News

Issue #271 of Home Cinema Choice is on sale today – and as usual it's packed with AV goodness...

Issue #269 of Home Cinema Choice is on sale today – and as usual it's packed with AV goodness...

Sony has expanded its range of ultra-short-throw projectors with the 4K and HDR capable VPL-VZ1000ES, announced today at CES 2017.

Dolby has announced that three Hollywood studios – Universal Pictures, Lionsgate and Warner Bros – have pledged to release movies mastered in Dolby Vision on Ultra HD Blu-ray, news that is sure to excite and annoy AV hedz in equal measure. Dolby Vision is an optional HDR standard of the Ultra HD Blu-ray specification and employs dynamic metadata to manage the HDR performance of your display. The HDR 10 standard, which is mandatory for Ultra HD Blu-ray, uses less advanced static metadata. Content is mastered at 12-bit, and at greater nit levels. Dolby Vision is also the preferred mastering HDR format amongst Hollywood studios, due to accomplished authoring tools and the ease with which an HDR 10 version can then be outputted. All groovy then? Not quite. Firstly, Dolby Vision support is limited amongst 4K TVs, with only some LG sets on the market currently supporting it. Sony has announced forthcoming models at this year's CES, but both Samsung and Panasonic remain uncommitted.

LG is launching a Dolby Atmos-enabled soundbar as well as two other TV audio boosters, bringing it upto speed with a growing category that already includes models from Yamaha, Samsung and Philips.

Ever wanted to hear Chewbacca sing a Christmas carol? Well, now you can...