Innehållsförteckning för June - July 2016 från Sound + Image

There has been a long gap between the arrival of 4K TVs and the launch of real 4K sources. Samsung has finally put its 4K Blu-ray player out in the Australian market (review next issue), but the first confirmed announcement of a 4K disc source came shortly before that, when among its range of new and upgraded home entertainment gadgets, Panasonic announced and demonstrated its DMP-UB900 ‘native’ UHD Blu-ray player. ‘Native’ is the word Panasonic is using to make clear that this is the real thing, not just a regular Blu-ray player which can upscale to UHD output. It’s not here just yet, though — launch is September 2016, and pricing in Australia has yet to be decided. Nonetheless, the engineering sample running at the launch was spinning the UHD…

Several years into the Ultra High Definition/4K era, and we’re still entirely dependent upon one brand for UHD/4K projectors. Fortunately Sony has ensured we haven’t been disappointed, with several models released over the past few years. And now, with the VPL-VW5000ES, it has pushed through to the very top end of home theatre projection. This $90,000 model is a beast: 43 kilograms and 880mm in the longest dimension. But what a picture it produces. It can deliver up to 5000 lumens of brightness and, of course, a picture of full 4K — that is, 4096 by 2160 pixels — of resolution. That makes its picture a little wider than UHD, but in a home theatre context the centre 3840 by 2160 pixel section will generally be aligned with the screen.…

At last LG has released an uncurved OLED TV model — and oh what a TV it is. The initial OLED TV releases were curved primarily (almost entirely indeed) for marketing reasons — clearly the curved models stood out as a premium product. But OLED screen technology stands out from the LCD-LED pack in other ways as well... as we’ll see with this, the LG 65EF950T OLED TV. Equipment Just because it isn’t curved doesn’t mean that it isn’t stylish. The 65EF950T is as close as a TV has ever managed to being just a sheet of glass. Indeed, the top half of this 164cm screen looks just like that: a 6mm thick slab of glass — no swelling, no bezel, with only a millimetre or so of the metal…

Noise-cancelling headphones have long been on the essential travel tech hitlist of every executive about town — if proof be needed, bust through the curtain at the front of your economy cabin and you’ll find barely a head up there unadorned by one of the major providers of the noise-cancelling breed. But these days, the inflight inversion market has spread back down the fuselage, through Premium Economy to the huddled masses in the rest of the plane, while back on the ground the grinding commute at each end of the working day is also seeing bus and train travel benefit from similarly silenced solo passengers keen to cancel the rumble of track or road. So noise-cancellers have gone mainstream. It’s not that these headphones have dropped in price — the…

No matter what your technology requirements, Entertaining Environments can design a solution that meets your budget and exceeds your expectations. We cover all technology disciplines on projects and work closely with our clients, their architects, builders, interior designers and other third party trades. Talk with us today on 03 8080 1230 to discover the many lifestyle benefits that contemporary technologies integrated with industry leading expertise can offer. We segregate these disciplines into six easy-to-understand terms that encompass various fields: ENTERTAINMENT Audio visual distribution, Home automation/AV control LIGHTING Lighting Control SAFETY Security, Surveillance, Access Control COMMUNICATIONS VOIP – Voice over IP, Intercoms, IT networking COMFORT HVAC – Heating, ventilation & cooling integration, pool/spa & irrigation control CONSTRUCTION New and Existing Room Construction…

“Immediately we saw the professionalism of the installation, we knew we were getting more than just products – and we actually paid no more.” Our Supreme Home Theatre package delivers a rich and powerful visual and sonic experience. It consists of a 5.1 speaker configuration, using three in-wall speakers across the front, two in-ceiling speakers as rears and a fully sealed 8-inch subwoofer providing deep bass. As standard our home theatres feature acoustically transparent film screens, so the equipment in no way impedes your visual experience. A High Definition projector provides the stunning video, with a premium Blu-ray player and streaming hub offering countless media choices. And you control the entire room with one simple-to-use remote! $15,000 Fully Installed* DOLBY ATMOS & AURO 3D The audio platforms we choose to…

Klipsch has to be just about the most unusual speaker company on the planet — and we mean that in a good way. What other company can say it still produces essentially the same loudspeaker that it released 70 years ago at its founding in 1946 — the Klipschorn — while also selling the most up-to-date of wireless 5.1 channel speaker systems? It is the latter that we’re reviewing here: the Reference Premiere HD Wireless system. Equipment Being wireless means no speaker cables, which means built-in amplifiers, which means mains cables. You will need to plug each unit into a power point, so do take that into account when deciding whether wireless is for you. If it is, this is one impressive system. There are a number of variations. The…

