Indholdsfortegnelse for Xmas 2021 i Home Cinema Choice

In this special yearbook issue of Home Cinema Choice, we revisit our favourite AV hardware from the last 12 months, ranging from 4K HDR TVs and projectors, AV receivers and speaker systems, to soundbars, subwoofers and more. And for UK readers, there's also the AV Tech Media Awards supplement, where you'll find our best-in-class selections alongside heroic hi-fi hardware nominated by our sister magazines Hi-Fi News and Hi-Fi Choice. Elsewhere, in addition to our usual roundup of new 4K discs and Blu-rays, our annual Movie Awards (p21) celebrates the best releases of 2021 across Blu-ray, Ultra HD Blu-ray and TV. Spoiler alert: there's a lot of Godzilla vs Kong… Planning to update your own movie room in 2022? Then be sure to also check out this issue's readers' systems (p106),…

The winners of the annual CEDIA EMEA and CEDIA Global awards have been announced, with UK companies once again among the gong-grabbers, alongside integrators from India, the US, South Africa and beyond. The CEDIA awards, which celebrate the work of the custom install industry across dedicated home cinemas, media rooms and smart home projects, were dished out on November 12. UK installer Cinema Lusso, based in Marlow in Buckinghamshire, was crowned the winner in the 'Home Cinema Level I' category for a super-stylish project with seating for six and a 'Scope-ratio projector screen. Its integration of dramatic LED lighting effects around its wall-mounted acoustic panels also helped it snap up the award for 'Best Lighting'. Meanwhile, fellow UK installer SONA was celebrated in the 'Best Integrated Home Level I' category,…

After the near total closure of cinemas around the world in 2020 due to the Covid 19 pandemic, box office numbers for 2021 show signs of industry growth – but gains are marginal at best. At the time of writing in mid-December (in advance of releases for Spider-Man: No Way Home, The Matrix: Resurrections and Steven Spielberg's West Side Story remake), total box office takings in the US stood – according to number-crunching website Box Office Mojo – at approximately $3.614bn. This compares favourably to earnings of $2.1bn in 2020, yet remains down on the figures of 2019 and 2018, which were $11.3bn and $11.9bn respectively. The five biggest films of the year so far Stateside are Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings ($224m), Venom: Let There Be…

WHILE LCD TVS have long had brightness on their side, they’ve had trouble controlling it, something that's become more of a picture quality concern with the step up to HDR content. Enter the QE65QN95A, Samsung's first TV to utilise Mini LED technology. Mini LED TVs do away with the usual lens and packaging associated with regular LED backlights, allowing many more of them to be fitted behind an LCD panel. This opens the door to finer control over how much light is fed to different parts of the picture, provided the TV has the processing power and analysis tools to drive such a system effectively. It also enables a design rethink; the 65QN95A is much trimmer than its recent predecessors. The frame around the screen is vanishingly narrow, too, while…

THERE’S A PARTICULAR sequence in Shadow and Bone, the Netflix fantasy series, that neatly sums up the talents of LG’s C1 OLED TV. When the sand boat enters the The Fold, a stygian expanse created by dark magic, winged creatures swoop down onto a sailor foolishly brandishing a brightly burning lamp. Leathery wings cut through the dark – and then the Sun Summoner lets rip… Deep black level, revelatory shadow detail, cinematic motion, HDR peak highlights and halo management are all ticked off in a matter of minutes. Job done. It really doesn’t take long at all to confirm that the C1 is a ludicrously accomplished OLED flatscreen. It could even be, pound for pound, the best display yet made by LG. At the C1’s heart is a suite of…

FOLLOWING RAVE REVIEWS in HCC for its VW590ES, VW790ES and VW890ES native 4K projectors, can Sony earn a clean sweep with the final model from the range, the VPL-VW290ES? At £5,500, this is easily the cheapest of its 4K quartet, raising questions of whether it can still deliver the benefits of Sony’s Dynamic HDR Enhancer processing tech. This works with the PJ’s iris control to, essentially, optimise the contrast of any given HDR shot by making the dark bits look darker while the bright bits look lighter. It sounds simple, but is in fact very clever. Design-wise the signs are promising that this beamer won’t fall too short of its more expensive brethren. It’s exactly the same size and weight as the excellent step-up VW590ES (HCC #318). It also carries the…

BENQ’S V7050i (OR V7000i if you decide to opt for the white version) is the projector corp’s latest UST model, and an update on 2020’s V6000/6050. Promising quick-fire installation, bigscreen entertainment and integrated smarts, it wants to relegate your flatscreen TV to runner-up status. Not much has changed physically from last year to now. Like its forebear, the V7050i manages to turn its rectangular cabinet into something approaching a work of art. There’s a cloth grille on its front fascia, funky-looking vents on the sides, and an automatic sunroof that, when the PJ is powered up, glides back to reveal the lens installation underneath. Power down and it returns to its original position. Once again, the projector uses a laser light source in conjunction with a single-chip (non-native) 4K DLP…

AT THE TOP of Sony’s native 4K projector lineup, by some distance, you'll find the VPL-VW890ES. At £25,000, it sells for more than double the price of the also laser-based VW790ES (HCC #316), and once again uses the brand’s X1 For Projector processor. So what, exactly, sets it apart from the cheaper model? First, there’s the lens, which uses Sony’s ARC-F (All Range Crisp Focus) glass. This aims to ensure the full benefit of the projector’s 4K resolution arrives on your screen, via an 18-element, 15-group all-glass construction. The claimed result is a consistent performance across the projector’s full colour spectrum with no ‘fringing’ around high-contrast transitions. The lens system also combines a ‘floating’ group of elements at the front of the array that combine with a second, separate group…

