HDTV and Home Theater Podcast

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**HDTV and Home Theater Podcast**

The HT Guys, Ara Derderian and Braden Russell, are Engineers who formerly worked for the Advanced Digital Systems Group (ADSG) of Sony Pictures Entertainment. ADSG was the R&D unit of the sound department producing products for movie theaters and movie studios. Two of the products they worked on include the DCP-1000 and DADR-5000. The DCP is a digital cinema processor used in movie theaters around the world. The DADR-5000 is a disk-based audio dubber used on Hollywood sound stages. ADSG was awarded a Technical Academy Award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2000 for the development of the DADR-5000. Ara holds three patents for his development work in Digital Cinema and Digital Audio Recording. Every week they put together a podcast about High Definition TV and Home Theater. Each episode brings news from the A/V world, helpful product reviews and insights and help in demystifying and simplifying HDTV and home theater. Our email address is hdtvpodcast@mac.com

Latest Episodes:

Podcast #719: Prediction Review for 2015 Dec 24, 2015

Show notes

Prediction Review for 2015

It's hard to believe that another year has gone by! With that it's time to see how we did with our 2015 predictions.

This year's scorecard:

Ara a respectable three out of five!
Braden a decent 2-2.5 out of five.

Ara’s Predictions:

There will be a 65 inch production OLED TV for less than $5,000

Look for LG and Samsung to continue to push OLED technology. They’ll finally figure out that no one wants a curved model and produce a 65 inch flat panel OLED. Bonus prediction - It will be LG that makes this prediction a win for me!

Nailed it!! At the time of this writing not only is there a 65 inch OLED for sale at Amazon but it's made by LG! Its also 4K. LG Electronics 65EF9500 65-Inch 4K Ultra HD Flat Smart OLED TV $4997.99

There will be a production Quantum Dot TV available for sale

This is my hedge against the OLED prediction totally failing. We saw the first quantum dot TVs at CES about three years ago. LG is pushing forward with the technology. It produces higher yields than OLED and better pictures than current LEDs so this is a no brainer technology to pursue.

Well as it turns out this was a true statement when I made it. In 2014 Sony had released TVs with Quantum Dot technology and it marketed it as Triluminos. However, it's not very clear that they are still doing this. Regardless this is a fail.

Apple will open up the AppleTV to developers

After seeing the potential of the FireTV from Amazon, Apple will realize the AppleTV is falling behind the competition. Look for a new model (AppleTV 4) with game support that will use iPhones and iPads as controllers. By the way, the 4 in AppleTV 4 stands for 4K. I can dream can’t I??

Predict something enough and it's bound to come true! With the release of the AppleTV 4 Apple opened up the platform to developers. This coming year should make or break the platform!

Apple to stream 4K movies and television programming

If you are going to dream might as well dream big! What good is a new set top box capable of 4K content if you don’t have 4K content. Sure they will support Netflix 4K streams but the real deal will be buying and renting movies and TV shows from iTunes in 4K.

No 4K streaming! Not even a 4K AppleTV. Oh well… Maybe I’ll hold this over for 2016 :-)

Sonos to debut a dedicated 7.1 home theater system

One of the main reasons people don’t have full surround systems is the need to string speaker wire everyplace. Sure the front is easy enough but why should you have to string wire when you can have freedom to place speakers wherever you want. Sonos has the best sounding wireless solution we have heard to date. So why not make a complete 7.1 system without the need of speaker wires? It would be easy to setup with almost no configuration required. When your aren’t watching movies you could repurpose the speakers for music without the need of turning on an amplifier. Now if we can only do something about those pesky power cords!

Success on this one. Sonos has a home theater category on their site (Sonos Home Theater). Yes it uses a sound bar for Left, Center, and Right channels. There is also a subwoofer and you can use four Play:1,3, or 5s for the surrounds. The Sonos Home theater can be used in music mode when not watching movies so what’s not to like?

Braden’s Predictions:

At least 5 major studio movie releases will be available online concurrent with cinema release

With “The Interview” now out there as a pilot for what is possible, Sony will do it again at least once, and other major studios will try their hand at it as well. Theater owners will threaten not to run the movie(s), but if the studios choose wisely, theater owners will be forced to run them because they’d stand to lose too much in ticket sales if they didn’t.

Complete flop. There were some huge stars in day and date released movies, but most were backed by lesser known production companies. Ethan Hawke in Predestination, Chris Evans in Before We Go, Samuel L. Jackson in Big Game, Hugh Grant in The Rewrite? Speaking of rewrite, if I changed the prediction to major, A-list actors, I’d have nailed it.

Curved televisions will go away

Nobody really gets it. Manufacturers seem to be the only ones that understand the value in the curved screen. Realizing there’s no demand for it, manufacturers will make them disappear. This means we’ll be on the hunt for another gimmick to boost television sales. Look for 4k to try to fill that gap. But it’ll still be a bit niche, so look for something else as well. Automation integration in your smart TV? Could this be the year of home automation?

Let’s be generous and go with partial credit on this one. Curved TVs are still around, but not nearly as prominent as they were a year ago. It feels like a very small percentage of televisions on display in most stores are curved anymore, and we really aren’t seeing nearly as many ads for them. Looks like 4K really is the next big thing, at least for 2015.

Live television streaming won’t be coming to your town

Did an Aereo 180 on this prediction, but none of the big players in streaming set top boxes: Apple, Google, Microsoft or Amazon, will add live TV streaming to their box. Despite rumors, it ain’t happening this year. Aereo showed that there’s no way around the retransmission fees, and there’s no way a streaming provider would get premium channels for less than the others pay, so there would be no cost advantage to the consumer. And in most markets streaming would be inferior quality to Cable or Satellite, so it’s a lose-lose for consumers.

Success. This may have been my most conservative prediction, but man am I glad it’s in the list. Keeps me from a total goose egg this year. Sure, you could argue that SlingTV should count for something, but that isn’t a native offering from Apple, Google, Microsoft or Amazon and you still don’t get your local stations. So while you’re streaming live television, you aren’t really streaming live television. Just go with me on that one.

80” Televisions for under $2000

The biggest TVs on the consumer market right now, at reasonable prices, are a few models at 84, 85 and 90 inches. But there are a bunch of options at 80” from all the major manufacturers. The lowest price for an 80” at Amazon is a Vizio model for $2999. Costco has a Sharp 80” for $2499. Manufacturers may see that the next round of upgrades could be driven simply by larger screen sizes. Everyone has an HDTV, but it is somewhere between 40 and 60 inches, and they know they can go bigger. If the price is right, they will. So that price will drop to under $2000 at some point this year. Maybe Black Friday, maybe for another event, but it’ll drop.

Not this year. Several 75” TVs are available now, and were on sale on Black Friday, for less than $2000, but on average the 80” models are closer to twice that rice at around $4000. Mathematically, 75 inches represents 93.75% of an 80 inch screen, so I could take a solid 94% success on this prediction. But unfortunately this was an all-or-nothing and the 80” screens didn’t hit my price. Better luck next year.

Amazon to release a full length motion picture

In an attempt to leapfrog Netflix, Amazon will beat them to the punch with the first original full length motion picture, with all of the production value of a major studio release. They’ve already roped in stars like John Goodman and Jeffrey Tambor for their original TV shows. They’ll get a big name and a good script for their movie. We’ll see a huge PR blast with it, and it’s availability on the Fire TV and Fire Phone, just to show Netflix that two can play in the streaming game.

Awwwyeah. Barely made it, but Amazon Studios' first original movie, directed by Spike Lee is now in theaters. Digital HD will be available December 29th and DVD / Blu-Ray available January 26th. Chi-Raq (rated R) released on December 4, 2015. It is a modern day adaptation of the ancient Greek play Lysistrata by Aristophanes, set against the backdrop of gang violence in Chicago and stars Nick Cannon, Teyonah Parris, and Wesley Snipes.

Podcast #718: Ultimate Home Theater in a Box for 2015 Dec 17, 2015

Show notes

Ultimate Home Theater in a Box for 2015

Each year we design a Home Theater setup that is considerably better than a typical home theater in a box. We have seen complete setups for less than $500 from manufacturers like Sony and Panasonic that quite frankly do not sound good. While our system costs more than a name brand HTIB your satisfaction will be dramatically more. Plus we include EVERYTHING you need to actually setup a home theater. Minimum components for our system are a HDTV, Blu-ray Player, Receiver, and 7.1 speakers.

For this feature we choose components that we either have direct experience with or have experience with a similar model made by the same manufacturer. In years past we would set a maximum price but this year we are not doing that. We are defining a system that can had by anyone who is serious about home theater. These systems will look and sound great by anyone’s definition!

