AVexcel - Episode 196

AVexcel - Episode 196
Recorded on February 12, 2023
Hosts: Patrick Norton and Robert Heron 

The rundown:
- Dolby Vision HDR Football
- Make your TV look its best
- 2023 OLED PC monitor list lust
- Mini LED is the new LCD hotness
- Micro LED TVs are impressive/expensive
- Soundbars and Hisense P1 Sonic Screen
- Dolby Vision 4K UHD Blu-ray disc players
- Your excellent feedback & questions
- Email us at ask@avexcel.com
- What we're watching

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

Visit www.AVexcel.com for links, show notes, contact info, and more! 

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AVexcel - Episode 195

AVexcel - Episode 195
Recorded on January 7, 2023
Hosts: Patrick Norton and Robert Heron 

The rundown:
- Favorite displays at CES 2023 
  - Bias lighting and a $130 app 
  - A new universal disc player 
  - Shipping rates way down 
  - Front projector shootout 
  - Dolby Vision discs and game consoles 
  - Update: Bathys BT headphones by Focal
  - YouTube favs: Marco Reps, Great Scott, and Big Clive 
- Your excellent feedback & questions
- Email us at ask@avexcel.com
- What we're watching

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

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AVexcel - Episode 190

AVexcel - Episode 190
Recorded on August 14, 2022
Hosts: Patrick Norton and Robert Heron 

The rundown:
- Remembering Anne Heche
- /r/TVTooHigh subreddit
- HBO Max + Discovery+
- More Blu-ray player tricks
- More Ad-supported streaming
- Monolith M518HT THX 5.1 speaker kit
- AVR amp/wattage specs suck
- Floor-rising projection screens
- LG HU915QB 4K laser projector review
- Emotiva Airmotiv T3+ loudspeakers
- New art for Ikea Symphonisk speakers
- Value Electronics 2022 TV shootout results
- Color saturation and Pointer's gamut
- /r/AVexcel subreddit
- Sandman on Netflix
- Your excellent feedback & questions
- Email us ask@avexcel.com
- What we're watching

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

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AVexcel - Episode 189

AVexcel - Episode 189
Recorded on July 30, 2022
Hosts: Patrick Norton and Robert Heron 

The rundown:
- Value Electronics TV Shootout
- Color saturation
- Folding 4K LED display
- maXTouch Knob on Display
- QD-OLED quirks
- Pacific Audio Fest
- Patreon Hangout on August 14th
- The best Blu-ray players
- Your excellent feedback & questions
- Email us ask@avexcel.com
- What we're watching

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

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AVexcel - Episode 186

AVexcel - Episode 186
Recorded on June 28, 2022
Hosts: Patrick Norton and Robert Heron 

The rundown:
- DVD’s dominance among discs
- HDTVTest's Sony A95K QD-OLED review
- RTINGS reviews the LG B2 OLED TV
- Soundbar audio quality tips
- Samsung QN900B calibration session
- McIntosh MR89 AM/FM Tuner
- LG's 16x18 DualUp Monitor
- Netflix to offer ad-supported tier
- 1MORE earbud deal
- Auro-3D vs Dolby Atmos
- Subwoofer crossover settings
- Robert's PC monitor after a year
- Hacks renewed for 3rd season
- Your excellent feedback & questions
- Email us ask@avexcel.com
- What we're watching

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

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AVexcel - Episode 145

AVexcel - Episode 145
Recorded on June 29, 2021
Hosts: Patrick Norton and Robert Heron 

The rundown:
- Budgeting your home theater
- Qualcomm's Snapdragon Sound tech
- 83-inch OLEDs arrive
- Sennheiser CX True Wireless
- 120Hz Dolby Vision is official
- YouTube TV goes 4K
- Robert's new 1440p monitor
- Best 4K Blu-ray player
- #askavexcel
- Your excellent feedback & questions
- What we're watching

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

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#CommissionsEarned with some links