In the early days of digital photography, the specification everyone talked about was resolution. In some ways, it still is — it’s always the top figure quoted. It has taken a long time for consumers to understand that characteristics like colour rendition, contrast handling and sensitivity are even more important once past a certain basic level of resolution. It’s turning out to be the same story with televisions. You can certainly see the difference that UHD resolution makes, but other factors also go into a making a better viewing experience. UHD TVs are flying off the shelves — but each set has the same 4K resolution, so manufacturers are finding consumers have difficulty in differentiating competing brands and understanding the premium features. So despite the numbers sold, manufacturers are realising…

PAUL GRAY, PRINCIPAL ANALYST/ RESEARCHER, IHS TECHNOLOGY: We all know about more and better pixels — the industry’s been talking about it for some years now, and of course we’re now even on the dawn of 8K in terms of broadcasting. And it’s not just more pixels but better pixels, in that we have deep colour and high dynamic range. This is really being driven not only by the traditional broadcasters like NHK, but also by these new streaming service providers like Netflix and Amazon, who are using this as competitive differentiation. More pixels, new media? We have a forecast for HDR and deep colour. Certainly the content’s there. At MIPTV at Cannes [4-7 April 2016], what was very clear is that everybody is commissioning material not just in UHD…

Wavetrain has introduced FireFX media systems to its Australian /NZ distribution portfolio, a versatile media server system which seems to deliver many of the features of costlier storage-player systems at lower cost. It includes some interesting smart features, notably allowing a ‘wishlist’ for movies and TV shows to be automatically downloaded via encrypted Usenet services if the end user desires. Built-in support for both Kodi and Plex enables playback from iOS devices and the latest Apple TV. Also key among FireFX’s attractions are a beautiful and extremely fast interface, and the “rock-solid” performance of both the playback and serving/storage units. The FireFX team stresses their experience in the US military, and describes their equipment as “battle-ready”. While the system can do one heck of a lot, the hardware is fairly…

Our current personal video recorder of the year is the Humax HDR-3000T with its unusual form factor and leather top trim. It’s also known as the 2tune, describing its twin tuners which can record up to four shows at once, and has always been a smart device for networking, including the streaming of live and recorded shows to an iPad, tablet or phone on your home network, and also full and effective access to FreeviewPlus catch-up services. Humax informs us the $449 HDR-3000T can now stream Netflix direct as well, in addition its other on-board apps and services which can be accessed through the Humax App Market. For full info on its abilities, visit www.humaxdigital.com/au/…

The bulk of Bowers & Wilkins 800 Series Diamond range was released last November, but the range-topping reference 800 D3 (pictured above) was held back for release in this, B&W’s 50th anniversary year, along with the radical white gloss finish that will be made available across the whole 800 D3 range. Projected RRP for the 800 D3 is $44,900 the pair, and stock should arrive in Australian stores this September. As with the rest of the range, the latest 800 is almost a complete redesign from the previous model, now fronted by a curve wrapping to a straight and rigid rear aluminium spine, and featuring the new ‘Continuum’ midrange cone replacing Kevlar, and the new variable thickness Aerofoil bass drivers. And of course that diamond tweeter, its dome so hard…

DLP remains the projection technology preferred by BenQ, one of the major international producers of all manner of projectors — for business, education, gaming... and naturally the company does not neglect the home, with several models, some very competitively priced. Its latest mid-price unit is the W3000, which sports a full-HD resolution and a proper Rec. 709 colour mode. Equipment What is Rec. 709? It’s worth knowing about, especially as BenQ goes to the trouble of quality control checks on each individual W3000 as it leaves the production line — see our panel overleaf for an explanation of this colour space (and SoundOff on p76, too). Apart from that, the projector covers a fair amount of familiar territory. It is a smallish unit, finished mostly in white and grey. The…

Today’s market is filled with a variety of smart home solutions. However, it is not until these devices begin to work together that you can fully experience the magic of home automation, and when it comes to home automation nobody does it better than – Control4. Control4 creates a simplistic and user-friendly platform to coordinate the technology in your home to forge experiences that enrich your lifestyle. ENTERTAINMENT From watching 4K movies to streaming high-resolution 24-bit 192kHz music, Control4 delivers a powerful and robust platform where you can enjoy all your entertainment needs. Control4 also plays nice with AppleTV, Netflix, Roku and more. Its modular platform also allows you to access media from one TV, or many. Music streaming more your flavour? Control4 seamlessly integrates with the most popular services…

