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Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023WelcomeWhat constitutes home cinema? You might consider it nothing but a dedicated room with at least an 11-channel speaker setup and a projector screen. Or you might believe it to be anything more involved than merely watching a TV. There’s no hard and fast rule. Take a look at Marantz’s new Stereo 70s receiver (p56), for which the company tag-line is: 'get serious home cinema with only two speakers.' Is that possible? Yes! Powerful amplification and a pair of good-quality loudspeakers, allied to a TV or PJ, can deliver a knockout performance. For me, home cinema is about being immersed in what you're watching. A couple of hours of escapism. Drama, tension, laughs and the suspension of disbelief. Home cinema isn't about how many pixels, watts, inches or channels your…1 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Laser PJ made for gamersSonus faber Duetto The Italian brand is known for its high-end loudspeakers, so the £3,490 ticket for Sonus faber’s Duetto – its first active wireless system – shouldn't surprise. Each real-wood 'lute-shaped' cabinet (stands are available for £649) houses a custom silk dome tweeter and 5.25in paper pulp mid/bass driver, powered by Class A/B and Class D amp modules respectively. Connections include HDMI ARC, optical, Wi-Fi and analogue stereo; playback and setup can be governed via an app. www.sonusfaber.com DALI IO-12 The bespoke SMC (Soft Magnetic Compound) motor technology at the heart of DALI’s speakers makes its headphone debut on the £999 IO-12. A wired/wireless design with aptX Bluetooth, active noise cancelling and app control, these closed-back, over-ear 'phones feature 50mm paper/fibre drivers and support 96kHz/24-bit playback via USB-C. Other…2 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023At the 'plex…Wonka December8: Hugh Grant as an Oompa-Loompa is just one of the delights promised by Paddington director Paul King’s musical origin story for Roald Dahl’s famous chocolatier. Timothée Chalamet stars as the young Willy Wonka. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom December20: Following the stories of re-edits and reshoots, we finally get to see for ourselves what shape James Wan’s long-awaited comic book sequel is in when it washes up at the multiplex just in time for Christmas. Ferrari December 26: Directed by Michael Mann and written by The Italian Job’s Troy Kennedy Martin, this biopic of Enzo Ferrari (played here by Adam Driver) speeds into UK cinemas ahead of its debut on Sky Cinema.…1 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023News x101 TCL bolsters 4K lineup Chinese TV manufacturer TCL has launched its latest Android TV-powered 4K HDR flatscreens: the P638K series and C645K QLED series (pictured). Available from Argos and other retailers, both models are available in 43in, 50in, 55in, 65in and 75in sizes, with prices topping out at £749 for the largest P638K and £949 for the comparable C645K. 2 Hungry for theatre? Already turned into a blockbuster movie franchise, Suzanne Collins' bestseller The Hunger Games will be making the leap to London stage next autumn. Priority booking details for what the author promises will be a 'dynamic and innovative interpretation' of her dystopian novel can be found at www.thehungergames.com. 3 Disney+ adds ads The House of Mouse has made some changes to the subscription packages offered for its…2 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Micro LEDMicro LED sometimes feels like the El Dorado of the AV arena. Even to those of us who've been monitoring its progress and potential since it was first presented as the next big thing at the 2019 CES, there’s increasingly an air of legend or myth about it. Its home cinema riches always remain stubbornly tucked somewhere just over the horizon. But having recently seen a custom installation project that featured a Micro LED screen at its heart [HCC #346], could the tide finally be turning? Will Micro LED soon be coming to a living room near you without needing you to remortgage your house or sell your entire families' kidneys? Display dream-team The key to understanding both the brilliance of this display technology and why it’s taking so long…3 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Turn the pageUnleashing Oppenheimer Author Jada Yuan delves into the creation of Christopher Nolan’s epic nuclear drama, via exclusive interviews with cast/crew members and on-set photographs, storyboards and more. Priced £49.99, Titan’s 272-page hardback features a foreword from the filmmaker. Spielberg: The First Ten Years In another £50 Titan Books tome, Steven Spielberg’s early works (including Jaws and E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial) are examined in breathtaking detail by docu filmmaker and regular Spielberg collaborator Laurent Bouzereau. The Disney Book Newly revised to mark the House of Mouse’s 100th birthday, Dorling Kindersley’s colourful look at the studio’s animation/live-action movie history covers plenty of ground, albeit with the expected child-friendly tone.