AVexcel - Episode 121

AVexcel - Episode 121
Recorded on November 5, 2020 
Hosts: Patrick Norton and Robert Heron 

The rundown:
- Broken 8K AVRs
- Shop early
- Great TV deals
- NextGen TV aka ATSC 3.0
- 10K ppi display tech
- Patrick's ATMOS struggles
- New Epson laser projectors
- HDR Blu-ray player options
- 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 

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AVexcel - Episode 118

AVexcel - Episode 118
Recorded on September 10, 2020 
Hosts: Patrick Norton and Robert Heron 

The rundown:
- Moving a giant TV
- New Sony projectors
- Netflix encoding upgrade
- Xbox Series X does 4K Blu-ray
- Sony OLED deals
- New Bose earbuds
- Apple TV app on Vizio
- Amazon Music HD
- 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 97

AVexcel - Episode 97
Recorded on November 29, 2018. 
Hosts: Patrick Norton and Robert Heron 

The rundown: 
- California burning
- Great deals galore
- LG's updated TV chip
- JDS Labs Atom Amp
- Favorites in UHD Blu-ray
- Pat's projection tune up
- Activo CT10 digital audio player
- Your excellent feedback & questions 

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

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Link to this episode page 

AVexcel - Episode 81

Recorded on May 31, 2018. 
Hosts: Patrick Norton and Robert Heron 

The rundown: 
  - Premium LCD quirks
  - Display Week 2018
  - Quantum dot tech update
  - AR/VR display updates
  - Nuraphone's BT headphone
  - Bluewave's GET
  - Help selling your gear
  - What we're watching
  - Your excellent feedback & questions 

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

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AVexcel - Episode 73

Recorded on March 21, 2018. 
Hosts: Patrick Norton and Robert Heron 

The rundown: 
  - Rip all the discs
  - Blu-ray vs. Streaming
  - ELAC Debut 2.0
  - LG, Samsung, and Sony 2018 TVs
  - Upgrading to 4K
  - AVRs and Dolby Vision
  - Sub-$1500 4K projectors
  - What we're watching
  - Your excellent feedback & questions 

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

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Detailed show notes for this episode coming soon! 

AVexcel - Episode 54

Recorded on August 24, 2017 

Hosts: Patrick Norton and Robert Heron 

The rundown: 

•   Post-eclipse glow 
•   LG's new Dolby Vision 4K Blu-ray player 
•   Roku ruling the world 
•   CD archiving app of choice 
•   4K UHD streaming gear 
•   TV moving/installation tips 
•   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! 

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Detailed show notes for this episode coming soon! 

AVexcel - Episode 52

Recorded on July 21, 2017 

Hosts: Patrick Norton and Robert Heron

The rundown:

• A Tidal rant
• Traveling with good AV
• CEDIA - a favorite trade show
• Answering your awesome questions
  • Video compression
  • Searching for great OLED deals
  • TV speaker upgrade on a budget
  • Bigger screen TVs
  • Rear-channel speaker options
  • Your first Blu-ray movie
  • Headphones for everyone

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

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Detailed show notes for this episode coming soon!

AVexcel - Episode 46

Recorded on June 15, 2017 

Patrick Norton and Robert Heron are building the home theater goodness 

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

The tingly bits

More 4K projection

• Optoma's $2000 4K wonder
• Dell's 5000-lumen Laser
• Christie Digital D13HD-HS
  • Blue + red lasers can do wide color
  • 11,500 ANSI lumen
  • 4.5x the cost of the Dell
  • Not 4K, but that color...

