HDTV and Home Theater Podcast

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Podcast #759: Plex Interview Sep 30, 2016

Show notes

Plex Interview

Today we interview Elan Fiengold CTO of Plex and Jason Williams Director of Product and Growth of Plex. For those of you who do not know what Plex is, Plex is a media server and client suite of applications that organizes your multimedia content from personal libraries and streams it to their player both on a local network and across the Internet.

There are two pieces to the Plex System, the server and the client.

Plex Server - The server is the portion that organizes and catalogs your content and delivers it to your clients. The server can run on Macs, PCs, NAS, and the NVidia Shield.

Plex Client - This is where you can watch your content. Pretty much if it has a screen you can watch. Tablets, Phones, Computers, TVs and on and on.

Features

Any Format - Support for all file types (well, virtually all), including hi-fi music and video formats.
Available Anywhere - Stream all of your media to all your devices, anytime, anywhere, with the same beautiful experience on all of them.
Library Organization - Organize all of your media–videos, photos, and music–and make it beautiful with artwork and info like plot summaries, bios, and more.
Privacy and Security - Enjoy your media while away from home, knowing your connection is securely encrypted.
Sharing - Effortlessly share libraries among friends to all discover and enjoy even more content together.
Recommendations and Discovery - Enjoy beautifully organized libraries that help you find and re-discover great gems in your collection.
No Storage Limit - Store and stream as much as you have on your server or storage device, without sacrificing quality, security, or performance.
Online Channels - Get online content from various sources, like TED Talks, NPR, Spike, Comedy Central, and Soundcloud, right in Plex.
Remote Control - Use the Plex app on your phone or tablet to control any Plex player.
Casting - Cast content from your smartphone, tablet, or computer to your TV for large screen viewing via Chromecast.
Flinging - Start content on one device and fling it to another app to continue enjoying it.
Media Optimizer - Create optimized versions of your media for seamless streaming on whichever device you choose.
Watch Later - Save online videos to watch later or recommend videos to a friend.
Plex Cloud NEW - Plex Cloud and your Amazon Drive is the simplest way to run Plex, without the need for an always-on PC or network-attached storage device (NAS).
Plex DVR NEW - Record free television broadcast channels and watch your favorite HD shows, movies, news, and sports, on any device, anywhere in the world.
Mobile Sync - Sync your videos, music, and photos to your mobile device for offline enjoyment wherever you go.
Cloud Sync - Sync content from your library to supported cloud storage providers to enjoy even if your server is offline.
Audio Fingerprinting - Manage your music with song identification via audio fingerprinting, get world-class album reviews and artist bios, as well as the best cover art available.
Lyrics - See timed lyrics to your favorite songs when available.
Mood Mix - Find tracks in your collection based on mood to help you wake up, wind down, and everything in between.
Plex Mix - Kick off playback of similar tracks from your collection at any time — it's like your own personal radio station.
Premium Music - Enjoy lyrics, automatic Plex Mix and Mood Mix playlists based on mood or similar tracks, and premium metadata matching for high quality art, album reviews, artist bios and more!
Multiple Users Create customized, managed accounts, and make user switching fast and easy with Plex Home.
Parental Controls - Enable parental controls to keep the kids away from inappropriate content.
Trailers and Extras - Automatically see high quality movie trailers, cast interviews, and other extras for movies in your library.
Camera Upload - Wirelessly sync your phone or tablet photos automatically to your Plex Media Server.
VIP Discounts NEW - Get exclusive access to discounts on partner products
Early Access - Be the first to get exclusive access to new features and enjoy awesome premium ones.