…1 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023California dreamin'JBL IS ONE of the most storied brands in hi-fi and cinema sound. Part of the larger Harman International portfolio (since 2017 a subsidiary of global behemoth Samsung), it’s uniquely synonymous with theatrical sound systems, live music, and home audio. So how did this American company become so ubiquitous? I travelled to the Harman Center of Acoustics Excellence, in Northridge, California, to unravel its entertainment ancestry. Home cinema hero Everyone can remember their first experience of high-end home cinema, and one of my first encounters with home theatre exotica came courtesy of JBL Synthesis. The progenitor of the immersive multichannel home cinemas we're now so familiar with, JBL Synthesis helped redefine what was possible to hear in your own home back in the early 1990s. That first generation of JBL…7 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Let’s take it outsideKIT CHECKLIST BOWERS & WILKINS: 3 x CWM7.3 S2 front LCR speakers; 4 x CWM7.5 S2 side and rear surrounds; 4 x CCM7.5 S2 overhead speakers; 2 x CT SW12 subwoofers and SA100 power amplifiers ANTHEM: MRX 1140 11-channel Atmos/DTS:X AV receiver JVC: DLA-NP5 4K projector PANASONIC: DP-UB9000 4K Blu-ray player APPLE: Apple TV 4K SKY: Sky Q PROJECTA: Acoustically transparent 3.6m-wide 16:9 projector screen LUTRON: RA2 lighting control CONTROL4: System control MIDDLE ATLANTIC: SRSR slide-out AV rack CUSTOM SEATING MATTWAYNE, SENIOR Design Consultant at UK installer Finite Solutions, says the brief for this project was a dedicated cinema room with a luxurious, comfortable interior and robust audiovisual performance of the best quality allowed by the budget. The venue? A renovated outbuilding away from the main house, enabling a healthy-sized…2 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 20235.1 with DX appealSomeone once suggested the only things we can be certain of in this world are 'death and taxes'. To that I might venture you can add 'kick-ass compact speakers from Wharfedale', because the UK-born marque, when getting down to the business of delivering fine sounds from small boxes, never seems to put a foot wrong. On test here is its new DX-3 HCP ('Home Cinema Package), and it is both in name and general appearance a descendant of the DX-2 system [HCC #283]. That was an absolute bargain 5.1 bundle, as was the DX-1 before it. Just from the outer packaging (the system arrives in one box) you get the impression the speakers are small, because the box looks big enough for the subwoofer and not much else. And, yes,…7 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Mid-tier OLED TV impressesHEAVY METAL The bots are back in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts p88 The TX-55MZ980 is Panasonic’s mid-range OLED TV for 2023 – which means you have to accept a couple of limitations right off the bat. First, it doesn't sport the new brightness-boosting Micro Lens Array (MLA) tech found inside Panasonic’s flagship MZ2000 series, or the premium Master OLED Pro panels of the step-down MZ1500s. Nor does it use the new Quantum Dot take on OLED now available from Samsung and Sony. What it does have going for it, though, is its price. At £1,399 it’s not only substantially more affordable than its step-up siblings, but goes toe-to-toe with rivals including LG’s C3 series or Sony’s A80L models [both HCC #342]. This appealing price doesn't mean it’s devoid of…7 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Cornered Audio C3CORNERED AUDIO IS a Danish loudspeaker maker with a focus on discreet installation. As you might gather, all its speakers are made to sit in corners. Actually, that’s not quite right – the passive C3 models auditioned here, along with its A3 active Bluetooth models and outdoor-friendly Ci series models, could also be mounted to a single flat surface and still look unobtrusive thanks to their rounded front, but they're at their most appealing when used in a wall corner or between ceiling and wall. The company itself suggests their form factor is suited to Atmos installation. The £460 C3 models are the most affordable – and smallest – in Cornered Audio’s domestic range, and feature a 4in bass/mid and 1in tweeter driver combo on an MDF baffle, hidden behind…2 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Digital CopyI'M CERTAIN I'VE written before in this column about my love of short, 90-minute approx. movies. Fast-paced, compact stories are right in my wheelhouse, allowing you to squeeze in, say, Cocaine Bear on a midweek evening without having to stay up past midnight. That said, as Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon [pictured] – all 206 minutes of it – takes residence