Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, Oppenhemier, and Barbie reviews! AMC cancels Sightline pricing. Netflix eliminates the Basic Tier. Emotiva BasX MR1L 9-channel Receiver. Denon S670H & S770H Receivers. And is the Steelbook cover for WandaVision that doesn’t come with any Blu-ray discs in it for real?

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjANEf8

00:00:00 – Intro with WGA & SAG-AFTRA Strike Thoughts

00:15:47 – Listeners of the Week (with a question snuck in)

Our Listeners of the Week are Ryan and Joe for their PayPal donations, plus our 134 Patreon Patrons, including Martin.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Brian, Martin, Noel, Shawn, Ryan, and J.R. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

What was the best home theater experience we’ve ever had? Mike, Craig & Jeff from AVScience.com pose that question, and we answer in this segment.

In the news:

00:24:02 – News: AMC Cancels Sightline Pricing

Via Infinite Gary – No more Value, Standard & Preferred seat prices. But they want to put recliners in the front row: https://tinyurl.com/ymc7f7sf

00:28:53 – News: Netflix USA & UK Drop Basic Tier

Pricing jumps from Standard with Ads up to Standard, just like Netflix Canada: https://tinyurl.com/mw494nnn

00:32:53 – News: Emotiva BasX MR1L

9-channel AV Receiver with 13-channel processing: https://tinyurl.com/5n872ame

00:39:51 – News: Denon S670H & S770H

Seems the only difference from last year’s models is taking away all analogue video ports: https://tinyurl.com/586uxkmn

00:41:21 – News: Disc-less WandaVision Steelbook

Confusion over a WandaVision Steelbook cover that doesn’t come with any discs inside: https://tinyurl.com/2rfu4pp8

Comments:

00:43:33 – Comment: Ari – TV Audio Switching

Success after setting HDMI-ARC input selection to manual.

00:44:30 – Comment: Nick – Game Mode Difference

Surprisingly noticeable gameplay improvement.

00:47:40 – Comment: HDMI-CEC Hack

Cover Pin 13 to disable CEC: https://tinyurl.com/4r898aj3

QUESTIONS:

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IMAX 70mm Film theaters had to be modified to accommodate Oppenheimer’s 3-hour runtime. Emotiva released their BasX A11 11-channel amplifier for $1,300. Xbox Game Pass Core will replace Live Gold on Sept 14. And we get more specifications about Loudness and Reference Volume.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

00:04:05 – What We Watched

Tom didn’t watch anything of note this week. Rob watched Cocaine Bear, and Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

00:13:36 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Ari and Brandon for their PayPal donations, plus our 133 Patreon Patrons.

Brandon sent photos with permission to use them on https://avgadgets.com/

And we appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Ryan, Ari, Jim, Paul, Dale, Shawn, Fred, Will, Steve, and Brandon. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:17:06 – News: IMAX 70mm Film Maximum Runtime

Via Eric – At 3 hours, Oppenheimer demanded new platters and arms to hold its 11 miles of film: https://tinyurl.com/h9a4ne5y

00:20:39 – News: Emotiva BasX A11 Amp

11 channels of amplification at 105 Watts/channel with All Channels Driven for $1,300: https://tinyurl.com/bdz2m3rd

00:24:08 – News: Xbox Game Pass Core

Xbox Live Gold is going away Sept 14. In its place are four tiers of Game Pass: https://tinyurl.com/bdfduuak

Comments:

00:31:21 – Comment: James – Loudness & Reference Volume Specs

Paul Hurt’s interview on Bright Side Home Theater Podcast inspired James to look up Dolby, ITU, EBU & ATSC Loudness specs.

– Dolby Loudness: https://tinyurl.com/37xphvb9

– Collection of PDFs: https://tinyurl.com/bdfsuch9

00:38:31 – Comment: Brandon – DIY Acoustically Transparent Screen

Prior to moving, Brandon experimented with a false wall, front wall treatment, and a DIY screen.

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Salk Sound is shutting down their speaker business. Sony’s HT-AX7 Portable Theater System is truly wireless with removable Surround speakers. Bright Side Home Theater Podcast interviewed recording engineer Paul Hurt about Reference Volume at home.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAM1kx

00:00:00 – Intro & What We Watched

Rob watched Infinity Pool. Tom watched Tour de France: Unchained on Netflix.