Podcast #758: CEDIA 2016 Sep 23, 2016

Show notes

CEDIA 2016 Each year CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association) holds an event where the industry gathers to show off their wares. It is akin to a mini-CES, but also for many of us represents a best of CES of sorts. When we've been to attend the show, we tend to enjoy it more than CES. It takes the parts of CES that we are interested in and compresses it down to a more manageable show. We didn't go this year but that won't stop us from talking about some of the products we think are interesting. This year the show was from September 13-17 in Dallas, TX. High-Def Digest: Top Six Highlights from CEDIA 2016 Sony UBP-X1000ES Sony has their first entry into the world of Ultra HD Blu-ray players. But there is catch, this ES model is only for integrators. Even so, it's a pretty clear view of what we can expect when the consumer version is finally announced. The Ultra HD Blu-ray was just one part of Sony's booth, but, at least for this event, Sony made it clear that HDR is an important focus in the current line, both in the Master Drive TVs and in projectors like the VPL-VW5000ES. KEF Blade Two With good reason, most of the serious audio demonstrations at CEDIA 2016 required at the least a demonstration enclosure, and at the most indulgent, a suite. The KEF Blade Two, however, stood in a pair right in the open middle of the KEF booth. That stereo image, produced by two Blade Twos running off of a Hegel H360 (and networked FLAC tracks), was so poised in the din of the convention center and the booth, I had trouble even thinking of places in homes and well, luxury hotels, that wouldn't be made better with a pair of the large but not intimidating speakers. Naturally, the rest of the booth, which housed gems like the KEF Ci Series, had that kid in a toy store feel. LG Signature OLED77G6P Not only is the OLED65G6P basically breathe-taking in that undeniable beauty time of way, but the undeniability applies to both the picture and form. And here, in mid-to-late 2016, what could LG do to top this show-stopper? That would be to debut a 77" version. This new model exudes the same lines, but in a greater size more apropos of in-home cinema. The reason I say that now is a good time to make the trek to see the Signature line is that the 77" (and its even bigger $20k price tag) is already ready at certain showrooms in the States. Modulus Media Hub The Modulus Media Hub promises a lot, including DVD and Blu-ray archiving, a wealth of streaming service support, a base 6TB capacity with external expansion, 4K support, remote media access, and a DVR capability that applies to everything (including streaming). But what struck me is that the Modulus has the hardware (apparently) to also host Ultra HD Blu-rays. Unfortunately, that particular capability is not a certainty. CEDIA: Seven Trends We've Seen at CEDIA 2016 (we will discuss 4 of them…) Voice is the New Mouse and/or Swipe Given the Friday Keynote and a number of CEDIA Talks, it was easy to predict VUI would be a pretty hot topic. But as more and more manufacturers in the CEDIA channel explore integrating some manner of voice control into their products – from whole-home audio to security systems – it's pretty clear that the entire industry's betting on the next step in computer interaction. Everybody's at the Table OK, maybe it's not quite time to dump the term "DIY" yet – but seeing products that are pitched directly to the consumer side-by-side with pro models is an incredibly interesting trend. Back to VUI – yeah, you can buy your own interface device, but that same technology is going into gear used in big integration projects. It seems that there's a parallel development at work — and a realization that as a broader spectrum of the populace gets really interested in this stuff, that rising tide will lift every boat. The Home Needs an IT Pro We've heard more stats about the Internet of Things than devices that are actually on the Internet of Things. Alright, that's a total exaggeration, but still – the challenges that the IoT is presenting when it comes to interoperability, security, and network troubleshooting will translate into ever larger opportunities for that less-than-artful acronym "RMR." Speakers Should Either Be Gorgeous or Invisible Not a new trend per se, but the difference between the "buried in the sheetrock and still sounds amazing" and the speaker-as-sculpture philosophy really struck your humble scribe over the last few days. Both the aural effects of the invisible speakers and the visual impact from those who treat this gear as high-end design has been jaw-dropping. CE Pro: Editor's Pick: 12 Great New Products from CEDIA 2016 Stewart Filmscreen Phantom HALR Screen The top manufacturer in CE Pro's Brand Analysis in the screen category reinforced its standing with its Phantom HALR black screen. Available in sizes up to 40 x 90 feet, with specification options for rollable installations, and acoustically transparent applications, dealers can use it for residential and commercial jobs. The Phantom produced stunning images on the show floor and its brightly lit aisles. Running a demo with Digital Projection, Stewart says it measured a contrast ratio on the floor of 90:1 and the black-and-white video with the screen looked incredible with no hint of color shift. Meyer Sound Demo Over in the world of pro sound, Meyer Sound is a benchmark brand of speakers . About 10 years ago the company migrated into the movie post-production category branching out from its roots as a sound reinforcement company and quickly established itself as a go-to brand. Now it's coming into the residential market and it's bringing the same level of quality. Working with the Dallas-based dealer Elliston Systems, Meyer partnered with Barco, Vutec and Keith Yates Design to deliver one of the best demos ever produced at a trade show. Barco Thor Projector Another benchmark manufacturer coming from the pro market and into the residential field is Barco. Showing its state-of-the-art Thor 6P laser 4K projector, you could say Barco's Thor dropped the hammer on the competition. Showing a mix of content that included 4K HDR, the Thor provided one of the best demos I've seen at a CEDIA show. Barco even realized the importance of audio with home theater and didn't cut corners with the audio portion of its demo. Autonomic MMS-1e Whole-House Music Player Streamlining the size and installation process for dealers, Autonomic introduced MMS-1e Whole-House Music Player and M-120e 4-zone amplifier. These products provide dealers with all of the familiar functions that have made Autonomic a top provider of whole-house audio systems with the simplified connectivity of its eAudioCast audio-over-Ethernet technology. The MMS-1e provides a choice of audio output formats, Wi-Fi support, control system integration, plus the company's great user interface. The MMS-1e carries an MSRP of just $995. Origin Acoustics B&O Partnership Jeremy Burkhardt has demonstrated once again that he is an industry leader. Combining his company's engineering prowess with the famous industrial design of Bang & Olufsen (B&O), Origin announced a partnership with B&O in which jointly developed products will be available in 700 B&O store locations. Select B&O products will be available to Origin dealers. Unlike the trend to hide architectural speakers, the point of the Origin and B&O collaboration is to show these speakers, which feature B&O's famous industrial design. Digital Projection (DP) e-Vision 4K Laser DP annually makes my best product lists for good reason: the company designs great performing products. The e-Vision 4K Laser is designed to balance performance and cost considerations and it meets all of its objectives. The 8,000-lumen projector provides a lamp life of 20,000 hours and 4K compatibility through the new TI 0.66 DLP chip for a reasonable price of $19,999. I was impressed with the e-Vision 4K Laser's bright and punchy, noise-free highly detailed UltraHD images during the company's demo. Epson LS10500 Projector Epson showcased its LS10500 in a great demo. The new LS10500 provides a lamp life of 30,000 hours, HDR compatibility and 1,500 lumens of color brightness and 1,500 lumens of white brightness. While not a true 4K projector in that it is not a native 4K solution, the LS10500 still delivers a vivid, detailed image that is impossible to match at its price point of $7,999 while accepting Ultra HD signals. Phase Technology CI-130 In-Wall Loudspeaker Showing again that it engineers some of the industry's best "secrets," the company was showing its new IW-210 in-wall sub and its CI-130 in-wall speakers. This hybrid sealed-box design features a unique design that employs foam holes to allow the speaker to defeat some of the common limitations of architectural products. The CI-130 with the IW-210 produced a huge soundstage that was dynamic and seamless in its sonic integration. Sony UBP-X1000ES Ultra Blu-ray Disc Player It would be an understatement to say that Sony crushed CEDIA 2016. The popular electronics company just about stole the show with the introduction of its new Z-series Ultra HD televisions, new ES A/V receivers, and its UBP-X1000ES UltraHD Blu-ray disc player. Checking in at an approximate price point of $900, it's safe to say the Ultra HD Blu-ray disc category is now validated. Arguably the most anticipated product at the entire show, it offers HDR compatibility, as well as the ability to play DVD-Audio, DVD video, CDs, SACDs, Blu-ray discs, 3D Blu-ray discs and BD-ROMs. It also offers streaming services such as Amazon and YouTube as well as Dolby Atmos compatibility. RBH Sound SV 6500 Signature Reference Speaker RBH's lead engineer Shane Rich quietly designs some of the best speakers on the market. Showing his design talent Rich redesigned its Signature Reference speaker to include Air Motion Tweeters (AMT). As always RBH delivers some of CEDIA's best demos and CEDIA 2016 didn't disappoint with a surround clip from Eric Clapton's "Crossroads" shows and the musicianship of Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes and Susan Tedeschi. Highlighting its surround system was the Signature Reference SV-6500 R floorstanding speaker. CE Pro: What Dealers Say about CEDIA 2016 Bose Lifestyle 650 Bose's new Lifestyle 650 home audio system surprised a lot of integrators at CEDIA. One of them, who didn't want to be named because he's a big Sonos dealer, said, "I couldn't get over how much they've improved the platform. ... The fit, the finish, the feel, they look serious." He says the new little speakers deliver "spacious sound" and strong bass and, of all the compliments, "even the [SoundTouch] app looks respectable." Sony Z-Series displays Check social media. Seems everyone took a picture in front of this 100-inch Z-Series display from Sony. One dealer says "It's as good as it gets." It seemed most dealers were impressed with Sony's new Z-Series (Z9D) displays. At the booth it was noted that the 100-incher was only $60,000 – or half the price of Vizio's 120-inch TV. A dealer on RemoteCentral wonders: "The reps are claiming it's on par (or better than) the OLED. Your thoughts?" Integrator Mike Bruemmer of Cincinnati's Mt. Lookout Television and Electronics, agrees with the reps: "Sony Z9D was outstanding. Much better brightness than the OLED. We looked at the Z9 and ran to go look at the G6 [LG OLED]. Z9 is better." Sony thrived on the 4K projector front as well. Crestron Crestron did not have an official presence at CEDIA this year, but the company's home-automation products appeared at several booths including Amazon Alexa and Sonos. Of all the new control systems integrating with Sonos, Crestron is the only one that embeds the entire Sonos interface in the automation UI. A Crestron dealer noted, "I saw the Crestron demo with Sonos. There is still some work to go. But one has to start somewhere. They have the link right to the Sonos app from the Crestron panel. Which is obviously a compromise at this point having to flip apps. At this point I would still suggest an Autonomic when doing Crestron systems." Residential Systems: Real Audio Video VR: My CEDIA 2016 Game Changer REAL Audio Video is a top design and integration firm that has been doing ultra-high-end installs for more than 18 years. REAL partnered with another Utah based company, Fractal Mob, to create its new Private Cinema previsualization software, which was demonstrated at CEDIA for the first time. This previs software is not only incredibly innovative, but also potentially game changing in its use of virtual reality for aiding in the pre-sale and design of high end theaters. The two firms worked closely together on the project with REAL acting as technical consultants and providing Fractal with the floorplans, elevations, and reference photos to recreate the room in VR. By using virtual reality, REAL wants to let customers "walk through" their new theater space "before a single nail is driven." For the demo, Fractal Mob took 4K VR scans of one of REAL's actual, already constructed theater designs. As the firm didn't have access to the actual room, they had to build everything from scratch—speakers, chairs, projector, room, textures, etc.—as if it didn't exist in real life, or exactly as it would be as if someone was previsualizing a room that had yet to be built. After the modeling is complete, the software lets you walk around and explore every inch of the room. The resulting image quality is nearly photo realistic, and in fact is limited by the current hardware limitations in VR rendering and will only improve as computing hardware catches up. Once inside the virtual space, you can walk up to walls and see the micro detail and texture in the fabric and the grain of the wood and quality of the millwork. Sconces gently bathe the sidewalls in light, the intensity and brightness changing as you walk up to them. Look back into the projector room and you see lens flare that changes based on the projected image and where you're standing in the room. There are even micro dust particles floating through the air in the light path of the projector. Kneel down and examine the carpet. Sit in different points in the room and see exactly how big—or small—your intended screen size looks. No more will the question, "Will 120 inches be too big from this seating position?" be a theoretical one. Now you can sit the client in the front row, the middle row, the back row and let them see exactly how big the screen will look at all seating locations. Same with seating. How will four seats look in a row? Put yourself in the space and see exactly how wide the pathways are. Or if the first row is low enough to not have sightline issues. Even more amazing—and educational—the audio tracks your position in the room, letting you move in and out of room modes so a customer can experience exactly what is happening with the audio and why the need for multiple subs and room correction—my friend Adam's specialty—is so crucial. While the VR demo video is playing, the audio also tracks as you turn your head as you turn from side to side, moving the stereo image position. Amazing.