ANTHEM’S RANGE OF processors and AVRs has finally been updated, and at some point in the past five years it looks like the Canadian manufacturer drew inspiration from the Scandinavians. The new models are elegant, minimalist, and a definite step up from the dated appearance of the previous generation. The new lineup is headlined by two 15-channel processors, followed by three AV 'receivers' (there’s no radio tuner onboard). All have many of the same features, including decoding for Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and IMAX Enhanced, support for AirPlay 2, Chromecast, Spotify Connect and Roon, plus Anthem’s excellent ARC Genesis room correction. Tested here is the mid-range, seven-channel MRX 740 AVR. The new look is a two-tone winner, with the left side of the receiver’s fascia finished in black glass, while the…

IT WAS ONLY in 2020 that Monitor Audio, a company with a keen interest in home cinema and a habit of selling loudspeakers to cover all bases, stepped into the Dolby Atmos arena. Its Bronze Series debuts its first Atmos upfiring module – the Bronze AMS – alongside plenty of other options to build a system. Ranked below the Silver, Gold and Platinum lines, Bronze is positioned as a high-quality range for those still shopping on a budget ('democratically priced' is the brand’s description). The package price of the 5.1.2 system reviewed here approaches £2,000, but remember you're getting eight cabinets – including a pair of handsome floorstanders. We're now into the sixth generation of MA’s Bronze Series, and there have been substantial revisions since the 5G range. These include…

PIEGA’S ACE 50 floorstander will have instant appeal to many. Standing just over a metre high, and with its curved, almost cylindrical aluminium cabinet measuring just 14cm wide, it’s the sort of loudspeaker that can be installed where many others can't. Importantly, however, it has a grown-up specification, as signified by its £1,980-per-pair ticket. The promise is of style and substance. Because the speaker comes with its grilles pre-attached and removing them is a very tricky affair, you might never lay eyes on the driver array. This would be a shame, however, as it gives you an idea of where your money has been spent. First thing to note is that the Ace 50 is a three-way model, using two 4.75in woofers, one 4.75in mid-range, and a tweeter. And that…

THE PHILIPS FIDELIO B97 soundbar drops deeper than James Cameron chasing the Titanic. You might think the fancy detachable speaker modules that double as wireless rears would be the star of this high-end 'bar, but it’s actually the subwoofer in this twin set that’s the pearl. It delivers profound, subterranean bass, the kind that slams you in the chest. In the Love, Death & Robots episode ‘Automated Customer Service’ (Netflix, Dolby Atmos), a robot vacuum decides to purge a house of all living things, including its elderly resident. The deep thrum the Vacubot makes as it hunts its prey is chilling; I began to fear this smart 'bar might have similarly malicious intent. Death by infrasonics? I can think of worse ways to go. Detached property The B97 is the new…

SOME SOUNDBARS PRIORITISE convenience and price, while others prioritise sound quality, features and versatility. Sony’s new HT-A7000 is very much one of the latter. You know it means business as soon as you clock its size: 1.3m wide and 14cm deep. This immediately raises hopes of a big, authentic audio performance, although bear in mind that it could present a positioning challenge if used with a desktop-mounted TV. Inside the A7000’s lengthy chassis are drivers delivering a 7.1.2 channel count. There are five of Sony’s rectangular X-Balanced units (size unspecified) along the front, joined by a pair of side-firing tweeters. There are then two upfirers in the top edge, plus an integrated subwoofer. Total rated power is 500W. Many models at this price come with an outboard subwoofer and wireless…

LONG-TERM AV FANS will remember Velodyne. Once the go-to for superior, face-melting subwoofers, the US company picked up awards for its range of bassmakers, particularly the flagship DD+ series, which peaked with a terrifying 18in model. Then something weird happened. In the mid-2000s, company founder David Hall began experimenting with driverless car technology and developing LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensors. This put the subwoofer business on the back foot. The product cycles became longer, and new arrivals dried up. Eventually, in 2016, Velodyne LIDAR became a separate operation to Velodyne Acoustics, the latter then sold to German company Audio Reference in 2019. A couple of years on, under the guidance of its new owners, it’s back in business. A new Deep Blue subwoofer series (represented here by the 15in DB-15)…

HAVING TAKEN FOUR years to come up with a sequel to its 4K streaming box, the hope has to be that Apple has delivered a really substantial upgrade. So let’s get right into picking out where the differences lie. The most obvious – and welcome – improvement is the Siri remote control. The track pad at the top of the 2017 Apple TV’s ultra-thin handset was cool, but so fiddly that it probably led to a new generation of swear words. So it’s good to see the simple, effective design of the Apple TV box remaining unchanged, but now partnered by a handset that replaces the old track pad with a ‘click pad’ set around a large circular select button. Seriously: this is so much easier to use that I…

BLUESOUND HAS CARVED itself an enviable niche in the streaming audio market by the simple expedient of fitting its software to an extremely wide selection of products – plus licensing it to other companies – that can be used in multiroom setups, but are just as happy on their own. The latest iteration of the Node (replacing the previous Node 2i but not, for some reason, called ‘Node 3’) is a case in point. It’s perfectly capable of being part of a wider Bluesound ecosystem (where other products include the Vault 2i disc ripper/server, wireless Pulse speakers and even the Pulse soundbar), but just as readily functions as a standalone streamer. The Node's internals stand up to scrutiny. A differential output Texas Instruments PCM5242 DAC allows for conversion of PCM…

