HDTV and Home Theater Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Podcast #968: Sony noise Canceling Headphones and Amazon's product Announcements Oct 02, 2020

Show notes

On this week's show we take a look at the Sony WH-1000XM4 Noise Canceling Headphones and all the new gear Amazon recently announced. We read some email and news stories as well.

Sony WH-1000XM4 review: A nearly flawless noise-canceling headphone

The much-anticipated new version of Sony's top noise-canceling headphone has finally arrived, and it makes small improvements to an already top-notch product. More info here…

Amazon Product Announcements

All-new Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen) | HD smart display with motion and Alexa

Alexa can show you even more - With a 10.1" HD screen that's designed to move with you, video calls, recipes, and shows are always in view. The speakers deliver premium, directional sound. $250 Coming Soon

All-new Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote (includes TV controls) | Dolby Atmos audio

Latest release of our best-selling streaming device - 50% more powerful than previous gen for fast streaming in Full HD. Includes Alexa Voice Remote with power and volume buttons. $40 Available Now

All-new Echo Dot (4th Gen) | Smart speaker with Alexa

Meet the all-new Echo Dot - Our most popular smart speaker with Alexa. The sleek, compact design delivers crisp vocals and balanced bass for full sound. $50 available for Pre-order

Luna

Introducing Luna, Amazon's cloud gaming service where it's easy to play great games on devices you already own. No waiting for lengthy downloads or updates — just play. Request your invitation for early access and help us make Amazon Luna even better. Early access pricing is $5.99 a month. Ubisoft coming soon.

Introducing Amazon eero 6 dual-band mesh Wi-Fi 6 router, with built-in Zigbee smart home hub

Whole-home Wi-Fi 6 coverage - eero covers up to 1,500 sq. ft. with wifi speeds up to 900 Mbps. Built-in Zigbee smart home hub - eero 6 connects compatible devices on your network with Alexa—so there's no need to buy separate smart home hubs for each device. $129 for the base router, $199 for base router and one extender. Available for Pre-order

Introducing Amazon Halo – Measure body composition, activity, sleep, and tone of voice

Membership includes body composition, tone of voice analysis, sleep & activity tracking, and more — free for 6 months. Auto-renews at $3.99/month + tax.

All-new Echo Dot (4th Gen) Kids Edition | Designed for kids, with parental controls

Meet the all-new Echo Dot Kids Edition - Our most popular smart speaker with Alexa, made for kids (not a toy). The super-fun design delivers crisp vocals and balanced bass for full sound.

Help kids learn and grow - Kids can ask Alexa questions, set alarms, and get help with their homework. $60 available for pre-order. Ships in October.

All-new Echo (4th Gen) | With premium sound, smart home hub, and Alexa

New look, new sound - Echo delivers clear highs, dynamic mids, and deep bass for rich, detailed sound that automatically adapts to any room. With the built-in hub, easily set up compatible Zigbee devices or Ring Smart Lighting products (coming soon) to voice control lights, locks, and sensors. $100 available for pre-order. Ships in October.

Podcast #967: Hearing Loss and Hi Res Audio Sep 25, 2020

Show notes

Amazon will launch a new location-tracking mesh network system later this year

Amazon is preparing to launch an ambitious networking and location system later this year under the name Amazon Sidewalk. Sidewalk will link smart home devices and other Amazon products using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), connecting beyond the range of a standard Wi-Fi network.

Meant to be operated at the scale of a neighborhood, Sidewalk would turn devices like smart floodlights and home assistants into network bridges, passing along security updates and commands from a central Wi-Fi hub. In addition to transmitting software, the signals allow Sidewalk to triangulate a device's approximate location based on its contacts with other Sidewalk-enabled devices.

The system will be built into the Echo, and Tile has also joined the project as the first third-party platform to support the system. Amazon plans to add Ring cameras to the network later, notifying device owners directly when Sidewalk is available to use. A full list of Sidewalk-compatible devices is available on the project landing page. More info here...

Hearing Loss and Hi Res Audio

A good friend of ours sent us a link to a Youtube video called "Hearing Loss at Age". This video tries to explain the physical degradation of hearing as we age. The video was produced by Hans Beekhuyzen a Dutch Hifi expert and member of the Audio Engineering Society.

The video is a little technical but essentially says that as we age we can not hear the upper octave of the ten octaves between 20 Hertz to 20kHz. That tenth octave starts at 16.7kHz. He says not worry because we still hear 90% of the sound spectrum. So why do we need Hi Res files? We'll get to that.

He mentions Nyquist in this video to discuss sampling. This is where the video gets quite technical. He has another video that goes into much more detail about this subject (The truth about Nyquist and why 192 kHz does make sense).

What is Nyquist?

It is named after electronic engineer Harry Nyquist. Nyquist's theorem states that a periodic signal must be sampled at more than twice the highest frequency component of the signal. In practice, because of the finite time available, a sample rate somewhat higher than this is necessary. Since we want to sample sound up to 20Khz, for those of us lucky enough to hear sound at that frequency, the sample rate should be no lower than 40Khz.

