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Home Cinema Choice September 1st, 2024 Digital Back Issue Cover

Home Cinema Choice September 2024 (Digital)

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Most of us dream of a dedicated cinema room. A space away from the rest of the house, where subwoofers can run amok, LED strip lights can be dimmed with a touch of a finger on a control panel, and no one walks in halfway through a movie wanting to watch EastEnders. Unfortunately, life sometimes gets in the way, and the dream stays a dream. This was the case for our AV-Holic this month (see p78), whose hopes of a slick new garage cinema conversion were dashed by budget issues and burglars running off with nearly all of his kit. His solution? Just make his living room system the best it could be. After all, if you can't build the room, have the room come to you instead. There’s plenty…

John Archer: The experienced TV tester cut his teeth as an early HCC staffer Jon Thompson: Film producer and post-production expert delves into Hollywood and AV Steve May: HCC’s former Ed. is one of the UK’s most respected AV journos Anton van Beek: Our avid movie watcher and disc collector cut his teeth on Total DVD Richard Stevenson: Former Editor of the UK CE trade journal ERT Ed Selley: Audiophile Ed mixes his home cinema passion with a love of vinyl Steve Withers: Movie fan, display calibrator and object-based audio obsessive…

➜NEWS HIGHLIGHTS BENQ Two new models added to PJ marque’s gaming range Kaleidescape Strato V player intros Dolby Vision downloads WILSON AUDIO Iconic WATT/Puppy speaker returns AT THE PLEX This month’s cinema releases NEWS X10 Hot news stories in bite-sized chunks BAD BOYS: RIDE OR DIE Miami’s finest shoot 'em up again on 4K BD & MORE! Bored by black? REL’s Serie HT subwoofers are now available in a white finish 'designed to complement any interior'. Headlining the range is the HCC Best Buy-awarded HT/1510 Predator (£1,699 – pictured below, right), which marries its 15in woofer to a 1,000W Class A/B amp. For smaller rooms and budgets, REL has also bought its new look to the £749 HT/1205 MKII and the £599 HT/1003 MKII. Features, including compatibility with REL’s wireless…

Look who’s back

US speaker maker Wilson Audio has reimagined its iconic WATT/Puppy floorstander, leveraging new driver and cabinet technologies to return to the design for the first time since 2011. Still rocking the dual cabinet form of the 1986 original, the new WATT/Puppy’s top section features an AlNiCo QuadraMag midrange driver and Convergent Synergy Carbon (CSC) tweeter, while bass (rated down to 26Hz) comes from two 8in woofers below. Pricing, dependent on finish, begins at a typically premium £41,998. Denon Home Amp Hot on the heels of Marantz’s Model M1 compact streaming amplifier [HCC #354] comes a near-identical version from Denon. The Home Amp is again rated at 2 x 100W via digital amplification, has HDMI eARC among its roster of inputs, and provides hi-res music streaming via the HEOS platform, in…

Look who’s back

BenQ carries on gaming

'Immersion into any entertainment' is BenQ’s rally cry for its new TK710 and TK710STi projectors. That said, the models have a gaming focus courtesy of a suggested 3,200 Lumens brightness output and low-latency processing. Both models look very similar, with easy to accommodate casework sporting a grey front fascia. They also both utilise DLP 4K optics and a laser light source, and claim to reach 95 per cent of the REC.709 colour space. Quoted latency figures are also identical, with BenQ stating response times down to 16.7ms with 4K/60Hz content, and to 4.2ms at 1080p/240Hz. Connectivity comprises two HDMI 2.0 inputs, RS-232, 3.5mm audio minijack, and a powered USB. Preset picture modes include RPG and FPS HDR gaming. Short or mid throw? Accounting for the price difference between the two…

BenQ carries on gaming

Immaculate Sydney Sweeney stars in a religious horror that makes for a devilishly good Blu-ray double-bill with The First Omen (p85). Halo: Season Two Hitting disc just as Paramount+ announced the show’s cancellation, the second (and final) season of the sci-fi sizzles on 4K Blu-ray. Point Break Kathryn Bigelow’s adrenaline-fuelled 1991 action classic at last gets a 4K Blu-ray upgrade on this side of the Atlantic. Night of the Eagle A professor finds his scepticism about witchcraft challenged in this superb '60s horror, now beautifully restored on Blu-ray. Message from Space A striking Blu-ray outing for this brilliantly bonkers Japanese Star Wars knock-off from the director of Battle Royale.…

Hi-Fi Show Live returns

Taking place at the prestigious Ascot Grandstand (above) on Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd of September, the UK Hi-Fi Show Live – organised by our sister magazine Hi-Fi News – once again promises sonic treats for music lovers, including exclusive demonstrations of some of the world’s most desirable hi-fi gear. With the list of brand attendees reading like a who’s who of high-end audio, it’s the place to be if you want to check out the best loudspeakers, amplifiers, turntables – and more – on the planet. Among those lined up include British legends Monitor Audio, KEF, Arcam and Bowers & Wilkins, plus global manufacturers PS Audio, Gryphon, SVS, Primare (pictured below), Perlisten, Hegel, Emotiva, DS Audio, YG Acoustics, Wilson Audio, Rotel, Pro-Ject, ELAC, Piega and many, many more. Further…

