Home Cinema Choice January 2017

Once again we're bringing an end to the year with a special issue looking back at the hardware and software that blew us away over the past twelve months. Our reviews section (beginning on p37) covers everything from 4K screens and players to amps, projectors, speakers, soundbars and more, while our Movie Awards (p25) has a software slant. 2016 will go down in AV history as the year that 4K moved from minor curiosity to mainstream tech. And next year will see more developments, more displays, more players and more movies. Things will get better for telly addicts, too, with Virgin Media's new TiVo box letting you record six channels while watching a seventh. Of course, this raises the question of whether there's ever seven things worth watching being broadcast…

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 Adrian Justins: Made his name as the editor of What Video & TV and What Home Cinema…

Bluesound Pulse Soundbar ➜ www.bluesound.com The latest addition to Bluesound's multiroom range, the £1,000 Pulse Soundbar uses a six-strong driver array (arranged in a stereo configuration), plus two additional passive radiators, and was 'voiced' at Canada's National Research Council by speaker engineer Paul Barton. However, the real standout feature for audiophiles is the inclusion of Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet alongside the ubiquitous aptX Bluetooth, allowing the 'bar to offer hi-res audio streaming (to 24-bit/192kHz) and playback of MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) fIles. HCC ONLINE For breaking AV news, blogs, features and reviews visit www.homecinemachoice.com Follow us on Twitter @hccmag Like us on Facebook facebook.com/homecinemachoice…

Teufel Theatre Series ➜ www.teufelaudio.co.uk McIntosh updates AV processor While McIntosh's smart-looking, high-end MX122 AV Processor offered Dolby Atmos out of the box when it was released earlier this year, support for other 3D audio formats was lacking. Thankfully, that has all changed with a free firmware update that adds compatibility with DTS:X and Auro-3D to McIntosh's AV behemoth, as well as other unspecified 'minor improvements'. The McIntosh MX122 is distributed in the UK by Jordan Acoustics, priced around £7,000. www.jordanacoustics.co.uk Innovative 'bar offers EQ tool  British loudspeaker brand Q Acoustics has added a new £300 soundbar to its product portfolio. The M3 is the first of its 'bars to employ the company's MoviEQ functionality, which lets you switch between two predetermined equaliser settings; one designed for standard TV viewing,…

You View is evolving. The UK's first over-the-air/internet-delivered television service is moving to 'the cloud' and will be introducing a raft of new features in the process. 'We approached this with a "leave no box behind" mentality,' Richard Halton, YouView CEO, told HCC. 'So regardless if your box is one of the original 2012 Humax models or a 4K BT UHD box, you'll get Next Generation You View. We'll be bringing the update to 2.5 million You View homes.' Currently the only exception to this huge roll-out looks likely to be the You View app on Sony TVs. 'We're talking to Sony about how we refresh their TVs. They're on a different development cycle. We're going to talk to them about their appetite for this.' New look, new features You…

Samsung Electronics has agreed to buy out Harman International Industries in a mega-deal that should help the Korean firm expand into the lucrative automotive tech market. However, as Harman is also the parent corp for renowned AV brands including Mark Levinson, JBL, Harman/Kardon, AKG, Infinity and Revel, it should have a knock-on effect in other areas, too. 'The transaction will immediately give Samsung a significant presence in the large and rapidly growing market for connected technologies, particularly automotive electronics, which is expected to grow to more than $100billion by 2025,' said Harman when confirming the deal. Approximately 65 per cent of Harman's 2015-2016 sales were 'automotive-related.' 'Harman perfectly complements Samsung in terms of technologies, products and solutions,' explains Oh-Hyun Kwon, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Samsung Electronics. 'As…