A recent survey in the AVS Forum about choosing between a flat screen TV and a projector rang a few bells for me. Having just acquired a 65-inch OLED as my reference display, and having recently completed reviews of three new projectors (with a fourth now underway), it’s not a decision I have to wrestle with. For what I do, I need both. But many of you, at one time or another, may have to choose. And with Black Friday (or Cyber Monday) barreling toward us you can use all the information you can get.
Most will choose the flat screen Ultra HDTV. And they’ll inevitably buy an Ultra HD set rather than 1080p HD because the time’s now long past when you can find a good 65-inch or larger set that isn’t Ultra HD. And for a home theater, where movies are king, a 65-incher is likely what you’re looking for...
Every time we get a new video format, studios seem to see it as an excuse to sell their movies all over again to enthusiasts. And we buy them. But is the transition to Ultra HD Blu-ray somehow different?
AT A GLANCE Plus
Excellent contrast
Superb color and resolution
Looks good from every angle
Unique panel-based sound system
Minus
No color management system
Some white clipping
THE VERDICT
While it might appear that OLED UHDTVs are popping up everywhere, the most visible supplier to date has been LG. But Sony, by acquiring OLED panels from LG and adding its own electronics, processing, styling, and unique features, has jumped into the fray, landing firmly on both feet with a solid performer.
Sony’s new OLEDs (the 65-incher reviewed here has a 55-inch sibling, and a 77-incher will be available by press time) haven’t yet taken pride of place at the top of Sony’s TV lineup. That honor belongs to the Z9D (Sound & Vision, January 2017 and soundandvision.com), now spruced up with the imminent addition (as I write) of Dolby Vision for 2017. But you might think of the OLEDs as stepping stones to Sony’s future in self-emissive displays—the spectacular, commercially oriented, and wall-sized CLEDIS LED display Sony demonstrated at the 2017 CES comes to mind. But that’s the future. Sony’s OLEDs are now. As of today, Sony’s OLED implementation uses a panel supplied by LG (but with Sony’s own secret processing sauce). At its press-time street price of about $4,000 in the 65-inch version, it was roughly comparable, if not a touch less expensive, than LG’s own like-sized C7P model.
It’s 1973, and a U.S. survey and mapping expedition, supported by an Army helicopter unit recently released from the wind-down of the Vietnam War, heads toward the previously unexplored Skull Island.
If they’d brushed up on their old movies, they wouldn’t have been gobsmacked, and soon simply smacked, when they spot and engage with a really big ape. Big enough to squish all previous versions of the character under his big toe. Big enough to easily challenge the helicopters and crews. I mean really, really big.
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...
Last month I blogged about the color gamuts used for Ultra HD. But there’s always more that needs to be said. So with a little repetition here where unavoidable, or as needed to set the stage, let’s dig a bit deeper.
There’s no such thing as a P3 color gamut in the UHD standards, only BT.2020 (also known as Rec.2020). But there is a DCI/P3 color gamut in the video universe (DCI stands for Digital Cinema Initiative), and it’s used in all digitally projected theatrical presentations (which today means virtually all films in theaters).
Because time is money, film studios use the P3 color gamut today on virtually all of their Ultra HD video releases, since video masters in that gamut already exist. And no consumer displays can do significantly better than P3.
Manufacturers have made much noise about P3, as have we in some cases...
AT A GLANCE Plus
Superb sound
Punches well above its price
Upscale construction and cosmetics
Minus
A touch more top-end air would be welcome
THE VERDICT
With this impressive redesign of the Concerta line, Revel is more than ready to give its competition sleepless nights.
Revel’s new Concerta2 loudspeaker range consists of five models. The M16 bookshelves, C25 center, S16 surrounds, and B10 subwoofer are covered in a separate review due out shortly. There are also two tower models in the group; the F35 employs three 5-inch woofers, while the larger F36, reviewed alone here, uses three 6.5-inch low-frequency drivers. Apart from the woofer and cabinet sizes, the F35 and F36 are similar in concept.