Zappiti is shutting down for good. Meta Quest 3 Mixed Reality Headset is almost here and will be getting Xbox Cloud Gaming this year. Value Electronics crowned their new King of 4K TVs for 2023.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

00:06:07 – What We Watched

NHL preseason for Rob, as well as X, and No One Will Save You. Tom continued Star Wars Rebels, and started Welcome to Wrexham.

00:14:49 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Paul for his PayPal donation, plus our 135 Patreon Patrons, including Aras.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Ryan, Dave, Kris, Jim, Toke, Rob, Jason, and Aras. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:20:58 – News: Zappiti Shuts Down

Zappiti is no more, and support for the future looks questionable: https://tinyurl.com/y7ad3c8x

00:25:59 – News: Meta Quest 3 Getting Xbox Cloud Gaming

Meta Quest 3 Mixed Reality Headset will be available Oct 10, and is getting Xbox Cloud Gaming this year: https://tinyurl.com/3rextk2e

00:27:46 – News: 2023 King of 4K TVs

Value Electronics held their annual TV shootout, and Sony’s QD-OLED won again: https://tinyurl.com/4j4hseyj

– https://avgadgets.com/8k-displays-are-stupid/

Comments:

00:31:08 – Comment: Scott – Netflix Webpage Settings

Getting 5.1 audio to play involved digging into Profile and Parental Controls only found on Netflix webpage.

00:33:16 – Comment: Toke – Use Older Dirac Version with NAD

Only mentioned in Dirac’s Version Archives.

00:34:23 – Comment: Rob – Audeze Maxwell Impressions

A little pricey but worth it.

QUESTIONS:

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MQA Ltd has been bought by the parent company of NAD, PSB & Bluesound. Amazon Prime Video will start inserting ads unless you pay extra. LG is ditching built-in ATSC 3.0 Nextgen TV tuners. And we make our cost-no-object audio & video gear picks.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAWd8a

00:00:00 – Intro

00:12:12 – What We Watched

Rob finished Star Wars Rebels, and caught up with Ahsoka (aka Rebels S.5) so far. Tom is also watching Rebels.

00:21:36 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 134 Patreon Patrons, as well as Rohan for giving Tom permission to use his photos on https://avgadgets.com/

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

In the news:

00:27:51 – News: MQA Bought by NAD/PSB

Lenbrook Crop, parent company of NAD, PSB & Bluesound, has purchased MQA Ltd: https://tinyurl.com/44y7akp6

00:30:40 – News: Amazon Prime Video Getting Ads

Prime Video will start interrupting shows and movies with ads in 2024 unless you pay extra: https://tinyurl.com/y9c8x2tt

00:34:07 – News: LG Ditches Nextgen TV Tuners

None of LG’s TVs will have built-in ATSC 3.0 tuners in 2024: https://tinyurl.com/dxruy32r

Comments:

00:38:23 – Comment: Mark – Silence Phone in Car

A suggestion that silencing your phone when it’s connected to your car’s Bluetooth might prevent unwanted volume changes.

QUESTIONS:

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Tom is back! Our thanks to Joe for guest co-hosting last week. PS5’s latest update puts Tempest 3D Audio in a Dolby Atmos container. Denon announced their X6800H Receiver. AVA Cinema Remote could be a (more expensive) Harmony replacement, if a lawsuit doesn’t kill it. And leaks reveal an Xbox Series X refresh, and plans for a new console in 2028.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

00:06:19 – What We Watched

Rob finished S.3 of Star Wars Rebels, Pixar’s Elemental, the Apple Movies release of Barbie, and has been listening to the Strike Force Five Podcast.

Tom also started Star Wars Rebels, and is watching La Vuelta.

00:27:45 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Ty for making an automatic monthly donation on PayPal, plus our 133 Patreon Patrons, including Bertrand.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude from: Ty, Dazz, Jared, James, and Rohan. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:31:20 – News: Dolby Atmos on PS5

Via Mark – Sony’s Tempest 3D Audio gets put into an Atmos container, and everything comes out as Atmos now: https://tinyurl.com/yc3f3r7z

00:33:15 – News: Denon X6800H AVR

13-ch processing, 11 amps built-in, HDMI 2.1 switching: https://avgadgets.com/denon-avr-x6800h-av-receiver-first-look/

00:35:36 – News: AVA Cinema Remote

Along with the AVA Nano Brain hub, it looks promising as a (more expensive) Harmony replacement, if it survives a lawsuit: https://tinyurl.com/bddb6e6h

00:39:35 – News: Xbox Console Leaks

Series S “Ellewood”, Series X “Brooklin”, and “Sebile” controller refreshes in 2024: https://tinyurl.com/mtkhx7e7

New hybrid next gen console in 2028: https://tinyurl.com/2rkf922p

CORRECTIONS:

00:43:53 – Correction: Roger – Denon X1800H Has Pre-Outs

Not only does the North American version have Zone 2, it also gains Front L/R pre-outs.

