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AV Rant #667: The Great Culling of Streaming Services

November 8th, 2019 Comments off

Our Listeners of the Week are Steve for his donation, and our 88 Patreon Patrons, including James “House of Cards” C.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmJbfsn1

In the news:

– Netflix will stop working on most pre-2012 devices: https://is.gd/vRRDTU

– Sony is killing PlayStation Vue: https://is.gd/Fsvbnd

– Walmart might sell Vudu: https://is.gd/EPXF3Q

– HBO Max launches May 2020 for $15/month: https://is.gd/hHqwtl
– And they paid $500 million for South Park: https://is.gd/RHWGvs

– 2019 NVidia Shield TV & Shield TV Pro fall a hair short of being the runaway best streaming box: https://is.gd/Bf9OAI

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AV Rant #666: Scary Expensive Speaker Cable

November 1st, 2019 Comments off

Happy Halloween! It’s Episode #666! Spooky!

Our Listeners of the Week are Chad and Kevin for their donations, our 89 Patreon Patrons, and also Vincent for sending Tom an Amazon gift card.

Pictures shown in this episode: 
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmJ2ayvi

In the news:
– Via Karl R. – Sling TV offers free “guest” content on more devices: https://is.gd/04ZdRJ
– Netflix is testing optional playback speed options on Android: https://is.gd/qQvjHP
– Iconoclast Cables are expensive “audiophile” wires assembled by Blue Jeans Cable: https://is.gd/0yrNek

Comments:
– James W. advocates for fiber optic HDMI cables, even at lengths shorter than 50 feet.

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AV Rant #665 MK2: Gemini Man HFR Review

October 25th, 2019 Comments off

Our Listeners of the Week are our 87 Patreon Patrons, including Brian F.

Lee Overstreet is our guest co-host this week while Tom is away.

Pictures shown in this episode:
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmHSuA1j

In the news:

– RBH is discontinuing the Impression and Impression Elite speakers we often recommend, but new versions are in the works:
https://rbhsound.com/series_impression.php

– New NVidia Shield TV “Tube” and “Pro” models add Dolby Vision:
https://is.gd/1uDu3R

Comments:

– Billy M. – Let us know that plugging a Panasonic UB420 Ultra HD Blu-ray player into his Oppo 203 let him use both the HDR Optimizer and anamorphic lens scaling with his projector.

– Lee Overstreet – shares his thoughts on the frame rate of HBO via Amazon Prime Video, and his disappointment with 4K broadcasts of college football.

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AV Rant #665: Microsoft Playstation 6

October 18th, 2019 Comments off

Our Listeners of the Week are our 86 Patreon Patrons, including Brian F., as well as Bill W. for confirming Mike S.’ corrections regarding 20 amp circuits needing 12 gauge wire.

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

In the news:

– Sony’s PlayStation 5 is coming in 2020 with haptic feedback:
https://is.gd/CLFo6x

– The first residential installation of Samsung’s The Wall micro-LED display took three days:
https://is.gd/Oqu0Nm

Comments:

– Cody T. suggests plugging an audio streaming device into a portable battery to turn any Bluetooth speaker into a WiFi speaker.

– Joseph H. found a ridiculous power cord with some truly absurd marketing copy:
https://is.gd/HEm8OR

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AV Rant #664: Future of HEOS

October 12th, 2019 Comments off

Our Listeners of the Week are Kevin for his donation, and our 86 Patreon Patrons.

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

In the news:

Amazon Music HD uses SD, HD, and UHD to describe audio: https://is.gd/8gzEmG
It’s the first streaming music service to offer albums in Dolby Atmos: https://is.gd/J3I8I1
And Ted M. asks if Atmos is available on any devices other than the Echo Studio: https://is.gd/EK9tB3

Sound United won’t buy Onkyo and Pioneer after all: https://is.gd/cIjrOT

Microsoft is ending guide data for Windows Media Center: https://is.gd/9tGMcy

Comments:

– Ian E. – noticed the Panasonic UB420 Ultra HD Blu-ray player is available in the USA for $250: https://is.gd/i9Pctw

– Mike S. – sent an important correction: 20 amp household circuits must use 12 gauge wire.

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