Braden:

Samsung UN65J6200 65-Inch 1080p Smart LED TV (2015 Model) ($1198)

Borrowed from the HDTV buying guide. My TV is a bit smaller than last year’s Sharp 70-inch Aquos but it’s also $400 cheaper. We’ve already talked about it, but this set combines great features with a really affordable price - even for Samsung. Its Smart TV technology allows you to access movies, games, streaming services, and other apps so you can easily get to your favorite media. Surf the web using the built-in Wi-Fi, or use the screen-mirroring feature to play your mobile content on the big screen and you can plug into the USB port to watch your own media. Great TV, great price, no brainer.

Denon AVR-X3200W 7.2-Channel Full 4K Ultra HD A/V Receiver with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi ($999)

Maybe it’s cheating a bit, but I snagged a receiver from the buying guide as well. Because we all know Denon makes the best receivers...this one has everything I need and more. It’s a bit more expensive than the Onkyo TX-NR636 from last year, but I had a little wiggle room with the less expensive TV, so we dropped that into the receiver. This bad boy is a 7.2 channel A/V receiver that packs 105W of power per channel. It has 3D and 4K Ultra HD/60Hz full rate pass-through with 4:4:4 color resolution, HDR, BT.2020. 8 HDMI 2.0a inputs (incl. 1 front) and 2 HDMI outputs with full HCDP 2.2 support. Of course, built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. And let’s not forget Dolby Atmos (up to 5.1.2), DTS:X ready (via firmware update). Instant content Airplay, Spotify Connect, Pandora, SiriusXM Internet Radio Internet Radio, DLNA, DSD,FLAC, ALAC and AIFF High Resolution streaming. And the new IP control capability with the HEOS Link turns any stereo system into a wireless zone (HEOS LINK sold separately).

Hsu Research Hybrid 1 - 7.1 Package in Satin Black ($1449)

Speaker prices went up a bit this year, sorry. Last year was the Klipsch RF-42 II Reference 7.1 system for $1299. This year it’s the HSU Research system for $150 more. So I’m typically a Denon and a Klipsch fan-boy. Admittedly. Not ashamed. Denon made my list this year but Klipsch did not. Cuz it’s all about the boom. A full 7.1 speaker system with a killer sub. You won’t need you upgrade these speakers for a long time - if ever.

Miscellaneous

Logitech Harmony 700 Rechargeable Remote with Color Screen ($64)

Last year was the Logitech Harmony 650 for $60. That remote is now up to $86. Although the 700 has been discontinued, you can still get it at a great price. Great remote, ties all your devices together, has hard buttons for everything you need to do, and barely even changes the total budget at all. It’s a no brainer. And, unlike the 650, the 700 is rechargeable. No batteries to replace.

Forget Blu-ray, they’re commodity. Add $50 and pick up anything you want. Add about $100 for cables and a power strip and another $100 for the streaming box that suits your needs and you should be all set. Sit back and watch some HDTV.

Summary

Total cost, end to end, for a killer, big screen, 7.1 home theater: $3960 (ip from $3583 last year, but that didn’t include a streaming box).

Ara:

LG Electronics 60LF6100 60-Inch 1080p LED Smart TV $865

Home Theater in a Box systems are typically about getting you an introductory setup and this TV is a perfect centerpiece for your theater. A 60 inch TV will allow for a more cinema like experience in a smaller family room. This HDTV has decent picture quality and good reliability numbers so buy with confidence!

Sony BDPS3500 Blu-ray Player with Wi-Fi $70

In years past I went with Oppos but I no longer feel you need to spend $500 for a Blu-ray player if the main thing you are going to do is watch Blu-rays. The Oppo is well worth its price tag but only if you need the added features. The Sony streams video from all the big players and you can stream video from your Android device via Miracast. For those who don’t have a hardwire connection near the TV the 3500 supports the MIMO protocol for improved speed and reliability.

Yamaha RX-V677 7.2-channel Wi-Fi Network AV Receiver with AirPlay ($380)

This is the same unit I selected last year only this year it's only $380! Easy setup and calibration, network features so you can stream music from your favorite service, great Yamaha sound, and Airplay for $380 make this an easy choice for my system (Again!).

SVS Prime Satellite 7.1 $1,230

Speakers are the one place I spend a little more money on my system. It's because you can keep speakers forever so start out with something that’s worth keeping forever! Being bookshelf speakers the Prime Satellite will be easy to place in your home. The set includes a 12 inch subwoofer rated down 24Hz which comes in a small 13 inch enclosure.

Miscellaneous

You will need a remote control to tie everything together. There are many options out there and rather than specify one, I’ll just allocate $250 and let you choose between Harmony, Simple Control, or iRule.

The last thing to consider are cables, power strips, and connectors. We will allocate an additional $200 for these items as well.

Summary

Last year my system came in at $4,480 plus tax and this year I spent $5 less than $3,000! Even at the lower cost you are still getting a high quality system that will last you for years to come. So much better than any HTIB system and you get a TV!

Podcast #717: HDTV Buying Guide 2015 Dec 11, 2015

Show notes

HDTV Buying Guide 2015

Tis the season for us to go wishlist shopping and help you spend your money - one of our favorite times of the year. If you happen to be lucky enough to have budget for a new HDTV this Christmas, but still aren’t sure which one to buy, we’ve got you covered. Unlike years past, we’re going to skip the budget categories, and the screen size categories and jump right to our top picks. We each pick three TVs and one ‘money is no object’ / ‘dare to dream’ TV for you to consider.

For those who don’t still have last years buyer’s guide handy, here are few of the sets from last year along with their prices. As odd as it sounds, most of the prices actually went up. Unlike receivers, it may not pay to wait a year to get a set on the list. So check out this year’s list and jump on the good deals before they’re gone.

Braden’s Picks

VIZIO E50-C1 50-Inch 1080p Smart LED TV (2015 Model) ($498)

I didn’t want to do anything smaller than 55 inches, but a 50 inch TV for $498 is tough to pass up. Especially when Vizio has emerged as a brand that you can trust for the most part to deliver on quality and reliability. They aren’t just a value brand anymore, but they maintain an excellent, affordable price point. Full-Array LED: for light uniformity, and up to 12 Active LED Zones for deeper, more pure black levels. Smart TV: built-in high-speed Wi-Fi for apps like Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, Hulu Plus, and YouTube. You can step up to 4K for $200 more, but at 50” it probably isn’t worth it.

Samsung UN65J6200 65-Inch 1080p Smart LED TV (2015 Model) ($1198)

Samsung is probably the gold standard these days in HDTV, or at least the most popular brand out there. And 65 inches is probably the sweet spot for really big screens at very reasonable prices if you do some shopping around. This set combines great features with a really affordable price - even for Samsung. Its Smart TV technology allows you to access movies, games, streaming services, and other apps so you can easily get to your favorite media. Surf the web using the built-in Wi-Fi, or use the screen-mirroring feature to play your mobile content on the big screen and you can plug into the USB port to watch your own media. It doesn’t have micro-dimming for better contrast, but you can get that for $360 more in the 6300 series.

Sharp LC-70UE30U 70-Inch 4K Ultra HD 120Hz Smart LED TV (2015 Model) ($1931)

Sharp tends to be my go-to brand for really big panels at really deep discounts and this TV is no exception. There are some Vizio models that you might want to compare with it, but it packs a punch for under $2000. Sure it’s only 5 inches larger than the Samsung UN65J6200, but it is 4K and has local dimming for great contrast. The Revelation Upscaler displays all content at near-4K quality. It even has Smart TV features built on Android TV with access to the Google Play store, so you can customize the Smart TV experience to your liking. The only thing you don’t get is HDR, but that’s rare right now and costs quite a bit more. Your best bet for HDR is to upgrade to OLED, but that’ll easily cost more than double what this TV costs for the same screen size.

Honorable mention:

Sansui SLED6516 65-Inch 4K DLED LCD TV 120HZ TV ($899)

A 65” 4K TV for $899? You might be rolling the dice on quality and/or reliability, but at $899, it could be worth the gamble.

Ara’s Picks

Last year:

LG Electronics 60LF6100 60-Inch 1080p LED Smart TV $865

This year I am all about large format 1080p TVs. I love my 4K Vizio P-Series but after a little more than a year of ownership I can count the number of times I have watched a 4K show on one hand (not including testing for the show). So this year it's about saving money and getting some fantastic TVs at great prices. First up is this 60 inch LG. LGs are actually pretty decent in quality and reliability and for $865 what’s not to like? It's not going to blow you away with video processing features. Its 120Hz refresh rate and LED lit. Beyond that it is a smart TV. The main reason for making my list is that it's 60 inches and only costs $865. And it only weighs 52 pounds!

Sharp LC-65LE654U 65-Inch 1080p 120Hz Smart LED TV $997

It used to be that our list was full of Japanese manufacturers. This year Sharp is the only TV that makes my list from Japan. This is a 120Hz smart TV with good picture quality. Built in Wifi makes it easy to get you streaming video from Netflix and Youtube.