00:45:56 – Correction: Herb & Sasi – RP22 Background Noise Level

Rob & Joe overlooked the use of NCB rather than dBA when measuring ambient noise floor levels.

Comments:

00:48:25 – Comment: James – Denon ECO Mode & Video Processing

Auto ECO Mode is the real deal, but more heat comes from Video Conversion being on.

REVIEW Revisit:

00:49:47 – Soundcore Motion X600 Review Update

Tom is more impressed than he was initially: https://avgadgets.com/soundcore-motion-x600-portable-speaker-review/

QUESTIONS:

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Tom is away this week dealing with house repairs. So we welcome back Joe K. who attended CEDIA Expo 2023. As promised, we hear about Joe’s home theater. We go over some fun items that were shown at CEDIA, discuss Tinnov’s WaveForm demo, and we deep dive into RP22 Immersive Audio Design Recommended Practices.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

00:04:12 – What We Watched

Rob continued with Star Wars Rebels, and watched Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar. Joe watched The Shallows, and the NFL.

00:09:24 – What’s in Joe’s Home Theater?

Joe tells us his list of gear for his dedicated 9.2.4 setup.

– Joe’s theater build thread at AVS Forum: https://tinyurl.com/33phembp

00:22:26 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Andy for his PayPal donation, plus our 133 Patreon Patrons.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Elmer, Parker, Matt, Jay, Kev, Kevin, Karl, Andy, Scott, Gurinder, and Dazz. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:25:45 – News: Joe’s CEDIA Discussion

Joe already talked for an hour and 45 minutes with DJ on the Bright Side Home Theater Podcast. So for a whole bunch of impressions, check out that episode!

– Joe & DJ at CEDIA: https://tinyurl.com/ra7f92c7

– Tom’s recent appearance on Bright Side: https://tinyurl.com/yckw4unf

00:28:37 – News: Hisense L9H Laser TV

Add Hisense to the list of Dolby Vision projectors: https://tinyurl.com/2sjk9p69

00:29:15 – News: Hisense 100″ U8K

Another $10,000 huge TV: https://tinyurl.com/2s4j363b

00:30:16 – News: TCL 115″ X11G Max

Why should TVs stop at 100″? https://tinyurl.com/2vxn8h8k

00:31:14 – News: McIntosh PS2K Quad Subwoofer Tower

A 458 lbs stack of 13″ subwoofers: https://tinyurl.com/mu8vu9ep

00:33:49 – News: Trinnov WaveForm Demo

Probably the most-talked-about demo at CEDIA, and Joe was there! https://tinyurl.com/bp9r6p48

00:39:35 – News: CEDIA/CTA-RP22 Document Deep Dive

We really dig in to the new Immersive Audio Design Recommended Practices guide: https://tinyurl.com/yjwc2cv3

Comments:

00:57:49 – Comment: Paul – Non-Glamorous Upgrade

Being up to electrical code feels good!

QUESTIONS:

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Welcome back, Tom. We hear all about last week’s awful experience with Hurricane Idalia.

Dolby Vision projectors are coming from AWOL Vision and XGIMI. THX and Pixelgen team up for Certified HDMI Cables. Denon’s X1800H gives you less for more. And Marantz turns 70 and offers a Trade-in program.

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

00:00:00 – Intro & Tom’s Status

00:23:44 – What We Watched

Rob continued watching Star Wars Rebels, and also saw Renfield. Tom watched The Wheel of Time S.2, Loki, and Ahsoka.

00:34:12 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Nelson for his PayPal donation, plus our 131 Patreon Patrons, including Dale.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Dazz, Dale, Eddie, Frank, Greg, David, and Paul. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:36:09 – News: Dolby Vision Projectors

AWOL Vision LTV-3500 Pro UST Triple-laser for $5,500: https://tinyurl.com/43mr2mkx

Via Jay – XGIMI Horizon Ultra long-throw Laser+LED hybrid for $1,700: https://tinyurl.com/5n6rnfsx

00:41:28 – News: THX HDMI Cables

Via Karl – THX & Pixelgen team up for full HDMI 2.1b functionality with both copper Short-Range and fiber optic Long-Reach: https://tinyurl.com/ycky953r

00:45:45 – News: Denon X1800H

Higher price, fewer ports: https://avgadgets.com/denon-announces-the-avr-x1800h/

00:47:19 – News: Marantz 70 Days for 70 Years

Trade-in Offer: https://avgadgets.com/marantz-trade-in-program-get-up-to-20-off-select-products-until-november-10th/

Comments:

00:49:00 – Comment: Dazz – Reno & Movie updates

Loft closed in, Gran Turismo and Oppenheimer reviews.

00:50:56 – Comment: Joe – Juke+ & RP22 Immersive Audio Design

Multi-Zone amp with separate streaming for each room: https://jukeaudio.com/

RP22 Immersive Audio Design: https://cedia.net/advocacy/rp22

00:52:57 – Comment: Greg on 98″ TCL R754

Thoughts on 98″ display options from an owner.

QUESTIONS:

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