Our Ultimate Home Theatre package utilises the latest technology to deliver an unforgettable cinema! The package includes a full in-wall/ in-ceiling Dolby ATMOS 3D 7.2.4 speaker system for a totally immersive sonic experience, whilst two fully sealed 10” subwoofers provide the earth-shaking bass. Breathtaking visuals are supplied courtesy of a whisper-quiet 4K Ultra High Definition laser projector and 140” Cinema-Scope film screen. While the premium Blu-ray player and streaming media and automation hub provide various content choices, the package also features a host of premium networking products for seamless connectivity, while control is provided via a simple-to-use remote control. $50,000 Fully Installed* NO BLACK BARS! Planning a home cinema, your first thought should switch to the screen. For that true cinema experience nothing can compare to the Cinema-Scope ultra-widescreen experience.…

DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION can sometimes be a forgotten variable when contemplating your next technological project. But in our experience, we find these two stages to be critical. With our extensive knowledge across Entertainment, Comfort, Communications, Lighting, Safety and Construction, we can take the guess work out of your next project, and ensure it is designed to deliver the ultimate in functionality, performance and enjoyment. We can also assist in project management of vital trades in construction where our services are integrated. This can include Carpentry, Cabinet Making, Electrical, Plastering and Painting. Importantly, our project management guarantees the desired outcome for our clients, and can also offer significant cost savings. We partner with like-minded companies and introduce them to projects and clients, who then deal directly with the supplier. Further to…

Patrick Griffis is Vice President Technology in the Office of the CTO at Dolby Laboratories, and is also a fellow of SMPTE, in both roles closely involved with the new video standards governing High Dynamic Range and enlarged colour spaces. He recently visited Australia and we enjoyed an interview with him following an LG event which launched the company’s 2016/7 range of televisions, including OLED, HDR 10 and Dolby Vision-compatible models. Sound+Image was represented by both Jez Ford and Stephen Dawson. JEZ FORD: So the LG roundtable discussion on HDR today was highly illuminating... PATRICK GRIFFIS: Highly illuminating, very good! JEZ: So Dolby Vision versus HDR 10 — can you encapsulate the differences for us? PATRICK: You mean Dolby Vision versus ‘entry-level HDR’? No I’m just joking... Because Dolby Vision…

When Imperator Furiosa first uttered the words ‘fang it’, I almost didn’t believe it, so long has it been since I had last heard the term. But another character uttered it later, so I hadn’t imagined it. Fair enough, given the Australian roots of the Mad Max franchise — and this movie is all about fanging it. (A quick check on the internet shows several sites explaining what ‘fang it’ means, prompted by… ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’.) Mel Gibson is gone, of course, replaced by Englishman Tom Hardy. He does a fine job as Max, excepting only his English accent. But given how little dialogue there is in this movie, you can kind of let that pass. In a fitting tie to the past, the chief villain, Immortan Joe, is…

Speaker systems designed by Australia’s Krix have been installed in more than 3000 commercial cinemas worldwide, and the company has always been at the forefront of bringing that cinema sound to the domestic home movie theatre. With the new Series MX, Krix has created a unique modular system for screen speakers — left, centre, right and two subwoofers together as a single front soundstage solution, to be installed behind an acoustically transparent screen. The five speaker modules in each of the two MX systems are the same height and depth, with acoustically absorbent material built in across the front baffle, so it’s ready to go out of the box, making installation and wiring “a breeze”. The MX solution utilises the concept of the infinite baffle wall, something cinemas have been…

It has been a very long time since any ViewSonic products have crossed our review bench. But now the Taiwanese display product producer is stirring again in Australia, pushing into higher quality product areas, challenging the incumbents. Which brings us to the review product: the ViewSonic LightStream Pro7827HD projector, a usefully compact design with several interesting selling points here, including a Rec. 709 colour mode to ensure best possible colour reproduction — as on the BenQ reviewed elsewhere in this issue, but here at a lower pricepoint. Equipment This is a quite compact projector, and at 2.6 kilograms, quite light in weight as well. Only the fact that it’s finished in black plastic prevents it being inconspicuous with a lounge-room ceiling installation (most lounge ceilings being white). But this colour…

