Rob’s early take on setting up and using the Sofabaton X1 Universal Remote. Is it the Harmony replacement we’ve been hoping for?

Check out Tom’s latest novel, Touch of Pain, on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3JRVzSu

Pictures shown in this episode:
https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzJuvA

00:00:00 – Intro
Rob’s been catching up on Supergirl, and Tom has started Moon Knight and saw Turning Red, as well.

00:09:05 – Listeners of the Week
Our Listeners of the Week are Raf for his PayPal donation, plus our 144 Patreon Patrons, including Dale and Chris, as well as Jack for pointing out a glitch over at https://avgadgets.com/ , and Karl for picking up Touch of Pain: https://amzn.to/3JRVzSu

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Miguel, Mark, Tim, Dale, Chris, and Allen. Thank you to everybody for continuing to listen!

00:13:33 – Sofabaton X1 Impressions
David wrote in last week with his take, and Rob compares his initial experience setting up and using the new universal remote: https://is.gd/Yq8xPu

Comments:

00:39:57 – Comment: Gurinder – Wii 2 HDMI Adapter
Only $8: https://is.gd/mLl4ts

00:41:20 – Comment: Mark – Zap-Pop-Pop caused by Wireless?
Trying to help out John with his NVidia Shield audio problems.

QUESTIONS:

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Tom has a new book available! Download Touch of Pain on Amazon.
We’ve got lots of discussion about DIY subwoofers, IMAX, and how absolutely nothing of interest happened at this year’s Oscars.

Pictures shown in this episode:
https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzHB51

00:00:00 – Intro
Tom watched The Adam Project and Dune.

00:02:11 – Touch of Pain
Tom released a new novel!
Purchase “Touch of Pain” digitally on Amazon for $4.99: https://is.gd/5Zod07

00:09:33 – Listeners of the Week
Our Listeners of the Week are Billy for his PayPal donation, plus our 146 Patreon Patrons, including James, as well as Billy again for talking us up to Seymour AV.
We also greatly appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Raf, Julian, Kevin, Gurinder, Will, David, Ari, Alex, and Jonathan. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

00:13:24 – Sofabaton X1 Tease
Rob, David, Andrew, and maybe Tom will all weigh in next week!

In the news:

00:17:53 – News: PlayStation Plus Tiers
PlayStation Plus: Essential, Extra, and Premium (or Deluxe) will be coming in June to take on Xbox Game Pass: https://is.gd/03GKTe

00:25:31 – News: Apple TV+’s CODA wins Best Picture
A first for a streaming service: https://is.gd/Mk7Agc

Comments:

00:26:42 – Comment: Gurinder – Flex Ducts
Phrasing!

00:28:36 – Comment: Jonathan – DIY Sub Experience
Details of costs and time, plus his thoughts on tuning via miniDSP.

00:31:33 – Comment: Karl – JVC Power On
Weighing in on Jason’s question from last week about having to press Power On multiple times.

QUESTIONS:

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We’ve reached another milestone! And we celebrate with the most professionally executed giveaway ever!
We cover Epson’s Home Cinema LS11000, Audyssey’s ACM1-X calibrated mic, LG & Samsung OLED prices, Apple Movie purchases & rentals disappearing, and Netflix cracking down on password sharing.
Thank you all so much for sticking with us for 800 episodes! Here’s to 800 more!

Pictures shown in this episode:
https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzGK7u

00:00:00 – Intro
No movie review this week. But Tom does have a scathing review of the LSU tour he took.

00:07:10 – Listeners of the Week
Our Listeners of the Week are Nick for his PayPal donation, plus our 145 Patreon Patrons, as well as a big thank you to Ash for our Episode 800 artwork, and Lee Overstreet for guest co-hosting last week.
We also greatly appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Mark, Gurinder, Jeremy, Ash, Andrew, and Nathan. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!
Plus, an extra special thanks to James “House of Cards” for supplying his open box UMIK-1 and SPL Meter for our giveaway!