Samsung UN75J6300 75-Inch 1080p Smart LED TV $1997.99

My next TV is a step up in size and quality and two steps up in price. It uses something that Samsung calls Micro Dimming to produce deeper blacks than most LED TVs. Not quite the same as Plasma but unless they are side by side you won’t be able to tell. Also a smart TV, the TV has a quad core processor to make that experience better than most. There is also a Wide Color Enhancer to combine with the Micro Dimming to make colors look more lifelike. At just a hair under $2,000 you can have a projector like experience in your family room.

Ultimate Christmas Presents:

LG Electronics 65EF9500 65-Inch 4K Ultra HD Flat Smart OLED TV (2015 Model) ($4998)

Looking for the unrivaled picture quality of OLED and at the incredible UHD resolution a 4K TV provides without the goofy curved screen? The EF9500 OLED 4K ULTRA HD TV sports a flat screen that still displays brighter, more accurate colors OLED provides. Immeasurably deep black levels heightens realism in everything you watch. And at 4K resolution*--four times that of Full HD--even the smallest details become crystal clear, for the most lifelike image ever from LG.

Samsung UN85JU7100 85-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart LED TV (2015 Model) ($8997)

Feel the drama of blacker blacks and brighter brights with striking crispness. With 4K UHD resolution you’ll enjoy a picture with 4X the detail of Full HD. See the difference precise color and contrast can make – and a Smart TV experience that puts your favorite content at your fingertips. Plus, this 4K UHD TV complies with the Consumer Electronics Association specification guideline requirements that includes full RGB color resolution. Feel the drama of every entertainment experience with improved black levels and contrast – while bright areas remain bright. Experience a greater sense of depth with optimized contrast across multiple zones of the screen.

Podcast # 716: Receiver Buying Guide 2015 Dec 04, 2015

Show notes

Receiver Buying Guide 2015

It is that time of year where we get to spend your money again! This week we concentrate on receivers. Our goal with these guides is not necessarily about getting the latest product. It's about getting a good product at a great price so you may see some of last year’s gear on the list. All these receivers are readily available online or at a big box store. Just like last year’s Buying Guide, we’re going to skip the budget categories jump right to our top picks. We each pick three receivers and one ‘money is no object’ / ‘dare to dream’ receiver for you to consider.

Braden’s Picks

Onkyo TX-NR545 7.2-Channel Network A/V Receiver ($440)

This 7.2-channel receiver can power a 5.1.2-channel Dolby Atmos speaker setup: 5.1 standard surround configuration plus two in-ceiling or height channels: 5.1.2. All HDMI inputs support the latest TV video displays, and with three of six inputs handling HDCP 2.2. Built-in Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Airplay (including Pandora and Spotify) to stream virtually any audio from your smartphone, tablet, or PC to your home theater. And support for playback of Compressed, Lossless, and Hi-Res Audio via Local Network (MP3, WMA, WMA Lossless, FLAC, WAV, Ogg Vorbis, AAC, Apple Lossless, DSD 5.6 MHz, LPCM).

Denon AVR-X3200W 7.2-Channel Full 4K Ultra HD A/V Receiver with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi ($999)

Because we all know Denon makes the best receivers...this bad boy is a 7.2 channel A/V receiver that packs 105W of power per channel. It has 3D and 4K Ultra HD/60Hz full rate pass-through with 4:4:4 color resolution, HDR, BT.2020. 8 HDMI 2.0a inputs (incl. 1 front) and 2 HDMI outputs with full HCDP 2.2 support. Of course, built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. And let’s not forget Dolby Atmos (up to 5.1.2), DTS:X ready (via firmware update). Instant content Airplay, Spotify Connect, Pandora, SiriusXM Internet Radio Internet Radio, DLNA, DSD,FLAC, ALAC and AIFF High Resolution streaming. And the new IP control capability with the HEOS Link turns any stereo system into a wireless zone (HEOS LINK sold separately).

Denon AVRX6200W 9.2 Channel Full 4K Ultra HD A/V Receiver with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi ($2199)

Two Denons? Is that allowed? The X3200 is the reasonable choice. the X6200 is the less reasonable, but “wow” choice. The amplifier has 9 discrete output stages with identical circuit topology and high current transistors. Each channel is rated at 140 watts. Of course the AVR-X6200W features the next-generation sound formats Dolby Atmos, dts UHD and Auro 3D (upgradable) which allows you to add Height/Top speakers to dramatically expand the soundstage. Featuring a total of 8 HDMI inputs, the AVR-X6200W also has 3 HDMI outputs for flexible multi-room options, with full HDCP 2.2 support. This receiver is also equipped with advanced video circuitry capable of upscaling video signals to 1080p and up to 4K/60Hz full-rate video passthru with support for 4:4:4 color resolution, HDR, and BT.2020.

Ara’s Picks

Yamaha RX-A850 7.2-Channel MusicCast AV Receiver with Built-In Wi-Fi and Bluetooth $899.99

This year I am only selecting receivers that are HDCP 2.2 compliant and support 3D sound. As a result my lowest cost receiver comes in at a penny under $900 but it supports a 5.2.2 Atmos setup and you can send it any 4K Ultra HD source with HDCP 2.2 and HDR. The 850 has support for Hi Res Audio as well as Pandora, Rhapsody, SiriusXM, and Internet Radio. There is also support for Yamaha’s proprietary wireless multiroom audio system called MusicCast.

Pioneer SC-91 7.2 Channel Networked Class D3 AV Receiver with Built-in Bluetooth, Wi-Fi & Dolby Atmos $999

I have never been disappointed with the audio quality of a Pioneer Elite receiver and based on my recent experience with its little brother, the VSX-90, I can fully recommend this receiver to anyone who wants to take a step up in this department. This unit is 130 watts per channel which will fill even large rooms with sound. It supports 4K pass through and of course Dolby Atmos. The SC-91 has MCACC Pro calibration, Subwoofer EQ, built-in AV Navigator, plus an easy initial setup app.

Marantz SR6010 7.2 Channel Full 4K Ultra HD AV Sourround Receiver with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi $1399

I have one and so should you. While this unit only has 7 amps (110 Watts each) it does have 13 preouts which with an external amp will provide you with the most immersive audio experience! The 6010 supports both Dolby Atmos and dts UHD. Of course it supports 4K Pass through and is HDCP 2.2 compliant. It streams all kinds of services but we all have a set top box that can do that don’t we!

Ultimate Present

Integra DTR-70.6 11.2-Channel AV Receiver $2,800

I have never been able to get my hands on an Integra receiver but if I can dream this is what I would want. It checks every box and then some. Its THX Select 2 Plus certified and can be calibrated so that the video processing in this receiver actually does something to improve the picture on your TV. Components are heavily screened to assure optimal sound. If you are big into automation the 70.6 supports AMX, Control 4, Crestron and Compass Control. This truly is an ultimate Christmas present for the A/V lover in your life! And that just may be yourself!!

Podcast #715: What we're thankful for 2015 Nov 25, 2015

Show notes

What we're thankful for '15

Each year at this time of year we do a show where we discuss what we are thankful for. There are the obvious things to be thankful for like our families, especially our wives who put up with our home theater obsessions. And of course we are thankful for you, the listener/reader of our show. So as is tradition over the last many Thanksgivings, on today's show we give you our list of consumer electronics things we are thankful for.

For 2015:

Ara’s List:

Apple Music - and by extension all other music services. Being able to stream pretty much any song I want at any time is fantastic. I even like the Beats One music channel. I pay 5 times more per month (five Radios but only one family subscription for Apple Music) for Sirius Satellite radio. If Apple gives me a Country music channel similar to Beats One, it's bye bye Satellite radio! Sometimes you need a DJ.

OLED - To be honest, I never thought OLED would make it since LEDs have gotten so much better for a fraction of the cost. But it's nice to see prices coming down and screen sizes going up. In actuality, I am thankful for OLED buyers. Thanks to you, I will be able to afford my next TV, which will be OLED.

DIY Speakers - This year I got into DIY Speaker building, well assembly anyway, but you do have to pick the right components! I have had a ton of fun and build some fantastic sounding speakers for a fraction of the cost. Next up is a subwoofer! More on this to come in the upcoming year!

Dolby ATMOS - How can I not be grateful for a technology that gets me to go out and spend more money on a new receiver and speakers. All kidding aside, anything that immerses the viewer into the movie is a great thing.

Netflix/Amazon/Hulu - There is so much HD content out there and now with these guys they are creating even more. And the best part is a lot of it is in 4K and some even use HDR and the wider color gamut! Most of the content is decent but there are some really great shows that are big network quality in production value. So much so that every out of work actor should rejoice!

Braden’s List:

Amazon Prime Now - This may not be entirely home theater related, although I have used it to buy batteries for remote controls and even a new TV for a bedroom. The idea that you can get almost anything you need, including home electronics, delivered to your door in two hours or less is absurd. There are so many times I didn’t want to have to run out to the grocery store to get something. Now I don’t have to. Need banana plugs to make speaker/amp/receiver installation easier? Yeah, they’ve got that.