RECENTLY, A FRIEND messaged me with what I imagine he hoped was a simple question. What device should he buy to rip/store his CD collection, so he could then listen to all his favourite music in a proposed loft-based 'hi-fi den' without having to get up to swap discs? The answer, it turned out, was that I wasn't sure. Such machines do exist but aren't particularly affordable, partly because they're laden with all manner of extra features that my friend says he wasn't interested in. Take, for example, the B2 CD ripper/player from UK company Brennan, which sells for about £550. This will rip a CD collection to FLAC or MP3, and claims space for up to 10,000 tracks on its internal storage. It also has its own 2 x…

Looking at my spreadsheet, I would add these 3D-movies-with-3D sound to Anton van Beek's list (Feedback, HCC #325): Aquaman; The BFG; Ghost in the Shell; The Great Wall; Jupiter Ascending; Mortal Engines; Passengers; Star Trek Beyond; Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets; and Mad Max: Fury Road. Ion Anton van Beek replies: Thanks Ion. That selection of movies would make for a particularly fun way to pass a weekend, I feel. While we're on the subject of 3D Blu-ray, you may have noticed that our annual Movie Awards doesn't this year include a 3D Blu-ray category, such is the format's fall from grace. And the two major titles that did receive 3D releases in other territories this year (Wonder Woman 1984 and Godzilla vs Kong, discussed in the…

(Some) of the gang are back in this DC Universe sequel written and directed by James 'Guardians of the Galaxy' Gunn. But does The Suicide Squad live up to the hype of being bigger, better and more bonkers than its predecessor? See p98. All prices quoted are approximate and may have changed HCC RATINGS KEY……

→ MAE WEST IN HOLLYWOOD, 1932-1943 Celebrating the career of one of Tinseltown's most iconic blonde bombshells, this sensational six-disc Blu-ray set collects 10 of Mae West’s comic movies – omitting only the two duds she did in the 1970s. Night After Night (1932) provided the veteran stage actress with her first screen role, and while only a supporting part in a rather clumsy drama, West steals the film out from under its bland leads. Far better is the following year’s doubleheader of She Done Him Wrong and I’m No Angel, which not only promoted West to lead, but gave her more control over her character. Bringing in a young Cary Grant for West to play off against in both didn’t hurt, either. Belle of the Nineties (1934) goes through…

→ SHAWSCOPE: VOLUME ONE Surely the best known and most prolific of Hong Kong's film companies, Shaw Brothers produced everything from romantic melodramas to musicals over the decades. However, for most film fans in the West, it's famed for one thing: period martial arts movies. Arrow’s Shawscope: Volume One BD boxset collects 12 of its 1970s films, all but two of them falling under the ‘period martial arts’ label. Not all of King Boxer (1972), The Boxer from Shantung (1972), Five Shaolin Masters (1974), Shaolin Temple (1976), Challenge of the Masters (1976), Executioners from Shaolin (1977), The Five Venoms (1978), Crippled Avengers (1978), Heroes of the East (1978) and Dirty Ho (1979) are stone-cold classics, but they deliver a nonstop cavalcade of high-kicking, hard-hitting action featuring some of the greatest…

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Welcome to the AV-Holic Hall of Fame – introduce yourself! Hi, I’m Dave, and I’m in my mid-forties. How long have you been into home cinema? I’ve always been into the latest tech ever since my teens, however my cinema passion really took off around 10 years ago. When did you decide to set up your current cinema room? I’ve been planning the project for about two years. Originally I was hoping for a full-on ‘Man Cave’ under our house (we have a kind of cellar room). Unfortunately that became too expensive to convert due to damp proofing and structural changes, so I changed my plan and opted for a multi-functional living room. I lowered the ceiling to add a modern effect with Philips Hue strip lighting around the whole…

US brand McIntosh has looked to the past for its latest high-end monoblock amplifier, and is offering a revamp of the all-analogue MC3500 tube amp(s) it says were ‘used to power the sound system at Woodstock’. The new £16,995 MC3500 'Vacuum Tube Amplifier Mk II' claims to output 350W (into 8ohm loads) over its single channel, using eight EL509S valves that apparently ape the sound signature of the tubes of the original MC3500. Inputs for a partnering preamp/processor are available on both balanced and unbalanced connections. There's also a retro touch to the amp's styling. U-shaped carry handles adorn the front fascia, and there are black rubber bumpers on the back, allowing owners to go old-school and stand the amp upright if they wish. The gold anodised finish to the…

The latest high-style, high-end system from French manufacturer Cabasse is the Pearl Keshi, an 'ultra-miniature' active 2.1 package priced £2,300. Available in black or white, it comprises a pair of spherical satellite speakers plus a subwoofer that appears to float above its circular base thanks to a rear support arm. The sub houses a Class D amp stage that also powers the satellite speakers via supplied cabling, plus the Keshi system's signal processing, 32-bit DAC and connections (including Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, digital optical and 3.5mm). Cabasse's StreamControl multiroom system is also supported. www.cabasse.com…

