AV Rant #758: Soured on Separates

June 11th, 2021 Comments off

Rob is WRONG. Apple TV 4K CAN output Atmos Music from Apple Music via HDMI. That information was clarified shortly after we recorded this episode: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212182 . So when we get to J.R.’s questions about an hour and 20 minutes in, you can marvel at just how wrong Rob’s answer was!

00:00:00 – Intro & Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Jack, Lance, and a different Jack for their PayPal donations, plus our 124 Patreon Patrons, including Daniel, Jack & Andrew, as well as Gurinder who is hopefully getting his JVC projector noises sorted.
We also want to thank Jack & Andrew 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 Daniel, Jack, Jay, Alber, Shannon, Stephen, Andrew & Mike. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

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

00:11:50 – In the news:

– Voxx International, the parent company of Klipsch, has agreed to buy Onkyo: https://is.gd/rU2pfJ

– Via Karl – Alamo Drafthouse Theaters has emerged from Chapter 11, and has plans to expand: https://is.gd/H51bi2

– Via Karl – AMC Theatres might acquire ArcLight Cinemas, including the Cinerama Dome: https://is.gd/ZfZRaU

– Via Mike – Plex can bitstream lossless audio from the Xbox’ Plex app after a pending Xbox update.

00:20:44 – Comments:

– Andrew B. shares his “Synthesis on the cheap” theater build results.

– Lance M. got unexpectedly good results after sealing his cylinder subs.

QUESTIONS:

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AV Rant #757: AVRant Drinking Game

June 4th, 2021 Comments off

AVRant Listener Preston decided it was time we had a drinking game! He picked 16 of our commonly used catchphrases (full list at the bottom of the show notes). Hear us say one of them? Take a shot! (if you’re of legal drinking age, of course)

And check out the hand-drawn, frame-by-frame animations byRob’s niece: https://youtu.be/83LUePO_wKA & https://youtu.be/0GxDygmMk_Y
Give her a like and subscribe, if you’re so inclined 🙂

00:00:00 – Intro & Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 126 Patreon Patrons, including Bertrand, as well as Karl and Brandon for confirming that the noises Gurinder’s JVC projector is making are unusual, Preston for talking us up to HSU and miniDSP, and for creating our drinking game, and Jack for mentioning us to Outlaw Audio, Accessories4Less, B&H Photo Video, and Cross-Spectrum Labs.
Thanks also to Jack for giving Tom permission to use his photos on https://avgadgets.com/
And we greatly appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from Jason, Lance, Preston, Chris, Bertrand, Jonathan, Michael, and Chris. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

Pictures shown in this episode:
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmVXa4t6

00:12:12 – In the news:

– Sound United announced an HDMI 2.1 hardware upgrade program for the older flagship Denon X8500H and Marantz AV8805 models. They will also be replaced at retailers by new X8500HA and AV8805A revisions: https://avgadgets.com/hdmi-2-1-upgrade-for-older-flagship-denon-marantz/

00:17:52 – Comments:

– Jack R. suggests cutting a neoprene sponge rubber mat to size for subwoofer or speaker decoupling purposes: https://is.gd/EoRRCt

– Ralph M. shares his experience after his Dynasty Proaudio Wireless Speaker Kit interfered with his wireless Dish Hopper & Joey setup.

QUESTIONS:

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AV Rant #756: REW Tutorial

May 28th, 2021 Comments off

If you’re brand new to Room EQ Wizard (REW), we’ve got a tutorial at the end of this episode to help get you started! You can watch the YouTube version to see all the screenshots here: https://youtu.be/eOwnVbLg5Jo?t=6660

00:00:00 – Intro & Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Jeremy and Timothy for their PayPal donations, plsu our 126 Patreon Patrons, as well as Ara Derderian from http://www.htguys.com/ for helping us with Gurinder’s JVC projector start up noises, and Herb from https://cross-spectrum.com/ for shipping an individually calibrated UMIK-1 to Rob!
We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from Ryan, Josh, Gurinder, Henry, Jeremy, and Jonathan. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

Pictures shown in this episode:
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmVPves9

00:10:35 – In the news:

– Yamaha announced their 2021 Aventage Receiver models: https://is.gd/ndPe8E

– Yamaha’s 2020 Receivers can have their HDMI 2.1 ports fixed via an HDMI board replacement: https://avgadgets.com/yamaha-hdmi-2-1-fix-announced-and-youre-not-going-to-like-it/

– WarnerMedia will spin off from AT&T and merge with Discovery Network: https://is.gd/KaW6er

– HBO Max will offer a cheaper tier with ads: https://is.gd/z4sYWS

– Dune won’t be a day-and-date release on HBO Max anymore: https://is.gd/xWWbGu

– The 2nd Gen Apple TV 4K has an eARC port that acts as an audio input as well as an output: https://is.gd/QSc546

00:29:42 – Comments:

– Infinite Gary shares his brief Monoprice Monolith HTP-1 experience, and his new Lexicon MC-10 purchase.