Front Projection - I recently took a few of my boys to see a movie in the theater. Ignoring the fact that we spent way too much money to see a pretty bad movie, and had we waited to watch it at home it would have only cost $5-6, the experience was sub-par. The film was grainy and full of static. The sound was muddled and the surround sound was almost non-existent. For the entire two hours of the movie I just kept telling myself how much better it would have been to watch at home. Front projection is awesome.

Dish Network / The Hopper - Dish Network is doing a great job adding features to their existing service. They’ve added Pandora integration into the Hopper and Joeys, they added Netflix to both as well. They have a new sports app in the DVR that helps you locate games, news, etc for your favorite sport of favorite teams. They now have a wireless Joey even. But the single biggest feature is Auto-Hop. Whenever that question comes up at the beginning of a show, I do a little happy dance on the inside.

4K TV - This is a little odd for me, since I still don’t own a 4K TV, to be thankful for Ultra High Definition, but it isn’t what you think. Now that 4K is the new big thing, how often are we hearing about 3D? It’s almost as if we’ve filed 3D away under the “do not care” category and completely left it in 4K’s wake. For that reason alone UHD is worth more than words. All we’re hearing about now is 4K TV penetration, 4K content, 4K Blu-ray, and on. Sure it might get old after a while, but for now I’m really thankful for the lack of 3D talk.

Home Automation - Automation is a fun hobby. Something happens, you want to do something in your house, and after a while you start to think of ways you could automate that task. It’s a strange, but very fun, addiction. Although I haven’t started playing with it yet, I can’t wait to get the Amazon Echo working with the Insteon gear in my home. Voice control for home automation? Yeah, that’s next level. Alexa, lower the lights and set the temperature to 72 degrees. Done. I’m in.