THIS PROJECT FROM The London Home Cinema Company is a stunning example of an attic movie room conversion, and one where the use of a partitioning wall kills two birds with one stone. First, it provides space to mount the system's 16:9 projector screen at a distance better suited to the optical skills of the JVC DLA-Z1 laser projector and the owner's seating layout preferences. Second, it creates a rear space, accessed via cutaways either side, to accommodate an extensive Blu-ray library and system electronics. A discreet install for the latter was critical, as while the brief was for a premium AV performance, it also demanded the appearance of the room be preserved and not compromised by too much bulky equipment. This also put constraints on the amount of acoustic…

PHILIPS’ ABILITY TO harness its potent video processing to the innate precision of OLED display technology has, over the last half-a-decade or so, given the brand a new lease of life, and one that’s seen it claim an ever-growing slice of the premium TV market in the face of competition from established brands and aggressive newcomers. And I can't see it losing its grip if it continues to make TVs like those in its OLED806 range. Auditioned here in 55in guise, this is a TV that boasts a lengthy feature list, familiar smarts, a tidy design and, naturally, Philips' proprietary Ambilight illumination system (now four-sided, the iteration previously reserved for the company's range-topping tellies). It has serious kerb appeal. Okay, there’s a moment of disappointment upon realising that the OLED806…

MANY TV BRANDS have adopted Mini LED technology this year, but Sony is having none of it. Its 4K LCD models for 2021, including the upper mid-range 65X90J under examination here, persist with the ‘standard’ LED lighting that LCD displays have been using for years. Happily, though, this certainly does not prevent the 65X90J from being seriously desirable. It looks the part, for starters. With its blade-style feet and slim screen frame, it does as much as it can not to distract you from either your decor or what you’re watching. The set uses a VA-type LCD panel illuminated by direct lighting and 32 local dimming zones. This is a far cry from the number of zones deployed by Samsung’s QN95A Mini LED TV (p34), but we’ve seen enough Sony LCD…

SAMSUNG ISN’T THE first name that springs to mind when thinking about projectors, but based on the company’s LSP9T beamer that might be about to change. Christened ‘The Premiere’, the brand backs the hyperbole with an impressive spec that includes a three-colour laser light source; ultra-short-throw (UST) optics; beefy sound system; built-in tuners; and Tizen smart platform with built-in Bixby and Amazon Alexa, plus VOD hubs such as Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV+ and Disney+. The result is a 4K HDR PJ that offers a real alternative to a bigscreen TV, arguably more so than any competitor. Naturally all this cutting-edge technology doesn’t come cheap, with the LSP9T priced at £5,000. That might sound toppy, but don't forget it’s capable of creating an image up to 130in across – and good…

IF YOU ASK me, there’s something of a sci-fi vibe about XGIMI’s Horizon Pro 4K projector. Its squat, round-edged chassis, with offset lens, looks a little like a robot that might come to life and zap me. Thankfully, there’s no evil AI lurking inside… but it’s still pretty clever. Based in Chengdu in China, XGIMI is relatively new to the projector market and only appears to have made a concerted push into the UK in the last few years. Its focus is on smart models that solve what it says are a number of problems, including the 'bulk and heaviness' and short lifespans of traditional projectors, and 'complicated home theatre setups.' XGIMI is very much of the plug-and-play generation. The Horizon Pro is currently its top-spec model. It’s a table-top…

JBL HAS BEEN building sound systems for commercial theatres, screening rooms and mastering suites since the advent of the ‘talkies’, so it’s fair to say the company knows a thing or two about cinema sonics. However, its Synthesis strand has always been focused on the high-end custom install scene. Until now. The SDR-35, its first AV receiver model, represents JBL Synthesis spreading its wings and targeting more 'affordable' audio products. It’s a new strategy for the brand, even if the hardware itself isn't really. To explain: JBL forms part of the Harman Group, and in an example of sensible corporate synergies, the SDR-35 is based on the AVR30 from Arcam (HCC #313), itself part of the Harman Group since 2017. Yet while they share the same DNA, the Arcam and…

'IT’S CALLED DRIVING, Marcus!' proclaims Will Smith during the opening of Bad Boys for Life. You could also call it a perfect demonstration of this Denon receiver’s ability to lift and separate high and low. After only a few seconds with this AVR, I was hooked. The AVR-X2700H turns this cop movie car sequence into a Dolby Atmos symphony of screeching tyres. Every vehicle type appears crammed into the mix: police bikes rumble back to front, a chopper hives into view from stage left. We even get a finely spaced sand plume as Smith’s Porsche barrels onto the beach. I could swear I’m hearing every grain spatter against its paintwork. This plucky Denon delivers hard, fast transients like a Deliveroo driver on a mission. But amidst the gutty chunk of…

POLK MIGHT BE battling for dominance with Klipsch in its US homeland, but elsewhere the brand is less well known. Its new Reserve loudspeaker series seeks to change that, with a decidedly more universal, 'Euro-centric' tuning, Atmos compatibility and driver tech borrowed from its high-end Legend line. It’s also the most ambitious lineup Polk has ever launched, comprising nine models and featuring some interesting twists. Effort has gone into designing three very different centre speakers, plus a nifty dual-role Atmos/height module. This range is meant to conquer the whole world after all, and that won’t happen with a one-size-fits-all approach. Indeed, the variety shown by the full nine-model lineup gives you a lot of flexibility. By mixing and matching Reserve models you should be able to build a surround setup…

