HDTV and Home Theater Podcast

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We have a special show for you all. It's our second annual crossover podcast with the guys from AV Rant and The Bright Side of Home Theater. There is also a video version available on our YouTube Channel "The HT Guys". So sit back and enjoy some Turkey while you listen to this week's show.

Black Friday Roundup 2021 It's that time of year again! We get to enjoy a big meal with family and friends and then start the Holiday shopping season in earnest. On today's show we run down some of the deals we find interesting. We also read your emails and take a look at the week's news. BestBuy Black Friday 2021 Thanksgiving 2021: TBD Black Friday 2021: Most stores will reopen at TBD a.m. local time Samsung 75" Class QN84A Neo QLED 4K UHD Smart Tizen TV $1,899.99 was $2,799.99 Insignia™ - 58" Class F30 Series LED 4K UHD Smart Fire TV $349.99 was $579.99 the 32" F20 is $149.99 was $199.99 LG - 55" Class C1 Series OLED 4K UHD Smart webOS TV $1,299.99 was $1,499.99 LG - 50" Class UP7000 Series LED 4K UHD Smart webOS TV $399.99 was $459.99 Samsung 7.1-Channel Soundbar with Dolby 5.1/DTS Virtual:X $279.99 was $499.99 Apple AirPods Max $479.00 was $549.00 Belkin - SOUNDFORM Move Plus True Wireless Earbuds - Black $39.99 was $69.99 Target Black Friday 2021 Thanksgiving 2021: Closed Black Friday 2021: Most stores will reopen at 7 a.m. local time LG 70" Class 4K UHD Smart LED HDR TV 70UP7070 $649.99 was $749.99 LG 75" Class 4K UHD Smart LED HDR TV - 75UP7070PUD $849.99 was $969.99 Element 65" 4K UHD Roku TV $299.99 was $649.99 Available 11/21 VIZIO 58" 4K V-Series UHD HDR Smart TV + Free $30 Target Gift Card $479.99 was $559.99 VIZIO V-Series 70" Class 4K HDR Smart TV - V705-J03 $599.99 was $739.99 Samsung 55" Smart 4K Crystal HDR UHD TV TU7000 Series (Titan Gray) $479.99 was $499.99 TCL 55" Class 4-Series 4K UHD HDR Smart Roku TV – 55S435 $379.99 was $519.99 VIZIO V-Series 2.0 Compact Sound Bar $49.99 was $99.99 Roku Premiere | HD/4K/HDR Streaming Media Player with Simple Remote and Premium HDMI Cable $19.99 was $34.99 Amazon Fire TV Stick with 4K Ultra HD Streaming Media Player and Alexa Voice Remote (2nd Generation) $24.99 was $49.99 JBL Tune 225 True Wireless Earbuds $49.99 was $99.99 Apple AirPods Pro $189.99 was $249.99 Google Nest Doorbell (Battery) $129.99 was $179.99 Amazon Blink 1080p WiFi Mini 1 Camera $19.99 was $34.99 Walmart Black Friday 2021 Thanksgiving 2021: Closed Black Friday 2021: Stores open at 5 a.m. local time VIZIO 70" Class 4K UHD LED SmartCast Smart TV V-Series $548.00 onn. 40" Class FHD (1080P) LED Roku Smart TV HDR $128.00 onn. 70" Class 4K UHD LED Roku Smart TV HDR $398.00 Samsung 55" Class 4K Crystal UHD LED Smart TV w/HDR $478.00 was $498.00 Samsung 60" Class 4K Crystal UHD LED Smart TV w/ HDR $548.00 was $849.99 TCL TS6 Dolby Audio 2 Channel Sound bar w/ Roku TV Ready $44.00 VIZIO 36" 5.1 Home Theater Sound Bar with Bluetooth and DTS Virtual:X $148.00 Available 11/22 SAMSUNG 170W 2.1ch Soundbar with Wireless Subwoofer $99.00 Available 11/22 Apple AirPods Pro $159.00 was $197.00 Google Nest Hub 2nd Gen - Smart Home Display with Google Assistant $49.98 was $79.98 Available 11/22 Merkury Innovations Dimmable 75W Equivalent Wi-Fi Smart Bulb, Color, (4 Pack) works with Google and Alexa $19.98 Kohl's Black Friday 2021 Thanksgiving 2021: Closed Black Friday 2021: Stores open 5 a.m. local time. Amazon Fire TV Stick (3rd Gen) with Alexa Voice Remote - HD Streaming Device $19.99 was $39.99 Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max Streaming Device with Alexa Voice Remote $24.99 was $49.99 Available 11/21 Amazon Echo Show 8 Smart Display with Alexa and 8" HD Screen + Free $15 Kohls Cash $59.99 was $109.99 Google Nest Learning Thermostat + Free $45 Kohls Cash $179.00 was $249.99 Google Nest Video Doorbell + Free $30 Kohls Cash $129.99 $179.99 Available 11/21 Ring Stick Up Cam Battery + Free $15 Kohls Cash $74.99 was $99.99 Available 11/21 Amazon Black Friday 2021 Like Denny's they are Always Open Up to 28% off select LG C1 Series 4K OLED Smart TVs 77" 2896.99 65" 1796.99 Up to 18% off select LG NANO90 4K Smart UHD TVs 75" 1696.99 55" 896.99 Introducing Amazon Fire TV 4-Series 4K UHD smart TV 43" $269.99 50" $329.99 55" 379.99 Up to 25% off Polk Audio Monitor XT Series $129 for XT15 bookshelf pair ($199 for the XT20), $249 12" subwoofer Costco Black Friday 2021 Thanksgiving 2021: Closed Sony 75" Class - X90CJ Series - 4K UHD LED LCD TV - Allstate 3-Year Protection Plan Bundle Included for 5 years of total coverage (Online and in Store) $1599.99 there is a 65 inch for $1199.99 Sony 85" Class - X91CJ Series - 4K UHD LED LCD TV - Allstate 3-Year Protection Plan Bundle Included for 5 years of total coverage (Online and in Store) $2199.99 Hisense 55" Class - U6GR5 Series - 4K ULED LCD TV (Online and in Store) $449.99 Samsung QN850 Series - 8K UHD Neo QLED LCD TV - Allstate 3-Year Protection Plan Bundle Included for 5 years of total coverage (ONLINE ONLY and available now) 85" $4199.99 75" $3299.99 65" $2499.99 LG NANO85 Series - 4K UHD LED LCD TV - Allstate 3-Year Protection Plan Bundle Included for 5 years of total coverage (Online and in Store) 75" $1399.99 65" $949.99 VIZIO V51-H6 36" 5.1 Channel Home Theater Soundbar System (Online and in Store) $169.99 was $199.99 SimpliSafe Home Security Kit with HD Camera (

On this week's show, Disney+ Gets the iMax treatment and we look at some smart devices that you didn't even know existed. We also give you a heads up on some early Blak Friday Deals. Plus we look at the news and read your emails. IMAX Enhanced aspect ratio Starting November 12 (Disney+ Day), subscribers will get the option to watch 13 Marvel movies (full list in the table) in an expanded IMAX aspect ratio (1.90:1) for a picture that is up to 26% taller compared to regular widescreen. Full article here... Smart Home Devices You Probably Didn't Know Existed More and more people have been turning their homes into smart homes or simply been using smart devices these days. It may be out of a person's laziness or curiosity about these devices, or the convenience these devices bring are just so hard to resist. Full article here… Best Early Black Friday Deals 2021 The holidays are right around the corner and retailers are wasting no time offering deals for early shoppers. Below, we're rounding up some of the best deals on products for cord cutters and highlighting the sales at some of your favorite online stores. Full article here...

On today's show we discuss watching Dune from our home theaters, Seven Alexa commands you are probably not using, and why we think Matter really matters. Plus we have two weeks of emails and news. Dune - Our thoughts 7 Alexa commands you're probably not using (but should be) With Alexa and the range of Echo devices, -- including smart displays and smart speakers -- Amazon has built a robust service that can deliver seemingly endless information and control your home. But, are you actually taking full advantage of all it can do? Full article here… Samsung promises Matter support for SmartThings hubs, Galaxy devices, TVs, and fridges The Matter smart home train is picking up steam. Following Google's commitment to the new standard at its developer conference last week and Apple's addition of Matter support in iOS 15 at WWDC, Samsung is now following suit. The company announced a complete adoption of Matter across ​Samsung's Galaxy devices, televisions, Family Hub appliances, and SmartThings hubs at SDC21, its virtual developer conference being held this week. Full article here… Matter is the foundation for connected things. This industry–unifying standard is a promise of reliable, secure connectivity—a seal of approval that devices will work seamlessly together, today and tomorrow. Matter is creating more connections between more objects, simplifying development for manufacturers and increasing compatibility for consumers. This collaborative breakthrough is built on proven technologies and guided by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (formerly Zigbee Alliance), whose members come together from across industries to transform the future of connectivity. Companies from across the industry are contributing market-proven technologies and best practices. Matter is built around a shared belief that smart home devices should be secure, reliable, and seamless to use. By building upon Internet Protocol (IP), Matter will enable communication across smart home devices, mobile app and cloud services, and to define a specific set of IP-based networking technologies for device certification. Foundation for connected things: Simplicity - Easy to purchase and use Interoperability - Devices from multiple brands work natively together Reliability - Consistent and responsive local connectivity Security - Robust and streamlined for developers and users An open-source approach Members of the Alliance have taken an open-source approach to the development and implementation of this new, unified connectivity protocol. We are using best-in-class contributions from market-tested smart home technologies, such as those from Amazon, Apple, Google, the Connectivity Standards Alliance (formerly the Zigbee Alliance), and others. By leveraging these technologies' contributions, we have been able to accelerate the development of the protocol and deliver benefits to manufacturers and consumers faster. IP-Based Matter makes it easier for device manufacturers to build devices that are compatible with smart home and voice services such as Amazon's Alexa, Apple's Siri, Google's Assistant, and others. The first specification release of the Matter protocol will run on Wi-Fi and Thread network layers and will use Bluetooth Low Energy for commissioning.

We are on vacation this week but we still have a show. Its a little different than our typical show. This week we tell you the origin of how we became the HT Guys. We'll be back next week with new content and your emails and news.

On today's show we look at the top 15 most popular shows on Netflix and run down the ten best smart light switches according to Tom's Guide. We comment as we have had experience with all but three of them. As usual, we read your email and discuss the news of the week. Netflix's most popular shows The following are Netflix's most sampled TV series by number of accounts that have watched at least two minutes in the first 28 days of release. Netflix's stats also aren't independently verified, nor are they backed up by detailed data from the company, putting Netflix in the position to cherry-pick highlights without much transparency. This ranking includes only the shows that Netflix has chosen to disclose; other Netflix titles certainly have accrued enough sampling in the first month of release to make it on this list, but Netflix gets to pick which titles get viewership disclosures. Squid Game (season 1), a dark Korean thriller -- 111 million accounts. Bridgerton (season 1), a period romance -- 82 million accounts. Lupin (part 1), a French heist series -- 76 million accounts. The Witcher (season 1), a fantasy series based on an existing franchise of books and video games -- 76 million accounts. Sex/Life (season 1), a risque drama about a love triangle -- 67 million accounts. Stranger Things (season 3), a retro sci-fi series -- 67 million accounts. La Casa de Papel (part 4), or Money Heist, a Spanish-language heist thriller series -- 65 million accounts. Tiger King, a viral docuseries -- 64 million households. The Queen's Gambit, a limited series about a chess prodigy -- 62 million accounts. Sweet Tooth (season 1), a series based on a DC comic -- 60 million accounts. Emily in Paris (season 1), a comedy series -- 58 million accounts. Fate: The Winx Saga (season 1), a teen drama about fairies -- 57 million accounts. Shadow and Bone (season 1), a fantasy series -- more than 55 million accounts. Who Killed Sara? (season 1), a Mexican series about a brother's hunt for revenge -- 55 million accounts projected. You (season 2), a psychological thriller series -- 54 million accounts projected. Best smart light switches in 2021 The best smart light switches are an economical way of making all your lights "smart," without having to replace a ton of bulbs. Like traditional wall switches, a smart light switch can turn your fixtures on and off, but because the switch is linked to the cloud, you can also control it remotely from your phone. This allows you do to a bunch of neat things, like setting a schedule for when lights will turn on and off, and controlling them with a voice assistant like Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri. If you go on vacation, you can even set them to turn on and off randomly, to make it look like you're home. Full article here...

On today's show we look at three 4K TVs that won't break the bank and look at the new soundbars coming from Hisense. We also read your emails and look at the news of the week. Three 65" 4K TVs That won't Break the Bank Sony X80J 65-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart Google TV: $850 Hisense 65A6G 65-Inch 4K Ultra HD Android Smart TV: $510 Toshiba 65-inch 65C350KU 4K UHD Smart Fire TV: $540 Hisense Releases Three New Soundbars HS312 ($399.99) HS219 ($279.99) HS212F ($199.99) Designed to augment the TV experience, the new HS Series of soundbars features a compact and sleek design that makes them easy to place and connect. The HS212F (120 watts), the four speaker HS219 (320 watts), and the Dolby Atmos supporting HS312 (300 watts). The new soundbars all support Bluetooth, which allows you to stream music from your smartphone, tablet or laptop. You can optimize the sound based on what you are watching. Whether it's a loud sporting event or a drama with quiet dialogue, you can switch to your desired setting via presets on the remote. The soundbars come with a wall mount kit and guide. They measure roughly 40 x 2.5 x 3.5 inches. The Subwoofer measures 10 x 15 x 10 inches. Sizes will vary slightly depending on the model. You can control Soundbar functions like power and volume with your Hisense TV remote. This functionality will be available for all current and new soundbars through a software update and will be compatible with the U7, U8 and U9 Series TVs.

This week we explain what Wide Color Gamut is and how it affects your TV viewing experience. We also discovered a new remote that wants to be your Harmony Replacement. It's really sexy but it costs a pretty penny. Finally we discuss why you don't want to mount your TV over the fireplace. All that plus your emails and the week's news. Wide Color Gamut We mention wide color quite a bit when we talk about 4K TVs. But what does that mean? In general when we talk about wide color we mean "Redder" reds, "greener" greens, "bluer" blues. More specifically the color space covers 75.8%of the visible spectrum, the DCI-P3 digital cinema color space covers 53.6%. What can you expect? The improvement in color will not blow you away, but you can tell in a side-by-side comparison. It's more pronounced in red and green. Some TVs will be capable of more colors than others, even if they are labeled WCG. Look for a percentage of P3 color to determine Wide Color capability. The recent Hisense UST Projector is capable of 107% of P3 color YIO Remote Two Another remote is on the horizon and it looks to be an elegant Harmony replacement. And by elegant we mean expensive . It's available on Kickstarter for a pledge of 369 Euros and delivers in July 2022. From the Kickstart page: With Remote Two you can control your smart home and multiple devices under one unified interface. No searching for apps on your phone. You get instant control at your fingertips. Remote Two runs fully locally and doesn't require subscriptions to function. Replace all your remotes with one and create activities to simplify control of your entertainment centre. Remote Two even comes with an open API, making it easy for the community to add support for new custom integrations. With Remote Two, you can control devices via WiFi, Bluetooth and - through the smart charging dock - infrared (IR). There is no need for a hub, other than the one you already own. Remote Two connects to your WiFi network and to your home automation system and can control your devices. The charging dock is not just charging the remote, but has its own smarts too. It has built in WiFi and Bluetooth to communicate with the remote. It has infrared LEDs all around to make sure you get a good coverage. We ship an IR extender in the box, so you can use that to control devices inside a cabinet. You can choose to send IR commands to the extender, the built-in IR LEDs or both. The dock can also learn IR commands from your old remotes, so if you cannot find the codes in a database, you can make Remote Two learn the IR commands. The remote looks amazing. It's the combination of a remote with buttons and a tiny tablet. The buttons you would want to be physical are and stuff like automation, activities, and other functions can be mapped to the small screen. The only question is if it's worth the cost. We'll wait until July to possibly check it out. You shouldn't mount your TV above the fireplace. It's actually a terrible place for it Mounting a TV above a fireplace seems like the most logical spot. It's out of the way, looks nice and is often the most convenient place to put it in a room. However, there are serious issues with such placement. Full article here…