Podcast #714: Black Friday Preview 2015 Nov 20, 2015

Show notes

Black Friday Preview 2015 Black Friday is an ever-evolving event and every year we can’t get enough. This year, some stores are opening way earlier, others are skipping Black Friday altogether. If you’re planning to wait in line, we wish you the best of luck. Just like prior years, the deals are as good as ever. Looking back, the deals we thought were unreal are totally inflated now. In 2008 the cheapest Blu-ray player was $128 and a 50-inch 720p plasma was going for $900. In 2009 the Blu-ray player price dropped to $78 and you could get a 50-inch 1080p plasma with a Blu-ray player for $1000. Not inflated, last year the lowest price for a tier one brand HDTV was a 50" Panasonic 1080p LED for only $199.99 Our research came from our favorite goto sites for Black Friday circulars, including: www.bfads.net, www.blackfriday.com, and blackfriday.gottadeal.com. WalletHub put together a pretty cool analysis of 2015’s Best & Worst Retailers for Black Friday Deals. The lowest price tier one brand HDTV is at Best Buy Toshiba 49" 1080p 60Hz LED HDTV (49L310U), $149.99 The largest TVs are at Sears and h.h. gregg Sears - Samsung 75" 1080p 60Hz LED Smart HDTV (UN75J6300), $1,999.00 h.h. gregg - Samsung 75" 1080p Smart HDTV (UN75J6300), $1,998.00 h.h. gregg - Sony 75" 4K Ultra Smart HDTV (XBR75X850C), $2,998.00 Honorable mention: Wal-mart - Vizio 70" Smart LED HDTV (E70-C3), $898.00 The list has multiple 720p TVs 32 inches or larger, more than we expected to see. There were three last year. Wal-mart - TCL Roku 32" 720p LED Smart HDTV (32S3700), $125.00 Target - Samsung 32" 720p 60Hz LED HDTV (UN32J4000), $177.99 Target - Westinghouse 32" 720p 60Hz LED HDTV (WD32HT1360), $99.99 Sears - LG 32" 720p 60Hz LED HDTV (32LF500B), $209.99 Sears - RCA 32" 720p 60Hz LED HDTV/DVD (LED32G30RQD), $199.99 Sears - Samsung 32" 720p 60Hz Slim LED HDTV (UN32J4000), $179.99 K-Mart - LG 32" 720p HD LED TV (32LF500B), $209.99 K-Mart - Samsung 48" 720p Slim LED HDTV (UN48H4005), $429.99 K-Mart - Seiki 32" 720p LED HDTV (SE32HY), $159.99 h.h. gregg - Proscan 39" 720p LED HDTV (FLDED3996A), $188.00 h.h. gregg - Samsung 32" 720p LED HDTV (UN32J4000), $178.00 h.h. gregg - Samsung 32" 720p LED Smart HDTV (UN3234500), $198.00 The list has multiple 4K TVs as well, also more than we expected to see. Best Buy - 10 Wal-mart - 2 Target - 3 Sears - 6 h.h. gregg - 24 Deal lists: Amazon Amazon announced in a press release that holiday deals start on Friday, November 20, with new deals added as often as every five minutes for eight straight days - so keep an eye on their Black Friday Landing Page in order to not miss anything! Customers will have access to 10 coveted Deals of the Day starting at midnight on Thanksgiving, and up to 10 more on Black Friday. They can also shop limited-time Lightning Deals on thousands of sought-after products per day throughout the eight days of deals. Best Buy Logitech Harmony 700 8-Device Universal Remote, $49.99 Sony USB Stereo Turntable, $64.99 Amazon Fire 7" 8GB Tablet (Black), $34.99 Panasonic Streaming Wi-Fi Built-In Blu-ray Player (BD903), $39.99 Samsung Streaming 4K Upscaling 3D Wi-Fi Built-In Blu-ray Player, $87.99 Sony Streaming Wi-Fi Built-In Blu-ray Player (BDPS3500), $49.99 Onkyo 805W 7.1-Channel 4K Ultra HD & 3D Pass-Through A/V Home Theater Receiver, $249.99 Amazon Fire TV Stick, $24.99 Google Chromecast (2015 Model), 2 FOR $50.00 Google Chromecast Audio, 2 FOR $50.00 Roku SE Streaming Player, $24.99 Roku Streaming Stick, $39.99 Insignia 2.1-Channel Soundbar w/ Wireless Subwoofer, $99.99 Insignia Soundbar w/ Bluetooth, $49.99 Klipsch Reference 10-in. 300W Powered Subwoofer, $174.99 Klipsch Reference Bookshelf Speakers, $124.99 Klipsch Reference Dual 6-1/2-in. Floorstanding Speaker, $174.99 Klipsch Reference Dual 8-in. Floorstanding Speaker, $224.99 Samsung 400 Series 2.1-Channel Soundbar w/ 6.5-in. Wireless Active Subwoofer, $147.99 Samsung 500 Series 2.1-Channel Soundbar w/ 7-in. Wireless Active Subwoofer, $247.99 Insignia 40" 1080p 60Hz LED HDTV (NS-40D420NA16), $159.99 LG 24" 720p 60Hz LED HDTV (24LF452B), $79.99 LG 43" 4K 60Hz LED Smart HDTV (43UF6430), $399.99 LG 49" 4K 60Hz LED Smart HDTV (49UF6430), $499.99 Samsung 24" 720p 60Hz LED Smart HDTV (UN24H4500AFXZA), $147.99 Samsung 32" 1080p 60Hz LED Smart HDTV (UN32J5205AFXZA), $227.99 Samsung 40" 1080p 60Hz LED HDTV (UN40HS003AFXZA) & Xbox One: The LEGO Movie Videogame Bundle, $499.98 Samsung 40" 1080p 60Hz LED Smart HDTV (UN40J5200AFXZA), $317.99 Samsung 48" 1080p 60Hz LED Smart HDTV (UN48J5201AFXZA), $379.99 Samsung 55" 4K 120Hz 3D LED Smart HDTV (UN55JS8500FXZA), $1,499.99 Samsung 55" 4K 60Hz LED Smart HDTV (UN55JS7000FXZA), $999.99 Samsung 60" 1080p 60Hz LED Smart HDTV (UN60J6200AFXZA), $697.99 Samsung 60" 4K 60Hz LED Smart HDTV (UN55JS7000FXZA), $1,299.99 Samsung 60" 4K 60Hz LED Smart HDTV (UN60JU6390FXZA), $799.99 Samsung 65" 4K 120Hz 3D LED Smart HDTV (UN65JS8500FXZA), $1,999.99 Sharp 50" 1080p 60Hz LED HDTV (LC-50LB370U), $299.99 Toshiba 49" 1080p 60Hz LED HDTV (49L310U), $149.99 Toshiba 55" 1080p 60Hz LED HDTV (55L310U), $349.99 VIZIO 50" 4K 120Hz LED Smart HDTV (D50U-D1), $599.99 VIZIO 55" 4K 120Hz LED Smart HDTV (D55U-D1), $699.99 VIZIO 65" 4K 120Hz LED Smart HDTV (D65U-D2), $999.99 Wal-mart Apple iPod Touch (Black, Gold, Grey, Pink, White), $165.00 Apple iPad mini 2 w/ Wi-Fi (Black, white), $199.00 RCA 7" Voyager II Android Ad-Free Tablet, $28.88 Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Lite 7" Android Tablet (Black, White), $79.00 RCA Twin Portable DVD Player, $49.00 Sony 2500 Wi-Fi Blu-ray Player w/ PlayStation Now, $45.00 Sanyo Bluetooth Soundbar, $35.00 Vizio 24-in. 2.1-Channel Soundbar, $118.00 Chromecast Streaming Media Player, $20.00 Roku Special Edition Streaming Media Player, $25.00 Samsung 2.1 Bluetooth Soundbard w/ Wireless Subwoofer, $158.00 40" 1080p LED HDTV (Brands may vary by store), $149.00 50" 1080p LED HDTV (Brands may vary by store), $269.00 Hisense 55" 4K LED Smart HDTV, $448.00 LG 55" 4K LED Smart HDTV, $698.00 Samsung 32" LED Smart HDTV (UN32J4500), $198.00 Samsung 40" LED Smart HDTV (UN40H5203AFXZA), $298.00 Samsung 55" 1080p LED Smart HDTV (UN55J6201), $498.00 Samsung 55" 4K LED Curved HDTV (UN55JU6700), $998.00 TCL by Roku 55" 1080p Smart LED HDTV, $348.00 TCL Roku 32" 720p LED Smart HDTV (32S3700), $125.00 Vizio 70" Smart LED HDTV (E70-C3), $898.00 Target RCA 10" Portable DVD PLayer, $54.99 RCA 8" 8GB Android Tablet, $39.99 Samsung Wi-Fi Blu-Ray Player, $52.99 Samsung 120W Bluetooth Soundar w/ Subwoofer, $87.99 Apple TV, 25% OFF VIZIO 29-in. 2.0 Sound Bar, $49.99 Element 43" 1080p 60Hz LED HDTV, $169.99 Element 50" 1080p 60Hz LED HDTV, $239.99 Element 55" 4K LED Smart HDTV, $399.99 LG 49" 4K 120Hz LED Smart HDTV, $499.99 Samsung 32" 720p 60Hz LED HDTV (UN32J4000), $177.99 Samsung 40" 1080p LED Smart HDTV + Free $20.00 Target Gift Card, $317.99 Samsung 55" 4K 120Hz LED Smart HDTV (UN55JU6400FXZA), $797.99 Samsung 60" 1080p 120Hz LED HDTV (UNG6J5200), $697.99 Westinghouse 32" 720p 60Hz LED HDTV (WD32HT1360), $99.99 Westinghouse 55" 1080p LED HDTV, $249.99 Sears Samsung Smart Blu-ray Player w/ Built-In WiFi (BD-J5700), $49.99 Curtis Compact DVD Player (DVD1041), $19.99 LG DVD Player w/ DivX Playback (DP132), $29.99 Nakamichi 300W Bluetooth Soundbar w/ Wired Subwoofer (NK6), $99.99 Samsung 2.1-Channel 120Watt Soundbar w/ Subwoofer (HW-J355), $89.99 Samsung 2.2-Channel 350W Sound Tower Speaker System (TW-J5500), $249.99 LG 32" 720p 60Hz LED HDTV (32LF500B), $209.99 LG 50" 1080p 120Hz LED Smart HDTV (50LF6100), $549.99 LG 60" 4K 120Hz LED Smart TV (60UF7700), $1,399.99 RCA 32" 720p 60Hz LED HDTV/DVD (LED32G30RQD), $199.99 RCA 40" 1080p 60Hz LED HDTV (LED40G45RQ), $269.99 Samsung 32" 1080p 60Hz LED Smart HDTV (UN32J5205), $229.99 Samsung 32" 720p 60Hz Slim LED HDTV (UN32J4000), $179.99 Samsung 40" 1080p 60Hz LED Smart HDTV (UN40J5200), $319.99 Samsung 48" 1080p 60Hz LED Smart HDTV (UN48J5200), $429.99 Samsung 55" 1080p 60Hz LED Smart HDTV (UN55J6200), $579.99 Samsung 55" 4K 60Hz Curved LED Smart HDTV (UN55JU6700), $999.99 Samsung 55" 4K 60Hz LED Smart HDTV (UN55JS7000), $999.99 Samsung 60" 1080p 60Hz LED Smart HDTV (UN60J6200), $699.99 Samsung 65" 1080p 60Hz LED Smart HDTV (UN65J6300), $1,099.99 Samsung 65" 4K 120Hz Curved 3D LED Smart HDTV (UN65JU7500), $1,799.99 Samsung 65" 4K 60Hz Curved LED Smart HDTV (UN65JU6700), $1,499.99 Samsung 65" 4K 60Hz LED Smart HDTV (UN65JU6500), $1,399.99 Samsung 75" 1080p 60Hz LED Smart HDTV (UN75J6300), $1,999.00 Seiki 20" 720p 60Hz LED HDTV (SE20HY), $99.99 Seiki 43" 1080p 60Hz LED HDTV (SE43FK), $279.99 K-Mart Amazon Fire 7" 8GB Tablet w/ Cover & 32GB MicroSD Card (Black) + $10.00 Back in SYWR Points, $54.99 Samsung Smart Blu-ray Player, $49.99 Curtis Compact DVD Player, $19.99 LG DVD Player w/ DivX Playback, $29.99 Samsung Progressive Scan DVD Player w/ 1080p Up-Conversion, $39.99 Sylvania 7" Portable DVD Player, $39.99 Samsung 2.1-Channel 120W Soundbar w/ Subwoofer, $89.99 LG 32" 720p HD LED TV (32LF500B), $209.99 LG 50" 1080p LED HDTV (50LF6000), $449.99 RCA 50" 1080p LED HDTV (LED50B45RQ), $399.99 Samsung 32" LED HDTV, $179.99 Samsung 43" 1080p LED HDTV (UN43J5000), $339.99 Samsung 48" 720p Slim LED HDTV (UN48H4005), $429.99 Seiki 32" 720p LED HDTV (SE32HY), $159.99 Seiki 43" 1080p LED HDTV (SE43FK), $279.99 h.h. gregg Swann Xtreem QuadForce 720p Video Drone, $79.99 Garmin 5" Touchscreen GPS w/ Free Lifetime Maps, $79.99 Samsung 3D Wi-Fi Smart Blu-ray Player, $64.99 Samsung 4K Upscaling 3D Wi-Fi Smart Blu-ray Player, $89.99 Samsung Smart Blu-ray Player, $49.99 Samsung Wi-Fi Smart Blu-ray Player, $54.99 Sony 4K Upscaling 3D Wi-Fi Smart Blu-ray Player, $99.99 LG DVD Player, $24.99 Portable 9" DVD Player, $39.99 Proscan DVD Player, $9.99 Bose SoundTouch 130 Home Theater System, $1,349.99 iLive 37-in. Bluetooth Soundbar, $34.99 JBL 2.1 Channel Soundbar w/ Wireless Subwoofer, $249.99 Polk Audio 100W 10-in. Monitor Series Powered Subwoofer, $98.99 Sony 2.1 Channel Soundbar w/ Wireless Subwoofer, $349.99 Amazon Fire TV 4K w/ Voice Search, $74.99 Amazon Fire TV w/ Game Controller, $139.99 Apple TV, $59.99 Apple TV 64GB w/ Siri, $179.99 Chromecast Media Player, $29.99 Roku 3 Streaming Player, $79.99 Roku Streaming Player, $19.99 Roku Streaming Stick, $39.99 LG 2.1-Channel Soundbar w/ Wireless Subwoofer (LAS454B), $139.99 LG 700W Bluetooth CD Music System, $149.99 Samsung 2.1-Channel Soundbar w/ Subwoofer (HWJ355), $89.99 Samsung 2.1-Channel Soundbar w/ Wireless Subwoofer (HWJ450), $149.99 Samsung 2.1-Channel Soundbar w/ Wireless Subwoofer (HWJ550), $249.99 LG 43" 4K 120Hz LED Smart HDTV (43UF6430), $398.00 LG 49" 4K 120Hz LED Smart HDTV (49UF6430), $498.00 LG 55" 4K Ultra Smart HDTV (55UF6430), $698.00 LG 65" 4K Ultra Smart HDTV (65LF6450), $998.00 Samsung 32" 1080p Smart HDTV (UN32J5205), $228.00 Samsung 40" 1080p Smart HDTV (UN40J5200), $318.00 Samsung 40" 4K Ultra Smart HDTV (UN40JU6400), $448.00 Samsung 43" 1080p Smart HDTV (UN43J5200), $368.00 Samsung 48" 1080p Smart HDTV (UN48J5200), $428.00 Samsung 48" 4K Ultra Smart HDTV (UN48JU6400), $598.00 Samsung 48" Curved 4K Ultra Smart HDTV (UN48JU6700), $798.00 Samsung 50" 1080p Smart HDTV (UN50J5200), $498.00 Samsung 50" 4K S Ultra Smart HDTV (UN50JS7000), $798.00 Samsung 55" 1080p Smart HDTV (UN55J6200), $578.00 Samsung 55" 4K S 3D Ultra Smart HDTV (UN55JS8500), $1,498.00 Samsung 55" 4K S Ultra Smart HDTV (UN55JS7000), $998.00 Samsung 55" 4K Ultra Smart HDTV (UN55JU6400), $798.00 Samsung 55" Curved 4K S 3D Ultra Smart HDTV (UN55JS9000), $1,998.00 Samsung 55" Curved 4K Ultra 3D Smart HDTV (UN557500), $1,298.00 Samsung 55" Curved 4K Ultra Smart HDTV (UN55JU6700), $998.00 Samsung 60" 1080p Smart HDTV (UN60J6200), $698.00 Samsung 60" 4K S Ultra Smart HDTV (UN60JS7000), $1,298.00 Samsung 60" 4K Ultra Smart HDTV (UN60JU6400) + Free Samsung Soundbar, $898.00 Samsung 65" 1080p Smart HDTV (UN65J6200), $898.00 Samsung 65" 4K S 3D Ultra Smart HDTV (UN65JS8500), $1,998.00 Samsung 65" 4K Ultra Smart HDTV (UN65JU6400), $1,298.00 Samsung 65" 4K Ultra Smart HDTV (UN65JU6700), $1,498.00 Samsung 65" Curved 4K S 3D UHDTV Smart TV (UN65JS9000), $2,998.00 Samsung 75" 1080p Smart HDTV (UN75J6300), $1,998.00 Seiki 65" 4K 120Hz HDTV (SE65UY04), $598.00 Sony 43" 4K Ultra Smart HDTV (XBR43XB30C), $698.00 Sony 49" 4K Ultra Smart HDTV (XBR49XB30C), $798.00 Sony 55" 4K Ultra Smart HDTV (XBR55X810C), $998.00 Sony 65" 4K Ultra Smart HDTV (XBR65X810C), $1,498.00 Sony 75" 4K Ultra Smart HDTV (XBR75X850C), $2,998.00 Haier 48" 1080p 60Hz LED HDTV (48E2500), $288.00 LG 43" 1080p 60Hz LED HDTV (43LF5100), $298.00 LG 49" 1080p 60Hz LED HDTV (49LF5100), $368.00 LG 55" 1080p LED HDTV (55LF6000), $548.00 Proscan 39" 720p LED HDTV (FLDED3996A), $188.00 Samsung 24" 720p LED HDTV (UN24H4000), $128.00 Samsung 24" 720p LED Smart HDTV (UN24H4500), $148.00 Samsung 28" 720p LED Smart HDTV (UN28H4500), $188.00 Samsung 32" 720p LED HDTV (UN32J4000), $178.00 Samsung 32" 720p LED Smart HDTV (UN3234500), $198.00 Samsung 40" 1080p LED HDTV (UN40H5003), $278.00 Samsung 48" 1080p LED HDTV (UN48J5000), $398.00 Seiki 55" 1080p 60Hz LED Streaming HDTV (SE55FGT), $298.00 Sharp 55" 1080p Aquos LED Smart HDTV (LC55LE653U), $488.00

