LATEST ADDITIONS

Adam Rayner  |  Dec 13, 2011  |  0 comments

Our younger readers might laugh about this, but in the olden days, there were businesses that existed that would rent you a TV. As long as you stayed signed up you always had the latest model – and when the TV died the rental company gave you a new one and you could dispose of the old one as you wished. Good for me – I was allowed to break them up in the garage.

Adam Rayner  |  Dec 13, 2011  |  0 comments

Reviewed here are the MilleniaOne and MilleniaSub products from Canadian brand Paradigm, sold as a money- no-object design, yet promoted as still costing way less than equivalent products for the level of technology. That said, the two and a half grand asking price is not peanuts.

Ed Selley  |  Dec 13, 2011  |  0 comments

Style towers over sonic substance Mark Craven tries out a Sony home theatre system that looks the business.

Sony’s BDV-E880, costs merely £400 and comprises a 5.1 Blu-ray home theatre system with 3D support and Sony’s Bravia Internet Video Smart TV platform.

Ed Selley  |  Dec 12, 2011  |  0 comments
Apple-tiser amp Richard Stevenson considers this receiver as Pioneer’s homage to Apple, and calls it the VSX-2021 Steve Jobs Signature Edition

Pioneer’s VSX-2021 is a receiver for the Apple generation. It’s all but intrinsically linked to the company’s wares with iPhone/iPad control Apps, dedicated music sharing for multiple iPods, remote control of the latest OS devices and full AirPlay integration. Even the user manual and set-up navigator are fully interactive iPad Apps. Okay, this £800 receiver can be operated with its own remote control and you can ignore the Apple-centric features, but that would be like buying a BMW and never using the iDrive. Even those VSX-2021 buyers with a penchant for Android devices (there is an app for that platform, too) might find themselves considering an iPad for its Pioneer-centric features alone.

Ed Selley  |  Dec 12, 2011  |  0 comments
Luxury for less Adrian Justins hunkers down in the suburbs with Onkyo’s latest mid-range networkable 7.1-channel receiver that punches far beyond its weight

Onkyo’s TX-NR709 ups the audiophile ante of the much-loved TX-NR609, and has a back panel busier than Oxford Street at Christmas. In come binding posts for all speaker terminals, bi-amping capability, 7.1 phono inputs and 7.2 pre-outs, which is strictly speaking 7.(1 x 2). You can hook up a grand total of 11 speakers, with the option to enjoy 7.1 sound at any one time through the usual 5.1 configuration, plus either surround back, front high or front wide expansion.

Anton van Beek  |  Dec 12, 2011  |  0 comments

As much as I enjoy Arnie’s 1982 take on Conan, I’d be hard pushed to describe it as anything like a faithful screen adaptation of Robert E Howard’s pulp icon. Which is why I was quite excited by the idea of somebody trying to reboot the franchise.

John Archer  |  Dec 12, 2011  |  0 comments

As Forrest Gump so very nearly said, Loewe is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re going to get. Thanks to the German luxury brand’s unique ‘consumer choice’ approach to design, it’s impossible for a reviewer to predict for sure what colour TV is going to emerge from the box, with which speaker options, or design of stand.

Ed Selley  |  Dec 12, 2011  |  0 comments
3D’s most haunted LG’s 3D-capable plasma rewrites the rule book, says crosstalk ghost-hunter, John Archer. It’s just a pity that in it’s the wrong way...

Ed Selley  |  Dec 12, 2011  |  0 comments
Passive effective has finally arrived LG’s debut Nano technology TV promises unrivalled LED pictures. John Archer discovers if that’s the case

While it’s now established that passive 3D technology is a great, family-friendly alternative to active 3D where 42in and possibly 47in screen sizes are concerned, I personally have had my doubts that LG’s new 3D approach works on bigger screens.

Ed Selley  |  Dec 12, 2011  |  0 comments
Mid-range marvel Sony continues its 3D resurrection with its latest 40in TV, says John Archer

Sony’s EX723 series turned out to be some of the worst 3D performers we’ve seen, but subsequent 3D models have upped the brand’s game. On paper at least, this set looks equipped to do the business. It carries MotionFlow XR 400 processing; a system that combines the detail boosting, noise-reducing qualities of Sony’s new X-Reality picture engine with a 400Hz effect to hopefully kick crosstalk into touch.

Pages

X