AVexcel - Episode 157

AVexcel - Episode 157
Recorded on October 7, 2021
Hosts: Patrick Norton and Robert Heron 

The rundown:
- Blackout restrictions suck
- HBO Max has the classics
- Sony Z9J Master Series review
- Flanders Scientific 5000-nit+ monitor
- New mics and headphones
- Denon Home gets Alexa
- Kestrel Tab-Tension 3 Series screen
- Don't use OLED TVs for PC displays
- Stress test your PC
- #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 114

AVexcel - Episode 114
Recorded on July 30, 2020 
Hosts: Patrick Norton and Robert Heron 

The rundown:
- CES 2021 goes digital only
- Netflix/HBO grabbing Emmys
- App & service gatekeepers
- Clean your knob
- TCL 8-Series on sale
- Robert's PC build update
- 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 

AVexcel - Episode 112

AVexcel - Episode 112
Recorded on July 16, 2020 
Hosts: Patrick Norton and Robert Heron 

The rundown:
- NBC's Peacock mess
- LG's new LED projector
- End of the Harmony Express
- New Vizio HT gear
- Robert’s building a new PC
- Sonos Amp/Arc updates
- 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 

Episode 33

Patrick Norton and Robert Heron are still celebrating the home theater goodness

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

Recent doings

• Robert's stuck CC fix
  • Pro tip: pull the plug
• DS9 on Netflix
  • Overly compressed
  • Interlaced artifacts

RIP Carrie Fisher

• Definitive obit of General Leia Organa
• The Blues Brothers
• One Perfect Shot
• Postcards From The Edge
• Wishful Drinking

HandBrake v1.0.0 arrives

• 13 years of solid updates
• Intel's Quick Sync Video
• VP9 encoding
• UHD color pass through

Great Blu-ray gear

• Oppo UDP-203 in the wild
• No apps + HDMI input = OK
• Reference Quality Video

Improving speech comprehension

• IEEE article
• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• OSU researchers training neural networks
• 'Classifier' recovers desired sound
• The "cocktail party" problem
• Huge improvements
• Next gen: adaptive learning

Here comes (pre) CES

• Samsung
  • M9500 UHD Blu-ray player
    • Adds front display
    • BT output + 4K apps
  • HQ audio tech
• The Digital Entertainment Group
  • Hi-Res Audio Pavilion

Chris from Calgary's timing Atmos

• Atmos Blu-ray/streaming title list
• AVR options abound
• Pre-amp possibilities
• Class-T amplifier

@StaggeredSix tweets crew support

• Help us grow the show

For the love of a bucket of burgers

• PT's Pub is heaven
• ...yes PT's Pub

Evan tweeted a stack

• Sub affecting hard drives
  • We guess no problemo
• Heat is some concern

Hsu Research

• Expert subwoofer crafting
  • VTF-1 MK3 Subwoofer
• ...or the Monoprice

Josh from NJ is moving toward projection

• Room light control is key
• Smaller screens help brightness
• Avoid taking lens setup to extreme
• Calibration tips
• Lambertian reflectance
• Wirecutter: best projector screen

Bob's home theater toddler

• Minimize low-hanging fruit
• Short HDMI cables
• Tie/wrap/channel it up
• Enclose sensitive area

Boe's tweeting for DAC/AMP

• Schitt Fulla 2 DAC/Amp
• Audioengine D1 DAC
• Mayflower Electronics
• JDS Labs
  • The Element
  • ODAC
  • Objective2
• AudioQuest Dragon Fly DAC
• LG V20's sweet sound

Tyler brings 4K UHD BD PC playback clarity

• HW good to go
• SW not so much
• Blu-ray.com forum link

About that intro...

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 28, 2016

Episode 31

Patrick Norton and Robert Heron are welcoming the home theater goodness

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

Making us smile

• AirPods have dropped
• The Netflix Tech Blog
  • VP9 codec FTW
  • Top grossing iOS app
  • Needs greater selection
• UHD Blu-ray PC playback
  • Early 2017
  • CES Quest
• Apple's single sign-on
• Hulu gets 4K
• DVD-only clasics
  • Zero Effect
  • Hudson Hawk
• Plex pulls from the cloud
• YouTube paid $1B in 2016 for music

Question: 4K projection screens

• Wirecutter's screen pick
• More about projector than screen
• Stewart Filmscreen
• Acoustic considerations
• More great projection options

Coltran's looking for an AVR miracle

• Sub-$400
• 6+ HDMI ports
• All HDMI 2.0/HDCP 2.2
• Denon AVR-S720W
• Denon AVR-S510BT
• Sony STR-DN1070
• Yamaha RX-V681BL
• Yamaha RX-V679BL
• Yamaha RX-V481BL
• Good 4K HDR HDMI switch

Pat & Rob's quality viewing picks

• The Man In the High Castle
• Black Mirror on Netflix
• The Park is Mine
• GoodFellas in 4K HDR
• Prime Members: Recent Added Movies

More Patreon Hangouts - stay tuned!

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 13, 2016