Skydance’s purchase of Paramount is complete, creating Paramount, a Skydance Corporation. Disney now owns all of Hulu and will merge it into a single app with Disney+ in all territories. JTR Kallos Series speakers bring their high-sensitivity, high-power-handling designs to slim on-walls that look nicer in a Living Room. And we review The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and Happy Gilmore 2.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCqyo8

00:00:00 – Intro

Lots of world news headlines for context. Not much to update in our personal lives.

00:10:47 – What We Watched

Rob watched The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Tom watched Happy Gilmore 2.

00:31:14 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Brian for his PayPal donation, plus our 126 Patreon Patrons.

Our thanks to Stefan 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: Leighton, Infinite Gary, Joe, Brian, David, Sasi, and John. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:34:16 – News: Paramount, a Skydance Corporation

Skydance’s purchase of Paramount has been finalized: https://tinyurl.com/hnchy444

00:34:51 – News: Hulu & Disney+ in a Single App

Disney now owns all of Hulu, so it will merge Hulu and Disney+ into a single app, and replace Star with Hulu outside of the USA: https://tinyurl.com/49x4z4yk

00:36:00 – News: JTR Kallos Series Speakers

They still have high sensitivity and power handling, but nicer finish options and a slim, wall-mountable design make the new JTR Kallos Series more suitable for Living Rooms: https://www.jtrspeakers.com/home-entertainment

Comments:

00:41:55 – Comment: SegaMasterSystm – TASCAM BD-MP4K

There’s another Ultra HD Blu-ray player out there that is rarely ever mentioned, and it has rack ears: https://tinyurl.com/m5rb8pne

00:45:38 – Comment: Karl – Talk to Theater Owners

He mentioned a problem at his local IMAX, and they followed up with thorough details.

00:46:44 – Comment: Stefan – Cable Purchases

He bought the RUIPRO detachable fiber optic HDMI cable, THSUCORDS slim HDMI cables, and Locking Banana Plugs we recommended.

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Reavon, the makers of the high-priced UBR-X100, X110, and X200 Ultra HD Blu-ray players, has gone out of business. Epson has replaced their Pro Cinema 6050UB projector model with the new Pro Cinema LS9000, bringing 4K/120, laser-driven projection to the (just) under $4,000 price point.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

Quick world news, and minor updates on Tom’s new house purchase.

00:10:05 – What We Watched

Rob watched Black Bag. Tom watched Tour de France coverage.

00:21:44 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Bill and Steve for their PayPal donations, plus our 126 Patreon Patrons, as well as Jason for alerting us that AV Rant wasn’t showing up in the YouTube Music App anymore, Jack for offering a free Dayton OmniMic, and Greg for sending even more movie codes.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Jack, Leighton, Karl, Ben, Joe, and Sasi. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

– AV Rant Podast on YouTube Music: https://music.youtube.com/channel/UC_t-9AiTSf0Rn8IiRIvQqGw

In the news:

00:30:14 – News: Reavon Calls it Quits

The French company that offered high-priced Ultra HD Blu-ray players with their UBR-X100, X110, and X200 models has been unable to get parts, and has discontinued operations and sales as a result: https://tinyurl.com/5n6hm896

00:32:14 – News: Epson Pro Cinema LS9000

Epson has replaced the 6050UB projector model in their Pro Cinema Series with the new LS9000 at the same price, bringing laser-driven 4K/120 performance to the (just) under $4,000 category: https://tinyurl.com/4cb525z8

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Emotiva is refreshing their BasX A-Series amps to the “A Plus” Series that include XLR inputs, and higher prices. Ascendo figured their 50″ and 80″ subs weren’t big enough, so they made 64″ and 100″ models to replace them. And Tom and Rob both headed out to IMAX theaters last week to see Superman!

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

00:00:00 – Intro

South Park did their best to stir up some controversy. And things, overall, are finally looking up for Tom.

00:17:12 – What We Watched

Tom and Rob both went out to IMAX theaters last week to see Superman! You’ll never guess which one of us saw it in 3D. We start out spoiler free, but get into full spoilers parts way through, so please make use of the timestamps.

