AVexcel - Episode 45

June 12, 2017 by AVexcel

Recorded on June 9, 2017

Patrick Norton and Robert Heron are igniting the home theater goodness

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

The tingly bits

Tired of 720p broadcasts
- In a 4K world...
- <1M video pixels on 8MP TVs
Oppo 203 gets Dolby Vision update
- Thank you, @Locobooff
- DV movies arrive
Apple's WWDC17
- Amazon (video) on Apple
- AirPods + tvOS 11 = automagic
NVIDIA SHIELD update loves NAS

Pat's Buffy-o-rama

Your awesome feedback

Jeff needs a 55-inch TV
- Budget ~$2k, then OLED
- Otherwise, go good 2017 LCD
Much love: Optoma 4K projectors
- UHD60
- UHD65
- Projector Central's 4K DLP article
@chrishoage reminds us that CableCARD + PLEX = OK

AV101

Geoffrey Morrison's HDMI explainer

Eyeballs on...

NBA Finals in glorious 720p
Civ 6
John Wick
Wonder Woman

Listening time

Amber Rubharth
- Sessions from the 17th Ward
Chesky Records
Vandersteen 2ci
Tekton Mini Lore

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AVexcel - Episode 44

June 04, 2017 by AVexcel

Recorded on June 1, 2017

Patrick Norton and Robert Heron are absorbing the home theater goodness

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

The tingly bits

Plex Live TV for OTA enthuasiasts
4K broadcasting spec getting closer
Toshiba's new OLED
BOE's 'true QLED'

You asked

@tomprossima asked about sdr-to-hdr conversion
- Film has incredible contrast/color performance
Mikkel inquired if stereo is enough in a 4K world
Josh asked about the (potential) beauty of a look up table (LUT)

Patrick Norton's super-interview w/Audeze co-founder and CEO, Sankar Thiagasamudram

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AVexcel - Episode 43

May 28, 2017 by AVexcel

Recorded on May 25, 2017

Patrick Norton and Robert Heron are modding the home theater goodness

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

The tingly bits

Sweet deal on KEF's T105
- UltraThin 5.1 kit
No-projection cinema
- DCI says OK
Samsung's new LCDs
- MU9000 + MU8000
  - 1000-nits
  - Low-lag 240Hz
  - Anti-reflective
  - No quantum dot tech

Sweet Q&A

@shana_tornado desires a smart-less display
@Nat_The_Gooner wants the 4K box
@bucketo searches for TV OS nirvana
@SconnieTek seeks a soundbar
- Sonos sounds great
- More great soundbar options
- Hsu Research = superb subs
- Monoprice's amazing $100 sub

Headphone design redux

Housing/earcup design
Driver design
Frame design
Fostex T50RP Mods/Measurements
InnerFidelity

Final words

@mike_shay reminds us that YouTube TV includes Red Originals but not an ad-free experience
@rgherrera's looking for TV's w/BT
- Mid-to-premium TVs often have Bluetooth
- Could add a Roku Ultra
Vincent Teoh's YouTube channel
Remembering John Hurt

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AVexcel - Episode 42

May 21, 2017 by AVexcel

Recorded on May 18, 2017

Patrick Norton and Robert Heron are rectifying the home theater goodness

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

The tingly bits

Element's Amazon Fire (4K) TV
- Arriving June 14, 2017
YouTube TV adds more channels
Mr. Rogers on Twitch
MP3 is probably free
Hearables
Vizio's HDR update for E-Series
Pioneer's UHD BD PC ODD

Direct input

@scottphillips88 is in search of budget 4K projection
- Look for news at CEDIA 2017
@ruairi wonders what makes a good headphone
- "It's everything"
- Cool new magnets

Remembering

Calibration doings

2016 LG C6 OLED
- Best 3D TV ever made
- Terrible power plug
2015 Samsung JS8500 LCD
- Best flat LCD of that year
Both TVs: superb white balance/color after setup
TIP: avoid adjusting WB controls higher - go lower

