AV Rant #870: No Good Solution

July 20th, 2023 Comments off

IMAX 70mm Film theaters had to be modified to accommodate Oppenheimer’s 3-hour runtime. Emotiva released their BasX A11 11-channel amplifier for $1,300. Xbox Game Pass Core will replace Live Gold on Sept 14. And we get more specifications about Loudness and Reference Volume.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

00:04:05 – What We Watched

Tom didn’t watch anything of note this week. Rob watched Cocaine Bear, and Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

00:13:36 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Ari and Brandon for their PayPal donations, plus our 133 Patreon Patrons.

Brandon sent photos with permission to use them on https://avgadgets.com/

And we appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Ryan, Ari, Jim, Paul, Dale, Shawn, Fred, Will, Steve, and Brandon. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:17:06 – News: IMAX 70mm Film Maximum Runtime

Via Eric – At 3 hours, Oppenheimer demanded new platters and arms to hold its 11 miles of film: https://tinyurl.com/h9a4ne5y

00:20:39 – News: Emotiva BasX A11 Amp

11 channels of amplification at 105 Watts/channel with All Channels Driven for $1,300: https://tinyurl.com/bdz2m3rd

00:24:08 – News: Xbox Game Pass Core

Xbox Live Gold is going away Sept 14. In its place are four tiers of Game Pass: https://tinyurl.com/bdfduuak

Comments:

00:31:21 – Comment: James – Loudness & Reference Volume Specs

Paul Hurt’s interview on Bright Side Home Theater Podcast inspired James to look up Dolby, ITU, EBU & ATSC Loudness specs.

– Dolby Loudness: https://tinyurl.com/37xphvb9

– Collection of PDFs: https://tinyurl.com/bdfsuch9

00:38:31 – Comment: Brandon – DIY Acoustically Transparent Screen

Prior to moving, Brandon experimented with a false wall, front wall treatment, and a DIY screen.

QUESTIONS:

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AV Rant #869: It Didn’t Make a Difference

July 13th, 2023 Comments off

Salk Sound is shutting down their speaker business. Sony’s HT-AX7 Portable Theater System is truly wireless with removable Surround speakers. Bright Side Home Theater Podcast interviewed recording engineer Paul Hurt about Reference Volume at home.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAM1kx

00:00:00 – Intro & What We Watched

Rob watched Infinity Pool. Tom watched Tour de France: Unchained on Netflix.

00:20:48 – A Bit About Threads

00:26:45 – Listeners of the Week (with a question snuck in)

Our Listeners of the Week are Joe for his PayPal donation, plus our 132 Patreon Patrons, as well as Gurninder for visiting Rob and treating him to lunch, and Dale for talking us up to SVS.

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

Would we rather buy a brand new projector, or a B-stock unit with a manufacturer’s warranty? Find out our answer to that question from AVScience.com in this section!

In the news:

00:32:44 – News: Salk Sound Closing

Via Mike – After 20 years in business, it’s the end of Salk Sound speakers: https://tinyurl.com/4pzupnnk

00:36:51 – News: Sony HT-AX7 Portable Theater System

Truly wireless mini SoundBar with detachable Surround Speakers. All battery powered for $500: https://tinyurl.com/57szeaar

Comments:

00:42:40 – Comment: Mike L – Audioengine Shout Out

13 years after purchase, Audioengine couldn’t repair or replace a faulty, discontinued speaker, but they did provide a coupon.

00:43:46 – Comment: Corey – Gorilla Mounting Putty

Monoprice’s rectangular jacket speaker wire worked a treat. But QuakeHold didn’t keep it on the ceiling. Gorilla Putty to the rescue! https://tinyurl.com/ta6j3ava

00:46:10 – Bright Side Home Theater on Reference Volume

An interesting interview with recording engineer Paul Hurt: https://www.brightsidehometheater.com/episodes/takeoverpaulhurtreferencelevel

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AV Rant #868: Lee’s Fault

July 6th, 2023 Comments off

Happy Canada Day and 4th of July, everybody!

Paramount+ joined Max and Disney+ in removing original shows from their streaming service, including Star Trek: Prodigy. Meta Quest+ is a VR game subscription service for $8 a month. And Audyssey MultEQ-X Pro doesn’t add any technical features, but it makes the license purchasing process easier, as long as you want multiple licenses.

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

00:00:00 – Intro & What We Watched

Rob watched The Flash. Tom watched Nope, and The Black Phone.

