Episode 37

Recorded on February 22, 2017 

Patrick Norton and Robert Heron are recovering the home theater goodness 

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

Pat's audio exploration

Caavo

Calibration apps: Apple TV

Your AV answers

Value '4K' UHD TV considerations

  • Most do superb HD
  • Most lack color/brightness for good UHD
  • Cheat by lowering picture contrast

Eye-candy picks of the week

Robert's Calibrated Mic

Kubo and the Two Strings

Samsung Q8 arrives

  • Brushed stainless chassis/stand
  • Curved screen design
  • >1500-nits + dang good DCI

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Episode 36

Patrick Norton and Robert Heron are eyeballing the home theater goodness

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

2017 TV Pre-orders

Glorious sound

Speaker positioning vs basic setup

Vizio settles w/FTC

Ultimate HTPC GPU

AV101: High Frame Rate

Mike appreciates video calibration

Alan clarifies Dolby Vision AVR support

HD/HDR streaming pics o' the week

Classic console doings

Google Play access coming

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Recorded on February 14, 2017

Episode 35

Patrick Norton and Robert Heron are recompiling the home theater goodness

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

Patrick's pumped for projection

Plasma TV upgrade

  • B6 OLED or KS8000 LCD
  • Image quality above all else
    • OLED's epic contrast
      • Viewing angles
  • Protect investment
    • Safe extraction
    • Secure installation
    • Wall mount
    • Check for extra warranty

Disc doings

AV extravaganza

Elevating speakers

Charles M seeks a good 4K HDR HDMI cable

Mike desires easy Atmos

LG adds HDR Game Mode

Blu-ray favs this week

Amplifications

  • Hisense H8C
  • Nanosys not owned by Samsung
    • Private company w/strategic partnerships
  • HDR clarity

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Recorded on January 31, 2017

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
  • 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
  • EVP/Elite Screens light-rejecting demos
  • Sony 4K HDR short throw projector

TV tech doings

High-resolution audio

All the sound

Dolby Cinema

Tips, tricks, and help

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Recorded on January 12, 2017

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

RIP Carrie Fisher

HandBrake v1.0.0 arrives

Great Blu-ray gear

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

Chris from Calgary's timing Atmos

@StaggeredSix tweets crew support

For the love of a bucket of burgers

Evan tweeted a stack

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

Hsu Research

Josh from NJ is moving toward projection

Bob's home theater toddler

Boe's tweeting for DAC/AMP

Tyler brings 4K UHD BD PC playback clarity

About that intro...

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Recorded on December 28, 2016

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

Robert's regular eye exam

Listen for life

ELAC Element Series EA101EQ-G

  • Integrated amp
  • DSP room correction

Tying it up

Panasonic doing UHD Blu-ray right

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

Value graphics card upgrade

4K UHD HDMI Switch in-hand

What we're watchin'

Audience Q&A

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

One last thought

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Recorded on December 21, 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

Question: 4K projection screens

Coltran's looking for an AVR miracle

Pat & Rob's quality viewing picks

More Patreon Hangouts - stay tuned!

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Recorded on December 13, 2016

Episode 30

Patrick Norton and Robert Heron are preloading the home theater goodness

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

Stimulating the senses

Chinese OLEDs

The new stuff: CES 2017

Netflix Offline

DirecTV Now

Bright Room Viewing

Donovan's curious about Pat's sound

Blu-ray movies for less than $10

Patreon Hangout - stay tuned!

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Recorded December 1, 2016

Episode #029

 

Patrick Norton and Robert Heron are maximizing the home theater goodness

Our Patreon supporters make AVexcel possible, and we thank every one of them

The guys are (finally) back

What excites your senses

  • Domestic bliss
  • Mayhem in moderation
  • Less Mad Max in Bay Area

Speaker acceptance factor

Full-bore 3D sound setup

We want your questions ask@avexcel.com

Two Patreon Hangouts down + many more to come

Brian aka @neccros Tweeted a need for Class-T amplification

HDMI Follow-up

Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) Follow-up

  • Not 'no metadata', but a scene-referred signal
  • For live production, not stuff on discs/streaming
  • Some 4K projectors support HLG now

Favorite Blu-ray/4K/Streaming

Transducers for all the LFE

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Recorded November 23, 2016

Episode #028

Patrick Norton and Robert Heron are on a mission for more home theater goodness

Our Patreon supporters make AVexcel possible, and we thank every one of them

The guys are (finally) back

  • Adventures and shoveling dirt
  • More Patreon Hangouts
    • More coming soon
  • We love Berkeley Breathed