AV101 - a quiet base

• Quiet rooms make for better listening

Sweet Q&A

• Mike wants a UHD disc player w/Dolby Vision
  • Oppo UDP-203/UDP-205 or bust
  • Chance: Xbox One S future update
• James considers a Definitive setup
  • Definitive Technology
  • ProMonitor 1000
  • BP9060
• Kevin's looks at OLED TV burn-in
  • aka uneven pixel wear
  • aka permanent image retention
  • More robust than plasma
  • Less than LCDs
  • Modern projectors very burn-in resistant
  • Mix up viewed content

OTA adventures

• Upgraded flat antenna
• WallTenna
• Live channel goodness

Thank you

Visit us at AVexcel.com

We appreciate your feedback

• Tweet
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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

• The Source AV Design Group
• Torrance, California

Caavo

• Uniting streaming devices
• Consistent UI/UX
• Stylish design
• $400
• Articles
  • The Verge
  • Machine vision
  • TechCrunch
• Harmony Elite
  • Superior to Ultimate in every way

Calibration apps: Apple TV

• TV Tune Up
• Calibrate!
• Surround Speaker Check
• AV Aid

Your AV answers

• @joegasz has TiVo audio lags
  • Check TV's audio settings
• @KenpoB10 seeks 4K 3D Avatar
  • Check out Dolby Cinema
• @JoshDWalrath questions value of Atmos
  • Great, if desired content exists
• @AceOD wants best sub-$300 center-channel
  • Match what you already have
  • Pioneer's sweet center

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

• Planet Earth II
• Bridge of Spies
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Robert's Calibrated Mic

• Audio/speaker setup
• Room EQ Wizard
• TrueRTA
• Cross-Spectrum Acoustics

Kubo and the Two Strings

• Viewed at Dolby HQ
• ~60 speakers
• 2x Christie RGB laser projectors

Samsung Q8 arrives

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

Thank you

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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

• Retiring: Optoma HD20
• Newer: Epson 3500
• Newest: Epson 3700
  • Solid sub-$1500 pick
  • A great 3D display
  • We love lens shift
• More great projectors

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

• Pioneer Ultra HD Blu-ray Drives
  • AnandTech article
• Software Guard Extensions
  • Intel GPUs only for now
• Waiting for playback software
• Sony signals sagging disc sales

AV extravaganza

• Vizio goes Home
• Chrome plays FLAC
• KEF LS50 Wireless
  • DAR's accolades

Elevating speakers

• Pangea LS300 speaker stands
• Blu-Tack reusable adhesive

Charles M seeks a good 4K HDR HDMI cable

Mike desires easy Atmos

• Dolby Vision too
• Onkyo SBT-A50

LG adds HDR Game Mode

Blu-ray favs this week

• Battleship
• Pinocchio
• Lair of the White Worm
• Yellowbeard
• Strange Brew
• Side by Side

Amplifications

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

Thank you

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Recorded on January 31, 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

• 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

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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

• 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

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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

• 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

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Recorded on December 13, 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

• Netflix finds DIY 4K content easier than buying
• Variety: Netflix 50% original content goal
• CanIStream.it
• The appeal of Netflix documentaries
• Or, Luke Cage
• New streaming shows for October

New 4K Rokus

• Verge article
• Roku Express $30
• $80 Premiere/$100 Premiere+
• $130 Roku Ultra adds USB input

OLED is looking good

• CNET: B6 OLED is the BEST
• Also likes Vizio’s M-Series

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

• Robert’s favorite cable DVR
• Beta roll-out has started
• Enable in Comcast Labs section of DVR
• Notifications to customers soon

The lack of UHD PC monitors w/HDR

CEDIA Expo

• LG 77-Inch $20K OLED

Monoprice Monolith Line

• Amps, speakers, planar magnetics...
• 7x200 Watts Home Theater Power Amp
• M560 Planar Headphones

PlayStation 4 Updates

• No UHD BD playback
• $300 PS4 Slim
• $400 PlayStation 4 Pro
  • 1TB HDD
  • Boosted GPU/CPU
• 4.0 firmware update brings HDR to all PS4s
• PS4 Ultimate FAQ

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

• A handful now...
• Samsung UBD-K8500
• Philips BDP7501
• Xbox One S
• Sony has one coming

We love Projector Central

• Find Projector by Feature
• Projection Calculator Pro

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

Thank you

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Recorded September 26, 2016