in cinemas, it’s now time to mount a defence of long movies. Every review I've read of Killers… makes mention of its three-hour-plus length, which is fair enough. But some reviews have been scathing of it, while at the same time declaring the movie a masterpiece. Can something both be 'too long' and brilliant? Outside of there not being an intermission to allow you to safely nip…3 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023FeedbackLooking to rip SACD Hi. In HCC #344, I read with huge interest your review of the Eversolo DMP-A6. I had seen this unit on several YouTube channels, and it seemed like the audio streamer I had been waiting for. Boy was I not wrong. After a few weeks of getting used to the various tweaks I have now ripped all my CDs to the SSD storage I installed (4TB – I didn't realise how little space a CD took up, but I'm future-proofed). I've noticed that the Eversolo supports DSD. My question is, can you rip an SACD to it? Can you hook up a Blu-ray player that supports SACD playback and rip the discs this way? I have several SACDs in my collection and would love to be…7 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023WIN! Great Blu-rays up for grabs…Saw X 4K John Kramer is back! Set between the first two films in the phenomenally popular horror franchise, Saw X explores an untold chapter of Jigsaw’s evolution as he employs his deadly skills to get revenge on the con artists behind a cancer cure scam. Already available to buy and rent on Digital, Saw X is coming to 4K UHD™, Blu-ray™ and DVD on December 11, courtesy of Lionsgate UK. To celebrate the release we have four copies of Saw X on 4K UHD™ to be won! Question: Which genre icon portrays the character of John Kramer/Jigsaw in the Saw movies? Answer: A) Robert Englund B) Tobin Bell C) Lance Henriksen The Wandering Earth II The epic Chinese science-fiction sequel starring Andy Lau and Wu Jing is out now…2 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Farewell to Marvel’s misfitsGUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: VOLUME 3 When Rocket (Bradley Cooper) is left in a coma following a fight with artificial super-being Adam Warlock (Will Poulter), the other Guardians embark on a mission to save their furry chum; one that will unlock the secrets of Rocket’s tragic past and bring them face-to-face with sad*stic genetic tinkerer, the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji). More than any other filmmaker who has worked at Marvel Studios, James Gunn’s fingerprints have been all over the films he’s made there. Traces of earlier Gunn projects were embedded in the irreverent humour and grotesque creations that populated the first two Guardians of the Galaxy releases, and with this third and final instalment Gunn crafts his most personal Marvel movie to date. Gross, bloated and messy, but also smart,…2 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Statham jumps the shark…MEG 2: THE TRENCH When a research mission to explore the aquatic depths of the Mariana Trench uncovers an illegal deep sea mining operation, it sets in motion a chain of events that results in a trio of megalodons – and a few other oversized prehistoric monsters – breaking loose and treating the local resort of Fun Island like an all-you-can-eat buffet. Meg 2: The Trench was greeted by some pretty sniffy reviews when it swam into cinemas, making you wonder exactly what critics wanted from it. By its very nature, the Jason Statham-fights-giant-sharks concept can only go so far. Did the presence of Ben Wheatley behind the camera really have them expecting that the result might trouble Oppenheimer or Killers of the Flower Moon at next year’s Oscars? While…3 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Back to the future with a twistTOTALLY KILLER Don't come to Prime Video’s Totally Killer expecting a classic teen-centric horror. This time-travel comedy slasher owes more to Christopher Landon’s excellent Happy Death Day series than the films of Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees, and is an entertaining romp with acidic wit and well-staged kills. Kiernan Shipka (best known as the titular star of Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) plays Jamie, who through necessity travels back to 1987 to try and stop the Sweet 16 Killer (so called because he stabs his 16-year-old victims, 16 times) from slaying a trio of Mean Girls at her mom’s high school, and thereby prevent his murderous return some 35 years later. With a vigorous nod to Robert Zemeckis' Back to the Future, Jamie soon teams up with her mother to…3 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023AV AvengerTHESCALA HAS a lot to answer for. London’s legendary cinema club, a bête noire of the censorious establishment throughout the 1980s, is celebrated in a new documentary charting the history of this wonderfully perverted picture palace. Subtitled 'the incredibly strange rise and fall of