SAMSUNG’S HW-Q950A IS arguably the most extreme example yet of something blurring the line between a soundbar and the once-popular ‘home cinema in a box’ concept. It ships with four elements: a 1.23m-wide soundbar; an unusually large wireless sub with 8in driver; and two small but solid-feeling wireless rears. And further marking it out as the next step in soundbar evolution is its provision of 16 – sixteen! – channels. The main enclosure has nine: front L/C/R; side right and side left; forward side right and left; and two upfiring drivers that bounce sound off your ceiling to deliver overhead/height effects. The rears then shoehorn in three drivers each: one traditional front-firer, one upfirer, and a side-firing unit to deliver rear surround effects – these latter drivers are the main additions…

WHENEVER AN ELECTRONICS brand gives a product a proper name rather than just another inscrutable number, as is the case with the LG Eclair QP5, you know you’re in for something a bit… unusual. Unusual here means a ‘designer’ Dolby Atmos-capable soundbar – think rounded corners, fabric sides, white as well as black finish options – that’s only 30cm wide and 6cm high. It also means a price tag (£700) that could get you a soundbar easily three times as big. As you might expect given how tiny it is, the Eclair QP5 ships with a wireless subwoofer. In fact, this bassmaker is many times larger than the main soundbar, but still enjoys an attractive rounded-edge design. Despite its diddy dimensions, the Eclair offers a five-channel presentation: left, right, centre,…

FOR A WHILE now REL has favoured upgrading its subwoofer ranges rather than cooking up entire new ones. This makes sense when the likes of its Ti models have proved popular. But a worthwhile upgrade obviously involves more than a tarted-up cabinet and a lick of paint – and thankfully the new Serie Tx gets both a make-over on the outside, and plenty of changes on the inside too. The Tx replaces the Ti range, which offered a more affordable bridge between REL’s home theatre orientated Serie HT and the higher-end Serie S. The new line builds on the Ti’s earlier success, while giving the subs a more up-to-date look. Short and sweet This T/9x model sells for around £1,300 and has a redesigned cabinet that draws inspiration from REL’s…

IF I WAS asked to keep this review supremely short and to the point, I'd say Lumagen's new Radiance Pro 5348 is great, and you should go and buy it. But that would be ignoring a few things, one of which being the price – if all you have is a 4K display and a Fire TV box, this video processor is definitely not for you. It also really needs to be installed by an integrator. This is because to get the most out of the 5348 you need additional AV equipment and software. And using a trained specialist will also mean you won't have to spend much time with Lumagen's onscreen menus, which remind me of a 1990s BIOS setup screen from a PC, and take a lot of…

IF THE NEW Huawei Devialet collaboration sounds familiar, that’s because it is. The Sound is a second-gen iteration of the Sound X, downsized and more affordable, and, well, it sounds remarkably similar… The Chinese smartphone giant’s first collaboration with the respected French audiophile outfit resulted in a surprisingly convincing wireless audio system [HCC #315] that performed much like a thoroughbred Devialet speaker. This new iteration, which at £200 is some £100 cheaper than the Sound X, lacks some of that model’s finesse, but still impresses, and has enormous room presence. And with its piano-gloss finish and total lack of right angles, it also looks the part. Sound all around The lower half of the Sound's cabinet is cloth-wrapped to conceal its quartet of drivers: one 4in woofer (with associated 40W…

WHEN APPRAISING THE last 12 months (actually more like 11.5 as I write this) it’s clear that 2021 has been yet another terrific year for home entertainment connoisseurs. Yes, the ongoing presence of Covid-19 means we’re still not getting pre-pandemic levels of major Hollywood releases, but with cinemas here in the UK reopening in May, the final half of the year has seen a steady stream of new (well, delayed) Blu-ray blockbusters fresh from the multiplex. While lapping up what Hollywood studios had to offer, once again I found myself more enamoured of the work that independent labels have been doing in often less than ideal circumstances. Sadly, far too many of these releases have slipped through the HCC review net, and were therefore not eligible for inclusion in this…

SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS Tony Stark, Thor, Loki, Peter Quill, Gamora and Nebula: it seems you can’t throw a stone in the Marvel Cinematic Universe without hitting a character with serious daddy issues. And now we have another to add to the list. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings finds Simu Liu’s titular martial artist confronting the past he thought he’d left behind when his father Wenwu – immortal leader of the Ten Rings criminal organisation – comes crashing back into his life. Together with his estranged sister Xialing (Meng’er Zhang) and best friend Katy (Awkwafina), Shang-Chi sets out to discover a mythical village and prevent Wenwu from inadvertently unleashing a soul-sucking horror on the world. If the whole ‘bad dad’ thing can’t help…

→ THE SUICIDE SQUAD A huge improvement on David Ayer’s misbegotten 2016 Suicide Squad, writer-director James Gunn’s near-standalone follow-up (‘the movie is a sequel to comics more than it is to anything else,’ he says) hits the sweet spot between the blockbuster superhero action that made Gunn’s name with mainstream audiences, and the kind of gory, goofy splatter flicks that launched his career. It’s also a fine example of the risks that Warner Bros. is willing to take with its DC Extended Universe, and which Disney would never dream of doing with its Marvel movies. Idris Elba takes centre stage as Bloodsport, a former mercenary recruited from prison (against his will) to lead the latest Task Force X strike team. Once again, this squad is comprised of supervillains, and here…

