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AV Rant #974: Ultra96 Aspirations

July 3rd, 2025 Comments off

HSU has released their MFL-6 speaker model at a slightly lower price than expected. HDMI has made version 2.2 official, along with Ultra96 cables, and LIP. The world’s largest Samsung Onyx micro-LED Cinema display has come to Texas. And Tom tells his origin story.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCk1px

00:00:00 – Intro

00:04:23 – What We Watched

Rob watched Squid Game S.3, and Companion. Tom watched Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, and Captain America: Brave New World.

00:34:39 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Gurinder for his PayPal donation, plus our 131 Patreon Patrons, as well as Rohan for sending some Movies Anywhere codes.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Henry, Joe, Greg, Andrew, Rohan, James, Stefan, and Sasi. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:37:10 – News: HSU MFL-6 Speakers

HSU’s newest Multi-Function Loudspeaker has officially been released: https://tinyurl.com/236wnp9j

00:40:58 – News: HDMI 2.2 & Ultra96

The newest HDMI spec is official now, and new Ultra96 certified cables and ports should be arriving later this year: https://tinyurl.com/ycke2e56

00:45:27 – News: World’s Largest Micro-LED Cinema

Via Karl: The 46′ wide Samsung Onyx p3.3 micro-LED Cinema Display has come to Texas: https://tinyurl.com/2ud9a76x

Comments:

00:46:18 – Comment: Infinite Gary – Digital Trends v Caleb Denison

Gary tracked down the publicly available legal filings: https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/58131009/Designtechnica_Corporation_v_Denison

00:47:08 – Comment: Nathan – Kaleidescape Disc-to-Digital

It isn’t officially supported, but scanning Ultra HD Blu-ray discs into Kaleidescape mostly works.

00:48:28 – Comment: Greg – TCL Sent Him a Cheque

His 98″ QM851G is making noises that it shouldn’t, and TCL’s fix is to simply give his money back.

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AV Rant #973: Still NO to Pre-Pros

June 26th, 2025 Comments off

Since there was no other news going on in the world this past weekend (right?), Rob talks about the Calder Cup final. Not much can be shared publicly about Caleb Denison’s legal battle with Digital Trends, but it sounds bad. We discuss ideal screen height. And Tom watched something!

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCj8Dj

00:00:00 – Intro

Nothing of note happened in world news this past weekend, right? So Rob talks about the Calder Cup final that everyone was surely watching.

00:16:20 – What We Watched

Tom started watching Nobody Wants This. Rob watched Mickey 17, Creature Commandos, and Adolescence.

00:43:26 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 131 Patreon Patrons, as well as Infinite Gary for sending a Fandango at Home redemption code to test.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: John, Ryan, Jack, Miguel, and Zeke. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:46:43 – News: Caleb Denison v Digital Trends

No details, but the legal battle over Denison’s CalebRated YouTube channel sounds bad: https://youtu.be/IGnj9JHQHIk

Comments:

00:56:21 – Comment: Andrew L – More on Paradigm

Sasi credited Rob for his early take on the Paradigm Founder Series, but Andrew made his thoughts known early on as well: https://avgadgets.com/paradigm-premier-200b-and-600c-review/

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AV Rant #972: Teams to the Rescue

June 19th, 2025 Comments off

Technical difficulties forced us to start late and use Microsoft Teams this week. Nintendo Switch 2’s HDR on TVs requires adjustment, and Vincent Teoh from HDTV Test figured it all out for us. You’ll never believe how many clicks it takes. HSU detailed how to add their SuperCharger to their D15-Chimera subwoofer.

Pictures show in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCipf2

00:00:00 – Intro

House hunting updates from Tom. A family get together with three Switch 2’s for Rob.

00:16:15 – What We Watched

Rob watched Novocaine, and binged all of Season 2 of Squid Game.

00:27:23 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Mark and Herb for their PayPal donations, plus our 131 Patreon Patrons.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Leighton, Matt, Henry, and Julian. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:29:14 – News: Nintendo Switch 2 HDR Adjustment

Vincent Teoh from HDTV Test figured out exactly how many clicks it takes to correctly adjust Switch 2’s HDR settings. You’ll never guess how many: https://youtu.be/X84e14oe6gs

00:37:12 – News: Adding HSU D15-Chimera’s SuperCharger

HSU made a video detailing exactly how to add their SuperCharger to their new D15-Chimera subwoofer to turn it from a sealed sub into a quad-ported beast: https://youtu.be/-SsKicktigk

– HSU D15-Chimera SC: https://tinyurl.com/bdzcmnf8

Comments:

00:39:32 – Comment: Sasi – Sofabaton X2 Update

The release date for the Sofabaton X2 keeps getting pushed back, and Sasi is starting to lose confidence.

