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AV Rant #876: Dreadful Wookies

August 31st, 2023 Comments off

Tom is away this week because of Hurricane Idalia. So Lee Overstreet pinch hits once again.

Kaleidescape released new Terra Prime movie servers with an SSD option, plus their Ultimate 4K System. PlayStation Portal uses PlayStation Link instead of Bluetooth to connect to Pulse Explore Earbuds or Pulse Elite Headset. Sony bought Audeze. Dolby Atmos FlexConnect adds wireless Surrounds to your TV. And LG is bringing 32″ OLEDs next year.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

00:08:55 – What We Watched

Lee checked out Black Mirror. Rob watched the 1st season of Star Wars Rebels.

00:15:36 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 133 Patreon Patrons, including Russell.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Nick, Matt, Elmer, Gurinder, and Greg. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:19:12 – News: Kaleidescape Terra Prime

New, faster movie servers with an SSD option. And the Ultimate 4K System: https://tinyurl.com/s72rn3p2

00:23:59 – News: PlayStation Portal, Pulse Elite & Explore

PS5’s WiiU Gamepad will be $200. With no Bluetooth, it uses PlayStation Link to connect to new Pulse Elite & Explore headsets: https://youtu.be/ExIweAvryzc

00:29:51 – News: Sony Buys Audeze

The Planar Magnetic headphone maker is probably where the new Pulse headsets came from: https://tinyurl.com/4e74ynbv

00:30:47 – News: Dolby Atmos FlexConnect

TV’s using MediaTek’s Pentonic chipset can add a pair of wireless Surrounds: https://tinyurl.com/bddeepc3

00:34:55 – News: LG 32″ OLED

The smallest OLED TV screen size yet arrives next year: https://tinyurl.com/4sa8n6p3

Comments:

00:38:06 – Comment: Matt – Moving Center Fixed Dialogue

Adjusting physical placement of his Center speaker improved dialogue intelligibility.

00:40:42 – Comment: Jim – AirPort Express & True Lies Blu-ray

Used Apple AirPort Expresses can still be found for adding AirPlay. And Spain’s Blu-ray of True Lies is region-free.

00:41:31 – Comment: Greg – 20% Off Samsung TVs for AAA Members

Makes Samsung’s 77″ S90C QD-OLED cheaper than an LG C2.

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AV Rant #875: Subjective > Objective

August 24th, 2023 Comments off

Tom is back. Our thanks to Lee for filling in last week. Netflix DVD.com offers up to 10 additional discs-by-mail for their final shipment in Sept, and you can probably keep them forever. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is being shot in Apple Immersive Video 3D for the Vision Pro headset. And some Disney+ shows are getting Ultra HD Blu-ray releases.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

00:04:57 – What We Watched

Rob watched Star Trek: Strange New Worlds S.2, The Day The Earth Stood Still, and I Origins. Tom watched Night Agent, Star Wars: Bad Batch S.2, Moonknight, and Secret Invasion.

00:27:50 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Chad, Matthew, and Ari for their PayPal donations, plus our 135 Patreon Patrons, including Daniel, as well as Yanick for talking us up to his home theater group in Quebec.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: J.R, Matt, Nelson, Greg, Ari, Jay, Nick, Matt, Jason, and Tyler. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:30:27 – News: Netflix DVD.com Final Shipment

You can get an extra 10 discs, and probably never need to send them back: https://tinyurl.com/4ukemchu

– https://dvd.netflix.com/FinaleSurprise

– Tweet: https://tinyurl.com/bd6fv4z3

00:32:10 – News: Apple Immersive Video 3D

Monarch, Legacy of Monsters on Apple TV+ is being shot in a special format for the Vision Pro headset: https://tinyurl.com/2y9rpc8y

00:34:14 – News: Disney+ Shows on Disc

Loki, Prey, WandaVision, and The Mandalorian are coming to physical media: https://tinyurl.com/4wtckwy5

Comments:

00:36:03 – Comment: Toke – On-Wall Sub Results

Measurements of two stacked pairs put his mind at ease.

00:38:39 – Comment: Curtis – WiiM Mini as AirPlay Source

$100 WiiM Mini lets you connect wireless sources to your stereo: https://tinyurl.com/3wfb2fzj

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AV Rant #874: Give Me The Thing

August 17th, 2023 Comments off

Tom is away this week, so Lee Overstreet joins Rob as our guest co-host. JL Audio is being acquired by Garmin. Sonos finally admits their Arc SoundBar has a big problem with some Atmos signals. And if you don’t want ads, Disney+ and Hulu are getting significantly more expensive.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

Catching up with Lee.

00:11:54 – What We Watched

Lee watched Nope, and is rewatching The Mandalorian.

Rob watched Season 1 of Silo on Apple TV+. And two movies: 65, and Clock.