Full show notes at the publisher

Podcast #757: Home Theater Seating Sep 16, 2016

Show notes

Home Theater Seating

We've had media/projector rooms in our homes for a few years now. We've talked about our electronics, our content, and even some of the decorations that go into those rooms. But we haven't really discussed seating. That's because for many of us the seating is simply your tradition couch or recliner.

Going back a few years if you wanted home theater seating you had to spend a lot of money to buy seats that were designed for actual theaters. Then we saw a company at CES (2009) that was showing off seats that had electro-mechanical actuators that made them move in unison with the movie. The D-BOX seats were stuff that only the rich could afford. To seat four people with this system could easily run you over $30,000. Plus only certain movies provided the codes to actually move the seats.

Fast Forward to 2016 and the Derderian's need a new couch in the media room so for grins we looked around at what was available. To our pleasant surprise, there is plenty available and while not cheap, it's a far cry from costing $30,000 to comfortably seat a family of four to watch your favorite movies.

Manufactures

There are plenty of manufacturers out there selling "Home Theater" seats. They range from the traditional theater style to more family style. Here is a partial list:

Seatcraft - Started in 1978 in California as a manufacturer of automotive seating they began selling home theater seating 2001. They have many styles and different pricepoints. Pricing ranges from $399 to over $1000 a seat. They come in different fabrics and styles. From single recliners to rows of 2,3, and 4. Options include neck pillow, tablet holder, and wine caddy. They even include in seat USB charging ports and power recline. You'll never want to watch a movie in a theater again!
Lane Home Theater Seating - Lane has been around for years and the know a trend when they see one. Their home theater seating offerings are limited to a two arm recliner as well as row seating. Pricing ranges between $500 and $650 a seet. Options include power recline, in arm storage, and cool LED lights at the base of the seats. Higher end models include USB charging.
Barcalounger - Founded in 1941, Barcalounger is one of the highest regarded furniture companies in the USA. Translation, you will pay for the quality, but that's not a bad thing in our opinion. Barcalounger sells row seating that ranges in price from $600 to $1000. Power recline, USB charging, Lighted Cupholder and base are the main options available.

There are many other manufacturers including Southern Motion, Coaster, Jaymer, and Berkline selling options that include curved seating, seatbacks that flip down into consoles and storage for your remote controls. There is a style, color, and option somewhere out there that will make even the toughest aesthetics committee chairman happy. Oh yeah! Don't forget the seat shakers. Everyone one of the above seats can be fitted with sound shaker amp kit. There are even wireless versions that make setup simple. Now you have a reason to buy a 7.2 receiver even in a small room!

Multimedia Sofas

So let's say that you are married to someone who just doesn't like theater seating. I'm not going to mention names but Ara knows someone like that. In fact his entire family is someone like that. They just can't seem to wrap their minds around home theater seats. They say you can't snuggle up during a movie. I say that's what the downstairs TV is for… but I digress.

There is a line of seating called Multimedia Sofas. These are home theater seats without the armrests in between seats. These seats come in multiple configurations including wedge and console options. Sofas, loveseats, straight, curved, and L-shape designs. Essentially like the couch you have today! But these have many of the same options as actual theater seats like USB charging, fold down console, LED lighting, power recline, and lighted cupholders on the edges or in the wedges. And yes you can add sound shaker amps! Prices range from $1000 to $2200 depending on options.

Whatever happened to D-BOX

Well they are still around. Their seats are popular in high end theaters around the world. They still are doing well in the home theater market. Not the theaters that we own (at least most of you who listen to this show) but the theaters that you read about in Electronic Home or on AVS forum. For us, it is in the realm of possibility to spend $2500 on seating for our theaters. We'll have to wait and see what gets approved in Ara's family. There are three committee members who are really standing in his way right now. Stay tuned!

Podcast #756: Home Theater News and Talk Sep 09, 2016

Show notes

Home Theater News and Talk

Apple introduces iPhone 7 ($649), iPhone 7 Plus ($769), and wireless earbuds

The company later revealed the new devices would come in 32GB, 128 GB, and 256GB sizes. Prices start at $649/£599 for the iPhone 7 and $769/£719 for the iPhone 7 Plus. Pre-orders begin on Friday, September 9, and devices will ship on Friday, September 16. iOS 10 will arrive on September 13 to support the new releases.

Sony unveils new versions of PlayStation 4

Sony Interactive Entertainment, a division of Sony Corp (6758.T), unveiled on Wednesday two new versions of its PlayStation 4 Console in an effort to help Sony maintain its sales lead over Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and Nintendo Co Ltd (7974.T).

The PlayStation 4 Pro, which will launch Nov. 10, will support higher resolution and more realistic imagery by enabling 4k resolution and higher dynamic range (HDR), said Andrew House, chief executive of Sony Interactive Entertainment, at a PlayStation event in New York City Tuesday announcing the new products. The console will cost $399.

Additionally, the company unveiled a slimmer, lighter and more energy efficient version of its PlayStation 4 Console, which will come out Sept. 15 and will cost $299.

IBM aims to weave Watson smarts into the home

IBM plans to integrate its Watson intelligence into gadgets and appliances such as washing machines, security cameras and wireless headphones. The company has partnered with Panasonic, Whirlpool, Nokia and Bragi to create Watson-equipped internet of things devices for the home.

