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The Connected Home is Dead. Long Live the Smart Home!
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Apr 11, 2016
Last week, Nest announced they were pulling the plug on all their customers' Revolv smart home hubs. Why am I happy about this?
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Denon Adds Budget 4K/HDR-Ready Receivers
SV Staff  |  Apr 11, 2016
Denon has announced that it will add two 4K/HDR-ready AV receivers to its budget S Series by the end of the month.
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Audio Video News
Nativ Launches Hi-Res Music System on Indiegogo
SV Staff  |  Apr 11, 2016
Hong Kong-based Nativ today announced the launch of its Nativ Vita high-resolution wireless touchscreen music player and Nativ Wave DAC on the crowd funding site Indiegogo. As of today, the company has 50 backers and has reached 53 percent of its $100,000 goal with 60 days to go.
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Ask S&V
Can I Use My Soundbar as a Center-Channel Speaker?
Al Griffin  |  Apr 11, 2016
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q Can I use a soundbar like the Yamaha YSP-5600 as a center channel in a traditional 5.1/7.1 or Atmos setup? Would it sound better than a standard center-channel speaker? Also, does it have to be set up on its own first or last to blend in with the rest of the system? —Oliver Johnson / via e-mail

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Gatchaman the Movie
Brandon A. DuHamel  |  Apr 08, 2016
Picture
Sound
Older anime fans in North America will likely remember Gatchaman, the classic 1972 series created by Tatsuo Yoshida, as Battle of the Planets (1978). Battle of the Planets was a tamed-down version of Gatchaman that removed elements of graphic violence and profanity and changed plot points related to the transgenderisim of the villain in order to avoid controversy with parents. It also rode the wave of Star Wars’ success by adding in scenes reminiscent of the space opera to mask deficiencies introduced by the changes and eliminations (only 85 of 105 episodes were used). Slightly younger audiences may be even more familiar with a subsequent mid-’80s adaptation, G-Force: Guardians of Space, which more closely followed the original series.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Ted 2
Corey Gunnestad  |  Apr 08, 2016
Picture
Sound
Extras
Ted, the foul-mouthed, pot-smoking teddy bear, has married his longtime human girlfriend, Tami-Lynn, and a beautiful wedding it was. But as with most marriages between stuffed animals and human beings, the honeymoon ends all too soon, and after only a year, the newlyweds are already fighting. Naturally, the best remedy to soothe a decaying marriage and revitalize the spark is to bring a baby into the equation. But since Ted is lacking in the genitalia department, their choices are reduced to either adoption or artificial insemination.
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Audio Video News
Netflix 4K Now Available on Dish’s Hopper 3 DVR
SV Staff  |  Apr 08, 2016
Dish announced today that the Netflix catalog of 4K Ultra HD (UHD) TV shows and movies is now available on its Hopper 3 DVR, which decodes and outputs native 4K at 60 frames per second with 10-bit color.

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Surround Sound System ReviewsTower Speaker Reviews
DALI Rubicon 8 Speaker System Review
Tom Norton  |  Apr 08, 2016

Performance
Build Quality
Value
PRICE $13,080 as reviewed

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Open, airy highs
Clean, tight bass
Big, generous soundstage
Minus
Setup takes patience for best results
Treble can be unforgiving

THE VERDICT
Careful trial and error with placement, and perhaps the addition of a good subwoofer for movies with crushing bass will be needed for getting the best out of the DALI Rubicons. But the best this system offers is compelling.

DALI (Danish Audiophile Loudspeaker Industries) isn’t new to this country, but it’s relatively new as overseas loudspeaker manufacturers go. The somewhat new Rubicon range sits near the top of the company’s U.S. product offerings, topped only by the Epicon series, which it is said to most closely share technology.

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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Klipsch Announces Limited Edition Heritage Speakers
SV Staff  |  Apr 07, 2016
Klipsch is commemorating its 70th anniversary by issuing limited runs of the iconic Klipschorn and Heresy Heritage series speakers. Special attention has been paid to the details of each new speaker, as they features design enhancements, exotic wood veneer finishes, special edition logos, and unique grille cloths.
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Throwback Thursday
Flashback 1973: First “Mobile Telephone” Call
SV Staff  |  Apr 07, 2016
Back in April of 1973 when Martin Cooper made the first public call on a handheld cellular phone while walking down a New York City street, few could have imagined that the Motorola DynaTAC “brick” phone (shown here in prototype form) would evolve into a super-slim, do-everything pocket computer—a.k.a. the smartphone we take for granted today.
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