→ RED NOTICE Raiders of the Lost Ark, Ocean’s Eleven, maybe even The Pink Panther, this Netflix heist movie steals liberally from them all, but with a heavyweight cast headlined by Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds, all armed with snappy one-liners, many will be prepared to forgive its lack of originality. Johnson is FBI profiler John Hartley, who we meet early on closing in on gobby art thief Nolan Booth, played by Ryan Reynolds. The last of Cleopatra’s famed golden eggs, apparently gifted to the Egyptian Queen a few thousand years ago, is on display at a Rome museum, and word on the wire is that it's about to be swiped. Johnson arrives too late to stop the theft, but just in time to give chase to the…

Welcome to the AV-Holic Hall of Fame – introduce yourself! Hi, I'm Flavio. I'm 33, live in Canada, and work as a systems analyst. How long have you been into home cinema? I have been a cinema lover since I first went to the movies (the first film I saw was The Lion King in 1994). My first setup was a home-theatre-in-a-box from Philips, way back in 2004. From then on I have had several combinations of receivers, speakers and players. But now is the first time I could have a dedicated space for a home cinema – all my previous setups were in shared living rooms or even my bedroom! When did you decide to set up your current cinema room? When I purchased the house I live in…

Welcome to the AV-Holic Hall of Fame – introduce yourself! Hi, I’m Max, I’m 51 from Derbyshire and live with my audiophile partner Howard. How long have you been into home cinema? Back in the 1980s, as an experiment I connected my TV to my NAD amp and B&W speakers and I was amazed at the sound. I was hooked, but it would be years before I was able to realise the dream of my own home cinema. When did you decide to set up your current cinema room? About 20 years ago we were fortunate to be able to move into the family farmhouse, where the attic had been converted into a large living space. It was full of junk and had been used for storage during renovations. In…

2021 WAS THE year physical media struck back. I’ve lost track of the number of times the disc business has been written off, but clearly reports of its death are greatly exaggerated. Throughout the year, as we sporadically hunkered down with only our AV kit for company, we hankered for entertainment, and happily splurged on discs. I’ve dig through the British Association for Screen Entertainment’s home entertainment sales stats, which reveal that physical media is living alongside digital purchases and streaming just fine. Netflix and Disney+ may well be taking up more of our time, but it seems film fans still covet collectible discs. For example, back in March Wonder Woman 1984 was to stay at the top of the Official UK Film Chart for six weeks, with (appropriately) 84…

➝ NEWS HIGHLIGHTS B&W Speaker maker adds Midnight Blue finish to 700 Series CEDIA AWARDS UK installers celebrated in annual industry showcase BOX OFFICE Hollywood bounces back in 2021 AT THE PLEX This month's cinema releases NEWS X10 Hot news stories in bite-sized chunks VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE The beastie is back on 4K BD & MORE! Thanks to a laser light source rated at 3,000 Lumens, Optoma's UHZ50 4K HDR projector promises 'lightson' movie viewing and games playback, the latter including 4K/60Hz and 1080p/240Hz support. Further cementing its status as a living room option is its integrated app portal, powered USB hookup for smart devices and onboard 2 x 10W speaker system. A launch price of £2,500, however, suggests Optoma believes it has cinephile performance too… HCC ONLINE……

1 Let the games begin LG has added Google’s cloud-based gaming service Stadia to its WebOS smart TV platform. Owners of sets running WebOS 5.0 or WebOS 6.0 can break out a compatible joypad (including a PlayStation or Xbox controller) and dig into Stadia's library of titles. A subscription to Stadia Pro, which introduces free games and discounts on purchases, is £8.99 per month. 2 Good work! Non-profit organisation Together For Cinema, which works with AV installers and hardware brands to put home theatre and media rooms into children's hospices throughout the UK, has reached its target of completing four new projects by the end of the year. Bespoke Home Cinemas, Wessex AV, Glo Audio Visual and AWE all donated their time and skill to the cause. Together For Cinema…

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➝ HARDWARE TVs Panasonic, LG, Sony, Samsung, Philips, TCL LOUDSPEAKERS Piega, Paradigm, SVS, Monitor Audio, Polk Audio SOUNDBARS JBL, Denon, Samsung, Sony, Philips PROJECTORS Sony, Optoma, BenQ, XGIMI, Hisense, Samsung AVRs JBL Synthesis, Anthem, Denon SUBWOOFERS KEF, REL, SVS, Velodyne PLUS Headphones, streamers and more! HCC RATINGS KEY……

PANASONIC HAS BEEN wowing us with its Master HDR OLED Professional Edition panel for a while now, but its high-end screens have tended to fall short when it comes to some functionality – it’s shown little empathy for hardcore gamers, and there’s the niggling suspicion that its smart experience was just another box to check. But with the JZ2000, Panasonic has put these shortcomings behind it, introducing two HDMI 2.1 inputs and revamping its My Home Screen interface. Add in its superior AV chops, and this telly is an absolute belter. It comes in two sizes: 55in (tested here, now priced around £2,300) and 65in (£2,800) – both commanding a healthy price premium over even well-specified rivals. As with last year's HZ2000 models, there's no super-sized version (the 77in OLED…

NOT CONTENT WITH a user base of 53million devices, Roku accelerates its migration from media player OS to smart TV technology, taking up residence in an affordable line of 4K models from TCL. The flatscreen manufacturer has actually launched two Roku models in the UK, the entry-level RP520K series, and the RP620K reviewed here, replete with Dolby Vision HDR and a higher-spec video processor. On the HCC test bench is a 55in model, but the set is also available at 43in, 50in, and 65in. The Roku interface will be familiar to many. An early pioneer when it came to streaming media players, we’ve seen it on an assortment of pucks and sticks. The iteration here is visually very similar, albeit with some niceties that reflect its TV integration. Suffice to say…

