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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Mission: Impossible--Rogue Nation
Chris Chiarella  |  Apr 22, 2016
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As if their world-saving missions weren’t hard enough already, the entire Impossible Mission Force is shut down by an overzealous CIA director, and the IMF’s best agent, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), is now an international fugitive. Of course, those setbacks don’t stop him from continuing his search for the Syndicate. The Syndicate is ruthless, frighteningly effective, and worst of all, the CIA refuses to believe that it even exists, so the pursuit is uphill all the way.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Wolf Totem
Brandon A. DuHamel  |  Apr 22, 2016
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After he and his film Seven Years in Tibet (1997) were banned from China, director Jean-Jacques Annaud returns to the country for his visually stunning Wolf Totem, an adaptation of Jiang Rong’s semi-autobiographical novel.

Set during China’s Cultural Revolution of 1969, Wolf Totem is an environmentalist tale that follows Beijing student Chen Zhen (Shaofeng Feng), who is assigned to China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to teach its nomadic shepherd population. Instead, Zhen becomes attached to the land, its people, and the balance between them and their most feared enemy, the wolves.

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Audio Video NewsNew Products
B&O Play Unveils Sleek Bluetooth Speaker
SV Staff  |  Apr 22, 2016
B&O Play, a division of Denmark’s Bang & Olufsen that focuses on portable products, has introduced a sleek take-anywhere Bluetooth speaker designed to fit comfortably in the palm of your hand.
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Audio Video News
Intelligent Adventure Cam Does the Editing for You
SV Staff  |  Apr 22, 2016
Frodo—yes, Frodo as in the famous Hobbit—looks like a watch but it’s actually a wearable camera. And not just any camera.
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Audio Video News
Pop Superstar Prince Dead at 57
SV Staff  |  Apr 21, 2016
The flamboyant rock performer and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Prince was found dead this morning at his suburban Minnesota home, his publicist confirmed in a statement earlier today. He was 57.
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Audio Video News
Malware Targets Smart TVs
Mark Fleischmann  |  Apr 21, 2016
Your PC isn’t the only connected device to be targeted by malware malefactors.
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Audio Video News
Update: The Road to Next Gen TV Broadcasting
SV Staff  |  Apr 21, 2016
The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) and National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) recently filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to let broadcasters and TV companies voluntarily switch to the next-gen ATSC 3.0 TV standard for delivering Ultra HD (UHD) TV and immersive audio via formats such as Dolby Atmos.
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Throwback Thursday
Flashback to 1964: First Picturephone Call
SV Staff  |  Apr 21, 2016
Fifty-two years ago this month, AT&T made the first transcontinental Picturephone call between test stations in Disneyland in Anaheim California and the New York World’s Fair, foreshadowing the modern day video chatting we now take for granted. It was an inauspicious start...
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Ask S&V
Can I Use an External Amp with an Atmos Receiver?
Al Griffin  |  Apr 20, 2016
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q Help! Perhaps it's the case that I don't understand the Dolby Atmos specifications, but I get the impression that if I build an Atmos system with four height channels, I will also need to purchase an expensive receiver.

I want the unit I buy to handle both two-channel analog music and big-budget films with multichannel soundtracks. Is there such thing as a receiver that can process Dolby Atmos soundtracks for a 5.1.4-channel speaker layout but also let me use a high-end stereo amp to power the front channels? —Joshua Gonzalez, Houston, TX

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The S&V Interview
Peter Wolf's Sure Sonic Cure for Hi-Fi Loneliness
Mike Mettler  |  Apr 20, 2016
Photo: Joe Green

I think it’s fair to say Peter Wolf is one badass Mamma Jamma Wolfa Goofa. The fast-talkin’ onetime DJ and longtime J. Geils Band frontman proves that point to the nth degree on his eighth solo album, A Cure for Loneliness (Concord), which teems with honest energy and reflective grace. Wolf has definitive ideas about how he wants his music to be heard these days. “I’m not a fan of overly compressing things or limiting stuff,” he admits, “so I try to keep it warm with a good sonic quality. I tend to keep things dryer, which is a lot more to my personal taste.” Wolf, 70, called in from his adoptive home of Boston (he’s actually a Bronx native) to discuss the sonic choices made for Loneliness, his favorite records and gear, and the inspiration for his kinetic live performing style. When it comes to the original Wolfa Goofa, rest assured your ears are gonna have fun long past the midnight sun.

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