Home Cinema Choice Feb-18

In the consumer electronics world, every New Year begins with CES – the Las Vegas-based technology expo that seems to get bigger and more outlandish each time. Attendees in early January could witness roll-up OLED screens and a new Sony robot dog, amongst other fantastical inventions. Amidst all these headline-grabbing tech concepts are genuine products due to hit stores later this year, and one trend interested me in particular – the wider adoption of full array local dimming (FALD) LED backlights on LCD sets. This is perhaps not as likely to inspire consumers as AI-infused 8K panels, but is obviously beneficial in picture performance terms for the sorts of TVs that shoppers turn to if an OLED display is out of their price range. The latter technology changed the TV…

John Archer: The UK’s most experienced TV tester cut his teeth as an early HCC staffer Jon Thompson: Film producer and post-production expert delves deep into Hollywood and AV Steve May: HCC’s former Editor-in-Chief is one of the UK’s most respected AV journos Martin Pipe: Technical expert Martin is renown throughout the home cinema industry Richard Stevenson: Industry veteran and former Editor of UK CE trade journal ERT Danny Phillips: A former editor of What Video magazine, now a certified home cinema audio buff…

News highlights SVS 4000 Series unleashes sealed, ported and cylinder subs DAMSON AUDIO Wireless, compact Atmos package hits UK 4K RECORDING BDA adds archiving to UHD spec CES 2018 From monster TVs to short-throw 4K projectors NEWS X10 The hottest news stories in bite-sized chunks JIGSAW Franchise returns for UHD Blu-ray scares & MORE! 4K for all Vivitek HK2288 → www.karma-av.co.uk Shoppers for 4K DLP projectors have a new model to consider in the shape of Vivitek's £2,500 HK2288. This compact single-chip design offers HDR10 playback, a claimed 2,000 Lumens brightness, and a throw ratio of 1.39-2.09:1 through its 1.5x zoom. Additional setup flexibility comes via vertical lens shift, gamma and colour management tools and the PJ's trio of HDMI 2.0 inputs. It's available now, in black and white finishes.…

SVS 4000 Series → www.svsound.com Now lurking menacingly at an AV dealer near you are SVS's latest home cinema subwoofers. The 4000 Series arrives in sealed, ported and cylinder enclosures (pictured, left to right), with 13.5in highexcursion drivers and 1,200W RMS Class D amplifiers employed across the trio. Technology and design has trickled down from the brand's award-winning 16-Ultra series, including SVS's control/EQ app for in-room tuning. Pricing is £1,800 (SB-4000), £2,250 (PB-4000) and £2,000 (PC-4000).…

Cambridge Audio has rounded out its Yoyo range of wireless speakers with the Yoyo L. The largest model in the lineup, and selling now for around £350, this grey cloth-wrapped speaker features full-range drivers and subwoofer units in its front, left and right sides, with performance polished via Waves Maxx Audio DSP. Physical inputs include HDMI ARC, 3.5mm and optical digital audio; Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Spotify Connect and Chromecast Built-In are on the streaming spec sheet. www.cambridgeaudio.com…

The Blu-ray Disc Association has confirmed that a recordable version of the 4K Blu-ray format is in development. The specification has been ratified, and the new format will be available for licensing during 2018. The next-generation broadcast-recordable Blu-ray Disc format will be launched in the Japanese market, in time for users to record and archive the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in UHD resolution. Japan has always been a stronghold for physical media and recordable discs, where Blu-ray recorders have always outsold standalone players and still represent almost 75 per cent of the Japanese Blu-ray hardware market. The format is designed to support off-air recording of UHD broadcasts, including HLG HDR. It's also expected to be backwards-compatible with existing 4K and 2K discs. The BDA says it is working with industry…