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This month's leading news from the UK's busiest independent AV Forum
February 2012 |
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Sushi and Bratwurst anyone? Our editorial team have been jetsetting this month, first to Tokyo to see Sony, and right now in Hamburg visiting Panasonic. Want details on the latest news from these giants of the AV industry and more news from AVForums? Read on...
Inside Sony – exclusive look behind the scenes
Steve Withers has just returned from a week long press trip to Tokyo with Sony where he has been given unprecedented behind the scenes access to the company’s engineers and technology.
Whilst some of what he has seen is under NDA and can’t be discussed right now, Steve has published four blogs on AVForums covering the technology and products we are likely to see in 2012.
You can read the blogs from Inside Sony here:
 Panasonic Convention 2012
It is February and once again we have headed out for two days of product launches from Panasonic at their European Convention.
This year the event is taking place in Hamburg, Germany where the entire line-up of TVs is being unveiled for the UK market.
As always we are covering the event with a video report from Phil and Steve, which you can view on the video page from Wednesday the 22nd of February. The Home Cinema Podcast for February will also be recorded from the event.
For all the information on the products and our initial thoughts check out AVforums.tv for our video coverage, the Home Cinema News forum for the press releases and the Home Cinema Podcast.
AVForums press releases
These are now available to view in our Press Releases sub forum under the Forum News and notices. This month we have been focusing on gaming stats and the predominantly male audience which visits the forums as well as announcing our stand at the Gadget Show Live. More to come in this section as and when press releases are being published and distributed to the media.
http://www.avforums.com/forums/avforums-press-releases/
 Sound & Vision – The Bristol Show
With just days to go before the start of “Sound & Vision – The Bristol Show”, the great and the good of the hi-fi and home cinema industry are preparing to make their way down to Bristol.
Held at the Marriott City Centre Hotel, from Friday 24th – Sunday 26th February, it's the UK’s biggest and best Hi-Fi and Home Cinema Show!
There are over 190 brands on display and almost every brand is on sale at some very special Show prices!
For the first time you can now book your Show tickets online. Visit the website now and not only will you save yourself 10% off the usual admission price, but you will also be entered directly into the main Show competition to win prizes worth £10,000!
To help you plan out your visit not only is there the Show guide available online, but they have also launched it within a completely free app - available for the iPhone and for Android phones.
www.bristolshow.co.uk
 AVForums Rewards
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Netflix have launched in the UK and you can try the newest streaming service to hit these shores completely free for 30-days. Get unlimited films and TV episodes instantly streamed straight to your TV, computer and various mobile devices for just £4.99 a month. Register for your free Netflix trial today and earn an impressive £15 cashback after watching 5 hours of content!
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Gadget Show Live 11th April – 15th April 2012
 The Gadget Show Live is the UK’s biggest five-day consumer electronics event, which showcases the world’s top tech. Interact with thousands of products from over 280 international exhibitors many of which are being shown in the UK for the first time.
With all of the Friday and weekend (13-15 April) tickets already sold out, 2012 is set to be the biggest Gadget Show Live yet. Taking place at Birmingham’s NEC from 11 to 15 April 2012, the event is based on the popular Channel Five TV show. Now in its fourth year, the event is widely recognised as the best place to see, try and buy the latest consumer technology. Tickets can be booked online at www.gadgetshowlive.net.
The latest tech from the world’s leading electronics firms, such as LG, O2, HP, Epson, Pioneer, Phillips, Canon and JVC will be at Gadget Show Live 2012. Visitors can try out the new OLED TVs alongside smart and connected home technology, 3D projectors, 3D and HD camcorders, as well as new tablets, phones, laptops and gaming consoles, much of which will be on show for the first time in the UK.
Visit the website today to get your place www.gadgetshowlive.net at the UK’s leading technology event!!
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Home Cinema Hub |
What is an OLED TV?
If one product generated more excitement than any other at this year’s CES, it was the announcement of 55” OLED TVs from both LG and Samsung. This particular display technology has been in development for a number of years but whilst smaller screen sizes had been launched previously, these were the first examples of big screen OLED TVs. The consumer electronics industry has invested a great deal of money in the development of OLED over the last few years and there are many who feel that this revolutionary technology represents the future for the display industry. With so much hype surrounding OLED, you could be forgiven for being curious about the technology, how exactly it works and what benefits it actually offers. So what is an OLED TV?
Click here to find out. |
| Featured hardware review |
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To give you an idea of how crowded a market the 32inch LED/LCD TV one is, Toshiba themselves have a further 3 models available in this size, in addition to the RL858 under testing here. We have a certain amount of sympathy for the manufacturers whom have the job of making their products stand out from the rest, but then nobody’s putting a gun to their heads. Perhaps it might be an idea to rationalise somewhat and concentrate on getting the basics right in addition to adding features the market wants at prices it's willing to stand.