the world’s wildest cinema and how it influenced a mixed-up generation of weirdos and misfits', I had an early preview and it brought memories flooding back, because, yes, I was one of those weirdos. Inspired by the outré repertory theatres of the US, the Scala was a nexus for cinematic counter culture. I fondly remember seeing Eraserhead, as part of a double bill with Thundercrack. For years I thought I must have misremembered Thundercrack, but this documentary confirmed that its excesses weren't a figment of my…3 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Four-channel Acurus ampA suggested partner for the American manufacturer’s surround processors, Acurus’s M4 is a slim, 2U power amplifier intended for a high-end kit rack. As the name suggests, it’s a four-channel model, claiming 200W/8ohm a piece with all channels driven via its Class D modules. Power is said to boost to 400W into 4ohm loads, and the built-in amplification can be bridged for a 2x320W stereo output. Befitting its custom install ambitions, the M4 features an unobtrusive all-black chassis, and is supplied with rack ears. Inputs are on balanced XLR to match the outputs of Acurus’s 16-channel Muse processor [HCC #335], while RS232, IR, 12V and Ethernet connections are provided for system integration. The M4 joins the eight-channel M8 power amp in the manufacturer’s lineup, and 'is the latest in our…1 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Next-generation ArcamA criticism sometimes levelled at Arcam hardware, from its AVRs to hi-fi separates, is that it looks a bit… austere. This is something the Cambridge-based company, now owned by Samsung/Harman, clearly hopes to address with its Radia lineup. Launching with five models, all of a twochannel bent, the range is designed to 'stay true to Arcam’s British heritage of amazing audio' while also being more appealing to a new generation of customers, thanks to fresh styling and sensible prices. Says Tim Giblin, director of global marketing for Harman’s portfolio brands: 'There is a third core customer where we see an opportunity, and that’s younger audio enthusiasts who are ready to elevate their sound systems.' Different strokes With their yellow accents, slender black aluminium casework and symmetrical fascias, Arcam’s new Radia…1 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Premiere…Trick or treat? Miramax is believed to be developing a Halloween 'cinematic universe' consisting of both films and TV shows after winning a bidding war for the smallscreen rights to the horror franchise. The studio already shares ownership of the Halloween movie rights. Birthing pains Marvel Studios has pulled the brakes on its Daredevil: Born Again Disney+ series. Reportedly unimpressed with what had been shot before the actors' strike, studio boss Kevin Feige has insisted the show be completely retooled, with new writers and directors being sought. Keep on Trekkin' Star Trek: Prodigy has found a new home at Netflix. The animated series was cancelled by Paramount+ earlier this year as part of ongoing cost-cutting measures, despite work already being well underway on a second season.…1 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Dare to streamApple TV+ Available for £8.99 a month, this streaming platform appeals with its focus on quality over quantity, both in terms of programming and AV chops. Disney+ Now offered in three different price tiers, the premium £10.99 monthly sub is the one to get – else you'll miss out on its 4K streams and Dolby Atmos audio. Paramount+ A newcomer to the SVOD scene, this is keenly priced at £6.99 p/m but currently only offers HD streams of its shows and films, the majority with stereo audio. Prime Video Tweaks to the UI have made it easier to find what you want to watch on Amazon’s content-rich streamer. Price is £5.99 a month on its own, or £8.99 for the full Prime shebang including free shopping delivery, cloud storage, etc.…1 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Little 'n' largeThe JBL name no doubt means different things to different people. For some it will conjure images of headphones, others will think of classic hi-fi, others of pro-grade cinema sound. Then there are its commercial audio applications, including stadium and concert hall systems, and music and movie studio monitors. It has an automotive division too. In terms of home entertainment, however, JBL’s output generally splits into three. JBL Synthesis is the high-end home theatre side, with a product range including AV processors, power amplifiers, receivers, loudspeakers and subwoofers [see HCC #330]. Premium audio is another area, where speakers like the flagship Project Everest DD67000 rub shoulders with JBL’s affordable Stage series [HCC #338] and numerous hi-fi separates. Below this is what you might call the meat and potatoes of the…1 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023REVIEWCrowd-pleasing OLED Below the Master