Full show notes at the publisher

Podcast #713: AppleTV Gen 4 Nov 12, 2015

Show notes

AppleTV Gen 4

It's fair to say there are three big names in streaming set top boxes, Roku, Apple, and Amazon. Yes we know there are others but these are the biggest right now. We reviewed the Amazon Fire TV a few shows ago (Podcast #710) and we will review the Roku 4 in the near future but today it's the AppleTV 4. It comes in two incarnations, the 32 GB will run you $149 and the 64GB will run you $199. We took the 64 GB version for a spin. The one big feature that is missing is that the AppleTV does not support 4K. Is that a deal breaker?? Read on to find out.

Features:

Glass Touch Remote - Fluid and precise control with a swipe of your finger
Voice Control (Siri) - Just say you want to watch or ask about the weather
New UI Design
Fast app switching - Double tap the home button and toggle between open apps
App Store - Third party games and entertainment are now available
iTunes, Home Sharing, and Airplay

If you have owned a previous version of the AppleTV you won’t be too surprised at what you find in the box. The AppleTV 4 is about twice as thick but about the same in the other dimensions. On the back Apple added a USB-C port but eliminated the optical digital port. In fact to install our new unit we literally unplugged the existing cables from the Gen 3 and then plugged them into the Gen 4. Since the power supply is internal to the box, Apple used the same power cord between versions. This also helps in being able to find a spare plug in your power strip.

Then we walked through the screens to get our AppleTV online. It was straight forward but then it became a major hassle. The only way to enter data was with the remote. Ara has a long password so it was a pain to enter it using the remote. There is no mobile app to do this as there is on the Gen 3 AppleTV. This is a major oversight by Apple. It wouldn’t be so bad if it were just for setting up your iTunes account or your Homeshare, but you have to do the same thing with Hulu, Netflix, HBO, and on and on. To make matters worse, Ara has three AppleTVs so it needs to be done at all three TVs.

We were perplexed as to why Apple just didn’t keep the cable system login on file and not force you to verify it with every video app you download. And why not have the capability to replicate another AppleTV on your network. What we really didn’t understand is how could Apple release the AppleTV without a companion iPhone/iPad app? By the way, the current IR remote still works with the Gen 4 AppleTV. We had to switch our Simple Control remote back to IR so that we had the ability to control it with the iPad. But realistically once you use Siri you don’t want to go back!

Performance:

Now that you have gone through the headache of setting up the AppleTV it's time to start watching. And here is where the product does quite well. In actuality from a picture and sound point of view, there isn’t any difference between the Gen 3 and Gen 4. But that’s not a bad thing. The picture and sound quality of the Gen 3 was already very good.

But what about 4K? We don’t know why Apple didn’t release a 4K model. At this point in time it really doesn’t matter especially if you are watching on a TV that is less than 70 inches. To be honest sitting at 12 feet you probably need 100 inches to see the difference in 4K and 1080p if all other things are equal. Not going 4K probably kept the price down. Once we get content that makes use of the wider color gamut and HDR you will probably see a 4K AppleTV. In the meantime don’t get hung up the lack of 4K.

If picture and sound quality are the same why do I care about upgrading? Good question! You may not need to upgrade now. The big thing is that there is an App Store for the AppleTV and that means there will be all kinds of apps in the future that will make the AppleTV a very versatile box and platform. We can see the day when the major networks will have apps for their channels and you can tell siri to launch the app. You will be able to say, “Watch ESPN 2” and the AppleTV will go there. In fact you can launch ESPN now via voice. You can launch any app via voice and it launches right away. We even asked Siri to play the latest episode of Brooklyn 99 on Hulu and within a few seconds Jake Peralta was screen making us laugh.

The other feature that I (Ara) really like is the “What did he/she Say” capability. Have you been watching a show with someone who for some reason never understands what was just said? It can be very frustrating!! This feature was made for you. You simply pick up the remote and hold the Siri button and say, “What did he say”. Then Siri backs up about 15 seconds and turns on subtitles for you. Once you hit the point where you asked the question Siri turns off subtitles. If the application does not support the subtitles activation, Siri just rewinds 15 seconds and lets you listen harder.

You can also ask Siri, “Who’s in this”? You are then presented with a list of the actors in the show. But as far as we could tell, it only included main characters (regulars). Which was a bummer because I actually wanted to use it because I recognized someone and wanted to know where I saw him before. You can also ask about weather and sports scores. An advantage the AppleTV has over the fire TV is that the results only show up in the lower third of the screen while the show continues to play. If you swipe the remote up then the show is paused until you clear the screen.

There are games and a dedicated game controller. We downloaded a rudimentary game which was kind of fun. We see the potential there but right now we didn’t see any sophisticated games. It should be straightforward to port iOS games so look for this category to increase very quickly.

PROS

Siri integration into the improved touch remote
Voice commands that really work
First rate developer tools that should make for great apps

CONS

No iOS remote
No centralized password storage for use across different apps

Conclusion:

The fourth generation AppleTV feels like it was taken out of the oven a little early. But it's nothing that another 10 minutes of cooking time couldn’t fix. We fully expect the true potential of this device to be achieved as developers release new and interesting apps. If you want to jump in now, you won’t be disappointed. You may just get a little frustrated with the setup.

