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Blu-ray Player Reviews
Samsung UBD-M9500 Ultra HD Blu-ray Player Review
David Vaughn  |  Nov 13, 2017

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $400

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Plethora of streaming options
Outstanding picture quality
Dual HDMI outputs
Minus
No 3D support
Flimsy disc tray
No Dolby Vision support

THE VERDICT
This second-generation Ultra HD Blu-ray player delivers exceptional performance and value, especially for heavy Netflix or Amazon users.

I’m in my 13th year of reviewing consumer electronics, and I’m continually amazed at the industry’s pace of innovation. In the span of about 20 years, we’ve gone from bulky, backbreaking CRT displays to flat-panel TVs that hang on the wall, as well as projectors that are smaller than the base of a vacuum cleaner—all at prices that the middle class can easily afford.

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Audio Video News
Sticky Labels Bedevil Consumers
Mark Fleischmann  |  Nov 13, 2017
Don’t you hate peeling sticky labels off your new phone and other CE purchases? You are not alone...
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Ask S&V
Can I Use Dipole Speakers as Atmos Height Speakers?
Al Griffin  |  Nov 13, 2017
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q I currently use dipole speakers as the side surrounds in a 7.1-channel configuration. My plan is to upgrade to an Atmos setup and replace the side surround speakers with direct-radiating models. Here’s my question: Could I use my existing dipole surrounds as Atmos height speakers? —Nick Ward / via e-mail

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Audio Video News
Survey: Smartphones Are the Device of Choice for Holiday Shopping
SV Staff  |  Nov 13, 2017
More Americans than ever before will use their smartphones for holiday shopping and one in five plan to use a voice-activated smart speaker to “voice shop,” according to the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) 2017 Pre-Black Friday Survey.
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Resident Evil: Vendetta
Brandon A. DuHamel  |  Nov 10, 2017
Picture
Sound
Extras
Resident Evil: Vendetta picks up the mantle yet again for the Capcom strain of this popular video-game franchise. Sticking to the animé-oriented roots and offering some visceral action without the frenzied camera panning and ADD editing of the live-action The Final Chapter, the film brings together favorites from the franchise. Game characters Leon S. Kennedy (voiced my Matthew Mercer), Chris Redfield (Kevin Dorman), and Rebecca Chambers (Erin Cahill) battle wanted bioterrorist Glenn Arias (John DeMita), who plans to release a deadly virus in New York City as revenge for the government killing his wife.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Collateral Beauty
Josef Krebs  |  Nov 10, 2017
Picture
Sound
Extras
This being the third film in a row I’ve reviewed on Blu-ray in which a man’s life is destroyed by the death of a child and the loss of a wife (alongside Manchester by the Sea and Nocturnal Animals) leads me to suspect that a strong sense of loss is vibrating through our national zeitgeist despite the blessings of unsocial media. Collateral Beauty, a feel-good downer (a romtrage, if you will), is a parable filled with It’s a Wonderful Life–like whimsy concerning a grieving advertising executive, Howard (Will Smith), who, two years on from the loss of his daughter, is writing letters to Time, Death, and Love to voice his complaints and express his trauma.
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Editor's Eye
Where Have All the Audiophiles Gone?
Rob Sabin  |  Nov 10, 2017
A couple of emails we recently received got me thinking about our current state of audiophile affairs. One, from Paul Thiel of Crescent Springs, Kentucky, headlined “The Great Equalizer,” asks whether the disappearance of standalone graphic equalizers from the home audio market, along with the jacks to connect them, was the result of automated room EQ coming to bear...or perhaps proof that manufacturers were mistaken in the notion that consumers were interested enough in audio to want to tailor the frequency response of their systems.
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Audio Video News
Sharp Announces World’s First 8K Pro Camcorder
SV Staff  |  Nov 10, 2017
Looking ahead to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which will be a major event in the development of an 8K ecosystem, Sharp has introduced of the world’s first 8K camcorder.
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4K TV ReviewsTV ReviewsLCD TV Reviews
Vizio M65-E0 LCD Ultra HDTV Review
Al Griffin  |  Nov 09, 2017

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $1,100

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Effective peak brightness with HDR sources
Can display extended color
Good overall picture uniformity and upscaling
Minus
Mild artifacts from local-dimming backlight
No off-air tuner
Only one HDMI 2.0a input

THE VERDICT
Vizio’s new M Series set offers substantial performance improvements over last year’s model and does so at an even lower price.

Ultra HDTVs that support the display of programs with high dynamic range, also known as HDR, have quickly become the norm. If you’re out and about shopping for a new set, there’s a good chance that you’ll be taking home one of these TVs. Of course, the benefit to a state-of-the-art feature like HDR becoming standard is that prices for sets that include it will drop. How low? How about $1,100? That’s what Vizio charges for their 65-inch M65-E0 LCD Ultra HDTV.

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Ask S&V
How Do I Know Which HDR Formats My Receiver Supports?
Al Griffin  |  Nov 09, 2017
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q TV reviews in Sound & Vision routinely discuss support for the HDR10 and Dolby Vision high dynamic range formats. I don't always see comments about HDR support in AV receiver reviews, however. Does an AVR need to support a specific HDR format, or does HDMI take care of that? —James Hardaway

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