Tom is here! Not for the whole podcast, of course. But he lets us know he’s safe, and everything he and his family have been dealing with post-two-hurricanes.

Lee Overstreet co-hosts with Rob H. Sound & Vision and Home Cinema Choice both end their print editions and go online-only. The FTC has updated their Amplifier Rule. And ADTH announced their NextGen TV USB dongle that adds an ATSC 3.0 tuner to Google TV and Fire TV boxes.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBN9ZP

00:00:00 – Intro

00:01:55 – It’s Tom!

First and foremost, Tom and his family are all physically ok and safe. But they’ve been dealing with…a lot. More than Rob was aware of. So Tom wanted to provide an update for everyone, and to express his gratitude for all of the support.

You’ll have to excuse the noise in the background; the house where Tom and his family have been staying also suffered some hurricane damage and was under repair as we recorded!

00:42:45 – Back to Rob & Lee

00:45:18 – Thank You, Anker!

The folks at Anker came in clutch, sending Tom a Solix Portable Power Station, a few GaN Prime Power Banks, a USB Hub, power adapters, charging cables, and anything else Tom requested.

So we cannot thank them enough. We already loved a ton of their products anyway. And this just shows what a stand-up group they are: https://www.anker.com/

00:51:54 – What We Watched

Some updates from Lee. Rob watched The Penguin Ep. 3, and Longlegs.

01:04:45 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are: Richard, Karl, Jayson, and Niels for their PayPal donations, plus our 133 Patreon Patrons, as well as Jefferson for talking us up to Value Electronics, and Vince for sending Rob an Amazon gift card for Canadian Thanksgiving, with a promise to send one to Tom for American Thanksgiving next month.

Thanks also to Stefan 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: Tony, J. Karl, Donald, Karl, Jonathan, Stefan, Joe, Manuel, Vince, Gurinder, Mark, and Tim. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

01:13:34 – News: End of Print Magazines

Sound & Vision and Home Cinema Choice have both ended their print media runs and gone online-only.

– https://www.soundandvision.com/content/internet-killed-magazine-star

– https://filmstories.co.uk/news/home-cinema-choice-magazine-closing-after-365-issues/

01:17:10 – News: FTC Amplifier Rule

Via Karl – It was once proposed to eliminate the FTC’s Amplifier Rule. But now it’s actually been strengthened: https://tinyurl.com/39pzw96p

01:23:41 – News: ADTH NextGen TV USB

An add-on ATSC 3.0 dongle for your Google TV or Fire TV streaming box: https://tinyurl.com/4678t5ka

Comments:

01:26:29 – Comment: Karl, Nathan & Joe – Lip Sync

People really want to help John, and they have some great suggestions to try.

QUESTIONS:

01:30:58 – David: Room Within a Room by Mark

After Mark detailed his basement reno in AVRant #930, David has several follow-up questions.

– http://www.curtpalme.com/TheHomeTheaterBook.shtm

– IsoStore HushFrame: https://tinyurl.com/bd89jjhf

01:50:41 – Tony: Upmixing Disappointment

With a full Atmos setup, he’d like more utilization of his Surround Back and overhead speakers. We discuss Listening Mode options and potential AVR upgrades.

02:12:29 – Norman: IAMF FOMO

How long should he wait for Samsung & Google’s Immersive Audio Model and Formats?

02:17:04 – Stefan: Fiber Optic HDMI & Banana Plugs

Will converting HDMI signals to fiber optic reduce reliability? And what if his speaker wire banana plugs have started coming loose?

– Locking Banana Plugs: https://tinyurl.com/mwkac987

02:25:39 – Manuel: DJ Controller & Front B Follow-up

Now that we know more about his setup, can he avoid spending too much money when using his SVS subs for both home theater and DJ duties?

• Check out the AV Rant YouTube channel to watch our show videos.
• Download Tom’s FREE superhero-themed ebook Bob Moore: No Hero.
• If you like it, you can purchase the two full-length follow-ups -  Bob Moore: Desperate Times and Bob Moore: Hostile Territory.
• Check out AVGadgets.com where Tom is the new Editor-in-Chief!
• Download Tom's NEWEST book, Touch of Pain from Amazon now!

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