Just for completeness, sampling is a representation of sound recorded in, or converted into, digital form. In digital audio, the sound wave of the audio signal is encoded as numerical samples in a continuous sequence. For example, in CD audio, samples are taken 44100 times per second each with 16 bit sample depth. We'll cover sample depth in a bit

If a CD is sampled at 44.1Khz. That means it can recreate frequencies up to 22.05Khz, far above what people can hear! So we're all good right? Again why do I need Hi Res Files?

Sampling Errors

One of the issues with sampling is that it's not perfect and there are errors. This is where the video lost me because I am not an electrical engineer. We'll try to sum it up here. There is an error that is induced because of the sampling rate and that error can show up in the audio spectrum that you can hear. Filtering can reduce this but that too affects the sound as well.

The solution is that you can sample at a higher frequency. Hi res files are sampled at 192Khz. That means technically it is capable of capturing frequencies up to 96Khz which is way above what any human can hear. However, there is a benefit in that the errors that are created fall outside what the human can hear. Thus leaving you with a more pure recording of the original signal. There is a price to be paid for this, the file size is much bigger.

Bit Depth

The other element to this discussion is bit depth. The bits store the amplitude of the sound wave. CDs use 16 bits which equate to 65536 possible values. Hi res files use 24 bits or 1,6777,216 possible values. If you think visually, consider a 16 bit color monitor vs a 24 bit color monitor. The 24 bit monitor will be able to display much finer color gradations and be less blocky. The audio version is that the sound will have finer detail. And it will be at ALL frequencies, more importantly, the ones us old people can actually hear. This to us is the best argument that can be made for Hi res files that we can see… or hear. At least mathematically.

Does it Matter?

Only you can be the judge of that. It really depends on the style of music you listen to. Is there subtlety in the frequencies that you can hear or is it just loud? Do you want to pay the higher price for hi res audio? Do you have enough storage for the files? Can your equipment play the music? Are you listening on good equipment, especially speakers? By the way, good equipment doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. But it will cost more than a few hundred dollars. What environment are you listening in?

To some there is no other way to enjoy music. To others it doesn't even matter. To us, it's in the middle. Sometimes it doesn't matter but on Friday night with a good bourbon it can be magical.

Podcast #966: The 6 Best TV's - Summer 2020 according to RTINGS.COM Sep 18, 2020

Show notes

4 places to avoid putting your Amazon Echo in your home

Your Amazon Echo is there to help when it comes to setting up your preferred music streaming service and setting reminders. However, it doesn't tell you the best and safest areas in your house to place the smart speaker. You're probably thinking, "Does it really matter where I put it as long as I can speak to Alexa from most areas in my house?" Our answer is yes. Full article here...

The 6 Best TV's - Summer 2020

According to RTINGS.com. Full article here...

Samsung Q800T QLED - 8.5 Mixed Usage

The Q90T ($2199.99 for 65") is an excellent TV for most uses. Nearly every type of content looks good on this TV, whether it's a low-resolution cable TV show or a 4k HDR movie. It has a fast response time and low input lag, and it also comes with FreeSync support to reduce screen tearing when gaming. However, there's a bit of dirty screen effect, which can be somewhat distracting when watching sports.

LG CX OLED - 8.8 Mixed Usage

The LG CX OLED ($2299.99 for 65") is great for watching TV shows. It has excellent reflection handling and it has decent peak brightness to combat glare in most rooms. It upscales 720p content well and has good built-in speakers. Unfortunately, like all OLED TVs, it has the risk of burn-in, which could be a problem with constant exposure to static logos. However, it has impressive viewing angles for when you want to watch your favorite show with the entire family.

Sony A8H - 8.7 Mixed Usage

The Sony A8H ($2499.99 for 65") is an excellent TV for most uses. It delivers excellent picture quality with its infinite contrast ratio and near-instantaneous response time. It upscales lower resolution content well, which is great for watching cable TV or sports. HDR content looks good thanks to its wide color gamut and decent peak brightness. Unfortunately, although its input lag is great, it doesn't support advanced gaming features like VRR. Additionally, like all OLED TVs, there's a risk of permanent burn-in.

Vizio P Series Quantum X 2019 - 8.1 Mixed Usage

The Vizio P Series Quantum X ( is an excellent TV for most uses. It looks great in almost any room but has narrow viewing angles, so it isn't as good for watching sports with a group of friends or playing co-op games. Fast movies and games look great, thanks to the fast response time, and games are responsive due to the low input lag.

TCL 6 Series 2020 - 7.9 Mixed Usage

The TCL 6 Series 2020 ($899.99 for 65") is a very good overall TV and performs well for most uses. It's great for watching movies in dark rooms thanks to its outstanding contrast ratio. HDR content looks great as the TV displays a wide color gamut and it gets bright in that mode. It also has great gaming features like quick response time and low input lag. Sadly, its local dimming feature results in blooming around bright objects. Also, it's not ideal for wide seating arrangements because it has narrow viewing angles.

