Kaleidescape’s new Strato V Movie Player is a standalone unit that significantly lowers the price of entry. Is Apple buying Masimo Consumer (formerly Sound United)? We have our doubts. And top performing subwoofer options in India from a helpful listener.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBB6mY

00:00:00 – Intro

00:08:01 – What We Watched

Rob watched Upgrade, and Deepwater Horizon. Tom watched more Tour de France coverage, and Icarus on Netflix.

00:23:56 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 131 Patreon Patrons, including Bertrand.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Jay, Bertrand, Sasi, Joe, and Patrick. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:26:04 – News: Kaleidescape Strato V

By including 1TB of onboard storage, Kaleidescape’s newest Movie Player can be used as a standalone device, significantly lowering the price of entry: https://tinyurl.com/bdhc4er7

00:34:39 – Rumor: Apple Buying Masimo Consumer?

We believe the rumors that Masimo Consumer (formerly Sound United) will likely be up for sale. But we doubt Apple actually intends to buy them: https://tinyurl.com/y3uad35a

Comments:

00:47:25 – Comment: Dazz – Car Audio Backer Boxes

A potentially inexpensive, pre-made solution for in-ceiling speaker backer boxes using a car audio solution.

00:50:47 – Comment: Sasi – Subwoofer Options in India

Many of the internet-direct subwoofer brands we frequently mention are prohibitively expensive in India. But Rythmik and ToneWinner are available locally.

QUESTIONS:

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Tom is back! Our thanks to Joe Klusnick for guest co-hosting last week. New SVS SoundPath Speaker Level Subwoofer Adapter. Xbox Game Pass price increases and tier changes. Xbox Cloud Gaming on Amazon Fire TV Sticks. And Sonos “Lasso” Atmos SoundBar.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

We find out where Tom was last week.

00:10:51 – What We Watched

Rob watched The Girl on the Train. Tom watched Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, and Star Wars: Tales from the Empire. And we’ve both watched The Acolyte up through Ep.7.

00:31:42 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Brandon for his PayPal donation, plus our 131 Patreon Patrons.

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

In the news:

00:34:10 – News: SVS SoundPath Speaker Level Subwoofer Adapter

Turn your speaker wire outputs into RCA line level pre-outs: https://tinyurl.com/yeyu8tjj

00:38:56 – News: Xbox Game Pass Changes

Game Pass Console goes away. Standard takes its place. And everything’s more expensive: https://tinyurl.com/mr4ckjwc

00:45:59 – News: Xbox on Amazon Fire TV Sticks

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K gets Xbox Cloud Gaming support: https://tinyurl.com/23wz53r4

00:47:12 – News: Sonos “Lasso” SoundBar

A new, more expensive, more capable Atmos SoundBar from Sonos is coming: https://tinyurl.com/yba8urtp

Comments:

00:48:45 – Comment: Infinite Gary – SVS Service & Philharmonic BMR

Kudos to SVS customer service for once again going above and beyond. And he loves his new Philharmonic BMR Monitor speakers.

00:52:03 – Comment: Sasi – In-Wall Speaker Options

Sasi shares his experiences and opinions on the various in-wall speakers he’s tried.

00:57:16 – Comment: Andrew – Onkyo NR7100 Hidden Menus

The front panel button combo to access his Onkyo AVR’s hidden menus was different from what we said, but we found the correct buttons, and now his Xbox works!

QUESTIONS:

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Joe Klusnick returns to guest co-host this week while Tom is away. Paramount and Skydance will merge. Samsung and LG reduce their investments in microLED. MacOS Sequoia adds HDMI Passthrough. And Joe shares his experiences at MWAVE 2024.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

Welcome back to AVRant, Joe!

00:02:39 – What We Watched

Joe watched A Quiet Place: Day One, and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. Rob watched Love Lies Bleeding, and A Haunting in Venice.

00:19:09 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Sasi for his PayPal donation, plus our 134 Patreon Patrons.

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

In the news:

00:21:08 – News: Paramount Merges With Skydance

Paramount Global’s owners have finally found a buyer, but we have some apprehension about Skydance Media’s plans for New Paramount: https://tinyurl.com/2czpdyze

00:26:22 – News: MicroLED Investment Reduction

Samsung Display and LG Display are pumping the breaks on microLED development: https://tinyurl.com/37e5hvkr

00:31:41 – News: MacOS Sequoia HDMI Passthrough

Via Karl: The latest MacOS Beta adds HDMI Passthrough audio, but it doesn’t appear to offer multi-channel lossless formats yet: https://tinyurl.com/3xdvp344

– Techthusiasm’s testing: https://youtu.be/LV7p6vH6VbI

Comments:

00:36:37 – Comment: Nathan – Elite Screens Cinegrey 5D

Nathan’s had a positive experience using Cinegrey 5D ambient light-rejecting projection screen material.