This week we take a look at the latest product announcements from Amazon. There are a slew of smart home products and a new FireTV that's actually TV! Then there is the Value Electronics TV Shootout where they pick the best TV in three categories. As usual we look at the week's news and read your emails. Amazon Product Announcements Amazon announced a bunch of new products this week. Here are a few that caught our attention: Amazon Smart Thermostat ($60 November 4th) - Amazon Smart Thermostat is ENERGY STAR® certified. Certified thermostats are required to save an average of $50 on yearly energy bills. Alexa does the programming for you, automatically adjusting the temperature to suit your preferences. The thermostat can even be set to your preferred temperature if Alexa has a hunch you're home, away, or asleep. Echo Show 15 ($250 coming soon)- Reimagine how your family stays organized and entertained with a personalized smart display that helps keep everyone on track and in sync. You can mount it on a wall or display it with a compatible stand (sold separately) in portrait or landscape orientation. Leave each other sticky notes, update shopping and to-do lists, and see your shared and individual calendars. Family members can create profiles and use visual ID and voice ID so Alexa can recognize who's who and show the right information to the right person—like appointments, reminders, recently played music, and more. Catch up on the news, watch shows and movies, cook along with demo videos, and more. Enjoy Amazon Music with lyrics you can see on the screen, plus podcasts, radio stations, and audiobooks. For a multi-room music experience, you can connect to other compatible Echo devices. Amazon Glow, Interactive Projector + Video Calling ($250 request invitation to buy) - The Amazon Glow is a new interactive projector and video-calling device designed to build rich family connections by transforming the way children bond with remote loved ones. A new way to connect - Glow uniquely fuses projection, video, and sensing technologies to create a virtual experience that feels like being together in-person, no matter how far away you are. Halo View fitness tracker ($80 coming soon) - Essentially a FitBit for $80 Ring Alarm Pro, 8-piece - built-in eero Wi-Fi 6 router and optional 24/7 monitoring ($299 November 3rd) - This kit includes one Alarm Pro Base Station, one Keypad, four Contact Sensors, one Motion Detector, and one Alarm Range Extender. Built-in eero Wi-Fi 6 router creates a secure network for our strongest protection yet. Arm and disarm Ring Alarm with your voice and get mobile alerts about the sound of broken glass or smoke alarms with Alexa Guard. Call trained agents from your Echo who can request the dispatch of emergency responders with Alexa Guard Plus, included with an eligible Ring Protect Plan ($100 a year) Ring Always Home Cam | Flying indoor cam ($250 request invitation to buy) - The Ring Always Home Cam is a first-of-its-kind flying indoor security camera for your home that flies along custom flight paths so you can see what's happening around your home no matter where you are. See what's going on in 1440x1440 HD video, with a built-in LED that automatically lights up the path when recording at night or in dim environments. Left a window open or the stove on? Create flight paths ahead of time so you can manually check in with the Ring App from anywhere. If your Ring Alarm contact sensors or motion detectors are triggered, Always Home Cam will automatically fly to see what's happening. Always Home Cam's camera never records when the device is docked and only records during trained flight paths. Amazon Astro, Household Robot for Home Monitoring ($1000 equest invitation to buy) - Meet Astro, the household robot for home monitoring, with Alexa. Amazon Astro uses advanced navigation technology to find its way around your home and go where you need it. When you're not using Astro, it will hang out close by at the ready. Remotely send Astro to check on specific rooms, people, or things. Plus, get alerts if Astro detects an unrecognized person or certain sounds when you're away. Activate your 6-month free trial of Ring Protect Pro subscription and have Astro proactively patrol, investigate activity, save videos in Ring's cloud storage for up to 60 days, and more. Astro comes with a detachable cup holder and can carry other items (sold separately) like a Ziploc container, the OMRON blood pressure monitor, and a Furbo Dog Camera that tosses treats to your pet. Amazon Fire TV 65" Omni Series 4K UHD smart TV with Dolby Vision (55" $560, 65" $830, 75" $1100 October 27) - Get true-to-life picture quality and rich, brilliant colors with support for 4K Ultra HD, Dolby Vision, HDR 10, HLG, and Dolby Digital Plus, and control the TV hands-free with Alexa. Dolby Vision brings spectacular color, contrast, clarity, and brightness to your screen. With built-in microphones, just ask to turn on the TV, and find, launch

On today's show we reveal the 2021 TCL TV lineup and discuss FAST (free, ad-supported streaming television) channels. Is this the beginning of truly free TV? We also go through the list of the 2021 CEDIA Expo Best of show winners. Plus we read your emails and look at the news of the week. TCL TV 2021 range: every new TCL TV for this year In 2020, TCL launched a number of new TVs, proving you don't need to pay a small fortune to get a good new TV. Now we're more than halfway through 2021, the brand is continuing this trend. Full article here… Google's latest plans for Chromecast are all about free TV Google is looking to make its Chromecast streaming device more appealing to cord cutters. The company has plans to add free TV channels to Google TV, the Android-based smart TV platform that powers Chromecast as well as select smart TVs from companies including Sony and TCL, Protocol has learned. Full article here... 2021 CEDIA Expo Best Of Show Winners Announced TWICE, Residential Systems and What HiFi? have announced the winners of their annual Best of Show awards at CEDIA Expo 2021. The products were nominated by the manufacturers and a team of judges was employed to read through the entries and rate the products on a number of criteria, including its value, impact, and how unique it was to the market. TWICE Best of Show Winners at CEDIA Crestron Home Crestron started in the 1980s in New Jersey and sells its products internationally. They sell their home automation products through authorized dealers. Crestron does not list pricing on their website because each system is custom-tailored to the homeowner's needs and installed through a home integrator. Their products are high quality and you will pay for an equally high amount. Systems typically start at $10,000 and go up from there. Way up! Crestron Horizon Thermostat With their ultra-slim profile and luxurious aesthetic, Horizon smart thermostats are always neat and discreet, while also delivering advanced functionality. Intuitive control and bright high-resolution touch screen makes settings as easy to see as they are to adjust Touch screen displays in light and/or dark mode Light sensor adjusts display brightness and switches to dark mode at night Built-in proximity sensor eliminates need to swipe or touch to wake up thermostat Quick-look RGB backlit status bar indicates current status and provides sophisticated design accent No batteries, so you'll never return home or wake up to a too hot or cold house because the batteries ran out Silent operation iRoom iO touchDock The touchDock is iRoom's flagship docking station, made entirely with scratch-resistant tempered glass and features the latest technologies iRoom has been implementing in its docking solutions. touchDock turns your iPad into a dual-purpose control device with convenient motorized iPad removal for mobile use. Convenient motorized Removal of the iPad. High Quality Tempered & Scratch-Proof Glass in Black or White. Horizontal or Vertical Flush-Mount Installation. Built-In Touch Keypad for AV Control independent of the iPad. Control Drivers for Crestron, Control4, Savant, RTI, Elan, URC and many more. Smart Battery Management extends the iPad Battery Life. Code-Protected Antitheft Protection of the iPad. Built-in sensor package for room temperature, humidity, brightness, and air quality (CO2) (Coming soon) Price $1,299.00 – $1,699.00 Samsung QN90A 4K TV The next-gen Neo Quantum Processor 4K utilizes advanced AI based deep-learning analysis to analyze the signal, source, and scene-by-scene content to deliver our best 4K optimized experiences. Quantum HDR 32x brings details to life with ultra-rich color, deep contrast, and HDR10+ dynamic tone mapping that shifts the color and contrast scene by scene for spectacular clarity. Feel like you're in the middle of the action with directional, realistic sound that projects from speakers built into all sides of the TV Never miss a beat with minimized blur and enhanced motion clarity, and catch all the fast-moving action whether you're watching sports or taking advantage of newer Next-Gen gaming capabilities. Get our finest picture ever with Color Volume 100%, Quantum Dot, which transforms light into breathtaking, stay-true color at any brightness. See every detail at any angle. Ultra Viewing Angle gives you the consistent detailed picture, even when sitting off to the side. So every seat is the best one in the house. 85" $4,000 55" $1,550 GDC Espedeo Supra-5000 RBB Plus Laser Phosphor Cinema Projector The Supra-5000 is a 5000-lumen DCI-compliant projection system certified by Hollywood studios to playback encrypted digital cinema content and suitable for screens up to 20 feet wide. It features patented ALPD 4.0 laser technology to deliver vibrant colors in P3 color space and achieving 98.5 percent of REC2020. It is engineered with GDC's all-in-one board, which is designed with near-zero maintenance electronics and tested by SGS for 100,000 hours Mean Time B

On this week's show we wrap up the Summer Box Office numbers with the top ten movies based on ticket sales and we look at two contradicting studies about streaming vs cable. We also have a review of Apple's AirPod Pro. We also read your email and look at the news of the week. Summer Box Office Wraps with $1.75 Billion, It Closes on a High Note No one expected this summer to be a close comparison to the last pre-pandemic summer and it wasn't. Total North American box office for the 17-week summer period, including the Labor Day holiday weekend, totaled about $1.75 billion. That's a little more than 40 percent of the $4.34 billion recorded in 2019, a period that did not include $474 million for the first week of "Avengers: Endgame." (That opened on the last Friday in April.) Full article here… Is Roku Right? Has TV Streaming Really 'Passed the Tipping Point'? Roku's 'Streaming Decade' report describes OTT as the dominant means of viewing video in the American home … despite recent data from Nielsen indicating that it's still somewhat of a niche behavior Full Article Here… AirPods Pro The Apple AirPods Pro are wireless earbuds with noise cancelling, water resistance and a customizable fit. Are these the ultimate wireless earbuds everyone is talking about? Braden gives us his take. Features: Active Noise Cancellation Transparency mode Adaptive EQ Vent system for pressure equalization Custom high-excursion Apple driver Custom high dynamic range amplifier Spatial audio with dynamic head tracking

We have a fantastic show for you today! Hisense announced what appears to be one of the best Ultra Short Throw Projectors on the market. We discuss Ara's experience with his and how this may be the one to replace your regular TV. Qualcomm has something for audiophiles with their AptX Lossless codec for CD Quality Sound Over Bluetooth. Finally we take a look at a $5 smart plug from monoprice. Who would have thought that you can start your home automation journey for $5. As usual we read your emails and news stories for the week. Hisense's new laser TV is pricey, but could prove its best home cinema experience yet Hisense has just announced its latest laser TV, the new L9G. In what promises to be a premium home entertainment device, the L9G TriChroma laser TV will use a 3000 Lumen ultra-short throw projection to create a razor-sharp and color-accurate image. Full article here Hisense L9G TV Series features 4K Ultra-Short Throw – Positioned just inches from the wall, the L9G Laser TV casts a massive image at beautiful 4K resolution. Up to 3.5x more screen than a 65" TV. TriChroma Laser Engine – The L9G uses pure red, green, and blue lasers to achieve new levels of color performance, reaching 107% of the BT.2020 color space. High Dynamic Range – With a brightness of 3000 Lumens, L9G's High Dynamic Range delivers incredible specular highlights and depth of color, to give every scene the stunning details it deserves. Smooth Motion – The Digital Micromirror Device reacts faster to movement than LED or OLED, creating motion that's smoother than any other type of display. MEMC Technology helps too, making fast-action in sports, movies, and games more fluid. DLP Technology Powered by Texas Instruments – The projection technology used in 9 out of 10 cinemas worldwide to create laser-focused detail is now available at home. Every piece of content feels like it's fresh from the theater. Long Lifespan – X-Fusion™ laser light technology provides up to 25,000+ hours of entertainment without the need of replacing a bulb – because there is none. Ambient Light Rejecting Screen – The included UST ALR screen is perfectly paired with the L9G projector to produce a color-accurate picture with incredible viewing angles and brightness uniformity. Dolby Atmos® – L9G's 40W Dolby Atmos sound reveals every detail of the audio mix with unparalleled clarity and depth. A high-speed HDMI port with eARC also allows pass-through so users can enjoy high bitrate audio through their home theater. Android TV OS – Android TV OS brings more than 5,000 apps and games to the biggest screen in the home. Watch live sports and news from popular channels or gather around to watch the hottest videos with 1,000+ Chromecast compatible apps. WiSA Ready – integrate your wireless multi-channel surround sound, the L9G is WiSA Ready. Smart Home Ready – Built-in WiFi, Google Assistant, Works with Alexa and Control4 certified, the L9G can integrate with smart home IoT devices and control systems. Eye-Safety (And Kid Resilient) – The L9G features a proximity sensor that shuts off the laser light source when a moving body gets too close. This protects the eyes and is also a great feature to stop the little ones from placing items on the laser console. Users also have the option to turn off the eye-safety feature. Qualcomm AptX Lossless Offers CD Quality Sound Over Bluetooth But It Won't Be Available On Existing Devices Qualcomm has done something nice for all the audiophiles who are still getting used to listening to music on Bluetooth headphones. The company has decided to announce the latest Bluetooth audio codec called the aptX Lossless. Full Article Here … Stitch Wifi Outlet One of our listeners, Tom, sent us an email a couple weeks ago alerting us to a really inexpensive smart home outlet made by Monoprice called "The Stitch". This line has been around for at least a couple of years but this was the first we had heard of it. We purchased it for $5 but it's currently being sold for $8.50. The Stitch is a 10A Outlet that works with Alexa and Google Home and has an iOS and Android app. The outlet is really small and can be used anywhere and does not require a hub. Setup was a tale of two experiences. The first attempt resulted in nothing but frustration then ended with us giving up and thinking that the outlet was not working. So we set the outlet aside and went on with our day. Being stubborn and not being happy that a smart home device got the better of us, we tried again the following day. This time everything worked exactly as advertised and within seconds had the device connected to our network. Now that the outlet was functioning we were able to put it through its paces. To sum it up, it worked well. We were able to set up scenes and automations based on time of day, events, and timers. We liked the timers which could come in handy if you needed to set up a temporary automation. There is even a "Circulate" mode which turns on devices for configured duration

We have a really big show this week! First off there is the news about Locast shutting down. We have what we think could be a good candidate to replace the Harmony Remote. We look at suggested seating distances based on screen size. You won't believe this one. Then we look at an article that tries to tell you how to evangelize Hi-res audio to your friends. Plus we read your emails and look at the news. SofabatonX1-Most Versatile Universal ALL-IN-ONE Smart Remote Sofabaton is launching X1, which is targeted at multi-device scenario-based Activity control, while adding a wireless Hub, which we believe can better meet the needs of power users. This looks like an actual Harmony Remote replacement with a hub. It's a Kickstarter project and has a cost of about $100. We will of course do a review when they become available. TV sizes: How big a screen do I really need? Your TV is probably too small. Use these rules of thumb to determine what size TV to buy. Full Article Here … SONY'S RECOMMENDED SEATING DISTANCE TV size Viewing distance range (approx.) 43-inch 35 inches (2.95 feet) 49-inch 39 inches (3.28 feet) 55-inch 39 inches (3.28 feet) 65-inch 47 inches (3.94 feet) 75-inch 55 inches (4.59 feet) 85-inch 63 inches (5.25 feet) Bottom line: You could go much, much bigger with your next TV The ultimate decision is one of personal preference. My goal here was to point out a rough idea of what's possible or recommended. For me, I would always err on the side of "too big." An old boss of mine used to say that no one regretted buying a TV they thought might be "too big." My opinion is that a 50-inch TV is too small for most rooms. That's not to say I think everyone should get a 102-inch screen, but the reality is a 50-inch flat panel is really not that much larger than the 36-inch CRTs of the old days. Since 65- and even 75-inch TVs are now far more affordable, they're worth considering if you've got the space. If you want to go really big, consider a projector instead if you've got control over the ambient light in your room. Another View: Breaking the Sound Barrier – How To Talk To Your Friends About High Quality Audio To stay abreast of everything Home Theater, Smart Home, and Audio, we subscribe to a lot of News Feeds, Blogs, and Newsletters and we also receive emails from our listeners alerting us to articles. This one came across in one of our news feeds from TWICE (Full Article Here) (This Week in Consumer Electronics) and thought it was interesting to discuss because we are completely on the opposite side of this discussion. The premise of the article is that with all the music sites going Hi-res, most listeners don't think they can hear the difference and somehow need you to tell them that they can. From the first paragraph of the article: For 25 years now, mainstream listeners have become accustomed to lossy, low-bitrate music. For audio enthusiasts that's been a longstanding gripe, but it appears to be finally over. With lossless and hi-res streaming about to go mainstream, bit-reduced audio will now go the way of the 8-track. That leaves an entire generation of listeners that don't know anything better and probably thinks they can't hear a difference. Audiophiles — this is a moment for true public service. Spread the word: high-quality audio is not only back, it's better than ever. Yes AAC and mp3 are lossy file formats, but low bit rate? The days of 96Kbps mp3 files on Napster are long gone. Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify and others have been serving up 256Kbps AAC and mp3 files for years! This may be lower bit rate than Hi-res but we wouldn't call it low bit rate. Most people can't hear or even have equipment capable of reproducing the sound so that you can hear the difference. To be fair, most people would hear an improvement with 256Kbps files if they listened on good equipment instead of cheap earbuds or their talking tube devices. We argue you would be doing a better service if you convinced people to get higher fidelity playback equipment than trying to tell friends that their music would sound better on the same crappy equipment because it's Hi-res. From the article: Begin your public service by assuring your friends and all who'll listen that they really can hear the difference. The rational among them will immediately understand that more digital information means more sound. We call to the stand Rick Beato and his video Audiophile or Audio-Fooled? How Good Are Your Ears? In this video Rick explores the differences between MP3s, WAV, FLAC (lossless), AAC and whether you can tell the difference? He says it comes down to how you listen to music and whether it sounds pleasing or not. It's not about mp3, AAC, or Hi-res. If you listen to music in your car or on a run with earbuds, you have a different experience than someone who listens in a dedicated room with proper acoustics. From the article: Now that master-quality audio content is going mainstream, so too will the equipment to play it back. This

This week we look at what everyone has been streaming based on minutes streamed. This is a new metric that Nielsen has developed to survive in a world where less and less of us watch live linear TV. Speaking of live linear TV we do a comparison of your IPTV options available to you. Between the two of us we have used them all. We also read your emails and take a look at some of the news stories of the week. Weekly Streaming Minutes Top ten streaming series as determined by Nielsen SVOD Content Ratings. Viewing through Television. Rank/Provider/Show/Eps/Mins (in Millions) 1/Netflix/Virgin River/30/1,2702/Netflix/Never Have I Ever/20/5673/Netflix/Atypical/38/4224/Disney+/LOKI/6/3865/Netflix/Heist (2021)/6/3166/Netflix/Lucifer/83/2777/Amazon/Bosch/64/2318/Netflix/Sex/Life/8/2169/Netflix/The Cook of Castamar/12/17910/Netflix The Movies that Made Us/8/165 Top ten streaming movies as determined by Nielsen SVOD Content Ratings. Viewing through Television. Rank/Provider/Show /Mins (in Millions) 1/Disney+/Luca (2021)/4542/Netflix/Twilight/3423/Netflix/Blood Red Sky/2964/Netflix/Gunpowder Milkshake/2905/Netflix/The Twilight Saga: New Moon/2846/Netflix/The Twilight Saga: Eclipse/2447/Netflix/The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2/1988/Amazon/The Tomorrow War/1949/Disney+/Raya The Last Dragon/18710/Netflix/Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans/187 Best live TV streaming service for cutting cable Maybe you've thought about cutting the cable cord, but that one channel or show stopped you from taking the plunge. Enter live TV streaming services. These streaming services give you access to all the familiar TV channels you love, as well as live sports (including major league baseball and NBA basketball) plus national and local news. All this with just an inexpensive streaming device -- no antenna or cable box required. Full article here...