Hi-Fi Show Live returns

At the 'plex…

AfrAId August 30: Like M3gan before it, the upcoming AfrAId finds horror specialist Blumhouse continuing its war on Artificial Technology (and film title formatting) with a tale of a family who find themselves at the mercy of a revolutionary smart home system. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice September 6: Michael Keaton returns as the ghost with the most in this sequel to the 1988 horror-comedy. Tim Burton is back behind the camera, while Wednesday’s Jenna Ortega joins the fun as the wayward daughter of Winona Ryder’s Lydia. Megalopolis September 27: Francis Ford Coppola’s self-financed, star-studded sci-fi drama epic received a distinctly mixed reaction at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Now you can make up your own mind.…

Dolby Vision on-demand

Kaleidescape 'has delivered on what customers have been asking for' by launching a new player with Dolby Vision compatibility. Dubbed the Strato V ('V for Vision!', says the US brand), it slots into the company’s range above the Strato C [HCC #352]. Like that unit, the Strato V is aimed at home cinema owners who want the high-quality playback of the 4K Blu-ray format without all that faffing around with discs. Kaleidescape’s user interface, which presents your library of movie content as a browsable wall of poster art, is a common sight in custom install theatres. The system lets customer buy (or rent) movie downloads in near-uncompressed quality, thanks to Kaleidescape’s partnerships with Hollywood studios. A drawback of its £5,000 Strato C player, however, is that it’s limited to HDR10…

Dolby Vision on-demand

McIntosh adds to AV range

American audio marque McIntosh has announced a new home cinema processor. The MX200, priced £7,995 and available now, follows on from its earlier MHT300 receiver [HCC #345] by incorporating HDMI 2.1 connections and (full-bandwidth) Dirac Live room correction. Dolby Atmos and DTS:X decoding to 7.2.4 is joined by balanced pre-outs to connect to compatible amplification. The unit flaunts McIntosh’s usual black/silver/green aesthetic, but in a custom install-friendly 2U chassis. Connections, in addition to 4-in/1-out HDMI, include coaxial and optical digital audio, analogue stereo, and Ethernet for system integration. Reflecting the company’s musical roots, the MX200 has an MM phono input for vinyl replay, plus old-school bass and treble tone controls. www.mcintoshlabs.com…

McIntosh adds to AV range

September 2 Before Dawn The Commitments Double Indemnity 4K The Garfield Movie Orca, the Killer Whale 4K Pharaoh September 9 American Pie 4K From Beyond 4K Knuckles: Season One Mildred Pierce 4K Red Sun [1971] 4K Steelbook Something in the Water The Tai Chi Master 4K Walking Dead: …Ones Who Live - S1 September 16 Bad Boys: Ride or Die 4K Batman: 85th Anni. 10-Film Col 4K The Chronicles of Riddick: LE 4K Civil War: Ltd Ed 4K The Getaway [1994] Inception: Collector’s Ed 4K Interstellar: Collector’s Ed 4K Mad Max: 5-Film Collection 4K Michael Powell: Early Works The Outsiders September 23 The Bikeriders 4K The Boy and the Heron 4K The Champions [1983] Erotic Ghost Story I-III Joker: Collector’s Ed 4K The Lady is Willing: Limited Edition Love, Death…

1 We. See. You Luxury AV brand Loewe has introduced a new entry-level TV series. Available in 32in Full HD and 43in 4K versions (priced £900 and £1,200 respectively), the annoyingly named We. SEE lcd smart TVs offer Dolby Vision HDR playback, HDMI 2.1 connectivity, 'storm-grey' spray-painted cabinets and front-firing soundbars with Atmos processing. 2 Stellar smarts In other Loewe news, the company has chosen Samsung’s Tizen OS to power its new Stellar OLED TV. Samsung Electronics bigwig Yong Su Kim describes the collaboration as further proof that its open source OS, 'has established itself as the software platform of choice for premium TVs.' Presumably LG, with Web OS, would beg to differ. 3 Walk, man Fancy reliving the days when you could listen to CDs while out for a stroll?…

Closer encounters? Challengers star Josh O'Connor is rumoured to be joining Emily Blunt in Steven Spielberg’s next film. Details about the movie (including the title) are under wraps, but early reports claim the historical two-hander sees the filmmaker returning to the subject of UFOs. Downey’s Doom Marvel Studios has turned to Robert Downey, Jr. to inject some fresh excitement in the MCU, casting the former Iron Man actor as the villainous Doctor Doom in the recently announced Avengers: Doomsday, due for release in 2026. Groovy 'toons Having said he'd never play the part onscreen again, Bruce Campbell has revealed that he'll be voicing Ash for a new Evil Dead animated series. 'I'll do Ash’s voice all day long because my voice hasn't aged as much as I have,' he says.…

Fourth time’s a charm

The latest instalment in the blockbuster buddy cop action comedy series has been set for a 4K Blu-ray release on September 16 (alongside a 4K boxset containing all four Bad Boys movies). Disc details are rather scant at the moment, but at the very least fans can look forward to scorching 4K HDR visuals and a bombastic Dolby Atmos mix. Bonus goodies are likely to include behind-the-scenes featurettes, outtakes, deleted/extended scenes and a new post-credits sequence not shown in cinemas.…

Fourth time’s a charm

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Home cinema with a Gen Z twist?

THE AV RECEIVER has had a long-awaited makeover this summer, as JBL finally enters the market offering a fresh take on home cinema. It’s no secret that AVRs have lost their allure over the past decade, as consumers trade complex surround sound systems for the out-of-the-box simplicity of soundbars. Sales have slumped. Yet JBL hopes to reverse the trend with its MA (Modern Audio) range of AVRs and matching Stage 2 loudspeakers – and it’s targeting Gen Z and Millennials. JBL knows this audience well, having sold over two million headphones and one million loudspeakers (such as its portable Flip and Charge models) to them over the years. 'They're the new consumers,' says Dave Tovissi, VP of Luxury Audio at Harman International. 'They are the ones with disposable income.' All…

Home cinema with a Gen Z twist?

