Rob is away so Lee steps in. We’ll get to your questions next week! This week – rambling on random AV and home theater topics!

News:

PAC rolls back prices: https://www.soundandvision.com/content/pac-rolls-back-klipsch-pioneer-elite-pricing

Topics

Made In China (or wherever). What are we giving up for low-cost products?

Tom and Lee discuss overplanning your home theater – https://avgadgets.com/planning-vs-experimentation-in-home-theater/

Link – https://avgadgets.com/why-you-wont-make-your-home-theater-the-best-it-can-be-sunk-cost-fallacy/ 

Is our advice really useful – https://avgadgets.com/why-no-one-can-really-tell-you-which-speakers-you-should-buy/

Streaming service price creep and ESPN hostage situation

See you next week!

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Sofabaton X1 Universal Hub-based Remote has been available for over a year now. Andrew from AVGadgets.com has written a “One Year Later” update. DVD.com a Netflix Company will mail its last red envelope on Sept. 29. And Amazon says they’re using AI to add Dialogue Boost to a selection of Prime Video shows and movies.

Special Announcement: Bright Side Home Theater Podcast is raffling off a pair of SVS Prime Wireless Pro speakers, with proceeds going to the Heather Abbott Foundation. Details are available in DJ’s interview with Roseann, a survivor of the Boston Marathon bombing: https://www.brightsidehometheater.com/episodes/roseannandmike . Thank you for your support.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

00:03:41 – What We Watched

Rob watched Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always and the final episode of Star Trek: Picard. Tom finished Season 3 of The Mandalorian.

00:18:29 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Chad for his PayPal donation, plus our 137 Patreon Patrons, including Bill, as well as Greg for sending Rob a Harmony Hub Remote.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: The Lit Lion, Bill, Stefan, Gurinder, David, Eric, Karl, Ron, and Brian. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:24:46 – News: Sofabaton X1: 1 Year Later

Andrew from AVGadgets.com updates his Sofabaton X1 review after a full year of daily use: https://avgadgets.com/sofabaton-x1-review-is-this-the-harmony-killer-weve-been-waiting-for/

00:31:13 – News: DVD.com Shutting Down

The last red envelope will be mailed Sept 29: https://bit.ly/3oFvm3X

00:31:31 – News: Netflix Basic with Ads Upgraded

Now with 1080p and 2 screens at once: https://bit.ly/3V7bCCo

00:32:58 – News: Prime Video Dialogue Boost

Amazon’s AI Dialogue Boost option: https://bit.ly/3L7mYBP

– https://avgadgets.com/slap-echo-home-theater-101/

Comments:

00:38:49 – Comment: Herb – When to Get Mic Recalibrated

The head of Cross-Spectrum Acoustics says there’s no need for annual recalibration of your UMIK-1.

00:41:04 – Comment: Patrick – ISOTunes FREE Earphones

Hearing protection and wireless earbuds as reviewed by Pro Tool Reviews: https://www.protoolreviews.com/isotunes-free-wireless-earphones-review/

00:41:45 – Comment: Peter – Walker’s Silencer 2.0

High-priced wireless earphones designed for shooting: https://bit.ly/420I3op

00:43:37 – Comment: Gabriel – SureFire Sonic Defender

Earplugs designed for shooting: https://amzn.to/41HqR7N

00:44:53 – Comment: Paul – Acoustic Panel Results

How his Acoustic Panels Canada installation turned out.

QUESTIONS:

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HBO Max and Discovery+ will merge May 23 to become Max, with a new app and pricing tiers. SMPTE is working with all the other industry acronyms to create a Cinema HDR standard. And Tom’s SVS subs bottomed out!

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

00:00:00 – Intro

00:03:02 – What We Watched

Rob watched The Menu. Tom finally watched Everything Everywhere All at Once, and he sort of came around on Willow, plus The Mandalorian bottomed out his subwoofers! What about yours?

00:17:48 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 137 Patreon Patrons, including Alvin.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Dan, Joseph, Adam, Nick, Alvin, Will, and Ilango. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:19:42 – News: HBO Max & Discovery+ Merge into Max

Starting May 23, Discovery+ will still be around, but HBO Max will become Max, with a new app, Discovery+’s content added to it, and new pricing tiers: https://bit.ly/41B2QP8

00:23:58 – News: SMPTE Working on Cinema HDR

Via Infinite Gary – at the NAB Show, SMPTE joined with other industry associations to announce their Cinema HDR plans that don’t have to rely on Dolby: https://bit.ly/3Aa5nnE

Comments:

00:27:41 – Comment: Joe – Portland Airport Theater

A joint venture with Portland’s Historic Non-Profit Theatre and the Erskine Group shows off home theater equipment and local short films.

QUESTIONS:

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Inity Acoustics offers absorption panels & bass traps at good Canadian prices, but there’s a catch if you’re outside of Ontario. MQA filed for Appointment of Administrators (bankruptcy) in the UK. And we’ll be playing catch-up next week. Sorry!

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

00:00:00 – Intro

Star Wars Celebration chat.

00:04:13 – What We Watched

Rob watched Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Tom watched The Mandalorian, Willow, and The Night Agent.

00:20:34 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 137 Patreon Patrons.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude from: Micah, David, Martin, Ilango, and Adam. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:23:32 – News: Inity Acoustics Canadian Panels

Absorption panels & bass traps at good prices in Canada. But shipping outside of Ontario stings a bit: https://inityacoustics.com/

00:26:33 – News: MQA Bankruptcy

Master Quality Authenticated filed for Appointment of Administrators in the UK: https://bit.ly/3o9EfT0

Comments:

00:32:49 – Comment: Joe – Assisted Living Installations

Updates on previous and upcoming theater installations.

00:37:16 – Comment: Donald – YouTube HDR on Apple TV

Rob gets corrected about Apple TV 4K playing HDR on YouTube.

QUESTIONS:

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HDMI Quick Media Switching has arrived, but not without complications and disappointment. Japan OLED filed for bankruptcy protection and is closing its factories. Onkyo TX-RZ70, Pioneer Elite VSX-LX805, and Integra DRX-8.4 11-channel Receivers have been announced.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAyt6i

00:00:00 – Intro

00:04:24 – What We Watched

Rob watched The King of Comedy. Tom watched Big Trouble in Little China…on DVD!

00:13:40 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Raf and Micah for their PayPal donations, plus our 137 Patreon Patrons.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: David, Martin, Richard, Chris, Scott, Gav, and Dan. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:15:12 – News: HDMI QMS

Limited device support, quirky setup and limited usefulness, and an AVR conundrum all lead to disappointment.

– QMS Devices: https://bit.ly/3KAJ151

– HDTV Test on QMS: https://youtu.be/I3e6CtBhdNY

– AVR QMS Problems: https://bit.ly/3Mj2kRF

00:22:57 – News: JOLED Bankruptcy

Japan OLED is shutting down: https://bit.ly/3nDP3IU

– https://avgadgets.com/tcl-oled-tvs-by-2023/

00:26:03 – News: Onkyo, Pioneer, Integra Flagship AVRs

New 11-channel Receiver models:

– Onkyo TX-RZ70: https://bit.ly/3MfPQtZ

– Pioneer Elite VSX-LX805: https://bit.ly/3GiFrtE

– Integra DRX-8.4: https://bit.ly/3U8Tbgh

Comments:

00:34:30 – Comment: Scott – Stewart Filmscreen Micro-Perf

A reminder that Stewart Filmscreen recommends at least one foot of distance for any speakers placed behind its micro-perf acoustically transparent screens.

QUESTIONS:

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