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AVexcel - Episode 41

May 17, 2017 by AVexcel

Recorded on May 11, 2017

Patrick Norton and Robert Heron are amplifying the home theater goodness

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

Stuff we love

Amazon Video is coming to the Apple TV
Sony's A1E OLED TV looks awesome
Netflix rolling out Mobile HDR
Luminoodle

Pat's Time Phase Alignment Link-o-rama

Questions/Answers/Clarity

Christian's LCD has a glowing cloud
Mike delivers DSP clarity

Eyeball grabbers

Still fascinated by The Get Down
American Gods
In search of Formula 1 in 4K
Dunkirk
Heat
Reservoir Dogs
- Has Reservoir Dogs Aged Well
Pulp Fiction

The interview

Jason Lord
- The Source AV Design Group

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AVexcel - Episode 40

May 09, 2017 by AVexcel

Recorded on May 4, 2017

Patrick Norton and Robert Heron are nurturing the home theater goodness

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

Time to double-check the levels

May the 4th be with you

SFGate - 11 movies that inspired Star Wars

Bandwidth sucking neighbors

A good network helps
Better CPUs on UHD streamers
The beauty of discs

Patrick's MiniDSP project

Creating sub-channel from stereo source

Vizio is Vizio again

CTO dropping P-Series details
- Thank you, @FmHolty
*logarithmic

So many lumens

Epson Home Cinema 1450
3LCD, 1080p, 4,200-lumens
Light-rejecting screens

Scott's in search of a great $500 TV

Consider screen size first
Built-in apps generally suck
Add an HDMI switch if needed
The best $500 TV
is a projector
We love Hisense and TCL too

Pat's interview preview

Audeze
MrSpeakers
More next week

What we’re watching

Planet Earth II in UHD Blu-ray
Thankful for Unlocator
Archer - season 8
LOTS of IP cameras
American Gods
The Get Down

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AVexcel - Episode 39

March 29, 2017 by AVexcel

Recorded on March 14, 2017

Patrick Norton and Robert Heron are returning to the home theater goodness

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

Great 2017 TVs Arrive

Sony XBR-A1E BRAVIA OLED
- Available April
- Acoustic Surface
- X1 Extreme processor
- Super Bit-Mapping 4K HDR
- Less banding artifacts
- Android TV
- Google Assistant
Samsung Q9 QLED TV
- Improved AR coating
- Metal quantum dots
- New sub-pixel design
- Fiber optic link to input box
- New “The Frame” design
  - 55-inch + 65-inches only
Q8 (curved) Pricing
- 55-inches $3500
- 65-inches $4800
Q7 (flat) Pricing

AV101: bi-wiring

Each speaker gets its own amp wire
Not bi-amping

Pat's speaker doings

Great questions

John needs to try Tidal
- Has Pioneer AVR
  - Load mobile app + try AirPlay
- Volumio
- Roon Labs
- ELAC Discovery Music Server
@KyleEJohnson looking at HDMI 2.x mobos
- DisplayPort 1.2 to HDMI 2.0 adapter
@SconnieTek needs a big screen value
- Love the Roku TVs
- This 65-inch Hisense 4K screen
@erikbelusic's triple-driver needs
- Start w/Monoprice 8323
- V-MODA Forza In-Ear
- 1MORE Quad Driver In-Ear
- 1MORE Triple Driver

Viewing doings

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AVexcel - Episode 38

March 15, 2017 by AVexcel

Recorded on March 7, 2017

Patrick Norton and Robert Heron are listening to the home theater goodness

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

Exciting the senses

Patreon Google Hangouts
- March 16th and 30th
YouTube TV
- "TV made for you"
- $35/mo
- 6 accounts
- 40+ channels
- Unlimited DVR
Spotify to offer lossless
Netflix's AI video optimizations

Pat's electrostatic adventures

The Source AV
Sennheiser Orpheus HE 1
HIFIMAN Shangri-La
MrSpeakers Aeon

AV 101: Electrostatic loudspeaker

Dynamic (speaker) headphones
- Monoprice 8323
- Focal Utopia
Planar magnetic speakers
- Fostex T50RP
- HIFIMAN HE400s
- MrSpeakers ETHER Flow

Sonos PLAYBASE

Sound-base design
~2.3 inches high
10 speakers
- Class D drivers for each
- 6 mids
- 3 tweeters
- 1 sub
$700

LG W7 Wallpaper OLED

An all around better OLED
Superb HD reproduction
New 2-pt HDR calibration
~20ms HDR game mode
65-/77-inches

And then some...