This week we solve the mystery of what happened to HDNET and we ask the question if Set Top Hardware is still needed. Finally we go through the list of the 2021 TWICE VIP Awards. We also read your emails and give you the news of the week. What Happened to HDNET A listener sent us a link to Wikipedia where the following was taken from: AXS TV (pronounced "access") is an American specialty television channel. Majority-owned by Anthem Sports & Entertainment, it is devoted primarily to live music programming, entertainment, and combat sports—including mixed martial arts and professional wrestling. The network was originally established in 2001 as HDNet, with investor Mark Cuban as a founding partner. HDNet was originally intended as an exclusively-high-definition network, carrying general entertainment, concerts, and sporting events in the format. In 2012, with the network's original purpose becoming redundant (due to most mainstream cable networks now having HD feeds), HDNet sold stakes to Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), Creative Artists Agency, and Ryan Seacrest (with Cuban retaining a majority stake), and rebranded under its current name (taken from AEG's online ticket platform AXS.com) on July 2, 2012—with the network shifting its content to include more entertainment and pop culture-oriented programming, alongside its existing live music content. In September 2019, Anthem acquired a majority stake in AXS, with AEG and Cuban retaining minority stakes. AXS TV is available to 50 million households in the United States as of December 2020. What's the Point of AppleTV Hardware? Buying an Apple TV no longer gives users a content advantage. We are in the age of streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu, and business models have shifted so that every service is available on every device — phones, tablets, TV sets, streaming sticks and game consoles. (Full Article Here…) The product isn't without its benefits, though, for the Apple ecosystem's most loyal users. Integration with HomeKit, Fitness+, AirPods and the iOS remote app is useful. The new remote control and faster chip in this year's version are definite improvements, and the box is getting SharePlay and Spatial Audio support later this year [this was written prior to the release of these technologies]. Still, I don't see these enhancements moving the needle for most people. Twice VIP Awards 2021 The TWICE VIP Awards are not decided by consumers but rather they are voted on by industry leaders, consumer tech retailers and distributors who are looking for great products, innovation and what makes the biggest difference in the business. The awards cover a wide range of products from projectors, truly wireless headphones to the latest TVs and major appliances. On this show we will focus on Home Theater and Home Automation products. The full list of award winners can be found here (Announcing The Winners Of The 2021 TWICE VIP Awards!) Accessories THX Onyx (MSRP $220) is an innovative Digital-to- Analog Converter (DAC)/Amplifier that brings crystal clear audio to consumers on the go for enjoyment of music, movies, and games. This leading-edge product brings vast audio quality improvements that's enjoyed over nearly any mobile device and headset, based upon the award-winning patented THX Achromatic Audio Amplifier (THX AAA™) technology. THX AAA provides impactful power and ensures the ultimate no-compromise headphone audio experience by delivering the highest audio fidelity with infinitesimally low levels of noise and distortion. Currently, THX Onyx is the first portable DAC/Amp to feature THX AAA-78, the highest-powered mobile THX AAA configuration, in such a small amp. Whether you're enjoying the audio timbre of a Bach sonata or want to hear the full range of emotional frequencies within your favorite feature film's musical score, THX Onyx brings the clarity and joy of crystal clear audio with you wherever you go. A/V Receivers Denon AVR-A110 (MSRP $6,000 Backordered) is the ultimate 8K/13.2- channel home theater receiver, providing CEDIA integrators with a high-performance immersive solution from the most trusted brand in audio/video. In addition to astonishing home theater performance, the HEOS® built-in wireless multi-room streaming technology puts the listener's favorite content anywhere throughout the home (requires HEOS-compatible speakers) and adds Apple® AirPlay 2 for effortless streaming from mobile devices. The AVR-A110 also offers access to the most popular streaming services, providing users with limitless access to their favorite music, podcasts and more. Headphones Truly Wireless Klipsch T5 II ANC earphones (MSRP $299) deliver a truly hands-free listening experience. They are the FIRST set of earphones to feature and combine: A built-in Bragi® operating system with embedded artificial intelligence which allows for hands-free, advanced gesture-controlled experiences. Dual-mic noise cancellation utilizes both a microphone aimed

On this week's show we opine on what is going on at AT&T and their DireTV Stream video service and we review the sofabaton U1 Universal Remote control. Can it make you forget about the Harmony? We also read your emails and go over some of the week's news. What on Earth is going on over at AT&T This week AT&T spun off DirecTV as a separate video company. According to a company Press Release: Under this new company, DIRECTV owns and operates the former AT&T U.S. and Puerto Rico video business unit consisting of satellite, streaming and IP video services. The new structure allows for greater focus, flexibility and resources to best position the business to succeed in the long term as well as deliver on a commitment to current and future customers, employees and shareholders. For those who stream it, the newly branded DIRECTV STREAM will become the single brand for video streaming services previously launched by AT&T, excluding HBO Max. The transition will happen later this month, and service will continue to be available with no term commitment or hidden fees. To enjoy the best of live TV and on-demand, customers can either bring their own streaming device, or use DIRECTV's exclusive streaming device. Our Takeaway AT&T really messed up badly by acquiring DirecTV. In the end both companies were hurt. AT&T has a massive debt load, although they had debt issues before acquiring DirecTV, it got worse after acquisition. DirecTV lost their focus and then lost subscribers. Then there is WarnerMedia (Turner cable channels, HBO and HBO Max) which will also be spun off and eventually merge with Discovery and its Discovery+ streaming service. AT&T bought Time/Warner (WarnerMedia today) for $85 billion in 2018. AT&T is a disaster! sofabaton U1 Universal Remote The sofabaton U1 is the next universal remote that we test in our quest to find a replacement for the Harmony. This one comes real close for most of us and for others it will be all that they will ever need. The U1 goes for about $50 available at Amazon and has been seen as low as $37.99 during a Flash sale. The U1 looks very similar to the Harmony remote but feels much cheaper. Both the Harmony and U1 are made of plastic, but the U1 feels cheaply made with slick plastic that will slip out of your hand. Lastly, the U1 has sharper edges that makes your grip less comfortable. Features: Support for 500,000+ devices from 6000+ brands Support for IR and Blutooth Smartphone APP for setup (Device Selection, Button Remapping, Macro definition) Setup and Use: This is where the sofabaton actually exceeds the Harmony. The configuration is done via an app that connects via bluetooth. Here you will select your devices. No codes to enter, just press the button on the app until you see the desired reaction of the device. Super simple. If you don't mind switching between devices to turn on your system and control it, you are done. One remote will control everything. There is a scroll wheel just below the LCD screen to select the device that you want to control. When highlighted, all the buttons map to that device. You can inadvertently hit the wheel and end up controlling the wrong device. We'll discuss a way around this in a bit. Through the app there is a mechanism to override buttons for the selected device with those of another device. This is very convenient for a typical setup of a set top box, AVR, and TV. As with the last remote we reviewed, the Inteset 4-in-1 Universal on Podcast #999, you can have the numbers mapped to the cable box, volume and mute to the AVR, and any other button you want access to from your main device. You will have to map every button one at a time. So it is a bit time consuming but you only have to do this once. The sofabaton is leaps and bounds easier to do this function than the $25 Inteset because of the app. That same app makes setting up macros easier too. You can assign macros to any button on the remote. For our test, we assigned a macro to the power button in the AppleTV device to turn our system on and off. Within the app you select a key on the device then you say you want to tie a macro to it. The next step is to add commands with delays between subsequent commands. You can customize the delay between commands. Easy and straight forward. Things to Consider: The IR signal of the remote is not strong and you must keep your remote aimed at the devices without anything in between. If you don't and your devices get out of sync you will have to manually bring them into sync by either using the individual remote or walking up to the device in question and manually correcting the issue. The remote has bluetooth capability which works great. But when you are using the device in Bluetooth mode it will disconnect from the app. This is a bit of a pain when you are making changes and then want to test them out. To reconnect to the app you have to press the - and E button for a second or two. So not a big deal but it can become a pain if you are doing

On this week's show we talk about the possibility of renting out your home theater space a'la AirBnB and we also chime in on the Scarlett Johansson's breach-of-contract lawsuit. We also have a lot of email and news to discuss! Swimply lets you swim in a stranger's pool. It's less weird than you think Stan Liang sent us this story but wondered what if you rented out your home theater space? Swimply is the brainchild of co-founders Asher Weinberger, 35, and Bunim Laskin, 24, who met at a networking event Weinberger hosted for entrepreneurs in New York City. Laskin, then a college student, pitched Weinberger on the idea of monetizing home swimming pools. Full Article here… 'Black Widow' Lawsuit Could Upend Talent Compensation Agreements Scarlett Johansson's breach-of-contract lawsuit — filed July 29 against Walt Disney Studios and Marvel Entertainment regarding the studio's decision to simultaneously release Marvel Studios' Black Widow in theaters and on the Disney+ subscription streaming platform — could upend Hollywood contracts with actors, producers and distributors. Full Article here...

This week we discuss free TV on your Samsung TVs and mobile devices via Samsung's TV Plus service. We also have a review of Belkin's Soundform Connect AirPlay2 Adapter. And as usual, we read your emails and talk about the week's news. Samsung TV Plus: the free TV streaming service explained Curious about Samsung TV Plus? If you've just bought a new Samsung TV, are seriously considering it, or are just now exploring every inch of your smart TV interface, you might be wondering what this free (yes, free) content service is all about. Full Article here… What is Samsung TV Plus? A free, ad-supported content service, available on Samsung TVs and (if you're in the US) your web browser. Despite similar naming conventions, it is not a paid subscription service in the vein of Disney Plus or Apple TV Plus When did it launch? Samsung TV Plus was created in 2015 How many Samsung TV Plus channels are there? Varies between regions (more on this below) Can I remove Samsung TV Plus? You can't delete the entire app from your Samsung TV, though you can remove individual channels within the app for a cleaner interface Is Samsung TV Plus free? You betcha. Save those coins for a new soundbar or something Is Samsung TV Plus the same as Rakuten TV? No. The TV Plus app does include some Rakuten TV channels, though. There are over 500 TV channels available worldwide through Samsung TV Plus, though you'll only get a portion of that total in each region: US: 120 Germany: 64 Austria: 64 Switzerland: 64 UK: 49 Canada: 35 Korea: 35 Thailand: 30 France: 26 Spain: 18 Italy: 18 Which TVs support Samsung TV Plus? The exact Samsung TV models that support Samsung TV Plus will, again, vary between regions, but you can count on it featuring on new and recent models. We're told by Samsung that all 2016-2020 smart TVs in the US, Europe and Thailand support the service, while those of you in Canada can access it on Samsung TVs made in 2017 onwards. In Samsung's home nation of Korea, though, TVs as old as 2013 support the service. New-for-2020 models like the Q950TS or Q80T QLED will come with dedicated Samsung TV Plus buttons on the TV remote, too – that is, in the US and Canada. Belkin Soundform Connect Belkin has released a $99 adapter called the Soundform Connect that turns any powered speaker, receiver/amplifier, or soundbar into an AirPlay2 compatible device. The Soundform Connect is in limited supply. It took us about four weeks after we ordered it to receive ours. The first thing we noticed after opening the package was how small it is. It's about the size of two Tic Tac cases stacked on top of each other (43.4mm / 1.71in x 62mm / 2.44in x 19mm / 0.75in). Power comes from a typical mobile phone adapter with a USB-C cable. The size makes it a viable alternative to finding a used Airport Express on eBay. Although the Airport Express does have one advantage that we will talk about in a bit. Features: Stream from iOS and Mac devices on your existing stereo Play music in multiple rooms with other AirPlay 2-enabled speakers Easy AirPlay 2 pairing Connect to any speaker or receiver with an optical or 3.5mm audio input (Cables not included) 2-year warranty Setup Setup took about five minutes. You power on the device and move your iPhone close to it. Then you choose the "setup device" in the wifi settings. There is a step where you aim your camera at the code on the back of the unit. This was problematic for us because the printing was difficult for our camera to differentiate from the background. At this point we entered the code manually. Once connected we gave our device a meaningful name and connected an optical cable to our amplifier. You can also use a 3.5mm cable if desired. Once all the connections were made we were on our way. Performance There is not a whole bunch to say about performance here. It worked like all other AirPlay2 devices on our network. The music was clear with no dropouts during our testing. When playing with multiple AirPlay2 devices, there were no sync issues. The specs on the Soundform Connect state that it supports CD-quality sample rates of 16-bit, 44,100 Hz (44.1 kHz) resolution. Which is the highest resolution AirPlay will support. We did play Hi-Res Lossless content from our computer which was transcoded to CD quality. It sounded fantastic! Conclusion If you have a need to convert a powered speaker, soundbar, or receiver to AirPlay2, the Belkin Soundform Connect is a no brainer. It's small, easy to set up, and works flawlessly. But with that said, if you don't mind a slightly bigger form factor, you may want to consider buying an Airport Express on ebay for about $50. It has the exact same functionality for $50 less.

This week we take a look at a new Drywall Screw that supposedly will isolate your theater from adjacent rooms. We also take a look at the differences between Dolby and DTS. Does it still matter in the era of their high definition codecs? We also read your emails and discuss the week's news. New Spring-Loaded Screw Turns Drywall Into Sound-Absorbing Panels The smooth featureless walls around your home are easy to paint and great for hanging artwork, but they're also very effective at transmitting soundwaves from room to room—a less desired feature. Adding soundproofing is one solution, but a cheaper and easier way is to install drywall using these clever spring-loaded, sound-damping screws instead. Full article here... Dolby Digital Vs DTS: What's The Difference? As home cinema has improved, new surround sound formats have sprung up, bringing more detail and realism to movie nights. But let's go back to basics and look at the two most popular surround sound formats: DTS and Dolby Digital. Full article here... Both DTS and Dolby Digital are audio compression technologies. In their most basic form, both DTS and Dolby Digital support 5.1-channel audio. And more advanced versions of the formats support 7.1-channels, HD surround sound and overhead speakers, in the form of DTS:X and Dolby Atmos. DTS is encoded at a higher bit-rate and therefore is considered by some experts to be better quality. Others argue that Dolby Digital's technology is more advanced and produces better sound quality at a lower bit-rate. The first film to use Dolby Digital was Batman Returns in 1992. Since then, Dolby has released a slew of increasingly advanced codecs, including Dolby Digital Plus, which supports HD surround sound and up to 7.1 speaker channels. Want the best? Dolby TrueHD is a lossless format that promises to be identical to the movie studio's master recording. Then there's the object-based audio system Dolby Atmos. DTS (originally Digital Theater Systems) was founded in 1993 to compete with Dolby Labs. The first film to use DTS was Jurassic Park also in 1993. The major differences are the compression levels and bit-rates. Dolby Digital compresses 5.1 digital audio down to a bit-rate of 640 kbits/s (kilobits per second) for Blu-ray discs (448 kbits/s for DVD). DTS is less compressed and supports higher bit-rates of up to 1.5Mb/s (megabits per second) (768 kbits/s for DVD). In HD formats, Dolby Digital Plus supports up to 1.7Mbps, while DTS-HD High Resolution supports up to 6Mb/s. In True HD vs DTS:HD Master Audio theoretically there shouldn't be any difference since both are lossless. Which is better: DTS or Dolby Digital?Many people have done A/B testing of DD and DTS and in most cases DTS comes out on top. We too agree that there is a richer and more detailed sound. Even if you accept that Dolby has a better compression algorithm, in 1993, the computing power of machines were not strong enough to bridge the 1Mbps data rate gap. And probably more importantly, like everything in our hobby you need equipment that is precise enough to be able to hear the difference between these formats. If you have a $500 system, speakers included, you are not going to hear the difference. Fast forward to the Blu-ray era. Discs now have the capacity for more data storage and higher data rates. Compression is better and computing power more grew by 100X from 1992. Lossless is on the scene and there is no longer a difference. But both Dolby and DTS have lossy formats that claim to sound as good as their lossless formats. But DD+ does so at 4Mbps less than the other. We have done tests with DD+ and DTS MA High Resolution and can't tell the difference between the two and their lossless counterparts. But who cares about the lossy formats because Bluray discs have enough space that there is no reason compress the audio anyway. True, but streaming does have bandwidth limitations and that's where DD+ wins. Indeed there are some streaming services using DD+ in their streams. What about Object Based Audio? Both Dolby and DTS have object based audio. Dolby calls theirs ATMOS and DTS uses the X moniker. ATMOS is what the streaming services are using. Why is Dolby Seemingly the Format of Choice? We think it comes down to two things, data rate and tools. Currently, data rates limit the quality of streaming. The more bits you can set aside for picture quality the better it's going to look. If you can get studio quality audio at 1.5 Mbps vs 6 Mbps the choice is pretty obvious. Then there are the tools. Dolby has developed great tools and have trained the mixers to use them. They have plugins for all their formats built right into ProTools and other commonly used authoring software. DTS also has similar tools but were later to the game and have fewer mixers familiar with them. These two factors are huge for the adoption of Dolby. Which one is Best? It's like Bourbon. There are really good and extremely good Bourbons out there. You can find really good bourb