LET BATTLE COMMENCE

1917 Universal Pictures, 4K BD Inspired by his grandfather’s stories about his time as a soldier, writer-director Sam Mendes crafted a relentless tour through the sights and sounds of World War I as two low-ranking British soldiers (played by George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman) are dispatched across enemy territory to deliver a message that will call off a doomed attack on the German front. Making 1917 all the more immersive is Mendes' decision to have the entire 120-minute story appear to play out through just two continuous shots. It wasn't of course (hidden edits and other trickery maintain the illusion), but it works brilliantly all the same, imbuing the production with a relentless sense of motion and reality. A film shouldn't really need a gimmick to win you over –…

LET BATTLE COMMENCE

From basic to 'utterly fabulous'

BROWNHEN SOLUTIONS, AN installer based in Bath, gave this family room a complete overhaul with help from KEF and Meridian Audio hardware. The 4.3m x 3.7m space already had a 'basic' system in place, but the home’s new owners wanted a more advanced setup able to seat 10 to watch movies, TV, sporting events and concerts. A visit to the installer’s demo facility to explore what was possible and select the right components for the space found the client favouring Meridian digital active speakers, so this brand was included for the LCR channels, using its three-way DSP730 in-walls. Rounding out the multichannel system are in-ceiling Ci200QS models from KEF, plus the manufacturer’s Ci200QSb in-wall subwoofers, powered by a racked amplifier. A Meridian UHD722 HDMI processor and G65 Surround Controller are…

From basic to 'utterly fabulous'

➜HARDWARE MARANTZ 11-channel Cinema 30 AV amplifier TCL 85in 4K Mini LED TV from the brand’s C855 series SAMSUNG HW-Q930D Dolby Atmos soundbar PHILIPS 65OLED+959 TV with integrated B&W speaker system ZIDOO Z3000 Pro media player is ready for an 8K future SYSTEM AUDIO Silverback 1 wireless active speakers & MORE! With grilles and mounting options to match TVs from 55in to 77in, Canvas HiFi’s soundbar wants to blend into your living room – while standing out with its powerful performance. We put this high-end sound system through its paces on p48 All prices quoted are approximate and may have changed…

TCL telly offers shock and awe

While most brands have maybe a couple of affordable yet truly giant TVs on their books, no brand is pushing the bigscreen dream harder than TCL. No sooner have we recovered from the sight of its 85in 85C805K delivering a fantastic Mini LED picture for just £1,595 [HCC #352] than TCL has darkened our door again – in a good way – with another 85in beast that promises to be even better: the 85C855K. This set steps up the specification over its C805K sibling, so consequently there’s a boost in price to £2,299 (at the time of writing). In particular, while both the 85C855K and 85C805K use Mini LED lighting, local dimming and Quantum Dot colour technologies, this more expensive model boasts brightness peaks of 3,500 nits, versus 1,300 nits…

TCL telly offers shock and awe

AV amp with a touch of class

While it might seem like a cliché to say Marantz produces AV amplifiers that are more 'musical' than the competition, as with most clichés there’s a kernel of truth. The fact is, the company founded in 1948 in New York by Saul Marantz has always been a 'hi-fi' brand, and its AV products feature custom circuitry, amplification and tuning that often does result in a more nuanced sonic performance. The new Cinema 30, a perfect example of this acoustic philosophy, was launched at the start of 2024 to top off the brand’s range of AV amplifiers, and offers an appealing combination of elegant styling and uncompromising engineering. The price tag of £3,999 is less appealing, but live with this amplifier for a while and it'll feel like value for money.…

AV amp with a touch of class

Stereo sounds so good

The first product from Danish start-up brand Canvas HiFi is a premium soundbar cut from a different cloth. Big, heavy and expensive, it has no truck with Dolby Atmos or DTS:X, sports minimal connectivity, and doesn't even ship with a remote control. But at the same time, it’s rather good. Canvas HiFi has confusingly chosen to call this soundbar Canvas, but I will give it a pass when it comes to product naming as it’s clearly had its focus elsewhere. Specifically, on designing a soundbar with plenty of screen matching potential. This also makes describing the Canvas rather confusing, so here goes. At the base level price of €2,990 (the company sells direct with free shipping – but a fee for returns – and is in the process of adding…

Stereo sounds so good

Premium TV, Philips-style

'With its premium sound system and floorstand design, Philips' flagship OLED TV is a cut above the norm' Philips' 65OLED+959 leaves no stone unturned in its quest to live up to its status as the brand’s flagship TV for 2024. On offer here, for a hefty £3,999, is the brand’s most advanced processor and panel technologies, a bespoke sound system designed by B&W, and an all-new Ambilight array. It’s even returned to the floorstanding pedestal design of flagships of yore, such as 2021’s OLED+986 TV. So, where to start? How about with its second-generation micro lens array (MLA) OLED panel technology. Here, tiny lenses increase the light levels emerging from the screen, with new 3D analysis optimising the angles and curvature of the lenses to improve their brightness-boosting potential. The…