Hisense H9G - 8.4 Mixed Usage

The Hisense H9G ($950 for 65" but may be hard to find) is an impressive overall TV. It's well-rounded and offers great performance for most uses. It's an amazing choice for watching movies in the dark as it has an outstanding contrast ratio and a great full-array local dimming feature. HDR content looks great because it gets bright enough to bring out highlights and it displays a wide color gamut. Also, gamers should appreciate its very quick response time and really low input lag. Unfortunately, it's not suggested for wide seating arrangements due to its narrow viewing angles.

Podcast #965: New Samsung UST Projector, Optimized 4K Encoding, and Hue Outdoor Lights Sep 11, 2020

Show notes

On this week's show Samsung introduces two new Ultra Short Throw Laser Projectors, Netflix starts streaming 4K content with shot-optimized encoding using a 4K VMAF model to reduce the bandwidth load on networks. We also include a discussion of Ara's new outdoor lighting using Hue Outdoor lights. Video included! We have listener emails and a voice comment along with the latest news.

Samsung Launches a 130-Inch 4K Ultra Short Throw Laser Projector

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. announced The Premiere, its new 4K Ultra Short Throw laser projector, at its virtual press conference event "Life Unstoppable" on September 2nd. The new 4K laser projector provides a big picture cinematic experience in the comfort of one's home. The Premiere is the new anchor product in Samsung's award-winning Lifestyle product portfolio that is set to transcend the display experience – without the display.

The Premiere will be available in up to 130" and 120" inch models – LSP9T and LSP7T respectively – that support a laser powered 4K picture resolution. The Premiere LSP9T is the world's first HDR10+ certified projector with triple laser technology and delivers revolutionary contrast details as the user watches from bright to dark scenes with a peak brightness of up to 2,800 ANSI lumens. The Premiere also supports Filmmaker Mode for the first of its kind as a projector allowing users to enjoy watching movies as director intended. The smart projector comes equipped with Samsung's Smart TV platform and experience full of streaming video apps from major content partners and mobile connectivity features such as Tap View and mirroring.

Samsung will begin to rollout The Premiere globally starting in the U.S., Europe, Korea, and other regions later this year. No other details are available at this time. Full Press Release here...

Optimized shot-based encodes for 4K: Now streaming!

As the number of 4K titles in our catalog continues to grow and more devices support the premium features, we expect these video streams to have an increasing impact on our members and the network. We've worked hard over the last year to leapfrog to our most advanced encoding innovations — shot-optimized encoding and 4K VMAF model — and applied those to the premium bitstreams. More specifically, we've improved the traditional 4K and 10-bit ladder by employing:

shot-based encoding
dynamic optimization (DO) similar to that applied on our catalog-wide 8-bit stream profiles
improved encoder settings.

Details of how this new compression scheme work and visual examples provided in the original article found here

Compression Improvements Results

Analysis shows 50% gains on average over the fixed-bitrate. Meaning, on average we need 50% less bitrate to achieve the same quality with the optimized approach.
The highest 4K bitrate on average is 8 Mbps which is also a 50% reduction compared to 16 Mbps of the fixed-bitrate approach.
The optimized technique entails a smaller storage footprint compared to the fixed-bitrate technique.

Benefits

For members with high-bandwidth connections we deliver the same great quality at half the bitrate on average. (Help with Data Caps)
For members with constrained bandwidth we deliver higher quality at the same (or even lower) bitrate
Most streaming sessions start with a higher initial quality.
The number of rebuffers per hour go down by over 65%

Next Steps

Netflix has started re-encoding the 4K titles in their catalog to generate the optimized streams and they expect to complete the process in a couple of months. Netflix continues to work on applying similar optimizations to their HDR streams.

Philip Hue Lighting

It's no secret that we are fans of Hue lights. Ara has over thirty hue lights and fixtures all throughout his home. He recently installed some of their outdoor lighting in his front yard. The video below shows the end result.

It was easy to install once power was supplied. For that an electrician was called out to provide outdoor sockets. Each socket cost about $125 to install. If you are handy you can avoid this cost and just pay for the lights. The lights are expensive but as you will see in the video much better than the garden variety low voltage lights.

If you already have a Hue Hub adding each light is very simple and takes a few minutes per light. In Ara's case he had a light that was stubborn but did eventually add after a couple of attempts. If you don't have the hub you will have to also buy one and add it to your network.

The spot lights were purchased as part of a kit that included a power supply for $340. The path lights were bought individually for $130 each. If you need a power supply the cost goes up to $150, but you only need one of those.

To install the lights it's as simple as connecting the lights to each other and then plugging the lights into power. Ara buried the wires under gravel but that is optional and can be skipped if the lagscaping does not require it.