Samsung QLED TVs available now
Dolby Lab tour
- Great view

What we're watching

Blu-rays
- Moana
- Jackie
- S.O.B.

Gaming goodness

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Episode 37

March 08, 2017 by AVexcel

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

Uniting streaming devices
Consistent UI/UX
Stylish design
$400
Articles
Harmony Elite
- Superior to Ultimate in every way

Calibration apps: Apple TV

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

Robert's Calibrated Mic

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

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Episode 36

February 20, 2017 by AVexcel

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

Samsung Q7 - 1500-nit + new quantum dots
LG E7 OLED - Picture on Glass design
LG C7 OLED - aluminum bezel/stand
Sony 930E - superb UHD picture

Glorious sound

Vandersteen Speakers
- Model 5A Carbon
KEF LS50/LS50 Wireless

Speaker positioning vs basic setup

Pat's new SPL meter

Vizio settles w/FTC

Ultimate HTPC GPU

Palit GeForce GTX 1050 Ti KalmX
Fanless/passive cooling

AV101: High Frame Rate

Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk
- Ang Lee directed
Recorded at 120fps

Mike appreciates video calibration

DIY vs hiring someone
Easiest: use picture presets
Robert's TV picture setup guide
Test discs
- Spears & Munsil
- AVS HD 709
X-Rite i1Display Pro
- White balance setup

Alan clarifies Dolby Vision AVR support

Great S&V article

HD/HDR streaming pics o' the week

Classic console doings

Panasonic 3DO
Super Nintendo

Google Play access coming

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Recorded on February 14, 2017

Episode 35

February 05, 2017 by AVexcel

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

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

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

January 24, 2017 by AVexcel

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

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Recorded on January 12, 2017

Episode 33

January 02, 2017 by AVexcel

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

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

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

Tyler brings 4K UHD BD PC playback clarity

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

About that intro...

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Recorded on December 28, 2016

Episode 32

December 25, 2016 by AVexcel

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

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'

Audience Q&A

@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

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Recorded on December 21, 2016

Episode 31

December 19, 2016 by AVexcel

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

More Patreon Hangouts - stay tuned!

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Recorded on December 13, 2016

Episode 30

December 06, 2016 by AVexcel

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

LG has competition
BOE unveils it’s own OLED creation
Many unknowns

The new stuff: CES 2017

TekThing meetup
- Atomic Liquors

Netflix Offline

Easy to use
For the mobile user
Tip: set to Wi-Fi xfer only

DirecTV Now

No CBS (yet)
Steady improvements or die
CNET’s Super STB Chart

Bright Room Viewing

Optimize 'Standard' TV preset
Reduce contrast/sharpness
Noise reduction can help
Check picture size/processing
Eye-savers
- f.lux
- ClickMonitorDDC
Display Data Channel (DDC)

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

November 26, 2016 by AVexcel

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

KEF T305 surround sound system
ELAC Uni-FI B5
Bookshelf speaker placement
- Elevated + off the wall
Speaker stands
- Pangea Audio LS200
- LS300 for a little more
Blu-Tack Reusable Adhesive
Sorbothane
Spiked speaker stands (or not)
- Audioholics to the rescue

Full-bore 3D sound setup

Atmos allows for 30+ speakers
11-channel amp/decoder/receiver = $$$
- Denon AVR-X6300H = fine example
Trinnov Altitude32 preamplifier = lust-worthy
Pat: stereo ceiling Atmos setup sounds good
Emotiva

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

Needs small footprint
$200 or less
Start w/Lepai Class-T amp
Lepy LP-2020A Class-D
Upgrade power supply for better sound
Dayton Audio APA100
- Class AB, $99

HDMI Follow-up

Samsung UHD BD player (UBD-K8500) does 4K apps too
Fewer HDMI issues thanks to Simplay Labs