Are Apple and the NFL close to a deal that will bring Sunday Ticket to AppleTV+? We give our thoughts on a possible deal between the two companies. We also start putting the last nails into TV and cinema operator's coffins. All of this plus your emails and news await you on this week's show! Apple in Early Talks With NFL on Sunday Ticket Games Apple has expressed interest in the streaming rights for a package of National Football League games the NFL is now auctioning, said people familiar with the situation, a possible sign the tech giant is looking to beef up the audience for its Apple TV+ streaming service. Full article (membership required) DirecTV's Sunday Ticket deal is due to expire after 2022 DirecTV allegedly pays $1.5 billion a year for Sunday Ticket rights and the NFL is expected to charge even more for the next buyer. Further, DirecTV is said to be losing money on its time holding the rights – up to $2.5 billion. It's unclear how Apple would approach NFL Sunday Ticket if it did buy the rights, but it's possible it would be an add-on to the regular monthly Apple TV+ cost. Notably, others interested in NFL's Sunday Ticket include Disney and possibly Amazon alongside other more traditional media companies. An argument against this that DirecTV will attempt to renew their contract at all costs otherwise they will lose millions of business customers (such as sports bars). But what if the NFL opened up licensing to all, similar to MLB, NHL, and NBA. For example you can get MLB extra innings on your cable system or on your AppleTV. What if the NFL said you can have the package for a split of the revenue or some small nominal amount plus a split of the revenue. Exposing the package to more than just the DirecTV subscribers can bring in way more subscribers and more money for all. Do you think a sports bar would rewire everything just because it can now use a RokuTV or an AppleTV? DirecTV will make less revenue but it will also cost it much less so it may actually make a profit. Android TV shines as pay-TV market declines Android TV and Huawei's HarmonyOS are set to dominate the coming years across both the shrinking footprint of operator set tops, and the ballooning number of smart TVs and connected TV (CTV) devices, according to forecasts from Rethink TV. Pay-TV households will decline from an estimated 921 million in 2020 to 680 million in 2026, impacting the annual shipments of Operator Set Tops, which falls from 242.6 million to 184.8 million, propped up by the upgrade cycle for new Set Top Box operating systems. Full article here... Harbinger of Death Barry Diller Declares Movies "Over" "The movie business is over," Barry Diller, former chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox, told NPR in a recent interview. "The movie business as before is finished and will never come back." Full article here… He sees streaming as an irreversible alteration of traditional movie success ranging from promotional efforts and accessibility. Marketing a theatrical film is a costly endeavor, particularly when compared to the recommendation algorithms that do much of the heavy lifting for streaming. "There used to be a whole run-up," Diller said of the pre-release marketing push theatrical films require. Mass marketing provides movies with a sense of event prestige and helps to sustain audience interest in new movies over an extended period of time. "That's finished," "These streaming services have been making something that they call 'movies,' " he said. "They ain't movies. They are some weird algorithmic process that has created things that last 100 minutes or so." Our take (which has been our take for a few years) Movie theaters will be reduced to high end experiences. No more megaplexs that banish five week old releases to small screens in the back of the theater. Now those movies will go to the studios streaming service within a few weeks. Some Real world info to back up our claims According to the site "The Numbers" The US Box office numbers for Black widow put it in 98th place. This 98th place does not include the impact of rising ticket prices. A lot of the movies that beat "Black Widow" debuted many years ago, when ticket prices were a lot lower, and it took a lot more tickets to get there, including "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," which opened in November 2001 and grossed $90 million. At the time, the average ticket price was $5.66, compared to $9.16 in 2019. Box office info from the weekend: BlackWidow hits over $215M worldwide in opening weekend 🇺🇸 $80M domestic of which 50% goes to the theater operators 🌎 $78M international 💰 $60M+ Disney+ Premier Access 100% goes Disney We now have a choice and it's clear that a large percentage of us with big screens want to watch at home!

Is the power in your house dirty enough to affect your Home Theater experience? We quantify how to determine if you have dirty power and how to clean it up. We also look at our favorite Home Automation Scenes, read your emails and go through the week's news. Dirty Power Howard's email got us thinking about power and power conditioners. There is a lot of talk about dirty power and how it affects the life and performance of your electronics. Some say you will see and hear a difference. Others say it doesn't make a difference unless the power is really dirty. How do you know if you have dirty power? You measure it with a Line Noise EMI Meter that measures the harmonics or dirty electricity on your home's electrical wiring in millivolts. Acceptable readings are generally between 200 and 400 mV. When you get over 800mV some sort of power line filtering is needed. Well at least that's what some experts say. The Line noise meters aren't cheap. The one we use costs about $130 (AlphLabs Inc Power Line Meter). If you have dirty power, a good power conditioner will cost you anywhere between $50 and $150. There are some that run about $500. Almost all provide surge suppression so for that alone you may want to consider one for about $50. Real World Results We measured the line noise in Ara's house in two places. The room where the podcast is recorded and he has his music listening setup as well as the family room theater. The podcast studio is an addition that was done about 15 years ago. The family room was original construction from 1992. The results were a little surprising: Podcast Studio - The Line Meter measured 150 millivolts which is good. The socket that was used was one the above the one used for a Furman power conditioner. The measurement from a socket on the power conditioner was 160mV. For fun we unplugged the Airport Express, audio amplifier, and the mixing board used for recording the podcast from the power conditioner and remeasured. The measurement dropped to 130mV in the unconditioned and power conditioned outlets. Family Room Theater - The Line Meter measured 30 millivolts which is excellent. It also measured 30mV for the power conditioned outlets. Conclusion - Ara's home has clean power! And the power conditioner didn't have to do anything to the power. Can You Hear and See the Difference? This is a touchy subject similar to Hi Res Audio. In our tests, there was no perceptual change in sound or picture quality using a Furman and Belkin Power conditioner. Which makes sense since the filtering essentially left the low noise levels untouched. Do we have power conditioners? Yes, because they act as high falootin power strips and they don't cost much more than a quality power strip. If you have very dirty power or even grounding issues, a power conditioner will definitely clean it up and improve your experience. Dirty power can be caused by a number of different electrical issues, some examples of these issues include: Smart Meters Dimmer Switches Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFL) Switch-mode power supplies (Computers, Phone and Tablet Chargers, etc) Surges or transients in voltage Power interruptions Variations in the frequency of power Waveform distortions Non-linear loads If you suspect you have dirty power it may be a good investment to buy a similar meter and know for sure. If you have some buddies you can all chip in and buy one together. When one is done you can ship it to the other buddy if they don't live nearby. You can ship it anywhere in the US for about $8 with the USPS "If it fits it ships" box. Our Home Automations/Scenes Home automation has three basic functions: Remote control of devices around the house - by this we mean something as simple turning on a light from the comfort of the couch or as complex as closing the garage door from another state Controlling devices throughout the house at specified times - You can set your porch light to come on at sunset and turn off at 11:00PM for example. Scenes - Scenes are more or less the same thing as controlling a device at a specific time but usually entail controlling more devices or they can be a reaction to an event, or they can be enabled on demand. Here is a list of some of the time based automations we use in our homes: 30 min before sunset if people are present - Kitchen ceiling lights are turned on. At this time it's starting to get dark in the kitchen so it's nice to have the extra light. You'd be surprised how long you will work in low light before your mind tells you to turn on the lights and see everything better. You may think this is no big deal but something so simple comes in handy when you are in the middle of cooking. Note that if it's cloudy 30 minutes is not early enough. Next improvement is to tie it in with the weather. 15 min before sunset - The rest of the indoor lights are turned on. Sunset - All outdoor lights are turned on 8:45 PM - The kitchen light bleeds into the family room and at this point we have settled

This week we take a look at two articles comparing Apple services to Google and Amazon. Which service is right for you? It will be a shocker how they decide! We also spent some time with the smallest thing in subwoofers this week. The SVS 3000 Micro. This small subwoofer packs a big punch. We also read your emails and take a look at the week's news. Apple HomeKit vs Google Assistant If you are trying to decide between Google Home or Apple Home for your smart home system, we've researched and compared the two platforms to help you decide which is the best smart home system for your home. Full article here... Apple Music vs. Amazon Music: Which music service wins? Both Apple Music and Amazon Music have made some big changes. Apple Music has launched both lossless music streaming and spatial audio support, while Amazon has taken the lossless capabilities of its Amazon Music HD tier and added the high-fidelity feature to Amazon Music Unlimited at no extra charge. Full article here... SVS 3000 Micro Subwoofer Review We all know that sound is a huge part of our home theater experience and the subwoofer is a huge part of the sound. What if we told you the subwoofer is actually a Micro part? See what we did there?? SVS has designed and built a subwoofer that is small enough to fit into any space but packs a huge punch! We are talking about the 3000 Micro which is available today for $799. Specifications: Dimensions (including grilles): 10.9" (278mm) H X 11.7" (297mm) W X 10.7" (271mm) D Weight: 22.5lbs (10.2kg) Dual opposing 8-inch active drivers designed acoustically and electrically in parallel 800-watt RMS, 2,500-watt peak Sledge STA-800D amplifier with fully discrete MOSFET output Frequency Response 23Hz to 240Hz +/-3dB When we first saw this subwoofer we thought it would be perfect for use with a computer. Most desktop speakers do not provide enough bass and considering the size of the 3000 Micro we thought it would be a perfect marriage. And it was! The Mico produces a clean, tight bass that makes listening to music on the computer almost as fun as listening on a dedicated music setup. Being less than a foot cubed it can easily fit on, next to, or under any desk. The rear panel has all the controls you need to tune the subwoofer to your liking including presets so you can easily change the output to match what you are doing. But even better than that, SVS has an app that connects to the 3000 Micro via bluetooth to make configuring and changing the settings simple and easy. This allowed us to really explore and dial in the subwoofer to our liking. All subwoofers going forward need this kind of control! The fit and finish on all SVS products is amazing and the 3000 Micro is no exception. It comes in two colors, Piano Gloss black and Piano Gloss white. Dare we say there is not one athstetics committee member that can complain about the diminutive subwoofer being displayed proudly in any room of the house. Performance We take a practical approach to measuring subwoofer performance. Can it rattle the walls? Do our spouses yell at us to turn down the bass? Do we feel the bass in our chest? The answer to all three is a resounding yes!! For a test of the pure bass capabilities we used the track Woofer Test by Bad Ass Sound System (BASS). If you try playing this on your phone or normal desktop speakers you get a bunch of dead air because your speakers can not reproduce frequencies that go that low. The 3000 Micro had no issues whatsoever with this track! You could clearly hear the sweep of frequencies until it went so low that you could only feel it. And you knew it was working because it was rattling the walls. At one point Ara's wife came into the office from the adjoining room asking what the hell was going on. Fortunately she just laughed and said, "Oh a new toy, have fun but I'm trying to work so try not to break anything!" So nice having a wife who understands!! After the raw sound tests we listened to music on full range speakers that Ara built. We set the amplifier to send everything below 100Hz to the subwoofer. We listened to our standards, Tin Pan Alley by Stevie Ray Vaughn and California Roll by Snoop Dog. Really it's only the first ten seconds of California Roll. Both were tight and clean. It was hard to believe a small subwoofer like this could produce sound so big. The 3000 Micro exceeded our expectations not only for a subwoofer this size but of subwoofers in general. Who is the 3000 Micro for? Everyone! Seriously, you can justify buying this subwoofer If you own an apartment and want to add bass to your home theater without taking up a lot of space. If you live in a house but can't find a good spot for a subwoofer because they are too big, this is a great solution. Not only because it's small, but because it performs like subwoofers twice it's size. You've heard the term "punches above its weight class"? That fully applies here. If you spend a lot of time working on your computer but want to listen to

We were on vacation this week but that didn't stop us from putting together a show for you. We take a look at the best OTA DVR for cord cutters and we have an abbreviated email and news segment. Best OTA DVR for cord cutters: Amazon Fire TV Recast, TiVo, AirTV and Tablo CNET's picks for devices that record and stream free, live over-the-air television from an antenna. Full article here…

Are you ready for Netflixland? We discuss how Netflix is opening up an e-commerce site. We also take a look at the best Roku TVs in 2021 and why you should not set your TV's sharpness very high. As usual we read your emails and discuss the week's news. Netflix Shop?? Netflix opened an e-commerce site on Thursday where you can buy things like caps, necklaces, hoodies, and, yes, underwear—much of it branded with popular Netflix movies and TV series. The move is part of a larger push for the company to compete with Disney's streaming business, which is propped up by revenue from its merchandising and theme parks. Shop at Netflix The Best Roku TVs in 2021 (Tom's Guide) The best Roku TVs combine great smart TV features with value prices, but not all Roku TVs are created equal. Full article here... Why you should never increase the sharpness on your TV Let's say you're adjusting your TV settings and you think it wouldn't hurt to get a sharper and better image. You should know that increasing the sharpness is, in fact, counterintuitive. On most TVs, maxing out the sharpness will actually add something called "edge enhancement," which can diminish the fine resolution in the image you're looking at. Full article here... If your sharpness is set too high, you might not be benefiting from all the crisp detail that's possible in that fancy 4K TV. Sometimes the best setting is actually 0, while on most TVs the setting is best in the bottom 20% or so. Here's why you should turn down the sharpness control. Your eyes will thank you. Sharpness means edge enhancement On nearly all TVs, the sharpness control adds something called "edge enhancement." That's exactly what it sounds like. The edges in the image are enhanced, essentially by adding a thin outline or halo to them. This makes them more visible. While unenhanced images can look soft by comparison, especially at first, they're actually more detailed because they show fine textures in walls, pores on faces and tiny hairs -- all of which can be hidden by too much edge enhancement. What's the best TV setting then? The easiest way to check is switch your TV to the Movie or Cinema picture preset, and see where the sharpness control is in that mode. Whatever that number is, it's a good place to start. Want to fine-tune it? While watching a variety of content, especially 4K if you have a 4K TV, turn the control down from that starting point and see what happens. Does the fine detail disappear? If so, that's too low. Ideally, you'll be able to find the spot that offers the most actual detail and the least additional noise. Don't be surprised if that number is 0. Looking sharp? Keep looking TV manufacturers love edge enhancement, largely because it makes their TVs seem super detailed when viewed in a store. If you go to your TV right now and turn the sharpness control all the way down the picture is absolutely going to look soft. Much like with high color temperatures, anyone who isn't used to making fine adjustments to their TV controls has gotten used to a certain "look" to their TV's picture. So at first, even the correct sharpness setting might seem soft, especially if your TV has been in the Vivid or Dynamic picture mode. Try the new, lower sharpness setting for a few days. If you then don't like the look of the un-enhanced image, that's fine. Turn it back up. But I bet when you do the "original" setting will look weird.

On today's show it's all about Dolby Atmos. First up is the ten best Dolby Atmos scenes and if that is not enough we discuss how to stream Dolby Atmos music. We end with our impressions of listening to Dolby Atmos music on Apple Music. We also read your emails and the week's news. 10 of the best Dolby Atmos movie scenes It's in your soundbar; it might be on your phone; soon, you may even find it in your car. Dolby Atmos is seemingly everywhere. But even if you have equipment that supports 3D audio playback, what should you watch to make sure you get the most of it? Full article here… Dolby Atmos Music Streaming Services At Audio Advice, we are big fans of Dolby Atmos — and right now, with all the exciting hi-res music streaming news and support for Dolby Atmos coming to Apple Music and others, you do not want to choose a streaming service for music until you read this. You may even consider switching to one of the streaming services in this comparison after reading this. Full article here… Apple's Spatial audio Although this discussion is with Apple's Spatial Audio (ATMOS). The comments will apply to all services and devices that support Dolby Atmos streaming Works with Headphones and Atmos Home Theaters via AppleTV. Listening through headphones is good but a full blown Atmos 5.1.2 or 7.1.2 system sounds better Listening on a stereo pair of speakers had no difference than without Atmos Even a 5.1 or 7.1 system sounds more open but not as enveloping as a true Atmos setup. More like SACD or DVD-Audio Ara's favorite tracks to demo: Riders on the Storm - The Doors Like Someone in Love - Diana Krall Country Again - Thomas Rhett Mr Perfectly Fine - Taylor Swift There is a huge playlist at Apple Music with the more popular genres. I found the newer music was mixed better. Apple claims that their devices support spatial audio without headphones. Listened on my iPhone. Very underwhelming. Listened on iPad and noticed a more "spatial" sound. Nowhere as good as my 7.1.2 system but pretty darn good for listening on a tablet. Finally a reason to set up an Atmos system!