OLED Pro MZ2000 and Master OLED MZ1500 models, you'll find Panasonic’s MZ980. Does a tempting price tag make this the sweetspot in the brand’s OLED series? We dig into its picture and sound quality on p60 All prices quoted are approximate and may have changed…1 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Brains and brawnIt was very quiet around Onkyo for the last few years, but an invigorating partnership between Sharp and the Premium Audio Company means the iconic Japanese brand is making a comeback. And the charge is being led by the TX-RZ70, an 11.2-channel AV receiver launched this year at £3,099. This model joins the nine-channel TX-RZ50 [HCC #343] at the top of pile, while below it remain older models such as the venerable TX-NR696 and the TX-NR5100/6100, which launched in 2021. Presumably there’s more on the way to build up a completely refreshed lineup, but for now, it’s the TX-RZ70 that competes with high-end models from the likes of Denon, Marantz, Arcam and Yamaha. Hefty contender One way Onkyo seeks to distance the TX-RZ70 from rivals is via its broad feature…7 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Meet Epson’s 4K HDR everymanWITH SO MANY rivals now ensconced in DLP, SXRD or D-ILA projection camps, Epson has the LCD market largely to itself. This is a position it’s exploited with a wealth of excellent home entertainment projectors over the years. Now comes the '4K-ready' EH-TW6250. I put 4K-ready in quote marks because as with all LCD projectors, the TW6250 doesn't provide a true 3840 x 2160 pixel count. Instead, it uses two layers of pixel-shifted HD resolution LCD chips to create a 4K pixel density. But any sort of 4K support on a £999 projector is always welcome. Let the light in The TW6250’s optics claim a promising peak brightness (for an HDR model) of 2,800 Lumens from a UHP lamp. This is a figure that should really reach the screen, too,…6 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023iFi Audio Neo iDSD 2IFIAUDIO’S NEO iDSD 2 is an updated version of the original NEO iDSD outboard DAC, again offering 768kHz and DSD512 sample rate handling from a Texas Instruments-based conversion stage, partnered with a custom clock and output stage packed with bespoke components. New is aptX Lossless Bluetooth on an internal aerial and a beefed-up power supply arrangement that allows the device to run at between 9 and 15 volts, significantly boosting the power available to its balanced and unbalanced headphone outputs. Around the back you’ll find variable-level RCA and XLR outs, plus USB, coaxial, optical and – somewhat oddly – 3.5mm analogue inputs. The hardware itself looks much the same as the earlier version, and can again stand tall or lay flat. The full-colour display has been smartened and the unit…2 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Film FanaticHALLOWEEN HAS COME and gone but spooky things are still afoot in the British film industry, with the rebirth of not one but two former stalwarts of horror cinema on these shores: Hammer Films and Amicus Productions. To be fair to Hammer, the actual resurrection of this iconic brand took place in the late 2000s, kicking off with web serial Beyond the Rave (2008). In 2014 I chatted to Hammer Films CEO and President Simon Oakes and it was clear he had big plans for the studio. But despite box office success on both sides of the Atlantic with its terrific 2012 adaptation of Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black [pictured], Hammer’s other theatrical releases fared less well. Things have been pretty quite for the last few years. The recent…3 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Well, it scared me…I enjoyed reading your Halloween horror movie roundup [HCC #346] but was surprised that The Blair Witch Project didn't make the list outside of a brief mention underneath the entry for Lake Mungo. This film might not look and sound like much on Blu-ray because it was shot on 16mm film, but I haven't forgotten the hype that surrounded it when it was released. The sense of dread shared by the cinema audience, when I saw it on Halloween night in 1999, was amazing. Lawrence Anton van Beek replies: We did indeed give a shout out to The Blair Witch Project, as it’s at times terrifying and clearly influential, both in its found-footage setup and the viral marketing that enabled it to earn $250m approx from a sub-$1m budget. But…1 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023PLAYBACKFishy business Meg 2: The Trench ➜ Warner Bros. ➜ 4K Blu-ray In this follow-up to the money-spinning 2018 flick The Meg, Jason Statham has more than just a single megalodon to worry about, as Brit director Ben Wheatley leans into the 'a sequel must be bigger' mantra. We take the 4K BD for a swim on p93. HCC RATINGS KEY… All prices quoted are approximate and may have changed…1 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Nobody does it betterMISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE The opening salvo in the biggest Mission: Impossible story to date, …Dead Reckoning Part One sends Ethan Hunt and his team on another globe-trotting adventure, this time in pursuit of a rogue A.I. This means it’s time for Tom Cruise to do what he does best, which is risk life and limb while performing some of the most audacious stunts to grace the silver screen since the days of Harold Lloyd – although this time at least one of them (a motorbike jump off a 400-foot cliff) loses a little of its lustre by having been the major focus of the film’s marketing. Dead Reckoning Part One is great fun, even if it doesn't quite hit the heights of the last two movies…4 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Life in plastic, it’s fantasticBARBIE Starring Margot Robbie in the title role, Ryan Gosling as her beach-obsessed pal, Ken, and directed by Greta Gerwig, Barbie has famously romped to over $1.4bn at cinemas. This is both surprising – no one came into 2023 thinking the year’s biggest box office smash would be a film about a 64-year-old fashion doll – but understandable, because it’s one of the year’s funniest comedies; a thematically ambitious battle-of-the-sexes satire that celebrates and subverts its corporate paymasters. Sure, you could argue that Barbie’s main plot-line echoes what The Lego Movie did almost a decade earlier (not helped by Will Ferrell playing similar roles in both), but that doesn't make it any less amusing. In fact, arguably its biggest flaw is that it doesn't pander enough to the junior film…5 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Catalogue classicGladiator ➜ Ultra HD Blu-ray, Universal Pictures CINEMA AUDIENCES HAD long since turned their thumbs down on the swords-and-sandals genre by the time Gladiator arrived in May 2000. But even if the glory days of Quo Vadis (1951), Ben-Hur (1959) and Spartacus (1960), as well as Italian 'peplum' such as Steve Reeves' Hercules (1958) and its endless run of sequels, had faded into history, glimpses of that cinematic past had persisted in fantasy feature films like Conan the Barbarian (1982), The Beastmaster (1982), and the Deathstalker series (1983-1991). Ironically, Gladiator’s own roots lay in the early 1970s, just as the swords-and-sandals genre was vanishing from screens. It was then that future scriptwriter David Franzoni embarked on a motorbike trip across Eastern Europe, during which he read the 1958 novel Those…5 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Imagine all the speakers…PSB, the loudspeaker brand owned by NAD and Bluesound parent Lenbrook, has announced a new edition of its long-running, mid-range Imagine series. The range consists of B50 bookshelf and T54 and T65 floorstander models. Interestingly, there’s no Dolby Atmos add-on module – the Imagine series previously included the Imagine XA, launched in 2016. Science fare PSB believes its new trio 'represents the best value, no-compromise performance' in its entire line-up, and by that it means the price tags are on the right side of affordable: £599 for the Imagine B50, £1,199 for the Imagine T54 and £1,699 for the Imagine T65. There’s no Imagine subwoofer, but to keep a setup all-PSB you could investigate its Alpha and SubSeries models. 'Each speaker is scientifically measured, tested and fine-tuned' by PSB engineers,…2 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Dolby Vision goes largeSaid to be an 'exceptional upgrade' over last year’s PX1-Pro, Hisense’s new ultra-short-throw laser projector debuts Dolby Vision HDR and increases brightness from 2,100 to 2,400 Lumens. Expanded connectivity now includes three HDMIs, while the company’s proprietary VIDAA OS is here preferred to Android TV for built-in streaming. Selling for £1,999, the PX2-Pro incorporates a 2 x 15W Dolby Atmos speaker system for an all-in-one home entertainment solution, and supports 4K images up to 130in.…1 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023WiSA-ready 'n' compactThe Silverback 1 active wireless speakers from Denmark’s System Audio have landed in the UK via distributor Karma AV, priced £1,799 a pair. Baby models in the Silverback series, the speakers are available in white or black finish and intended for desktop or on-wall installation. Each 30cm tall cabinet houses a pair of 80W-rated amplifiers to drive its 5.5in bass/mid and 1in tweeter with 'DXT' acoustic lens. Physical line-level inputs are offered for local sources, but the integration of a WiSA receiver means the Silverback 1 can pair with a compatible transmitter for a wireless setup. System Audio suggests adding its WiSA-enabled Stereo Hub (£399), which features connections including HDMI ARC, USB, Chromecast, Bluetooth and UPnP, plus room correction. www.system-audio.com…1 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023One last crack of the whip…Dust off your fedora and join everyone’s favourite Nazi-punching archaeologist for one final adventure when Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny debuts on 4K Blu-ray on December 4. In addition to a 4K HDR10 presentation of the James Mangold-directed movie with Dolby Atmos sonics, Disney’s Ultra HD release promises an in-depth, five-part documentary looking at the film’s production, plus a 'score only' audio option allowing you to savour John Williams' iconic music in isolation.