Premium TV, Philips-style

Neat, sweet but not so petite

SHUT YOUR EYES during a space battle, and you could be convinced you're listening to a traditional AV receiver and loudspeaker package. I hear a storm of shrapnel, vocals are locked dead centre, and the bass notes are deep and resonant. Samsung’s HW-Q930D soundbar system is doing a cracking job convincing me that convenience doesn't have to come with hefty compromises. Essentially a more affordable alternative to the range-topping HW-Q990D [HCC #352], this lookalike soundbar boasts many of the same features as its stablemate, including Active Voice amplification and SmartThings compliance. It also ships with wireless rears and subwoofer. The key difference, therefore, is the number of channels it supports (the HW-Q990D is an 11.1.4 design, this is 9.1.4), and it’s more limited HDMI provision. Despite these restrictions, the HW-Q930D…

Neat, sweet but not so petite

MANHATTAN’S T4-R IS a Freeview recorder with built-in storage at 500GB (£169), 1TB (£199) or 2TB (£229). Allowing record, pause and rewind actions with programmes from 100-plus TV channels, it also supports video at resolutions up to 4K/60Hz and can handle HDR from HLG broadcasts. But note that the driving engine of the device is Freeview Play, whose software allows integration of on-demand and catchup services like BBC iPlayer, ITVX and My 5, and requires a wired or wireless network connection to function. Manhattan TV exploited the demand for satellite receivers in the early 1990s. By 2010, the company released its first Freesat box, followed by Freesat HD recorders. The development of Freeview models then ensued, kicking off with the T1 and now reaching the latest T4-R. Finding a good…

Wireless wonders

DENMARK-BASED SYSTEM AUDIO prides itself on making small speakers with a 'big sound', according to company founder Ole Witthøft. As far back as 1984, he began to craft loudspeakers based on his own decree that competitors' offerings sounded 'boring', arguing that a manufacturer’s list of impressive tech specs was never the crucial element – rather, it was the sound that mattered. Oh, and some good old Scandinavian style. Some decades later his company is on a roll, producing both passive and active loudspeakers across four different series. And one of its most recent arrivals is the Silverback 1 (aka SB1), a compact active, wireless speaker system intended for use both with music and TV audio. Pricing is £1,799, but increases to £2,199 if you choose to add the recommended Stereo…

Wireless wonders

Zidoo Z3000 Pro

IF YOU'RE LIKE me and still enjoy buying 4K discs and Blu-rays, you inevitably have to decide where to put all those boxsets and special editions. A solution is to rip the films as MKV files or even the entire disc as ISO files and store them on hard drives or a NAS. It’s time consuming but does solve your space problem, and assuming your have a good interface at the front end it also makes accessing your movie collection easier. That’s where Zidoo comes in with its extensive lineup of well-specified media players. Meed the middle man With its aluminium body, hidden HDD bay, front display, backlit remote control and built-in wireless aerial, the Z3000 Pro is part of a range designed specifically for home cinema enthusiasts. At £529,…

Zidoo Z3000 Pro

IF YOU'RE AFTER a well-specified Bluetooth sound system with a sense of (retro) style, the Edifier D32 could well fit the bill. This aggressively priced all-in-one, with ConneX app for control/EQ selection, can be run off the wall, or go fully wireless via its built-in 5,200mAh battery pack for around 11 hours. There’s a choice of three cabinet finishes (black walnut, brown, ivory) all with contrasting details. The ivory/gold option is a bit on the blingy side, but if it floats your interior design boat, so be it. Behind the distinctive braided grille are two 1in silk tweeters, either side of a long-throw 4in bass/mid driver. Power is a claimed 60W. The cabinet is made from MDF, with dual ports to the rear, and build quality is good. That said,…

Cambridge Audio Melomania P100

CAMBRIDGE AUDIO HASbeen making wireless earphones for a number of years, but the P100 is its first go at a full-size model. Built around a pair of PEEK (polyether ether ketone) 40mm drivers driven by Class A/B amplifiers, these £229 cans go up against pricier competition, but more than hold their own. Streaming is via Bluetooth with aptX Lossless/Adaptive, AAC and SBC audio codecs, and this is supported by active noise cancelling (ANC) with voice passthrough. Cambridge Audio quotes a battery life without ANC in play of no less than 100 hours, falling to a still impressive 60 hours with it on. A control app is available for both iOS and Android devices, and – for a nice surprise – I would recommend selecting the 'Southwark' option for voice prompts… The…

Cambridge Audio Melomania P100

Triangle Capella

CONFRONTED WITH THE recent boom in soundbars and wireless speaker systems, Triangle has decided – rather than create a completely clean sheet product – to take its conventional passive speakers and make them self-contained. Its affordable Borea series now has powered options; an amp with an input board is placed in one speaker and it powers a second passive model. For its more premium option though, Triangle has gone fully active. The Capella is a two-way standmount that uses the same 6.25in cellulose driver as the Borea Connect but partners it with a horn-loaded magnesium tweeter, rather than a silk dome. Each driver has a 50W Class D amplifier placed behind the crossover. A single RCA input is fitted to each cabinet, but the intention is that the speakers communicate…

Triangle Capella

FOR MOST OF us, May 7 2024 was a pretty normal day. But if you are (or in some cases, were) a Sonos user, it was the start of an extraordinary chain of events that – at the time of writing – is still ongoing. You see, this was the day that Sonos released a new app, and I do mean new. This wasn't just a refresh of the bits you saw on the screen, it was a wholesale revision of both the user interface and the underlying code by which the app sees Sonos devices and communicates with them. To say this has gone badly is an understatement of Biblical proportions. In theory, Sonos was streamlining the manner in which the underlying code worked, to simplify it and allow…