In this week's show we look at the number of DVD, Blu-ray and UHD discs that have been released, run down the new flagship receivers from Denon and Yamaha, and answer the question, should I buy an 8K TV? Plus we read your email and take a look at the news. DVD & Blu-Ray Release Report Your resource for DVD & BLU-RAY titles released in the domestic market. Latest Report... New Flagship Receivers Launched It's that time of year again. Time when we drool over the new receivers that will be coming out soon. This week we have announcements from Yamaha, Denon, and Marantz. OK Denon and Marantz are essentially the same company but we like things in threes. Denon AVC-X8500HA 13- channel amplifier monolithic power amplifier 210W per channel 8K/60Hz pass-through or upscaling, 4K/120Hz pass-through for gaming, and support for the latest HDMI specifications. 13.2 channel processing to power up to a 7.2.6 or 9.2.4 speaker configuration HDR / HLG / Dolby Vision / HDR10+ / Dynamic HDR Full Specs here Price and availability $4299, June 2021, Upgrade to A-spec for existing AVC-X8500H owners: $599 Marantz AV8805A 13.2 channel processing, 15.2 channel XLR and RCA outputs, and flexible amplifier stages 8 HDMI inputs and 3 outputs. One dedicated 8K input supports 8K/60Hz or 4K/120Hz pass-through capability, while Dolby Vision, HLG, HDR10+, 21:9 video, 3D, BT.2020 pass-through and HDCP 2.3 copy protection standard is supported on all HDMI inputs. Features exclusive Marantz Hyper Dynamic Amplifier Module (HDAM) technology that provide ultra-fast slew rate, true wideband performance, and maximum dynamic range for optimum sound quality. Full Specs here Price and availability $4799, June 2021, Upgrade to A-spec for existing AV8805 owners: $599 Yamaha RX-A8A 11.2-channel 150-Watt with Zone 2/3/4 4K120 and 8K60 HDMI with HDCP 2.3 and eARC (7 in/3 out) Dolby Vision, HDR 10+ (with firmware update) pre-outs Full Specs here Price and availability $2999, June 2021 Yamaha RX-A6A 9.2-channel (with 11.2-channel processing) 150-Watt surround sound with Zone 2/3/4 4K120 and 8K60 HDMI with HDCP 2.3 and eARC (7 in/3 out) Dolby Vision, HDR 10+ (with firmware update) pre-outs Full Specs here Price and availability $2199, June 2021 There is also the RX-A4A and RX-A2A with lesser features costing $1299 and $799 respectively. The A2A being the only one without full pre-outs. You don't need an 8K TV — ask me again in a decade We found this article written by Brian Westover at Tom's Guide that confirms what we have been saying for a while now that you don't need an 8K TV. We feel that 8K is simply hype to get you to part with your money. Some of Brian's key arguments: Brian has seen demos, as have we, that are very impressive. Brian uses the analogy of looking through a window. He also states that these demos have been on very large screens. On smaller screens the excitement decreases. At smaller screen sizes — the sort that are actually affordable — 8K resolution is much less impressive. An 8K picture is best enjoyed on screens that measure between 75 and 100+ inches, much larger than most 4K TVs in the home, since an 8K display is essentially four 4K displays stitched together into one seamless picture. Larger screen sizes may be getting more popular, but 85-inch TVs are simply too large for most homes, and that's the range where 8K really looks its best. We agree with Brian that at smaller screen sizes the difference is negligible. We disagree with Brian that a 75 inch screen can showcase the benefit of 8K. At 75 inches one can barely see the benefits of 4K! No, for 8K you need 100+ at a minimum. But the main issue is content. There isn't any and it will be a long time before it becomes available. The studios were already mastering in 4K and down converting to 1080P. Once TV technology caught up it was a matter of finding a way to get 4K content into consumers hands. It was easy enough to get 4K onto a disc. The main title fit on one disc while the extras were moved to supplemental discs. Streaming was made possible by better compression on more powerful hardware through bigger network pipes. And finally, ATSC 3.0 will allow for it to be broadcast straight into your home. Moving to 8K is going to require far more bandwidth, new mastering technology, and of course new more expensive TVs. It is unlikely that there will be that kind of wholesale change in how content is created for years. All for the benefit of the third most important part of the TV specifications following contrast and color. Which brings us back to screen size. If and when there is 8K content, will you have room for a 100+ inch screen? Probably not. Save your money and pick up a nicer 4K TV now and don't worry about 8K.

On this week's show we play catch up with your emails and the news from the past two weeks. We'll have a traditional shw next week.

1000 Episodes in Review It's our 1000th episode so we thought it would be fun to go down memory lane. It has been so much fun getting to know all of you. Some we know well and have developed personal relationships with. Others came and went as things in their lives changed. To Industry members, thank you for your support! To our listeners, thank you for subscribing, downloading and listening to our show. It's because of you that we are here today and will be here tomorrow! There was a big gap in our records between 2005 and 2007. We switched to Google Docs in 2007 and have been able to keep everything we wrote archived there. But from memory some highlights were: We became the official podcast of AVS Forum and were introduced to members at their CES Party We had an affiliation with HDTV Magazine Met Mark Cuban (owner of HDNet at the time) and Interviewed the President of Syntax-Brillian at the HDTV Conference in Beverly Hills Dolby Flew us to San Francisco to demo some of their projects they were working on. While there we recorded two shows of their now defunct Dolby podcast Oppo and Monoprice were big supporters of the show early on as was Olevia TVs Sonos - The first real product we reviewed on the show back in 2005 A few of our day job colleagues mocked us for doing a podcast. LOL jokes on them HT Guys TV Tech Timeline Braden (Sony CRT...) -> Panasonic Plasma 480p EDTV -> JVC LCoS 1080p Rear Projection -> Epson 1080p Projector(s) -> (Lots of 4k TCLs) -> Sony 4k LED Ara RCA CRT -> Samsung DLP-> Panasonic Plasma-> JVC Projector-> Vizio 4K TV Optoma UST Reviews of all the Rear Projection TVs from 2007 - JVC HD-61FN97 61" HD-ILA Our bottom line at the time - The JVC HD-61FN97 is an excellent value. It looks great, does a wonderful job with HD content, a great job with DVDs and a pretty good job with standard definition TV. Blacks are good, contrast is solid, colors are excellent and detail is vivid. We try to look for great values to help you (and us for that matter) get a little more out of each hard earned dollar. You'd be hard pressed to find a better looking 61" TV at its price. At an online street price of $2125 this is an awesome TV for the money. It really helps bring the big screen home. Our first mention of home automation was in March of 2007. We wrapped up our discussion with - One day home automation will be standard. We'll wonder what people ever did without them. But for now your options are somewhat limited. You can spend a lot of money to get it custom built and done just right, with a system like Crestron, AMX or Control4, or you can try to put it together yourself if you don't mind the occasional hiccup that comes with a home made system. This can be one of the most fun home projects you've ever worked on. And it lasts forever - it's the gift that just keeps on giving. Our earliest "Kaleidescape Killer" comment was also in 2007 when we showcased a $2500 Linux based machine with full DVR and DVD server capabilities. The company was called Interact-TV and they are no longer in business. Our Top Ten shows in HD from 2007: Ara: American Idol (Fox) Dancing with the Stars (ABC) Football/Basketball/Sports Center/Etc on ESPN Planet Earth/Sunrise Earth (Discovery HD Theater) Lost (ABC) CSI Miami (CBS) CSI (CBS) Bikini Destinations (HD Net) Heroes (NBC) NHL Hockey on HD Net Braden: The Unit (CBS) Las Vegas (NBC) Numb3rs (CBS) Monday Night Football (ESPN) Lakers Basketball on KCAL 24 (Fox) I Shouldn't Be Alive (Discovery HD) Destination HD (Discovery HD) Planet Earth (Discovery HD) CSI Miami (CBS) SlingMedia VS Major League Baseball Issue: Slingboxes infringe on the local cable company's right to broadcast the content. Interactive TV Still not a thing DVDpedia In an attempt to build a video server or "Kaleidescape Killer" out of a Mac Mini Ara used DVDpedia to catalog and display album art and id3 data about his library. It worked OK but was quickly abandoned for Boxee and then eventually Plex. Plex is indeed the Kaleidescape Killer! Vudu Movie Download Set Top Box ($399) - October 2007 What we liked: High quality movies on demand Large selection with more coming every week Easy to use remote and easy menu navigation Up and running in five minutes What we disliked: No lease option to defray $400 entry price Not a large selection of Dolby 5.1 Downloads interfered with VOIP telephone service Bottom Line: This is the best home video on demand system the HT Guys have seen. The video quality is first rate! The user interface is clean and simple. You will have the system up and running in no time. All of this is with the initial release of the system software. With more movie releases coming, HD, external storage, and new software updates this product will only get better. At $400 for the Vudu box its not for everyone, but you will get a very good video on demand system for the investment. HDDVD - Bluray - a comparison Conclusion Blu-ray clearly has an advantage in specs, higher storage capacity and higher

On today's show we look at a CNET article that covers the best home theater projectors for 2021 and then we ask if a $80,000 Sony projector is worth the money. We also take a look at a simple universal remote and ask if it can replace the Harmony. We read your emails and take a look at the week's news as well. Best home theater projector for 2021 From portable projectors to affordable 1080p models to light cannons built for gaming or 4K HDR, these are the best projectors for the money. Full article here… Is the Sony VPLGTZ380 worth $80,000?? Realize an overwhelming native 4K image expression like you've never seen before. Sony's X1 processor is paired with a super high contrast 10,000 lumen Z-Phosphor laser light source and DCI-P3 wide color space make your ultimate vision a reality. Object based super resolution enhances color and contrast for greater depth, cleaner textures, and more realistic pictures. More info... A stunning 10,000 lumens achieve D65 industry-standard color balance and DCI-P3 color space without brightness loss. X1TM Ultimate for projector brings you the best of Sony's image processing Newly-developed, reliable, full 4K resolution on 3 SXRD™ panel for outstanding contrast Z-PhosphorTM laser with red laser diode enhances tones across DCI-P3 color space and deliver 1.35 wider color range than sRGB solutions Object based Super Resolution enhances color and contrast of individual objects for a clear picture. Dual database processing reduces digital noise for the lowest possible ambient noise With Object based HDR Remaster3, the color in individual objects on screen is analyzed and the contrast adjusted to reproduce greater depth, textures, and more realistic pictures Digital Contrast Optimizer minimizes unnecessary light from bright objects for more accurate focus. Dynamic HDR Enhancer brings a wider contrast range for striking and realistic picture quality HDR Reference Mode creates richer gradation that more accurately display the creator's intent. Enjoy the latest 4K content services with HDCP 2.3 compatibility on both 18Gbps HDMI inputs 4 Motionflow™ provides smooth motion for 4K & HD Advanced graphic processing and Input lag reduction ensures faster response time for gamers Up to 20,000 hours of virtually maintenance free operation This is a review of an owner (The Sony website says the projector will be available soon. We have to assume this is a pre-release model that is being reviewed): If you have ever viewed the VPL-VW5000ES & thought that machine had a brilliant picture at 5,000 lumens, the purely stunning display chip combined with the newest laser lamp that puts out a whopping 10,000 lumens makes the 5000ES model look like a Triniton from the 1980's! I recently upgraded from the 5000ES to the GTZ380 in my "man cave" with a 165" SI gray slate 1.3 gain screen. If the blacks are brightness of the 5,000 had an amazing image, the dual data/motion flow chipsets and double the lumens combined make for a viewing experience that's so immersive that only in the most gorgeous scenes from a solid, full HDR 4K source do you sit back and both admire the engineering behind this beyond words projector's imagining-that you chuckle at how much you spent to be so fortunate to buy one. Hands down, there is no imagination left to better what already seems that the human eyes can't possibly see anything technologically "better". After this machine was conceived, I'd have to think that engineers are being laid off- or have abandoned any future development as there is no possibility of any picture quality improvement beyond this unit. Has to be the end of the line for any sort of television or movie watching device innovation- no way anything could ever top this picture quality and brightness that's so full of color and absolutely zero stutter. I can now rest easy, my wife can't be upset at my A/V "addiction", as this is the last TV/Projector I will ever need or purchase. To spin a quote from the movie Field of Dreams "Is this heaven?....no, this is Sony"! Level of expertise Advanced Where purchased In person Sony products owned 6+ Inteset 4-in-1 Universal With Logitech discontinuing the Harmony Remote we have received a lot of emails asking us about alternatives. There are options that use your smartphone or tablet as well as some high end remotes tied to home automation. For today's discussion we decided to go old school with a simple 4-in-1 Universal remote from Inteset (Int-422 $25.95). The remote is preconfigured to work with streaming devices like the Apple TV, Xbox One, Roku (excluding Stick) and others right out of the box with dedicated buttons. These buttons can be reprogrammed with the device codes of the components you have in your system by looking them up in their online database. Typically a setup like this removes remote control clutter but doesn't really do anything for simplicity of use. The Inteset remote has some nice features that make it a better remote than the typical all-in-on

On today's show we take a look at the top five movie rentals for the week, discuss a movie called Nobody, invite ourselves onto The Bright Side of Home Theater Podcast, and answer the question, "What's the Best LED TV" right now. Pulse we read emails and discuss the news of the week. Don't forget to enter to win a fantastic SVS sound system to celebrate our 1000th episode. Top Five Movie Rentals for the Week 5 - The Croods: A New Age - The prehistoric family the Croods are challenged by a rival family the Bettermans, who claim to be better and more evolved. 7/10 IMDB Rating, Rotten Tomato Critic Score 77 Audience Score 94 4 - Willy's Wonderland - A quiet drifter is tricked into a janitorial job at the now condemned Willy's Wonderland. The mundane tasks suddenly become an all-out fight for survival against wave after wave of demonic animatronics. Fists fly, kicks land, titans clash -- and only one side will make it out alive. 5.5/10 IMDB Rating, Rotten Tomato Critic Score 62 Audience Score 74 3 - News of the World - A Civil War veteran agrees to deliver a girl, taken by the Kiowa people years ago, to her aunt and uncle, against her will. They travel hundreds of miles and face grave dangers as they search for a place that either can call home. 6.8/10 IMDB Rating, Rotten Tomato Critic Score 88 Audience Score 89 2 - Wonder Woman 1984 - Diana must contend with a work colleague and businessman, whose desire for extreme wealth sends the world down a path of destruction, after an ancient artifact that grants wishes goes missing. 5.4/10 IMDB Rating, Rotten Tomato Critic Score 59 Audience Score 74 1 - Vanquish - A mother, Victoria, is trying to put her dark past as a Russian drug courier behind her, but retired cop Damon forces Victoria to do his bidding by holding her daughter hostage. 2.6/10 IMDB Rating, Rotten Tomato Critic Score 6 Audience Score 16 A movie Ara is waiting to be available for streaming, Nobody Emmy winner Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul, The Post, Nebraska) stars as Hutch Mansell, an underestimated and overlooked dad and husband, taking life's indignities on the chin and never pushing back. A nobody. When two thieves break into his suburban home one night, Hutch declines to defend himself or his family, hoping to prevent serious violence. His teenage son, Blake, is disappointed in him and his wife, Becca, seems to pull only further away. The aftermath of the incident strikes a match to Hutch's long-simmering rage, triggering dormant instincts and propelling him on a brutal path that will surface dark secrets and lethal skills. In a barrage of fists, gunfire and squealing tires, Hutch must save his family from a dangerous adversary and ensure that he will never be underestimated as a nobody again. 7.4/10 IMDB Rating, Rotten Tomato Critic Score 82 Audience Score 94 Best LED TV (RTINGS.COM) Knocking the Samsung Q80/Q80T QLED off it's perch as the best LED TV, the Sony X90J ($1599.99 MSRP 65") 2021 model is the new king of LED TVs. With better contrast, local dimming, and a slightly cheaper price tag the Sony is a solid choice. The 6 Best LED LCD TVs - Spring 2021 from RTINGS.COM It feels well-built and comes with Google TV, giving you access to a ton of apps so you can easily find all your favorite content. Whether watching movies and shows or doing some gaming, most people should be happy with this model. It has a VA panel with a fantastic contrast ratio, producing deep inky blacks and making it well-suited to dark room viewing or gaming. It has a full-array local dimming feature as well to further improve contrast. It also performs well in bright rooms, with impressive SDR brightness that can overcome glare in most lighting conditions. If you like HDR content, you'll also be pleased with its HDR brightness, which is very good and makes highlights pop. That said, it doesn't technically have a wide color gamut for HDR, although it just barely falls short and should be good enough for a satisfying HDR experience. Unfortunately, it doesn't yet have the advertised variable refresh rate (VRR) support. However, it should be implemented in an upcoming firmware update. Aside from that, it still has a great response time for smooth motion in fast-moving content with minimal smearing or blur. It also has low input lag and two HDMI 2.1 ports, allowing it to display up to a 4k @ 120Hz signal from the Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5. All in all, this is among the best LED TVs we've tested. 8.1 Mixed Usage 8.6 Movies 7.7 TV Shows 7.5 Sports 8.4 Video Games 8.3 HDR Movies 8.3 HDR Gaming 7.8 PC Monitor

