AV Rant #898: Better Not Laugh

February 1st, 2024 Comments off

Lee Overstreet makes his first appearance in 2024! SVS is clearing out their Ultra Series speakers at discounted prices. Plex will launch their own Movies & TV online store within a month. WWE pro wrestling is moving Monday Night Raw to Netflix, and outside of the US, all of its other programming too.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

00:07:29 – What We Watched

Lee watched Silo, and For All Mankind – both on Apple TV+. Rob watched Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken, and The Neon Demon.

00:23:53 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 133 Patreon Patrons, as well as Aaron for yet another set of Canadian movie codes for Rob to test.

Thanks also to Jay for giving Tom permission to use his photos on https://avgadgets.com/

And we appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Jay, Aaron, Sasi, Gurinder, Stan, Jeff, and Greg. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:27:02 – News: SVS Ultra Series Closeout Sale

No surprise, Ultra Series speakers are all discounted on clearance: http://tinyurl.com/49eb55t6

00:29:32 – News: Plex Movies & TV Store

Planned launch in February so you can rent & “buy” shows directly from Plex: http://tinyurl.com/3hswmee5

00:36:50 – News: WWE Moves to Netflix

Monday Night Raw will be live on Netflix for the next 5, 10 or 20 years (depending on how things go) in a $5 billion deal: http://tinyurl.com/4bys73jw

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AV Rant #897: Tom Makes a Change

January 25th, 2024 Comments off

Catch this ep on YouTube for a surprise on Tom’s side! CES: Hisense 8K DLP, 40% smaller UST, rising, Sonic Screen, and Ultra-Black screens, Dynamic Light Steering, and automatic edge-blending C1 projectors. XGIMI Aladdin ceiling light projector. Sharp Display QDEL prototypes. Apple Vision Pro pre-orders sell out, probably because they’re bringing back 3D, baby! But Netflix, YouTube & Spotify aren’t on board.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

00:09:24 – What We Watched

Rob watched Saltburn, and is rewatching Evil from the beginning. Tom continued Echo, and The Bear.

00:24:50 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Sasi for his PayPal donation, plus our 133 Patreon Patrons, as well as Aaron for sending Rob even more movie codes, John M. for talking us up to Accessories4Less, and Curt for warning Rob ahead of time about Tom’s haircut!

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Aaron, John G, John M, Jack, Greg, Jon, Adam, and Sasi. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news: 

00:28:47 – News: Hisense 8K DLP Projector

120 LX Laser TV: http://tinyurl.com/msshr33r

00:30:23 – News: Hisense 40% Smaller UST Projectors

Much more compact UST models: https://youtu.be/g0PUuG-cxn0

00:33:06 – News: Newest Projector Screen Demos

Roll-up, Sonic Screen & Ultra Black options: http://tinyurl.com/2jsv99rw

00:35:44 – News: Dynamic Light Steering

Impressive DLP upgrade claiming 2,000 nit peaks: http://tinyurl.com/52j87u2b

00:38:35 – News: Automatic Edge Blending

Two C1 Lifestyle projectors work together to make a 21:9 image: https://youtu.be/VrXo0CoTz44

00:39:32 – News: XGIMI Aladdin

Looks like a regular ceiling light, but it’s a stealth projector: http://tinyurl.com/39x87c6x

00:41:10 – News: Sharp QDEL Prototypes

Quantum Dot Electroluminescent displays are closer to production: http://tinyurl.com/4d55j85f

00:45:22 – News: Apple Vision Pro Resurrects 3D Movies

Free upgrades from Apple TV, and Disney+ even adds 3D HFR: http://tinyurl.com/5azvyw9x

00:48:58 – News: Netflix, YouTube & Spotify Snub Vision Pro

The biggest streamers don’t intend to hand any more money to Apple: http://tinyurl.com/yc67zdn2

Comments:

00:51:04 – Comment: Jared – Industry Audio Mixer on Infrasonic Bass

After speaking to a professional audio mixer who worked on Edge of Tomorrow, Jared shares what he learned about infrasonic bass and what we’re intended to hear at home.

00:59:26 – Comment: Rohan – Mystery Marantz Mending

Credit to an official service center in India for completely taking apart and putting back together his Receiver.

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AV Rant #896: The Royal Rob

January 18th, 2024 Comments off

More from CES 2024: SVS demo’d their new Ultra Evolution Series Speakers, Hisense claims their 110″ ULED X TV can hit 10,000 nits, Portrait Displays offers their G1 Pattern Generator for Calman, but their C7 HDR Colorimeter got cancelled, and Filmmaker Mode is coming to Dolby Vision. Tom unexpectedly had to cut out early this week, so it’s a whole lotta Rob at the end!