– Bob updates us on his NVidia Shield backup plans.

– Jay A. shares a Sound & Vision write-up about a feel-good Make-a-Wish project: https://is.gd/P27UJ4

QUESTIONS:

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AV Rant #755: One Hour for One Question

May 21st, 2021 Comments off

JVC projector owners, we need your help! Check out Gurinder’s question below. We’re trying to discern if the sounds his X790 makes when starting up are normal. Thanks!

Congratulations to the HT Guys, Ara & Braden, who are posting the 1,000th episode of the HDTV & Home Theater Podcast this week! An amazing milestone! http://www.htguys.com/

00:00:00 – Intro & Apology

Sorry to Keshaun for getting him mixed up last week with Kerry.

00:09:45 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Zachary, Jonathan, and Lance for their PayPal donations, plus our 127 Patreon Patrons, as well as Terry G. for talking us up big time to his sales rep at Projector People, Daniel C. for telling SVS his purchase was thanks to us, and Kenneth for reminding Rob that Denon & Marantz’ SPK618 HDMI 2.1 Adapter is now available: https://avgadgets.com/denon-marantz-hdmi-2-1-solution-spk618-adapter-free/
We also want to thank Joe, Terry, John, Tim, Dean, Lance, and Micheal for their notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

Pictures shown in this episode:
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmVHvYo4

00:15:00 – Correction: ToneWinner AT-300 Revisited

– R. Moon on YouTube informed us the affordable ToneWinner AT-300 Pre-Pro received a firmware update that added DTS:X Pro, including DTS Neural:X Pro Upmixing. So 13.1 speakers can be used with most signals.

00:17:02 – In the news:

– Apple Music will offer their entire catalogue in lossless ALAC format in June, plus they’re adding Dolby Atmos music content utilizing Spatial Audio: https://is.gd/6tBJ2l
– However, Apple’s own AirPods and HomePods won’t play lossless audio: https://is.gd/hkJOad

– Via Karl – Sennheiser’s consumer division has been sold to Sonova: https://is.gd/CVUFYB

– Amazon might buy MGM for $9 billion: https://is.gd/lAwjrR

00:29:34 – Comments

– Jay A. updates us on Quebec Acoustic’s movie theater-style seats, and his seating riser build plans.

QUESTIONS:

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AV Rant #754: Atlantic Tech AT-3 Speaker Review

May 14th, 2021 Comments off

Tom reviews the Atlantic Technology AT-3 Tower speakers that utilize their patented H-PAS (Hybrid Pressure Acceleration System) transmission line cabinets to deliver deeper bass extension than you might expect: https://avgadgets.com/atlantic-technologys-at-3-tower-speakers-overview/

00:03:08 – Atlantic Tech AT-3 speaker review

00:17:36 – Listeners of the Week
Our Listeners of the Week are our 125 Patreon Patrons, including Daniel, as well as James from Linus Tech Tips for including an image of our website and https://avrant.com/a-12-step-guide-to-setting-up-dual-subwoofers/ in his Intel Extreme Tech Upgrade video: https://youtu.be/RUI1k-KHXNk?t=771 .
We also want to thank Keshaun for giving Tom permission to use his photos on https://avgadgets.com/ .
And we greatly appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from Jay, Patrick, and John. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

Pictures shown in this episode:
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmVCM4kU

00:21:09 – In the news:

– Via Karl – ViacomCBS plans to release a new movie every week in 2022 during their Mountain of Movies campaign on Paramount+: https://is.gd/C2BSCs

00:23:48 – Hisense announced their 2021 TV lineup with North America’s first consumer Dual Cell LCD model: https://avgadgets.com/hisense-announces-dual-cell-lcd-but-thats-not-the-real-story/

00:28:52 – Comments:

– Jay A. suggests using central vacuum tubing as your in-wall conduit for HDMI cables.

QUESTIONS:

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