Author: Avi Greengart

Audio / DVD / Film

Dolby, WB, AMC 20th Anniversary Re-release of The Matrix at Dolby Cinemas

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To celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Matrix, Dolby, AMC, and Warner Brothers are bringing the movie back to the big screen. It appears that they are taking the work that was done for the upgraded 4K Dolby Vision/Atmos disc and exhibiting it in Dolby Cinemas for a limited run. Last week, I attended a press screening of The Matrix at Dolby Cinema with two of my teenagers; one had not seen the film before, and he was positively jumping out of his seat at the end. I have the 4K disc, and I have a fairly advanced home theater …

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Audio / HDTV / Industry

CEDIA 2015: Focused on Core Custom Install Audience

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This year's CEDIA has come and gone, and unless the journalists in attendance badly missed something, I didn't see many announcements with broad applicability outside the core custom install base. (I attended CES and IFA this year, but was not able to attend CEDIA live.) Sony showed off new projectors, including a native 4K model priced at "just" $10,000, but these had been announced at IFA in Berlin. JVC introduced a trio of projectors from $4,000 – $10,000 that create pseudo-4K from 4K source material. Kaleidescape is now offering a 4K digital storage/playback solution in the $5000 – If You …

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Audio / Industry

Onkyo Swallows Pioneer’s A/V Line

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I was on the road covering Apple when this happened, so I missed it at the time, but it appears that Pioneer is divesting its A/V reciever and headphone business and selling it to Onkyo by March 2015. While Sony, Yamaha, and Harman all still make A/V receivers, Onkyo (and its Integra custom install brand) dominates the premium segment in a steadily shrinking market. If I read the disclosures correctly, Onkyo intends to keep the Pioneer brand, but will consolidate all back office functions and manufacturing. I like Onkyo's recievers, and Pioneer has been losing money, but this still feels …

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Audio / Music

Orb Audio Mod2X review

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It's been a long time since I've done a full formal home theater speaker review, but my "reference" Carver HT5.2 speakers are over 15 years old and I've had the upgrade urge for most of the past decade. When Orb Audio reached out early last year* and offered to send over a complete set of speakers with sub, I thought it was time to start the process of finding a new mid-priced system for our home theater — or at least start listening to something new. Orb sells complete packages that start at $600 and go up to $2500; I …

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