00:27:13 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 134 Patreon Patrons, including Kevin.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Shawn, Chad, Gurinder, Karl, Jorge, Jason, Jay, and Ilango. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:31:13 – News: Garmin Buying JL Audio

Garmin is set to purchase JL Audio as they look to enter the RV market: https://tinyurl.com/48vchz83

00:34:14 – News: Sonos Arc Atmos Problem

An insanely loud bang, seemingly caused by an issue decoding the Dolby MAT version of Atmos, is finally acknowledged by Sonos: https://tinyurl.com/2p95spuy

00:37:52 – News: Disney+ Price Hikes

US price increases for Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+: https://tinyurl.com/mr3pcvua

Disney+ in Europe gets tiers that don’t include 4K, Dolby Vision, or Atmos: https://tinyurl.com/2b3fv7zt

00:45:42 – Lee’s Scary Lightning + SVS Subs Experience

Lee shares a scary moment with a happy ending thanks to great customer service and engineering.

Comments:

00:49:16 – Comment: Gurinder – HVAC Duct Boots

Thankfully, he checked his local building codes before making his DIY HVAC changes.

00:50:46 – Comment: Jorge – TCL QM8 TV Tips

The 85″ has a larger VESA pattern than usual, so be careful which wall mount you purchase. And Harmony’s R646 remote codes work, since the QM8 Series isn’t in their database.

00:53:56 – Comment: Jay – Gibby’s Shout Out

If you’re in Canada, give them a call for better deals than they can offer online.

00:55:03 – Comment: Nick – TCL Comes Through

A 2020 4-Series got replaced under warranty with a 2022 model. But motion smoothing seems to be stuck on.

00:58:02 – Comment: Scott – Recording Loop & Instant Replay for Coaches

Scott suggests https://www.sporfie.com/ for athletics coaches.

QUESTIONS:

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AV Rant #873: Kid Headphone Recommendations

August 10th, 2023 Comments off

NASA+ streaming is free and doesn’t have ads. Disney stops sending physical media of any kind to Australia & New Zealand. LG’s Wireless M3 OLED TVs are real and not as expensive as we thought. And we’ve got suggestions for good kids’ headphones.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

00:07:30 – What We Watched

Tom & Rob both watched Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 on Disney+ in IMAX Enhanced format.

00:25:06 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Ryan for his PayPal donation, plus our 128 Patreon Patrons.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Teemu, Gurinder, Dan, Patrick, Toke, and Shawn. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:28:05 – News: NASA+ Streaming Service

NASA’s free, no subscription, no ads streaming video service will bring live coverage and original videos to everyone: https://youtu.be/RrlDv-ts2f0

00:30:47 – News: No More Disney Discs Down Under

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be the last physical disc from Disney in Australia & New Zealand: https://tinyurl.com/2p9k8fr3

00:32:33 – News: Wireless LG M3 OLED TVs

A Zero Connect Box and 60 GHz Wireless Signal mean LG’s OLED TVs only have a power cord: https://tinyurl.com/yr3p2uxy

Comments:

00:41:01 – Comment: Karl – JVC Projector Firmware

The latest update requires an old method of transferring the file that’s bricking some units: https://tinyurl.com/46axzwv8

QUESTIONS:

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AV Rant #872: The One With the Dog

August 3rd, 2023 Comments off

New Monolith M2100X, M3100X & M5100X amps from Monoprice. PS5 beta firmware adds Dolby Atmos for games & streaming. Samsung’s 89″ Micro-LED TV and Sony’s 2023 A95L QD-OLEDs get pricing.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

00:03:22 – What We Watched

Rob watched Knock at the Cabin.

00:14:26 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Peter, Galen, and Allen for their PayPal donations, plus our 127 Patreon Patrons, as well as Gary for sending a movie code to Rob to check if it works in Canada.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Vince, Fred, Jonathan, Galen, Gary, Teemu, Larry, Peter, Dazz, Eric, Julian, Jorge, Ilango, Ryan, and Vasanth. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:24:42 – News: Monolith M2100X, M3100X & M5100X Amps

New, less powerful, more affordable amp models from Monoprice: https://tinyurl.com/3ndux6rd

00:28:22 – News: PS5 Gets Dolby Atmos

Latest beta firmware adds Dolby Atmos for games & streaming: https://tinyurl.com/mswv6ws4

00:30:13 – News: Samsung 89″ Micro-LED TV Price

$100,000 gets you a preassembled, but still modular, 89″ Micro-LED TV: https://tinyurl.com/ydkby3hs

00:31:28 – News: Sony A95L QD-OLED Prices

Less expensive than last year, but still more than Samsung’s S95C: https://tinyurl.com/yc7mjnc7

Comments:

00:33:40 – Comment: Galen – Roku HDMI-CEC was to Blame

His TV was fine. And Auto Power Saving feature & HDMI-CEC were the problem.

00:36:30 – Comment: Stephen – Refurbished TV Purchase in Australia

His experience buying a 77″ Sony A80K OLED.

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