On today's show we announce a fantastic giveaway to celebrate our 1000th show. Be sure to enter the contest! We also discuss Apple being sued for terminating the account of someone with $25,000 worth of apps and videos. With ATSC 3.0 around the corner we discuss what can cause issues with over the air reception of Tv signals. We have a review of the B&W PI7 wireless headphones. All this and your emails and the week's news Apple sued for terminating account with $25,000 worth of apps and videos Lawsuits claim people don't truly own content they purchase on digital platforms. Full article... Understanding Digital TV Signal reception With ATSC 3.0 picking up steam, many of our listeners are interested in Over the Air TV. If you live within 40 miles of the TV transmitting towers you can pretty much guarantee watching beautiful HDTV in 4K for free. If you live beyond 40 miles, it's hit or miss. The most frustrating part is that sometimes the signal is rock solid and then it just vanishes for a few seconds, minutes, or sometimes hours. What causes this and is there anything that you can do to fix this? Electromagnetic or EMI interference This is caused by nearby power lines, LED lightbulbs, thunderstorms, solar flares, the Northern Lights and even household appliances like electric blankets, popcorn poppers, microwave ovens, electric dryers and water heaters. However, the stronger your signal the less EMI will interfere with the reception. If you live in a fringe area this is one reason why things are going well with your TV reception and then boom, nothing! We both live in a deep fringe area and it's the reason why we have given up on using an antenna for picking up DTV. Multipath interference This is caused by OTA signals being reflected off of items such as airplanes, wet/icy surfaces or shiny buildings. And for those living in hilly or mountainous areas, reflections off of the local terrain plays havoc with the signal. But in some instances it can help. It's hit or miss. Moisture Heavy amounts of moisture in the air in the form of heavy fog, high humidity or intense rain can also weaken signals enough to fall off the digital cliff. Transient/Variable Physical Obstructions The most interference may come from sources that you hadn't considered, such as leaf growth on a tree. In the Fall you have good reception that goes away in the spring. Construction of a new building between you and the broadcast towers or even your neighbor parking a new RV in their driveway. What can be done to counteract this? There are companies that spend a lot of money on developing antennas and electronics to fight signal interference. Mohu has been a goto for the HT Guys for years. In our opinion they make the best antennas on the market. But they are not miracle workers. In our testing the Mohu antennas consistently pulled in more channels than the competitors. But even as good as Mohu is, living in the deep fringe will make the best antenna struggle when conditions are not optimal. Bottom line. If you live within 40 miles of the TV towers, get an antenna and enjoy ATSC 3.0. If you live 41- 60 miles, it's hit or miss. One day will be good and another will be bad. Of course the signal will drop in the middle of watching something you really care about! At this range you will definitely need an outdoor antenna with a lot of height. If you have buildings or other obstacles in the way you will be out of luck. Beyond 60 miles, there really isn't much you can do to combat physics. AntennaWeb.org AntennaWeb.org is a good resource that will help you determine what signals you can receive and what type of antenna you will need. For us, it says we can look forward to picking up 5 stations with a deep fringe capable antenna. We have indeed picked up more than that, but not consistently. B&W PI7 Review When Ara worked for Delta Airlines he was responsible for implementing a way to allow passengers to use their own Bluetooth headphones with the in flight entertainment system (IFE). The long term approach was to build in a pairing mechanism into the IFE system that was easy to use. The short term approach was to use an adapter that the passenger would pair with their headphones prior to boarding the plane. You ask what does this have to do with the Bowers and Wilkins PI7 (MSRP $399)? Well this model has a built in IFE adapter in the unit's battery case that makes using the headphones with ANY airline's IFE system trivial. Based on that alone, Ara bought the PI7 and put them to work. The Specs 24-bit True Wireless design with Qualcomm aptX™ Adaptive - sound quality that adjusts dynamically and optimizes connection reliability. Dual Hybrid Drive units with individual amplifiers Adaptive noise canceling Six microphones for perfect sound and call quality Smart charging case with audio retransmission - you can use the 3.5mm plug to USB-C connection to any device making it bluetooth capable. However, you can also use the include UBC-C to USB-C cable to

On today's show we run through some of the new features on the recently announced AppleTV, look at the tradeoff of using an indoor TV outdoors in a protected environment, and we have a short review of the Wyze V3 outdoor camera. We also read your emails and take a look at the week's news. New AppleTV From the Press Release - Apple announced the next generation of Apple TV 4K, delivering high frame rate HDR with Dolby Vision and connecting customers to their favorite content with the highest quality. At the heart of the new Apple TV 4K is the A12 Bionic chip that provides a significant boost in graphics performance, video decoding, and audio processing. And with an all-new design, the Siri Remote makes it even easier to watch shows and movies on Apple TV with intuitive navigation controls. Together with tvOS — the most powerful TV operating system — Apple TV 4K works seamlessly with Apple devices and services to magically transform the living room in ways that everyone in the family will love. Improved Video Experiences With A12 Bionic, Apple TV 4K now supports high frame rate HDR (High Dynamic Range) and Dolby Vision video, enabling fast-moving action at 60 frames per second (fps) to play more smoothly and appear more lifelike than ever before. Apple is working with leading video providers around the world, including FOX Sports, NBCUniversal, Paramount+, Red Bull TV, and Canal+, as they begin to stream in high frame rate HDR. And with high frame rate support in AirPlay, videos shot on iPhone 12 Pro can be displayed in full 60-fps Dolby Vision on the new Apple TV 4K. Color Balance Through an innovative color balance process, Apple TV works with iPhone and its advanced sensors to improve a television's picture quality. Apple TV uses the light sensor in iPhone to compare the color balance to the industry-standard specifications used by cinematographers worldwide. Using this data, Apple TV automatically tailors its video output to deliver much more accurate colors and improved contrast — without customers ever having to adjust their television settings. Siri Remote The all-new Siri Remote features an innovative clickpad control that offers five-way navigation for better accuracy, and is also touch-enabled for the fast directional swipes Apple TV users love. The outer ring of the clickpad supports an intuitive circular gesture that turns it into a jog control — perfect for finding a scene in a movie or show. And with its one-piece aluminum design, the new Siri Remote fits more comfortably in a user's hand. The new Siri Remote also has a power button that controls a TV's power, and another for mute, making it the only remote needed while enjoying TV. Using Siri, customers can easily search for specific shows or movies, control smart home accessories, check sports scores or the weather, and much more. Siri now works on Apple TV in Austria, Ireland, and New Zealand, joining the 13 countries and regions that already support Siri. Pricing and Availability The new Apple TV 4K will be available starting at $179 (US) Customers can order the new Apple TV 4K beginning Friday, April 30, with availability beginning in the second half of May in more than 30 countries and regions, including the US. Apple TV HD with the new Siri Remote will be available for $149. The new Siri Remote will be available separately for $59, and is compatible with the previous-generation Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD. Furrion Unveils Newest Line Of Outdoor 4K TVs On a recent show a listener asked us about installing a TV on his deck. The deck was protected from direct contact with the elements. We suggested using a regular indoor TV stating that it would shorten the lifespan of the TV but the cost saving would allow for a new TV every few years which would bring upgrades along the way. Today we can quantify the cost comparison as Furrion unveiled a new line of outdoor TVs. The Aurora® Partial Sun 4K UHD LED Outdoor TV and the Aurora® Full Shade 4K UHD LED Outdoor TV. For our listener, since his TV would be on his covered deck, our comparison will be with the Full Shade 4K UHD. But for completeness we'll include the pricing for the Partial Sun TV as well. From Furrion's Press Release: Furrion Aurora TVs are weatherproof in all conditions, and are engineered to withstand the harsh effects of UV rays, rain, snow, dirt, insects, and humidity. Their weatherproof housing and IP54 rating mean the Aurora is built to last, and the weather-resistant media bay offers even more protection for inputs and outputs. Even the remote control features an IP64 waterproof rating, great for areas with pools. Aurora® Partial Sun 4K UHD LED Outdoor TV Designed for partially shaded outdoor living areas like patios, decks and yards Increased brightness up to 750 nits and an anti-glare LCD screen give you an excellent picture in partially sunny areas Sizes: Available in 43", 49", 55" and 65" Pricing: $1,499.99 (43"), $1,999.99 (49"), $2,699.99 (55"), $3,399.99 (65") Aurora® Fu

We're back! After a laptop mishap the show returns with a discussion about the Harmony Remote going end of life, a discussion on SpaceX's Starlink Satellite Internet service, using smart home devices to provide you weather alerts, and finally a discussion on Ara's journey to becoming a DIY speaker builder. We also read your emails and discuss the news of th week. Who Needs Starlink Internet? These Rural US Counties Top the List SpaceX's Starlink promises to supercharge internet speeds around the globe, but which regions need it the most? Our exclusive research shows that residents in these rural US counties should sign up now. Full article here … Weather alerts may be the smartest use of smart lights. They can save your life Springtime brings with it fresh life, blooming flowers, and in some parts of the country, incredible storms. The old expression that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb holds particularly true in the Southeast and Midwest, where spring storms are accompanied by damaging, dangerous tornadoes. Full article here... Why DIY Speakers Along the way of doing our podcast we would receive emails suggesting that we should take a stab at speaker building. On a whim, I decided to give it a try. There are many resources online to refer to but I decided to start with Part Express. Parts Express is an online audio components site that sells everything you need to get you started. My first set of speakers was a kit that cost about $200 (Dayton Audio BR-1 6-1/2" 2-Way Bookshelf Monitor Speaker Kit Pair). There was no wood working skills required. Just solder the crossover and load the components and voila! DIY speakers. They sounded great and only cost $200. After this I was hooked. Then I tried a simple full range driver (Tang Band W3-881SJF 3" Full Range Speaker $30 each) that would be loaded into a MDF cabinet ($27 each) that required nothing more than cutting some holes and gluing the precut pieces together. I had a jigsaw and a dremel tool to cut the holes. On this set of speakers, I learned about finishing the speaker cabinet. The results were terrible, aesthetically speaking. But they found a home at my in-laws. I recently noticed they weren't using the speakers anymore so I brought them home with me and I am making a new cabinet out of reclaimed wood. We'll probably give them away in the near future. I kept watching Youtube videos on the subject and decided to actually build my own cabinets. I used ¾" plywood. While the cabinet was solid, the joining was not good at all. I covered up the flaws with a veneer of cherry wood. Problem fixed!! The issue I had was that I was making my cuts with a circular saw and there was no way for me to get the precision required. So the veneer covered up a lot of the flaws but close inspection would reveal the issues. I have them on a shelf where you can see them but not close enough to critique them. I posted them in a video on YouTube. Man I got raked over the coals for the design. Specifically the crossover. With the components I chose I was leaving a lot of performance on the table so to speak. Quite frankly I just bought parts from Parts Express and put them together. They still sounded really really good, so I wondered what a true high quality design would sound like. For completeness here are the parts used in that build: Dayton Audio RS150-8 6" Reference Woofer x 2 $45 each Morel MDT 29 1-1/8" Soft Dome Tweeter x 2 $52 each Dayton Audio XO2W-2.5K 2-Way Speaker Crossover 2,500 Hz x 2 $30 each Terminals, Foam, Vent Tubes X 2 $10 each Total cost was about $300 when you include the plywood and veneer. For the next build I wanted to work on my woodworking skills. I bought a tablesaw, planer, sander, router and a ton of clamps. By the way, you can never have enough clamps! Since I was more concerned about the cabinet building I went with full range drives. No silly cross over to deal with. The design was simple. Build the cabinets put in the driver. As far as the cabinet designs go, all the driver companies provide you with cabinet designs and plans that will get the most out of the drivers they are selling. Build the cabinet to their plan and you will get optimal performance. Side note - one year my wife was struggling on what to get her sister in-laws for Christmas. I suggested that I could make them some cutting boards. She liked the idea and I made six of them. They were a huge hit! Now I make cutting boards and sell them on Etsy or through my Instagram. I've even built a set of speakers using the same basic design of a cutting board. Here is a short video I posted to Instagram. Funny I started with wood working just to build speakers. But now I just love woodworking! Also a big thank you to Marc Spagnuolo the Wood Whisperer who has given me many tips, some personally, but most through his online resources. Now some swear full range drivers are the best thing since sliced bread. Truth be told, for certain types of music they are amazing. I bu

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On this week's show we take a look at twelve things that the Jetsons predicted correctly back in 1962. Ring introduces three new automation devices and Ara gets to the bottom of his Wifi woes. We also read your email and take a look at the week's news stories. 12 Cool Technologies "The Jetsons" Predicted For 2062 That We Have Right Now This article is from 2019 The futuristic family cartoon The Jetsons premiered in 1962. It was set 100 years in the future in the year 2062. We're over half way there now, but surprisingly, many of the technologies they predicted in the cartoon are already a reality, while others are maturing quickly. Full article here… Video calls Robotic vacuums Tablet computers Robotic house help - Not quite Rosie yet but enough to check the box Flying Cars - This is a stretch but there is a flying car out there but nothing like what the Jetsons had. Smart Watches Drones - apparently there was an episode in which Elroy was flying a drone. Holograms 3D printed food - we're not convinced that this is a thing The "PillCam" - this is actually a thing Jetpacks Flat Screen TVs Amazon's Ring launches 3 new outdoor security gadgets The outside of your Ring-powered smart home might get a little smarter thanks to the company's new outdoor smart plug, motion light and siren. Full Article here… Orbi Wifi Discussion As many of you know we both have had some wifi woes of late. Ara bought a new Linksys Velop ($300 for the router and one satellite) router which worked great for about two months and then it suddenly started acting up. Devices would randomly disconnect and the Internet would stop working regardless of whether the connection was wired or wireless. This led to the eventual replacement with a new system manufactured by Netgear (The Orbi RBR50 $330 for the router and one satellite) and all was good until it wasn't. However, for the last five days (the longest period of continuous connection) all is good again. We think, for Ara's house anyway, all the gremlins have been removed. The following are the steps taken to get there. A few of these steps only apply to the Netgear Orbi, but many apply to any router and may help you get more out of your wireless system. As Mike stated in his email the Time server was changed. His recommended time server would not work with the Orbi RBR50 so time.nist.gov was used. The "Automatically adjust for daylight savings time" was initially unticked but later reticked with no issues as of yet. This tip is specific to the Orbi or other Netgear routers. Enable Implicit BEAMFORMING - They claim that this Boosts WiFi speed, reliability, & range for all mobile devices Enable MU-MIMO - "MIMO" stands for "Multiple-Input, Multiple-Output", and it refers to the way bandwidth is broken up by a router and pushed to individual devices. This only comes into play if multiple devices are requesting say a Netflix stream simultaneously. Without it turned on it would delay one stream until the other has sufficiently buffered. Enable Fast Roaming - allows a client device to roam quickly in environments implementing WPA2 Enterprise security, by ensuring that the client device does not need to re-authenticate to the RADIUS server every time it roams from one access point to another. With two access points in the house this could have been an issue as devices continuously bounce back and forth between them. Under the wireless settings the following were ticked: The Netgear Armor Security was turned off - It was automatically activated for a 30 day trial. Ara noticed that it periodically scans the network and checks vulnerabilities of the devices on the network. Ara wondered if this caused some of the wifi automation devices to lose connection. After a reboot everything seems to work well except Ara's Homekit devices. Then after struggling with rebooting his Philips Hue hubs Ara noticed that it was only the hue lights having an issue. What was puzzling was the fact that the lights themselves were not directly connected to his wifi network. The hubs being hardwired should not be having any issues. The Hue lights are based on the Zigbee protocol which uses the same frequency spectrum as 2.4GHz wifi. There was an article that said if your Hue lights are "unreachable" change the Zigbee channel. There is a setting in the Hue app that allows for his. Once that was done...Bam! Everything was and still is rock solid! In reality, that may have been the only issue as there are 25 hue lights, sensors, and accessories in Ara's house.

This week we discuss whether there is a market for a $200 quad tuner DVR that doesn't come with storage and we talk with SVS President and CEO Gary Yacoubian and Vice President of Marketing Nick Brown about two new cool products that SVS recently released. We also read your emails and take a look at the week's news. Tablo rolls out a $200 quad-tuner DVR with HDMI It's ideal if you record TV to watch it somewhere with a weak internet connection. Full article here… Interview with SVS President and CEO Gary Yacoubian and Vice President of Marketing Nick Brown SVS rumbled onto the audio scene to challenge the status quo of over-priced, underperforming "high-end" subwoofers and speakers and to bring convincing and immersive sound to more people than ever before. Why should thrilling home audio experiences be an elitist hobby limited to a small percentage of humanity? The SVS mission is to re-energize people's desire for awesome sound by bringing passion, fun and expertise back into the mix. With this vision, SVS is leading a Sound R|Evolution.

On this week's show we discuss a super inexpensive solution to charging your outdoor devices via the sun, we dive a little deeper into the Channels DVR, and finally, we look at the best IPTV solutions for you. Plus we read your emails and take a look at the news. Renogy E.FLEX 5W Mono Solar Panel If you have a battery operated camera that is charged via a 5V USB charger then this product may make it possible to never have to charge the camera again. This solar charger is a little bigger than a steno sheet of paper and will charge your camera by sunshine. At $15 it's an absolute no brainer. It even comes with a 2500mAH battery bank. More info… There is a larger one which is two of these folded together for $22.00. Channels DVR I briefly mentioned the Channels DVR at the end of the last podcast so I did want to add a little more information as we did receive a few emails about the service. The server will run on MacOS, Windows, Raspberry Pi and Linux It will also run on quite a few NAS devices and the NVidia Shield It's not a free service. It costs $8 a month or $80 a year is paid in advance/ Ara paid for the full year You can use it with Xfinity, hulu, fios, locast, dish, ATT TV, Cox, Youtube TV, DirecTV, Philo, Frontier, and Sling TV There are no limits to how much you can record (beyond your own storage) and how long you can keep the recordings You can watch the recordings from anywhere with an internet connection Streaming outside the home must be setup via the router port forwarding Streaming quality is limited by your bandwidth and in general is not as good as watching on your network Recorded content is in the open and can be transferred to a tablet or PC for watching without an internet connection Import Content from Streaming Services and local media Best live TV streaming service for cord-cutters: YouTube TV, Sling TV, Hulu and more compared Ready to ditch your cable bill but want to keep live news, sports and more? Here's how. Full article here...

