Audio Video News

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The S&V InterviewAudio Video News
NextGen TV: A Progress Report
Bob Ankosko  |  Oct 22, 2020  | 
15 Minutes with ATSC President Madeleine Noland

Most Americans don’t know it yet but NextGen TV is already on the air in many markets across the country with dozens more gearing up to launch the service in the coming year. NextGen TV, also known by the technical name ATSC 3.0, greatly expands on the capabilities of the ATSC 1.0 standard that put HDTV on the air 20 years ago. In addition to enabling broadcasters to deliver free, over-the-air access to 4K Ultra HD programming with high-dynamic range (HDR), enhanced color, and immersive surround sound, NextGen TV also allows them to stream local content such as news, weather, and sports updates as well as offer features that enable viewers to personalize and customize that content. A lot has happened since we spoke with Mark Richer, president of the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC), back in 2017, so we sat down with his successor Madeleine Noland to get an update on how things are progressing with the new TV broadcasting system and what we can expect in the near future.

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Audio Video News
Best Speakers of 2020 (So Far)
Bob Ankosko  |  Oct 15, 2020  | 
It’s pretty simple: If you don’t have good speakers, you don’t have a good sound system. Sorry to be so blunt, but speakers — more than any other component in the audio chain — play a crucial role in shaping the tonal character of the music they’re reproducing. If you decide it’s time to upgrade, here are 17 of the best speaker systems Sound & Vision has reviewed so far in 2020.
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Audio Video News
The Eruption of Eddie Van Halen
Mike Mettler  |  Oct 07, 2020  | 
It only took Eddie Van Halen 102 seconds to change the face, sound, and scope of rock guitar forever.

The first time any of us dropped the needle on “Eruption,” the onomatopoeic 1:42 instrumental that served as the literally explosive second track on Van Halen’s self-titled February 1978 debut album, we knew instantly that rock & roll had turned yet another corner. During the pop-music malaise of the late-1970s, wherein the razor-edge ethos of punk and seemingly endless days/nights of disco had already upset the bloated rock applecart, Eddie Van Halen shifted the narrative back to the value of the virtuoso musician in ways not seen in almost a decade.