00:44:12 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Raf for his PayPal donation, plus our 131 Patreon Patrons, as well as Greg for sending a gazillion movie codes for Tom to test.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Mark, David, Errol, Infinite Gary, Anonymous, Karl, Raf, Sasi, Steve, John, Joe, Ilango, Jason, and Dazz. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:52:01 – News: Emotiva BasX A2+, A3+ & A7+

New “entry-level” amplifiers from Emotiva gain XLR inputs, and higher prices: https://tinyurl.com/yyt5z57h

00:55:01 – News: Ascendo THE64 & THE100 Subwoofers

Ascendo’s 50″ & 80″ subs apparently weren’t big enough, so they’ve replaced them with all-new 64″ & 100″ models: https://tinyurl.com/4a2j9s8f

Comments:

00:57:34 – Comment: Sasi – Speakers Ranked by Sensitivity

Sasi somehow found the time to collect measurements of 95 current speaker models and convert them to IEC standards to chart their true sensitivity ratings: https://tinyurl.com/4p2k9ums

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Tom shares two big life updates. Rob talks about CBS cancelling The Late Show. Premium Audio Company is dropping the Pioneer and Pioneer Elite brands. RBH expands their Impression Series lineup with the 5a-iw and 5a-iwr wedge-shaped speakers.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

Rob talks about CBS cancelling The Late Show. Tom shares a couple of big life updates.

00:22:27 – What We Watched

Tom watched The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. Rob watched Snow White.

00:40:47 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Allen and Eric for their PayPal donations, plus our 130 Patreon Patrons, including Ben, as well as John for sending Tom a movie code to test.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Brad, Anonymous, Dazz, HiFinest343, Nathan, Ilango, Eric, Ben, Greg, Kevin, and Allen. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:46:42 – News: PAC Drops Pioneer

When VOXX International bought Onkyo and added them to their PAC (Premium Audio Company) division, they also licesed the Pioneer and Pioneer Elite home audio brands that Onkyo had purchased. But now they’re dropping those liceses: https://tinyurl.com/2ceaf5pw

00:49:09 – News: RBH Impression Wedge-Shaped Speakers

New 5a-iw and 5a-iwr models add wedge-shaped speakers to RBH’s Impression Series: https://tinyurl.com/3yapfvja

Comments:

00:50:33 – Comment: Anonymous – First Ripped Disc

An update on having successfully ripped an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc for the first time.

– Asus BW-16D1HT: https://tinyurl.com/yu99fxch

– OWC Enclosure: https://tinyurl.com/yc5uvbha

– SDFtool: https://tinyurl.com/bdecu48z

00:51:59 – Comment: Herb – Cross-Spectrum Labs Beginnings

Herb lets us know how Cross-Spectrum’s microphone calibration service all began.

01:01:57 – Comment: Karl – Zygo Z2 Swimming Headphones

A high-end swimming headphones recommendation.

– Zygo Z2: https://tinyurl.com/5h3wumkz

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Welcome back, Tom. He tells us all about his big family reunion, which was great! Our thanks to Lee Overstreet for guest co-hosting last week. We both watched something we enjoyed this week. And the founders of the Alamo Drafthouse aren’t retiring just yet; they’re opening the Metro Private Cinema in New York to provide high-end, dinner and a movie experiences.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCmD4Z

00:00:00 – Intro

Thank you to Lee Overstreet for co-hosting with Rob last week. And Tom returns to tell us all about his big family reunion.

00:16:48 – What We Watched

Rob watched Sinners. Tom watched Invincible S.2 & 3.

00:34:20 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are James and Matthew for their PayPal donations, plus our 130 Patreon Patrons, as well as Sasi for having his Apollon Audio Eigentakt amplifiers shipped to Rob before it makes its way to Sasi so that Rob can review it.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Jason, Anonymous, Jack, and Sasi. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:43:03 – News: Metro Private Cinema

Via Karl – After selling the Alamo Drafthouse franchise to Sony Pictures, the founders are now opening the Metro Private Cinema in New York: https://tinyurl.com/bd6r5hap

Comments:

00:47:33 – Comment: Anonymous – Finding LibreDrive Sellers

Rob linked to a UK seller of optical drives that are ready to go for MakeMKV. But their website is closed right now. Are they gone? Is there an alternative?

– https://shop.uhdfriendlydrives.co.uk/

00:50:04 – Comment: Jack – Shokz OpenSwim Pro

Tom’s cousin, an avid swimmer, backs up our recommendation for these particular bone conduction headphones.

– https://shokz.com/products/openswimpro

00:52:08 – Comment: Sasi – BlueSound PowerNode 2025

Another mini AVR option that could be hidden behind a TV while powering 3 Front speakers.

– https://www.bluesound.com/usa/powernode

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