LATEST ADDITIONS

Thomas J. Norton  |  Nov 15, 2016

2D Performance
3D Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $5,500

AT A GLANCE
Plus
State-of-the-art local dimming
Class-leading HDR brightness
Above average off-center viewing
Minus
Price

THE VERDICT
With the top manufacturers jostling for a view from the top of the Ultra HD pyramid, Sony has taken an express elevator and is racing fast for the checkered flag. But enough with the mixed metaphors. If this TV isn’t today’s best LCD UHD/HDR set (and perhaps the best of any type), it’s not for lack of trying. Sony has given us their best technology here, and it shows.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2016, Sony demonstrated a prototype of a future LCD TV design incorporating what the company called Backlight Master Drive. We found it dazzling, as did most of the show-goers with whom we spoke. Nevertheless, we all looked at it as a “show car”—something that might appear in a store near you in a couple of years, if ever.

SV Staff  |  Nov 15, 2016
If you yearn for a simpler time when changing the channel meant leaving the couch and turning a knob to click your way through TV channels, you’ll appreciate the Vintage Taste TV.
SV Staff  |  Nov 15, 2016
Mass Fidelity today launched a 30-day Indiegogo campaign to introduce a smaller, ruggedized follow-up to its Core wireless speaker, which earned a Sound & Vision Top Pick designation earlier this year.
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Nov 14, 2016  |  First Published: Nov 15, 2016
I wish smoke alarms were sexier. Most of them are dull, white pucks that try to look as unobtrusive as possible. Even the squarish Nest Protect with the swirling perforation pattern on the cover isn’t something that most people will want to highlight as it hangs on the wall or ceiling. But there’s no doubt that smoke/carbon monoxide alarms save lives. The American Red Cross says that the organization’s Home Fire Campaign, which has “a goal to reduce fire-related deaths and injuries in the US by 25% by 2020” by getting more smoke alarms installed in more homes, has already demonstrably saved 111 lives in the short time since the program began in 2014. And since it’s recommended that you should check the working status of the smoke alarms in your home on the days when Daylight Saving Time begins and ends every year, it’s a good time to take a brief look at Roost’s brand new and—at $80 MSRP—nicely affordable RSA-400 Smart Smoke Alarm...

SV Staff  |  Nov 14, 2016
Amazon kicked off its Black Friday deals a couple weeks ago and Best Buy has joined the fray announcing a number of deals on 4K/Ultra HD TVs in advance of the big, post-Thanksgiving shopping day.
Leslie Shapiro  |  Nov 14, 2016
This morning we can take a break from the post-election fallout and concentrate on a news item that is less contentious, and certainly more interesting. Electronics powerhouse Samsung is set to acquire Harman International for approximately $8 billion when the sale closes in mid-2017. While we at Sound&Vision know Harman from their home audio brands, the bulk of their business has been in the automotive world. Samsung sees the future of connected cars and this acquisition is their foot in the proverbial car door. This is the biggest acquisition in Samsung history, and one that marks a concerted effort to grab a huge piece of the automotive industry.

SV Staff  |  Nov 14, 2016
Abbey Road Studios, best known as the recording home of The Beatles in the ’60s, has launched a series of exclusive playlists on Spotify and Apple Music to commemorate its 85th Anniversary.
SV Staff  |  Nov 14, 2016
GoldenEar has announced that the SuperSub X unveiled at CES last January is now shipping.
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Nov 12, 2016
Battlefield is easily my favorite video game series. I think I’ve played every variation.

So keep that in mind when I say, this might be the best yet.

David Vaughn  |  Nov 11, 2016
Earlier this year, shortly after the release of the first Ultra HD (UHD) Blu-ray Disc player from Samsung, I wrote about the challenges of getting the player's full-bandwidth video signals to travel over longer distances in “UHD Blu-ray vs. HDMI: Let the Battle Begin”. Unfortunately, nearly 8 months later, consumers whose displays are more than 15 feet away from the Samsung UBD-K8500 are still in a pickle when it comes to choosing the proper HDMI cable to get the menu screen to properly come up on screen.

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