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THE ART OF presentation makes the difference between a bad film being tolerable and a great movie being other-worldly. You might think this is a given, but the art of presentation is crucial to many things in society, from the restaurant you eat at, to the barber you go to, to the cinema you visit. You can take this onboard when watching a film at home too. The first part of any presentation is calibration. Setting up your system to a known standard can significantly affect how you interact with a movie. Years ago I looked after a private screening room in The Hospital Club in London. I tuned the hell out of both sound and picture. Most people said they enjoyed the film they saw so much and wondered…

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SAVE 33% ON THE SHOP PRICE 3 ISSUES FOR £11.99! With FREE P&P, never miss an issue! SUBSCRIBE SECURELY ONLINE TODAY! https://checkout.avtechmedia.co.uk/EGENN OR CALL 01858 438446 LINES OPEN MONDAY TO FRIDAY – 9AM - 6PM Calls are charged at the same rate as standard UK landlines and are included as part of any inclusive or free minutes allowances. There are no additional charges with this number. Overseas calls will cost more. TERMS & CONDITIONS:. *UK print subscriptions offer only. AV Tech Media Ltd collects your data so that we can fulfil your subscription. We may also, from time to time, send you details of AV Tech Media Ltd offers, events and competitions but you always have a choice and can opt out by clicking on the unsubscribe button at the…

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Old amplifiers never die! With regards to Peter Andrew’s letter [HCC #354], I thought you might be interested in my own approach. My first Quad 606 amplifier was run in a stereo system from 1992 to 2010. Then I upgraded it to the 909, which ran until 2014. In 2014 I decided to go for a 5.1 system, so resurrected the 606 and bought a mono Elite. A couple of months later I decided to make my system 7.1 and so bought another 606 second-hand. In 2021 I decided to go 4K and Atmos with a 7.2.4 setup, so changed the AV processor for an Arcam and bought two Quad Arteras. In 2024 I bought a Kaleidescape player. This means that the first Quad 606 is just over 30 years…

I enjoyed reading Mark Craven’s Digital Copy column [HCC #353] regarding video shop rentals. I'm 46 now and the majority of my movie watching is in my film room in the garden (I'm in the building trade and converted a garden workshop) but my sources are hard copy – 1080p and 4K Blu-rays. I was born at the back end of the 1970s and in the early-to-mid '80s there was no escaping movies on Betamax then VHS. I got to see many of the films via uncles and aunts or friends and their older brothers. The buzz we used to get going up to the video shop on a Friday or Saturday night to hire a film… looking up and down the aisles or hoping to get the last copy…

Win! Great Blu-rays up for grabs…

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes 4K One of 2024’s biggest blockbusters is yours to own from September 30 when 20th Century Studios' Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes comes to 4K Ultra HD™, Blu-ray™ and DVD. The film follows young chimpanzee Noa (Owen Teague) and human scavenger Mae (Freya Allen) as they embark on a quest that holds the key to the future of apes and humans alike. We have three copies of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes 4K Ultra HD™ to be won! Question: Freya Allen also starred in which TV series? Answer: A) The Witcher B) Renegade Nell C) House of the Dragon Sting A young girl discovers a spider whose increasing hunger is only matched by its rapid growth in this arachnophobe’s nightmare with skin-crawling…

Win! Great Blu-rays up for grabs…

Certified: AV-Holic!

Welcome to the AV-Holic Hall of Fame – introduce yourself! Hi, my name is Jason Beardsall, I'm 53 and live in Dewsbury in West Yorkshire. I am a Digital Project Manager and being able to relax with a movie, TV show or listen to music on a decent system is something I look forward to after each day of work. I've been an avid reader of HCC since the very first issue and it’s helped a lot over the years with a lot of the choices I have made. How long have you been into home cinema? The start of my passion for all things home cinema and hi-fi was in my early teens. I had always loved watching movies since being a young lad and have some fantastic memories…

Certified: AV-Holic!

Share your cinema system in the mag!

1. Go big. Set your camera to take images at the largest possible size, and at the highest resolution. Don't worry about cropping or resizing – we will make them print-ready. 2. Get in focus. Make sure your photos are as sharp and clear as possible. If you have one, use a tripod, or place your camera on a flat, steady surface and take pictures on a delay. The sharper they are, the bigger we can print them. 3. Let some light in. While we tend to watch movies in the dark, our cinema systems look their best when they are lit. If you can shoot with natural daylight, do so. If your room doesn't get a lot of light (a garage conversion, for instance) then switch on whatever lights…

Star-spangled cinema

➜SOFTWARE HIGHLIGHTS The Fall Guy Action-comedy with Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga More big-budget carmageddon from George Miller Chronicles of riddick Vin Diesel’s sci-fi sequel reborn on 4K BD Monkey Man Dev Patel’s directing debut packs a punch the first omen Spooky horror prequel & MORE! Secessionist 'Western Forces' are at war with the United States' corrupt federal government in Alex Garland’s near-future dystopian thriller. If that all sounds too depressing, maybe Civil War’s 4K Blu-ray release will bring a smile to your face. See p89. All prices quoted are approximate and may have changed RATINGS KEY……

Star-spangled cinema

Gravity-defying fun

THE FALL GUY: EXTEND. CUT Eighteen months after suffering a career-ending injury on a movie, washed-up stuntman Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) receives a call from producer Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddington) asking him to fly to Australia and help out on the new Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) sci-fi blockbuster Metalstorm. Initially reluctant, Colt changes his mind when he’s told that the request came directly from the film’s director, his former girlfriend Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt). When he arrives on set, however, he discovers that Jody wants nothing to do with him and that Gail conned him into coming to help track down the film’s missing star. Directed by Hobbs & Shaw helmer David Leitch, The Fall Guy is less a bigscreen reimagining of the 1980s TV series of the same name…

