This is the last AV Rant ever! But don’t worry; the podcast lives on. AHA!

New Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K fails to impress. The Paramount Skydance – Warner Bros. Discovery merger is complete, and the whole thing is just called Skydance now. HDTV Test determined the best LCD TV of 2026.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjD6Pzj

00:00:00 – Intro

It’s the last AV Rant episode! But we’re not going away. We’re just changing to a new name and a new brand…little by little.

Pardon our dust: https://actuallyhonestadvice.com/

00:22:18 – Happy Birthday, Tom!

Yup, he’s a year older.

00:23:34 – What We Watched

Tom’s been watching the World Athletics Ultimate Championship. Rob watched Soulm8te.

00:35:41 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 116 Patreon Patrons, as well as Aaron for sending another movie code, and Brandon and Nelson for offering to help Dazz and Patrick, respectively.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Vince, Dazz, Brandon, and Billy. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:40:18 – News: Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K

It’s slim, it’s got a better remote, but with its limitations, we wouldn’t buy one: https://tinyurl.com/3p3phym5

00:43:05 – News: Paramount – Warner Bros Merged

The lawsuits were settled, so Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery have merged to form…Skydance: https://tinyurl.com/bdh92wyt

00:47:58 – News: HDTV Test Best LCD of 2026

No real surprise which LCD TV won the shootout. And now it will take on the OLEDs: https://tinyurl.com/38nu7npm

QUESTIONS:

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AV Rant #999.9y: Liminal Rob, Tom Crawls

RTings’ How To Use a Smart TV Offline guide. Samsung ending QLED? LCDs getting more expensive. What we watched wasn’t for us.

RTings made a step-by-step guide for How To Use a Smart TV Offline. Samsung appears to be winding down their QLED TV moniker. All LCDs will get more expensive. And we watched and read popular content that isn’t for us.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjD6ghQ

00:00:00 – Intro

00:04:20 – What We Watched

Rob watched Backrooms. Tom read the first three books in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series.

00:42:06 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 119 Patreon Patrons, as well as Aaron for sending movie codes for us to test.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Mike, Rob S, James, Adam, Aaron, Bertrand, Galen, Jorge, Dev, and Ilango. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:46:21 – News: RTings’ Smart TVs Offline Guide

A helpful, step-by-step guide for how to use pretty much every brand of TV without any internet connection: https://tinyurl.com/zxv9fkr7

00:50:44 – News: Samsung Ending QLED?

Recent production cuts suggest the QLED moniker is stepping aside: https://tinyurl.com/ew4nmhhp

00:53:44 – News: LCDs Getting More Expensive

The manufacturers of the actual LCD panels have warned that prices are going up: https://tinyurl.com/4rbk6w7j

Comments:

00:56:25 – Comment: Ilango – Sofabaton X1S Success

He had his Sofabaton X1S Remote sitting in its box for a long time. But now that it’s finally open, it turned out pretty good.

QUESTIONS:

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AV Rant #999.9x: Most Offensive Subwoofer

Tom’s back! Thanks, Lee for last week. New Epson Home Cinema projectors. CD sales growth. FiiO CD Player. Krovatar and DpBlue Ultra HD Blu-ray players.

Tom has returned! We find out what kept him away last week. And thanks to Lee Overstreet for guest co-hosting. New Epson Home Cinema LS5000, LS6000, and LS7500 projectors bring lasers and 4K/120 support to lower price points. CD sales have grown, and FiiO’s DP11 is an affordable, dedicated CD Player. Krovatar KBU-300 and DpBlue DP-5300 are reasonably priced Ultra HD Blu-ray Players.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjD5JVe

00:00:00 – Intro

Tom is back. We find out what kept him away last week. And thanks to Lee Overstreet for guest co-hosting.

00:15:22 – Rob Updates

00:16:45 – Tom’s House Updates

00:25:26 – What We Watched

Tom just watched sports. Rob watched The Housemaid (2010). Tom will update us about Dungeon Crawler Carl next week.

