We kick off with an Eternals movie review before tackling Netflix’ price hike, warning against updating your NVidia Shield right away, and another Monolith Series release from Monoprice. You’ll also want to stick around until the end for an impromptu venting session that lives up to our AV Rant name!

Pictures shown in this episode:
https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzz4Hr

00:00:00 – Intro & Listeners of the Week
Our Listeners of the Week are Jason and Mark for their PayPal donations, plus our 136 Patreon Patrons.
We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Dale, Jay, Todd, Bret, Zach, Augie, J.R., and Paul. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:13:16 – News: Netflix Price Increase
North American subscriptions cost more: https://is.gd/CwuHVo

00:18:04 – News: NVidia Shield gets Android TV 11
It’s still a version behind, and you might want to wait before updating.
– Android 11 on Shield: https://is.gd/O2M8qN
– Not Android 12 yet: https://is.gd/nGCfh1
– Via John – Android 11 on Shield breaks Plex Servers and causes streaming issues: https://is.gd/LC8Die

00:20:51 – News: Monolith THX 5.1 Package
An affordable, THX Certified Sub/Sat system from Monoprice.
– Monolith M518HT: https://is.gd/OdYTN4
– THX 8″ Subwoofer: https://is.gd/XhyZ0t
– THX Satellites: https://is.gd/BjidGU

Comments:

00:23:19 – Comment: Augie – Projectors don’t need UPS
His projector’s fan shuts off immediately, so maybe battery backup isn’t so important?

QUESTIONS:

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We wrap up CES coverage, Tom reviews a gaming headset, and we share some short takes on recent Disney+ releases at the very beginning and the very end (stay tuned past our sign off).

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

00:00:00 – Intro & Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Kevin, Julian & Terry for their PayPal donations, plus our 135 Patreon Patrons, including Jack, Julian & Terry, as well as Joe for telling Aperion he learned about them from us, and Bertrand for sending Tom a Movies Anywhere code.

00:07:10 – In-wall Extension Cord Diagram
Big thanks to Mario for sending a diagram to illustrate a proper in-wall power extension cord with a male inlet with permission for Tom to use it on https://avgadgets.com/

And we greatly appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Jack, Chris T, Gurinder, Eric, Dale, Jason & Monty. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

00:09:47 – Beyerdynamic MMX 100 Review
Tom reviews a $99 gaming headset: https://avgadgets.com/beyerdynamic-mmx-100-gaming-headset-review-the-best-99-you-can-spend/

In the news:

00:14:36 – News: Samsung The Freestyle Projector
Portable, $900, LED projector with extremely easy setup: https://is.gd/IitElx

00:15:45 – News: TCL 98″ R754
Projection-sized flat panel for $8,000: https://is.gd/SYBVba

00:16:45 – News: Pixelworks TrueCut Motion
End-to-end Motion Grading solution: https://is.gd/GLsTq9

00:18:49 – News: Hisense U9H & U8H get mini-LED
Brighter, more dimming zones: https://is.gd/MJh39V

00:20:42 – News: Sony 2022 TV Lineup
A95K QD-OLED, A90K & A80K OLEDs, Z9K & X95K mini-LED: https://is.gd/PGaGtT

00:24:42 – News: PlayStation VR2
Upgraded headset announced, but not shown: https://is.gd/AILcqz

00:25:26 – News: New Monoprice Monolith Speakers
Smaller Monolith Encore models: https://is.gd/2nMYo1
Expanded in-wall lineup: https://is.gd/vP9iEY
THX on-walls: https://is.gd/knNrqs

Comments:

00:28:25 – Comment: Joe – Loves his new Aperion Verus III Grand speakers

00:29:01 – Comment: Aaron – Avoid converting RCA to ethernet

QUESTIONS:

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Welcome to a whole new year of your home theater and AV questions, answered! We recorded this episode prior to the first full day of CES 2022, so it’s only pre-CES news for this week from LG, Samsung, and JVC.

Pictures shows in this episode:
https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzxqiT

00:00:00 – Intro & Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Chris for his PayPal donation, plus our 133 Patreon Patrons, including Terry, Bertrand, and Chris H.
Chris also bought a screen from Seymour AV and let them know it was thanks to our recommendation.

00:08:18 – Old Dolby Diagrams
James dug up Dolby diagrams from 2001 that were a big help for Tom’s article on AVGadgets: https://avgadgets.com/everything-wrong-with-dolby-speaker-layout-diagrams/
– Dolby Guide to Home Theater 2001 PDF: https://docdro.id/ILW6sZH

And we appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Brandon, James, Martin, Eric, Terry, Andy, Chris, Mark, and Bertrand.
Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:11:37 – News: LG OLED.EX
Behind the scenes, LG Display is working to make OLED TVs brighter and lighter: https://avgadgets.com/lg-announces-the-next-gen-oled-ex/
– press release: https://is.gd/MM8ZWz