…1 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Slip a cable under the tree for me…Ruark R810 Step into the future while embracing the nostalgia of classic radiograms with Ruark Audio’s R810. More than just a piece of fancy furniture, this is a 180W-rated 4.1-channel entertainment centre that delivers wireless connectivity, hi-res audio (up to 384kHz/32-bit), and a plethora of input options including CD and vinyl. Flagship sibling of the R410 [HCC #346], Ruark’s newbie is again crafted from sustainable woods, with polished chrome accents, and available in soft grey or walnut finishes. A retro-tastic RotoDial controller, plus front-panel colour display, make it a doddle to use. Meanwhile, for the ultimate in cinematic chic, why not wall-mount your flatscreen above the R810 and take advantage of its HDMI eARC connectivity? www.ruarkaudio.com Sky Stream Can't install a Sky dish and not interested in the company’s Sky…4 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Blu-ray boxsetsWarner Bros. 100th Anniversary Studio Collection As part of its 100th anniversary celebrations, Warner Bros. has issued this mammoth £300 Ultra HD BD boxset bringing together 30 of the studio’s (if not all of Hollywood's) most celebrated films. As well as the likes of The Wizard of Oz, The Exorcist and The Matrix, which have already graced the format, the set also sees the James Dean classic East of Eden and the influential Howard Hawks western Rio Bravo make their UK 4K debut. Limited to just 1,200 copies, WB’s gorgeous gatefold set includes a poster, illustrated booklet and a set of eight Warner Bros. logo pin badges. The Alfred Hitchco*ck Classics Collection Vol. 3 Universal Pictures brings to a close its series of 4K Blu-ray upgrades for classic Alfred Hitchco*ck…3 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 202324CHRISTMAS CRACKERS!Black Christmas [1974] Shout Factory, 4K BD In some parts of the globe filmmaker Bob Clark’s name will be forever synonymous with festive films thanks to his 1983 cult favourite A Christmas Story. Around here, however, it’s his earlier holiday hit, Black Christmas (1974), that we've chosen to kick of our December movie binge. Widely regarded as a precursor to the slasher genre, this classic Canadian shocker delivers plenty of seasonal chills with its story about a deranged killer picking off the girls at a sorority house in the run-up to Christmas, and boasts a superb cast including Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder and genre stalwart John Saxon. Daddy’s Home 2 Paramount, 4K Blu-ray In this 2017 follow-up to the amiable 2015 original, the joke this time is that…13 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Second time’s a charm for SonyAs part of a strategy of trying to offer something for everyone, Sony has already given us traditional LED, Mini LED, and OLED flatscreens this year. But, whether intentionally or not, the Japanese giant has saved its best till last in the shape of its Quantum Dot OLED range. The 55A95L auditioned here sells for the rather princely sum of £2,699 – immediately establishing it as Sony’s flagship 55in TV for 2023. If you're not familiar with QD OLED, its two big stories are that it’s self-emissive, meaning each pixel makes its own light and colour, and that it shines an organically created blue light through red and green layers of Quantum Dots to produce its colours, rather than shining a white light through RGB filters, in the traditional OLED…7 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Sonic simplicityAt first glance, this Marantz model looks much like one of the marque’s conventional 'slimline' AV receivers. It presents a busy face to the world and has a back panel awash with HDMI inputs – but closer inspection confirms this is in fact a stereo receiver, offering no support for surround or centre speakers. This isn't uniquely unusual for Marantz, as it previously released the NR1200, another HDMI-equipped twochannel receiver, in 2019. Yet the brand appears to be shouting a lot more loudly about this model, pitching it as a cinematic option rather than a well-connected hi-fi amplifier, and claiming improved connectivity and revised sound tuning. Behind the Stereo 70s is the idea that traditional two-channel audio is back in fashion, and even speaking as a die-hard multichannel nutter, I…7 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Bose Smart UltraBOSE’S SMART ULTRA is the latest addition to the brand’s Dolby Atmos range of soundbars, which includes