00:40:39 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Dan and Steven for their PayPal donations, plus our 129 Patron Patrons.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Karl, Aaron, Patrick, Manuel, Jefferson, Dazz, Gurinder, John, and Steve. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:45:00 – News: 3 Epson Home Cinema Projectors

The new Epson LS5000, LS6000, and LS7500 are affordable laser LCD projectors with 4K/120 support: https://tinyurl.com/3hbebm3j

00:51:26 – News: CD Sales Grow

RIAA’s mid-year revenue report indicates growing physical media sales: https://tinyurl.com/mw4cp3pc

00:53:59 – News: FiiO DP11 CD Player

An affordable player that just plays CDs: https://tinyurl.com/rf3eznc3

00:56:11 – News: Chinese Ultra HD Blu-ray Players

Krovatar and DpBlue have reasonably-priced Ultra HD Blu-ray players with Dolby Vision support:

– Krovatar KBU-300: https://tinyurl.com/yc2nc7mk

– DpBlue DP-5300: https://tinyurl.com/ycxe3m92

QUESTIONS:

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Tom is away unexpectedly. So Lee Overstreet is pinch-hitting on short notice! We rant right away, and loved the things we watched this week. 78th Emmy Awards. iPhone Duo. AirPods 5. tvOS 27. Genuinely Wireless Sonos Surrounds. Panasonic Ultra HD Blu-ray Player price increases. And Valve’s Steam Frame VR.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjD54nV

00:00:00 – Intro

Tom is unexpectedly away this week, so Lee Overstreet is here to guest co-host. We rant a bit to start the show.

– Lee on Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/leeoversky.bsky.social

– Canada invited to be an “associate member” of the EU: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/eu-canada-associate-member-9.7345827

00:07:55 – Catching Up with Lee

Lee had quite the antique find during his sunroom renovation. And a minor A/V story from Rob, too, thanks to one of his aunts.

00:18:16 – What We Watched

Lee watched: Battle of the Sexes, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, and some old TV recordings on Betamax. Rob watched Hokum.

00:45:45 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 119 Patreon Patrons.

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

In the news:

00:46:54 – News: 78th Emmys

Shows on subscription streaming services dominated the awards: https://tinyurl.com/7u42c5hy

00:48:45 – News: iPhone Duo

Apple’s first folding phone looks very familiar if you’ve seen Samsung’s latest model: https://tinyurl.com/2r4vyr56

00:52:10 – News: AirPods 5

More features for less?! In this economy?! https://tinyurl.com/4t27u4tc

00:53:43 – News: tvOS 27 Adds Hi-Res Lossless

The easiest way to play maximum quality Apple Music on your full audio system has arrived: https://tinyurl.com/4jnxppd4

00:55:17 – News: Sonos Fully Wireless Surrounds

Play and Move 2 portable Sonos speakers can now act as Surrounds for S2 Series SoundBars: https://tinyurl.com/2wytwydf

00:57:13 – News: Panasonic UHD Blu-ray Price Hikes

All of Panasonic’s Ultra HD Blu-ray players are more expensive now: https://tinyurl.com/5f4aa9xf

00:59:05 – News: Valve Steam Frame

Valve’s newest VR headset isn’t particularly impressive in terms of hardware, and the price is high. But comfort and Valve’s privacy policy might make it worth it: https://tinyurl.com/486d47ck

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This is our CEDIA 2026 Special!

Joe Klusnick attended the CEDIA Expo in Denver, Colorado once again. We catch up with Joe, have another What We Watched segment, and then view Joe’s photo slideshow from the CEDIA show floor!

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjD4AHu

00:00:00 – Intro

Welcome back, Joe Klusnick!

Don’t forget, we also posted a regular news, comments, question and answer episode earlier this week.

– Joe on the AVS Forum as JSKMDWK: https://www.avsforum.com/members/jskmdwk.7537874/

00:03:44 – What We Watched

Joe has been watching Lanterns on HBO, and he saw the 35th Anniversary Fathom Entertainment presentation of Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

Rob watched Supergirl.

00:17:57 – Kaleidescape’s 25th Anniversary

Joe got to attend the party that kicked everything off.

– https://www.kaleidescape.com/news/kaleidescape-celebrates-25-years-delivering-the-worlds-only-high-fidelity-movie-library/

00:19:37 – CEDIA Keynote and Vibes

– https://cedia.org/

– https://cediaexpo.com/floor-plan-exhibitor-list/

00:23:09 – Trinnov

– https://www.trinnov.com/en/blog/posts/trinnov-audio-at-cedia-expo-2026/

00:27:21 – Harman, JBL & Synthesis

– https://www.avnation.tv/2026/08/31/harman-luxury-audio-toasts-eighty-years-of-jbl-and-fifty-years-of-arcam-at-cedia-expo-2026/

00:29:39 – Sony

– https://www.cepro.com/sponsored/rgbs-video-walls-and-projectors-oh-my-sony-brings-its-full-home-theater-suite-to-cedia-expo/628285/

00:33:44 – JVC

– https://www.cepro.com/sponsored/jvc-brings-native-8k-home-theater-4k-120p-gaming-to-cedia-expo-2026/628138/

00:37:52 – Just Video Walls

– https://www.ecoustics.com/products/just-video-walls-absolute-black/

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