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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
A Star Is Born
Chris Chiarella  |  Mar 01, 2019
Picture
Sound
Extras
A Star Is Born manages to rise above the nigh-unavoidable clichés of the music drama genre through the sheer, undeniable force of Bradley Cooper's love of his craft. Were this not already the third remake of the 1937 film, the potential cinematic pitfalls of this tale of frustrated singer/songwriter Ally (Lady Gaga), who struggles amid the boozy, druggy stumblings of entrenched headliner Jack (Cooper) would still be many.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Luxman Aims to Reach More Vinyl Enthusiasts with New High-End Turntable
SV Staff  |  Mar 01, 2019
Luxman is hoping to reach a “slightly wider range of vinyl enthusiasts” with a new turntable that’s based on the highly regarded PD-171A turntable it introduced several years ago.
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The Connected Life
Home Theater Planning: Walk Back the Design, Part 1
John Sciacca  |  Mar 01, 2019
When I first began my job as a custom installer back in 1998, I frequently had to explain to people exactly what our company did. “We install home theater systems; it’s like having a movie theater in your house,” I’d usually say.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Acoustic Geometry Offers Acoustic Treatment Kits at Best Buy Magnolia Locations
SV Staff  |  Mar 01, 2019
Acoustic Geometry, a Minnesota-based company specializing in affordable acoustic solutions, wants audiophiles and home theater enthusiasts to know that its acoustic treatment kits are available at Best Buy’s Magnolia Home Theater locations around the country.
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Audio Video News
Best Gear of February 2019
SV Staff  |  Feb 28, 2019
The month of February yielded a short but sweet list of Sound & Vision Top Picks that run the gamut from a low price/high performance 5.1 home theater speaker system and combo amp/digital-to-analog converter (DAC) to a decidedly upscale video projector that will leave enthusiasts drooling and a super refined, seven-channel power amplifier from a brand that is synonymous with “high end.” Can you guess who it is?
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Throwback Thursday
Flashback 2010: Apple Sells 10 Billion Songs
SV Staff  |  Feb 28, 2019
Nine years ago this week, Apple announced that “music fans have purchased and downloaded over 10 billion songs from the iTunes Store.”
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The S&V Interview
80 Years Strong: Legendary Canadian Songwriter Gordon Lightfoot
Mike Mettler  |  Feb 27, 2019
Legendary Canadian songwriter Gordon Lightfoot called us from his homebase in northern Ontario to discuss why he personally tunes his guitars before every show, how and why he made the choices about where his vocals appear in studio mixes, and the continuing importance of historical accuracy in his songwriting.
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Headphone Amp/DAC ReviewsIntegrated Amp Reviews
NAD D 3045 Integrated Amplifier/DAC Review
Daniel Kumin  |  Feb 27, 2019

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $749 (was $699 at time of review)

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Impressive power and sonics from a sub-compact design
Dynamic enough to handle a wide range of speakers
Useful Bass EQ/subwoofer filter options
Minus
Digital conversion does not extend to 32-bit/384kHz

THE VERDICT
The D 3045 is a surprisingly powerful compact integrated amplifier with an eminently capable onboard DAC that's equally at home on the desktop or component rack.

Five years ago, when I examined NAD's $399 D 3020, the progenitor of the D 3045 before us here, I liked it—a lot. The D 3020 was among the first of what I've come to call DAC-lifiers: small-ish integrated amps with onboard digital-to-analog facilities intended for audio-streaming or computer sources and projecting at least some level of audiophile sophistication.

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Audio Video News
Roundup: Movies Headed for 4K Blu-ray (or Not)
SV Staff  |  Feb 27, 2019
With all the recent hullabaloo over the future of physical media, here’s a look at movies slated for release on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray (or not) over the next couple of months. All movies scheduled for Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray are also slated for simultaneously release on DVD, and a couple of the movies will be released digitally and on DVD (no Blu-ray).
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A/V Veteran
Is This the Videodisc Apocalypse?
Thomas J. Norton  |  Feb 26, 2019
The recent decision by Samsung to cease selling Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray players (at least in the U.S.), reported elsewhere on this site, has been taken by many as foreshadowing the death of video on physical media. Add in Oppo’s cessation of player manufacturing last year, and the statistically significant falloff in disc sales (confirmed locally by a recent, dramatic reduction in the shelf space devoted to video discs at my nearest Best Buy), and, the news certainly isn’t encouraging.

But the imminent death of the disc isn’t yet in sight. The disc market is still profitable, and the studios haven’t yet slowed down churning out both new and older titles. Check out The Digital Bits website for their weekly lists of releases and then tell me that video discs are on life support. They may be limping, but as a wise man once said, “It ain’t over ‘till it’s over.”

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