Thomas J. Norton

President and Contributor at Sound & Vision

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Articles

Visiting the Past

Aug 27, 2024 | soundandvision.com | Thomas J. Norton

Cranford is an outstanding 2007 BBC series-length drama in multiple episodes spanning a total of 291 minutes (approximately 5 hours). It's U.S. broadcast at that time was on PBS' Masterpiece Theater. I first watched it years ago on Blu-ray. For this blog re-watched it again from beginning to end. It's certainly no action adventure story. Don't expect to see a sequel, Aliens in Cranford at your local multiplex. But even if historical dramas aren't your thing it's nevertheless well worth a trial run.
Rain's Gonna Fall Part 2: How to Protect Your AV Gear from Severe Storms

Aug 13, 2024 | soundandvision.com | Thomas J. Norton

Last time in this space we looked at thunder and lightning on the list of dangerous weather events, with the emphasis on protecting our audio/video gear from possible electrical surges. But there are also other potentially damaging natural disasters.
Rain's Gonna Fall

Jul 23, 2024 | soundandvision.com | Thomas J. Norton

As I write this it's been a slow news week. Just another lazy mid-July, with the usual news scribes scratching around for a story or two, apart from boring barbeques and leftover 4th of July fireworks!So to spice things up here I thought I'd resurrect a subject I've addressed before: the upcoming and always fun bad weather season.
Getting Organized

Jul 9, 2024 | soundandvision.com | Thomas J. Norton

Whether new Audio/Video fans are into basic 2-channel audio, the full home theater schtick, or both, they'll eventually acquire a small or large collection of physical (packaged) media. For music this packaged media will involve some version of digital discs, vinyl LPs, or even (but rarely) analog audio tape. Audio/Video packaged programming comes via similar routes, apart from vinyl.
Churchill on Disc

Jun 25, 2024 | soundandvision.com | Thomas J. Norton

Earlier this month the West honored the 80th anniversary of D-Day, June 6, 1944. The ceremonies commemorated the Allied invasion of Nazi Germany's occupied Europe, which together with the then Soviet Union battering Germany from the east would culminate in Germany's surrender almost a year later in May 1945. The war with Japan would end soon after, in August 1945. Hundreds of books, documentaries, and movies have been written or produced about World War II.
Headphones (and Ears) on a Plane

Jun 11, 2024 | soundandvision.com | Thomas J. Norton

Sometime in late 2019, as I was waiting at an airport for a connecting flight, I removed my Bose noise cancelling headphones and set them down on the empty seat beside me. A little later I got up to find my departure gate and in the rush left the headphones on the seat! I remembered a couple of minutes later, but when I returned the headphones were gone. Some lucky traveler is probably still using them. Covid-19 hit the fan not long after that.
Music Hath Charms

May 21, 2024 | soundandvision.com | Thomas J. Norton

"To soothe the savage breast" This quotation, from William Congreve (1629-1670), reads, in its entirety, "Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast. To soften rocks, or bend the knotted oak."Congreve might have been on to more than he realized.
Music by....

May 7, 2024 | soundandvision.com | Thomas J. Norton

How often do you look for the music credit line in a movie you're watching or want to see? Probably not often if ever, unless the composer is one of the big names. That means, in all likelihood, names such as John Williams (essentially retired) or Hans Zimmer.
Hi-Fi Show Time!

Apr 23, 2024 | soundandvision.com | Thomas J. Norton

I've blogged on audio (and video) shows before, most recently in 2022 (October 18 and May 31). But there's always something more that needs to be said on the subject, even though it's unavoidable that I'll repeat a few things here that you'll also find in those earlier posts. Every year new hi-fi shows seem to pop up, though some will inevitably fade while others come along to fill the gaps.
The Female Voice

Apr 9, 2024 | soundandvision.com | Thomas J. Norton

While movies and other categories of (primarily) non-musical programming dominate what we hear and see in our home theaters, it's a good bet that if you've been into this hobby for more than a few years it all began with music. And even now music is often in heavy rotation on our systems. But as I've noted before, there's more to music than simply listening to it with no images involved apart from those in our head.