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AV Rant #298: Talking Over Each Other

August 8th, 2012 Comments off

Tom couldn’t hear most of what Liz was saying but instead of stopping and restarting the podcast, they sort of just went with it. Liz is back from her vacation. Tom has a few things to say about home theater seating. Liz talks about loudness and how all new music sucks. NBC doesn’t understand their customers but thinks they do. Of course, they are wrong. Tom and Liz discuss security of your online accounts after the Wired hacking incident. Google gives away their Nexus Q. For once, a company does too much (in Tom’s opinion).

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AV Rant #297: Buying Iron Man

July 31st, 2012 2 comments

Lots on movies this week but no spoilers for Dark Knight Rises. Liz is out of town so Rob steps in on short notice again. This week, a bit about Dark Knight Rises including some discussion of the first two movies. Has Peter Jackson gone Hobbit crazy? Tom thinks so. Emotiva has two new “ultra” amps out – these will run you less that $400 each. Tom and Rob approve. DTS buys SRS – what it means. Want to be Iron Man? Scrape together $1.6billion and let us know how it works out for you. If you don’t have the cash, maybe this $1.3 million mech is more your flavor. Tom actually pre-ordered something – the Leap Motion will be coming to his home as soon as released.

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AV Rant #296: Bluetooth vs AirPlay

July 25th, 2012 3 comments

Welcome to the podcast that is sometimes not boring. This week, Tom discusses the quality of Bluetooth and Apple’s AirPlay. Feel free to correct him if his Google-fu let him down. A big thank you to listener Jason for his killer Mee Goreng recipe. It was yummy. Tom talks about Fannys and Wangs (the headphones). We honestly can’t believe neither of those words ended up in the title of this podcast. Over the Ear Wangs? Come on! Liz finds audiophiles like to mix reality and big bags of crazy. Welcome to upselling vibration dampening. GameDock and iCade prove to Tom that his theory that mobile devices will someday replace your computer is coming. Also, a prediction about Kickstarter and other such services. OUYA – a $100 game console based on Android that is completely open sourced. Sunfire’s HRSIW8 in-wall sub. Every one sold is proof positive that the Internet is too hard for some people.

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AV Rant #295: Kicking Space Zombie Cats

July 17th, 2012 Comments off

In space, you can’t hear zombie cats scream when you kick them. Check out Tom on the AV Week podcast. Rob has a really good suggestion for a starter system – $2500 includes five speakers, a sub, a receiver, and a 50″ plasma. Check it out. Power Sound Audio – a new Internet Direct subwoofer company to watch. Virtual product placement – a good thing or not? Tom and Liz weigh in. AMC “Dishes out” Breaking Bad. Want to know what went on behind the scenes at Netflix when Reed Hastings was busy destroying their reputation? Read the CNET article. When someone offers you $200 million for your company – take it. Just ask Digg. If you are a Doctor Who fan, we have your new remote. Machines that build other machines in space? How could this go wrong? Apple makes a mistake and actually admits it. 3D is dying, long live 4D.

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AV Rant #294: AmaMozAppNet

July 11th, 2012 Comments off

We couldn’t come up with a name so we just shoved everything together into one made up word. This week, Dolby Atmos first impressions. Tom weighs in on what would finally impress people as much as the introduction of stereo or surround sound. Hint: Speakers over your head isn’t it. Apple goes non-green. Because they can. On some level it makes sense. On all the rest, it just shows how they think they can do whatever they want. Amazon might be releasing a phone, Mozilla putting out an OS for basic phones, and Netflix stock rallies. Tom answers listener questions on custom crossovers and network remotes. Tropes vs. Women in Video Games kickstarter project brings out the worst in the Internet. Liz reveals a bit more about her new Cord Cruncher headphones.

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