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Audio Video News
Labels Smack Pandora for Pre-’ 72 Grab
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jul 21, 2014
Several major labels have sued Pandora for streaming pre-1972 music without paying for it. Why would Pandora even attempt such a thing? Well, federal copyright law extends only that far back. However, copyrights can still be protected at the state level, so Vivendi, Sony, Warner, and ABKCO are suing in New York state courts. They point out that their music enables Pandora to rake in subscription fees and ad revenues, yet “it refuses to obtain required licenses or pay for its commercial and profitable exploitation of plaintiffs’ valuable property.” Pandora retorts that “the time, effort, and cost of securing such licenses could be significant,” while removing the pre-1972 music “could harm our ability to attract and retain users.”
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What Sort of Surround-Sound Setup Do You Have?
SV Staff  |  Jul 21, 2014
What Sort of Surround Sound Setup Do You Have? The new Dolby Atmos surround format that’s looming on the horizon got us thinking about surround-sound configurations and what’s most popular among Sound & Vision readers. Which leads us to our question of the week:

What sort of surround-sound setup do you have? Indicate below and tell us about your setup in Comments.

What Sort of Surround-Sound Setup Do You Have?
5.1/5.2 channels
59% (891 votes)
7.1/7.2 channels
30% (456 votes)
9.1/9.2 channels
3% (53 votes)
11.1/11.2 or more channels
2% (23 votes)
No surround for me. Good old-fashioned 2-channel stereo is all I need.
6% (96 votes)
Total votes: 1519
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Audio Video News
MartinLogan Expands Motion Speaker Series
SV Staff  |  Jul 21, 2014
MartinLogan has announced that three models will be added to its popular Motion Series of speakers at the end of the month.

The Motion 60XT floorstanding (shown, $3,000/pair), Motion 50XT center ($900), and Motion 35XT bookshelf models ($1,200/pair) feature a new Folded Motion XT tweeter with a radiating surface 40 percent larger than its predecessor, bigger woofers, increased power handling, and higher efficiency, according to the company.

Additional refinements include rear-firing, low-turbulence bass ports, custom five-way binding posts, and reinforced internal bracing. The new models are voice-matched for mixing and matching and available with a high-gloss piano black or high-gloss black cherrywood finish.

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Tech2
An Interview with Indie Band Just Off Turner
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Jul 20, 2014

From songwriting to touring and recording to shows, we sit down with Just Off Turner, an LA-based indie rock band, to talk about making music in today’s world of Spotify and iTunes.

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New Products
July 2014 New Gear
SV Staff  |  Jul 18, 2014
Floating speakers, a light bulb that doubles as a speaker, a beefy headphone amp from a classic audio brand, and more!
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Monuments Men
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jul 18, 2014
Picture
Sound
Extras
In the final months of World War II, as Allied armies smashed across Europe and into Germany, an organization called the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program (the MFAA) was assigned the task of recovering and preserving countless art treasures plundered by the Nazis. It included hundreds of art experts from 13 countries, working in small cadres.
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Ask S&V
How Can I Connect an iPhone to an Old AV Receiver?
Al Griffin  |  Jul 17, 2014
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Can you recommend an affordable device to connect an iPhone or iPod to an old AV receiver and still get good sound? — Stan Reed 

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TV ReviewsLCD TV Reviews
Sharp LC-60UQ17U 3D LCD HDTV
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jul 16, 2014
2D Performance
3D Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $3,000

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Crisp detail
Excellent color
Bright, vivid 3D
Minus
Middling contrast and black level
3D ghosting

THE VERDICT
It can’t deliver the deep blacks found on today’s best flat panels, but the Sharp LC-60UQ17U offers top-notch detail and color, along with the ability to display 4K source material with excellent, though not full 4K, resolution.

TV manufacturers continue to search for ways to keep prices down and sales up. But with 4K Ultra HD the hot ticket these days, it’s not an easy task. While Sharp already has a 4K model in the market and others planned for the fall, the company also offers a less expensive alternative: Quattron+, or Q+. These aren’t full Ultra HD sets, as their basic pixel structure is still 1920 x 1080 (Full HD), not the 3840 x 2160 required for Ultra HD. But Sharp’s Q+ sets will accept a 4K input, and with a bit of technical hocus-pocus, the company says they’ll deliver something between Full HD and true 4K.

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Audio Video News
Archival Disc Format Is for Pros
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jul 16, 2014
Does the world need another optical disc format in this download-oriented era? Sony and Panasonic think so, though they’re positioning the Archival Disc for professional use in the movie industry and in cloud-based data centers. The format holds 300 gigabytes on a double-sided disc with three layers per side. It is said to be resistant to dust, shock, and extreme temperatures compared with hard disks, the data-storage workhorses of today. Initial pro-level hardware is predicted to arrive in summer 2015. No plans have been announced to turn the Archival Disc into a consumer-level format.
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Mud
David Vaughn  |  Jul 16, 2014
Beware of men who don't traffic in the truth.

Picture
Sound
Extras
Two young boys, Ellis and his best friend Neckbone, meet a mysterious drifter named Mud who’s hiding out in an abandoned boat that’s beached on a deserted island in the middle of the Mississippi. Like a good Southern boy, Mud has a way with words and fascinates the boys with a series of stories about his life and why he’s hiding out on the island. He says he’s there to meet the love of his life, Juniper, who’s waiting in town for him, but he can’t go and get her because a group of bounty hunters are after him for killing a man in Texas. Neckbone is very suspicious of the stranger, but Ellis is a sucker when it comes to love and makes an executive decision to help Mud extricate himself from his predicament.
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