Arendal’s smaller, less-expensive 1961 Series of speakers has returned. Sony suspends all Home Cinema Projector sales in Europe due to sanctions. LG drops support for DTS in 2025. TCL’s 2025 TV lineup.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjC7wTk

00:00:00 – Intro

00:07:36 – What We Watched

Rob finished S.3 of Invincible, and started S.2 of Silo. He also watched Conclave.

00:22:36 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 132 Patreon Patrons, including John.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: John, Gurinder, and Sasi. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:24:06 – News: Arendal 1961 Series Speakers

Arendal’s least-expensive speaker Series was gone for a while, but now they’re back: https://tinyurl.com/57u53r97

00:33:48 – News: Sony Suspends European Projector Sales

Newly enacted sanctions have forced Sony to stop selling projectors in Europe: https://tinyurl.com/3zwd2pe2

00:36:23 – News: LG Drops DTS

LG’s 2025 TV lineup doesn’t support DTS audio: https://tinyurl.com/y4nyku9x

00:40:04 – News: TCL 2025 TV Lineup

The European model numbers are slightly different from North America’s, but the full lineup is very close to the same: https://tinyurl.com/4dh537sr

Comments:

00:46:56 – CORRECTION: Steve – Anthem Upmixes to Front Wides

Confirmation that Anthem’s AVM70 Pre-pro does put sounds into the Front Wide speakers when using the Dolby Surround Upmixer.

QUESTIONS:

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Rob was a little surprised by this year’s Best Picture Oscar winner…and by Venom: The Last Dance. WiiM 2-channel Vibelink Amp. Netflix adds HDR10+. HDR by Barco gets two permanent installations. Christie has a new, smaller Dolby Cinema projector.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjC6MrB

00:00:00 – Intro

Canadians will head to the polls next month.

00:09:50 – What We Watched

Rob watched Venom: The Last Dance, and Anora. Tom continues to watch The Golden Girls.

00:25:59 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 132 Patreon Patrons.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Infinite Gary, Martin, Dazz, Greg, and Joe. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:28:07 – News: WiiM Vibelink Amp

A $300, 2-ch, 100 Watts/ch amp that doubles down into 4 ohms: https://tinyurl.com/mr3365k6

– https://avgadgets.com/banana-plugs-do-they-make-speakers-sound-better/

00:32:52 – News: Netflix Adds HDR10+

Netflix wants their whole HDR library available in HDR10+ by the end of the year: https://tinyurl.com/572775et

00:34:42 – News: HDR by Barco Theaters

Via Infinite Gary – The HDR by Barco pilot program has now led to two permanent installations: https://tinyurl.com/2fnaddur

– HDR by Barco Pilot Program: https://tinyurl.com/4m2b58sn

00:42:36 – News: Smaller Christie Dolby Cinema Projector

Smaller, lighter, brighter, and only one needed for smaller Dolby Cinemas: https://tinyurl.com/msmnmcsh

Comments:

00:44:12 – Comment: Martin – SVS Service in Denmark

An SVS replacement amp after the warranty has expired in Denmark.

QUESTIONS:

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Rob had yet another leak from the same drain pipe again. Sonos cancels their “Pinewood” streaming video box. Sony refreshes their X700 Ultra HD Blu-ray player. And Sony showed off their flagship RGB mini-LED TV slated to launch in 2026.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjC5STt

00:00:00 – Intro

Now with even more water damage!

00:08:27 – What We Watched

Tom started rewatching The Golden Girls. Rob’s been watching S.3 of Invincible, and watched High Life.

