My previous column dealt with the emergence of larger, more affordable big-screen displays in recent years. A flat-panel TV larger than 80 inches used to be a luxury purchase, but today they are commonplace. For example, just last week I saw someone wheeling around an 83-inch LG OLED TV on a cart...at Costco! You can now also buy a 98-inch Samsung or a 100-inch Sony LCD TV at Best Buy. For someone who sold one of the first plasma displays—a 60-inch model from Zenith—for just under $18,000, all I can say is, “We've come a long way, baby!"
Of course, technology never stands still, and since I wrote that last column CES 2022 happened and brought about even more changes. Whether it was LG's 97-inch OLED and 136-inch MicroLED, Samsung's expanded range of MicroLEDs, or TCL's ultra-slim 85-inch 8K Mini-LED, the show was filled with larger displays featuring new technologies capable of delivering pictures that would shame your local cineplex.
But no matter how large and thin these screens get, or how good they look while you're watching, you'll still have the equivalent of a giant black hole on the wall when they're turned off. For people looking to install a big screen in a non-dedicated room where they don't want the TV to be the focal point, that situation can pose a serious design challenge. Fortunately, there are solutions!
DIGITAL CANVAS
This story is from the April - May 2022 edition of Sound & Vision.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April - May 2022 edition of Sound & Vision.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
The Big Clean
Chances are you probably do not think about the state of your electronic devices too often. Oh, you might think about all the upgrades you would like to make; where you would put those new tower speakers, or how a second or third subwoofer would really tame those bass modes in your room, or how much more cinematic a larger screen would be. Sure, you think about that part of your system. But how often do you think about the well-being of your system?
Planar-Magnetic Attraction
THE DIPTYQUE DP 115 speakers are a new model 2-way, ribbon, and planar magnetic driver dipole \"isodynamic\" speaker system designed and built in France.
Full-Featured 4K
THE QN95D is one of two televisions we went hands-on with on a recent trip to Samsung's New Jersey QA Lab, the other being the S95D quantum-dot OLED.
Party Animal
FOR ANY party, the Soundcore Boom 2 Plus Outdoor Bass Bluetooth Speaker is an essential invite.
It's the End of the World. How About Popcorn and a Movie?
Attention all preppers! Today's column is right up your alley-or, more precisely-your tunnel to your underground bunker.
Bridging the Analog-Digital Gap on a Recliner
When I shopped for a motorized recliner, I rejected models with their own Internet Protocol address and built-in speakers. No need. I had already placed a smart speaker on an étagère beside the space where I had planned to put the chair. I'd have a smartphone in my hand and the room would be bathed in Wi-Fi.
BACK TO THE GARDEN
AN AQUARIAN EXPOSITION in WHITE LAKE, N.Y.
Big Sound, Small Price
DOLBY ATMOS, once a costly premium, is enjoying a surge of popularity across a range of new audio gear.
Classic Sound with Streaming Smarts
THE TWENTIETH century had its Roaring Twenties; welcome to the twenty-first's Streaming Twenties.
Stand and Deliver
IT DOESN'T seem all that long ago that SVS first entered the audio scene.