Podcast #712: Review: Pioneer Elite VSX-90 7.2 Channel A/V Receiver Nov 06, 2015

Show notes

Review: Pioneer Elite VSX-90 7.2 Channel A/V Receiver

The HT Guys upgrade equipment faster than most just so we can stay on top of the latest technology. So when the 4K Fire TV product was released and our current receiver could not send a 4K signal to the TV we figured what better reason to upgrade. We chose the Pioneer Elite VSX-90 7.2 Channel Receiver with Atmos mainly because it is a capable receiver and it didn’t break the bank (Buy Now $699.99)

Features:

7 HDMI inputs with 2 outputs
100 W/ch (8 ohms 20 Hz-20 kHz THD 0.08 % 2ch Driven FTC)
4K 60P Ultra HD upscaling and pass-through
Built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
Simplified connection and setup
Dolby Atmos
DSD playback
Subwoofer EQ and dual subwoofer pre-out
Spotify Connect and Roku ready
Energy-saving ECO Mode
Intuitive setup with icon-based Graphical User Interface (GUI)
Offers both RS-232c interface and full IP control

Setup:

We have gotten really good at swapping out receivers. Probably a skill most will never need to master but it helps us from time to time. Our speakers are connected via Banana plugs so recabling the receiver took about three minutes which included 7.1 speakers, 5 HDMI connections, Ethernet, and power.

Then we ran the calibration setup which Pionner calls MCACC Multi-Channel Acoustic Calibration. The VSX-90 uses the Pro Version of this technology. Like pretty much every other auto calibration system, Pioneer’s measures every speaker noting size and distance, sound levels and timbre from the listening point. The subwoofer is also analyzed and adjusted using four different frequency parameters to correct phase and timing errors.

The VSX-90 uses the ES9006 Sabre Premier audio DAC (Digital-to-Analog Converter) which should provide smoother audio. And you audiophiles may like to know that there is support for 192 kHz 24-bit AIFF, Multi-channel WAV, FLAC, and Apple Lossless up to 96kHz 24-Bit.

The VSX-90 offers both RS-232c interface and full IP control providing compatibility with the most popular home automation systems. For custom-installed home theater solutions, it offers multi-zone capability audio video support. For tablet and smartphone users there is the iControl AV5 app available to make using the receiver a breeze.

Performance:

First up is video. The main reason we upgraded our receiver was to be able to pass 4K content from our Amazon Fire TV device to the 4K TV. In this regard it is important to note that only the first three HDMI ports are HDCP 2.2 compliant and without that you won’t be able to pass protected 4K content through to the TV. The receiver will upscale all digital content to 4K but we found that the best picture was obtained by simply passing the original signal (Pure Mode) through and letting the TV do the upscaling.

The Amazon Fire TV looked fine with 4K content (See Review Here) that was unprocessed by the receiver. We subjectively compared the video straight from the Fire TV to that of video that went through the reveier. We could not see any difference which is what you would expect in the Pure mode. It should be noted that this receiver does not have video processing beyond a scalar. In general we feel this is a good thing because we have not found a good receiver that also processes video well.

Then it was time to listen to some audio. We had high expectations due to the Sabre DAC and we weren’t let down. Our listening material included lossless audio, 256 Kbps AAC, and streaming audio. Everything we listened to had more punch and the midrange sounded clear and crisp. If we had to sum up the listening experience it would be that the music sounded bright. The VSX-90 had no issues with reproducing an accurate sound stage with good instrument separation. When it came time to watch (listen) to movies we were impressed with how good our subwoofer sounded. Same subwoofer same Dolby True HD content but a noticeable improvement in the bass.

The only real complaint we had with the unit was source switching. Whenever we switched between sources it took as long as six seconds to get video back on screen.

Odds and Ends:

Dolby ATMOS sound technology - We did not test this feature
Remote - Typical receiver remote.
Multi-zones - The VSX-90 can send audio and video to a secondary room.
WiFi - The unit also has dual antennas to extend the range.
MHL compatibility - One port
Bluetooth and Airplay
Streaming Music - vTune, Pandora, and Spotify ready

Conclusion:

The Pioneer Elite VSX-90 is a feature rich receiver that won’t break the bank and allow room for some future growth. You may not be in a position to upgrade to Atmos but it's nice to know that when you want to the VSX-90 will be ready for you. It's relatively easy to setup and configure with the use of the onscreen instructions. For those who really like to listen to high quality music this receiver fits the bill. We couldn’t ask for a better mid-range AVR to handle both movies and music.

Podcast #711: Instant Home Theater in Two Hours or Less Oct 30, 2015

Show notes

Instant Home Theater in Two Hours or Less

Amazon Prime changed the game. You can have pretty much anything you need, including an entire home theater, delivered to your home in two days or less. And you never have to get off the couch. A recent conversation with a friend who needed a TV and an HDMI cable and had them delivered in an hour using the new Prime Now app got us thinking. What if you wanted an entire home theater delivered to your home within an hour or two? Is that even possible?

The scenarios are endless. You have company over and everyone decides to watch a movie, but they brought kids and the kids need something to watch too. Or you and your family, friends, guests, whatever can’t decide if you want to watch a live sports event or that night’s episode of Dancing with the Stars, so, in the spirit of ‘why not both?’ you need to add a second home theater to keep everyone happy. Or, simply, just cuz.

Prime Now is a new service from Amazon, available to Prime members in select markets at no additional charge, that allows you to order products for delivery in two hours, sometimes less, depending on your proximity to the distribution center. We assume the products available may vary by market, since not all distribution centers would have the exact same inventory, so this adventure is what the HT Guys would be able to put together from their local distribution center in Orange County, California.

Prime Now is currently only available as an app for your smartphone. You cannot tap into it from your computer, not yet at least. For our discussion we’ll provide links to the products at the main Amazon website, but if you want to get them delivered in an hour, you’ll need to download the app and find them there.

Televisions

Every home theater needs an HDTV. What options are available from Prime Now? We assumed they would be small TVs, easy to store and easy to deliver. What we found surprised us. There were a bunch of options for HDTVs from Prime Now. Small TVs, like you would imagine, a 32” model from LG or Sharp, 43” options from Vizio and Sharp, etc. But they also had some bigger sets available. There’s a 50” Vizio, a 55” Vizio, and a 55” LG. Sure 55” isn’t huge, but it isn’t tiny either. A 55” TV would make a pretty good cornerstone in a 2 hour or less home theater.

LG Electronics 55LF6000 55-Inch 1080p 120Hz LED TV. If you buy it from the Amazon website, you’ll pay $647.99 and the strange thing is, it isn’t available for Prime shipping - you actually pay an extra $36.36 for shipping. If you buy if from the Prime Now app you pay more than $100 less, $538, and you get same day shipping. That’s a great deal.

VIZIO E50-C1 50-Inch 1080p Smart LED HDTV. Probably not the way to go unless you’re a huge Vizio fanboy, the TV is 50 inches compared with the 55 inches of the LG, but you only save $10. It costs $528 from both the Amazon website, where it is available for Prime shipping, and from the Prime Now app. The consistence makes sense, but the price for the screen size doesn’t.

VIZIO M55-C2 55-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart LED HDTV. If you want to go super impressive in a couple hours or less, there is one 4K TV available from Prime Now. For some reason this one is also more expensive from the website than from the app, and isn’t available for Prime shipping from the site either. At Amazon.com you pay $921.99. Although the shipping isn’t Prime, it is free. From Prime Now you only pay $849.99.

Projectors

But what if your emergency home theater needs to go really big? You want to watch in the backyard by the pool or set the kids up in the front yard so they can share with the whole neighborhood. Prime Now has you covered there as well. These should be much easier to stock and ship, making it that much easier to be an instant hero.

Optoma HD141X 1080p 3D DLP Home Theater Projector, $574 from Prime Now, 3000 Lumen

Optoma HD26 1080p 3D DLP Home Theater Projector, $649 from Prime Now, 3200 Lumen

BenQ W1070 1080P 3D DLP Home Theater Projector, $696 from Prime Now, 2000 Lumen

And of course you’ll need a screen. The Epson Duet 80-Inch Dual Aspect Ratio Projection Screen is $105.78 from Prime Now, includes a floor stand and can be expanded to the size that best meets your needs - old school 4:3 or widescreen 16:9.

Surround Sound

This is where it gets tricky and you have to be a bit creative. We didn’t find any AV Receivers through the app, and the speakers we could get were all more computer speakers than home theater speakers. That said, the Logitech Surround Sound Speakers Z506 would probably do a decent job for you, and at $57.99 they aren’t going to break the bank. You get a center speaker, four satellites and a subwoofer for that price. Certainly better than the built-in TV speaker.

There are a couple of sound bar options, like the VIZIO SB2920-C6 29-Inch 2.0 Channel Sound Bar for $78 or the VIZIO SB4051-C0 40-Inch 5.1 Channel Sound Bar with Wireless Subwoofer and Satellite Speakers for $348. With the inclusion of the wireless subwoofer and satellites (which are not wireless), the SB4051-C0 is probably the best option available to us in the Orange County area. And it has built-in Bluetooth if you want to stream music to it from your smartphone or tablet.