Gravity-defying fun

Luca Guadagnino’s sexy tennis melodrama powers its way onto Blu-ray with a terrific 1.85:1 encode whose handling of the film’s kinetic photography is almost enough to make you overlook the lack of a native UHD release (Challengers was shot on 35mm film and finished as a 4K DI). The Atmos mix is a champion, too, volleying back-and-forth between immersive surround effects and the pulsing electro score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Finch. But this barebones BD drops the ball when it comes to extras, unable to serve up even a trailer.…

A group of criminals discover that the little girl they've been hired to kidnap has a monstrous side in this gleefully gory horror-comedy from the filmmaking team responsible for the last two Scream sequels. Abigail’s 'Blood Bath Edition' Blu-ray picture impresses, finding plenty of detail within the film’s fairly dark visual style, while the accompanying Dolby TrueHD 7.1 soundmix is full of dynamic effects. Supplementary bits, including four featurettes and a lively commentary track, are also enjoyable.…

Boasting stylish direction by Arkasha Stevenson and a fearless lead performance from Nell Tiger Free, this satisfyingly sinister prequel to The Omen reinvigorates a horror franchise we thought dead and buried following a diabolical 2006 remake. Despite committing the sin of not granting The First Omen a 4K release (perhaps we'll eventually get a UHD set of this film and the original trilogy instead?), Disney’s 1080p platter still impresses with its clean, detailed encode and moody DTS-HD MA 7.1 soundtrack. Extras, however, are limited to a trio of short featurettes.…

Dev Patel does John Wick

MONKEY MAN: COL. ED. In this directorial debut from Dev Patel, the British actor plays an anonymous young man who puts his life as a jobbing brawler at an underground fight club behind him when he finds a way of infiltrating India’s elite – and sets about getting revenge on the corrupt police chief responsible for the death of his mother. Originally set to stream on Netflix before fellow filmmaker Jordan Peele swooped in and persuaded Universal to release it in cinemas, Monkey Man comes closer than most to giving the John Wick movies a run for their money when it comes to kinetic action and brooding brutality. True, the script could have been tightened up a bit, but the swaggering confidence of Patel’s direction, his endearing charisma as an…

Dev Patel does John Wick

On the road again

FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA Prequels are tricky things to get right. Just look at the messes George Lucas and Ridley Scott got into when they decided to rewind the clock on their Star Wars and Alien universes. A key difference with Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is that it wasn't written as an afterthought. George Miller has said he penned it at the same time as 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road, using the script to help the actors understand the world their characters inhabit. As such, Furiosa’s backstory (with Anya Taylor-Joy taking over from Charlize Theron) informs the events of …Fury Road rather than simply repeating them to lesser effect. This entry into the newly crowned 'Mad Max Saga' is not quite as viscerally fulfilling as its more action-packed…

On the road again

Dungeons of Hinterberg Curve Games ➜ Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC ➜ £25 A criticism of Xbox Game Pass has been that its all-you-can-eat structure comes at the cost of smaller development teams. However, it could be argued that it helps indie projects find a wider audience. Dungeons of Hinterberg is a prime example. Developed by a relatively small team based in Austria, the action-RPG could have run the risk of being missed, but that would have been a shame. The game draws comparisons with the most recent Zelda titles, not least because of its comic book-ified graphics, but it’s also its own beast. Like Zelda, much of the gameplay involves entering dungeons, solving increasingly more difficult environmental puzzles, and defeating monsters. But there’s also a life simulator of…

Hundreds of Beavers

Bold, brilliant and a little bonkers, this hilarious slapstick comedy follows a fur trapper’s battle with the local wildlife (all played by people in mascot-style costumes) as he attempts to win the hand of a merchant’s daughter. Pitched somewhere between Chuck Jones and The Goodies, this throwback to the golden era of silent comedy won't dazzle with its AV credentials, but the Blu-ray’s black-and-white encode is source-accurate and the DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix is pleasingly playful. Also on the disc are trailers, galleries and a highly entertaining commentary.…

Hundreds of Beavers

The Conversation: Limited Collector’s Edition

This new restoration of Francis Ford Coppola’s paranoid neo-noir masterpiece, delivered to mark the film’s 50th anniversary, is an upgrade in quality from previous disc releases – although any excitement may be tempered by the teal cast applied to the film’s already cool colour palette. Studiocanal’s 4K platter sports LPCM 2.0 mono and DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtracks, plus a selection of (mostly archival) extras. The hefty price tag also scores you a Blu-ray copy of the movie, a 64-page booklet, two posters, and the film’s soundtrack on cassette tape. Try playing that in your PS5.…

The Conversation: Limited Collector’s Edition

Alejandro Jodorowsky’s 1989 horror film combines psychos, circuses, blood cults and major mummy issues to staggeringly surreal effect. Newly restored from the original negative under the filmmaker’s supervision, this 4K release leaves Santa Sangre looking cleaner, clearer and richer than ever, but the absence of any HDR grade makes you wonder if it couldn't appear even more vibrant. Alongside UHD and BD versions (both with plenty of extras), this bumper set adds a further bonus-laden Blu-ray, CD soundtrack, and eight art cards.…

