AV Rant #894: Where Do You Get Your Dopamine?
Happy New Year! Tom is sort of back in his home theater, and that means his video feed has returned! Denon & Marantz owners can now pay hundreds of dollars to add Dirac Live Bass Control. You can pre-register for ad-free Amazon Prime Video. And Discovery shows will remain available via the PlayStation Store for another 30 months.
Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjB8Ymi
00:00:00 – Intro
Welcome back to Tom’s home theater…mostly.
00:13:56 – What We Watched
Rob watched Only Murders in the Building S.3, and The Curse. Tom watched Reacher.
00:27:18 – Listeners of the Week
Our Listeners of the Week are our 133 Patreon Patrons, as well as Aaron for seeing if Rob could make sense of some Canadian movie codes.
We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Karl, Jim, Gurinder, Dev, Zach, Raf, Sasi, Kevin, Stan, Stephen, Aaron, Steve, Mike, Jason, Jefferson, and Toke. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!
In the news:
00:32:08 – News: Dirac Live Bass Control on Denon & Marantz
Top end Receivers & Pre-Pro now have the option of paying to add Dirac Live Bass Control: http://tinyurl.com/ybsx4fnr
00:38:22 – News: Pre-register for Ad-free Prime Video
Regular Amazon Prime subscriptions will have ads by February. Pay $3/month for ad-free: http://tinyurl.com/2xax57k3
00:39:32 – News: Discovery Shows Staying on PlayStation
Sony reached a new licensing agreement to keep Discovery shows for another 30 months: http://tinyurl.com/j7byphnf
Comments:
00:40:48 – Comment: Zach – Successful Buzz Troubleshooting
A USB power adapter was to blame.
00:44:06 – Comment: Sasi – EQ, Calibration & Subwoofer Room Size
Suggestions to try the WiiM software EQ options, calibrating SDR to be brighter, and a chart for various subwoofers’ output vs room size and Reference Volume: http://tinyurl.com/234tjkpe
00:49:26 – Comment: Infinite Gary – Class A Amp Setup
We might have exaggerated the heat output.
QUESTIONS:
00:50:51 – Mase: Denon X3800H vs Onkyo RZ50
We drill down on features to decide which Receiver to get.
00:57:38 – Dev: Center Mismatch & Fatigue
Rob has his suspicions about why a Def Tech Center sounds extremely directional and isn’t matching a pair of Def Tech Towers. Then we discuss room treatments, and what might be causing listener fatigue.
01:12:23 – Kevin: Nextgen TV Antennas
We go over why you might want more than one tuner, and then suggest antennas.
– Mohu: http://tinyurl.com/mr43x8md
– Antennas Direct: http://tinyurl.com/3p967cmv
– Wirecutter picks: http://tinyurl.com/mswt9wxc
01:19:04 – Eddie: Affordable Speaker Stands
Options for sturdy stands up to 28″ that don’t break the bank.
– Dayton: http://tinyurl.com/sk7x4dt2
– Monoprice: http://tinyurl.com/yc8dya6n
– Sanus: http://tinyurl.com/4n6h5k5j
– Museum Putty: http://tinyurl.com/4hn3uanw
01:24:25 – Martin: Avoid 83″ OLEDs?
Why does enabling Dolby Vision output from an Apple TV 4K make Filmmaker Mode disappear as an option? And are 83″ OLEDs best avoided due to panel uniformity issues?
01:37:10 – Henry: Horizontal Paradigm Founder Speakers
Should he replace his Front L/R Bookshelf speakers with LCRs?
01:41:08 – Mike L: LG G-Series Considerations
Could a 77″ OLED actually be too big? And which stand should he get if he doesn’t want the official G-Series stand from LG?
– https://avgadgets.com/what-is-fov-field-of-view-and-why-is-it-important/
– https://avgadgets.com/help-i-need-to-make-my-display-higher/
– Perlesmith Universal Swivel Stand: http://tinyurl.com/4tdwp2pm
01:45:09 – Mike H: Thicker Absorption Panels for Treble?
If thicker panels are used on the back wall, will they still do a good job with midrange and treble?
01:47:57 – Jason: 4K Video Glitches
Could it simply be HDMI cable issues?
– https://avgadgets.com/what-do-hdmi-dropouts-look-like/
– https://avgadgets.com/ultra-high-speed-hdmi-cables-the-least-expensive-by-length/
01:53:13 – Jefferson: 1080p Apple TV Settings
Settings for outputting to a 1080p display, concerns about Siri, and Ultra High Speed HDMI Cables.
– https://avgadgets.com/do-i-need-a-premium-or-ultra-hdmi-cable-for-earc/
02:00:48 – Brent: No Longer Need to Upgrade Receiver?
He was all set for a Receiver upgrade, largely for HDMI 2.1. But with a new video processor in the signal chain, does a new Receiver make sense anymore?
– https://avgadgets.com/5-tips-for-receiver-shopping-2021/
– https://avgadgets.com/what-does-spending-more-for-an-av-receiver-get-you/
– https://avgadgets.com/av-receiver-buyers-venn-diagram/
– https://avgadgets.com/do-you-need-a-new-av-receiver/
– https://avgadgets.com/av-receiver-upgrade-checklist/
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