PROJECTOR BRANDS HAVE been falling over themselves to cater for the newly important gamer market. Optoma’s UHD38, though, is the most game-focused projector I've seen to date, partnering ultra-bright images with PC and console-friendly features including 32:9 aspect ratio support, 120Hz playback and vanishingly low input lag. Joining the UHD38 in this game-friendly PJ roster is the £900 UHD35, with the only real difference between the two being a brightness output claim of 4,000 Lumens on the UHD38 versus 3,600 Lumens on the step-down model. Both (optimistically) claim a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1. Differences with 2020’s UHD30 (HCC #315) are more pronounced. That PJ only hit 3,400 Lumens, and claimed a contrast ratio of 500,000:1. It also only provided one HDMI 2.0 port and one HDMI 1.4 port, while the…

THE IDEA BEHIND Hisense’s 100L5FT is simple: combine a rigid high-gain, 100in projector screen with an ultra-bright 4K laser projector, so that home cinema fans can enjoy a king-sized TV-like experience for a fraction of what an actual 100in TV would cost. The screen part of the equation is a narrow-framed design with a wall bracket. It uses a highly reflective surface with a lenticular filter designed to reject ambient light, so that most of the light you see on the screen has come straight from the projector. The projector part is a classic ultra-short-throw design. It sits 30-40cm below the screen, and less than 30cm away from your wall, throwing its picture-carrying light out of an aperture on its upper edge. A laser light source means it can be turned…

THE LATEST ENTRY in Marantz’s now long-established slimline, half-height receiver range, the NR1711 is a bijou behemoth for those of us who don’t require unhinged power (it’s rated at 7 x 50W) but do want advanced connectivity to best work with modern wired and wireless sources. Standing a shade over 10cm high, this slender AVR cuts a classic Marantz profile, with familiar curved fascia, twin dials and large display. A pull-down flap to hide its front-panel buttonry would make it even more slick, but you don't get one. Connectivity is good for the price. All six HDMI inputs support Dolby Vision, HLG, eARC and HDR10+, as well as VRR, QFT, ALLM and QMS. It’s like an explosion in an acronym factory. The caveat is that only one input, helpfully labelled…

THE FOUNDER SERIES is the first speaker range released by Canadian brand Paradigm since founder Scott Bagby returned in 2019 – which explains the name. Bagby launched the brand in 1982, sold his majority stake in 2005 and left in 2009, but is back with a bang. There are six Founder models, all designed to bring high-end performance (some more high-end than others) and a touch of luxury to hi-fi and home cinema systems. They draw on innovations from Paradigm’s award-winning, ultra-expensive Persona series, but add a host of new technologies when it comes to driver design and cabinet construction. On test are the 70LCR and 40B models. The former is a three-way unit (priced £1,700 each) designed for use horizontally as a centre speaker, or vertically for front and…

SVS’S PRIME SERIES isn't new. The American brand launched this entry-level range back in 2014, but since then it’s added more models, and kept it on the market. This is presumably because it sells well. I can see why. Last year I heard the newest Prime speaker, the fearsome five-driver Pinnacle (HCC #312), and then I realised I'd never had a play with its Prime Elevation models. Debuted in 2016, these compact, angle-baffle two-ways (£395p/p) are designed to be a one-stop shop for immersive audio, bringing height channels to rooms that previously never had them. They're somewhat unusual as they're intended for Dolby Atmos but not actually a Dolby-certified speaker. SVS describes it as 'an optimized height effects speaker' offering a direct sound that’s preferable to reflective models that require 'perfect…

JBL’S BAR 5.0 MultiBeam is a single-box system, priced £250, and suited to TVs around 40in and above thanks to a width of 70cm approx. This makes it relatively compact compared to some of the competition, but still big enough to leave you anticipating a decent sound performance. The 5.0 assignation is based around the number of drivers. There are front-facing left, centre and right, plus additional angled drivers at each end which handle surround. All are 48mm x 80mm racetrack units fed by independent 50W amplifiers. This array combines with JBL’s MultiBeam processing technology to – it’s claimed – create an authentic multichannel experience from a single enclosure. More importantly, this soundbar packs Dolby Atmos decoding with virtual processing – a new addition to the JBL armoury. Virtual is the…

THE SOUNDBAR MARKET is saturated, but amongst the myriad models it’s possible to see trends, as brands coalesce around specific price points and feature sets. A disadvantage for Denon’s Home Sound Bar 550 is that its basic specification – a compact 'bar with no subwoofer; Atmos/DTS:X decoding with no upfirers – is mirrored by models around the £300 price point. And it sells for around £550. Box-tickers may therefore not give it a second glance, choosing instead to eye soundbars from the likes of JBL and Yamaha. But I think they'd be missing out. The Sound Bar 550 has some handy additional features, and sounds pretty damn fantastic. So what are those features? One is built-in Alexa functionality, meaning you can ask the soundbar to tell you jokes, read you…