The lights illuminate the entry so beautifully it's really impressive. Plus there are different scenes that can be created through the hue app. The video shows one created for Halloween and Christmas.

The lights are expensive but are unmatched as far as quality goes and are highly recommended by the HT Guys.

Hue Outdoor Lights Video

Podcast #964: Samsung Hybrid QD-OLED, Six Cheap Security Devices, and the Optoma CinemaX P2 Sep 04, 2020

Show notes

Samsung has new hybrid TVs coming — and they could kill OLED

Samsung is readying a new TV display technology that combines the immaculate picture of OLED with the brightness and color boosting properties of QLED's quantum-dots, into a new hybrid technology called QD-OLED.

Even more exciting? According to reports from BusinessKorea, prototypes of the next-gen technology are already being shared with companies like Sony and Panasonic, as well as Samsung Electronics, and the new panels could start showing up in TVs as early as 2021. Full article here...

6 super cheap home security devices to buy in 2020

From Wyze Cams to Echo Dots, these gadgets will keep your home secure without emptying your bank account. Full article here…

Optoma Releases CinemaX P2 All-in-One, 4K Ultra Short Throw Laser Projector

From the Optoma Press Release:

Optoma launched its next-generation true 4K UHD cinematic experience with the CinemaX P2. This ultra short throw projector features 3,000 lumens of brightness, laser technology and an ultra short throw lens.

Using customer feedback from the award-winning CinemaX P1, Optoma engineered the next gen CinemaX P2 to deliver 25% more contrast and vibrant color performance than its top-selling predecessor giving you a richer color pallet and deeper blacks. It features an integrated Enhanced Gaming Mode making this UST projector an ideal choice for your gaming projector. It even has a state-of-the-art digital exhibit feature. All of this projection power contained in a sleek, white, space saving design.

Optoma CinemaX P2 Smart 4K UHD Laser Features:

Resolution: 4K UHD (3,840 x 2,160)
Lumens: 3,000 ANSI lumens
Contrast: 2,000,000:1 with 3 Dynamic Black Dimming Modes (P1 1.5M:1 No Dynamic Black Dimming modes)
Color: REC.709, DCI-P3 wide color gamut
HDR10 compatible
Color Wheel: 6 Segment RGBRGB (Editor's Note - The P1 had an eight segment color wheel that included yellow. Removing yellow is supposed to provide more vivid colors)
Integrated 4K Media Player and popular video streaming apps available from Optoma Marketplace
Smart+ Technology: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and IFTTT integration
SmartFIT app: Auto geometry correction system for iOS and Android

The Optoma CinemaX P2 is available for purchase at $3,299 and only comes in white. We have requested a review model.

Podcast #963" Micro vs Mini LED and Rob Jones CTO of Enclave Audio Aug 28, 2020

Show notes

Mini-LED gets cheaper: How tiny new lights could improve your next big LCD TV

The new TCL 6-Series is powered by smaller LEDs and starts at $650. Here's why that matters. Full article here...

What's the Difference between Micro and Mini LED?

MicroLED displays, like Sony's Crystal LED and Samsung's The Wall, use millions of LEDs, one for each pixel. Essentially, you're looking directly at the LEDs which are creating the picture. And while each individual MicroLED is tiny, the modular nature of MicroLED means it can get truly gigantic.

Mini-LEDs are found inside normal-size TVs -- TCL is currently selling versions from 55- to 75-inches -- but the LEDs themselves are much larger than MicroLEDs. Just like the standard LEDs found in current TVs, they're used to power the backlight of the television. A liquid crystal layer, the LCD itself, modulates that light to create the image. MicroLED isn't LCD at all, it's a whole new TV technology that also happens to use LEDs.

Direct Lit with Mini vs Full LED

Local dimming is a feature on LED TVs that dims the backlight behind parts of the screen that are displaying black. This makes blacks appear deeper and darker on those parts of the screen, which can be a big bonus for people who watch videos with darker scenes, like movies and TV shows. The more LEDs a TV has the finer the granularity of this process.

A typical Direct Lit LED Array has hundreds of LED Zones to light the 8.2 Million pixels. A huge improvement over a single light source for the entire TV. Let's look at the Vizo 75 inch P series Quantum X. A very good TV by RTNGS.com standard. It has 485 zones. That means each zone is covering 16.9K pixels. Even with this "limitation" RTNGS.com gives it an 8.4 for watching movies and HDR content.

Now take a look at a TV with 25,000 mini-LEDs arrayed across the back of the TV. That means each LED is responsible for 328 pixels! Much more control which translates to higher contrast Two such TVs are the TCL 8 and 6 Series. The 8 Series has just over 25,000 mini LEDs while the 6 Series has only a thousand. Still twice as good as a typical Direct Array LED TV.