00:13:58 – News: LG A2, C2 & G2 OLEDs
Smaller, bigger, Evo, and Brightness Booster.
– HDTV Test coverage: https://youtu.be/4a1l6U3ajAY
– Digital Trends: https://youtu.be/6viyZaLF26A
– CNET: https://youtu.be/kyo48Xd0EFU

00:18:28 – News: Samsung QD-Display, Neo QLED & Micro LED
QD-Display was behind closed doors, Neo QLEDs get Atmos but not Dolby Vision, and Micro LED gets smaller.
– Eyes on QD-Display: https://is.gd/mfGfAp
– 2022 Neo QLED lineup: https://is.gd/Dv33NM
– Smaller Micro LED screens: https://is.gd/TZukW5

00:22:25 – News: JVC NP5 / RS1100 4K projector
The $7,000 lamp-based “entry-level” gets 4K/120 but no 8K e-shift: https://avgadgets.com/jvc-dla-np5-4k-rojector-ships-march-2022/
– Price increase coming in Feb: https://is.gd/w1SafR

Comments:

00:26:06 – Comment: Michael – Eyes & Mics
Michael discovered surprising reasons why his TV started looking yellow, and his trim levels were way off.

00:28:16 – Comment: Jason – Denon X4300H passes Dolby Vision
Jason says his Denon X4300H passes through Dolby Vision from his NVidia Shield Pro just fine.

QUESTIONS:

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Happy New Year!

HDMI got a new spec. Monoprice got new Monolith Class-D amps. TCL got their Google TVs back on store shelves. And Rob got an Optimus Prime!

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

00:00:00 – Intro & Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Bob, Billy, and Jason for their PayPal donations, plus our 137 Patreon Patrons, including Bertrand.
Also greatly appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Joseph, Martin, Jonathan, Bob, Angel, Brad, Infinite Gary, Zach, Billy, Gurinder, and Jeremy. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

00:12:29 – Auto-Converting Optimus Prime
Rob awkwardly demonstrates the Robosen Optimus Prime and has him say hello to you all: https://is.gd/Ps6tVX
Watch the transformation on Rob’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/firstreflect/status/1474488138978394113?s=21

In the news:

00:16:29 – News: TCL Google TVs are back
The interface and bugs are hopefully fixed, and TCL’s R546 & R646 TVs are available once again: https://is.gd/eYFvKA

00:17:31 – News: HDMI 2.1a brings SBTM
A new HDMI spec brings a new feature: Source-Based Tone Mapping: https://avgadgets.com/hdmi-announces-hdmi-2-1a/

00:21:43 – News: Monolith Hypex N-Core Class-D Amps
Monoprice Monolith M8125X & M8250X are 8-channel, 20-amp, Class-D amps with XLR-only.
– M8125X: https://is.gd/wqu5Jp
– M8250X: https://is.gd/WKgNBL

Comments:

00:26:27 – Comment: Zach – Apple TV+ 24p on Shield
The fix Rob suggested last week worked. But Dolby Vision isn’t making it through his Denon X4300H.

QUESTIONS:

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Tom reviews the Monolith M1070 planar magnetic, open-back headphones. Audyssey launched MultEQ-X.  HDMI Licensing has declared HDMI 2.0 no longer exists. And we tackle a ton of questions. Packed show!

Pictures shown in this episode:
https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzvTt4

00:00:00 – Intro & Listeners of the Week
Our Listeners of the Week are Chad for his PayPal donation, plus our 137 Patreon Patrons.
We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: James, Julian, Shawn, Jason, Dan, Chad, Gurinder, and David.
James recommends The Cycling Dads Podcast: https://is.gd/fJeRaZ

00:07:52 – Monolith M1070 Review
Open-back, planar magnetic headphones from Monoprice for $400: https://avgadgets.com/monoprice-monolith-m1070-planar-headphones-review/

In the news:

00:11:57 – News: Audyssey MultEQ-X
$200 Windows program expands the info & capabilities of Audyssey built into your Denon or Marantz Receiver: https://avgadgets.com/audyssey-multeq-x-what-you-need-to-know/

00:26:52 – News: HDMI 2.0 no longer exists
HDMI 2.0 is now a subset of HDMI 2.1. Does that mean “fake” 2.1? https://youtu.be/qo9Y7AMPn00

00:32:22 – News: Disney on YouTube TV
Disney-owned TV channels were pulled from YouTube TV…for one day: https://is.gd/sRoEGx

Comments:

00:34:41 – Comment: Jay – Steve Yedlin article on HFR
An argument is made for continuing to shoot at 24 fps, and using frame interpolation if you want the high frame rate look: https://is.gd/XD3hbJ

00:35:18 – Comment: Nathan – HT consultant recommendations
Nathan has a correction about in-wall speaker dimensions. Then he suggests https://pmiltd.com/ , http://www.acousticfrontiers.com/ & Elite Home Cinema (https://is.gd/G5kB6B) for theater planning.

00:36:29 – Comment: Brad – Garage conversion progress

QUESTIONS:

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