JVC Laser 4K projector demo

Speaker Placement

New arrivals: Audioquest NightOwl Carbon

Jonathan from Chicago feels the pain of HDMI

  • HDMI updates = outdated AVRs
  • Making your current gear last longer
  • Decode to LPCM for an AVR lacking a decoder
  • Amazon Basics HDMI cable = great
  • 4K Blu-ray player w/dual HDMI outputs
    • Integrated 4K UHD apps
  • HDMI 2.x/HDCP 2.x switchers
  • Lots of options for regular HD gear

Austin's looking for a good HDR TV

Save $$$ on gear you need

Shawn stumbled upon a quirky review

@evan_adams Tweets the truth

New viewings

Patrick goes ELAC

Guy Named Bob asks about MP4 video tag editing

  • Like an ID3 tag editor but for videos
  • Send us your suggestions ask@avexcel.com

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Recorded November 17, 2016

Episode #027

 

Patrick Norton and Robert Heron have returned for more home theater goodness

Our Patreon supporters make AVexcel possible, and we thank every one of them

The guys are (finally) back

  • Adventures and shoveling dirt
  • More Patreon Hangouts

Shop smarter every day

  • Black/Cyber/<insert name> <insert day(s)>
  • @snubs shopping laws
    • Know what you want
    • Know what it's priced at
    • Know what a real sale is

Rocky Mountain Audio Fest

Adventures in China + Hong Kong

  • 14,700+ miles/14 days
  • Planes, trains, cars, buses, foot
  • Hisense in Qingdao
    • Traffic automation masters
    • R&D facility
    • Assembly
    • (Destructive) testing
    • Subjective/objective analysis
    • RF/Anechoic chamber
    • Laser Cast TV
      • 4K DLP short throw laser
      • Screen is the key
      • See it in action at CES
      • ~$10K retail price
  • H8C Series TV out now
  • HDR H10C soon
  • Watching cell phones being born
  • Nantong...Shenzhen...Beijing
  • Kowloon/Hong Kong
    • Great public transit
    • No VPN needed
  • Powerplug adapter to rule them all
  • USB power pack
  • Travel more
  • Air quality concerns
  • N95 and P95 filtering recommended

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Recorded on November 14, 2016

Episode #026

Welcome to episode 026 of the AVexcel podcast

Our Patreon supporters make AVexcel possible, and every bit helps

This week Patrick Norton and Robert Heron are traveling for the home theater goodness

ask@avexcel.com - that’s the email to reach us

DisplayMate goes gaga for LG OLED

  • 2016 LG OLED's breaking records
  • Lots to learn/study
  • Color accuracy, contrast, luminance, accuracy...
  • Lowest screen reflectance
  • Very fast response time
  • "Visually Indistinguishable from Perfect"

Google I/O 2016

The Internet of Crap

New firmware for Vizio M/P series TVs

  • Via Matthew McRae at Vizio
  • HDR10, PQ, ARC, PS4 fix and more
  • 4:4:4 fix "coming soon"

HBO's biggest premiere: Westworld

Bloomberg: Netflix to 50% self-produced

DThink Tweeted us about a Smart Antenna

@Ken_Addison wants Amazon HDR on a 2016 Vizio

Bobo's eyeing those sweet Monoprice subs

  • Using Denon S500BT w/2 sub pre-outs
  • Monoprice sub has L/R ins
  • Use the Left input on each sub

We love Projector Central

Plex Cloud

RedFox's regular discounts

David Pogue: digitize your tapes NOW

New Blu-rays this week

Doings and transpirings
Robert

Patrick

  • Rocky Mountain Audio Fest
    • Public event, but not free
    • Zoo Audio
    • KEF
    • Audio Quest
    • DIA's Demon Stallion aka Blucifer
    • Head-Fi (dot ORG)
  • Dirac Live: real-time room correction
    • Not quite Get Smart's "Cone of Silence"
  • Pulling 12AWG speaker cable
  • Arc-fault circuit interrupters
  • Everything I love is being canceled
  • Agent Carter...Roadies...
  • Not canceled: GoT, Ballers, and Billions

We love you

Do not install this game

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Recorded October 5th, 2016

Episode #025

Welcome to episode 025 of the AVexcel podcast

Our Patreon supporters make AVexcel possible, and every bit helps

This week Patrick Norton and Robert Heron are catching the home theater goodness

Warm 4K fuzzies

  • Dearth, or not
  • Not so much wide-color/HDR

Speaking of Netflix 4K

New 4K Rokus

OLED is looking good

DisplayMate impressed with iPhone 7

  • Brightest display tech
  • Lowest reflectance
  • Superb Rec. 709/DCI color accuracy
  • "Visually Indistinguishable from Perfect"

Comcast X1 DVR getting Netflix

The lack of UHD PC monitors w/HDR

CEDIA Expo

Monoprice Monolith Line

PlayStation 4 Updates

Michael NotMike asked via Facebook if we know why there aren't more UHD BD players

