Category: Home Cinema

Dolby Atmos: The New Standard In Surround Sound

It's been a good two years since Dolby announced its new multi-channel technology, Atmos, and since the first cinema operator began to upgrade accordingly. With now over 300 cinemas worldwide fitted with Dolby Atmos systems, the global market leader in surround sound is now preparing to conquer the living room and home theatre. In keeping with the market launch of Dolby Atmos Consumer, we have put together the relevant facts for you.

Panasonic DMR-BST940 / DMR-BCT940: A First Class Blu-ray Recorder

Never miss your favorite show and enjoy complete independence from broadcast times of the television stations: the promise of the manufacturer has remained the same since the advent of the first VCR. But over the last decade there have been many advancements in the technology. The current state of development is beautifully demonstrated by the new flagships of the Panasonic Blu-ray recorders - the DMR-BST940 and the DMR-BCT940 – what could be called the Swiss army knife of recording specialists.

The Television vs. The Projector?

Every now and then you still come across CRT televisions: bulky and often small in size, they've quickly dropped by the way side. For some it may even make it to a second or third repair service, for almost all the others they end up as junk on the street corner, serving out the last of their existence. Their modern TV successors have been on a long race for first prize in functionality, design and screen size. Fueling this trend of home cinema ambitions is the horde of customers, who are watching sporting events, games, and evening blockbusters, whilst wanting to get the perfect viewing experience across the genres. While this promise so far was apparently solved with a projector screen now in the equation, one may still now weigh up the options: Big Screen TV or Projector?

Sony VPL-HW40ES released

Sony has officially released the Sony VPL-HW40, bringing a smaller version of the VPL-HW55 into the range. This compact mid-range projector from the Japanese brand is an ambitious piece, entering the world-class range of the SXRD projection – it is essentially based on the VPL-HW55, the VPL-HW40 also dominates its competitors with the exclusive Reality Creation resolution technology. However it still doesn't quite match the HW55 in dark scenes and does not include 3D glasses with less available precision available to calibrate the projector on a specific colour spectrum as you have with the HW55. Although worth a mention is that overall the two machines are comparable because the HW40 uses the exact same chassis as the HW55. So what Sony has done is ease the barrier by creating a machine at an entry-level price point with SXRD, a much higher level of cutting professional projector technology. So, here we have the VPL-HW40: quiet, sharp, bright and flexible. It has everything exciting in current state-of-the-art visual projection technology. It's a fantastic choice for ambitious beginners and intermediates, especially those with brighter viewing environments and for those who are not in the position to take on the jump in price to the HW55. Now available in our online shop.

Oppo BDP-105D player

The Oppo BDP-105D (Darbee Edition) completes the range of Blu-ray players offered by this high-end producer of technology. But this name is the device only a partial review. Strictly speaking, there is a Blu-ray/DVD/SACD-Universalplayer with audio/video streamer and D/A converters plus 2D/3D-Video-Prozessor/Scaler. The word is often flagship endeavor in such situations. German and international test magazines such as STEREO and Audiovision gave the 105EU in their highest praises.