Buying Advice

At this year's CES we saw OLED, Micro, and Mini LED TVS. All have their place. Micro LED may give OLED a run for the money because it has similar performance and will be easier and less costly to scale up to very large screen sizes. To date you can't buy a micro LED. When they show up they will be at a premium but should eventually come down to less than OLED. Especially at the larger screen sizes.

Mini LED is here! TCL has two models on the market and LG is not very far behind. With much improved performance over the current line of LED TVs this technology gets you very close to OLED performance for much less money. And like the micro LED, mini LED can scale to larger screen sizes. We recommend you take a look at the mini LEDs that are on the market or will be introduced in the next few months.

Interview with Rob Jones, CTO of Enclave Audio

Rob Jones is the CTO of Enclave Audio, makers of a wireless 5.1 home theater system that is easy to set up anywhere in your home without the need of speaker wire. The Enclave 5.1 CineHome II ($1,099.98) and CineHome PRO THX® Certified ($1,599.98) can be installed by simply placing the speakers, connecting your TV or STB to the Enclave Smart Center and powering up. We talk with Rob about these products and his love of audio. More information can be found at their website EnclaveAudio.com

Podcast #962: Do You need 8K? Spoiler Alert… the answer is No! Aug 21, 2020

Show notes

This week we ask whether Allen should open his factory sealed Empire Strikes Back VHS tape so he can digitize it. We also breakout sales of the top 10 selling discs by format, Finally we make a case for not buying an 8K TV just yet. We also read your emails and take a look at the news on an action packed episode!!

Question of the Day

Question of the day comes from Allen - I have an original VHS copy of Empire Strikes Back, it is still shrink-wrapped. Is it worth opening to digitize and add to my @plex server?

Ara's answer - Yes! Preserve it before its unwatchable. What say all of you? I found an unopened 1990's original on eBay for $22 shipped.

Lee Overstreet - As someone who does a lot of analog digitization, I'd say only bother if you have the right equipment and know what you're doing to get the most out of it. i.e.: High end preferably S-VHS VCR, TBC, lossless capture codec, chroma/luma adjust, etc. No cheap composite doohickeys.

Bill S - Since it's a VHS it would be the original before all the enhancements. I'd go with digitizing it before the tape degrades.

Graham Cole - eBay it

Scott Foseen - No, shrink wrapped it is worth more as a collector's item. If you want it on plex buy a new disk instead

DJ from the Brightside HT Podcast - I would keep that on display until the day I die. As far as I'm concerned it's priceless and isn't worth anything because I'd never sell it. It has to be pretty rare and some thing that unique is a pretty cool item to have. Congratulations!

Top 10 Sellers for Week Ended 8-1-20 Broken out by Format

Source - NPD VideoScan First Alert (based on unit sales from reporting retailers)

Note - In the original numbers, NPD VideoScan considered UHD a Blu-ray version and added it to the Bluray Share for each title. We subtracted the UHD share from the NPD VideoScan Bluray numbers in the table below

Title UHD BR DVD

10) The Secret Life of Pets 0.1% 1.9% 97.9%

9) NCIS (S7) 0 0 100

8) Jurassic World 0 7 93

7) Top Gun 8 25 67

6) Jaws 13 5 82

5) Capone 0 44 56

4) The Mule 0.4 7.6 92

3) Sonic the Hedgehog 9 41 50

2) Trolls World Tour 6 45 49

1) Scoob! 5 38 57

Full list of 20 here…

Do You need 8K? Spoiler Alert… the answer is No!

Pixel Counts for HDTV Formats

720p 1,280x720 921,600

1080p 1,920x1,080 2,073,600

4K 3,840x2,160 8,294,400

8K 7,680x4,320 33,177,600

Viewing Distances where Resolution is Noticeable

So does resolution matter for your viewing distance? For this discussion we will look at a screen size of 75 inches and how resolution impacts the viewing experience. This is information from Carlton Bale and based on the resolving ability of the human eye. He states: A person with 20/20 vision can resolve 60 pixels per degree, which corresponds to recognizing the letter "E" on the 20/20 line of a Snellen eye chart from 20 feet away. He created a chart showing, for any given screen size, how close you need to sit to be able to detect some or all of the benefits of a higher resolution screen. We link to his entire analysis here (Screen Size vs. Viewing Distance vs. Resolution). His analysis does not cover 8K but you will be able to draw your conclusions from looking at his work anyway.

At 22 feet (6.7M) 480p=720p=1080p=4K

At 15 feet (4.5M) you can tell that 480p is lower quality but 720p=1080p=4K

At 10 feet (3.0M) you can tell that both 480p and 720p are lower quality but 1080p=4K

At 5 feet (1.5M) you can tell that 480p, 720p, and 1080p are lower quality

Who sits this close to a 75 inch TV? Most people sit anywhere from 10 to 15 feet from their TVs. Many sit farther. Ara's media room is 13.5 feet (4M) from his 90 inch screen. According to Bale Ara can't see the difference in resolution between 1080p and 4K. As it turns out Ara would need a screen size greater than 140 inches to see any benefit from resolution.