LG readies new OLED, quantum dot TVs

LG is preparing to debut an OLED TV with "an exclusive hardware platform" at CES in January, and is readying a lineup of quantum dot TVs to compete with Samsung at a level below LG's most premium sets. The quantum dot TVs will utilize a quantum dot filter on an LCD TV and sell for approximately $1,000 less than LG's OLED TVs.

Amazon updates Fire TV features

Amazon on Tuesday announced a software update for its Fire TV and Fire TV Stick that adds features to the devices. New features include voice search on apps, recommended viewing options from HBO and Netflix, and sports updates from Alexa.

Podcast #755: IFA 2016 Sep 02, 2016

Show notes

IFA 2016

Each year in Germany consumer electronics manufacturers come together to display their wares at IFA. The IFA or Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin (International radio exhibition Berlin, aka 'Berlin Radio Show') is one of the oldest industrial exhibitions in Germany. Kind of like a mini-CES, manufacturers announce new products and services. We haven't covered the show for a few years, but this year we thought it would be pertinent to run down some of the announcements as they pertain (mostly) to Home Theater.

General

Worldwide revenues from consumer electronics are projected to drop 5 percent this year to $906.55 billion, according to market research firm GfK and reported by Hans-Joachim Kamp, chairman of gfu Consumer & Home Electronics, during the inaugural IFA 2016 keynote presentation.

However, many product segments will show significant growth this year. According to Kamp and GfK, global sales of UHD TVs will hockey stick 75 percent this year to 54 million units UHD sets, while OLED set sales will spike an even more vertical 120 percent to 600,000 units. Even unit sales of smart TVs in general are expected to rise a modest 1 percent to 96 million units.

Other growing products markets include wearables, forecast to rise 58 percent to 122 million units; Bluetooth speakers, projected to grow 23 percent to 41 million units; and, worldwide sales of smartphones, still the 800-pound gorilla of consumer technology, will expand by 5 percent to 1.4 billion units.

While revenue from gadgets are expected to be down this year, the IFA show in general will celebrate its 10th straight year of growth. According to Dr. Christian Göke, CEO of the Messe Berlin fairgrounds and convention space, the number of exhibitors will rise to 1,800, a 5 percent rise, occupying 158,000 square meters, also a 5 percent rise. Whether or not the show attracts more than last year's 40,000 visitors – both trade and consumer – remains to be seen.

Source: IFA 2016: Global CE Revenues Projected To Fall 5% in 2016

Samsung

Samsung reinforced its commitment to Quantum dot display technology at IFA 2016.

Samsung revealed a new Quantum dot TV, the 88-inch KS9800, offering the ultimate in picture quality, brilliance and, as with all of Samsung's SUHD TVs, a display capable of producing up to one billion colors. Samsung now offers the largest range of SUHD TVs in Europe, with 19 available sizes from 43" up to 88", capitalizing on the limitless flexibility of Quantum dot in terms of screen size and definition.

Samsung also announced the world's first curved Quantum dot PC Monitors – the new CF791, with a 34" Ultra Wide QHD screen and the stunning new CFG70, the first curved monitor with a one millisecond moving picture response time and 144 hertz refresh rate for smooth, flawless gaming. As the first curved quantum dot gaming monitors, Samsung's CFG70 and CF791 express brilliant colors across a 125-percent sRGB spectrum, while employing an environmentally-safe cadmium-free design. This luminance emphasizes a range of otherwise-hidden game details in both light and dark settings, offering unprecedented visual realism designed to capture the attention of even the most hardcore gamers.

Ever mindful that great television is about amazing content as well as outstanding picture quality, Samsung said it was strengthening its collaborative relationships with global partners, such as Amazon and Netflix. Netflix in particular is expanding its range of HDR content for European customers, with film titles such as Marco Polo, The Do-Over and The Ridiculous Six. European partners including RTVE and Insight TV will also begin to offer HDR content in the second half of 2016.

Samsung also showcased the capabilities of the Samsung Smart Remote, which allows users to easily navigate all of their connected devices with one single remote control. The Smart remote is designed to auto-detect any and all external devices connected to the TV, making it simple for consumers to switch between and use them – without having to hunt around for multiple remotes.

Lastly, Samsung underlined its position as the leader in European home audio and the number one soundbar manufacturer in the region. On display were products including Samsung's Wireless Audio 360 line-up and HW-K950 Soundbar featuring Dolby Atmos® audio technology for cinematic, multi-dimensional sound. Combined with its SUHD TV, UHD Blu-ray Player, and HDR content ecosystem, Samsung believes this makes them the only company capable of providing the complete 4K home entertainment experience.

Source: Samsung Redefines the Consumer Experience at IFA 2016

Sony

The Sony 'Signature Series' goes one step further than any audio product they've made before. Comprised of the MDR-Z1R headphones, NW-WM1Z Walkman and TA-ZH1ES headphone amplifier, it's a formidable trio of products, intended for those who have no budget and will only accept the very best sound quality. The Z1R headphones combine unbelievable sound quality and luxurious design for something truly special. Each part and component is made to the very highest quality – from the huge, crystal 70mm driver unit to the comfortable, ergonomic earpads – and High-Resolution Audio support guarantees a stunning music experience.

Then there's the flagship WM1Z Walkmans, which has been re-imagined from the ground-up. It utilises all of Sony's sound technologies including High-Resolution Audio for beautiful audio quality, and it maintains the stunningly simplistic design for which the Walkman range is renowned. With up to 256gb of storage there's plenty of room for your High-Resolution Audio collection, and it has that elusive premium feel when you hold it in your hand.

This just so happens to be a $3,200 Walkman that's plated in gold.

This is a super-high-end revision of the already-high-end Walkman that Sony introduced for playing lossless audio files last year. It basically takes that and modifies the hardware to prevent subtle interference that could harm sound quality. To be clear, these are likely to be minor sound quality improvements that only serious audiophiles with equally high-end headphones will notice. But for that niche audience, this may be a solution.

The new Walkman has a copper body that's been plated in gold, which is meant to reduce contact resistance and magnetic interference. Internally, the Walkman's analog circuitry is supposed to be separated from its primarily digital circuitry to reduce noise even further. It also has a "dual clock circuit with low phase noise quartz oscillator," which is an obscure part of the digital-to-analog conversion chain that's probably important to get right and difficult to measure the results of, but will theoretically lead to improvements in sound quality.

One of the biggest problems with wearing headphones is losing awareness of the sounds around you, especially if you're using noise cancellation. Sony is trying to solve that problem with its latest pair of headphones, the elegantly named MDR-1000X. The headphones have several noise-cancellation modes, which give you the option to block out as much sound as possible, or to filter in voices or ambient noise. The intention is to let you listen to music in a quiet environment, but make sure you can still hear enough to be aware of your surroundings.

Source(s): Sony: New IFA products, Sony's new headphones cancel noise, but not people's voices, Sony made a $3,200 gold-plated Walkman

LG Electronics welcomed visitors to its IFA 2016 exhibition booth with an awe-inspiring and immersive OLED Tunnel measuring a record-breaking 5m tall, 7.4m wide and 15m in length. A total of 216 separate 55-inch curved OLED signage displays were assembled to create the unique structure comprising 447,897,600 – nearly half a billion – pixels to display a collection of breathtaking scenes including Iceland's Aurora Borealis, underwater ecosystems and deep space footage.