00:45:08 – Comment: Infinite Gary – Panasonic UB9000 Longevity

If his older Blu-ray players are anything to go by, he expects it to last a couple of decades at least.

00:45:51 – Comment: Gurinder – Panasonic UB420 Modded Firmware

Manually loading modded firmware can unlock regions, add additional settings, and remove unwanted apps.

QUESTIONS:

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AV Rant #971: Sunburn for Switch 2

June 12th, 2025 Comments off

Rob’s Switch 2 buying adventures. Tom watched a movie! Warner Bros. Discovery will split in two. Apple TV 4K will be able to pair with any AirPlay speakers. And HSU has a new beast of a subwoofer with their D15-Chimera SC featuring an optional quad-ported SuperCharger add-on, as well as a new, horn-loaded, angled front baffle speaker, the MFL-6.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

Tom’s latest house hunting experiences.

00:11:55 – Rob Lined Up for a Switch 2

A day was spent waiting in line, and online pre-orders came through!

00:20:26 – What We Watched

Tom and Rob both watched Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, thanks to Mark’s recommendation. Rob also watched Kraven the Hunter.

00:44:23 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 131 Patreon Patrons.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Leighton, Henry, Vince, Karl, Luke, Sasi, and David. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:48:07 – News: Warner Bros. Discovery to Split

By mid-2026, Warner Bros. Discovery will be split into two separate companies, and one of them is definitely drawing the short end of the stick: https://tinyurl.com/dz7xzewu

00:54:25 – News: Pair Apple TV 4K with Any AirPlay Speakers

tvOS 26 will allow you to use any AirPlay speakers with your Apple TV 4K, not just HomePods: https://tinyurl.com/2wz3yfyj

– https://avgadgets.com/your-gen-2-apple-tv-4k-is-a-soundbar-now/

00:56:17 – News: HSU D15-Chimera SC & MFL-6

Shout out to Sasi for calling HSU and providing us some extra details!

HSU’s new D15-Chimera is a huge, dual opposed 15″ driver, sealed subwoofer that can be turned into an even bigger, quad-ported beast with the addition of an optional, add-on SuperCharger. And the new MFL-6 speaker model has a 30° angled face and can be wall-mounted in any orientation: https://hsuresearch.com/

Comments:

01:05:13 – Correction: David – Plex Needs MKVs

Rob misspoke when he said you could just use simple 1:1 disc backups. Sorry for getting any hopes up!

QUESTIONS:

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AV Rant #970: Sacrificing to HDMI

June 5th, 2025 Comments off

Rob has watched all the 2025 Oscars Best Picture nominees, and now he ranks them. Sony resumes projector sales in Europe. TCL officially releases the QM8K Series of quantum dot, mini-LED TVs with new WHVA LCD panels.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCgBP7

00:00:00 – Intro

Personal updates on the eve of Rob lining up to buy a Switch 2.

00:17:27 – What We Watched

Rob watched Emilia Pérez, and with that, he’s seen all 10 of the 2025 Oscars Best Picture nominees. So he has a little fun ranking them this week.

00:37:54 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 130 Patreon Patrons, including Nelson.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Mario, Ian, Nelson, and Henry. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:43:44 – News: Sony Resumes Projector Sales in Europe

Amendments to import regulations now allow Sony to sell Home Cinema projectors in Europe again: https://tinyurl.com/yh4dw3vp

00:45:20 – News: TCL Launches QM8K TVs

We knew they’d be coming, but now the TCL QM8K Series TVs have officially been released: https://tinyurl.com/7zpnarwv

Comments:

00:51:40 – Comment: Karl – K Scape Owners’ Forum

If you’re looking for used Kaleidescape players, this is the place to go: https://www.kscapeowners.com/XF/

00:53:14 – Comment: Infinite Gary – A Little Bit Dolby

Gary does have a single-seat, dedicated home theater, so maybe Dolby’s diagrams make sense for him.

– https://avgadgets.com/everything-wrong-with-dolby-speaker-layout-diagrams/

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