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Vizio E-Series 2018 4K TV review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Displays, Home Entertainment, Product Reviews,
The Vizio E-Series is a budget-priced television set, but don’t let the great price fool you. The E-Series has one of the displays in terms of image quality that you’ll find for the money, thanks in large part to the local dimming (which you typically have to pay a lot more money for.) Let’s dive into the features and design of the Vizio E-Series to see if it’s worth your attention.
Click to continue reading Vizio E-Series 2018 4K TV review
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Amazon Fire TV Cube hands-on review, new AirPods 2 coming soon - Geared Up!
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Apple, Wearables, Features, Home Entertainment, Portable Audio / Video, Product Reviews,
Amazon is trying to get its Alexa voice assistant into as many homes as possible. Its latest offering: The Fire TV Cube, which essentially turns any TV into a smart TV with Alexa voice control. We try it out live on this episode. The integration with certain apps, like Netflix and Hulu, is pretty cool. Simply saying "Alexa, play Stranger Things," opened the Netflix app and started playing right where we left off. Using voice control to fast forward, switch TV inputs and open apps also works well. But for other apps that aren't integrated, like Sling TV, the experience isn't quite so smooth. The box also doesn't work with over-the-air cable TV, as some reports said it would. In other news, Oculus announced a new virtual reality TV app this week, and some people are unimpressed. We also dive into a report that points to a new line of AirPods coming before the end of the year, including higher-end over-the-ear headphones.
Listen to the episode in the player below or subscribe to Geared Up in your favorite podcast app to listen on the go:
Apple slashes price of Apple TV, now costs $69
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Corporate News, Home Entertainment, Hot Deals,
As part of Apple's Spring Forward event, the company announced a major price cut for Apple TV. After announcing that the brand new standalone streaming service, HBO Now, will launch exclusively on Apple devices this April, Tim Cook then followed up by letting the audience know that the Apple TV would be receiving a 30% price cut. The Apple TV now costs just $69, down from $99 previously. This is the same Apple TV that Apple has been selling for a few years, so no hardware changes here just yet--but it's good to see the price drop nonetheless. You can pick up an Apple TV at the new price right now.
Read More 
| Apple TV
TiVo Roamio Pro review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Product Reviews,
What's exciting about the new TiVo Roamio DVR line is that it's been a while since TiVo last released some new hardware. Three and a half years, in fact. That's when the TiVo Premiere debuted, promising an HD interface and dual-core chip that was supposed to bring about speed and efficiency. Well, the Premiere failed to live up to the hype, and TiVo went back to the drawing board and spent a few years building Roamio.
TiVo Roamio is actually a line of three DVRs that range in price from $199 to $599, with four tuners built-in to the standard Roamio, and six tuners in the Roamio Plus and Pro models. The Plus and Pro also have integrated TiVo Stream functionality, too, allowing you to watch TiVo content on your iOS devices wherever you have Wi-Fi. Has TiVo done enough to earn your attention and hard-earned dollar with the Roamio DVR? Join us for our full TiVo Roamio Pro review as we answer just that.
Click to continue reading TiVo Roamio Pro review
Samsung reveals HW-F750, world’s first vacuum tube soundbar, at CES
Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: CES, CES 2013, Home Entertainment, Wireless / WiFi,
Samsung's latest audio line, revealed at CES, comes with a bold claim: it's are the first in the world to use a soundbar with a built-in vacuum tube amplifier, and Bluetooth to connect to your TV, ditching the wires if you use it alongside a 2013 Samsung television (or other Bluetooth-enabled TV, we'd imagine.) As you can see, it also has a subwoofer, making it a 2.1 solution.
This feat is apparently achieved by a wireless Bluetooth speaker (DA-F60) using the apt-X audio codec and NFC to connect to devices such as your TV. Furthermore, its 7.1 channel surround sound system should also please the home theater crowd, which will work with Samsung's 2013 television line-up. The system also uses a Gallium Nitride amplifier to enhance the sound quality.
Samsung also revealed a "premium" Blu-ray player capable of upscaling DVD content to 4K.
Read More | Samsung
Sonos Playbar set to enter your home theater
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: CES, CES 2013, Home Entertainment, Music, Rumors, Wireless / WiFi,
We've declared our love for Sonos multiple times here on Gear Live, which is why we're excited about the prospect of the company bringing its product line into home theater. An FCC filing reveals that Sonos has indeed submitted documents related to a soundbar with integrated Wi-Fi (like all other Sonos products) that should play nicely with the Sonos SUB that was released earlier this year. Perhaps we'll get a look at this one at CES next week, pretty please?
TiVo Premiere Elite: TiVo’s swan song?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Editorial, Home Entertainment,
I've been a TiVo fan for many years, and a subscriber for about ten of those years. I've had various TiVo machines and have been happy with the performance of my HD TiVo. But like any tech-geek, I'm always interested in what's new.
The TiVo Premiere, released last year, intrigued me because of its HD interface, improved UI, larger storage capacity, and 1080p support. The specs sounded great and I was ready to upgrade my system, but as it approached time to pull the trigger, I began hearing stories of sluggish UI performance. Threads posted on TiVoCommunity.com indicate that the second core of the dual-core processor is disabled for stability reasons, thus crippling its Flash-based interface.
This week, TiVo announced the Premiere Elite ($499), which features four tuners and 2 terabytes of storage. Will it have a better processor that will take advantage of the HD UI or will it be more of the same? Unfortunately, I have a hunch that it will be more of the same.
Click to continue reading TiVo Premiere Elite: TiVo’s swan song?
Onkyo’s 2010 receivers to support HDMI 1.4
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: HDTV, Home Entertainment,
HDMI 1.4 is the next big thing, namely because it brings with it support for 3D television as well as the Audio Return Channel, and Onkyo seems to be leading the charge with getting it rolled into their products and into the hands of the public. In fact, Onkyo just announced that their 2010 receivers, scheduled to start shipping this spring, will support HDMI 1.4. That’s just in time for some of that 3D TV and Blu-ray content to appear.
“We are very supportive of the new standard,” said Onkyo’s marketing manager Paul Wasek, “because of the added capabilities and the simplification of system connections.”
We are fans of Onkyo, and we are definitely looking forward to getting our hands on the new receiver line.
Read More | Onkyo
TiVo HD out of stock. TiVo Premiere imminent?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Rumors,
Looks like TiVo has run out of TiVo HD units, if their online store is any indication, which has us wondering if the newer TiVo Premiere is about to make it’s debut. We originally mentioned the TiVo Premiere when a customer accidentally received a manual for the device packed in with a TiVo HD purchase. You’d think that if TiVo was already printing instructions on how to use the device, it had to be near-ready to ship, and this was just over a month ago.
In the meantime, if you want a TiVo, go for the TiVo XL instead.
Read More | TiVo Store
Newegg Deal: Sony 7.1 channel receiver
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Hot Deals,
Newegg has a great and inexpensive way for you to incorpate 7.1 surround sound into your home theater, with a great deal on the Sony STR-DN1000 7.1 channel receiver. It looks great with a piano black finish, and supports codecs like Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD MAster Audio, and lossless PCM. For visuals, you get 1080p playback with 24p support. The best part is that Newegg’s got it for $299.99. If you want to get in on it, head on over to the Newegg Sony STR-DN1000 page, add it to your cart, and use promo code “RECEIVER222” to take part in the festivities.
As always, you can find all sorts of Newegg promo codes and deals on our forums.
Read More | Sony 7.1 STR-DN1000 Surround Sound Receiver
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