A video titled "From Black to Black" was produced by LG to include footage that accentuate the lifelike colors and the ability to recreate the miniscule details of life which LG's OLED technology delivers. The footage includes the black ocean with effervescent jellyfish and the gentle movement of whales, as well as scenes from deep black space and the brilliant northern lights on a black sky. LG captured footage of Iceland's Northern Lights using 14 separate 8K cameras to record every detail and movement as accurately as possible.

Other video clips such as underwater scenes and shots taken from space will create a fully immersive environment for visitors, making them feel as if they are swimming in the ocean or floating in the Milky Way. At IFA, attendees will have the chance to see how closely the advanced technology of OLED can recreate the great outdoors inside an exhibition hall.

The impressive scale of the display tunnel is made possible by OLED's ultra-thin, highly flexible lightweight panels. OLED displays can be custom bent to concave or convex formations without any picture quality distortion, allowing for spectacular digital installations such as immersive tunnel-like environments. Each OLED pixel can switch itself on and off, eliminating the need for backlighting. OLED TVs have the ability to render true black and infinite contrast ratio that delivers vibrant, eye-popping color and wide viewing angles.

Source: World's Largest OLED Tunnel Welcomes Visitors to IFA with 450 Million Brilliant Pixels

JVC

JVC was geared up to unveil its first consumer D-ILA projector with native 4K resolution at the IFA trade show. Until now, the Japanese manufacturer has been making do with its e-Shift pseudo-4K technology on the company's lineup of projectors for residential installations.

Details on JVC's newest projector remain scant, even after the show has opened, but here's a teaser video for you..

The new high-end JVC projector will carry a "BLU-Escent" branding, a technology that's first introduced on the company's commercial projectors. It consists of a laser diode array that emits blue light and excites a yellow phosphor which is later separated into red and green components through a high-speed, reflective wheel. The red, green and blue elements constitute the illumination that's fed through D-ILA LCOS imaging panels (most renowned for their deep blacks and high contrast) to produce projected pictures.

Source: JVC to Unveil True 4K HDR Laser Projector at IFA 2016

Acer

Acer got IFA 2016 off to a wondrous start with the launch of the incredibly thin Swift 7 laptop. This Windows 10 machine, powered by Intel's brand new 7th-generation Core i5 processor, measures a scant 9.98mm, making it the first to limbo under the 1cm bar (0.39 inches). Despite beating Apple's MacBook and HP's Spectre 13 for the braggadocious title of being the world's thinnest laptop, the Swift 7 doesn't sacrifice much in the way of either ports or battery. It offers two USB-C 3.1 ports and a headphone jack, plus Acer promises a 9-hour endurance thanks to Intel's newly updated and more efficient Y series of chips.

The Swift 7 launches in China in September for ¥6,999, followed by Europe and the United States in October, at prices of €1,299 and $999, respectively. This pricing isn't actually too bad for those who prioritize style and flair over everyday practicality.

Source: Acer's Swift 7 is the first laptop thinner than a centimeter

Podcast #754: Plex Server on the Nvidia Shield Aug 26, 2016

Show notes

Plex Server on the Nvidia Shield

Since the beginning a video server has been high on the HT Guys list of gear that everyone should have in their setups. Back then there was a product that did exactly what we wanted but it cost upwards of $50,000! The Kaleidescape was THE video server we all wanted. It had a great user interface with best looking experience.

Over the years there have been many media center products come and go and we have tried many of them. There was Windows Media center which at one point had third party manufacturers building hardware with the player software installed. You still needed to buy a PC that had the server side. On the open source side was Xbox Media Center (XBMC) which turned your xbox into a media center. The XBMC (now known as Kodi) software was ported to many platforms with variants that included Media Portal, Tofu, and what we are going to talk about today, Plex.

Our discussion consists of two parts, the hardware (in this case the Nvidia Shield) and the software Plex. By the way, this is not a full discussion on Plex or a full review of the shield. We did do a review of Plex in January of this year. You can check it out here.

Plex

On the software side is Plex. Plex is a free client-server media player system and software suite comprising two main components. The Plex Media Server organizes your content and streams it to the Plex Player. The players can either be the Plex Apps available for mobile devices, smart TVs, and streaming boxes, or the web UI of the Plex Media Server called Plex Web App. Although the free version of Plex is quite capable, you'll want to buy the Plex pass ($4.99/ month, $39.99/year, and $149.99/lifetime) to really get you the Kaleidescape killer. With the PlexPass you get: Offline Access, Music Enhancements including lyrics, trailers and extras, and early access to new features and updates just to name a few. The full list is available on their site

Nvidia Shield

On the hardware side is the Nvidia Shield (Buy Now $199). The Shield is an Android TV based set-top box targeted for both home entertainment and gaming. We will strictly be focusing on the entertainment aspect of the shield and specifically Plex. But for completeness the shield does offer android games and entertainment apps like Netflix (4K HDR supported), Hulu, Pandora, Youtube 4K and others.

Two Products in One

A big advantage the Shield has over other setups is that it can be both the server and client. In Ara's setup he has the Plex Server running on his Mac mini and he uses the AppleTVs as clients. Not a big deal, but what if you want a simple solution. Take the Shield, you can buy the stripped down model for $199 and add an external hard drive for say another $50 and you have server and client that you can connect to your HDTV in about 30 minutes. If you have other TVs you can add an AppleTV, Roku, or FireTV and you'll have access to your media on every TV in your home. Plus there are mobile apps for access both inside and outside the home. For more info on Plex go to their website at Plex.TV

Setup

This is not a step by step tutorial. There are plenty of resources available online for that so we decided to document our process to give you an indication of the effort required. We also created a video of the process that helps in conveying this information. It's embedded below.

We copied the movies that we had onto a 3TB Western Digital hard drive ($115), connected that to the Shield, connected ethernet, and power and started the process. The process consisted of signing into our Google account and then upgrading the firmware. This took about twenty minutes. Then we signed into our plex account and finished configuring the server. That took about five minutes. The plex setup requires you make a connection with another device like a laptop or tablet. The last thing we had to do was point our server to the content. That also was done with an external device. The interface for the server is HTML so you need a browser to communicate with it.

Once that was done, the server began cataloging the movies and adding the meta data. One thing to consider about using the 16GB Shield is that it does not have a lot of space for files. Fortunately you can add a SD card for this information. The shield can't write to a PC formatted disc which is how the WD drive is formatted. You could allow the shield to format the drive and then it will be available to the shield to for metadata but then is becomes a pain to copy your content to it. Because of this we decided to go with the SD card. You can also buy the shield with the 500GB internal drive for an additional $100 (Buy now $300). If you want to add more content to the drive you'll need to disconnect it and take it to a machine that has the movie on it and manually copy it over. You can also use networked storage which may be the way to go but that adds cost.

Use

Plex looks beautiful! Here is a slideshow of what it looks like on our system. We did notice that the client interface on the Shield looked better than that of the AppleTV, which already looked great! As far as performance goes, we were able to stream four concurrent movies (H.264 6-10 Mbps each) with no issues whatsoever. We are sure that the server could have done more. We then transcoded three streams from 1080p down to 320X240 and watched them from outside the network. Again no issues. The Shield is a beast!

