LATEST ADDITIONS

Aaron Sorkin's latest show explores what would happen if a TV news programme decided to stop chasing ratings in order to report genuine news stories. Just like his earlier hit, The West Wing, it makes for provocative, engaging and very funny (if somewhat idealised) television drama of the highest calibre. This four-disc release delivers strong AVC 1.78:1 1080p encodes (although the pilot was shot on super-grainy 16mm), modest DTS-HD MA 5.1 sonics and some enlightening extra features.

It may not be quite as sharp or foul-mouthed as The Thick of It, but Armando Iannucci still manages to mine plenty of laughs from the sour heart of the political world with his first US sitcom. And as we've come to expect from HBO, this two-disc Blu-ray release is a very slick operation, delivering attractively sharp and bright AVC 1.78:1 1080p encodes and cleanly-rendered DTS-HD MA 5.1 mixes for all eight episodes. The set also includes some excellent extras including 12(!) cast and crew episode commentaries, a 14-minute Making of… and deleted scenes.

Q Acoustics has announced a new addition to its loudspeaker range, the Q-BT3 Bluetooth wireless model.

AVR manufacturers are obsessed with matching their TV counterparts and introducing a gamut of new models each year, despite bona fide audio developments being few and far between. As such, Pioneer's VSX-923 represents a revamp of the VSX-922 (itself a revamp of the VSX-921), sharing many of the same features and design. In fact, apart from doing away with the drop-down flap on the front which hid the USB input and setup mic jack, the front of the VSX-923 is identical to its forebear. This equates to a nice big display flanked by two hefty knobs (volume and input selection), all set off by a brushed black chassis that will match the other noir components on your rack. It's kinda stylish, in a discreet sort of way.