New TVs, especially 4K UHD (Ultra High Definition) displays, grant the viewer a breathtaking visual experience. But do you constantly find yourself struggling to hear the audio? It’s very difficult, if not impossible, to get rich, full-range audio from TV speakers within a thin cabinet. Many customers visit us looking for a simple and cost-effective solution, so we thought we would share a couple of our recommendations with you. SONOS PLAYBAR The Sonos PLAYBAR is an easy addition to any contemporary TV room. It delivers rich, full range sound, all from a small and elegant footprint. The Sonos PLAYBAR is a 3.0 channel soundbar containing nine amplified speakers. It delivers impactful left and right audio, as well as crisp, clear dialogue from the centre channel. Up to 60% of the…

NOW, THIS IoT MAY NOT SOUND all that exciting in itself, but as a greater number of household devices become part of the IoT, wondrous events can occur, and convergence is attained between entertainment and automation. The events can be as simple as switching on the climate control as you are leaving work, or triggering the garage door once the system detects you are down the street. Put simply, you don’t have to be The Jetsons to now enjoy this standard of living. Partnering with the emergence of IoT has seen the explosion of the plethora of online content options. On-demand streaming services such as Netflix, Stan and Presto now offer convenient and affordable alternatives to traditional media channels and are quickly becoming part of everyday life. And, unlike traditional…

With a variety of brands and products at our disposal, we can personalise a solution specifically for you, and this process begins from the first interaction. When making an appointment to visit our demonstration facility we ask the right questions and then cater the audition to your personal tastes and desires. And, whilst we have a wide range of music available, we always encourage our clients to bring along their own music. We are also able to accommodate clients who wish to bring along their own equipment, and will happily set it up in situ within our dedicated Hi-Fi listening rooms. Purchasing a piece of Hi-Fi equipment can be a huge decision, and is often the result of months of research and visiting specialist resellers for auditions. And even after…

How exactly do you categorise a 5.1-channel loudspeaker system that sells for a dollar under $6000? To the normal Joe in the street, they’d be regarded as expensive. Why, you could buy a pretty good secondhand car for that money! But to the home entertainment enthusiast, the terms ‘mid-priced’, perhaps ‘premium’, would come to mind. We all know that you can go way more expensive, but also way cheaper. After enjoying the PSB Speakers 5.1-channel package known as the Imagine X system for a week or so, I’m settling on ‘premium’. The high end of ‘premium’. Equipment The Imagine X range is a fairly new range from Canadian firm PSB Speakers. They consist of solidly-built two- and three-way speakers for the five or seven positions of a home theatre system.…

Three years ago, just when the TV makers appeared to have settled on LCD TVs with LED backlighting as the dominant delivery method, a completely new TV technology — OLED — appeared. That year saw the introduction of OLED models by two major companies, LG and Samsung. One delivered it in the form of a slim and sexy panel, the other with strange styling involving a weird outer frame. We heard from insiders, however, that the yield on large OLED panels was shockingly low — around 10%, so that nine panels were being rejected for every one that worked, which explained why the initial prices were so high. The next year, Samsung (along with some other companies) dropped its use of the technology for TVs, just as LG.Display worked out…

It had to happen. There’s a whole world afflicted by the zombie disaster, but all we’ve seen of it has been in the State of Georgia (I think they pretend some of it is in Virginia) as Rick, Glenn, Daryl and Carol try to stay alive. And even what we’ve seen there was incomplete. ‘The Walking Dead’ used the same device as ‘Day of the Triffids’ — our hero wakes up (or has his bandages removed) to find the whole world entirely upended. For ‘The Walking Dead’, the gap was a period of weeks. There wasn’t the slightest hint of an impending zombification when Rick entered hospital unconscious, yet when he emerged, the forces of civilisation had already been vanquished. ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ relocates us to Los Angeles and…

A couple of years ago I was looking forward to José Padilha’s remake of Paul Verhoeven’s 1987 classic, ‘Robocop’. Padilha seemed like the guy for the job with his remarkable ‘Bus 174’ documentary and the ‘Elite Squad’ action movies in his native Brazil. But I never saw the final product. The underwhelming reviews and the 6.2 average on IMDB convinced me that I should just stick with the original. Then along comes Neill Blomkamp, the South African/Canadian filmmaker who made such a splash with ‘District 9’ back in 2009. He has made a fitting Robocop successor. Blomkamp likes robots. Three of his four early shorts had robot themes. Indeed, he likes robot police. They appear even in his ‘Elysium’, which is largely to do with other sci-fi themes. And there…