But if you want to be creative, you can get a Sonos Playbar TV Sound Bar for $699, add a couple Sonos Play:1 speakers at $199 each for surround sound and cap it off with a Sonos Sub Wireless Subwoofer to make it go boom for another $699. At a total cost of $1796 it isn’t cheap, but at least you won’t have to buy speaker wire (yes, that is available on Prime Now) and they can be used to stream music as part of a whole house audio system if you need them to as well.

Odds and Ends

Pretty much any cable or wire you’ll need to connect a home theater is available from Prime Now. They have a plethora of choices for OTA antennas and a couple set top bot OTA tuners if that’s how you choose to get content onto your instant home theater. There are a few Blu-ray players, like the Samsung BD-J5100 for $57.99 or the Sony BDPS6500 that has built-in WiFi, does 3D and has 4K upscaling for $128. And, of course, a wide variety of Blu-ray movies if you need something to watch. Or, you could certainly pick up a Fire TV Stick for $39.99 if you want to stream all the content you already get for free as part of your Prime membership (the standard $99 Fire TV wasn’t available to us as an option through Prime Now. Seems like they’re out of stock everywhere until early November).

Conclusion

All in all, you can build a pretty killer home theater setup and have it delivered to your door in under 2 hours, should you need it in a pinch. A 3200 lumen 1080p projector, an 80” screen, a sound bar with wireless sub and satellites, and maybe a fire TV stick to round out the package would be about $1145.

And one really interesting tidbit we found in our research is that pricing on Prime Now can sometimes be better than the Amazon website. Talk about win-win. Get the product in an hour or two and pay less for it.

Podcast # 710: Amazon Fire TV (4K) Oct 23, 2015

Show notes

Amazon Fire TV (4K)

We are big fans of streamers. Whether it be Roku, Apple, or Amazon there is a streamer out there that makes watching movies as convenient as pressing a button on your remote. So when all three updated their offerings we knew we were going to be spending some time in front of the TV evaluating them. First up is the Amazon Fire TV in 4K (Buy Now $99).

Features:

All-new Amazon Fire TV now supports 4K Ultra HD for true-to-life picture quality. Watch high-definition 1080p streams on Amazon Video, Netflix, Hulu and more, even without a 4K TV.
Now with Alexa, use your Fire TV Voice Remote to check sports scores or the weather, play music, and more - instantly
Enjoy over 250,000 TV episodes and movies on Netflix, Amazon Video, HBO GO, and Showtime Anytime, plus games, music, and apps
Cutting the cord? Watch the best of live TV on NBC News, NBA Gametime, and Sling TV, which includes ESPN, CNN, HDTV, AMC, A&E, Cartoon Network, and more.
Say it. Watch it. Simply say the name of what you want to watch and start enjoying in seconds.
Now with 75% more processing power, a dedicated graphics engine, better Wi-Fi support, 2 GB of memory, 8 GB of storage and expandable storage of up to 128 GB
With over 800 games - the most games of any other streaming media player - there is something for the entire family, including Minecraft, Lego Star Wars, and Pac-Man 256
Amazon Prime members get unlimited access to Prime Video, including original programming like Transparent, plus over 1 million songs with Prime Music

Setup

The physical setup is simple, connect the device to your TV (or receiver) via HDMI, connect the Ethernet cable or use wifi, and the plug it into power. If you are a Prime member it is already configured to your account so you can start watching Prime content immediately. The Fire TV comes with a few programs already installed but if you want Netflix or Hulu you’ll need to install them. That takes a couple of minutes depending on your internet speed. You’ll also want to update the firmware on the device. The main reason is that you get Dolby Digital Plus instead of Stereo on Netflix! Also, an update for older Dolby Digital systems (not Dolby Digital Plus) will be distributed on November 30th.

We did run into a few issues that were not a fault of the Fire TV but issues that you may run into as well. The first time we connected the device to our receiver, a Denon, that did not support HDCP 2.2. Of course everything worked, we just couldn’t get an 4K content to display. A message on the video setup of the Fire TV told us that the port is connected but since it does not support HDCP 2.2 we would only be able to get 1080p.

We first verified that the TV supported HDCP 2.2. And it did on all HDMI inputs but only input five was HDMI 2.0. As it turned out, you can get 4K content over HDMI 1.4 as long as it supports HDCP 2.2! Next up was to upgrade the receiver. See what we do for you guys!! We ended up buying a Pioneer Elite VSX-90 7.2 ATMOS receiver. A review on that will be coming in a few weeks. We also verified that we were using high speed HDMI cables. For our test, they were Amazon Basic HDMI cables that cost about $10.

All the pieces were in place and we were ready for 4K! Unfortunately, there wasn’t any to be had. As it turns out only the first three HDMI ports on the VSX-90 are HDCP 2.2 compatible and it says that nowhere except in some tiny print in the manual. In fact the sticker on the front proudly proclaims 7 HDMI inputs and HDCP 2.2. Regardless, the Fire TV was moved to an input

that supported HDCP 2.2 and the message saying that 4K was not possible went away.

One last note. Removing the battery cover on the remote is one of the most difficult things I have had to do for any device I have owned. Seriously?? What were they thinking. Fortunately there is a video that will help you with this task (https://youtu.be/cjyUo18DQdg)

Performance

For our testing we looked at three apps, Netflix, Amazon Prime Videos, and Slingbox. There are plenty of video apps but we figured that Netflix and Amazon have a decent amount of 4K content so it made the most sense.

Slingbox

The Slingbox app makes the Fire TV a killer product… well if you have a Slingbox anyway. You could take the Fire TV with you on vacation and have access to all your TV anywhere you go. Or you could setup a Slingbox someplace where you want access to local content and access on your TV at home. Regardless, this is a cool feature. Unfortunately it didn’t work. The Slingbox app kept trying to load and never really worked. We’ll try again later but right out of the shoot there were issues. In general, we found there to be some quirkiness with the player. Amazon may be one or two firmware updates away from a rock solid system.

Netflix

Next up was Netflix and some 4K content. Amazon is touting something called ASAP (Advanced Streaming and Prediction). Its supposed to start streaming instantly. Here is what we found. If you select a movie and take the time to read the description or just look at the album art for a few seconds, streaming will start right away. But if you randomly select something that you would typically watch and hit play immediately the show will buffer. So the advanced streaming prediction is more like rudimentary prediction. In reality waiting a few seconds for you selection to start is not a big thing. But what a cool acronym right?

We loaded “The Black List” since it was a 4K show. It started rather quickly and the receiver displayed DD+!! But to be honest, it didn’t sound much better than straight Dolby Digital. We are sure that is because the source material was probably not mastered for it. As far as the video goes, the picture looked very good. But is it better than 1080p? Some will be upset at us for saying this. But on a 70 inch screen sitting 12 feet away we couldn’t see any difference between the 4K and 1080p version of the identical show. And to be complete, we also watched the same material on the native Netflix app on the Vizio P-Series with the same results.

This is no surprise. There are many calculators out there that will tell you what resolution you can discern at what distance with normal (20/20) vision. For our readers/listeners outside the US, 20/20 vision means you can see what people with normal vision can at 20 feet. If your vision is 20/40, you see at 20 feet what people with normal vision see at 40 feet. The calculators tell us that with a 70 inch screen you will need to be seated between 4.5 and 9 feet (137 - 274 cm) to see the difference between 1080p and 4K.

The picture still looked good. It was sharp, color was good, and it played without any issues. We will say that the quality is approaching Blu-ray and that is a good thing. Streaming high quality content for those of us that have high speed Internet is the dream right? But is it better than the older version of the Fire TV. Not really.

Amazon Prime

Amazon prime is similar to watching Netflix but without the same breadth and depth of content. There are Amazon originals like a cop drama called Bosch. It's actually pretty good and that is a good reason to invest in this product. Amazon will only get better and deeper in the future. Plus there are so many benefits to being a Prime member.

Odds and Ends

Voice Control - The remote has a button that you press and hold while to say commands. Basic stuff like, “What’s the weather like” and “Did my team win” work great. Finding shows only works in Amazon content. You can’t say stuff like, “Show me movies starring Harrison Ford”.
Music - If you have your music in Amazon’s ecosystem you will have access to it through this device. All your playlists and radio stations are available to you. Plus you have access to Pandora, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn. Spotify will be available at some point in the future
Navigation - Navigation is fast and fluid. But the GUI is cumbersome to navigate. It would be great if you could launch apps with your voice.
Games - There are plenty of games and a dedicated game controller. We did not test any of these. But don’t expect an Xbox or Playstation like experience.
SD Card Slot - you can use microSD card up to 128 GB to make room for more games and apps.
Plex Support

Conclusion

We have seen so many of these boxes and no one of them is the be all end all. That is still the case with the 4K Fire TV. If you are a Roku or AppleTV customer should you switch? Certainly not. If you have a Roku, AppleTV or any other set top box and you are a Prime member should you get this box as well. Sure! Well if you have $99 just laying around. The Fire TV makes a good addition to your home theater without taking up much real estate. Just stack your other box on top of it and use it when you just can’t find something on your Roku or Apple TV.

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