SVS is running a Black Friday sale, and this year, it includes most of their current speakers and subwoofers. Amazon, Peacock, Max, YouTube, and Apple TV+ are all increasing prices and/or inserting more ads. And Disney fully owns Hulu now. Also, sorry for the multiple dog barks and unplanned interruptions this week!

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjB2xQx

00:00:00 – Intro

Check out Rob’s appearance during DJ’s 24 Hours of Home Theater marathon live stream: https://www.youtube.com/live/L33l-OxBxpA?si=Er-oGbdOtof2F4fs&t=13497

00:04:56 – What We Watched

Rob is enjoying this rather unusual NHL hockey season, finished Star Trek: Lower Decks S.4, and is keeping up with Loki S.2.

Tom rewatched Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and is making his way through Welcome to Wrexham.

00:23:45 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 134 Patreon Patrons.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Chad, Jared, Craig, Mike, and Rohan. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:26:44 – News: SVS Black Friday Sale

For the first time, most of SVS’s current speaker and subwoofer models are on sale: https://www.svsound.com/collections/black-friday-sale

00:32:10 – News: Streaming Price Hike Roundup

– Amazon Prime Video introducing ads: https://tinyurl.com/y9c8x2tt

– 4K Netflix is $23 now: https://tinyurl.com/bdf94psy

– Peacock, Max & Hulu show ads when you pause: https://tinyurl.com/3pdt2epw

– YouTube hates ad-blockers: https://tinyurl.com/4krvse7r

– YouTube Premium costs more: https://tinyurl.com/3y27xj9u

– Max has new tiers: https://tinyurl.com/kuu7v5yd

– Apple TV+ is $10 now: https://tinyurl.com/5bf4chsm

– Disney fully owns Hulu: https://tinyurl.com/a93j9hz6

Comments:

00:41:43 – Comment: Craig – Rhino Quadio in DTS

A correction that Rhino Records’ Quad albums are in DTS-HD MA.

00:47:42 – Comment: Will – View Bitrates on Apple TV

Jaremy over at Techthusiasm explains how to use a Mac with XCode to unlock Apple TV’s Developer menu: https://youtu.be/mIcJmPIInjQ

00:51:45 – Comment: Chris – Simply Speakers Fix

A DIY foam surround replacement kit came with excellent instructions: https://www.simplyspeakers.com/

00:57:10 – Comment: Rohan – Harmony Activity Glitch

A strange audio dropout seems to all be the fault of a Harmony Activity command.

QUESTIONS:

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The transition to UHD television broadcasts is going slowly, but France intends to make it happen by 2029. MEMS are solid state devices that are manufactured like semiconductor chips and vibrate in response to an electrical current, and they’re here to transform our earphones and cooling fans.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjB1z5r

00:00:00 – Intro

00:05:26 – What We Watched

Rob watched The Mummy (2017), and Amsterdam. Tom takes a tangent to update us on his house repairs, and then talks about having finished Star Wars Rebels.

00:31:11 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Tyler for his PayPal donation, plus our 136 Patreon Patrons, as well as Zach for telling SVS we recommended them, Michael for talking us up to the owner of RSL Speakers, and Vince and Jonathan for alerting us when there was a problem with our audio-only version last week.

Thanks also to Julian 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: Tyler, Zach, Michael, Julian, and Parker. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:38:32 – News: France’s 2029 UHD TV Broadcast Transition

The 2024 Olympics will be broadcast in UHD, and by 2029, France intends to turn off the HD versions: https://tinyurl.com/3w3fed9p

00:41:48 – News: MEMS for Earphones & Cooling Fans

Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems are solid state and manufactured like semiconductor chips, but they can vibrate the air, and that means exciting new advancements for:

– Solid State Earphones: https://tinyurl.com/yckwtzut

– Solid State Frore AirJet Cooling Chips: https://tinyurl.com/36dfyhmb

Comments:

00:56:02 – Comment: Tyler – Free-Standing Projection Screen

Great success using clothing rack poles and pole-mounted VESA brackets.

00:59:29 – Comment: Julian: Fewer Speakers, Better Outcome

Following our advice worked out! Repositioned Surround speakers and a speaker removal improved immersion.

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Rebranded Zappiti products have magically appeared under the new brand name R_volution. The Matter 1.2 specification adds nine new smart home product categories to its interoperability standard. And Lee and his wife visited Tom in Florida, and you’ll never guess what happened right after they left.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

00:11:48 – What We Watched

Rob watched The Pope’s Exorcist, started Only Murders in the Building S.3, and continued with Loki S.2.

Tom has started watching Combat Juggling, and has nearly finished Star Wars Rebels.