00:23:55 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Stephen for his PayPal donation, plus our 132 Patreon Patrons.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Vince H, Paul, Vince F, Stephen, Stan, and Rohan. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:27:31 – News: Paramount+ Deletes Shows

At least four original shows, including Star Trek: Prodigy have completely disappeared, but might be shopped elsewhere.

– https://tinyurl.com/nhc568uz

– https://tinyurl.com/3b9pxd6y

00:32:57 – News: Meta Quest+

A VR game subscription: https://tinyurl.com/2n65jdd4

00:35:32 – News: Audyssey MultEQ-X Pro

Less cumbersome licensing as long as you’re buying at least 5: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5vsa

QUESTIONS:

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AV Rant #867: Jay Wins Atmos

June 29th, 2023 Comments off

Welcome back, Tom! We get to hear about his family vacation, and watching movies on a plane. Netflix eliminated the Basic Tier in Canada. Can other countries be far behind? Xbox Series X will go up in price outside of the US. Xbox Game Pass also gets a price hike, including in the US. And Warner Bros Discovery is selling off music licenses and sending HBO content to Netflix.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAKkq1

00:00:00 – Intro & Tom’s Trip

00:08:43 – What We Watched

Rob finished season 1 of Nathan for You, and The Rehearsal. And was impressed by The Black Phone. Tom hated Fall, watched Tenet just the way Christopher Nolan would have wanted, rewatched She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, saw the first season of Batwoman, and American Born Chinese.

00:25:52 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 138 Patreon Patrons, as well as Dale for talking us up at his local Sherwin-Williams.

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

In the news:

00:29:34 – News: Netflix Eliminates Basic Tier

Starting in Canada, it’s now a big price gap between ads or no ads: https://tinyurl.com/yc334ey4

00:32:46 – News: Xbox Price Increases

Outside the US, Xbox Series X consoles go up in price. And Xbox Game Pass gets a price hike, including in the US: https://tinyurl.com/pfy7knhx

00:34:47 – News: Next Xbox in 2028

It’ll be an 8-year life cycle, but somehow doesn’t feel that long: https://tinyurl.com/3ak79dxc

00:35:58 – News: Warner Bros Discovery Selling Assets

Almost half their Movie & TV music library is up for sale. And they’re trying to license HBO shows to Netflix.

– https://tinyurl.com/3acfzjvc

– https://tinyurl.com/4725cxuf

QUESTIONS:

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AV Rant #866: Charlie Brown of A/V

June 21st, 2023 Comments off

Welcome back Lee Overstreet, pinch-hitting once again! JVC dropped the price of their NP5 4K projector by $1,000. PS5 cloud game streaming might give Project Q a reason to exist. A couple corrections & clarifications for us. And plenty of home theater questions answered!

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAJy9T

00:00:00 – Intro & Welcome Back, Lee

00:06:34 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Joe for his PayPal donation, with another shout out to https://avscience.com/ , plus our 138 Patreon Patrons, including Dale, as well as Vince for sending Rob an Amazon gift card, Terry for talking us up to Audio Advice, and Brannon for talking us up to Accessories4Less.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Gurinder, Nick, Vince, Adam, Terry, Brannon, Dale, Karl, and Toke. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

00:14:52 – What We Watched

Rob watched Morbius, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and some episodes of The Rehearsal from the creator of Nathan For You.

Lee completed his fun project of listening to the top music hits year-by-year, took in a live Duran Duran concert, and spent a bunch of time fighting with his new computer.

In the news:

00:31:57 – News: JVC DLA-NP5 Price Drop

Via Clara – JVC’s least expensive, genuine 4K resolution projector still uses a lamp, but now costs $1,000 less: https://tinyurl.com/296deunt

00:35:31 – News: Sony PS5 Cloud Game Streaming

Sony is testing streaming PS5 games from the cloud. Could that be the real reason for their Project Q handheld? https://tinyurl.com/ymetarmd

Comments:

00:38:56 – Correction! Colin – Sonos, Apple Music & A-Lady

Turns out, Amazon’s voice assistant won’t play Apple Music on Sonos speakers, after all.

00:41:21 – Comment: Joe K – Look at That Viewership!

00:41:55 – Clarification: Erin’s Audio Corner

Erin kindly responded to our comments from last week, so he helps us clarify his approach in his own words.

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