In the news:

00:18:58 – News: Epson Home Cinema LS11000
An attractive price for a well-spec’d 4K/120 laser projector: https://is.gd/1aoBTe

00:23:15 – News: Audyssey ACM1-X Calibrated Mic
Not quite what we hoped for.
– https://avgadgets.com/audyssey-multeq-x-what-you-need-to-know/
– ACM1-X: https://is.gd/jpWCQA
– MultEQ-X demo: https://is.gd/QtpGi9

00:30:31 – News: ’22 LG & Samsung OLED Prices
97″ is expensive, 77″ & 83″ start cheaper, Samsung surprises.
– LG 97″ G2: https://is.gd/hsxeIq
– LG C2: https://is.gd/sJQLYy
– Samsung S95B: https://is.gd/8INql6

00:32:41 – News: Apple TV App Downgrade
Android TV, Google TV & Fire TV apps won’t let you rent or buy: https://is.gd/LINYji

00:33:29 – News: Netflix to Charge for Sharing
“Add an Extra Member” outside your household: https://is.gd/vmKc31

Comments:

00:38:10 – Comment: Tom – AV / Wine Closet
A warning to control humidity.

00:40:38 – Comment: Ilango – Summing Cable
Castline USA Summing Cable: https://is.gd/8ERgo2

QUESTIONS:

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Lee Overstreet is our guest co-host this week while Tom is away on vacation. And it’s your last chance to join our Patreon before we randomly select one Patron next week to receive an open box UMIK-1 and SPL Meter.

Pictures shown in this episode:
https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzFTLt

00:00:00 – Intro
Catching up a little with Lee. Rob started watching Season 2 of Star Trek: Picard. And Lee started a couple of Netflix series, which we think are probably Archive81 and The Silent Sea.

00:07:04 – Listeners of the Week
Our Listeners of the Week are Todd for his PayPal donation, plus our 142 Patreon Patrons, including Nathan and Bertrand, as well as Todd again, and his employer, for donating to the Save the Children charity for Ukraine in the podcast’s name, and Karl for talking us up to Audio Advice and Origin HiFi.
We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Jonathan, Gurinder, Nick, Todd, Augie, Art, Dave, Nathan, Bertrand, and Jason. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

00:12:39 – Giveaway!
James “House of Cards” is providing an open box UMIK-1 and SPL Meter for us to give away to one of our Patreon Patrons. And we’ll randomly select the name next week!

In the news:

00:14:32 – News: Samsung S95B QD-OLEDs
Fresh links and info, since we pre-recorded.
– https://youtu.be/d93F5xr45aY
– Amazon listing: https://is.gd/ZcFcol

00:16:21 – News: Warner Bros Discovery merge streaming
HBO Max and Discovery+ will first bundle, and then merge: https://is.gd/1I89oY

Comments:

00:18:11 – Comment: Augie – iPhone as Apple TV Remote
A correction that you can use a Siri Remote and an iPhone or Apple Watch simultaneously to control an Apple TV.

QUESTIONS:

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Ads on Disney+, and new parental controls thanks to Netflix’ Marvel TV shows. Reavon released the universal disc player their fans asked for. And Tom toughs it out with a bad back, no punches pulled!

Pictures shown in this episode:
https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzF3X1

00:00:00 – Intro
No quick movie review from Rob this week, but Tom watched Always Be My Maybe. And if you want to see some sad, sad people with a bit of pro wrestling as the backdrop, Heels on Starz might be your thing.

00:07:43 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are John for his PayPal donation, plus our 140 Patreon Patrons, as well as Carl and Curt who both checkmarked the AV Rant Podcast box when letting SVS know where they heard about their subwoofers!
Thanks also to Dean for sending Tom some photos with permission to use them on https://avgadgets.com/
And we appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Billy, Carl, Josh, Dean, and Allen. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

00:14:24 – Giveaway
Want a chance to get an open box UMIK-1 and SPL Meter for as little as $1? Then sign up at https://www.patreon.com/avrantpodcast . We’ll be selecting the name of one of our Patrons during Episode #800!

In the news:

00:15:17 – News: Reavon UBR-X110 Universal Disc Player
For $1,000, it can play every type of disc, except HD DVD: https://is.gd/BR2mal
– Zappiti Store: https://is.gd/3VL2A2

00:17:40 – News: Netflix Marvel shows come to Disney+
New parental controls will be added: https://is.gd/OYnUzq

00:20:24 – News: Disney+ ad tier coming
In their bid to gain subscribers, a lower-cost, ad-supported tier will be introduced: https://is.gd/gvqfzm

Comments:

00:22:20 – Comment: Daniel – BOBOVR Oculus Quest Active Cooling
Swap out the face cushion and gain active cooling: https://is.gd/YQgVuy

QUESTIONS:

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