00:29:53 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Kevin for his PayPal donation, plus our 136 Patreon Patrons, as well as Eddie for sending a movie code to Tom to check out.

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

In the news:

00:32:16 – News: Zappiti becomes R_volution

Rebranded Zappiti products have appeared under the new brand https://www.rvolution.com/ shortly after Zappiti’s announcement that they’re closing down for good:

Shane Lee got the scoop that existing Zappiti products might be able to use R_volution’s software, for a fee: https://youtu.be/sI86wnbUqG4

00:37:49 – News: Matter 1.2 Spec Released

Nine new Smart Home product categories have been added to the interconnectivity standard: https://tinyurl.com/b3fs5zzw

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PS5 consoles get a slimmed down redesign with a modular disc drive. Best Buy is abandoning DVDs and Blu-rays. Microsoft officially owns Activision Blizzard now. And McIntosh’s $3,000 Graphic EQ majorly misses the mark.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

00:06:35 – What We Watched

Rob watched the start of the NHL Hockey season, continued Loki S.2, caught up on Star Trek: Lower Decks,and adored Pearl. Tom continued with Star Wars Rebels, did his best to enjoy Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark, and revisited Star Trek TOS.

00:22:58 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Tyler for his PayPal donation, plus our 136 Patreon Patrons.

Thanks also to Kris 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: Dan, Kris, Mike, Luke, Stan, Greg, Julian, Michael, and Ilango. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:27:48 – News: PS5 Slim

Sony has redesigned their PS5 consoles to be smaller with a modular disc drive: https://tinyurl.com/44dhrtbn

00:32:02 – News: Best Buy Ditches DVDs

No more DVDs or Blu-rays, even online: https://tinyurl.com/2nv69hd4

00:39:07 – News: Xbox Owns Activision Blizzard

More than 20 months of legal battles and almost $69 billion finally results in Microsoft’s acquisition: https://tinyurl.com/3xyv4zfz

Comments:

00:45:35 – Comment: Infinite Gary – Cheap Sony Headphones

MDR-ZX110, which we’ve actually mentioned before: https://tinyurl.com/3habf47t

00:47:26 – Comment: Greg – WiiM Pro AirPlay 2 Transmitter

WiiM Pro has a trick up its sleeve: https://tinyurl.com/mrxpjf53

00:48:51 – Comment: Nathan – How To Build a False Wall

Link to instructions from an AVS Forum member: https://tinyurl.com/4cbjfucw

00:50:02 – Comment: Julian – Calvin, Hobbes & Dual HDMI

We reminded him of a comic strip, and splitting audio & video signals worked, but with a drawback.

00:52:41 – Comment: Ryan – Marantz Customer Service

A little slow, but ultimately satisfying.

QUESTIONS:

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The WGA ratified their new 3-year contract. Sony Bravia Core rebrands to Sony Pictures Core and comes to PlayStation, but without Pure Stream. Onkyo, Integra & Pioneer Elite flagship AVRs get optional Dirac Live Bass Control. And Tom reviews a pair of affordable, ribbon headphones.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

00:03:58 – Sineaptic SE-1 Ribbon Wireless Headphones Review

Tom has several criticisms, but the sound quality ain’t one of ’em, nor is the price: https://avgadgets.com/sineaptic-se-1-wireless-ribbon-headphones-the-audiophile-headphones-you-can-afford/

00:18:26 – What We Watched

Rob finished Ahsoka, started Loki S.2, and watched The Voyeurs. Tom continued Star Wars Rebels.

00:28:33 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 135 Patreon Patrons, as well as Gurinder for sending Tom a movie code.

Thanks also to J. Karl 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: Karl, Joe, John, Julian, J. Karl, and Ilango. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:31:00 – News: WGA Ratify New Contract

The Writers Strike is officially over! https://tinyurl.com/y5mk4a5h

00:36:23 – News: Sony Pictures Core on PlayStation

Bravia Core is rebranded as Sony Pictures Core and comes to PS4 & PS5: https://tinyurl.com/mr24y8c6

But without Pure Stream: https://tinyurl.com/2wtz88vs

00:39:26 – News: Onkyo Gets Dirac Live Bass Control

Only the flagship Onkyo, Integra & Pioneer Elite AVRs get it. But you can now pay extra to add Dirac Live Bass Control: https://tinyurl.com/29tbrunb

Comments:

00:41:50 – Comment: Kris – Freestanding Projection Screen

Tom loves the suggestion to use closet support poles.

00:45:04 – Comment: Joe – Webinar with Anthony Grimani

And extended webinar covering network-based audio, RP-22, new approaches to bass, and more: https://youtu.be/3B9jbLgWBsM?

– direct link to RP-22: https://cedia.net/advocacy/rp22

QUESTIONS:

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