If you want Blu-ray quality and HD Audio this is where you may have some issues. Rob H, from the AV Rant Podcast, exchanged a few emails with us on this subject. From Rob:

But for folks who want the full HD Audio quality or who want Atmos and DTS:X, currently, as far as I'm aware, you have to use the Plex Media Player, and that is currently only available with a Plex Pass, and you can only get it for Windows, Mac, or one of the 64-bit "Embedded Platforms".

You should be OK on the video quality side though. The Plex server had no issues with MKV files. Although we only watched one at a time.

The only complaint we had was the controller. To be fair it's main use in life is a game controller and they do sell a "TV" centric controller for $50. If you don't have a universal remote solution in your home theater setup we would recommend buying the TV controller. It will make navigation much smoother. In the meantime we will use our Simple Remote.

Bottom Line

There is no question in our mind that for about $300 you can have the Kaleidescape experience in your own home. Add additional zones for as little as $100 or for free on your mobile device.

Let's compare that to what a Kaleidescape system cost. Server unit, starts at $27,000. Players, $3,500. It's no wonder that Kaleidescape is closing their doors. It was a great product but technology closed the gap and now we don't have to be millionaires to enjoy our content how and when we want.

Podcast #753: New TV Shows for Fall 2016 Aug 19, 2016

Show notes

New TV Shows for Fall 2016

Christmas. the Super Bowl, Fashion Week in New York, Taco Tuesday … Few things in life are as highly anticipated as television premier season every Fall. There isn't much we look forward to more. All of your favorite shows coming back for another season, and a ton of new shows to potentially add to the DVR queue. Who knows, one of them could be the next Grey's Anatomy or Ally McBeal, some of our favorite shows of all time. If you're interested, Cinema Blend has a great post with all the Fall TV Premiere Dates by date, time, and Network.

ABC

American Housewife

Premieres: Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 8:30 PM

Stars: Katie Mixon, Diedrich Bader, Ali Wong Producer: Sarah Dunn

Premise: Mixon stars as Katie Otto, an unapologetic mother of three raising her family in the wealthy town of Westport, Connecticut that's full of "perfect" families.

HT Guys Preview Score: Meh

Conviction

Premieres: Monday, Oct. 3 at 10:00 PM

Stars: Hayley Atwell, Eddie Cahill, Shawn Ashmore, Merrin Dungey, Emily Kinney, Manny Montana, Daniel DiTomasso

Premise: Former ne'er-do-well first daughter Hayes Morrison (Atwell) gets blackmailed into working for New York District Attorney Wayne Wallis' (Cahill) Conviction Integrity Unit, where she has to turn over wrongful convictions.

HT Guys Preview Score: Meh

Designated Survivor

Premieres: Wednesday, Sep. 21 at 10:00 PM

Stars: Kiefer Sutherland, Natascha McElhone, Maggie Q, Kal Penn, Adan Canto, Italia Ricci, LaMonica Garrett, Tanner Buchanan

Producers: David Guggenheim, Simon Kinberg, Kiefer Sutherland, Mark Gordon, Nick Pepper, Suzan Bymel, Aditya Sood

Premise: Sutherland stars as Tom Kirkman, a lower cabinet member who becomes president after an attack on Washington kills everyone ahead of him in the line of succession.

HT Guys Preview Score: Jack Bauer as President? Yeah, we're in.

Notorious

Premieres: Thursday, Sep. 22 at 9:00 PM

Stars: Piper Perabo, Daniel Sunjata, Ryan Guzman, Kevin Zegers, J. August Richards, Aimee Teegarden

Premise: Inspired by the lives of criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos and cable news producer Wendy Walker, the drama examines the 24-hour news cycle and the relationship between the media and criminal law.

HT Guys Preview Score: Mark Geragos the TV show? Pass.

Speechless

Premieres: Wednesday, Sep. 21 at 8:30 PM

Stars: Minnie Driver, John Ross Bowie, Mason Cook, Micah Fowler, Kyla Kennedy, Cedric Yarbrough

Premise: Driver stars as Maya DiMeo, a mother of three, one of whom is a special needs child.

HT Guys Preview Score: Meh

CBS

Bull

Premieres: Tuesday, Sep. 20 at 9:00 PM

Stars: Michael Weatherly, Freddy Rodriguez, Geneva Carr, Chris Jackson, Jaime Lee Kirchner and Annabelle Attanasio

Producers: Paul Attanasio, Dr. Phil McGraw, Jay McGraw, Steven Spielberg, Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank

Premise: NCIS alum Michael Weatherly stars as Dr. Phil on the series, which will follow McGraw's early career as a trial consultant. McGraw will produce with his son Jay.

HT Guys Preview Score: Sounds like loads of Bull

The Great Indoors

Premieres: Thursday, Oct. 27 at 8:30 PM

Stars: Joel McHale, Stephen Fry, Chris Williams, Shaun Brown, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Christine Ko, Susannah Fielding

Premise: An adventure reporter (McHale) must adapt to his new job managing millennials in the digital department of a magazine.

HT Guys Preview Score: Joel McHale is super funny and millennials are easy to make fun of. If you need a new sitcom in your life, this could be worth a look.

Kevin Can Wait

Premieres: Monday, Sep. 19 at 8:30 PM

Stars: Kevin James, Erinn Hayes, Taylor Spreitler, Mary-Charles Jones, James Digiacomo, Ryan Cartwright

Premise: The King of Queens star returns to CBS, this time playing a retired cop who realizes that home life is tougher than anything he faced on the street.

HT Guys Preview Score: Meh. Have you seen Mall Cop 2?

MacGyver

Premieres: Friday, Sep. 23 at 8:00 PM

Stars: Lucas Till, George Eads

Premise: Till plays the titular problem-solver in the reboot, which follows 20-something MacGyver as he starts a clandestine organization to prevent disasters from happening.

HT Guys Preview Score: Uh, what's next, an A-Team reboot?

Man With A Plan

Premieres: Monday, Oct. 24 at 8:30 PM

Stars: Matt LeBlanc, Jessica Chaffin, Matt Cook, Grace Kaufman, Hala Finley, Matthew McCann

Premise: A contractor (LeBlanc) becomes a stay-at-home dad when his wife returns to work and discovers that his kids are the worst.

HT Guys Preview Score: meh

Pure Genius

Premieres: Thursday, Oct. 27 at 10:00 PM

Stars: Augustus Prew, Dermot Mulroney, Brenda Song, Reshma Shetty, Ward Horton, Aaron Jennings, Odette Annable

Premise: A Silicon Valley millionaire (Prew) taps a veteran surgeon with a controversial past (Mulroney) to head a hospital that will employ groundbreaking but potentially risky new procedures.

HT Guys Preview Score: Doesn't sound like it'll last the season

Training Day

Premieres: Midseason

Stars: Bill Paxton, Justin Cornwell, Drew Van Acker, Katrina Law, Lex Scott Davis, Julie Benz

Premise: Based on the 2001 movie starring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke, the reboot picks up 15 years later and revolves around a young idealistic LAPD police officer (Cornwell) who is partnered with a morally questionable detective (Paxton).

HT Guys Preview Score: No doubt. This is worth a look, but could go horribly wrong.

FOX

24: Legacy

Premieres: Mondays at 8/7c midseason

Stars: Corey Hawkins, Miranda Otto, Jimmy Smits

Producers: Howard Gordon, Brian Grazer, Manny Coto, Evan Katz, Stephen Hopkins, Kiefer Sutherland

Premise: Former Army Ranger Eric Carter (Hawkins), the new Jack Bauer, turns to the CTU to try to stop a terrorist attack. The series will adopt the same real-time format as the original series, but will consist of only 12 episodes like 2014's event series 24: Live Another Day.