00:22:05 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Sasi for his PayPal donation, plus our 131 Patreon Patrons, as well as Tim for offering to send Tom a PS3 for his brother, and a different Tom for suggesting that our Tom set up a “Buy a Panel” pledge drive to raise funds with an acoustic panel with donors names printed on it.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Raf, Gurinder Julian, Joshua, Brandon, Yanick, Sasi, Tom, and David. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:28:11 – News: Sonos Streaming Box Cancelled

Sonos’ new interim CEO says they won’t pursue video at all anymore: https://tinyurl.com/3x83c4sd

00:31:17 – News: Sony X700/K UHD BD Player

Via Karl – the first new Ultra HD Blu-ray player in years does less and costs more: https://tinyurl.com/ypn53hyu

00:32:46 – News: Sony RGB mini-LED TV

Hisense and TCL already showed off the new LCD backlighting technology. But Sony says their new flagship in 2026 will do it best: https://tinyurl.com/hk2vr9vf

Comments:

00:35:38 – Comment: Raf – Sub EQ Bump Results

Using our advice, he found EQ’ing a hump between 40Hz – 60Hz to be effective.

00:39:03 – Comment: Gurinder – SVS Amp Replacement in Canada

It’ll cost him some money, but at least he can get his PB13-Ultra working again.

00:40:36 – Comment: Eliezer – V-Moda Faders

Another suggestion for comfortable hearing protection.

00:42:22 – Comment: Sasi – Subwoofer Options in Ireland

It might be easier to buy a ToneWinner or XTZ sub in Ireland.

QUESTIONS:

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PlayStation 3 (yes, 3) just got a System Software update to keep Blu-ray playback working. Older Warner Bros. DVDs (and HD-DVDs) are suffering from disc rot. TCL launches their QM7K miniLED TV Series. And HearAdvisor provides measurements and playback samples for earplugs.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjC5926

00:00:00 – Intro

Canadian politics, baby!

00:15:19 – What We Watched

Rob watched Heretic. Tom watched the 1st episode of Daredevil: Born Again, and more of S.2 of The Night Agent.

00:35:27 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Raf for his PayPal donation, plus our 130 Patreon Patrons.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Juls, Raf, John, David, Fred, and Dazz. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:39:20 – News: PS3 System Software Update

Yes, nearly 19 years after launch, the PlayStation 3 just got a System Software update to keep Blu-ray disc playback working: https://tinyurl.com/3563rx48

00:40:48 – News: Warner Bros. DVD Disc Rot

Discs manufactured from 2006 – 2008 are becoming unplayable due to disc rot: https://tinyurl.com/wynjbpyz

Warner Bros. will replace affected disc for free, but only “where possible”: whv@wbd.com

00:43:46 – News: TCL QM7K TV Series

TCL’s QM7K TV Series is bigger & brighter with more dimming zones, and shipping this month: https://tinyurl.com/yc2b9zba

Comments:

00:46:44 – Comment: Bob – It’s Not a Short Circuit

Bob details all the troubleshooting he did to make sure there’s no short circuit causing his Denon AVR to go into protection mode.

– https://avgadgets.com/everyone-that-says-their-av-upgrade-is-slightly-better-is-a-liar/

00:55:25 – Comment: Nathan – HearAdvisor Earplug Measurements

A great recommendation for a resource for earplugs and hearing aid measurements and playback samples.

– https://www.hearadvisor.com/earplug-rankings

QUESTIONS:

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Oopsie. Tom quoted a bad word during this episode. And we didn’t even bleep it out! We react to some of the 2025 Oscar winners. And we have more details about Eclipsa Audio.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjC4uTK

00:00:00 – Intro

00:10:33 – What We Watched

Rob watched Twisters. Tom saw some live race qualifiers.

00:30:44 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Jonathan for his PayPal donation, plus our 130 Patreon Patrons.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Sasi, Stefan, Jonathan, Jason, and Toke. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:32:13 – News: 2025 Oscar Winners

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes was robbed (according to Rob): https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2025

00:39:56 – News: Eclipsa Audio Details

Samsung won’t be the only brand to support it. And it’s channel-based. No objects here: https://tinyurl.com/2dxvm8d9

Comments:

00:43:12 – Comment: Nathan – Anti-Vibration Pads

An inexpensive option for damping/decoupling your subwoofers.

– https://avgadgets.com/how-to-best-decouple-your-speakers/

– MyLifeUNIT Pads: https://tinyurl.com/46jbwzak

QUESTIONS:

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