Home Cinema Choice Magazine April 2017 Retour à l'édition précédente

On our cover this issue is Sony’s new 55in XE9305 4K HDR TV, which sees the iconic brand re-engineering its Slim Backlight Drive tech to deliver brighter imagery and deeper black levels. We put it to the test with our favourite Ultra HD Blu-rays to see if this is the 2017 screen to beat.

Also on the test bench this month is REL’s No.25 subwoofer, a reference-grade sub-bass system designed to mark the company’s 25th birthday – packing a 15in driver and 1,000W amp, this is a serious sub for serious setups! We also audition Epson’s Full HD EH-TW6300 projector, the nine-channel Marantz SR6011 AV receiver, standmount speakers from Quad, Philips’ Dolby Atmos-enabled SkyQuake soundbar, and more from brands including Q Acoustics, BenQ, Bose, Devolo. So whatever your budget, we’ve got you covered.

On the software side, we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Star Wars by looking back over the sci-fi classic’s varied home media history, and then check out new Blu-ray releases including Arrival, Moana, Allied, Doctor Strange 3D and the restored boxset for cult swordplay series Lone Wolf and Cub. And for 4K fans, we the rule over the groundbreaking 60fps imagery of Billy Lynn’s Halftime Walk.

Elsewhere, we report on IMAX’s plans to embrace Virtual Reality with its new VR pod centres; discuss why Dolby Atmos isn’t just suited to movies; visit a reader’s retro-themed cinema room and a pro-grade custom theatre; chat with Sony about its AV plans; and wonder why the Godzilla series remains ignored on Blu-ray in the UK…

Plus all the usual opinions, advice, news and more. Enjoy the show!