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

00:00:00 – Intro

00:11:15 – What We Watched

Rob watched Gran Turismo, South Park: Joining the Panderverse, and (Not Suitable for Children), and The Curse. We both watched at least part of Echo. And Tom continued Tacoma FD.

00:32:00 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Tyler, David, Jason, and Raf for their PayPal donations, plus our 133 Patreon Patrons, as well as Aaron for sending even more Canada-only movie codes to try out.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Mike, Martin, Eric, Kris, Aaron, Henry, and Michael. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:34:49 – News: SVS Ultra Evolution Series

3 Towers, 2 Bookshelves, a Center, and Elevations speakers. Curved front faces to physically time align the voice coils. And force-cancelling front & back woofers on the floorstanders. Coming this Spring: http://tinyurl.com/43zz26hd

00:52:34 – News: Hisense hits 10,000 nits

8K 110″ ULED X TV model claims 40,000 miniLED local-dimming zones and 10,000 nits, while 2024 UX Series hits 5,000 nits: http://tinyurl.com/mr396h3t

00:54:08 – News: Portrait Displays Cancels C7 HDR

Some major manufacturing problem prevented the launch: http://tinyurl.com/fasz32tb

– C6 HDR2000 Meters are back, and bundle pricing drops the price: http://tinyurl.com/4er4h83u

00:56:19 – News: Portrait Displays G1 Pattern Generator

Only works with Calman, and costs way less when bundled: http://tinyurl.com/5n7et73p

00:58:24 – News: Filmmaker Mode for Dolby Vision

Coming to LG TVs this year: http://tinyurl.com/4hk8ku3j

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AV Rant #895: The Odd AV eCouple

January 11th, 2024 Comments off

CES 2024 is happening now. But we record early in the week, so we only have the preview news to talk about. LG’s 2024 QNEDs, OLEDs, and their Transparent T Series. Samsung QD-OLEDs, and transparent microLED. Brighter, bigger – up to 115″ – TCL miniLED TVs. Sony’s focus on backlighting. Samsung’s Music Frame speakers. And Apple Vision Pro release date.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBa1yU

00:00:00 – Intro

00:09:14 – What We Watched

Rob watched What If…? S.2. Tom watched Tacoma FD

00:24:58 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Toke and Jonathan for their PayPal donations, plus our 133 Patreon Patrons, as well as Aaron for sending more Canadian movie codes for Rob to inspect.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Jay, Kris, Scott, James, Martin, David, Gideon, Paul, Aaron, and Bradford. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:30:01 – News: LG 2024 QNED TVs

8K, miniLED & 98″ offerings: http://tinyurl.com/35kdv9wj

– https://avgadgets.com/what-is-a-qned-tv/

00:33:59 – News: LG 2024 OLED TVs

Brighter, 83″ MLA: https://youtu.be/NdOnEh0kvDE

00:37:15 – News: LG Signature OLED T Series

Transparent OLED with a roll up black backing: https://youtu.be/tcHGpw7KKE4

00:43:56 – News: Samsung QD-OLEDs

Matte screen option, and plenty of W-OLED models, too: https://youtu.be/ahg_-Qeely0

– https://avgadgets.com/oled-in-a-bright-room-can-it-work/

00:48:49 – News: Transparent microLED

Clearer than T OLED, but less available: https://youtu.be/3aWXsrcy0AE

00:50:03 – News: TCL miniLED TVs

Bigger, brighter: http://tinyurl.com/2znbnj3u

00:50:45 – News: TCL 115″ QM891G

No longer exclusive to China: http://tinyurl.com/2ykckk97

00:53:30 – News: Sony Local-Dimming

Trying to make miniLEDs as close to a dual-LCD monitor as possible: https://youtu.be/grBlT1DIqZk

00:56:23 – News: Samsung Music Frame

Art speakers the size of an LP: http://tinyurl.com/yeyjw648

00:57:29 – News: Apple Vision Pro Date

Coming Feb 2: http://tinyurl.com/bd3zmd6k

Comments:

00:59:33 – Comment: Scott – Hisense, and Fiber Optics

Bad customer service experiences. Be gentle with fiber optic HDMI cables.

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AV Rant #894: Where Do You Get Your Dopamine?

January 4th, 2024 Comments off

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.

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