Of course newer TVs with higher resolutions usually come with other enhancements like HDR, better color, and contrast. Although a 720p TV is good enough resolution for many, these TVs do not have the better and more important feature enhancements of wide color and HDR making the image look far worse.

Someday all you will be able to buy are 8K TVs. Will that alone have any perceived improvement on your viewing experience? Most likely not. However, there will probably be other improvements that will make buying an 8K TV worth it. But that's not the case today. Save your money and buy a high quality 4K TV and understand that 4K is not the most important feature of your TV.

Of course there is the issue with finding 8K content. Is there any? Will the studios start filming in 8K? There is definitely some 8K content out there but as we said earlier. It doesn't matter to the human eye.

Possible uses for 8K TVS

Large Video Wall that can display multiple 1080P or 4K screens simultaneously
A huge computer screen
I got nothing else!

Podcast #961: Fall TV and Sonos ARC Aug 14, 2020

Show notes

On today's show we breakdown the Top 50 Disc sellers format market share and look at a few shows that were either canceled or renewed for the upcoming Fall season with the most thorough resource we have found on this subject from Rotten Tomatoes. Finally we take a look at the Sonos ARC soundbar with a review from the Verge. All that plus your email and news!

RENEWED AND CANCELLED TV SHOWS 2020

Want to know if your favorite television series is among the latest cancelled TV shows? Bookmark this page to learn about Netflix cancelled shows, when network series get the axe, and which cable TV limited series are being reworked as anthologies to squeeze every single drop of fan love out of them. Full article here…

Some notable shows:

A.P. Bio: season 3 (NBC) – Renewed (moves to Peacock after being cancelled by NBC)
The Blacklist: season 8 (NBC) – Renewed
Blue Bloods: season 11 (CBS) – Renewed
Bosch: season 7 (Amazon) – Cancelled (after seventh, and final, season) Season six currently streaming. Season 7 still to be released.
Criminal Minds: season 15 (CBS) – Cancelled (after fifteenth, and final, season)
The Crown: seasons 4, 5 and 6 (Netflix) – Cancelled (after sixth, and final, season)
Fear the Walking Dead: season 6 (AMC) – Renewed
For All Mankind: season 2 (Apple TV+) – Renewed
GLOW: season 4 (Netflix) – Cancelled (after fourth and final season)
Homeland: season 8 (Showtime) – Cancelled (after eighth, and final, season)
MacGyver: season 5 (CBS) – Renewed
Magnum P.I.: season 3 (CBS) – Renewed
The Mandalorian: season 2 (Disney+) – Renewed
NCIS: season 18 (CBS) – Renewed
The Walking Dead: season 11 (AMC) – Renewed

SONOS ARC Review

We recently had a discussion on the Sonos Arc and wondered if the $800 price tag is worth it. We reached out to Sonos for an evaluation unit but have yet to hear back. But we did find a review of the Sonos Arc over at The Verge and will share some of the high points.We have linked to the entire review for your convenience.

Audio formats supported:

Dolby Atmos
TrueHD (for external Blu-ray players)
Dolby Digital Plus
Dolby Digital

If you've been eyeing the Arc, you might already be familiar with a lot of this terminology. It's a soundbar meant for home theater enthusiasts who, for whatever reason, aren't interested in going all-out with in-ceiling speakers and a full 7.1 surround experience. If that's you, I think the Arc delivers a phenomenal audio experience for its price. You've just got to be sure your TV is capable of unlocking that potential. It's a strange limitation; at this price point, it's reasonable to expect an HDMI passthrough so you can experience Atmos without potentially having to upgrade your TV.

This is a key point is that your TV needs to send the Atmos signal over Arc. In most cases your TV needs to support eARC for that to happen. There are some TVs that can do that over ARC but not many. Bottom line you may need a new TV to get ATMOS to work. Even still, it may not be the experience you would expect. We have talked about perfectly shaped rooms since the days of the Yamaha Sound Projector. The author comes to the same conclusion.

Box shaped Room:

Paired with the Sub, the Arc delivered sound as immersive as the multiple-speaker Atmos system. If you didn't know the Arc was bouncing sound off the ceiling and rear wall, you would easily believe that there were speakers there. Compared to the traditional Atmos system, the Arc sounded different — it's definitely tuned to deliver very loud dialogue, and it's still a soundbar, so the overall left / right soundstage isn't as wide — but it delivered a surround effect that was easily as convincing.

Large Open Room:

But if you don't have a room that's essentially a flat box, the Arc's ability to bounce sound goes away — in a large open living room with a double-height ceiling, the Arc didn't really deliver any surround experience at all. That's not a knock — the thing is designed to bounce sound off walls — but be aware of that limitation.

