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New Products
August 2016 New Gear
SV Staff  |  Aug 16, 2016
Sony UHP-H1 Hi-Res-Certified Blu-ray Player
Video is usually the first thing that comes to mind when you think Blu-ray, but Sony has gone out of its way to build a player that puts audio and video performance on equal footing—and maybe even gives audio an edge. The Hi-Res Audio–certified UHP-H1 is built to withstand vibration and equipped to play just about any file or disc you throw at it—including SACDs and DSD or 192-kilohertz/24-bit music files. It also has built-in Wi-Fi and supports Bluetooth streaming via Sony’s LDAC codec for “higher-than-typical” bit rates. And it’s no slouch in the video department, either, offering 4K upscaling at up to 60 hertz (though no compatibility with the new UHD Blu-ray Discs). Get Connected: When you’re not connected wirelessly, you can choose between optical and analog inputs or play Hi-Res files via the front-panel USB port. Price: $350
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A/V Veteran
Finding the Motherlode of Blu-ray Statistics
Thomas J. Norton  |  Aug 16, 2016
Ever had the experience of surfing the web and finding a link to a site that you never knew existed? OK, there are a lot of sites most of us never knew existed. But if that site is endlessly fascinating and useful to you, that’s a different story. I can’t recall how I first came across bluraystats.com, but I’ve never seen anything quite like it before...
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Focal Debuts Super Flexible Atmos Speaker System
SV Staff  |  Aug 16, 2016
Focal today introduced a new flagship home theater series configured as a 5.1.2-channel Dolby Atmos setup with two height speakers.

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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Meet Monitor Audio’s All-Weather Ceiling Speakers
SV Staff  |  Aug 16, 2016
There’s no shortage of weather resistant/waterproof outdoor speakers to choose from but Monitor Audio offers a twist on the theme with its CWT all-weather in-wall/ceiling speaker series.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Long Live CD: Marantz Debuts High-End Player
SV Staff  |  Aug 15, 2016
If you’re still spinning CDs you might as well do it in style. On Friday, Marantz announced a compact CD player to go with its HD-AMP1 integrated amplifier.

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Ask S&V
When Will TV Audio Get its Next Upgrade?
Al Griffin  |  Aug 15, 2016
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q Digital high-definition broadcasting started back in 1998, but since then, only video has received a facelift, not audio. Why hasn’t DTV audio evolved to at least Dolby Digital Plus status? —David Musoke / via e-mail

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Tech2
Day of the Dead Review
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Aug 12, 2016
Among my eclectic musical loves is the Grateful Dead. I remember enjoying the occasional song, as many do, and then discovering the brilliant Reckoning, which is still one of my favorite live albums.

I wouldn’t say I’m the biggest fan, but I thoroughly a good Dead tune, and have played their songs live more than any other band (except maybe the Allman Brothers).

There are countless cover albums of Dead tunes, and most are… well I guess what you think of them largely has to do with what you think of the bands playing them.

Day of the Dead, a meaty 59-track album whose profits go to the Red Hot Organization, are a fantastic mix of artists. And, for the most part, it works great. Here are some highlights and thoughts.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Phoenix
Fred Kaplan  |  Aug 12, 2016
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Phoenix was one of the best films of 2015 (the U.S. release date): taut, nerve-racking, gorgeous in a lurid way. It has a Vertigo vibe, leaning heavily on Hitchcock’s German Expressionist influences, but marked with Angst of a more sociopolitical nature, as if the likes of F.W. Murnau and Fritz Lang had shot films just after WWII instead of the two decades before. It begins with a woman, an Auschwitz survivor (played by Nina Hoss), entering a hospital for facial surgery to repair the damage done by brutal guards. She wants to look the way she did before, so her husband can recognize her. After the operation, she finds him waiting tables at a nightclub called Phoenix.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Ip Man 3
Brandon A. DuHamel  |  Aug 12, 2016
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Director Wilson Yip returns to helm the third and ostensibly final installment in the Ip Man saga with Ip Man 3. As with the previous films, international star Donnie Yen returns to the role as wing chun legend Ip Man, and the film also, questionably, brings Mike Tyson on board as a ruthless and violent American real estate developer.
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Audio Video News
Amazon Section Promotes Kickstarter Products
SV Staff  |  Aug 12, 2016
Crowdfunding is one of the 21st Century’s great innovations (it actually started late in the 20th Century…we know), providing a way for anyone to take a shot at funding their Next Big Thing product.
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