As it is, the Toshiba 32RL858 is the manufacturer’s most feature packed 32 inch TV and, as such, we’ve some fairly high hopes for it given the generally good performance recent Toshibas have exhibited recently. Will the RL858 live up to expectations or fall short?
Let’s crack on and find out. |
Click here to visit the hardware reviews home page |
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Home Cinema News |
 Panasonic Convention News
For the first time Panasonic are making an assault on the large screen LED TV market. The WT50 LED series marks the debut of the two new, larger screen sizes, the TX-L47WT50, 47 inch class and the TX-L55WT50, 55 inch class as well as the TX-L42WT50, 42 inch version.
More Panasonic WT50 Flagship LED TV news...
As we suspected the flagship plasma for this year won't ship in 42 inches, so if you want the top of the shop, you're going to need to make room for at least 50 inches. The Panasonic VT50 will come in 50, 55 and 65 inch varieties.
More VT50 Plasma news...
Joining the flagship VT50 will be five further models in the GT50, ST50, UT50, XT50 and X50, all of which are 3D capable barring the X50 which is also only a 720p HD ready TV.
The GT50 again looks set to be a very popular choice and its specs are very similar to those of the VT50 with the most noticeable omissions being the lack of Infinite Black Ultra filter and instead comes with the Infinite Black pro found in last year's VT30. The GT will still feature the 2500Hz focused filed drive (FFD), built-in wifi, Viera Connect, Bluetooth, DLNA and of course 3D. Unlike the VT50, the GT will come in a 42inch screen size.
More Panasonic Plasma TV Range news...
 Cabasse Launches In-Wall Speaker Install Range
Cabasse, French loudspeaker manufacturer, is introducing a range of in-ceiling and in-wall products designed to set 'new standards' for custom install speakers and bring the benefits of the company’s co-axial drive unit technology to install customers.
No fewer than fifteen products are being launched over the coming months to suit all levels of installation at prices ranging from £199. All feature the company’s tried and tested co-axial drive unit technology as developed for the flagship La Sphere hi-fi speakers. Cabasse says co-axial technology is ideally suited to custom installation applications, particularly with in-ceiling speakers where its very wide dispersion characteristics significantly simplify speaker positioning.
More...
 Arcam Roll Out FMJ D33 SuperDac
Arcam of Cambridge have just told us about its latest and highest performing DAC to date, the Arcam FMJ D33 SuperDAC.
Arcam say it's not called 'Super' for nothing, and they believe the performance of the D33 SuperDAC sets a a new benchmark and suggest it is tested against rather more expensive competitors.
More...
Samsung Introduces New Premium AV Products to UK Customers
 At Samsung’s European Regional Forum, the manufacturers entered the premium audio dock market in Europe for the very first time. Samsung also announced its new range of Home Theatre Systems, Blu-ray players and Set-top boxes.
Russell Owens, Head of AV Samsung UK said: “By integrating Samsung’s Vacuum Tube Amplifier technology into our 2012 flagship AV products, we can offer the highest quality of entertainment to consumers, which they can enjoy individually or with friends and family at home. This audio technology provides a warmth and depth and is the heartbeat of these products”
More...
Chord Electronics Launches first-ever Network Music Player: Chord Index
 Chord Electronics, British manufacturer of high-end audio products, has launched its first-ever music streamer. The all-new Index is the latest edition to Chord Electronics’ 'affordable' boutique high-performance range,
Index will find and play stored music, whether on NAS, a network computer or a USB drive and is compatible with almost any format including: FLAC; WMA; AAC; WAV and MP3. Index also offers internet radio using the vTuner service, which currently gives more than 10,000 commercial-free stations and over 15,000 related podcasts.
More...
Onkyo unveils 2012 Range entry-level Models
 Onkyo, the UK's best-selling home cinema brand for the last four years, have just announced the release of their first models from its 2012 range, comprising of four receivers:
- TX-SR313 5.1-channel home cinema receiver
- TX-NR414 networked 5.1-channel home cinema receiver
- TX-NR515 networked 7.2-channel home cinema receiver
- TX-NR616 networked 7.2-channel THX Select2 Plus-certified home cinema receiver
More...
