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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Escape From New York
Guido Henkel  |  Aug 11, 2015
Picture
Sound
Extras
When it comes to dystopian movies of the 1980s, John Carpenter’s Escape from New York clearly stands out as one of the hallmarks of the period and genre, creating a futuristic vision of a society that has deteriorated to the point where the prison system has become a world entirely of its own. In fact, crime in America has gotten so out of hand the entire island of Manhattan is converted into a maximum-security prison from which there is no parole, and where the inmates—a merciless yet colorful lot—are left to govern themselves. But after terrorists strike Air Force One, tough-as-nails convicted bank robber Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) cuts a deal to rescue the president, who has survived a crash-landing within the walls of New York City only to be held hostage on the eve of a critical global summit.
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Subwoofer ReviewsSurround Sound System ReviewsTower Speaker Reviews
DALI Zensor 5 Speaker System and Hsu Research VTF-1 MK2 Subwoofer Reviews
Daniel Kumin  |  Aug 11, 2015

Zensor 5 Speaker System
Performance
Build Quality
Value

VTF-1 MK2 Subwoofer
Performance
Features
Build Quality
Value
PRICE $2,244 as reviewed

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Neutral balance
Excellent center-L/R tonal match
Superb “small”-sub output and extension
Minus
Zensor 5 mini-towers are rather short

THE VERDICT
Combining DALI’s fine-performing, high-value two-way line with one of the best inexpensive 10-inch subwoofers available creates an affordable system that competes well with the many contenders in its price class.

DALI is a company that has nothing to do with surrealist art or Tibetan Buddhism. The acronym is for Danish Audiophile Loudspeaker Industries, which over some 30 years has grown from a home-market specialist to a respected international brand. Despite this success, I had never gotten up close and personal with any DALI designs (trade-show demos excepted) until they shipped us a representative selection of their new Zensor entry-level series. Since the Zensor-ship currently lacks a subwoofer, we tapped one of the best size- and price-appropriate designs we know, Hsu Research’s affordable VTF-1 MK2.

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Signals
Vizio Asks: Hey Punk, Do You Wanna Piece of Me?
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Aug 11, 2015
The TV business is lousy, right? Companies are getting out of that market like it was a house on fire. Just last week, we reported that Sharp is leaving the Americas. It sold its Mexico plant and name and rights to Hisense for a measly $23.7 million. Sharp follows Toshiba, Hitachi, Pioneer, Mitsubishi, Philips, Magnavox and Thomson in divesting and selling its TV interests for fire-sale prices. The TV business is lousy, right?

So, how would you like to buy a piece of a TV company?

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Audio Video News
Netflix Reveals Fastest Streaming ISPs: How’s Yours Stack Up?
SV Staff  |  Aug 11, 2015
Cox is the fastest ISP in the U.S, followed closely by Cablevision’s.Optimum platform and Verizon Fios, according to the latest research from Netflix, which routinely monitors how ISPs around the world perform during peak streaming periods.
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Audio Video News
Fifth Element to Get the Atmos Treatment
SV Staff  |  Aug 11, 2015
Two classics from director Luc Besson—The Fifth Element and Leon: The Professional—will get the Atmos treatment this fall, Sony Pictures announced.

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Audio Video News
Marantz Melds Old and New in Wireless CD Receiver
SV Staff  |  Aug 10, 2015
Marantz’s new M-CR611 “CD receiver” may look old-school but beneath its CD/AM/FM façade is a wireless music streamer that supports high-res playback.
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Ask S&V
Setting Up Multiple Surround Speakers in the Same Channel
Al Griffin  |  Aug 10, 2015
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q How would I go about setting up multiple surround speakers in the same channel—two side left and two side right speakers, for example—as in a commercial movie theater? One more question: If I used a Y splitter and additional amplifiers to power the speakers, could I still employ Audyssey processing to calibrate the speakers? I am planning to build a home theater with two to three rows of seating. —William Lee / via e-mail

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Audio Video News
Prince to Release New Album Only on Tidal
SV Staff  |  Aug 10, 2015
Tidal, the Jay Z-owned Tidal streaming service, announced that Prince will release his latest album exclusively on its platform. The album, HITNRUN, is due out September 7.

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Tech2
The Expanse: The Upcoming Show and the Books
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Aug 07, 2015
The Sci-Fi Channel (or whatever stupid name they’re calling it now. Siffy or something?) hasn’t had a show worth watching since Battlestar ended its run. Yes, I’m including the horribly squandered premise of Stargate Universe.

With intense hope and prayers to the FSM, that might change with The Expanse premiering in December.

Why am I writing about it now? It’s based on a series of books, and you’ll have time to read them (or some of them) before the show starts, if you want.

Here’s some details about the show and the books.

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Audio Video News
UHD Thumbs a Ride
Mark Fleischmann  |  Aug 07, 2015
Ultra HD content on a thumb drive? Sure, why not? Mance Media is the first company to sell it—and that makes it the first to sell UHD in a hard-copy format. The Website lists more than a dozen movies priced at $24.99 as well as TV shows. For details, visit buy4kuhd.com. UHD will also be available on forthcoming variations of Blu-ray and is already available via streaming and satellite.
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