LATEST ADDITIONS

Media Server ReviewsStreaming Device Reviews
BiggiFi Android Dongle
Barb Gonzalez  |  Oct 16, 2014

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $90

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Well-designed remote app with mirroring mode
Uses phone’s accelerometer to control games
Multiple users can control same BiggiFi
Minus
Touchscreen remote mode takes practice
Slight lag time when using screenshot remote mode

THE VERDICT
A versatile streamer that’s fun for playing games.

Before the official Android TVs come on the market, several small companies have been making Android-streaming devices that connect to a TV. BiggiFi is the newest Android-on-a-dongle that connects to a TV’s HDMI port. Other than its strange name, and obvious English-as-a-second-language notifications, this smartphone-controlled device might be a good streaming stick choice for users who like to play smartphone apps on the big screen.

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Ask S&V
What’s the Difference Between Relative and Absolute Volume?
Al Griffin  |  Oct 16, 2014
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q I’m confused by the volume display on my AV receiver. There are two settings to choose from, Relative and Absolute. What’s the difference, and what do they mean? —Scott Oakley / via e-mail

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SmartStream
HBO Go Standalone Streaming Option Set to Launch in 2015
Barb Gonzalez  |  Oct 15, 2014
HBO has officially announced a standalone HBO Go option will be available in 2015. The new option will allow users to stream to the HBO Go app without requiring a subscription to the HBO premium cable channel.
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Music Reviews
Get Back to Mono
Mike Mettler  |  Oct 15, 2014
“Turn off your mind, relax, and float downstream.” John Lennon was referencing a theme from the Tibetan Book of the Dead by way of Timothy Leary’s book The Psychedelic Experience, but there really was no other way to start “Tomorrow Never Knows,” the pivotal track that ends Side 2 of The Beatles’ groundbreaking August 1966 album release, Revolver. And “Tomorrow”—originally identified on the recording sheet for “Job No. 3009” in Abbey Road Studio Three as “Mark I” when sessions commenced on April 6, 1966—is rife with studio innovations and flourishes only The Beatles and their revolutionary team of Abbey Road engineers could inaugurate as the methodology so many future artists would embrace: Inventing Artificial Double Tracking, a.k.a. ADT, to simulate the natural double-tracking of instruments and vocals (thank you, Ken Townsend).
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Non-Stop
David Vaughn  |  Oct 15, 2014
Picture
Sound
Extras
U.S. Air Marshal Bill Marks is assigned to a transatlantic flight from New York to London, but the seemingly routine assignment is anything but. Shortly after takeoff, he starts receiving cryptic text messages on his secure government phone informing him that a passenger will die every 20 minutes unless $150 million is transferred into an offshore bank account. When people start dropping like flies, Marks frantically tries to find the killer, but he always seems to be one step behind him.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Robocop (2014)
Josef Krebs  |  Oct 15, 2014
Picture
Sound
Extras
Interactivity
What makes a man a man and not a robot? This is the question at the heart of RoboCop. People can feel, preventing them from hurting a child, where a robot won’t care. But the manufacturer of all this equipment, OmniCorp, argues that humans can also feel fear, anger, despair, and disillusion—and can be corrupted. The way OmniCorp decides to circumvent the law is to combine the body of a robot with the brain of a man.
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Accessory Reviews
Intellegg Moxivo: Multiroom Audio on a Shoestring
Bob Ankosko  |  Oct 14, 2014
Performance
Build Quality
Value
Price $40

At A Glance
Plus
Stupidly simply setup
Multiroom music on a shoestring

Minus
Doesn’t work with landline, DSL, or Internet phone service
Limited by the number and location of phone jacks in the house
Subject to the vagaries of existing wires running through the walls
A less-than-hi-fi solution

The Verdict
Moxivo provides a low-tech, down-and-dirty way to shuttle music through dormant phone lines, but don’t expect audiophile quality.

In “A New Use for Old Wires” we described Intellegg’s Moxivo multiroom music kit, which is nothing more than a set of inexpensive cables that lets cord cutters use dormant phone lines to spread music around the house. It sounds great in theory but I was curious to see how well the “system” actually works, so I sought out a cord cutting household (I have Internet phone service at home, which is a no-no). As a new homeowner, my twenty-something son has no intention of signing up for traditional phone service, so his 18-year-old two-story home offered a perfect environment for the test.

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Signals
Atmos at Home Is Huge
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Oct 14, 2014
I am excited. I am thrilled. I am checking my credit-card balance to make sure I can afford an upgrade to the audio side of my home theater. When Leslie Shapiro and I reviewed the theatrical release of the Atmos mix of Oblivion in April, 2013 at soundandvision.com, we were blown away. We wrote, “If you wisely see this film in Atmos, you will experience true state-of-the-art sound design and theatrical playback. It’s an open secret that Dolby will roll out Atmos to home theaters. When will that day come?” That day has come. Hallelujah.
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Portable Player ReviewsGrace Notes
Review: Harman Kardon Esquire Mini Bluetooth Speaker
Leslie Shapiro  |  Oct 13, 2014
They say you can’t judge a book by its cover. True that. However, you usually can assume quite a bit by that cover. When I first saw the Harman Kardon Esquire Mini portable Bluetooth speaker ($150), I knew it was something special. Very few speakers can compete with the looks of this one; and on an executive’s desk, looks do matter.

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Vote
Do You Have a Home Automation System?
SV Staff  |  Oct 13, 2014
The “smart home of the future” that’s been coming for decades finally appears to be making some headway. In just the past year or so, the number of companies offering affordable do-it-yourself options has increased dramatically and covers everything from automated lighting and security to thermostats and door locks that can be monitored and controlled from your smartphone, and more. In light of this trend, we thought it would be interesting to find out how many Sound & Vision readers are dipping their toes in the home automation waters. So, with that in mind, our question for this month’s poll is: “Do you have a home automation system?” Thanks in advance for your participation and we look forward to your comments.
Do You Have a Home Automation System?
Yes, I have a basic system that I installed myself.
20% (89 votes)
Yes, I have a basic system that was professionally installed.
3% (14 votes)
Yes, I have a full-blown system that was professionally installed. It does everything except bring me coffee in the morning.
5% (22 votes)
No, but I’m thinking about doing a DIY system.
24% (103 votes)
No, but I’m thinking about having a system professionally installed.
4% (18 votes)
No. My life is fine without home automation.
44% (191 votes)
Total votes: 437
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