We’re excited about all the movies and shows we watched this week! A group of Hollywood directors banded together to buy the Westwood Village Theatre. Fubo is suing ESPN, Fox Sports & Warner Bros. Discovery over their joint sports streaming plans. And Disney is handing over everything to do with physical media and letting Sony Pictures handle it for them.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

Has Tom needed to charge those SoundPEATS Space headphones yet? And you’ll never believe what Tom hooked back up in his theater!

00:13:14 – What We Watched

Rob watched The Iron Claw, and Dune: Part 2. Tom watched What If…? S.2, and Loki S.2.

00:35:52 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 130 Patreon Patrons.

We also thank Dean for giving permission to Tom to use his photos on https://avgadgets.com/

And we appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Parker, Adriano, Jeff, Ryan, Todd, Gurinder, and Jorge. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:40:38 – News: Directors Buy Westwood Village Theatre

A coalition of Hollywood directors, led by Jason Reitman, have successfully purchased the Westwood Village Theatre in Los Angeles, with plans to keep it open and expand its entertainment offerings: http://tinyurl.com/4uud288t

00:44:33 – News: Fubo Sues ESPN, FS & WBD

Fubo filed an antitrust lawsuit to either block the joint streaming sports venture or require economic parity: http://tinyurl.com/2aha5373

00:46:38 – News: Sony Takes Over Discs for Disney

Disney is handing over everything to do with physical discs to Sony Pictures: http://tinyurl.com/2ns8pkjm

Comments:

00:50:09 – Comment: Robert – Rarewaves Imports

A recommendation to use https://www.rarewaves.com/ for importing discs and other items.

00:52:07 – Comment: Karl – Zapperbox OTA

Thumbs up for the https://zapperbox.com/ OTA NextGenTV equipment.

00:54:30 – Comment: Infinite Gary – Episode 1,500

We have to stick around until broadcasting sports in 4K is the norm.

QUESTIONS:

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KEF brings their MIE DSP to their Kube Subwoofers. Vudu is changing its name to Fandango At Home. Walmart is buying Vizio. UHP projector lamps can’t be restocked in the EU starting in 2026. And Tom finally watched Barbie!

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

00:00:00 – Intro

00:04:07 – SoundPEATS Space Update

It’s been a couple weeks; how’s the battery life?

– https://avgadgets.com/charge-your-headphones-once-a-week-soundpeats-space-headphones-review/

00:06:57 – What We Watched

Rob watched Madame Web, and Titane. Tom finally watched Barbie! Was it everything he had anticipated?

00:35:58 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 131 Patreon Patrons, including Bertrand, as well as all the people who alerted us about last week’s audio-only version cutting out early: Vince, Jonathan, Mark, Herb, Martin, Theo, Valdeze, Ilango, and anyone we might have missed!

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Infinite Gary, Bobby, Bertrand, Vince, Mark, Bob, and Nathan. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:40:13 – News: KEF MIE Subwoofers

KEF has a new dual 9-inch KC92 model, and they’ve brought their Music Integrity Engine to their Kube Series: http://tinyurl.com/hmrnzxb4

00:45:05 – News: Vudu Renamed to Fandango At Home

Supposedly a change in name only. Your digital library remains intact: http://tinyurl.com/5ajzu8ce

00:46:40 – News: Walmart Buying Vizio

A rumor when we recorded, and confirmed the next day: http://tinyurl.com/2r6kzpdv

00:48:44 – News: UHP Lamps Finished in 2026

An amendment to an EU regulation means UHP projector lamps cannot be restocked starting in 2026: http://tinyurl.com/3s72u2ee

Comments:

00:50:19 – Comment: Jack – Super Bowl Streaming Lag

Various services were measured and ranked by a streaming technology company: http://tinyurl.com/yckt4b3y

00:52:44 – Comment: Nathan – Cheaper Dolby Vision Hack

If you can manually force your projector into HDR mode, you can use a $30 EDID device instead of an HDFury: https://hometheater.substack.com/p/dolby-vision-on-projectors-lldv

00:56:00 – CORRECTION: Marantz Cinema 30 NOT Identical to Denon X6800H

A YouTube comment took us to task. They are objectively different inside.

