Audio Video News

ACCELL ULTRAAV 5x1 HDMI SWITCH

Got four or five HDMI components but only a couple of HDMI inputs on your TV or projector? No problem. Accell’s UltraAV lets you manually switch between up to five HDMI sources using buttons on its front panel or the supplied remote control. If you prefer autopilot, the switcher will detect the active input and switch to it automatically. Resolutions up to 1080p are supported, and maximum throughput is 6.75 Gbps.

Bonus Booster: A built-in signal repeater regenerates the audio/video signal, allowing it to be shuttled over a cable up to 49 feet long—perfect for when your component stack is on the other side of a huge room or tucked away in a basement closet. Price: $90

Accell • (877) 353-0772 • accellcables.com

In a surprising move, Japanese competitors Panasonic and Sony announced in a press release today that they have signed an agreement to collaborate on the development of OLED (organic light-emitting diode) panels for TVs and other large-size displays. The companies intend to establish mass-production technology during 2013 by integrating their individual strengths to improve the efficiency of development.

A wireless HDMI kit can be helpful for getting the signal from a cable box or AVR situated in a cabinet, or just across the room, to your primary display or a second TV in another area. IOGear’s entry has two switchable HDMI inputs that pass up to 1080p and 3D video, along with 5.1 digital audio through walls or other solid objects. Range is said to be up to 100 feet in ideal conditions.

For an upscale night out at the movies without sacrificing your audio or video standards, Living Room Theaters in Portland, Oregon, is the ticket. The sophisticated cinema—housed in a historic building—blends ambiance, seating, service, and décor with cutting-edge technology.

Today, Samsung revealed more details about its 2012 TV lineup at a press conference in New York. Seeing as how Tom Norton and I are based in Los Angeles, the company was kind enough to bring us up to speed at its QA Lab before the NY event, placing the info under embargo until now.

Actually, most of the info is not new—it was first presented at CES in January. But there was one bit of real news not available at CES—pricing and availability.

It’s always a blast around here to take a look back and see which of the hundred or so components we’ve reviewed in the last year really rose to the top. Of course, the best of these end up on our Top Picks list, but like watching a good movie whose message or performances resonate in the days and months that follow, there are always a few pieces of gear that prove themselves to be just a little more special over time.

As the song says, it's the most wonderful time of the year—or the most dreadful, depending on whether or not you plan to join the buying frenzy on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving and the traditional start of the holiday shopping season. Many stores open at an ungodly hour and offer seemingly outrageous deals on certain products to get people in the door, hoping that they'll buy more than they bargained for and put the store's accounts in the black for the year, which is why it's called Black Friday—either that, or it might be due to all the black eyes resulting from fights over the last remaining $40 Blu-ray player.

Scanning some of the myriad Black Friday websites—my favorite is bfads.net because you can search by product category from multiple retailers—I found a few great deals on home theater gear. In many cases, however, these products are already available at less than the MSRP (manufacturer's suggested retail price), so the savings I cite here might not be as great as they appear. I've included links to HT's reviews of the same or similar items if available, so let your mouse do the clicking before you venture forth to battle the hordes.