Thomas J. Norton

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A/V Veteran
Trailer Park
Thomas J. Norton  |  Apr 21, 2006

I always find it odd when they refer to movie <I>previews</I> (what everyone I knew called them when I was growing up in Connecticut) as <I>trailers</I>. Trailers (okay, I surrender) are mini movies, assembled for one purpose: to put asses (pun not…oh, never mind) in the seats for the film itself.

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A/V Veteran
Transforming the Transformers
Thomas J. Norton  |  Oct 10, 2017
An unexpected copy of the 4K Ultra HD release of Transformers: The Last Knight flew over my transom last week. This fifth entry may well set a new bar for mindless action punctuated by cringe-worthy humor but it's filled with exceptional eye candy...
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CEDIA 2015
Trinnov Aims High with Surround Processor
Thomas J. Norton  |  Oct 17, 2015
The Trinnov preamp-processor definitely falls into the "if you have to ask" category. But as long as you're asking, $17,000 will get you a version with 8 outputs and $21,000 will give you 16...
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Trolls
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jul 14, 2017
Picture
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Extras
There are many definitions of a troll, but as they appear here, in a form first conceived by a Danish woodcarver in 1959 (and subsequently as popular toys), they’re tiny, cute creatures with spiky, multicolored hair who do little besides sing, dance, hug, and party. The miserable Bergens, their enemies, believe that by eating a Troll they can be happy—at least for a day.
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CEDIA 2016
TruAudio Pendant Speakers Hang from the Ceiling
Thomas J. Norton  |  Sep 16, 2016
In-wall, on-wall, and other such custom installation products are a staple at CEDIA. Free-standing speakers? Not so much. Though there’s an ample supply of those (some of which we’ve written up in other show blogs), CES in January is where new box speakers go to be launched.

TruAudio’s BD-8 WT/BK encloses its 2-way speaker in a pendant designed to be hung from the ceiling...

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AV GlossaryOther Tech
Tune In, Turn Down, Turn On!
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jul 14, 2009
THX, Dolby, and Audyssey deliver reference-level punch at lower volumes.

You know the drill. You’re just getting into the latest action blockbuster on your new home theater rig when a still, small voice wafts gently into your SPL-addled ear. “Isn’t that a bit loud?” Or perhaps the voice comes screeching in from another room. “I can’t hear myself think in here.” Or there’s a knock at the front door from the men in blue, demanding that you surrender your assault rifle in exchange for a fun stay in the slam with Tony the Hammer.

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A/V Veteran
Turkey Day & Fixing the Inevitable HDTV Stretch
Thomas J. Norton  |  Nov 24, 2015
So you’ve got plans to go over the river and through the woods for that sleep-inducing turkey dinner. But the day won’t be complete without you later getting as bloated on football as on the banquet stuffing. After the feast everyone will sit down to see the MaciNacs of Mackenna Tech take on the Okidokes of Northwest Virginia A&T.

But as soon as you sit down in front of the TV you see something amiss. The Nacs and Dokes, normally the smallest players in the Little 7 Conference, look like wide-bodied extras from Lord of the Dwarfs: The Return of Gimli (I hope I’m not giving Peter Jackson any ideas).

You, our hawkeyed video purist, spots the problem immediately...

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Tut
Thomas J. Norton  |  Feb 16, 2016
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Extras
Egyptian history is astonishingly long by modern standards. The pharaoh Tutankhamun lived roughly 13 centuries after the pyramids were built, and another 13 centuries would pass before Cleopatra friended an asp.

The plot of this two-disc, 4.5-hour miniseries is centered on the limited facts we know about Tut. He was the son of Akhenaten, whose worship of the sun god Aton and rejection of Egypt’s traditional deities nearly tore the country apart. Tut became pharaoh around age nine and eventually restored the old gods and stabilized the kingdom. But by the time of his death at a young 19, he had failed to produce an heir by his wife and half-sister Ankhesenamun.

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A/V Veteran
TV at CES 2019, The Sequel
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jan 29, 2019
With apologies to Samsung and a few others who haven’t made the OLED plunge, and show no signs of doing so, OLED remains today’s hottest flat screen technology. But the battle continues as UHDTV manufacturers scramble to take the next big technological leap. That will likely be Micro LED...
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A/V Veteran
TV Calibration vs. Auto-Calibration: What's the Difference?
Thomas J. Norton  |  Dec 28, 2021
The discussion here was inspired by a letter from a reader. He noted that in a recent review I mentioned that the set in question offered auto calibration. But the remainder of the letter suggested that my comment was misunderstood (or perhaps not precise enough to begin with). In the review/calibration/video-crazy business world, auto-cal refers to a specialized subroutine in a standard calibration program such as Calman from Portrait Displays. A different version of this subroutine exists for each brand/model of TV, and perhaps even for each year of each brand/model. Once set up it's fast and accurate. But this auto-cal requires the same expensive test gear and calibrator training as any manual calibration...
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