00:20:48 – A Bit About Threads

00:26:45 – Listeners of the Week (with a question snuck in)

Our Listeners of the Week are Joe for his PayPal donation, plus our 132 Patreon Patrons, as well as Gurninder for visiting Rob and treating him to lunch, and Dale for talking us up to SVS.

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

Would we rather buy a brand new projector, or a B-stock unit with a manufacturer’s warranty? Find out our answer to that question from AVScience.com in this section!

In the news:

00:32:44 – News: Salk Sound Closing

Via Mike – After 20 years in business, it’s the end of Salk Sound speakers: https://tinyurl.com/4pzupnnk

00:36:51 – News: Sony HT-AX7 Portable Theater System

Truly wireless mini SoundBar with detachable Surround Speakers. All battery powered for $500: https://tinyurl.com/57szeaar

Comments:

00:42:40 – Comment: Mike L – Audioengine Shout Out

13 years after purchase, Audioengine couldn’t repair or replace a faulty, discontinued speaker, but they did provide a coupon.

00:43:46 – Comment: Corey – Gorilla Mounting Putty

Monoprice’s rectangular jacket speaker wire worked a treat. But QuakeHold didn’t keep it on the ceiling. Gorilla Putty to the rescue! https://tinyurl.com/ta6j3ava

00:46:10 – Bright Side Home Theater on Reference Volume

An interesting interview with recording engineer Paul Hurt: https://www.brightsidehometheater.com/episodes/takeoverpaulhurtreferencelevel

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Happy Canada Day and 4th of July, everybody!

Paramount+ joined Max and Disney+ in removing original shows from their streaming service, including Star Trek: Prodigy. Meta Quest+ is a VR game subscription service for $8 a month. And Audyssey MultEQ-X Pro doesn’t add any technical features, but it makes the license purchasing process easier, as long as you want multiple licenses.

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

00:00:00 – Intro & What We Watched

Rob watched The Flash. Tom watched Nope, and The Black Phone.

00:23:55 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Stephen for his PayPal donation, plus our 132 Patreon Patrons.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Vince H, Paul, Vince F, Stephen, Stan, and Rohan. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:27:31 – News: Paramount+ Deletes Shows

At least four original shows, including Star Trek: Prodigy have completely disappeared, but might be shopped elsewhere.

– https://tinyurl.com/nhc568uz

– https://tinyurl.com/3b9pxd6y

00:32:57 – News: Meta Quest+

A VR game subscription: https://tinyurl.com/2n65jdd4

00:35:32 – News: Audyssey MultEQ-X Pro

Less cumbersome licensing as long as you’re buying at least 5: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5vsa

QUESTIONS:

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Welcome back, Tom! We get to hear about his family vacation, and watching movies on a plane. Netflix eliminated the Basic Tier in Canada. Can other countries be far behind? Xbox Series X will go up in price outside of the US. Xbox Game Pass also gets a price hike, including in the US. And Warner Bros Discovery is selling off music licenses and sending HBO content to Netflix.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAKkq1

00:00:00 – Intro & Tom’s Trip

00:08:43 – What We Watched

Rob finished season 1 of Nathan for You, and The Rehearsal. And was impressed by The Black Phone. Tom hated Fall, watched Tenet just the way Christopher Nolan would have wanted, rewatched She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, saw the first season of Batwoman, and American Born Chinese.

00:25:52 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 138 Patreon Patrons, as well as Dale for talking us up at his local Sherwin-Williams.

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

In the news:

00:29:34 – News: Netflix Eliminates Basic Tier

Starting in Canada, it’s now a big price gap between ads or no ads: https://tinyurl.com/yc334ey4

00:32:46 – News: Xbox Price Increases

Outside the US, Xbox Series X consoles go up in price. And Xbox Game Pass gets a price hike, including in the US: https://tinyurl.com/pfy7knhx

00:34:47 – News: Next Xbox in 2028

It’ll be an 8-year life cycle, but somehow doesn’t feel that long: https://tinyurl.com/3ak79dxc

00:35:58 – News: Warner Bros Discovery Selling Assets

Almost half their Movie & TV music library is up for sale. And they’re trying to license HBO shows to Netflix.

– https://tinyurl.com/3acfzjvc

– https://tinyurl.com/4725cxuf

QUESTIONS:

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