The twilight’s last gleaming

CIVIL WAR Writer-director Alex Garland’s new war movie follows four journalists travelling through a near-future America engulfed in a second civil war. Their goal: to reach Washington D.C. and interview the President before secessionist forces overwhelm the capital. Civil War is provocative stuff, laying bare the absolute worst aspects of human nature even as Garland never validates any particular political viewpoint. For most of the film, both the audience and main characters have no idea which side many of the soldiers they encounter are actually fighting for. This journey into the heart of darkness is in service of an unflinching exploration of the virtues and risks of war journalism. That’s not to say Civil War is lacking in thrills. Several set-pieces will leave you on the edge of your seat,…

The twilight’s last gleaming

THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK: LIMITED EDITION This follow-up to cult hit Pitch Black (2000) eschews the streamlined nature of that sci-fi creature-feature, instead opting to drop antihero Richard B. Riddick (Vin Diesel) into the midst of an epic space opera. Repositioning Riddick as the last of a race of warriors and the only person capable of stopping an army of death-worshipping religious zealots, it’s a very different type of movie than its B-movie predecessor. Backed by a budget nearly five times greater than that of Pitch Black, you can't really fault Diesel and writer-director David Twohy’s ambition as they steal from Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard and Frank Herbert. However, when you scratch beneath the surface, all that’s left is a fairly clunky '80s-style swords 'n' sorcery flick dressed…

Love Lies Bleeding

The polar opposite of English filmmaker Rose Glass’s slow-burn previous feature, Saint Maud (2019), this lurid neo-noir serves up a heady tale of queer lust, bodybuilding, drugs and graphic violence that owes as much to Paul Verhoeven and David Cronenberg as it does that most obvious cinematic touchstone, the Wachowski’s Bound (1996). Balancing deep blacks and gaudy colours befitting the late '80s setting, this Blu-ray’s gorgeous 2.39:1 encode doesn't put a foot wrong, and is joined by an impactful Dolby Atmos soundtrack.…

Love Lies Bleeding

This Aussie killer spider film may not be quite as unnerving as the recent French effort Infested (2023), but there’s still an agreeable old school Amblin ambience to Kiah Roache-Turner’s character-driven creature-feature. Despite favouring a rather gloomy, desaturated visual look, Sting’s 1080p encode appears sharp and detailed. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 track makes plenty of use of the entire soundfield, although given all of the scampering behind walls and through air ducts, it’s crying out for an Atmos mix. Extras? None.…

In an attempt to overcome the softness of Jaws 3’s stereoscopic photography, Universal has employed AI tools to sharpen up the image – only to deliver a wildly inconsistent, messy and wholly artificial 4K HDR10 picture that makes the recent 'restoration' of True Lies look natural by comparison. And while the studio has sprung for an Atmos remix, it hasn't included any extras, not even the bonus 3D Blu-ray copy of the film touted on the back cover! Quite possibly the worst 4K presentation of a film we've ever encountered.…

Alexander Payne’s spiky political satire features Reece Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick giving great performances as an overachieving high schooler running for student president and the teacher who ruins his life trying to sabotage her. Election lands on 4K BD with an attractive Dolby Vision encode that offers a modest but effective upgrade on its out-of-print Full HD predecessor. The accompanying Blu-ray adds a new three-part interview with Payne and co-writer Jim Taylor, alongside an archival director’s commentary.…

Team America: World Police

Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s 2004 satire of the war on terror and the Michael Bay-era of brainless blockbuster cinema remains one of the funniest films of the Noughties. This 4K BD offers a significant visual upgrade on Paramount’s decade old Blu-ray; details are crisper, colours are more satisfying and native film grain is present throughout. But it’s a shame that the 4K disc only includes the Theatrical Cut, with the 'Uncut' version (and suite of archival extras) relegated to an accompanying 1080p platter.…

Team America: World Police

Orca, the Killer Whale: Steelbook

One of the best of the Jaws rip-offs that swam into cinemas in the late 1970s, this Dino De Laurentiis production finds a bereaved orca seeking revenge on the fisherman (Richard Harris) who killed its pregnant mate. This new 4K restoration has an organically grainy appearance, while its Dolby Vision grade opens up clarity in the night sequences. Audio is DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono, Ennio Morricone’s haunting score still sounding fantastic. An appreciation of the film (in French) is the sole extra.…

Orca, the Killer Whale: Steelbook

The Bodyguard from Beijing: Limited Ed.

Hong Kong cinema’s answer to the Kevin Costner smash The Bodyguard, this 1994 actioner stars Jet Li as a bodyguard hired to protect a murder witness (Christy Chung). As fun as that sounds, it’s actually pretty underwhelming stuff, with too much focus on gunplay over martial arts and one of the most annoying child characters in cinema history. 88 Films' 4K release does the best it can with the inherent softness of the film’s photography, and adds a commentary, interview, trailer, booklet and poster.…

The Bodyguard from Beijing: Limited Ed.