HT Guys Preview Score: You had me at 24.

The Exorcist

Premieres: Friday, Sep. 23 at 9:00 PM

Stars: Geena Davis, Alfonso Herrera, Ben Daniels, Brianne Howey, Hannah Kasulka, Alan Ruck, Kurt Egyiawan

Premise: The horror remake follows two men who try to help the Rance family's case of demonic possession. Davis takes on the Ellen Burstyn role from the film as the family matriarch. Howey and Kasulka play the Rance daughters.

HT Guys Preview Score: Would be surprised if it last the full season

Lethal Weapon

Premieres: Wednesday, Sep. 21 at 8:00 PM

Stars: Damon Wayans, Sr., Clayne Crawford, Jordana Brewster, Kevin Rahm, Keesha Sharp

Premise: A remake of the beloved film franchise, Wayans is your new Roger Murtaugh of the LAPD and Crawford is your new Martin Riggs, a former Navy SEAL who moves from Texas to L.A. after losing his wife and child.

HT Guys Preview Score: Heck yeah! Definitely not too old for this $#!+ (show)

Pitch

Premieres: Thursday, Sep. 22 at 9:00 PM

Stars: Kylie Bunbury, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Ali Larter, Mark Consuelos, Dan Lauria, Michael Beach, Bob Balaban, Mo McRae, Meagan Holder, Tim Jo

Premise: Ginny Baker (Bunbury) defies the odds to become the first woman to play in the MLB when she joins the San Diego Padres as its pitcher.

HT Guys Preview Score: meh

Prison Break

Premieres: Tuesdays at 9/8c midseason

Stars: Wentworth Miller, Dominic Purcell, Sarah Wayne Callies, Robert Knepper, Rockmond Dunbar, Amaury Nolasco, Mark Feuerstein

Premise: A reboot of the original show, the event series picks up after Michael's (Miller) apparent death in the 2009 finale, when clues surface that Michael might actually be alive.

HT Guys Preview Score: If you were into Prison Break before, it's worth a shot

Son of Zorn

Premieres: Sunday, Sep. 25 at 8:30 PM

Stars: Jason Sudeikis, Cheryl Hines, Johnny Pemberton, Tim Meadows

Premise: The live-action/animated hybrid comedy features Sudeikis as the voice of the animated title character who returns to Earth for the first time in 10 years from the land of Zephyria and tries to reconnect with his human son Alan (Pemberton) and ex-wife Edie (Hines).

HT Guys Preview Score: Jason Sudeikis. Nuff said.

NBC

The Blacklist: Redemption

Premieres: Midseason

Stars: Famke Janssen, Ryan Eggold, Edi Gathegi, Tawny Cypress

Premise: This spin-off of The Blacklist will follow Tom Keen (Eggold) as he teams up with Susan "Scottie" Hargrave (Janssen), whom he discovered is his mother on the mothership. Scottie is the head of Grey Matters, a covert mercenary task force that handles cases the government won't touch.

HT Guys Preview Score: Blacklist is solid. Could work.

Chicago Justice

Premieres: Sundays at 9/8c midseason

Stars: Philip Winchester, Carl Weathers, Nazneen Contractor, Joelle Carter, Ryan-James Hatanaka

Premise: The fourth series in Dick Wolf's lucrative Chicago franchise takes viewers inside the Windy City's State's Attorney's office. The series was introduced as a backdoor pilot in an episode of Chicago P.D. in May.

HT Guys Preview Score: If you're into the Chicago franchise. Plus, Apollo Creed?

Emerald City

Premieres: Midseason

Stars: Adria Arjona, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Vincent D'Onofrio, Joely Richardson, Florence Kasumba

Premise: An dark, edgy reimagining of the Land of Oz book series, the fantasy series stars Arjona as Dorothy Gale and D'Onofrio plays The Wizard.

HT Guys Preview Score: Maybe, if only to see how The Kingpin pulls off the role of The Wizard.

The Good Place

Premieres: Monday, Sep. 19 at 10:00 PM

Stars: Kristen Bell, Ted Danson, Jameela Jamil, William Jackson Harper, Manny Jacinto, D'Arcy Carden

Premise: When Eleanor (Bell) realizes that she's not a very good person, she gets a chance to start anew with the help of Michael (Danson) in the afterlife.

HT Guys Preview Score: Ted Danson? A Cheers reboot maybe, otherwise: pass.

Taken

Premieres: Mondays at 10/9c midseason

Stars: Clive Standen, Jennifer Beals, Gaius Charles, Monique Gabriela Curnen, James Landry Hebert, Michael Irby, Brooklyn Sudano, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Simu Liu

Premise: A prequel to the movie franchise, Standen plays a young version of Liam Neeson's ass-kicking CIA agent Bryan Mills.

HT Guys Preview Score: Young Liam Neeson? All in.

This Is Us

Premieres: Tuesday, Sep. 20 at 10:00 PM

Stars: Mandy Moore, Milo Ventimiglia, Sterling K. Brown, Justin Hartley, Chrissy Metz, Susan Kelechi Watson, Chris Sullivan, Ron Cephas Jones

Premise: The ensemble dramedy follows a group of people who share the same birthday and whose lives intersect in various ways.

HT Guys Preview Score: Meh

Timeless

Premieres: Monday, Oct. 3 at 10:00 PM

Stars: Abigail Spencer, Matt Lanter, Malcolm Barrett, Goran Visnjic, Paterson Joseph, Sakina Jaffrey, Claudia Doumit

Premise: A trio is tasked with traveling through time to catch a criminal who stole a time machine that could catastrophically alter history.

HT Guys Preview Score: Perhaps. We'll give it an episode or two.

Frequency

Premieres: Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 9:00 PM

Stars: Peyton List, Riley Smith, Mekhi Phifer, Lenny Jacobson, Anthony Ruivivar, Devin Kelley, Daniel Bonjour

Premise: A remake of the 2000 film starring Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel, the series will star List as a detective in 2016 who discovers she can speak via a ham radio to her estranged father, who died in 1996 and was also a detective. They team up to solve a cold case with a "butterfly effect" on the present day.

HT Guys Preview Score: Maybe. It was a decent movie.

No Tomorrow

Premieres: Monday, Oct. 10 at 9:00 PM

Stars: Tori Anderson, Josh Sasse, Sarayu Blue, Amy Pietz, Jesse Rath, Jonathan Langdon

Premise: Based on a Brazilian format, the comedy focuses on procurement manager (Anderson) who falls for a man (Sasse) who lives every day like it's his last. Together, they try to fulfill every item on their bucket lists.

HT Guys Preview Score: Meh

Netflix

Marvel's Luke Cage

Premieres: Friday, September 30 at 12:01 AM Pacific Time

Stars: Mike Colter, Mahershala Ali, Alfre Woodard, Simone Missick, Theo Rossi, Frank Whaley, and Sônia Braga

Premise: Mike Colter stars as Luke Cage, a former convict who now fights crime. When a sabotaged experiment gives him super strength and unbreakable skin, Luke Cage becomes a fugitive attempting to rebuild his life in Harlem and must soon confront his past and fight a battle for the heart of his city.