Whole House Audio Journey with the Chromecast for Listener Matt As a teenager growing up in the 80's I had a subscription to Audio Video Interiors magazine. I would marvel at these huge custom home theaters with in-floor console CRT Runco projectors and AMX or Crestron controls. Fast forward past the Beastie Boys cassettes and Van Halen CDs, once MP3s hit the scene and you could store vast amounts of music on a computer, I was cobbling together homemade systems connecting computers to amps around the house. Then Google Chromecast and their Chromecast Audio 'puck' came to market. I purchased an AudioSource 'auto-power' on Amp from Amazon, plugged the Chromecast Audio into the RCA jacks and I could pull up music on my phone and cast to the amp from anywhere in the house and it would turn itself on and just play. In the early 2010's if you were hosting a party and you just pulled out your phone, hit play and all the speakers in the house kicked on, it was like magic. But that was just one amp with a Niles 6 zone speaker selector. What if you have multiple rooms and amps that you want to tie together? Google announced that they were creating the concept of a Speaker Group, where you could add multiple chromecast devices into a group and sync them together. This I thought was going to be the Holy Grail of whole house audio, no more amps everywhere just get an AndroidTV with Chromecast, add a good soundbar / sub and then when you have a house party, use the Speaker Group to sync all the rooms. I also have an Onkyo amplifier with Chromecast built in which you could also add to the Speaker Group. I got all of this to work, I have a game room with a Hisense Android TV and soundbar, the main living area Onkyo with builtin Chromecast, and an Audiosource amp with Chromecast Audio dongle for outside. (Quick side note, my love to Monoprice, they have an in ground subwoofer with 4 satellite speakers that sounds great and passes the outdoor Decorating Committee standards). I put the Game Room Hisense TV, Onkyo with builtin Chromecast, and the Chromecast Audio into one speaker group called "Whole House" and it was amazing.... until it wasn't. You see, while Google likes to 'give-th' Google will also 'take-th' away when they feel like it. Suddenly things started dropping out of the Speaker Group, I couldn't see my Onkyo anymore, the HisenseTV was gone. As a software engineer I dug down in my bug hunting skills but could not find anything different in my network that had changed. Until someone posted a discussion in Reddit from a Google Tech (yes someone actually found a Google Help Desk person) that read: It appears that Google is no longer going to support Speaker Groups with third party hardware. While you can individually cast something to the Hisense TV or the Onkyo amp, you can no longer put them together in a group to play the same music. I was so angry and frustrated that Google had removed a feature that worked, I almost jumped over the fence into the Apple walled garden... until I realized it would cost $800 for 4 AppleTVs... which is more than a 75" Hisense TV. So I bought another Chromecast Audio dongle off Ebay for $50 (the full retail price in 2015), hooked it up to the Onkyo and I'm somewhat back in business, other than having to manually turn on the Onkyo. But it's sad that I had to purchase a discontinued device to get everything to work the way I wanted. I know there are lots of options, the Apple-verse, Amazon Fire world, Sonos. The problem I find is that once you have invested so much into one eco-system, it is so hard to switch out. Locast2Plex A couple of weeks ago we received two emails from listeners asking if we had tried locast2plex. Locast2plex turns your locast account into a virtual tuner for your Plex Server. We thought, fantastic! However, it's not as simple as turning on a setting and bam you're done. There is some heavy lifting that needs to be done. We go through the steps. This is not an instructional segment but more of an inventory of what you need to do if you want this capability for your Plex server. Before we get into the steps you might ask what does this get you? Good question! There are two selling points for going through this somewhat complicated process. First, it allows you to record all your locast local channels using the Plex DVR and second, it gives you access to your locast local channels anywhere you have an Internet connection. There is a third reason as well. ALL the locals from your area come in and they never fade based on atmospheric conditions. Step 1) You need to download the locast2plex script from github. The "code" comes as a zip file that contain configurations and other files needed to run as a python script. You will need to have an always on computer that is running the script. This is what actually simulates a physical tuner. Step 2) designate an always computer to host the script. We chose an $35 RaspberryPi. They are quiet and barely use any energy. We are

On this week's show we run down the top ten rentals for the week and discuss release windows for movies. Does the shrinking window spell doom for movie theaters? We also read your emails and cover the news of the week. Top 10 Rentals for Week Ended 2-21-21 1 Greenland (6.4) 2/9/21 Universal/STX 2 Let Him Go (6.7) 2/2/21 Universal 3 Freaky (6.3) 2/9/21 Universal 4 Horizon Line (4.7) 2/16/21 Universal 5 Shadow in the Cloud (4.8)** 2/2/21 Vertical 6 Breach (3.7) 2/2/21 Paramount 7 Come Play (5.7) 1/26/21 Universal 8 The War With Grandpa (5.6) 12/22/20 Universal 9 Honest Thief (6.0) 12/29/20 Universal 10 The Stand-In (4.5)* 2/9/21 Paramount *Early Release **Redbox exclusive For reference The imdb ratings for some popular movies are as follows: Top Gun 6.9 Back to the Future 8.5 The Magnificent Seven (2016) 6.9 The Magnificent Seven (1960) 7.7 Pulp Fiction 8.8 The Dark Knight 9.0 How long should movies be in theaters before streaming? Hollywood is trying to find out. With the movie business upended during the pandemic and tilting more towards streaming than cineplexes, Hollywood is rethinking its business model. One significant debate is how long a gap there should be between a film's theatrical release and its availability on streaming services. On Wednesday, ViacomCBS announced that "A Quiet Place Part 2" will stream on its new service, Paramount+, just 30 to 45 days after being released in theaters. Full article here…

Top 10 Voice Commands of 2020 Smart home control functions top the list of the most-used voice commands by users with Josh.ai systems in 2020. 10 Watch Netflix - Absolutely makes sense to us. It would have been nice to see how, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video and the rest compared. And now you know Netflix is King of streaming! 9 What's the Weather? - Asking what the weather is and voice commands are a match made in digital heaven. This can be done while getting dressed or fixing the bed. The perfect multi tasking voice command 8) I'm Home - If done right this can be quite cool! Although it would be nicer if you can tell your home I'll be home in ten minutes right from your car. 7 Goodbye - Another handy command that can arm the security system and turn off the lights. 6 Close the Shades (closely followed by Open the Shades) - Enough said! 5 What Time Is It? - Because many do not wear watches and can't be bothered to look at the time on their smartphone ;-) 4 Good Morning - Similar to I'm home, and Goodbye. It just runs a different set of tasks. 3 Turn Off the Lights (closely followed by 'Turn On the Lights' and honorable mention to just 'Lights') - For those who have not discovered Goodbye and Goodnight Commands. 2 Turn Off the TV (closely followed by 'Turn On the TV') - The #2 most popular request and the most popular device control was for TV power, with turning off happening more frequently than turning on, a theme Josh.ai has noticed with all device type control. 1 Goodnight - My (Ara's) dad used to go around and make sure all the lights were off and doors locked before he went to sleep. If he were alive today he would for sure use this command to make sure that were the case. But knowing him, he'd still go around to make sure all the lights were off and the doors were locked! Five Things to Know About Spotify HiFi Artists and fans have told us that sound quality is important to them. We agree, and that's why today at Stream On we announced Spotify HiFi. Details Here… Audiophile or Audio-Fooled? How Good Are Your Ears? MP3 files were created to save file size. A four minute song on CD would be 39MB where as a 128Kbps mp3 would be 3.9MB The MP3 algorithm filters out quiet frequencies adjacent to loud frequencies because you can't hear them. So if they are eliminated it won't matter anyway However with an MP3 at 128Kbps, audiophiles can reliably tell the difference. Not so with 256 and 320Kbps MP3 files. Rick Beato's assistant was asked to do a listening test. She is in her 20s and was tested to be able to hear a 18Khz sine wave. She has perfect pitch and a degree in music production from Berkeley. A good candidate for the test. She listened to six songs from different genres. They were recorded with CD quality, 128Kbps and 320Kbps MP3. She got four out of six correct. In one case she chose the 128Kbps and in another the 320Kbps track. Rick goes on to say that popular mixers in the industry today are over 40 years old and can't hear above 16Khz. So why then are they still in the business? Because they have experience as to what sounds good. And what sounds good is mostly in the frequencies we all can hear. Frequencies that the compressed music does not remove. Also, many mix on $600 speakers because they know the vast majority of what people use to play back their music is not audiophile grade. That means you don't need audiophile grade gear to hear the music the way the mixer mixed it. What does this all mean? Spotify, like Apple, uses AAC which is superior to MP3 and they use 256Kbps for Spotify premium (128Kbps AAC for the free service). There have been many studies that show the overwhelming majority of people can not tell the difference between 256Kbps AAC and CD or even "Hi-Res" audio. If you have the ears and equipment that allow you to be in the very tiny minority that can hear the difference, congratulations for your gift, and your curse! So while it looks like Spotify HiFi won't cost Premium subscribers any more money, don't expect an improved listening experience. At least for now. Streaming ten times the information will cost someone at some point.

This week we help a listener future proof his new AVR purchase and we answer the question, "Where can you watch ATSC 3.0 Content?" We wrap up with the best Non-OLED TV available. We also read your emails and look at the week's news. Future Proofing your new Receiver Install We received an email from Brian who has recently moved and has an opportunity to setup a Home Theater System from scratch. He is in the market for a new receiver and wants to know what are the must have requirements for a receiver so that the receiver does not become obsolete in a year or two. Also, what is not important. Must Have: HDMI 2.1 Support Includes HDCP - This gives you the most options in the future. While 8K may not be a big deal, there may be some new tech that transmits additional data through the HDMI cable and having the increased bandwidth (48 vs 18 Gbps) may come in handy. 4K HDR Support - This is pretty much a given now and standard on most receivers eARC support - We see a day when TVs will be able to support the set top box format of your choice with a USB style stick. eARC will be required to get the full audio capability ATMOS, Airplay 2, Chromcast, Network Connectivity, Auto Calibration, Plenty of HDMI Inputs, Two Subwoofer outputs, Network/App Interface - These are all pretty much table stakes now but some budget AVRs may not support some of these features. Not Required: 8K - while this seems like it should be twice as good as 4K you won't be able to see the difference on a screen less than 120 inches. 200W - More power is not required for most people. Going from 100W to 200W increases max volume by 3dB. 75w to 100W per channel is fine for the typical family/living room. ATSC 3.0 Deployments ATSC expects 60 markets to launch NextGen TV by mid-2021. Full list here... Best 4K TV that isn't an OLED So you want the best 75 inch TV that money can buy? You check online and see that the LG CX OLED (RTINGS Review) is more or less the consensus choice for best TV available today. Then you realize the best TV that money can buy at $3,300 is $1,500 more than what you have available to spend. Now you're thinking, I want the best TV that $1,900 can buy. Fortunately, we know of such a TV. It's the new Vizio P-Series Quantum X- H1. They even have an 85" model if you can spare a few hundred dollars more (RTINGS Review 2020 Model). RTINGS.com scores the Quantum X pretty high: From RTINGS.com The Vizio P Series Quantum X 2020 is great for most uses. It gets very bright and handles reflections well, making it a good choice for watching TV shows or sports during the day. It performs incredibly well in dark rooms, as it can produce deep and inky blacks for watching movies or playing video games. It has low input lag, a fast response time, and a high refresh rate to deliver an extremely responsive gaming and desktop experience. Unfortunately, its VA panel has narrow viewing angles, so it isn't the best option for wide seating areas. 8.3 Mixed Usage 8.5 Movies 8.0 TV Shows 7.9 Sports 8.5 Video Games 8.6 HDR Movies 8.5 HDR Gaming 7.9 PC Monitor For comparison RTINGS.com rates the OLED: 8.8 Mixed Usage 9.3 Movies 8.2 TV Shows 8.6 Sports 9.1 Video Games 8.7 HDR Movies 8.8 HDR Gaming 8.6 PC Monitor

A couple of weeks ago a listener, Tim Diebert, emailed asking us to review a subwoofer that he owns made by Harbottle Audio. On today's show we speak with their Technical Director Cody Heibert about their subwoofers and what they have coming in a few months. We also read your emails and go through the week's news.

On this week's show we look at which streaming services were nominated for Golden Globe Awards and we ask the question; "Should you pay to have your TV/Projector Calibrated?" We also read your emails and take a look at the news. Streaming Services nominated for Golden Globes It was a few years ago when Braden made a prediction that Netflix would win an award for one of it's original content titles. If we recall correctly, he got that prediction right. Fast Forward to 2021 and his prediction came true on steroids. We take a quick look at some of this years Golden Globe nominations. The entire list can be found here (Nominations for the 78th Golden Globe Awards (2021)) Best Motion Picture, Drama The Father (Sony Pictures) Mank (Netflix) Nomadland (Searchlight Pictures) Promising Young Woman (Focus Features) The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix) Best Picture, Musical or Comedy Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (Amazon Studios) Hamilton (Walt Disney Pictures) Music (Vertical Entertainment) Palm Springs (Hulu) The Prom (Netflix) Best Director, Motion Picture Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman (Focus Features) David Fincher, Mank (Netflix) Regina King, One Night in Miami … Aaron Sorkin, The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix) Chloe Zhao, Nomadland Should you pay to have your TV/Projector Calibrated? We all want to get the most out of our TV/Projectors and taking the TV off of default settings is one big step we all can do quite easily. Changing the picture mode from Vivid or Dynamic to Cinema improves the picture dramatically. But what if you want more? You can hire a calibrator to come into your home and dial in the TV to get the absolute best out of the display. We were perusing AVS Forum and saw a thread entitled "Should you pay to have your TV/Projector Calibrated?" This got our attention and we dove right in. The following are some posts from users at AVS forum. We have removed their names for this discussion. Comments to thread: 1) A professional calibration may (or may not) improve your display's PQ. IMO you don't "need" to have one done unless: PQ looks like crap and you're unable to adjust it to your liking; or you want to have one done. 2) I spent money to have my 4k projector in my HT (blacked out bat cave) professionally calibrated and it made a huge difference in the picture quality and was easily worth the money I paid for the service. I have a UST projector in the living room that was much less money and did my own calibration which is "good enough" as it's mostly for the kids watching cartoons and shows and playing games so doesn't need to be perfect. 3) I mean if you have a 50k HT system in a perfectly blacked out room yea he can probably give you your money's worth. 4) If you're spending a few hundred to get someone to calibrate a 3k set up yea you've gone insane should have just done it yourself not that hard to get it much better on most TV's from the factory. Maybe not perfectly adjusted to your ambient lighting. But IME what is accurate and what people actually want are two different things 5) I think we've all tried to turn down some overly vibrant reds or something on a TV then had the owner/roomate/SO/parent complain about how they don't like accuracy. 6) People need to start looking using their own eyes for once I think. It's all subjective.!! This guy say this color is red ! The next guy says it looks pink? That kind thing....but " RED" is red not " PINK" nor is it " blue" right! 7) I have been a calibrator for over 20 years and while some displays (TV or projectors) are better than others out of the box they can still be noticeably improved. Quality of calibrator makes a difference as well as having the right equipment and not just the cheap probes one can buy. I agree that there is a lot of variability in quality of calibrator as it takes a lot to gain the experience one needs to get good. The older CRT front and rear projectors used to take a long time too but they had to be manually aligned, converged and focused which took a long time then you could adjust just the picture controls. The other factor is the experience with the devices being calibrated. I have spent two days calibrating a TV (non-CRT) to get it right. Nowadays, where I work we only calibrate displays that we are familiar with. When we get a new model we calibrate it to learn it. Because once you know a display inside and out calibration time is not as bad. I think we charge about $250 for most displays we are familiar with but a few models and video processors take longer so those are more. Especially ones where you are adjusting the tone mapping, even if automated for part of the process still takes a while depending on the number of color points. However, if someone calls and wants their Samsung calibrated we decline because we don't carry Samsung and are not familiar with it. It takes a while to get to know all the intricacies of a display and doing a model you are not familiar with definitely takes a lot more time. The

On today's show we discuss a new technology from Kef that gets big sound from a small subwoofer. We also take a look at the top home technology trends for 2021. Pulse we have your emails and the news of the week. KEF introduces Uni-Core subwoofer technology and its KC62 sub The KC62 is the first sub to implement KEF's new tech that promises deeper bass from smaller boxes Full article here… KEF has introduced another new technology, this time focused on subwoofers. Called Uni-Core, it places two drivers in a dual-opposing configuration—that is, mounted on opposite sides of a cabinet. They vibrate in phase with each other, moving inward and outward in unison. By itself, that's not new; many subwoofers use dual-opposing drivers—including the Sonos Sub—because the force imparted to the cabinet from each one cancels out the force from the other one. This greatly reduces cabinet resonance, which can distort the sound, and prevents smaller subs from "dancing" across the floor. The sealed cabinet is roughly cubical measuring about 10 inches on a side, and the drivers are only 6.5 inches in diameter. Such a small subwoofer would normally poop out well above 20Hz, but the frequency response of the KC62 is specified to extend from 11Hz (!) to 200Hz (±3 dB). Of course, no one can hear 11Hz, but an extension that low does provide "footroom" so that the lowest audible frequencies do not overly tax the sub's capabilities. The KC62 offers a pleasing aesthetic. The curved cabinet is crafted from extruded aluminum, and it's available in Carbon Black or Mineral White, allowing it to blend in with just about any décor. Plus, its diminutive size lets it fit just about anywhere. The subwoofer is available now for $1500 Top 5 Home Tech Trends for 2021: Home Theater is Hotter Than Ever A confluence of factors including increased time spent at home, higher-quality content, dwindling theatrical-to-home release window, state-of-the-art AV technologies and more create a compelling opportunity. Full article here…

