Tom Norton

4K TV Reviews
TCL 85" QM8 Mini LED QLED 4K TV Review
Tom Norton  |  Sep 05, 2023  |  0 comments

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $2,800

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Screen size
Black levels
Price
Minus
Limited off-center viewing
Cluttered remote

THE VERDICT
The TCL 85QM8 has a few annoying ergonomic issues, and like most LED/LCD sets its off-center viewing won't challenge an OLED. But its performance is impressive, and its price unexpectedly affordable. Properly adjusted, and on source material ranging from the routine to the awesomely difficult, its performance was consistently irresistible.

One significant difference between building a home theater around a video projector or a conventional flat-screen television has been image size. Projector fans will point to the immersion that big-screen projection offers, with the screen size limited mainly by your available space, imagination, and budget. Until recently, however, TVs bigger than 65-inches were priced beyond the means of most consumers.

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4K TV ReviewsOLED TV ReviewsTV Reviews
LG G3 OLED Evo 4K TV Review
Tom Norton  |  May 17, 2023  |  5 comments

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $3,299

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Stunning brightness
Excellent color
Outstanding blacks
Minus
Cluttered WebOS
Little else

THE VERDICT
Today’s best HDTVs are sure to more than satisfy even the most critical buyer. That goes double for 2023 LG’s G3. Despite a few ergonomic quirks (a personal call, to be sure), it makes a strong case for itself as it jostles for the top of the hill as the best 4K HDTV on the market.

This is the third edition of LG's Gallery Edition OLED, replacing last year's 65-inch G2.

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A/V Veteran
Audio Grins
Tom Norton  |  Mar 28, 2023  |  2 comments
Cartoon by Charles Rodrigues.

In a flash of inspiration last week I decided it was time to sort through the mass of paperwork squirrelled away in my office. That’s when I discovered a long-forgotten folder labeled “Humor”…

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A/V Veteran
’Tis the Season for Christmas Movies
Tom Norton  |  Dec 21, 2022  |  1 comments
Christmas! Chestnuts roasting on an open fire (hopefully in a fireplace). Jack Frost nipping at your nose. And lots of Christmas movies. Here are a few of my favorites.
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A/V Veteran
Exploring the Early Days of Home Hi-Fi
Tom Norton  |  Dec 07, 2022  |  9 comments
A few years ago a friend acquired a heavy, bound volume of all of Audio magazine's 1960 issues. Riffling through the issues was fascinating as writers dealt with the introduction of the stereo LP and the associated equipment needed to create 2-channel stereophonic sound, which represented a significant leap over the single-channel mono format. Let’s see what else those early days of home hi-fi reveal.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The War of the Worlds
Tom Norton  |  Nov 25, 2022  |  0 comments
Picture
Sound
Extras
The War of the Worlds was a huge movie hit in 1953, based loosely on H.G. Wells 1898 classic novel of an invasion from Mars. We're at the center of the action during our military's initial encounter with the Martians' unstoppable machines (the latter very different from Wells' tripod conception). Later we're trapped in a trashed farmhouse and get a frightening glimpse of a live Martian. In a gripping conclusion, the Martians appear on the verge of total victory.
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A/V Veteran
IMAX Enhanced: IMAX Comes Home
Tom Norton  |  Dec 14, 2021  |  3 comments
IMAX, as most people experience it, is a high quality movie format used in specialized theaters worldwide. But its history, and development, is complicated. Here's the low-down on a relatively new home theater format that trades on the IMAX name.
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A/V Veteran
How to Train Your Drogon
Tom Norton  |  May 23, 2019  |  0 comments
If you don’t understand the pun above, don’t be confused. Even though 30 million viewers in the U.S., and untold millions more around the world, watched every one of the over 70 episodes of HBO’s remarkable series Game of Thrones, most of the world remains oblivious to this noteworthy achievement — or perhaps actively avoiding it…
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A/V Veteran
Sony Stages Stunning Demos of its 2019 TV Lineup
Tom Norton  |  May 07, 2019  |  2 comments
Sony recently invited journalists to its New York City facilities to brief us on the company’s 2019 TV product strategy, along with comparative demonstrations against the best offerings of its key competitors.
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A/V Veteran
AXPONA 2019: A Guide to the Best Sound
Tom Norton  |  Apr 23, 2019  |  1 comments
The annual Audio Expo North America (AXPONA) show in Chicago has exploded into the biggest audio show in North America. 2019 was my first experience there, and it lived up to its reputation. The only show that’s now bigger, based on the number of exhibitors (though I understand it’s heavy on static displays), is May’s Munich show in Germany.
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