QUESTIONS:

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900th Episode! Could these be the final 100 episodes of AV Rant? We have thoughts about Apple Vision Pro. Marantz Cinema 30 top end Receiver. Amazon Prime Video makes Dolby Vision & Atmos cost extra. Plex movie rentals are 1080p only. Fox Sports, ESPN & Warner are making a combined streaming sports service. Sony is killing Funimation.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBe2wS

00:00:00 – Intro

Are these our final 100 AV Rant episodes?

00:15:21 – Apple Vision Pro Thoughts

Rob’s basically the last 3D fan on Earth, and even he thinks the hype is silly.

00:20:16 – What We Watched

Rob watched The Whale, and started Evil S.3. Tom started watching Obliterated on Netflix.

00:38:41 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Raf and Tyler for their PayPal donations, plus our 130 Patreon Patrons, including Daniel, as well as Ash for providing our Episode #900 artwork, Terry for talking us up to SVS and sending Tom a movie code, and Aaron for sending even more movie codes to Rob.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Terry, Daniel, Ryan, Raf, and Aaron. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:41:11 – News: Marantz Cinema 30 Receiver

It’s a Denon X6800H that looks a little different and costs $1,000 more: http://tinyurl.com/33htus8s

00:44:44 – News: Prime Video Charges Extra for Atmos

You can only get Dolby Vision & Atmos if you pay the extra $3/month to go ad-free: http://tinyurl.com/4hxfbtyn

00:49:37 – News: Plex Movie Rentals are 1080p Only

Plex opened their online Movie Store. Rentals only, no TV shows yet, and 1080p with 5.1 audio max…at least for now: http://tinyurl.com/nhb4uuty

00:51:41 – News: Combined Sports Streaming Service

Fox Sports, ESPN & Warner Bros Discovery are teaming up: http://tinyurl.com/ymy9azx8

00:56:58 – News: Sony Kills Funimation Collections

Crunchyroll is taking over, and Funimation Digital Copies will disappear. No refunds: http://tinyurl.com/3uputmjj

Comments:

01:01:25 – Comment: Greg – It’s a PS VR2

His charging stand tricked us into not recognizing his VR headset.

QUESTIONS:

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Tom has returned. And now both hosts are fighting cold or flu bugs of some kind. Tom reviews the SOUNDPEATS Space wireless headphones and their crazy long battery life. Emotiva has completely revamped their speaker lineup with the Airmotiv X Series. Elgato 4K X & 4K Pro provide HDMI 2.1 capture and streaming with some limitations.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

00:08:35 – REVIEW: SOUNDPEATS Space Headphones

Low price, outstanding battery, good sound: https://avgadgets.com/charge-your-headphones-once-a-week-soundpeats-space-headphones-review/

00:22:24 – What We Watched

Rob watched Tenet, Train to Busan, and Evil S.2. Tom finished Echo.

00:46:05 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Jeffery for his PayPal donation, plus our 131 Patreon Patrons, including Daniel, as well as Michael for letting GiK know he heard about them from us, and Aaron for sending yet another movie code to Rob.

Thanks also to Greg and Jeff for giving Tom permission to use their photos on https://avgadgets.com/

And we appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Michael, Aaron, David, Julian, Jeff, and Ryan. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:49:13 – News: Emotiva Airmotiv X Speakers

Folded ribbon tweeters, dual binding posts, unusual Center designs: http://tinyurl.com/5n8n3zvb

01:01:34 – News: Elgato 4K X and 4K Pro

HDMI 2.1 capture cards: http://tinyurl.com/v9rpkpjh

Comments:

01:05:01 – Comment: Infinite Gary – Large TV Disposal

1-800-Got-Junk is an option: http://tinyurl.com/yu56uhxw

01:06:19 – Comment: Jonathan – Sports Streaming Delay

More details about why the delay in streaming sports is too long for him.

QUESTIONS:

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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

QUESTIONS:

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