Now that the Sofabaton X2 Universal Remote is widely available, Sofabaton is running a sale on the X1S model. And we have a promo code you can use for extra savings: TOMX1S20 . RSL launched their online Encore Store with a cosmetic grading system on open box items for extra cost savings. The new CEO of Microsoft Gaming confirmed the next Xbox console is code named Project Helix, and it will play both Xbox and PC games.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

Ugh. The repairs on Tom’s house are going to be more extensive than hoped and anticipated.

00:08:16 – Update on Tom’s Home Theater

SVS Prime Elevation speakers have been hung with Sewell Ghost Wire stuck to the walls (but not painted yet). Stands for Surround speakers were purchased.

– Sewell Ghost Wire: https://tinyurl.com/42dv2h6j

– Kanto Living Satellite Speaker Stands: https://tinyurl.com/28rs5jrj

00:13:33 – What We Watched

Tom enjoyed SNL with Ryan Gosling. Rob watched One Battle After Another.

00:33:19 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Marco for his PayPal donation, plus our 120 Patreon Patrons.

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

In the news:

00:34:41 – News: Sofabaton X1S Sale

Buying a Sofabaton X1S Universal Remote through our Amazon affiliate link, and then entering our Promo Code in the Payment section can save you 30%.

– Promo Code = TOMX1S20

– Sofabaton X1S Remote via Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/46Xugnv

– https://avgadgets.com/sofabaton-x1s-is-the-harmony-killer/

00:37:05 – News: RSL Encore Store

RSL has introduced a cosmetic grading system on Open Box items via the launch of their online Encore Store: https://rslspeakers.com/pages/encore-store

00:40:25 – News: Xbox Project Helix

The new CEO of Microsoft Gaming confirmed the code name for the next Xbox console that will play both Xbox and PC Games: https://tinyurl.com/yfamyfzu

QUESTIONS:

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Paramount Skydance gave their best and final offer to buy Warner Bros Discovery, and Netflix declined to match it. RTings now requires a paid membership to view their full product reviews, a change made in light of AI scraping all their data and leading to far fewer page visits. Tom has updates about his back, and his house.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

Updates on Tom’s bad back.

00:07:31 – The New House Leak

Uh oh. That water leak Tom told us about last week? It’s turning into another saga.

00:16:22 – Hey, Scott! Tom Wants “The Product”

Shout out to SVS for their Prime Elevation wall-mount bracket. And Tom would like to take Scott up on his speaker cable offer.

– “The Product”: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUTZ_ilDl41/

00:21:00 – What We Watched

Tom is still watching The Olympics. Rob watched Frankentstein.

00:34:10 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 120 Patreon Patrons, including Patricio.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Patricio, David, Steve, John, Dan, Jorge, and Karl. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:37:22 – News: Paramount Buying Warner Bros.

Paramount Skydance’s best & final offer was declared by Warner Bros. Discovery to be superior, and Netflix quickly declined to match it: https://tinyurl.com/558dhzf9

00:44:37 – News: RTings Goes Membership-Only

With AI scraping all their reviews, RTings has decided to put all of their full product reviews behind a paywall. Early bird members get a discount: https://tinyurl.com/2d2rvnp9

QUESTIONS:

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Tom is back. And so is his TV! Rob has fresh insights about the Sofabaton X2 Universal Remote. Tom has thoughts about computer monitors. Skyworth is taking over Panasonic’s TV division. Xbox CEO and President both left, and the former President of CoreAI is taking over. Paramount Skydance made their best and final offer to buy Warner Bros. Discovery.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

Thanks to Lee & Joe for guest co-hosting last week. Tom has returned, and so has his TV! And we cannot escape water leaks.

00:14:58 – Rob’s Updates & Sofabaton X2 Insight

A Sofabaton X2 has successfully been set up for Rob’s parents after “discovering” an extremely useful feature for IR codes: https://www.sofabaton.com/product/x2/

00:27:48 – What We Watched

Tom watched lots of the Olympic Winter Games. Rob watched Train Dreams.

00:45:22 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Gurinder and Dan for their PayPal donations, plus our 124 Patreon Patrons.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Davide, Allen, Karl, Infinite Gary, Micah, David, Gurinder, and Jack. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:53:41 – News: Skyworth Taking Over Panasonic TVs

Another Japanese TV brand has agreed to have a Chinese TV brand take over manufacturing and sales: https://tinyurl.com/dzdt7jne

00:57:17 – News: Xbox Executive Shake Up

CEO of Microsoft Gaming, Phil Spencer, retired. President of Xbox, Sarah Bond, resigned. Former President of CoreAI, Asha Sharma, takes over: https://tinyurl.com/bddwds5p

01:09:07 – News: Paramount’s Best & Final Offer

Paramount Skydance tendered their best and final offer to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, which Netflix now has the chance to match: https://tinyurl.com/bcdsdk5y

Comments:

01:11:21 – Comment: Allen – Closed-Back Headphones

After gathering out suggestions, which headphones did he buy and keep?

01:15:37 – Comment: Tom on Computer Monitors

A curved monitor was tried…

01:19:37 – CORRECTION: TooMuchMedia – Outputting 24/192 Apple Music

The USB-to-HDMI dongle won’t work! Rob was wrong. A more convoluted path of dongles is necessary.

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Tom is away this week. But we have a TV update anyway. Lee Overstreet AND Joe Klusnick both join Rob H. for the long-awaited 3-man episode. It finally happened!