Remembrance: LE

Known as the film that gave Gary Oldman his bigscreen debut (even if his character spends most of it in a coma), this episodic 1982 feature charts the interweaving stories of several young Navy recruits over the 24 hours before they're due to ship out. The BFI’s superb Blu-ray carries a new restoration of the original 16mm negatives (improving massively on the grotty print that turns up on Film Four now and then), plus extras including interviews, a vintage Royal Navy recruitment film, two galleries (including the handwritten script) and a booklet.…

Remembrance: LE

Into the mouth of madness

LOVE, DEATH & APOCALYPSE: THREE FILMS BY ALEX DE LA IGLESIA Setting out his stall with his debut feature, Spanish filmmaker Alex de la Iglesia’s madcap sci-fi black comedy Acción Mutante (1993) focuses on a gang of disabled terrorists waging war on society’s 'perfect' elite, only to turn on one another after kidnapping the daughter of a wealthy industrialist. Festive horror-comedy The Day of the Beast (1995) remains the filmmaker’s best work, a side-splitting mix of Pythonesque silliness and religious satire with a Basque priest teaming up with a heavy metal fan and the host of an occult TV show to try and avert the birth of the Antichrist on Christmas Eve. Adapted from a novel by Wild at Heart author Barry Gifford, Perdita Durango (1997) was de le Iglesia’s…

Into the mouth of madness

All the wrong moves

THE INSTIGATORS This new addition to Apple TV+ is a low-key heist movie with a high-calibre cast. Matt Damon and Casey Affleck are the titular leads, both playing hapless down-and-outs. Rory (Damon) is an unemployed, depressed ex-marine, Cobby (Affleck), an ex-con and wiseacre. Through happenstance, they find themselves embroiled in an inept scheme to rob corrupt Mayor Miccelli (a blustering Ron Perlman) of his campaign loot. The job is masterminded by two lowly gangsters. Mr Besegai (Michael Stuhlbarg) and Richie Dechico (Alfred Molina) use a pastry shop as a front and should clearly stick to selling cupcakes. The caper goes from bad to worse almost immediately. The fact that the cash Rory and Cobby were hoping to steal is gone by the time they arrive turns out to be the…

All the wrong moves

The Silence of the Lambs ➜ 4K Blu-ray, Arrow Video

FROM FRITZ LANG’S M (1931) and Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) to David Fincher’s Zodiac (2007) and Osgood Perkins' recent Longlegs (2024), cinema’s fascination with serial killers dates back almost as far as the medium itself. So, on paper at least, the release of Jonathan Demme’s The Silence of the Lambs (1991), an adaptation of reclusive author Thomas Harris’s 1988 literary bestseller, was just business as usual. The Silence of the Lambs wasn't even the first time Harris’s best known creation – epicurean cannibalistic killer Hannibal Lecter – had appeared onscreen. Actor Brian Cox had previously breathed life into the character in an earlier adaptation of Harris’s 1981 novel Red Dragon (retitled Manhunter for the bigscreen – see boxout, right). And yet something about Demme’s film caught hold of the pop culture…

The Silence of the Lambs ➜ 4K Blu-ray, Arrow Video

EISA Awards 2024-2025

Welcome to the EISA Awards 2024-2025. Founded in 1982 with a focus on photography, the scope of EISA (now the Expert Imaging and Sound Association) has since expanded to cover home theatre, hi-fi, in-car audio and mobile entertainment. Its members are 56 specialist AV magazines and websites from countries around the world including Australia, the US, Canada, Japan, Germany, France and – via Home Cinema Choice and our sister magazine Hi-Fi News – the UK. Here we reveal the winning products selected by EISA’s home theatre audio and home theatre video Expert Groups, chosen after a lengthy auditioning and judging process. As usual, the award categories reflect an industry that’s always evolving – which is why there’s no Blu-ray spinner celebrated this year, but there is a 115in TV… If…

EISA Awards 2024-2025

AND THE REST OF THE EISA 2024-2025 AWARDS…

HI-FI EISA BEST VALUE STREAMING AMPLIFIER 2024-2025 WiiM Amp EISA BEST VALUE WIRELESS BOOKSHELF LOUDSPEAKERS 2024-2025 PSB Alpha iQ EISA COMPACT DAC 2024-2025 iFi Audio GO Bar Kensei EISA ENTHUSIASTS AMPLIFIER 2024-2025 Musical Fidelity A1 EISA FLOORSTANDING LOUDSPEAKERS 2024-2025 Monitor Audio Gold Series 300 6G EISA HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER 2024-2025 iFi Audio iDSD Diablo 2 EISA HIGH-END HEADPHONES 2024-2025 Austrian Audio The Composer EISA HIGH-END LOUDSPEAKERS 2024-2025 Wilson Audio The WATT/Puppy EISA INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER 2024-2025 HiFi Rose RA280 EISA PORTABLE LOUDSPEAKER 2024-2025 Morel Biggie EISA PREMIUM ALL-IN-ONE SOLUTION 2024-2025 T+A R 2500 R EISA PREMIUM LOUDSPEAKERS 2024-2025 SVS Ultra Evolution Pinnacle EISA PREMIUM STREAMING AMPLIFIER 2024-2025 Hegel H400 EISA PREMIUM WIRELESS BOOKSHELF LOUDSPEAKERS 2024-2025 Triangle Capella EISA PREMIUM WIRELESS HEADPHONES 2024-2025 DALI IO-12 EISA PREMIUM WIRELESS LOUDSPEAKER 2024-2025 Meridian Ellipse EISA…

AND THE REST OF THE EISA 2024-2025 AWARDS…

I'M INCREASINGLY OF the mind that the best reason to go to the cinema these days is for promotional merch. Alien Romulus might be an audacious reboot of the classic sci-fi franchise, but I'll admit to being rather more excited at the prospect of owning an exclusive Facehugger popcorn bucket (for a mere £27 on top of the ticket price, thank you Odeon). I'm also sure I'm not alone in considering my Black Panther: Wakanda Forever purple popcorn tin a family heirloom, and I'm still furious that I missed out on the Baby Deadpool popcorn bucket drink dispenser. Endearingly elaborate, this featured an adorable Baby Deadpool, arms raised in delight, on a cinema seat, which opens to hold popcorn. Online flippers are now charging upwards of £100 for this plastic…

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