CES Awards This week we wrap up our CES 2021 coverage with the CES Awards show. We look at what Products Engadget, Digital Trends, CNET, and CES thought were notable and newsworthy. As usual we look at your emails and discuss the news of the week. Engadget Best of CES 2021 finalists! The full list is found here… Samsung Bot Handy TCL Wearable Display - It has two Full HD OLED screens that create a 140-degree field of view... and that's it. There's no battery onboard or chunky arms for processors (although a small onboard chip powers the displays). Just connect the device to your phone, laptop or tablet via USB-C to project your media to the glasses. Earin A-3 - The A-3 are shaped almost like little discs with thin ovals slightly sticking out of one side. Not only are they much more discreet than standard earbuds, but they have no left or right designation so you can freely swap them between ears. The open design lets you listen to tunes while also allowing you to hear what's going on around you. Although they don't have active noise cancellation, the A-3 include wind noise reduction algorithms to improve the listening experience. Sony 360 Reality Audio speakers (SRS-RA5000 and SRS-RA3000) - The SRS-RA5000 and SRS-RA3000 are WiFi-connected wireless units that work in a similar fashion to Sonos. If the music you're listening to isn't in the 360 format, the speakers are equipped with an algorithm that converts the content. TCL Alto R1 soundbar Samsung JetBot 90 AI+ Best TV Products - LG C1 OLED, TCL 6-Series (8K), Samsung Neo QLED, Sony Cognitive Processor XR Digital Trends The 15 coolest gadgets at CES 2021 The full list is found here… LG Transparent Smart Bed TV - Imagine waking up in the morning, giving a little stretch and a yawn, and then activating a 55-inch Minority Report-level transparent screen, one that rolls up from the bottom of your bed and displays the day's weather, traffic, news, and social media streams. Samsung's Micro-LED TVs Samsung JetBot 90 A.I.+ CNET Best of CES 2021 The full list is found here… LG Transparent OLED Display Concept TCL TVs expand to 85 inches and 8K Alarm.com Touchless Video Doorbell - Instead of pushing a button, this new doorbell from Alarm.com uses a doormat and AI to detect when someone has arrived at your doorstep, and lets you talk to them through an app with the built-in camera and microphone. It's a touchless system for the age of the coronavirus. Samsung Robot Butler (Bot Handy) Kohler Touchless Toilet Samsung JetBot 90 AI CES 2021 Innovation Awards The full list is found here… 1MORE ColorBuds True Wireless Headphones - The 1MORE ColorBuds are a colorful, dynamic true wireless earbud that is designed to not only match your style, but also match your everyday needs. The ColorBuds bring artistry to sound to create a fashionable, colorful hifi true wireless product that was designed with ultra-lightweight compact earbuds and a compact case making it the ultimate sound accessory. The newest onboard Bluetooth chipset enables mirroring mode, which is better than the standard master and slave format. This increases the antennae efficiency while solving issues of high latency. Four brilliant colors mean there is one for everyone's style or look. Mark Levinson № 5206 Precision Preamplifier - The No 5206 (~$9K) Blends the finest materials, technology, and artisanship for exceptional beauty and performance with a fully discrete, dual-monaural unified class A unified line stage, which has been awarded two patents, a class A headphone output, and a hybrid gain topology MM/MC phono stage. Outstanding digital audio capability with AES, S/PDIF, asynchronous USB inputs for high-resolution playback of PCM (up to 32 bit/384kHz) and DSD (up to 11.2MHz), MQA full decode and Bluetooth with aptX-HD. Extensive control options with Ethernet, USB, RS-232, IR input, and 12V trigger I/O, the included custom aluminum remote, and the Mark Levinson 5Kontrol app. LG CineBeam Laser 4K - LG HU810P (~$2.7K) is a home cinema 4K UHD Laser projector that delivers premium picture quality regardless of viewing environment and lighting conditions while offering easy installation. XGIMI RS - Premium 4K Home Theater - XGIMI 4K 3D LED home projector provides unparalleled 2000 ANSI lumen, 300'' giant screen and intelligent XGIMI INUI in a very portable size. Built-in two 8W 55 mm Harman Kardon speakers produce incredible sound, the advanced projection adjustment technology ensures the easiest setup and creates the best user experience. LG Eclair (QP5) - LG Eclair QP5 is an innovative 3.1.2-channel speaker system designed for customers craving three-dimensional audio quality without the traditional sound bar design. This compact speaker, with up-firing drivers, supports Dolby Atmos as well as DTS:X for more immersive audio experiences. The speaker even comes with a new low-vibration subwoofer that offers an impressively booming sound that will not annoy the neighbors. eufy Security eufyCam 2 Pro - The eufyC

CES 2021 It's CES but not like the usual CES that we are accustomed to. This year it is all virtual and as a result we can't tell you how incredible the latest Micro LED TV looks. There are some great sounding technological improvements that have us excited for the future. This is a long show but we are sure we missed something. If there is a product or announcement you think we should take a look at please let us know. Next week we'll discuss what others saw as "Best of Show". We hope you enjoy the podcast. Savant's C by GE line is getting a makeover for the new year. Savant's C by GE smart home brand is now Cync. Paul Williams, General Manager of Product Management & Growth - "It's an ideal time to evolve our C by GE™ brand into Cync™, a new brand that best reflects how all of our smart home solutions connect easily and work together seamlessly for a complete smart home experience that can be customized to the lifestyle of every consumer." There will be three new smart home accessories, indoor camera, outdoor smart plug, and a fan switch. The Cync Indoor Smart Camera has a privacy shutter that physically blocks the lens and cuts audio recording on-demand. There is cloud and local recording via SD card. Subscription service is available for those who chose the cloud based solution. The Cync Outdoor Smart Plug is all weather and has two outlets The outdoor plug can be connected to wifi without a hub and can be used with Bluetooth. The two outlets can be controlled independently through app and voice controls through integration with Alexa and the Google Assistant. The Cync Fan Speed Smart Switch is an in-wall solution for ceiling fans has four different speeds. In addition to on-demand controls, schedules can be created for customized use throughout the day, and the switch also can be grouped with other Cync accessories. These products begin to arrive in March with the mobile app, and the Outdoor Smart Plug. The Camera will follow in May, with the Fan Speed Smart Switch in June. The exact dates and pricing have not yet been released. More info can be found at gelighting.com. LG LG OLED TVS New LG OLDS for 2021 A1 OLED Replaces B1 A7 processor and available in 42" C1 OLED available in 48", 55", 65", 77" and new for 2021 83" panels. 4K, Gen 4 Alpha 9 processor which enables the TV to quickly identify the important elements within each frame and adjust brightness in those areas for a better exposed image. G1 OLED available in 55", 65" and 77" 4k, Gen 4 A9 Processor, Evo (evo panels contain a new luminous element that promises higher brightness, clarity, detail and punch) Z1 OLED available in 77" and 88" 8K LG partnered with Xbox and Nvidia so that its G1, C1, and Z1 OLEDs could be fitted with G-Sync anti-tearing, stuttering and juddering technology, as well as AMD's FreeSync Premium equivalent. HDMI 2.1 features such as VRR are also correct and present. LG will also be the first brand to have the Google Stadia app available on its TVs in the US, UK and much of Europe. LG also discussed LG QNED MiniLEDs, as previously announced, which combine both NanoCell and quantum dot technologies with Mini LED backlight control. There will also be some plain NanoCell TVs as well, which will come with many of the gaming features, including the Google Stadia app, in addition to non-NanoCell LCD TVs for the budget end of the market. No pricing or shipping information at this time LG's webOS 6.0 Smart TV LG Electronics (LG) announced the introduction of webOS 6.0 for its 2021 OLED, QNED Mini LED, NanoCell and UHD smart TVs. Paired with the new Magic Remote, the latest version of the company's acclaimed TV platform offers viewers a more enjoyable and intuitive content discovery experience. The upgraded LG ThinQ AI in webOS 6.0 supports new voice commands for both Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, making TV management and searching across streaming services, internet and broadcast channels easier than ever before. LG's new Magic Remote offers simpler controls when using voice recognition with multi-AI offerings of LG ThinQ, Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.* Simple to navigate, slick, easy to hold and use, the Magic Remote offers more user-friendly features including fast connections between the TV and other devices and hot keys for accessing popular content providers such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+.** Magic Tap, a one-touch Near Field Communication (NFC) function on the Magic Remote, provides virtually instant access to a host of exciting viewing possibilities. By simply touching a compatible NFC-enabled smartphone*** to the remote, viewers can share content from their phones to the LG TVs or vice versa. Users can also view content stored in these mobile phones on their LG TVs while continuing to use their favorite smartphone apps and features. myQ® Opens Introduces Smart Access Solutions myQ Pet Portal - Allows you to control the pet door with two way audio and video through the myQ Pet Portal app. now availab

On this week's show we take a look at an incredible deal on smart light bulbs from Wyze. Four Smart bulbs for less than $8 a piece. We also have a first look at Discovery Plus. What we think is a solid streaming service. And we read your emails and discuss the news of the week. Wyze Bulb - LED Smart Home Light Bulb 800 Lumen Adjustable white temperature and brightness, works with Alexa and the Google Assistant, No Hub Required (~$30 for a pack of 4) Set any mood with Wyze Bulb's tunable white color temperature. Use warm white (2700k) to relax in the evening and daylight (6500k) to wake up with morning coffee. 9. 5-watt LED bulb (60-watt equivalent) produces up to 800 lumens and can be dimmed using voice control or the Wyze App (do not use with dimmer switches) No Hub Required. Wyze Bulb connects directly to your 2. 4GHz WiFi network (does not support 5GHz Wi-Fi) and the free Wyze app for a quick and easy setup Automate your lights with Wyze Sense (sold separately): Wyze Sense's contact and motion sensors allow you to control your lights based on motion or opening/closing of a door so they're on when you need them and off when you don't. You can also integrate with IFTTT to link Wyze Bulbs to the rest of your smart home devices. Make it look like someone's home: Vacation mode turns lights on/off on a variable schedule while you're away. Set Schedules: Set your Wyze Bulbs to turn on and off on a custom schedule so you never come home to a dark house. Group Control: Add multiple bulbs to a group and control them all simultaneously or use Shortcuts to control all your Wyze devices at the same time. Discovery Plus is Here! It seems like every network these days has a "Plus" service, There is Disney+, ESPN+, and well there are only two of them. But there are other networks putting out streaming versions, like Peacock, FoxNow, CBS All Access, and ABC All Access. This week another service joins their ranks and it's one that we are excited about, Discovery Plus! A Discovery Plus subscription allows you to stream more than 55,000 episodes of 2,500+ current and classic shows networks including HGTV, Food Network, TLC, ID, Animal Planet, Discovery Channel and more. The service also includes discovery+ Originals - exciting, can't-miss series and specials you won't see anywhere else. Discovery Plus also includes exclusive streaming access to the BBC's largest natural history offering, featuring shows like Planet Earth, Blue Planet and Frozen Planet. Discovery Plus also features popular shows from A&E, History and Lifetime. Pricing There are two subscription tiers $4.99 a month with ads and $6.99 a month without. Discovery Plus has partnered with Verizon to offer free access for one year to any customer with one line on Play More or Get More Unlimited service, new Fios Internet subscribers, or new 5G Home subscribers. Device Support Discovery Plus is available on AppleTV, iOS, AndroidTV, Android, Roku, Amazon FireTV, Samsung, XBOX, and More. Discovery Plus Channels Starting January 29th Discovery Plus Channels will be available in what sounds like linear streams of the actual Discovery Channels. As of this writing Discovery Plus is solely an on demand service. Performance While most of the library is perfectly acceptable in 1080p with a mono soundtrack, there are some shows that look amazing in 4K. Think BBCs natural history content. Out of the gate there are only two shows that we could find that were 4K but we expect more as time goes on. With that said, the video looks very good and considering the nature of these types of shows, no one will complain about the quality. Areas for Improvement It would be nice if in the show information they listed the date that the show first aired on the Set Top box version of the software. Likewise it would be nice if they included information on the resolution and audio channels. There is no way to download content for offline viewing. We believe that this feature will arrive later. Finally, not all episodes of all shows are included. We do expect this to change as the services matures however.

It's a new year and we have a new show for you today. Did you watch Wonder Women on Christmas? Millions did! The HT Guys did as well and we discuss what we thought. We also go through the best tech products of 2020 and finish off with a preview of CES 2021. All that plus email and news. Happy New Year! Wonder Woman 1984 may have saved movie theaters too Box office numbers for the latest superhero flick apparently show promise. Full article here... CNET names the best tech products of 2020 As it does each year, CNET evaluated the most important products in the biggest categories in consumer tech. Our goal is to designate the most recommendable product and label it as the CNET Editors' Choice. We do that to provide the clearest and most useful buying advice to readers. Full article here… CES 2021 TV preview: 8K, OLED, MicroLED screens remain huge, hype shrinks A global pandemic can't stop the biggest TV trade show on Earth, but it can slow it down. Full article here...

In our last show for 2020 we discuss the Apple AirPods Max. Are these big and expensive headphones from Apple worth the high price? We look at 7 CE Predictions for 2021 from This Week in Consumer Electronics and finally, what was the best streamer for 2020. All this plus your email and news of the week! AirPods Max review: The price hurts but these headphones are excellent They're hefty, big and expensive, but Apple's AirPods Max impress with their sound quality, noise canceling and the same extra features found in the AirPods Pro. Full article here… 7 CE Predictions For 2021 The major changes we experienced in daily life in 2020 have shifted the major CE trends to come Full article here... Best streamer of 2020: Roku, Apple TV 4K, Fire Stick, Chromecast with Google TV and more compared Plenty of hardware options exist for streaming Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus, YouTube, Amazon and the rest. Here are our picks for the best. Full article here...

Samsung nixes modularity to make MicroLED TV consumer-ready A few years ago Samsung unveiled The Wall, a huge display that was more billboard than home entertainment. Now the company is bringing the technology behind it, MicroLED, to consumer-ready TVs – although we'd imagine it's still too much for most consumers to handle. Full article here... 5.1 Speaker Buying Guide In our last buying guide of 2020 we take a look at speaker systems. For this list we are looking at a 5.1 setup which will be more than what 90% of our listeners need. If you are in the other 10% who wants more, all these speakers can easily be upgraded to a 7.1 or 5.1.2 system for a few dollars more. Entry System All our guides this year have started with an entry level system. In years past our entry speakers cost around $400. This year we have a REAL entry level system from none other than Monoprice that costs far far less. Monoprice HT-35 Premium 5.1-Channel Home Theater System with Powered Subwoofer (MSRP $160) That's right! Only $160 for a 5.1 system that compact and sounds pretty good. It will perform better than most soundbars in the same price range simply because you will have a true surround system. The HT-35s are efficient speakers that can handle up to 100 watts. We are not going to tell you these are the best speakers money can buy, but we will tell you that you will be hard pressed to find a better value out there and these are a perfect match for that $500 TV and $250 receiver you bought at a Black Friday sale. The 200 watt, 8" subwoofer won't rock your world but it will do the job for most family rooms. They also have a system with upfiring ATMOS speakers built into the left and right speakers for $180. Sound Bar + While the previous system was very inexpensive, many won't want to set up a 5.1 system requiring wiring to go from the front of the room to the back. For you we have a soundbar. Not a sound bar that just presents the listener with LCR speakers, but a soundbar that creates an actual surround experience. JBL Bar 5.1 Surround (MSRP $430) The JBL system is more expensive ($430) than the simple solutions you get from LG, Samsung, and Vizio and less than the Sonos systems when you include a subwoofer. JBL uses a proprietary technology called MultiBeam to create a virtual surround sound. In the right dimensioned room this will work well. In others, it will offer a wider soundstage and clearer dialog. We chose the JBL soundbar over the LG, Samsung, and Vizio soundbars because JBL is a speaker company. Sonos makes great sounding products too but they cost much more so it puts the JBL right in the sweet spot. Features include: 4K pass-through HDMI ARC Wireless subwoofer Airplay 2 and Chromecast Bluetooth Streaming Soundbar output 5 x 50W Subwoofer output 300W Quality System Our Quality system is one that is perfect for the family room and the media room alike. It's a system that will last you for years and won't require upgrading, unless you are completely upgrading the entire room. In that case see our Ultimate system below. RSL CG3 5.1 Home Theater Speaker System - Special Edition (MSRP $999) The RSL CG3 Special Edition 5.1 system is not like other speakers costing a thousand dollars because the CG3 uses a patented design developed by Joe Rogers that delivers more realistic sound than other speakers. Compression Guide technology directs air within the speaker enclosure from areas of high compression to areas of low compression. This prevents the drivers from interfering with each other creating the clean sound that RSL speakers are known for. The other benefit of these speakers is that they sound fantastic when you are listening to music. RSL offers an in-ceiling speaker for $125 if you want a 3D audio version of these. Speaker Output 125W Speaker Frequency Response 100-20,000 Hz ± 3db Subwoofer Output 350W Subwoofer Frequency Response 24-200 Hz ± 3db Ultimate System Our Ultimate system is one that is for serious media rooms and as such will cost more than double our Quality system. Prime Tower Surround System + SB2000 SW (MSRP $1549.99 + $799.99 for a total of $2349.98) We have used SVS products for over ten years and are completely pleased with everyone of them. In our home we have amplifiers (Prime Wireless SoundBase), wireless sub transmitters (SoundPath Wireless Audio Adapter), subwoofers, and of course speakers! For our ultimate system we selected the SVS Prime Tower System because it can fill a large space with immersive sound for movies and clear detailed and accurate sound for your music. The towers can handle up to 250W and the satellites up to 150W which means you can fill a large room with that glorious surround sound we all love. The speakers as priced here are for the Black ash finish. They also have a Piano Black high gloss for an additional $350. You can easily upgrade the speakers to a 7.1 or Atmos system. The subwoofer we are pairing with this system is a room filling beast with 550W and a peak of 1500W.