Home Cinema Choice December 2012

Oppo BDP-103EU → www.oppo-bluray.co.uk → NEWS HIGHLIGHTS VIEWSONIC Full HD LED/laser hybrid projector unveiled FREESAT Second-generation Freetime service takes on YouView and TiVo BOWERS & WILKINS New wireless docks join Zeppelin Air PLAYLIST What we’ve been watching this month NEWS X 10 The hottest news stories in bite-size chunks ICE AGE 4: CONTINENTAL DRIFT More snow-bound 3D BD action AND MUCH MORE! Oppo has built itself a great reputation amongst techhedz thanks to its range of Blu-ray players that mix premium performance with quality construction and useful bonus features – and the new BDP-103EU looks set to continue that tradition. This £500 universal player brings 4K upscaling, Netflix access and twin HDMI inputs to the table – the latter allowing users to run external sources, such as set-top-boxes and smartphones,…

GoldenEar Technology SuperCinema 50 → www.goldenear.com Launched in the US in 2010, GoldenEar Technology’s speakers are now available on this side of the Atlantic thanks to UK distributor Karma-AV. Our pick of the company’s home cinema systems is the £2,750 SuperCinema 50, consisting of two SuperSat 50 floorstanders just 60mm deep, the equally slender SuperSat 50C centre channel, two SuperSat 3 satellites and the ForceField 4 1200W subwoofer, which packs a long-throw 10in driver into its angular cabinet and can hook up to an optional wireless kit. Look out for a review soon.…

A quarter of a century after it was founded, display specialist ViewSonic finds itself having to look outside of its traditional comfort zone as the market changes around it. Best known for producing LCD monitors, the company is now starting to take the home cinema projector category more seriously than ever before in an effort to boost its growth. ’Basically, our business is all about LCD computer displays, but the size of that market is declining,’ Mark Lufkin, Managing Director, ViewSonic Europe, told HCC during a recent visit to the company’s UK HQ. ’Projectors are growing as a business… and although the biggest driver is the education sector, we are also seeing significant growth in the home segment. We are seeing increased demand for projectors in homes as the technology…

The Cabin in the Woods (Region B BD) This very witty and extremely clever homage to the horror genre challenged for the top spot in our Top 20 this issue. Did it make it? Turn to p31 to find out. Battleship (All-region BD) It may be irredeemably stupid, but this board game adaptation also delivers some of the finest hi-def AV we’ve experienced all year. Community: Season 2 (R2 DVD) Okay, we’re still a year behind the US, but that doesn’t stop this being one of the best sitcoms around, packed full of geeky film jokes. The Raid (Region B BD) The Raid delivers more hard-hitting action than the entire Die Hard Quadrilogy boxset. Possibly. Buy it now if you haven’t already. Panty & Stocking with Garter Belt (R2 DVD)…

Meridian Audio has introduced a new range of in-wall loudspeakers for enthusiasts who like to give their home cinema rooms a more minimalist feel. The first models in the range are the DSP520, DSP630 and the DSW600 in-wall subwoofer. The company says that the range draws inspiration from its earlier M6 loudspeaker, with the DSP520 boasting comparable performance thanks to the use of the same 140mm bass driver and 85mm wide-range driver. Prices for the speakers have yet to be announced. www.meridian-audio.com…

Denon has announced a new £900 high-end universal Blu-ray transport aimed at ’the most demanding home theatre enthusiasts’. Available in a choice of silver and black finishes, the DBT-3313UD has been designed as an aesthetic and technological match for the recent AVR-3313. Features include Denon Link HD to reduce jitter, a fully-shielded loader mechanism to suppress vibration, DLNA support for network streaming and connected functionality including YouTube and Netflix. www.denon.co.uk…