SINCE 1999 AMERICAN company SVS has built a formidable reputation by mainly focusing on one thing – manufacturing powerful home cinema subwoofers that don’t cost the earth. It has some beefy models in its lineup, topping out at the 16-Ultra Series, but the SB-1000 Pro is a timely reminder that amongst the pricier, bigger boom boxes, it can still knock up a compact sealed unit with a sub-£700 ticket. And why wouldn't it? Models like this sell like hot cakes. Okay, it’s not as seductively small as the dual-driver 3000 Micro [HCC #321], but this sub still appears to be a spot of infrasonic magic, because somehow SVS has crammed a 12in driver into a cabinet measuring 13in wide. There’s also real power behind that driver, producing a performance that…

2021 HASN'T BEEN a good year for many things but it’s been a cracker for 4K Blu-ray. A wealth of titles has been released, from vintage classics to modern blockbusters to TV series. You're going to need something to spin these new titles on. And what are the options if you don't yet have a UHD disc player? Many companies have left the 4K BD market, including Oppo and Samsung. Pioneer ostensibly soldiers on but its UK distribution appears to be in tatters. Panasonic and Sony continue to support the format, yet neither sell a do-it-all disc spinner able to handle 4K BD, Super Audio CD and DVD-Audio. Two of those formats are very niche indeed, but people still look for the logos… Enter Reavon, a brand that none of…

SOMETIMES A THROWAWAY line in an equipment review belies the complexity of actually achieving something in reality. A significant number of AV receivers we've looked at over the last few years are equipped with seven channels of amplification but have decoding for nine (or more). And somewhere in these reviews there's often the instruction to ‘just add a stereo power amp’ to make use of those extra decoded channels. The catch is that stereo power amplifiers are quite niche things and, more often than not, expensive to the point where they can frequently exceed the cost of the receiver. Enter XTZ with an affordable solution. The A2-300 is the smaller of two stereo power amplifiers that the Swedish manufacturer sells through its direct retail model (you buy from the XTZ…

THE LATEST ITERATION of JBL's portable, waterproof Bluetooth stalwart follows the form factor and functionality template of the previous Charge 4 [HCC #319]. As the company says it's sold over 4m units of that model, there's obviously some 'ain't broke, don't fix' thinking in play. Yet while external differences are slight – the Charge 5 is a bit larger, the LED that signifies the level of its 20-hour rechargeable battery is now more visible, and the JBL branding is more in-yer-face – internally space has been found for a separate tweeter to join forces with its racetrack driver, in what the brand says represents a major sound improvement. So, does it? Well, it's better, but not extraordinarily so. There's certainly a sense of a bigger output from the Charge 5,…

THE LP5x IS a development of Japanese marque Audio Technica's earlier (and hugely successful) LP5. It's a direct drive model, which means its motor acts directly on the platter rather than via a belt. The deck's phono stage can be switched off if you already have one in your system, and it can also output a USB signal to a PC, so you can archive your records if you so wish. Speed selection is automatic, and even caters to 78rpm. The LP5x is fitted with a member of Audio Technica's VM95 moving magnet (MM) cartridge family, making a stylus change or upgrade nice and simple. Setting this deck up is straightforward. There’s no fiddly belt to fit and everything goes together in a satisfying way. It's not the prettiest turntable…

Glass half empty It was interesting to read your article in the December issue (HCC #326) regarding the new Sky Glass. Having taken quite a while to catch up with the streaming giants, the company has certainly gone about it in a curious way. I find it strange that Sky has decided to go with the idea that if you want to stream Sky then you have to buy its own dedicated television. Having looked at the specs it strikes me that there will be quite a number of people who will say I will never be dictated to in my choice of which type of televisions I buy. There is no way any OLED fanboy would ever give such a television room in their house and I couldn’t imagine…

The Karate Kid: 3-Movie Collection 4K Relive a landmark trilogy of 1980s cinema with this limited edition Ultra HD Blu-ray boxset, which houses 4K restorations of The Karate Kid, The Karate Kid Part II and The Karate Kid Part III – with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos upgrades – plus oodles of new and archival bonus goodies. The Karate Kid Collectible Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD set is available to buy now, courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. We have two copies to give away! Question: Who played Daniel-san in the Karate Kid? Answer: A) Richard Grieco B) Ralph Macchio C) Emilio Estevez The Ice Road Liam Neeson and Laurence Fishburne must traverse a deadly frozen ocean in this chilly action-thriller from director Jonathan Hensleigh. The Ice Road is available…

Halo Infinite 343 Industries/Xbox Game Studios → Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC → £55 (or free with Game Pass) Halo has always been Xbox’s biggest exclusive – and Master Chief its most recognisable flag-bearer – so when the latest in the series failed to launch alongside the firm’s newest consoles, something seemed amiss. But there was no need to fret. Halo Infinite took an extra year to appear, but patience has been rewarded. Not only do we have a strong free-to-play multiplayer offering that’s really fun, the campaign mode meets expectations and then some. Set shortly after the shenanigans of Halo 5: Guardians, …Infinite (eventually) sites Master Chief firmly on Zeta Halo once more and essentially tasks him to find his own way to unravel an intriguing mystery. It’s…

Welcome to the AV-Holic Hall of Fame – introduce yourself! Hi. I'm John Galvin, aged 50. I'm a software company director, based in Dublin. How long have you been into home cinema? I've always loved movies and cinema, and pestered my dad back in the 1980s to buy a VHS video recorder so I could tape movies from TV to watch ‘on demand’. Ever since then I’ve bought all types of big TVs, surround systems, projectors, etc. When did you decide to set up your current cinema room? We moved to this house around six years ago and I'd always planned to convert the garage, but only got around to it (with my wife's permission) last year. How long did the garage conversion take? The project took about five weeks…