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Audio Video News
Amazon Becomes First to Stream High Dynamic Range Video
SV Staff  |  Jun 25, 2015
Amazon announced that episodes of its original series will be available in high dynamic range (HDR) format at no additional cost to its Prime members starting with the debut season of Mozart in the Jungle. Netflix was expected to be the first content provider to deliver HDR content before Amazon’s surprise announcement.

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The S&V Interview
Producer/Engineer Bruce Botnick Lights The Doors' 5.1 and Hi-Res Audio Fire
Mike Mettler  |  Jun 25, 2015  |  First Published: Jun 24, 2015
Jac Holzman, the founder of Elektra Records, believes the key to The Doors' sound lies in how the band and its ace production team — producer Paul A. Rothchild and engineer Bruce Botnick — all pulled together to make sure the integrity of the band’s sound was preserved on record. “We made albums so carefully,” Holzman notes. “I think the attention to the detail and the fussing over getting everything just right and not letting it go out otherwise are some of the reasons The Doors have held up over time. We had it right to begin with.” I rang Botnick up in California to discuss how he helped orchestrate The Doors’ formidable sonic legacy, how he translated said legacy into surround sound, and why he also still digs vinyl. Their music is your special friend, until the end.
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Surround Processor Reviews
Emotiva XMC-1 Surround Processor Review
Daniel Kumin  |  Jun 23, 2015

Audio Performance
Video Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $2,499

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Dirac Live speaker/room EQ
Highly flexible setup and automation options
Division I sound quality
Async-USB DAC input for streaming playback
Minus
Only one Dirac curve-set at a time can be loaded
Requires personal computer for setup; no onboard auto calibration

THE VERDICT
A noteworthy addition to the high-end preamp/processor ranks, with Dirac Live a fascinating, must-hear plus.

Talar du svenska? Emotiva does. Enough Swedish, at any rate, for the Tennessee tenderer of direct-to-consumer A/V gear to bake Swedish firm Dirac’s speaker/room-correction DSP into its new preamp/processor, the long-awaited XMC-1.

If you’ll forgive a Miller analogy, Dirac is to Uppsala University as Audyssey is to USC: Dirac, too, evolved out of original academic electroacoustics research—although USC’s weather is better, and I’m pretty sure the Trojans could take the Swedes on the gridiron.

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Signals
The Cheesiest Video Projector Ever
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jun 23, 2015
Without a doubt, it is a cheesy idea. On the other hand, at least it doesn't cost a lot of dough. Pizza Hut Hong Kong is selling pizza in a specially designed Blockbuster Box. Figuring that movies and pizzas go together like, well, mushrooms and pepperoni, the cardboard box can be rigged to project movies played on your phone. Yes—you read it right—a pizza box that projects movies.

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Audio Video News
Sony Announces Pre-Sale and Pricing for Ultra Thin 4K TVs
SV Staff  |  Jun 22, 2015
Sony today announced pricing and availability for two of its 2015 4K Ultra HD TVs , the X900C and X910C, both touted as frameless, ultra thin models.

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Audio Video News
LG Announces 2015 LED Projector Lineup
SV Staff  |  Jun 22, 2015
LG announced four new LED projectors that range in price from $350 to $1,000. The lineup includes one high-definition model and three portable Minibeam projectors, all rated for 30,000 hours, which equates to eight hours a day for 10 years.

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Audio Video News
Poll: Men Make the AV Buying Decisions But Only Half Consult Spouse
Bob Ankosko  |  Jun 22, 2015
When it comes to buying AV gear for the household, 99 percent of the respondents to last week’s survey said they make all or most of the decisions. The results were evenly spit between those who “make most AV buying decisions…but consult my spouse/significant other” (42 percent) and those who “make all AV buying decisions…without consulting my spouse/significant other” (40 percent). Only 17 percent said they consult their significant other "before purchasing any new AV gear." Here are the complete results...
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Tech2
Definitive Technology Symphony 1: In Search of the Perfect All-In-One Headphone
Lauren Dragan  |  Jun 20, 2015
One of the most common questions I’m asked is, “What should I get if I want a headphone that has good ANC, BT, and high-quality sound?” This all-things-headphone holy grail has been the pursuit of many a manufacturer lately: Parrot, Samsung, Beats, Creative, Plantronics, Sennheiser, and now Definitive Technology with its Symphony 1. But can the Symphony 1 really be all things to all people? I gave them a spin to find out.
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Ask S&V
Can I Use Dipole Height Speakers for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X?
Al Griffin  |  Jun 18, 2015
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q I have a 7.1-channel surround system with four dipole surround speakers. My plan is to move the back surround speakers to the ceiling in my home theater and use them for down-firing height speakers in a Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 setup.  The room is 12 x 20 feet with a flat, 8-foot-high ceiling. Will I get a good Atmos experience with this setup? How will it work for DTS:X? —Dan Spaughs

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Tower Speaker Reviews
Dynaudio Xeo 6 Powered Wireless Speaker Review
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jun 18, 2015

Performance
Build Quality
Value
PRICE $4,000 as reviewed

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Built-in triamplification
Wireless link to sources
Musically versatile sound
Minus
16-bit transmission ceiling

THE VERDICT
The Dynaudio Xeo 6 active wireless speakers are a great-sounding way to unclutter a two-channel music system.

In the history of civil unrest, there has never been anything quite like the audio rebellion. People are using half-inch-thick A/V receiver manuals as tinder and then throwing their receivers onto the flames. Doghouse-sized stereo amps and preamps are being spray-painted in the dead of night with slogans like “Where’s the wireless?” Wrist-thick speaker cables lay coiled on curbs, next to garbage cans, where passing dogs do what comes naturally. Just the other day, I turned on the TV and saw a guy in a Dynaudio T-shirt giving a speech to an angry mob. “Burn your cables!” he shouted. “Sell your amp! Ditch everything that currently clogs up your system!”

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