Pros:

Excellent, powerful, immersive sound
Works well as a music speaker, too
eARC means it's future-proofed

Cons:

Some TVs can't pass Atmos over ARC, and there's no HDMI passthrough
Surround sound might not work well in large rooms
Trueplay tuning available only on iPhone and iPad

Podcast #960: Mulan, Cheap 98 inch 4K TV, and TCL 8-Series Aug 07, 2020

Show notes

On today's show we discuss Disney releasing Mulan on Disney+ with an additional $29.99 charge. Is this the world we have been hoping for? We also take a look at a really "cheap" 98 inch 4K TV. And finally we try to determine if the new TCL 8 Series mini-LED TVis Braden's next buy. All that plus news and your emails.

Disney's 'Mulan' coming to Disney+ in September for $29.99

Disney said on Tuesday, in a surprise move, that its blockbuster feature "Mulan," which has been delayed from its theatrical release since mid-March, will hit Disney+ on Sept. 4, for a premium price of $29.99.

The film will be simultaneously released theatrically in certain markets that have open theaters and where the company hasn't announced plans to launch Disney+. It will be Disney's first effort to sell content on Disney+, on top of the monthly $6.99 subscription. Full article here...

Want a cheap 98-inch 4K display? Check out this behemoth from Xiaomi

Meet the Redmi Smart TV MAX, a 98-inch TV that comes with its own white glove VIP installation service. Available at 19,999 Yuan (that's about US$2,800, £2,200, AU$4,000), this absurdly massive display is actually not all that expensive.

The next cheapest 98-inch display on the market is the ViewSonic IFP9850, a touchscreen monitor that costs about three times more. Full article here…

Or the:

Samsung 98" QB98R Edge-Lit 4K UHD LED Display. $8999 at B&H

TCL 8-series 4K UHD TV review: This TV gets as close to OLED as any LCD has come

With thousands of mini LEDs forming its backlight array, TCL's 8-series Roku TV delivers blacks beyond what even the best LCD TVs from other manufacturers have managed. Full article here…

TCL Q825 4K UHD smart TV (65-inch model 65Q825) $999.99 at BestBuy

Quantum Contrast technology - Our new mini-LED backlight technology offers powerful and precise control of brilliantly bright and deeply dark areas of the image, delivering depth, dimension, and contrast. The viewing experience is improved throughout the screen.
High-Performance Mini-LEDs - The 8-Series uses high-performance mini-LEDs to bring precise local dimming and smooth, uniform illumination.
AiPQ Engine - Uses machine-learning algorithms to optimize color, contrast and clarity for an unrivaled 4K HDR experience.
Wide Color with QLED color technology - Quantum dot technology delivers better brightness and wider color volume, matching the format used by most cinema screens and Hollywood content creators, for exceptionally vivid and lifelike picture performance.
HDR - Provides images with superior color, contrast and brightness, so all your favorite movies, shows and games come to life in stunning clarity. Supports Dolby Vision, HDR 10, and Hybrid Log-Gamma (HLG).

From the article:

OLEDs do starfields almost perfectly; the Q825 merely does them very, very well. It doesn't deliver pure black, but close enough that you have to look hard to see the difference.

I kept throwing my most problematic material at it and the 65Q825 kept coming up smelling like roses. Mostly. It failed on one highly detailed pan, but I'm calling that an outlier as it aced others that should've exhibited the same artifacts. Screen conformity was also very good, though off-angle viewing isn't on par with some of the top-end LCD sets from Sony and Samsung.

AT A GLANCE

TCL Q825 4K UHD smart TV (65-inch model 65Q825) Super granular mini-LED backlighting delivers the most stunning blacks we've seen from an LCD TV. Quantum dots refine the color, and processing is top-notch. One of the best values in LCD TVs we've tested.

Pros

By far the best blacks of any LCD TV we've tested
Excellent overall picture

Cons

Overpriced when not on sale
No Bluetooth

Podcast #959: Alexa Live 2020 Jul 31, 2020

Show notes

On today's show we ask the question whether a $300 toaster with a touchscreen is worth buying. We take a look at Klipsch's Soundbar killer the Fives and we give you a rundown of the Alexa Live 2020 conference. All that plus your emails and news!

The Revolution R180 Toaster has a touchscreen. It's ridiculous and I love it

Refrigerators, countertop ovens, microwaves and even multicookers all adopted touchscreen displays in the wake of the birth of the smart home. Now there's a toaster with a touchscreen. This won't be the first time I question the idea of putting a touchscreen on an appliance, and it likely won't be the last. Full article here...

Fast toasting
Sleek design
East to customize cooking

DON'T LIKE

No Wi-Fi or connected smarts
Expensive

Bill S - I see no reason to have a screen on a toaster at all 🍞

Aaron - Only if it's connected to a Panera

Micky A - Nope!

