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Audio Video News
Yamaha Adds AirPlay 2, New Streaming Options and Voice Control to Existing Products
SV Staff  |  Apr 15, 2019
Yamaha today announced a series of firmware updates that will bring Apple AirPlay 2 support and new streaming and voice control capabilities to a number of existing products.
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Audio Video News
Disney Sets Launch Date and Pricing, Previews Content for New Streaming Service
SV Staff  |  Apr 15, 2019
At its Investor Day 2019 event last Thursday, Disney presented a detailed overview of the Disney+ streaming service it previewed a year ago and announced that the service will carry a $6.99/month subscription when it launches November 12.
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Aquaman
Chris Chiarella  |  Apr 12, 2019
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Set mostly after the events in 2017's Justice League, Aquaman takes us back to the origin of reluctant amphibian hero Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa), and then to the present for a grand new adventure. We are introduced to men who would be king (including an angry challenger to the throne) and a hidden realm far beyond our own evolution. To keep things interesting, there's a high-tech pirate on our hero's tail, and a fellow Atlantean (Amber Heard) at his side who sports a shock of crimson hair worthy of The Little Mermaid.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Pioneer Brings Back Home Theater in a Box
SV Staff  |  Apr 12, 2019
Pioneer is bringing back the once-popular home theater in a box (HTiB) with a $499 bundle that gives you almost everything you need to set up a six-speaker Dolby Atmos/DTS:X surround sound system. The only thing the package doesn’t include is a Blu-ray player or other source component.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Fluance Introduces $80 Phono Preamp
SV Staff  |  Apr 12, 2019
Internet-based Canadian home-audio company Fluance has introduced an affordable phono preamplifier to complement its line of turntables.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Samsung Launches Upscale Soundbars, Announces TV Pricing
SV Staff  |  Apr 11, 2019
Samsung today announced the availability of its entry-level R-Series soundbars and upscale Q-Series soundbars featuring Dolby Atmos and DTS:X immersive surround sound.
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SmartStream
Newly Launched Criterion Channel Brings Back Classic Film Streaming
Barb Gonzalez  |  Apr 11, 2019
The Criterion Channel has launched bringing back streaming of important classic and contemporary films. Here is why it is better than your average streaming service.
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Headphone Reviews
True Wireless Earbuds: AirPods and Alternatives
Stewart Wolpin  |  Apr 10, 2019
You may be excused if you thought that Apple's AirPods are the first and only so-called "true wireless" earphones—completely cordless in-ear "buds" that connect both with each other and to your smartphone via Bluetooth—since their distinctive white sticks seem to be protruding from hipster ears everywhere.

Fortunately, if you're not an iPhone owner, or a fan of the AirPods' distinctive look or not-necessarily one-size-fits-all fit, there is a growing number of other "true wireless" earbud choices. And in contrast with Apple's one-for-all approach, most AirPod alternatives address specific use cases, style preferences, and budgets.

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Audio Video News
Blu Cheer: BluOS 3.4 Update Brings Dirac Live, DTS:X, and More
SV Staff  |  Apr 10, 2019
Lenbrook International has announced the pending availability of an update for its BluOS distributed audio and music management platform. The update, which targets Bluesound and NAD products running BluOS, will be available for download on or around April 16.
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A/V Veteran
Titanic: Blood & Steel - A Compelling 12-Part Miniseries
Thomas J. Norton  |  Apr 09, 2019
I’ve long been a fan of the Titanic saga, well before the 1997 film. I loved that one, but mainly for the stunning effects and James Horner’s magnificent score, not the badly written soap opera that took up over half of its running time. This week it returned to my attention, partly because in a few days the 107th anniversary of the disaster will arrive (April 15, though no one typically commemorates such an odd number) and partly because last week I re-watched a story of the Titanic on Blu-ray as one of the sources I used for a product review.

The latter however, wasn’t James Cameron’s flawed but still compelling epic. Instead, Titanic: Blood & Steel is a 12-part mini-series, released in 2012 (the 100th anniversary of the sinking, about the building of the ship. It doesn’t address the sinking at all. In fact, it ends just as the ship steams out of Belfast, where she was built (A ship is always a she, and as the narrative makes clear, she’s a ship, not a boat!)

But there’s a lot more here as well...

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