We love Projector Central

seerpea asks about more HDR content

  • Wants more classics
  • Film has HDR potential
  • Financial incentives

Robert’s Comcastic adventures

  • @comcastcares on Twitter saves day
  • Replaced modem/router - both were fine
  • Line to house was culprit

What we're watching

  • Classic Star Trek on Netflix
  • Blu-ray goodness
  • Marco Polo
  • Captain America: Civil War

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Recorded September 26, 2016

Episode #024

Welcome to episode 024 of the AVexcel podcast

Our Patreon supporters make AVexcel possible, and every bit helps

This week Patrick Norton and Robert Heron are accelerating the home theater goodness

Sonos users rejoice

Intel's new 4K-ready chips

  • HDGuru says Sony's "Ultra 4K" streaming service coming to 7th Gen parts early 2017
  • Purchase + 48-hour rentals
  • A bit pricey
  • DIY 4K streaming dreams

Samsung’s Dolby Atmos Soundbars

  • Available now
  • Nice TechRadar review
  • HW-K950 soundbar
  • Wireless subwoofer + rear surrounds
  • 16 drivers each w/own amp
  • DTS is stereo only

Stephen is curious about MicroLED TVs

Mark emails ask@avexcel.com about CalMAN Mobile Forge

  • Free app generates test patterns w/Amazon Fire TV
  • ColorMatch software free too
  • Need a meter + CalMAN license to do more
  • Home Express workflow looks decent
    • Brightness check
    • Clipping check
    • Color temp and gamma checks
    • Color space
    • 2-pt WB setup
    • What’s missing
    • CMS analysis or setup
    • Full-range WB analysis/setup
    • Color Checker
    • Saturation Sweeps
  • Plenty of other options

New RIVA WAND series

  • Compact style ARENA
    • 3 ADX drivers
    • Three passive radiators
  • Table sized FESTIVAL model
    • 6 ADX drivers
    • Four passive radiators
  • Playback
    • High-resolution music, podcasts, YouTube
  • Wi-Fi, DDMS, Spotify Connect, AirPlay, DLNA, Bluetooth, Google Cast
  • MP3, ALAC, APE, FLAC, FLAC HD, HLS, WMA, WAV

Pat's sound

Labor Day = odd Blu-ray releases

Browncoat fo' life

Pat's testing mesh networks

Calibration corner

Robert enjoys low voltage lighting

Anyone going to CEDIA or RMAF

  • Let us know

Patreon live events + dedicated RSS feed...finally

Last minute

We love you!

Check our sweet AVexcel show notes

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Recorded August 31, 2016

Episode #023

Welcome to episode 023 of the AVexcel podcast

Our Patreon supporters make AVexcel possible, and every bit helps

This week Patrick Norton and Robert Heron are smiling at the home theater goodness

Robert is Olympic-ed out

  • Awaiting live 4K/UHD/WCG

Off the record

  • "Listened to your Olympics show. All the content is archived in full recorded resolution on Spectra Logic tape libraries. You didn't get this from me."
  • Other clients
    • National Geographic
    • NBC
  • Robots manage our growing archives
  • NAS = Networked Attached Storage
  • Backblaze hard drive stats

Intel Developer Forum

  • Kaby Lake CPUs 4K ready
    • Native HDCP 2.2 support
    • HEVC Main10/10-bit
    • VP9 10-bit video decoding
  • Pat playing Overwatch on Intel graphics
  • Project Alloy VR platform

Best seat in the room

  • Southern Motion theater seating
    • Power headrests
    • Fold down drink tables
    • USB charging
    • “multimedia sofas”
  • What's your movie/TV seat of choice
  • Pat's spousal acceptance factor
  • Robert's 4K office chair

Enterprise Home Theater

Archiving Blu-rays

We love your email ask@avexcel.com

HDMI cables for everyone

Evan has pixel shift concerns

@ajsmith tweets, “Any network ever broadcast live in 1080P? Are we going to compressed 4K first?”

  • Neulion’s 4K60 UFC 200 fight was the best we've seen so far
  • Broadcasters use 1080i as it converts nicely into 1080p30
  • 24p movies in 1080i film processed into original 1080p24
  • 1080p60 live streaming is doable today
  • ATSC 3.0 before we see much 4K live action

New Blu-ray Movies

Tim's tl;dr

Talking to the TV

8 vs. 4 Ohm

  • Pete encourages more experimentation
  • Use a good amp
  • THD can go up as resistance drops
  • Run speakers "small"
  • LFE to the sub

Robert’s crazy calibration week

  • Pro monitor LUT generation
  • Pro-tip: reset display to widest color gamut before doing LUT
  • OLED’s separate calibration for HD/HDR10/Dolby Vision
  • The KS9800 leaves the building
    • Impressed; yearning yet for more
    • 2015 JS9500 still a great TV
  • FlatpanelsHD’s Dolby Vision FAQ

