generations old, and he’s become my go-to guy when I want to spend an evening kicking back with headphones that guarantee total physical and listening comfort. Lately I’ve had a chance to try the HD 600’s little brother, the HD 598. At $250, it lists for $150 less than the HD 600, though as of mid-November it was widely available at major online e-tailers (Amazon, Best Buy, B&H) for $150 to $175.

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Throwback Thursday
Flashback 1893: The Movie Studio Is Born
SV Staff  |  Feb 04, 2016
Common wisdom tells us that Hollywood is the birthplace of the motion picture industry but, no, the motion picture studio was born in New Jersey. That’s right, home of The Boss and Tony Soprano.

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Audio Video News
Fandango Acquires Online Streaming Service M-GO
SV Staff  |  Feb 04, 2016
Fandango, the online movie ticket service, has acquired the movie streaming service M-GO.
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Ask S&V
Can I Use iTunes to Play Hi-Res Music?
Al Griffin  |  Feb 03, 2016
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q I want to check out the world of High-res audio, but being a Mac and iTunes user presents challenges in that arena. I have spent hours researching Hi-Res-friendly computer music playback alternatives, but each seems to have drawbacks (and costs). Is there a way to use iTunes for Hi-Res playback, or do I have to wait for Mother Apple to eventually condescend to selling and supporting Hi-Res music? —Scott Oakley, Phoenix, AZ

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