– CarbonBlack was the 0.2 gain material that Rob couldn’t remember the name of: https://www.screeninnovations.com/materials/carbonblack/

00:43:24 – Comment: Sasi – Search, Spreadsheet & Interviews

Sasi shares his method for quickly finding the home theater info he’s looking for. He’s giving away his Subwoofer Selector spreadsheet tool completely for free for anyone to further develop. And where are the AVRant interviews?

– Subwoofer Selector Spreadsheet: https://tinyurl.com/2vvpf82e

QUESTIONS:

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Happy 4th of July! Happy Canada Day! And you’ll be happy Tom is back on his regular mic!

The six Alamo Drafthouse locations that shut down will all be reopened. Redbox’ parent company files for bankruptcy. Tidal’s app will only be available on the most popular operating platforms moving forward. And Arendal Sound announces a new luxury 1528 Series of speakers.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

Shout outs to James, Joe, Nathan, and our many YouTube commenters for your feedback about the microphone Tom tried out last week.

00:13:50 – What We Watched

Rob watched I Care A Lot, and The Creator. Tom sparks a discussion about why the box office has been unpredictable this year.

00:35:54 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Raf for his PayPal donation, plus our 134 Patreon Patrons, as well as Mark for alerting Tom about some links that needed fixing on his websites.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Sasi, Joe, Paul, Vince, and Brad. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:39:35 – News: Alamo Drafthouses Reopening

The six locations that abruptly closed down will all reopen this summer: https://tinyurl.com/mws45xhu

– https://drafthouse.com/dfw/content/closure

– https://drafthouse.com/twin-cities/content/closure

00:41:26 – News: Redbox Bankruptcy

Redbox’ parent company has unsurprisingly filed for Chapter 11: https://tinyurl.com/47wjbda5

– https://avgadgets.com/rent-from-redbox-now/

00:42:57 – News: Tidal App on Limited Platforms

The Tidal App is no longer on Roku, Fire TV, or non-Google TV platforms: https://tinyurl.com/3xnwfsyb

00:46:27 – News: Arendal 1528 Series Speakers

No details yet. But a new luxury speaker Series is coming: https://arendalsound.com/1528-series-the-saga-continues/

Comments:

00:50:42 – Comment: Infinite Gary – Perfect Height Stand

He just had to show off his custom, hand-made Center speaker stand.

QUESTIONS:

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Tom is trying out another new mic again. How’s this one? Netflix House locations will open in malls next year. Tidal drops MQA and commits to Atmos. Redbox misses an important debt payment. And The Last Screenwriter – a film written by AI – has its theatrical premiere cancelled.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBwQ8p

00:00:00 – Intro

Tom tries out another new microphone this week: https://cherryxtrfy.com/microphones/ngale-r/

Here’s the boom arm he likes: https://cherryxtrfy.com/mic-accessories/ngale-boom-arm/

And you can find his son’s Twitch channel here: https://www.twitch.tv/nomasjr

00:19:08 – What We Watched

Rob congratulates the Florida Panthers for winning the NHL Stanley Cup, and watched Creed III. Tom’s really gotten into watching weightlifting.

00:39:46 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 134 Patreon Patrons.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Mohsen, Rob, Mike P, Dazz, and Mike H. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:41:10 – News: Netflix House

Netflix will take over two former department store locations to offer experiences, food, and merchandise, but not theaters: https://tinyurl.com/28h5yubz

00:45:36 – News: Tidal Drops MQA

Tidal will stick with Hi-Res FLAC and Dolby Atmos while dropping less popular formats: https://tinyurl.com/mr3vhkfa

– https://avgadgets.com/what-is-mqa-and-should-you-care/

– https://avgadgets.com/the-deep-state-squashes-mqa/

00:51:37 – News: Redbox Debt Woes

Debts have ballooned, lawsuits have been lost, and installments haven’t been paid. Seems bad: https://tinyurl.com/2bm4y9df

00:55:12 – News: The Last Screenwriter Premiere Cancelled

The first feature film written entirely by ChatGPT won’t debut in theaters after all: https://tinyurl.com/y3nrsr7p

QUESTIONS:

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