Klipsch's 'The Fives' are stunning TV speakers that challenge soundbar trends

Klipsch talks a big game when it comes to its new bookshelf-style powered TV monitors called The Fives. Claiming to be the first powered monitors to feature HDMI-ARC, which allows them to communicate directly with a television, Klipsch promises The Fives will provide a big and bold sound experience that will outperform the soundbars most people currently rely on. Full article here...

At $799 are they worth it?

Audio Advice video review

HDMI ARC - Using HDMI-ARC, enjoy The Fives with your TV with no additional cables or remotes using the included HDMI cable

HIGH EFFICIENCY AMPLIFICATION - The Fives incorporate individual ultra-low noise amplifiers that are custom designed to maximize system performance and eliminate the need for external amplification. World- class Klipsch engineers picked and tuned the components to be an absolute perfect match throughout, making the system sound incredibly immersive and complete. The Fives are also bi-amped resulting in improved clarity and output

PRECISE, CLEAR & HIGHLY EFFICIENT SOUND, PROPRIETARY TO KLIPSCH - The Fives feature 1" titanium tweeters on Tractrix® horns, a proprietary technology that has been the driving force behind the stunningly precise Klipsch acoustics. Each powered monitor also features a 4.5" long-throw woofer and is ported to provide enhanced bass.

THE MOST VERSATILE SPEAKERS ON THE PLANET - Whether you are connecting to a turntable, television, computer, or smart phone, The Fives provide the solution. The Fives come equipped with an integrated phono pre-amp, Bluetooth® 5, HDMI-ARC, digital optical, analog RCA and USB inputs, allowing you to enjoy superior stereo sound from a beautifully crafted tabletop stereo system.

DYNAMIC BASS EQ - As the human ear perceives frequencies differently with variations in output, The Fives will dynamically match the ear's ability to hear lower frequencies. Typically, only available with audio/video receivers, dynamic volume is a first for Klipsch powered monitors. What you get is powerful bass whether the listening volume is low, cranked up or somewhere in between

192KHZ / 24-BIT DECODING TO SUPPORT HIGH RESOLUTION AUDIO TRACKS - The Fives powered monitors also feature 192kHz / 24-bit decoding for flawless reproduction of high-resolution audio tracks from your PC or streaming source.

ADD A SUBWOOFER - The Fives include a subwoofer output so you can easily add a powered subwoofer.

Alexa Live 2020 Release Roundup

Below are all features Amazon launched at Alexa Live 2020.

Full List here (this is from a developer's point of view)

Introducing Alexa Conversations (beta), a New AI-Driven Approach to Providing Conversational Experiences That Feel More Natural. Alexa Conversations is a new AI-driven approach to dialog management that enables developers to create skills that customers can interact with in a natural, less constrained way - using the phrases they prefer, in the order they prefer.

Deep neural networks (DNNs) models can help improve Alexa's natural language understanding

Multi-Value Slots (beta) Receive multiple slot values and respond to more complex utterances. The best way to describe this is with an example:

User: Add apples to my shopping cart

Alexa: How many apples should I add?

User: Actually, add three bananas

Alexa: Added three bananas. Would you like to add more items?

User: Remove bananas from my cart

Person Profile API Skills incorporating Alexa voice profiles can now create even more personalized experiences

Example interactions:

Mom: Alexa, order cauliflower and Brussels sprouts.

Alexa: You got it, but I need to verify your identity first.

Alexa: What's your personal passcode?

Mom: Two, four, eight, six.

Alexa: Thank you, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts are added to your grocery order.

Teenager: Alexa, order ten microwave pizzas.

Alexa: I need to verify your identity first.

Alexa: What's your personal passcode?

Teenager: Uh-oh.

Alexa: I'm sorry, that passcode is incorrect.

APL for audio (beta) Mix Alexa speech, sound effects, music, and other audio at runtime with APL for audio so you can easily deliver exciting and immersive audio experiences, without the time, effort, and cost required for pre-mixing.

Skill Resumption (preview) Allow customers to easily return to your skill after using Alexa accomplish another task. Example:

Customer: "Alexa, get me a ride home."

Alexa: "Ok, an UberX from your current location at Sixth Avenue and Blanchard Street, to home, right?"

Customer: "Yes"

Alexa: "Looking for a driver. I'll let you know when I have a match."

Alexa: "Your driver, Sven, will arrive in seven minutes. Look for a black Prius with license plate ending in 9794."

Customer: "Alexa, what's the weather right now?"

Alexa: "It's currently 60 degrees with showers in Seattle."

Customer: "Alexa, what's my flash briefing?"

Alexa:

5 minutes later.

Customer: Alexa, where is my ride?

Alexa: Sven is 2 minutes away.

Alexa for Apps (preview) You Can Now Seamlessly Connect Alexa Skills to Mobile Apps. Now customers can use their voice as a shortcut into any activity that can be opened with a deep link in your app. And because Alexa for Apps extends the functionality of custom skills, it can support a wide variety of use cases including: Search, View more information, or Access functionality

Many many more

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

HDTV and Home Theater Podcast

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected