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Audio Video News
Amazon Reports “Best-Ever” Holiday Sales
SV Staff  |  Dec 30, 2016
The 2016 holiday was Amazon’s best ever led by sales of its Echo and Echo Dot speaker/personal assistant devices. Sales were so brisk, the company had trouble keeping them in stock.
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CES 2017Audio Video News
CES 2017 Sneak Peek: UHD Blu-ray, VR Porn, More
SV Staff  |  Dec 30, 2016
With CES less than a week away, press releases and invites teasing products and technologies slated for introduction continue to overtake our inboxes. Here’s a look at some of the latest pre-show news.
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The S&V InterviewAudio Video News
The Future of Fiber
Bob Ankosko  |  Dec 29, 2016

15 Minutes with Cleerline President Robert D’Addario

Fiber optics has been around in audio gear for years. Verizon’s Fiber Optic Service, better known as FiOS, has 7 million Internet subscribers in nine states with plenty of expansion potential. Google, too, has been rolling out its Google fiber service in recent years, though on a much smaller scale with limited service in seven states. Meanwhile, copper is still far and away king of signal transmission both inside and outside of the home. But for how long? To get a sense of what role fiber will play in the future, we sat down with Robert D’ Addario, president of Montana-based Cleerline Technology Group, an innovator in optical cable.

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Ask S&V
Looking for an AVR with Flexible Input Assignment
Al Griffin  |  Dec 29, 2016
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q I plan to upgrade my 2010 Pioneer AVR to one capable of switching 4K signals. I would also like the ability to watch one source while listening to the audio of another source in the same room—to, for example, play video games while listening to internet radio. I am not having any luck in my search, however. Do you have suggestions? —Darren Phillips / via email

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SmartStream
Apple TV App Now Lists Titles from Other Streaming Apps
Barb Gonzalez  |  Dec 28, 2016
The TV App on Apple TV makes it easier to find what you want to watch. Movies and TV Shows from all apps are listed together for easy access. Apple is finally getting it right.
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Surround Sound System ReviewsBookshelf Speaker ReviewsSubwoofer Reviews
Elac Uni-Fi UB5 Speaker System Review
Mark Fleischmann  |  Dec 28, 2016

Performance
Build Quality
Value
PRICE $2,047 as reviewed

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Concentric mid/tweeter
Pinpoint imaging
App-driven, room- correcting sub
Minus
Extra power required
App required for sub control

THE VERDICT
Speaker designer extraordinaire Andrew Jones continues his work for German manufacturer Elac with some of the best monitor-class speakers we’ve ever heard plus a provocative, app-driven sub.

There are a lot of ways to put together a home theater system. Small speakers—or, as I call them, monitors—are among the best foundations for a multipurpose room that isn’t cavernous in size. The audio industry used to pump out so many potentially interesting passive monitors (not to mention towers) that we could barely review a fraction of them. But with the increasing emphasis today on soundbars and powered lifestyle speakers at the lower end of the market, it’s becoming increasingly hard to put together small-speaker configurations for surround sound.

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Audio Video News
LG Adopts New HDR Standard
Mark Fleischmann  |  Dec 28, 2016
LG has added a new HDR standard to the two it already supports.
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CES 2017Audio Video News
CES 2017 Sneak Peek: A Levitating Speaker, More
SV Staff  |  Dec 28, 2016
Press releases and invites teasing products and technologies slated for introduction at next week at CES shows no signs of abating...
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Audio Video News
Audio from Amazon Echo Sought in Murder Case
SV Staff  |  Dec 28, 2016
In a blog he posted in October 2015, Ken Pohlmann expressed privacy concerns about the always-on microphones in Amazon’s Internet-connected Echo speaker/personal assistant. Could it be hacked? What are the ramifications of having an Internet-connected device in your home that is always listening?
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4K TV ReviewsTV ReviewsLCD TV Reviews
Sharp Aquos LC-75N8000U LCD Ultra HDTV Review
Al Griffin  |  Dec 27, 2016
Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $3,200

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Inexpensive (with discounting) for a 75-incher
HDR compatible
Accurate and extended color
Minus
Limited contrast
Backlight artifacts
Highlights in HDR programs lack detail

THE VERDICT
Sharp’s heavily discounted 75-inch TV offers accurate color and decent HDR performance, but its best feature is its big screen at an affordable price.

The arrival of a hulking 75-inch Ultra HDTV on your doorstep would be something you’d ideally want to coincide with a worthy media spectacle—the Super Bowl, for instance. In my case, however, the delivery of the Sharp Aquos LC-75N8000U synced up perfectly with the broadcast of the first Presidential debate. Lucky me: I got to witness what perhaps were the two most unpopular candidates in history assail each other’s character at near-life-size.

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