Our Listeners of the Week are Andre for his donation, our 80 Patreon Patrons, including Clarence K. and Mark R., Mike S. for mentioning us to AV Science when he bought his JVC RS540 projector, Bill C. for letting Aperion know we recommended their in-wall speakers, and Alan C. for plugging our podcast when he entered an SVS giveaway contest.

In the news, Netflix prices are going up in the USA. Free streaming services are coming from NBCUniversal and IMDb’s FreeDrive. And DTS:X is coming to TVs in 2020.

Nick B. shared the results of his Shure 1540 vs. Sennheiser HD598 CS headphone comparison. Monoprice’s Monolith HTP-1 9.1.6 Processor will support Auro-3D. And George M. recommends the Russound AB-2.2 push button A-B switch.

0:13:49 Jonathan F. asks if WiSA and eARC mean the end of AV Receivers. He also recommends checking if your local library works with the free Kanopy streaming service. And he wonders if 4:3 is making a comeback.

0:22:08 Christian A. wants to know if an NVidia Shield with an external USB hard drive can be a standalone Plex Server and Player.

0:24:05 Jay A. gets confirmation about constructing his basement extension to be “well muffled” if not fully soundproof, including concerns about ceiling height, backer boxes, and feeling “inadequate” about not having an equipment rack.

0:35:36 Chris M. wants to know if there are any external devices that do dynamic HDR tone mapping, similar to what’s built into LG and Sony OLED TVs.

0:40:15 Brian Z. gets the lowdown on Apple TV 4K audio and video settings.

0:49:48 Boshko asks about traditional 7.1 as an Atmos configuration, and we tackle the controversial topic of “high res” audio being converted for AirPlay.

1:06:26 W. Thomas gets our picks for affordable 4K HDR projectors, including: the Optoma UHD50 & UHD51A that offer a low price and fairly short throw; the Optoma UHD60 and UHD65 with step up DLP performance and medium throw distances; and our picks of the Epson Home Cinema 4000 or 5040UB, although we hope the 5050UB will be announced soon.

1:15:05 Dre completed his home theater! He asks a few fine-tuning questions about Surround speaker placement, absorption panel placement, and power protection.

1:24:42 Mike S. first recommends using lubricant to make pulling cables through conduit much easier. Then he asks about upgrading his subs before his theater’s even ready, speaker wire wall plates, Front speaker choices, battery backup, for which we recommend the APC J25 or J35, using an HDMI switch with a very long HDMI cable, where to place his Harmony Hub, and extending a speaker wire that’s already been run, which requires a butt splice.

1:39:38 Clarence K. wants to know if his Vizio TV’s terrible off-axis viewing is normal.

1:42:59 Shawn W. wants a subwoofer that can handle 5,000 cubic feet for under $1,500. We mention the HSU VTF-15H MK2 and Power Sound Audio as top bang for buck options, although the boxes are huge. We like the Monoprice Monolith 15 for being unbreakable. And dual SVS PC-2000 or an SB-3000 are other options.

1:45:43 Mark R. gets our speculation about the JBL Arena Series speakers.

1:50:08 Infinite Gary asks about color volume, the extra white subpixel in OLED TVs, and whether 1-to-1 pixel mapping or upscaling delivers the sharpest image.

1:55:57 Paul M. gets the facts and figures on decibel levels that can cause hearing loss.

• Check out the AV Rant YouTube channel to watch our show videos.
• Download Tom’s FREE superhero-themed ebook Bob Moore: No Hero.
• Visit Tom's website for download links as well as links for the two full-length follow-ups -  Bob Moore: Desperate Times and Bob Moore: Hostile Territory.
• Check out AVGadgets.com where Tom is the new Editor-in-Chief!
• Download Tom's NEWEST book, Touch of Pain from Amazon now!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Liked it? Take a second to support AV Rant on Patreon!