LATEST ADDITIONS

New Products
Samsung 2013 TV Preview
Al Griffin  |  Mar 21, 2013

Samsung’s product preview event, held on Wednesday 3/20 at NYC’s American Museum of Finance (who knew such a place existed?) was notable on two counts. First, the company announced a price for its 85-inch UN85S9 Ultra HD TV — the cover star of Sound&Vision’s April/May print issue. Second, it had another cover star, SI swimsuit model Kate Upton (fully clothed), along with Giants’ quarterback Eli Manning on hand to say how much they dig the company’s 2013 Smart Hub interface.

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Audio Video News
Acoustic Art: Bang & Olufsen BeoLab 12 Series Speakers
Bob Ankosko  |  Mar 21, 2013
Denmark’s Bang & Olufsen has always had a knack for style, but the BeoLab 12 Series speakers just might be the most elegant-looking speakers you can put on a stand or—even better—hang on the wall next to a flat-panel TV in a modern room.
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Audio Video News
Samsung Set to Deliver Super Plasma, Ultra HD TVs
Rob Sabin  |  Mar 20, 2013
At a press conference in Manhattan today marked by celebrity guest appearances of super model Kate Upton, Super Bowl quarterback Eli Manning, and super-rapper Flo Rida, Samsung officially introduced its 2013 TV line and availability for a new F8500 super plasma. Along with Panasonic’s much anticipated ZT plasma series that will debut soon, the F8500 is said to represent a new level of performance for a category that remains much beloved by A/V enthusiasts as the gold standard for image quality.

Simultaneously, Samsung announced that its 85-inch Ultra HD model, the UHD-S9 first shown at CES (photo above), will be available for preorders on the Samsung.com Web site at the end of March.

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Audio Video News
Rear Projection TV RIP: Mitsubishi Pulls the Final Plug
Mark Fleischmann  |  Mar 20, 2013
Back during the analog TV era, a well-regarded manufacturer offered me a rear-projection set—not for review, just for my own use. I turned it down. I didn’t want one of those big, butt-ugly things in my living room. In later years, RPTV went high def, slimmed down, and became the best buy in big-screen TV in terms of inches per dollar. But that wasn’t enough to save it. In the closing jingle-bell months of last year, the one remaining RPTV manufacturer pulled the plug, and the product category quietly passed into history.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Rock of Ages
David Vaughn  |  Mar 20, 2013
Picture
Sound
Extras
If you aren’t a fan of 1980s rock music or musicals, stop reading right now and save yourself a few minutes because you’ll absolutely hate this movie otherwise. For those of you who have stuck around, you’ll absolutely love this movie—as long as you aren’t turned off by actors bursting out in song in the middle of a scene.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews3D Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Dial M For Murder
Corey Gunnestad  |  Mar 20, 2013
Picture
Sound
Extras
Alfred Hitchcock was a supremely gifted and innovative filmmaker and master of suspense…and a bit of a psycho in his own right, according to recent biographies on him. His films are the benchmark standard that nearly every suspense thriller since has taken its cues from. And in 1954, Hitchcock shot Dial M for Murder in the 3D format at a time when the novelty of 3D films was waning.
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Power Amplifier ReviewsSurround Processor Reviews
Sherbourn PT-7030 Surround Processor & PA 7-350 Amplifier
Kris Deering  |  Mar 20, 2013
PT-7030 Surround Processor
Audio Performance
Video Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
 
PA 7-350 Amplifier
Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
Price: PT-7030, $1,799; PA 7-350, $2,799 At A Glance: Audiophile focus • Great dynamics • Lacks some bells and whistles

We’ve all heard the old saying, “less is more”, but that doesn’t always translate well to audio surround processors. While audiophile processors of yesteryear concentrated more on core components for the best possible sound quality and less on crazy surround modes and other digital processing, today’s market seems to demand these features.

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Tech2
The "mad scientist" of Sony audio
Brent Butterworth  |  Mar 19, 2013

When we think about how electronics products are developed, we might imagine huge teams of faceless engineers, executives embroiled in endless discussions in elaborate conference rooms, and an almost Kafkaesque process that no one person really understands or controls.

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Bluetooth Speaker Reviews
JBL Micro Wireless and Soundfly BT Fun in the Sun
Leslie Shapiro  |  Mar 19, 2013

It’s that time of year again. Birds are singing, the sun is shining, temperatures are warming, and people are starting to move outdoors again. (Okay, fine, I know I live in Miami, but really, I feel your pain, Buffalo!)  When I go outdoors, I love taking my music with me. JBL has two new products designed to take music to new locales, both indoors and out.

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This Week
This Week in Movies & TV, March 19, 2013: Hobbit Go Home!
Josef Krebs  |  Mar 19, 2013

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Back, way back in Middle-Earth, 60 years before The Lord of the Rings saga began, there was another story. . . .

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