Get behind the scenes with Facebook and Twitter
Did you know that we post information about what we are up to behind the scenes here at AVForums on twitter and Facebook? We regularly share what we are currently reviewing, live feeds from press events we attend as well as sneak peeks about what we think of the technology we get to see on a daily basis. So follow our Twitter and Facebook pages to further your AVForums addiction. |
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Click here to visit the news section |
| Don't miss these special offers from our sponsor Sevenoaks Sound & Vision |
Warehouse Clearance Sale
Sevenoaks Sound And Vision are holding a Warehouse Clearance Sale at our Tunbridge Wells and Warrington stores.
We are offering many items with savings of up to 80% off their original price!!
This includes ex-display, end-of-line and trade-in units across a large range of products.
Please take a look at the list on http://marketing.sevenoakssoundandvision.co.uk/news/490/story.aspx and pop in soon to see what’s on offer.
Alternatively, please make contact with either of the stores and let them know what you are interested in and they will be glad to help.
Please note the following, these prices are very low and although all items will be in perfect working order in some cases items may be incomplete and will be priced accordingly. When they are gone, they are gone - don't miss out! E&OE.
eNews
To get advanced information on all Sevenoaks Offers, please sign-up for the Sevenoaks e-newsletter. |
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Blu-ray and Movie reviews |
| Featured movie review |
Latest movie reviews |
 Lady Gaga: The Monster Ball Tour - Madison Square Garden Blu-ray review
(USA) Blu-rayreviewed 20th February
by Cas Harlow
I've seen a Thing or two in my time, you know ...
Love her or hate her, there’s no denying that Lady Gaga is a global phenomenon.
Last year she became the most searched person on Google and the first person to reach one billion views on YouTube (her video for Bad Romance is the most viewed video in YouTube history). She’s the first person to hit the 10 million mark in terms of Facebook fans and she’s the most followed person on Twitter with over 7 million followers. She’s also the first person to have seven top ten hits from one album; four number ones from one album; and three number ones in one year.
All this from a 25 year-old Catholic convent girl with internet-rich, but working-class-background, parents. Born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, she was raised in Manhattan’s Upper West Side before being sent to private school and then art school.
“I’m a New York woman, born to run you down”
[Read more] |
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Blu-ray reviews coming soon
Subscribe to the mailing list and receive an email notification when this review is published. |
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Sherlock - Series 2 Blu-ray review
(UK) Blu-ray
being reviewed now
by Cas Harlow
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Horrid Henry: The Movie 3D Blu-ray review
(UK) Blu-ray
being reviewed now
by Stephen Withers
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The Guard Blu-ray review
(UK) Blu-ray
being reviewed now
by Cas Harlow
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Meet the Robinsons 3D Blu-ray review
(USA) Blu-ray
being reviewed now
by Stephen Withers
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Unforgiven - 20th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray review
(USA) Blu-ray
being reviewed now
by Cas Harlow
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Dolphin Tale 3D Blu-ray review
(USA) Blu-ray
being reviewed now
by Stephen Withers
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Click here to visit the movie reviews home page |
| Podcasts |
 Games Podcast: 14th Feb 2012
In the first podcast of 2012, Mark Botwright, Leon Matthews, Ste Carter and Steve Hill go back over their games of the year for 2011, including Deus Ex, Portal 2 and Skyrim....and Duke Nukem Forever! |
AVForums Movies Podcast : 7th February 2012
Presented by Phil with Steve Withers, Simon Crust, Mark Botwright and Chris McEneany.
In this months podcast we review The Grey at the cinema and Repo Man, The Rocketeer and Up 3D on Blu-ray. Plus we discuss the recent Oscar Nominations. |
The Home Cinema Podcast this month is being recorded at the Panasonic Convention in Hamburg Germany. In this edition Steve Withers reports back from his week-long trip to Tokyo with Sony looking behind the scenes. Plus Phil and Steve give their initial impressions of the Panasonic products announced at the convention. The Home Cinema Podcast will be published two days later than scheduled on the 23rd of February.
Finally, make sure you tune in to the Podcast Xtra on the 28th of February for a round-up of the months forums news.
Our podcasts are published where possible on a regular basis every month as follows:
7th – Movies Podcast
14th – Games Podcast
21st – Home Cinema Podcast
28th – Podcast Xtra
If you have any news, views or comments on the podcasts then please use the threads in the Podcast forum or you can email podcast@AVForums.com. |
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Gaming Reviews
As the year begins to pick up pace, so does our gaming review team and on the site now is Ben Ingber's review of the Xbox Live Arcade release of id Software's FPS masterwork - Doom.
Also landing any day now should be Ste Carter's written and video reviews of the remastered escapades of Konami's iconic Solid Snake, making a welcome return to the PlayStation 3 with Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection.
Plus stay tuned for a brand new gaming experience from AVForums which will be launching very soon.
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