We depend on the support of our listeners

Wear eye and ear protection when appropriate

Check our sweet AVexcel show notes

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Recorded August 26, 2016

Episode #022

Welcome to episode 022 of the AVexcel podcast

Our Patreon supporters make AVexcel possible, and every bit helps

This week Patrick Norton and Robert Heron are gaming the home theater goodness

Fun time

Foxconn acquires Sharp

VR doings

Kris is blinking at NHK's 8K + 22.2-channel doings

Samsung KS9800

Vizio M/P-Series HDR10 update

Joe wants projection w/fewer cords

Bai's OTA antenna reception woes

Check our sweet AVexcel show notes

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Recorded August 12, 2016

Episode #021

Welcome to episode 021 of the AVexcel podcast

Our Patreon supporters make AVexcel possible, and every bit helps

This week Patrick Norton and Robert Heron are boiling in the home theater goodness

Vizio sold to LeEco

  • $2 Billion
  • Will be operated as wholly owned subsidiary
  • Inscape data business to be spun off into privately owned company led by Vizio CEO William Wang
  • Deal expected to wrap up later this year

@FmHolty noted Vizio HDR10 update

Color gamuts explained

Brian seeks a 3D audio upgrade

@Aiden_deJong's looking to drive 4-ohm speakers

Keep pets cool and hydrated

@KenKobra asks 2K OLED or 4K LCD

  • OLED contrast > pixel count
  • Great TVs at great prices

David K wants widescreen cinema

Thank you!

Samsung KS9800 Update

  • Full array local dimming
  • 1300+ nits peak brightness
  • New UI + IoT functionality

More 4K Olympics

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Recorded July 28, 2016

Episode #020

Welcome to episode 020 of the AVexcel podcast

Our Patreon supporters make AVexcel possible, and every bit helps

This week Patrick Norton and Robert Heron support the home theater goodness

Pat returns from mandatory R&R

Comic-Con 2016

  • Great summary over at io9
  • DC Suicide Squad
  • DC Wonder Woman trailer
  • Luc Besson’s Valerian coming 2017
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
  • Spider-Man Homecoming
  • Black Panther panel    
  • Neil Gaiman’s American Gods on Starz in 2017
  • CW’s Riverdale this Fall
  • Luke Cage via Netflix
  • No release date for Marvel’s The Punisher yet

Glorious pixels

Premium HDR TV roundup

BitTorrent TV

  • BitTorrent News via BitTorrent Live
  • Apple TV and OS X - other platforms soon

Better Wi-Fi for all

NBC 4K Olympic coverage from Rio

  • DirecTV coverage to include 8-screen mosaic
    • Channels: NBC, NBCSN, Golf Channel, Bravo, CNBC, MSNBC, USA Network, + NBC Universo
    • 720p per tile on 4K TV
  • Also, 4-channel quad-1080p view
    • NBCSN, Bravo, USA Network, + local affiliate
  • No live 4K coverage
    • Most available after one-day delay
  • Events: swimming, track and field, basketball, the men’s soccer final, judo, + “Rio scenic”

Eddy Cue: Apple TV’s Plans

  • Questions
    • Live streaming service
    • 'Skinny' bundle
    • Creators vs platform providers

JVC RS400 projector

  • Similar to DLA-X550R
  • Calibration update
  • New HDR update
  • Old cables/new projector
  • Lamp changes over time

Mark's 2-channel amp quest

Anthony needs low-lag HDMI extension

andcbii asks about the XAVC-S codec

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Recorded July 27, 2016

Episode #019

Welcome to episode 019 of the AVexcel podcast

Our Patreon supporters make AVexcel possible, and every bit helps

This week Patrick Norton and Robert Heron are honing the home theater goodness

Epic late night enjoyment

HDR10 Update

Amplifications

New flix

4K Integral

  • HDR10 metadata injector
  • 2x2 matrix switch on steroids
  • Stylish dip switches

4K Roku TVs arrive

The randoms

Thank you

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Note: check mic positioning

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Recorded June 27, 2016

Episode #018

Welcome to episode 018 of the AVexcel podcast

Our Patreon supporters make AVexcel possible, and every bit helps

This week Patrick Norton and Robert Heron are related to the home theater goodness

HDR madness is afoot

seerpea wants a TV w/a light sensor

  • Available on many mid-to-premium models
  • Good for auto eye-friendly viewing
  • Setting often buried in the menus
  • Turn off during picture setup

Sound values

For the love of 3.5mm

Tom's going outdoor projection

Calibration time

Pat's head-related functions

Sounds from Robert

Be there for your friends

Enjoy

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Recorded June 23, 2016