Lee’s MantelMount experience. Joe’s Kaleidescape viewing. Arcam Radia Series AV Amplifiers, Pre-Pro, Amps & Speakers. Arendal 1610 Series 8 Speakers. And why not lease your PS5 and own nothing?

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

00:00:00 – Intro

3 hosts? Yup. Lee Overstreet and Joe Klusnick are BOTH here!

00:01:54 – Update on Tom’s TV

Tom might be away, but that doesn’t prevent us from saying how his TV repair is going.

00:03:36 – Joe’s Appearance on HTG

Joe Klusnick talked with Scott Wilkinson on Home Theater Geeks about building his home theater: https://youtu.be/0jNRX771ZRA

00:04:12 – Lee’s MantelMount Installation

Lee helped a friend install a TV above a fireplace, and he has thoughts on https://www.mantelmount.com/ . We also discuss what to do about the audio.

– Klipsch Reference R-34C: https://tinyurl.com/4hct47ek

– Polk Signature Elite ES35: https://tinyurl.com/yw327ka5

– Klipsch Flexus SoundBars: https://tinyurl.com/kwzdvfwd

– Samsung Q-Series SoundBars: https://tinyurl.com/4nyu56du

00:19:41 – Contact Info

Email: Question at AVRant dot com

Lee on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/leeoversky.bsky.social

Joe on AVS Forum: https://www.avsforum.com/members/jskmdwk.7537874/

00:20:56 – What We Watched

Joe watched Indecent Proposal, and 21 on Kaleidescape, plus Wuthering Heights at a Dolby Cinema. Rob watched Hamnet. Lee watched Severance S.2, and Station Eleven.

00:38:49 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 121 Patreon Patrons, including John.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Kenny, Infinite Gary, Kevin, Davide, Greg, Karl, and John. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:42:26 – News: Arcam Radia Series Electronics

– https://www.arcam.co.uk/our-products.htm

AVA15, 25 & 35 AV Amplifiers. AVP45 Pre-Pro. PA4 & PA9 Amps: https://tinyurl.com/5bfbr6dn

00:50:15 – News: Arcam Radia Speakers

R15 & 25 Bookshelf. R35C Center. R35 & 45 Towers. R25B Subwoofer: https://tinyurl.com/mrkrfard

00:58:23 – News: Arendal 1610 Series 8 Speakers

1610 Bookshelf 8. 1610 Center 8. 1610 Tower 8. 1610 Slim 8: https://tinyurl.com/4nywf8dj

01:06:24 – News: Lease a PS5

Why own anything?

– https://direct.playstation.com/en-gb/leasing

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The latest in Tom’s QD-OLED TV repair saga. Our own subwoofer, computer monitor, and universal remote adventures. KEF Coda W self-powered wireless speakers enter a new, lower price bracket. Valve delayed its Steam Machine and Stream Frame. TCL is updating its Google TV interface to run on Android 14, which will add HDMI QMS support.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCK2xz

00:00:00 – Intro

Congrats to the Seattle Seahawks. But Olympic curling is where it’s at!

00:03:45 – Update on Tom’s TV

“It will be”…

00:06:14 – Tom Bought Subwoofers

Feats of strength were demonstrated.

– https://avgadgets.com/the-three-best-options-to-decouple-your-subwoofer/

00:09:12 – Tom’s Monitor Shopping

I mean, if you want to pay extremely close attention to model numbers.

00:12:54 – Rob’s Personal Updates

Let’s see if his parents’ Sofabaton X2 is finally all set up next week!

00:15:34 – What We Watched

Rob watched F1: The Movie. Tom’s been watching the Winter Olympics.

00:34:07 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 121 Patreon Patrons, including James, as well as Greg for sending a movie code.

Thanks to Scott for giving Tom permission to use his photos on https://avgadgets.com/

And we appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Greg, Nathan, Chris, Julian, Gurinder, Dan, Daniel, Dale, James, and Allen. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:39:29 – News: KEF Coda W

Self-powered speakers with an HDMI-ARC input for under $1,000: https://tinyurl.com/365py9p3

00:44:21 – News: Steam Machine & Frame Delay

Valve thought they’d have a launch date and prices to announce by now, but RAM and SSD shortages forced a delay: https://tinyurl.com/42hsnvkm

00:48:15 – News: TCL Google TV Update w/ QMS

TCL TVs that use a MediaTek Pentonic 700 chipset to run Google TV will get an update running on Android 14, bringing QMS with it: https://tinyurl.com/4bpuzhrw

00:52:44 – Lepro E1 & EE1 Outdoor Lights Review Update

AV Gadgets Approved review posted, but the app could still use some improvements.

– https://avgadgets.com/lepro-e1-and-ee1-permanent-outdoor-lights-review/

Comments:

00:55:31 – Joe Klusnick on Home Theater Geeks

Scott Wilkinson has started a new format for the Home Theater of the Month segment, and AV Rant guest co-host Joe Klusnick was the first guest! He set the bar: https://youtu.be/0jNRX771ZRA

00:56:22 – Comment: Julian, Errol & Kerry – Where to Rent Discs

After hearing Dazz last week, our Listeners have suggestions for where to rent discs-by-mail.

– https://www.choovierentals.com/

– https://www.store-3d-blurayrental.com/

00:58:08 – Comment: Gurinder: LG CX Game Mode

A reminder that, for some reason, HDCP needed to be turned off in your PS5 in order to get low latency.

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