AVexcel - Episode 161

AVexcel - Episode 161
Recorded on November 19, 2021
Hosts: Patrick Norton and Robert Heron 

The rundown:
- 8K60 HDMI cables
- 4K Blu-ray sales
- Hot QD-OLED rumors
- Monoprice Monolith sub review
- Sonos adds DTS
- Holiday shopping tips
- Idle PC power consumption
- AVexcel Patreon Meetup
- #askavexcel
- Your excellent feedback & questions
- What we're watching

AVexcel is 100% powered by our awesome crew of Patreon supporters - thank you! 

Visit the AVexcel website for links, show notes, contact info, and more! 

Link to this episode page

#CommissionsEarned with some links

AVexcel - Episode 129

AVexcel - Episode 129
Recorded on January 16, 2021  
Hosts: Patrick Norton and Robert Heron 

The rundown:
- Happy New Year
- CES 2021
- Mini LED-backlit TVs
- Laser Projectors
- HDMI 2.1 matures
- AI AV
- ATSC 3.0 NextGen TV
- OLED dominance
- Great home theater gear
- Your excellent feedback & questions
- What we're watching

AVexcel is 100% powered by our awesome crew of Patreon supporters - thank you! 

Visit the AVexcel website for links, show notes, contact info, and more! 

Link to this episode page 

#CommissionsEarned with some links

AVexcel - Episode 83

Recorded on June 15, 2018. 
Hosts: Patrick Norton and Robert Heron 

The rundown: 
  - CES 2019 countdown
  - TCL 6-Series update
  - World Cup 2018 in 4K
  - Hisense's new LCD
  - IMDB's tech specs
  - Waiting for HDMI 2.1
  - 4K HDMI cables/switches
  - What we're watching
  - Your excellent feedback & questions 

AVexcel is 100% powered by our awesome crew of Patreon supporters - thank you! 

Visit the AVexcel website for links, show notes, contact info, and more! 

Download the MP3 of this episode 

Link to this episode page 

AVexcel - Episode 63

Recorded on December 1, 2017. 
Hosts: Patrick Norton and Robert Heron 

The rundown: 
  - CES 2018 is coming
  - Samsung’s 150-inch “TV” 
  - HDMI 2.1 approaches
  - Roku TV surprise
  - New OLED materials
  - The joy and pain of vinyl
  - iFi Micro iDSD DAC/amp
  - Your excellent feedback & questions 

AVexcel is 100% powered by our awesome crew of Patreon supporters - thank you! 

Visit the AVexcel website for links, show notes, contact info, and more! 

Download the MP3 of this episode 

Link to this episode page 

Detailed show notes for this episode coming soon! 

Episode 34

Patrick Norton and Robert Heron are compiling the home theater goodness

Our Patreon supporters make AVexcel possible, and we thank 'em all

Post CES 2017

• Plague
• Eye candy
• Sweet sounds

TVs

• LG Wallpaper OLED
  • Ribbon cable for power+AV
• Samsung QLED
  • Quantum color volume
  • AutoCal via CalMAN
  • HLG DirecTV demo
• Sony
  • A1E OLED
  • Sweet Acoustic Surface
• Panasonic
  • EZ1000 OLED
  • Superb picture quality

Projectors

• Panasonic holographic projection film
• LG ProBeam 1080p laser projector
  • Smart apps + ATSC tuner
• JVC 4K HDR laser projector
  • DLA-RS4500 ~$35K
  • DCI color and beyond
  • Blue-laser light engine
  • 6-banks of 8-diodes
  • Fixed phosphor design
• Hisense 4K Laser Cast soon
  • Prototype w/95% BT.2020
• EVP/Elite Screens light-rejecting demos
• Sony 4K HDR short throw projector

TV tech doings

• Small HDR screens
• HDMI 2.1
• 3D ghosts
• HDR formats grow
  • Dolby Vision
  • HDR10
  • Hybrid Log Gamma
  • Technicolor
• Nanosys quantum dots
  • Not owned by Samsung
    • More strategic partnership
  • Next year: QD in color filter
  • Electro-emissive in 3-years

High-resolution audio

• Digital downloads down
  • Everyone streaming
• Hi-Res Audio Press Conference
  • Digital Entertainment Group (DEG)
• HDtracks
• Master Quality Authenticated
  • ~15,000 albums MQA now
  • 200+ MQA titles on TIDAL
  • Stereophile's Hi-Res Breakthroughs
• Pandora/Rhapsody/Napster going hi-res