the Smart 600 and Smart 900. The latter was the previous range-topper, now usurped here, although the Ultra costs about same (£899) and sports a near-identical feature-set. You get the same elegant design, discreet size, and superb build quality of its predecessor, with a choice of black or arctic white finishes. As a result, it retains the perforated metal grilles around its sides, but also the annoyingly distracting glass top that acts like a mirror below your TV screen. Connectivity is surprisingly basic for a soundbar at this price with only a single HDMI eARC port, and an optical digital input. Wireless connectivity is more expansive with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AirPlay 2 and Chromecast…4 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023In The MixIT APPEARS WE came very close to next year being rubbish for film fans. The movie industry, except for a few independent companies, effectively went on strike in June. First it was writers downing pens, then the big one hit – the actors – and it affected everything. The London Film Festival, for instance, was a totally different affair this year, with no stars on the red carpet. It was only in mid-November that the strike by SAG-AFTRA (the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) came to an end, after some fraught negotiations. Hollywood studios could breathe a sigh of relief, albeit while ruing the concessions they were forced to make. Actors being on strike doesn't merely affect on-set production. For a while, Dune: Part Two, which…3 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Star Letter…It is often said ‘show don’t tell.’ In a novel or in a film NEVER have the characters tell you about anything. Show what you need to know. One step removed from show don’t tell is the voice-over narrator in a film. Either you perceive this as lazy filmmaking or another layer to the experience. It occurred to me that once sat down in the theatre of your home or elsewhere, the opening titles beginning to talk to you ARE part of cinema DNA. The best example is Sunset Boulevard. I suspect you could be crowded on a train with your phone screen and earphones and still be mesmerised by that opening scene of the sprawled dead body in the swimming pool suddenly talking to you. You are engaged in…3 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Less than meets the eyeTRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS After six attempts, Transformers fans finally got a live-action film that treated the franchise – and themselves – with some measure of respect in 2018’s Bumblebee. Reminiscent in tone of the Amblin films of the 1980s, its creators understood that flashy action scenes are so much more impactful if they involve well-written and performed characters you actually care about. In other words, it was the kind of soft reboot needed to shake off the overblown nature of the earlier Michael Bay instalments, and dwindling box office profits. This makes …Rise of the Beasts' return to that era a bit confusing. Maybe people really were demanding more explosions (as producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura claims in one of this 4K disc’s extras), but that’s still no excuse…4 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023Arcade ActionMarvel Spider-Man 2 Sony Interactive Entertainment/Insomniac Games PlayStation 5 ➜ £70 Perhaps the most famous quote associated with Spider-Man is 'with great power, comes great responsibility', and it somewhat applies to Insomniac’s Spidey game sequel. After all, the first game from 2018, and the 2020 spin-off Miles Morales, were not only huge hits financially, but critically too. The developer had, within a relatively short space of time, crafted a new, essential PlayStation franchise and quite possibly the best use of superheroes in video gaming. Thankfully, it hasn't dropped the ball with this new instalment, providing us with a bigger, bolder Spider-Man game that pulls off the neat trick of feeling familiar yet enhanced in equal measure. We now have Spider-Men at our control – both Peter Parker and Miles Morales…3 min
Home Cinema Choice|Yearbook 2023The Living Dead GlobetrottersWORLD WAR Z Adapted from the novel by Max (son of Mel) Brooks, apocalyptic thriller World War Z casts Brad Pitt as a UN investigator travelling the world in search of a cure for a zombie pandemic. The novel is presented as an oral history detailing a devastating global conflict with the living dead, but here director Marc Foster and the writing team opt for a more focused approach, concentrating on Pitt and his family’s efforts to survive the outbreak. The action is as fast and relentless as the zombies themselves, rarely letting up until the end, yet the film itself had a troubled production. Seven weeks of reshoots were required for an entirely new third act, after a huge battle was dropped for a more character-driven climax. The resulting…2 min