HT Guys Preview Score: For sure.

A look back at the new TV shows for Fall 2015

How many survived? Of the shows we looked at for Fall premieres last year, not that many. This doesn't include shows we didn't talk about, or other late premiere shows like mid-season or summer replacement series.

ABC (3/6)

Blood & Oil - canceled
Dr. Ken - renewed
The Muppets - canceled
Quantico - renewed
Wicked City - canceled

CBS (3/5)

Angel From Hell - canceled
Code Black - renewed
Life in Pieces - renewed
Limitless - canceled
Supergirl - renewed

CW (1/1)

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - renewed

FOX (2/5)

Grandfathered - canceled
The Grinder - canceled
Minority Report - canceled
Rosewood - renewed
Scream Queens - renewed

NBC (2/6)

Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris - canceled
Blindspot - renewed
Chicago Med - renewed
Heroes Reborn - canceled
The Player - canceled
Truth Be Told - canceled

Research compiled with the help of TV Guide.

Podcast #752: FireConnect Aug 12, 2016

Show notes

FireConnect

Since almost the beginning we have been looking for ways to ditch wires. They are a pain to run across rooms, create unsightly bulges in carpet or even require drywall cutting. There are a few technologies that have been out for some time now. We have AirPlay by apple, Chromecast by Google, Bluetooth, and few other lesser known technologies. They all work pretty well and have support from various receiver manufacturers.

A newer technology was brought to our attention by a listener called FireConnect. FireConnect is the brainchild of San Francisco based Blackfire Research Corp. Fireconnect has the usual feature list but goes beyond what the typical wireless protocols support today.

Features:

High-res and multichannel - Streaming of up to 24-bit/192kHz audio, and multichannel 2.1, 5.1 or 7.1 audio.
Lossy or lossless
BT and Aux Input Rebroadcast - Auxiliary inputs and Bluetooth devices will be rebroadcast wirelessly.
Multi Source Play - You can sync zones or play them independently.
Video streaming - Currently if you want to stream video you need an add on device. FireConnect is hoping to make streaming video as simple as sending it to your A/V Receiver or TV. Their spec supports the ability to stream HD Video and lossless 24-bit/192kHz Studio Quality HD audio to any device.
Google Cast included - Why not? It's open to the world!

To keep everything running smooth and in sync, Fireconnect gets down to the packet layer of your network data.

RPM (Real-Time Packet Management)

Delays in receiving packets is one of the most challenging issues in real-time video delivery over wireless networks. A late packet becomes useless for the decoding and display even if it is received correctly at the receiver. RPM allows Fireconnect devices to stream HD Video and lossless 24-bit/192kHz Studio Quality HD audio to any device in any room - it's how they make sure that there are no gaps or drop-outs in your music and video.

TIS (Traffic Independent Synchronization)

No matter how busy your network is, your content stays in sync. Delays are adjusted in real time so that a speaker in the family does not drift too far off from the rest of the zones. These adjustments are happening constantly and are not noticeable by the listener.

DSB (Dynamic Stream Balancing)

When streaming to multiple devices, DSB keeps it all in balance. - Not quite sure what this is but keeping things in balance is always a good idea!

The goal is to wirelessly transmit your audio and video to your media devices, which include Multi-Room smart speakers, A/V Receivers, smartwatches and smart TVs across different manufactures so long as they use the Fireconnect technology. The technology will be able to turn your smartwatch into a music hub that can wirelessly send audio to your wireless headphones or music zones throughout your house.

Video does not have to be point to point. You will be able to stream a video signal to multiple screens. So you'll be able to watch the same video throughout your home whether it's on the big screen or tablet.

Where can I get it?

Pioneer and Onkyo have receivers that support this tech.

Pioneer VSX-1131 7.2-Channel AV Receiver with MCACC built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi $539 - Firmware update required

Onkyo TX-NR555 7.2-Channel Network A/V Receiver $449 Firmware update required. Multi-room audio enabled by this technology requires an optional Onkyo wireless speaker scheduled for release in late 2016. Onkyo cannot guarantee the compatibility of its A/V receivers with other devices featuring FireConnect. Uh-Oh!!

HTC One Play music simultaneously to multiple Blackfire compliant speakers from HTC One M9.

As far as speakers go we couldn't find any. That's not saying there aren't any, but a simple search revealed nothing. So pretty much as best as we can see it. You'll be able to send audio from your HTC One to an Onkyo or Pioneer receiver and have it play through your wired speakers. This technology was announced in 2010 and may only be coming on the scene. We'll keep our eyes on it for you and see how it develops. But right now we have a hard time seeing how it will be able to beat Google and Apple's entrenched technology.

Podcast #751: The History of Format Wars and How Sony Finally Won Aug 05, 2016

Show notes

The History of Format Wars and How Sony Finally Won

Podcast #750: QLED Explained Jul 29, 2016

Show notes

QLED Explained

A few weeks ago we mentioned that Samsung would be investing in QLED technology and we (Ara) thought that QLED was just a clever branding name for Quantum Dot technology. It was quickly pointed out that QLED is indeed a separate technology and one that may give OLED a run for it's money.

QLED is an acronym for "Quantum Dot Light Emitting Device" and are a form of light emitting technology and consist of nano-scale crystals. The structure of a QLED is very similar to the OLED technology. But the difference is that the light emitting centers are cadmium selenide (CdSe) nanocrystals, or quantum dots. A layer of quantum dots is sandwiched between layers of organic materials. An applied electric field causes electrons and holes to move into the quantum dot layer where they are captured in the quantum dot and recombined emitting photons. What???? In short, when these tiny molecules are hit with an electric charge they absorb light and then give off a different color light.

QLEDs advantages (according to QLED trade group) :

Pure color — Will deliver 30-40% luminance efficiency advantage over organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) at the same color point.
Low power consumption — QLEDs have the potential to be more than twice as power efficient as OLEDs at the same color purity.
Low-cost manufacture — The ability to print large-area QLEDs on ultra-thin flexible substrates will reduce luminaire manufacturing cost.
Ultrathin, transparent, flexible form factors — QLEDs will enable designers to develop new display and lighting forms not possible with existing technologies.

QLED disadvantages (according to OLED trade group)

Lifetime and emitting efficiency - When mass producing QLED, pin holes occur and reduce device lifetime, and as the hole and electron are not balanced the emitting efficiency falls.
No TVs in production - The first QLED TVs are expected in 2018 and will be expensive. In the mean time OLED production is improving and costs coming down.

Who Cares??

Seriously who cares? Let's assume that everything the QLED trade group is saying about QLEDs advantages are true and that everything the OLED trade group is saying about the QLEDs disadvantages are false. Then we have yet another great choice for TVs. And it will be lower cost, lighter, and use less energy. We the consumer wins!

On the other hand let's say the opposite is true and QLED flops and Samsung is forced to go the OLED route. Then OLED gets better and we the consumer wins again. Since margins are so small on the lower end TVs manufacturers are looking for a killer technology to warrant higher prices for videophiles. As a result, our TVs keep getting better. You may not be a videophile and can never see yourself spending more than $1,500 of a 50 inch TV but… keep in mind, today's videophile technology is tomorrow's $1,500 50 inch TV!!

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