Remember Austin and his MP3 deletion research? Well, he’s on the podcast this week and you aren’t going to want to miss it. We break down Austin’s background, his work with Studio B, Ltd. in Omaha (for all your voice-over needs look him up), and his system. What is MP3 exactly? What does it do and why? Austin fills us in. On top of that you’ll be surprised to hear what you are missing. For the complete audio files including the unadulterated music, the encoded files, and the deletion files, download the zip (warning, LARGE file). Oh and there is no video this week because, in spite of the marketing claims, Macs don’t always “just work.” Thanks for listening and don’t forget to vote for us at Podcast Alley. To see our (mostly) complete collection of show videos, click here. To get our iPhone app, visit the iTunes store.

 

 AVR 166: All About MP3s [34:45m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Lots of listener questions again this week (some are repeats but that’s OK, Tom doesn’t mind hearing himself talk). A poster over at Audioholics confirms plasma burn-in. Dina is shocked. John has a question about Skype vs. ooVoo, Juan has a question about subs < $400, and Richard thinks Tom (and you) should stop crying about Blu-ray prices. John Sunier on the podcast? Maybe (check out the link to AV Rant at the bottom of this page). Womack has a question and a comment – Tom and Dina fall all over themselves answering. Hulu for money? What’s the deal with LED TVs? Tom breaks it down for you. Check out Ink if you haven’t already. Thanks for listening and don’t forget to vote for us at Podcast Alley. To see our (mostly) complete collection of show videos, click here. To get our iPhone app, visit the iTunes store. Read the rest of this entry >>

 

 AVR 165: Plasma Burn in Confirmed [49:57m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Welcome to the circus – the stars? Audioholics and HTR. Well, you want the skinny? Tom doesn’t make you wait. Here’s the whole history of the Lexicon review, the animosity between Jerry over at HTR, and what the Audioholics guys really think about it. After all that is out of the way Tom and Dina lament the departure of Jeremy – you’ll be missed and we thank you for all you’ve done for the podcast. Two Ryans chime in this week – one with a hot wife and one with a question about room treatments. Bill wants a sub but needs some advice. Mark wanted an Onkyo but was offered an Integra instead – should he take it? A bit about the ZAGGbox – should you be excited? Dina is but Tom is not convinced. Thanks for listening and don’t forget to vote for us at Podcast Alley. To see our (mostly) complete collection of show videos, click here. To get our iPhone app, visit the iTunes store. Read the rest of this entry >>

 

 AVR 164: Sabotaging Jerry [54:11m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

As many of you are aware, the recent podcast and Audioholics article uncovered that the $3,500 Lexicon BD-30 essentially is a $500 Oppo BDP-83 with a pretty case. What also occurred is that another publication – Home Theater Review.com – published a review of the Lexicon before we got a chance to test our review sample. What was most unfortunate (for them) is that the reviewer not only did not use any objective tests of the Lexicon, but also claimed to have compared it to the upgraded BDP-83SE. The reaction of the public to this review after the Audioholics exposé was… well… energetic to say the least. Read the rest of this entry >>

In light of the recent podcast and the Audioholics article on the Lexicon/Oppo debacle, I can’t help but think back on some of things I expected to find in this business when I got into it. Let’s be honest, it’s easy to demonize a lot of the people you read (or watch, or hear about). They become caricatures of real people. They are malicious or stupid or conniving or nefarious… the list goes on. But when you meet them, they tend to be just like you – humans trying to do their best with what they have. There are always extenuating circumstances, always reasons, always a bunch of behind the scene stuff you don’t know. That if you only knew, you’d understand.

I’m wondering what those are at Lexicon and THX. Read the rest of this entry >>