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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
300: Rise of an Empire
Chris Chiarella  |  Sep 25, 2014
Picture
Sound
Extras
In true comic book (excuse me, graphic novel ) fashion, Rise of an Empire presents the “origin” of the evil god-king of Persia and his hatred of all things Greek. Set ten years before the Battle of Thermopylae, this wild prologue is very much in the wheelhouse of writer/artist Frank Miller, whose as-yet-unreleased Xerxes comic provides the basis for this follow-up to the epic 300. A great Athenian warrior named Themistokles sets this dark destiny in motion, and we leap forward a decade to the resulting Persian invasion of Greece. An older Themistokles takes to the seas to stand against Xerxes’ overwhelming naval forces, as led by the savage, mysterious Artemisia, their deadly clashes concurrent with the legendary sacrifice of King Leonidas and his brave fifteen-score Spartans.

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Audio Video News
Acoustic Sounds to Record Blues Festival in High-Resolution DSD
SV Staff  |  Sep 25, 2014
Acoustic Sounds has announced plans to record the 17th Annual Blues Masters at the Crossroads festival in high-resolution Direct Stream Digital (DSD) and make the recordings available on the company’s Super HiRez digital download platform in time for the holidays.
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Ask S&V
Can I Use My In-Ceiling Speakers For Dolby Atmos?
Al Griffin  |  Sep 25, 2014
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q I have a 7.1-channel in-ceiling speaker system in my home theater. How can I adapt this for a Dolby Atmos configuration? My plan is to add a standard 5.1 channel speaker system and use the in-ceiling speakers for the height effects.—Paul Wright

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The S&V Interview
Mike Rutherford Opens Up About Genesis' R-KIVE
Mike Mettler  |  Sep 24, 2014
And then there were… five? The above photo is no trick of the tale, for you’re indeed seeing the five key members of Genesis — from the top of the stairs down, Phil Collins, Tony Banks, Steve Hackett, Peter Gabriel, and Mike Rutherford — together again for the first time in many years. No, they’re not reforming, but rather have come together to celebrate the career-spanning documentary Genesis: Sum of the Parts airing on Showtime October 10 (and expected to see home release sometime in November), as well commemorate the September 30 release of R-KIVE (Rhino), a 37-track, three-CD box spanning 42 years of both band and solo material. “I know, who’d have thought there’d be all of this activity at my age?” laughs Mike Rutherford, a mainstay of the band through all of its incarnations. “But when you see all these songs side by side, like ‘Turn It on Again’ with [Collins’] ‘In the Air Tonight,’ [Gabriel’s] ‘Biko,’ and [Mike + The Mechanics’] ‘The Living Years’ — you go, ‘Wow, that’s a great body of songwriting.’ ” Full-bodied, you might even say. Recently, Rutherford, 63, and I talked about the band’s impetus for sound quality, why tracks like “Supper’s Ready” still endure, and what might come next. Play me my song, o musical box.
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Audio Video News
GoldenEar Ready to Ship SuperCinema 3D Array XL Soundbar
SV Staff  |  Sep 24, 2014
Extra Long Version of Popular 3D Array Soundbar Made for Screens 65 Inches and Up

GoldenEar Technology announced that the new SuperCinema 3D Array XL soundbar will be available in early October at a suggested retail price of $1,599. The XL is a larger version of the SuperCinema 3D Array soundbar—an S&V Top Pick in 2012—intended for TVs with screens sizes 65 inches and up.

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Audio Video News
LG to Present Tony Bennett/Lady Gaga Concert in Ultra HD
SV Staff  |  Sep 23, 2014
“Cheek to Cheek” Special Hailed as First Concert Streamed in 4K

LG today announced that this past summer’s “Cheek to Cheek LIVE!” concert, featuring Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, will be the first concert to be streamed in 4K/Ultra HD when it becomes available on Amazon Instant Video in October. LG is the official Ultra HD sponsor of the event.

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Audio Video News
Samsung Launches Ryder Cup App for Golf Fans
SV Staff  |  Sep 23, 2014
Samsung today unveiled the Ryder Cup TV App, which provides a new way for golf lovers to interact with this year’s Ryder Cup at home or on-the-go. Developed in collaboration with Turner Sports and the PGA of America, the app provides live scores, access to behind-the-scenes video footage, and “virtual hole flyovers” with details about course.
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Audio Video News
"David Bowie Is" Immersive at the MCA Chicago
Lauren Dragan  |  Sep 22, 2014
In the center of an all-white video screen, stands a young David Bowie. He is miming the story of a man who finds a mask that generates him enormous success and yet ultimately causes his suffocation. And so it’s fitting, perhaps, that the Bowie retrospective at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art (September 23 through January 4, 2015), titled “David Bowie Is,” contains little detail concerning the life of David Jones, the man who would become Bowie.
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Grace NotesAudio Video News
Apple TV Rocks Beats Music
Leslie Shapiro  |  Sep 22, 2014
While all the Apple Kool-Aid drinkers could talk about last week was the new iPhone 6 and Apple Watch, an interesting tidbit of news was mostly overlooked, but we feel it’s rather exciting. (Is it just me, or is it really hard to get all that thrilled about yet another iPhone launch?) Along with a sleek new interface for the set-top box, Apple TV has added Beats Music streaming.

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AV Receiver Reviews
Denon AVR-S900W AV Receiver
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 19, 2014

Audio Performance
Video Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $650

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Wi-Fi, AirPlay, Bluetooth
HDMI 2.0
Cool cardboard mike stand included
Minus
Slow DLNA media access
No MHL for phone streaming

THE VERDICT
The Denon AVR-S900W offers high value at a crowded price point, with superb performance, a competitive feature set, and a supplied stand for the room-correction mike.

You can’t set up room correction without a microphone, and you can’t use the mike without bringing it to ear-level elevation. But few A/V receiver makers include a mike stand. Along with Anthem, Denon is now one of the happy exceptions. No, the stand packed with the AVR-S900W isn’t a metal photography tripod with all the mechanical trimmings. But it is an effective platform for the mike used to set up Audyssey room correction. Constructed entirely of black card stock, it consists of a four-finned base, two plain column pieces, and a third column piece with sawtooth holes for height adjustment. Piece it all together, top it off with the customary Hershey’s Kiss–shaped mike, and you have something that looks like a rocket. Run Audyssey’s auto setup and room correction program—in this case, the MultEQ version, which measures from six seating positions—and your home theater system is ready for liftoff.

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