All the sound

• Emotiva loudspeakers/amps/subs
• Audirvana
• AudioQuest
• Astell&Kern
• Panasonic
• Onkyo
• Mytek
• NAD
• Bluesound
• Air Motion Transformer
• KEF LS50 Wireless
• ELAC
  • Brother Paul requests a review
  • Debut
  • Uni-Fi
  • Adante
  • Element amp
• Revel Salon2
• Texas Instruments
  • High-Power Amps
  • Efficient
  • DIY potential

Dolby Cinema

• FINALLY arrives in San Francisco
• Dolby Cinema at AMC
• Dolby-enhanced Christe Digital 6P laser projector
• Mindblowingly colorful
• Superb contrast

Tips, tricks, and help

• @Kido1986 needs a smaller HDR screen
• @jellingwood eyeing sweet soundbars
  • Bose SoundTouch 300
  • Onkyo SBT-A500
• Nicholas Smith seeks portable FLAC
  • Astell&Kern AK Jr
  • FiiO X1

Thank you

Visit us at AVexcel.com

Connect with us

• Tweet
  • @avexcel
  • @patricknorton
  • @robertheron
• Email
• AVexcel sub-Reddit
• Facebook

Enjoy

Download the MP3
Subscribe to AVexcel on iTunes or RSS
Link to this episode page

Recorded on January 12, 2017

Episode 32

Patrick Norton and Robert Heron are celebrating the home theater goodness

Our Patreon supporters make AVexcel possible, and we thank 'em all

So many good things

• Happy Birthday: Steven Spielberg
  • This list...

Robert's regular eye exam

• Zeiss online eye exam
• TopCon 3D OCT-1 Maestro eye scanner

Listen for life

• Love your ears
• Samsung's Adapt Sound
  • Equalize w/hearing test
• Binaural recording
• "Everybody hears differently"
• Limit kids' volume intake
• Noise-Induced Hearing Loss
• 33dB reduction ear plugs

ELAC Element Series EA101EQ-G

• Integrated amp
• DSP room correction

Tying it up

• Velcro™ cable ties
• Mounted head cable ties
• Cable tie mounting base
• The Universal Cable Tie

Panasonic doing UHD Blu-ray right

• HDTVtest: few do correct color decoding
  • Xbox One S incorrect RGB decoding
  • Samsung K8500 undefeatable NR
• Awaiting UHD test material

New LG laser projector

• ProBeam smart projector
• 2000 lumens, 1080p
• Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, apps, sim design
• Price/details at CES
• Looking for an ATSC tuner

HDMI 2.1 at CES 2017

• Adds HDR10 dynamic metadata
• Many unknowns
• DisplayPort FTW

Sling AirTV Player

• Cnet preview
• Sleuthing by Dave Zatz
• Adds OTA tuning
• Built-in antenna
• Netflix/Google support

Value graphics card upgrade

• Asus GTX 1060 6GB
• ~2x faster than GTX 680 it replaced
• Asus GPU Tweak app is nice

4K UHD HDMI Switch in-hand

• Sewell 5x1 Switch Deck
• Seems to work just dandy
• Tested w/1080p + UHD devices
  • Chromecast Ultra
  • Samsung UBD-K8500
• In search of 4K Matrix switch

What we're watchin'

• Happy 20th Mars Attacks
  • $9 Blu-ray
• Die Hard forever
• Zero Effect
• Steven Spielberg movies

Audience Q&A

• Great low-cost HDMI cables
• tl;dr AmazonBasics HDMI Cables

@Kido1986 needs a Blu-ray to show off new gear

• Ron Fricke directed
  • Samsara
  • Baraka
• Star Trek XI
• The Revenant
• Max Max: Fury Road
• Inception
• The Martian
• Wizard of Oz
• Planet Earth II
• ...

One last thought

• @kelli217 Tweets the desire for a vodcast
  • Totally doable
  • Patreon goals
  • Patreon Hangouts

Thank you

Visit us at AVexcel.com

Connect with us

• Tweet
  • @avexcel
  • @patricknorton
  • @robertheron
• Email
• AVexcel sub-Reddit
• Facebook

Enjoy

Download the MP3
Subscribe to AVexcel on iTunes or RSS
Link to this episode page

Recorded on December 21, 2016