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

November 26, 2016 by AVexcel

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

JVC DLA-Z1 - HDTVtest preview
~$37K USD
Blue laser + “motorless inorganic phosphor”
3000 lumens + 20K hours lamp life
Larger 100mm lens
Hybrid Log-Gamma compatible
100% DCI P3 color
Competing w/Sony VW5000ES

Speaker Placement

Cardas Room Setup & Speaker Placement Guide
The math for better sound
Some room shapes work better/worse
Room audio interaction
Dolby Surround Sound Speaker Setup
Experiment with positioning/aiming
MiniDSP audio processing
Linkwitz Labs
KEF T305 Home Theater System

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

LG OLED or a great LCD for less
All TVs are easily wall-mountable
First: pick the ideal screen size
Second: set a comfortable budget
Amazon's best selling TVs
Robert's quick TV picture setup guide
Oppo's awesome universal player
DarbeeVision

Save $$$ on gear you need

CamelCamelCamel
NowInStock
You haven't waited too long, you're just looking at newer gear

Shawn stumbled upon a quirky review

"Tube Amps for Pocket Change"

@evan_adams Tweets the truth

Significant other knows how to get it done w/IR
Vanco HDMI extender over Ethernet
IR Extender Over HDMI

New viewings

Patrick goes ELAC

Uni-Fi speakers
+ Discovery Series DS-S101-G Music Server
+ those headphones
+ DIY Raspberry Pi media players

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

November 25, 2016 by AVexcel

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

Denver, Colorado
Audeze planar magnetics
- LCD-4 headphones
- Sine on-ear headphones
- iSine in-ear headphones
Roon Labs
- Album art in the digital age
Embedded Audiophile
- Rune Audio
- Volumio
For the love of
- CDs & Vinyl
- Blu-ray Audio
Zu Audio high efficiency speakers
- Prototype Zu Experience speaker
- Soul
- Soul Supreme
Peachtree Audio
- nova300 Amplifier
- deepblue2 Bluetooth Music System
  - "it's pretty badass"
KEF Blade speakers
- LS50 Mini Monitor speakers
Klipsch
Tekton Design Mini Lore speakers
ELAC
- Uni-Fi UF5 tower speaker
- A101EQ-G Integrated Amplifier
Focal headphones/loudspeakers
PSB Speakers
Hifiman
InnerFidelity
Head-Fi
MrSpeakers
Astell&Kern
Rupert Neve mixing consoles
Audioquest NightOwl Carbon headphones
McIntosh Laboratory
PS Audio
beyerdynamic DT 1770 Pro
Thoeress 845 mono power amp
And much, much more

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
- Agoda for hotels
- Qua for flights
Air quality concerns
- Air Quality Index
N95 and P95 filtering recommended

Thank you

Visit us at AVexcel.com

Connect with us

Enjoy

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

Recorded on November 14, 2016

Episode #026

October 18, 2016 by AVexcel

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

Google Home
- Amazon Echo has a competitor
High-excursion speakers
"If this, then that" integration
Pixel phones
Daydream View VR
Chromecast goes 4K
- HDR, Dolby Vision, $70

The Internet of Crap

Krebs under attack
shodan.io

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

WatchAir - a Kickstarter project
More OTA goodness
- TV Fool
- AntennaWeb
- Channel Master antenna selection guide
- DVR+ is excellent
- So is SiliconDust

@Ken_Addison wants Amazon HDR on a 2016 Vizio

Add a Samsung UHD Blu-ray player
Or, 4K HDR Roku streamer
- $100 Premiere+
- $130 Roku Ultra adds USB input

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

Partners w/Amazon: unlimiited storage $59/yr
Techcrunch article

RedFox's regular discounts

David Pogue: digitize your tapes NOW

DIY or use a service
Just do it
Epson FastFoto

New Blu-rays this week

Doings and transpirings
Robert

Calibrating my brains out
Testing new X-Rite meter - enhanced by Portrait Displays
Watching season 2 of classic Star Trek on Netflix
Heading to China

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

Toy Defense 2
iOS or Android

Thank you

Visit us at AVexcel.com

Connect with us

Enjoy

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

Recorded October 5th, 2016