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Audio Video News
Audio Advice Launches Interactive Home Theater Design Tool
Al Griffin  |  Aug 31, 2020  | 
A/V retailer and e-commerce site Audio Advice has introduced Home Theater Designer, an interactive 3D design tool that lets consumers model a virtual home theater system. Users simply enter their room’s dimensions, and the tool helps them to create a three-dimensional visualization of an optimized A/V space complete with speakers, TV or projector, and seating. The Home Theater Designer is available for free on the Audio Advice website.
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Audio Video News
Best Gear of Summer 2020
Bob Ankosko  |  Aug 27, 2020  | 
We spotlight 13 products that made Sound & Vision’s Top Pick list over the past three months, starting with affordable noise-canceling earbuds from an unexpected source and ending with a super-refined speaker system for enthusiasts seeking the very best in music and movie reproduction. In between, you’ll find an eclectic mix of soundbars and speaker systems, affordable 4K TVs, and a home-theater amplifier that delivers an insane amount of power from a surprisingly compact chassis.
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Audio Video News
Best Gear You Can Buy for Under $1,000
Bob Ankosko  |  Aug 20, 2020  | 
Despite all of its many challenges, 2020 has so far proven to be a good year for affordable A/V gear. To illustrate the point, we’ve gathered up a couple dozen recent examples — all Sound & Vision Top Picks — and included a few picks from late 2019 as well. To make it easier to browse, we’ve divided the listings into seven categories: Speakers with seven entries, Soundbars (four entries), Subwoofers (three entries), TVs and Source Components (four entries), Receivers & Integrated Amplifiers (two entries), Headphones (three entries), and Accessories (one entry). Will you find your next acquisition on one of the five pages that follow? Read on to find out.
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Audio Video News
SVS Virtual Audiophile Happy Hour with Sandy Gross
SV Staff  |  Aug 18, 2020  | 
The SVS Virtual Audiophile Happy Hour is back and the guest this week is among the most well-known figures in the world of audio. This Thursday, August 20 at 6 p.m. ET, SVS President Gary Yacoubian, National Training Manager Larry McGough, and Vice President Nick Brown will go unscripted and broadcast live on the SVS Facebook page and YouTube channel to discuss favorite demos, answer questions about audio and home theater, and give away some SVS products.
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Audio Video News
Sony Designates TVs as ‘Ready for PlayStation Five’
Al Griffin  |  Aug 03, 2020  | 
With Sony readying its long-awaited PlayStation 5, the company’s TV and Interactive Entertainment divisions have teamed up to create a ‘Ready for PlayStation Five’ designation for specific 2020 TV models. According to the company’s press release, the tagline will “make it easier for consumers to select the optimum TV in preparation for the highly anticipated launch of the PlayStation 5 (PS5), the next-generation game console releasing this holiday season.”
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Audio Video News
Best Gear of July 2020
Bob Ankosko  |  Jul 30, 2020  | 
At Sound & Vision we celebrated our own special brand of fireworks in July with a handful of Top Picks that command the attention A/V enthusiasts. From a super well-executed soundbar and crème de la crème suite of home theater speakers to one of the best (and most affordable) OLED TVs on the planet, we present five Stars of the Summer of 2020 — a time we will remember for years to come. Kick back, grab a beer or glass of wine, and see which of these gems inspire you. We’re confident that at least one of them will. Here’s to an enjoyable summer, whether you’re staying home or embarking on a much-needed vacation getaway.
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Audio Video News
CES Goes All-Digital for 2021
Al Griffin  |  Jul 28, 2020  | 
When Emerald recently announced that the annual September CEDIA Expo would be canceled due to Covid-19 concerns, our next thought after taking that news in was, “What about CES?” Well, the answer to that question came today with the Consumer Technology Association’s announcement that its 2021 tech-fest, scheduled for January 6-9, will be an “all-digital experience.”
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Audio Video News
Qobuz Is Giving Away High-Res Music
Al Griffin  |  Jul 27, 2020  | 
Back in the Napster and LimeWire glory days when I first started listening to music using a computer, “download” and “free” were basically synonymous. With the arrival of iTunes, the paradigm shifted to having to pay actual money for compressed downloads of albums and individual tracks, and HDtracks later upped the ante with uncompressed, high-res music downloads.
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New Products
NAD Prepares to Ship M33 Streaming DAC/Amp
Al Griffin  |  Jul 21, 2020  | 
A predictable effect of the pandemic on the A/V world has been a slowdown in shipments of new gear shown at CES that typically would have arrived by spring or early summer. One example: NAD’s M33 Masters BluOS Streaming DAC/Amp, which we had reported on at CES 2020. NAD’s eagerly awaited new $4,999 streaming amp was originally supposed to ship in March/April but is now scheduled to arrive in North America in late August. Better late than never!
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Audio Video News
NJ Record Shop Is Home to Many Classic Gems
Bob Ankosko  |  Jul 16, 2020  | 
Darren Revilla is an avid collector of vinyl LPs and vintage audio gear. If you’re looking for an album from an obscure band no one (except collectors) has ever heard of, he’s the guy you ask. He’s also the owner of Revilla Grooves and Gear, the retro-cool shop specializing in vinyl LPs and vintage audio gear he opened five years ago in the heart of Milltown, New Jersey, 15 minutes from the main campus of Rutgers University in neighboring New Brunswick.
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New Products
JBL Conceal Series Invisible Speakers Now Available
Al Griffin  |  Jul 13, 2020  | 
Harman Luxury Audio has announced that the JBL Conceal Series invisible loudspeakers the group first displayed at CEDIA 2019 are now available.
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New Products
Polk Audio Introduces $499 MagniFi 2 Soundbar
Al Griffin  |  Jul 10, 2020  | 
The latest soundbar to emerge from Polk Audio is the $499 MagniFi 2, a 2.1 model featuring a six-driver array (four 1-inch by 3-inch full-range drivers, two 0.75-inch tweeters) and an 8-inch ported wireless subwoofer. It also features Chromecast built-in and Bluetooth for audio streaming. But what’s most notable about the MagniFi 2—aside from its affordable price—is the inclusion of the company’s patented Stereo Dimensional Array (SDA) technology, along with a new 3D Audio Mode that works with SDA tech to “create even more convincing immersive surround and height effects,” according to the company.
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