The latest in Tom’s QD-OLED TV repair saga. Our own subwoofer, computer monitor, and universal remote adventures. KEF Coda W self-powered wireless speakers enter a new, lower price bracket. Valve delayed its Steam Machine and Stream Frame. TCL is updating its Google TV interface to run on Android 14, which will add HDMI QMS support.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCK2xz

00:00:00 – Intro

Congrats to the Seattle Seahawks. But Olympic curling is where it’s at!

00:03:45 – Update on Tom’s TV

“It will be”…

00:06:14 – Tom Bought Subwoofers

Feats of strength were demonstrated.

– https://avgadgets.com/the-three-best-options-to-decouple-your-subwoofer/

00:09:12 – Tom’s Monitor Shopping

I mean, if you want to pay extremely close attention to model numbers.

00:12:54 – Rob’s Personal Updates

Let’s see if his parents’ Sofabaton X2 is finally all set up next week!

00:15:34 – What We Watched

Rob watched F1: The Movie. Tom’s been watching the Winter Olympics.

00:34:07 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 121 Patreon Patrons, including James, as well as Greg for sending a movie code.

Thanks to Scott for giving Tom permission to use his photos on https://avgadgets.com/

And we appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Greg, Nathan, Chris, Julian, Gurinder, Dan, Daniel, Dale, James, and Allen. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:39:29 – News: KEF Coda W

Self-powered speakers with an HDMI-ARC input for under $1,000: https://tinyurl.com/365py9p3

00:44:21 – News: Steam Machine & Frame Delay

Valve thought they’d have a launch date and prices to announce by now, but RAM and SSD shortages forced a delay: https://tinyurl.com/42hsnvkm

00:48:15 – News: TCL Google TV Update w/ QMS

TCL TVs that use a MediaTek Pentonic 700 chipset to run Google TV will get an update running on Android 14, bringing QMS with it: https://tinyurl.com/4bpuzhrw

00:52:44 – Lepro E1 & EE1 Outdoor Lights Review Update

AV Gadgets Approved review posted, but the app could still use some improvements.

– https://avgadgets.com/lepro-e1-and-ee1-permanent-outdoor-lights-review/

Comments:

00:55:31 – Joe Klusnick on Home Theater Geeks

Scott Wilkinson has started a new format for the Home Theater of the Month segment, and AV Rant guest co-host Joe Klusnick was the first guest! He set the bar: https://youtu.be/0jNRX771ZRA

00:56:22 – Comment: Julian, Errol & Kerry – Where to Rent Discs

After hearing Dazz last week, our Listeners have suggestions for where to rent discs-by-mail.

– https://www.choovierentals.com/

– https://www.store-3d-blurayrental.com/

00:58:08 – Comment: Gurinder: LG CX Game Mode

A reminder that, for some reason, HDCP needed to be turned off in your PS5 in order to get low latency.

QUESTIONS:

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We aren’t ready to call this Episode 1,000 just yet. Updates on Tom’s TV. LG Display is now manufacturing OLED SE, OLED EX, and Tandem OLED panels for greater differentiation at various price points. The new DALI SONIK Series of speakers replaces the Oberon Series.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

We technically reached 1,000 episodes posted a while ago, but we’re not quite ready to call this Episode 1,000 just yet.

00:02:20 – Tom’s Personal Updates

Crazy weather, son’s car, and bike riding.

00:06:14 – Update on Tom’s TV

Service people came, but the QD-OLED panel that’s needed didn’t.

00:12:39 – Unsponsored Rug Endorsement

Sometimes you get what you pay for: https://ruggable.com/

00:20:00 – What We Watched

Rob watched Sentimental Value.

00:31:18 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Paul for his PayPal donation, plus our 121 Patreon Patrons, including Alvin.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Sam, Nathan, Alvin, Brandon, Mohsen, Brian, Paul, Chris, and Mark. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:34:14 – News: LG OLED SE Panels

Get ready for genuine performance difference between the LG B6, C6, and G6 as LG Display is now manufacturing OLED SE, OLED EX, and Tandem OLED panels: https://tinyurl.com/2mphsu9h

00:38:22 – News: DALI SONIK Series Speakers

DALI SONIK 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, On-Wall & Cinema replace the Oberon Series: https://tinyurl.com/5n8xwca9

Comments:

00:43:58 – Comment: Mark – I’ll Do It Myself!

An exciting conclusion to his nonfunctioning IR remote sensor on his Panasonic UB9000.

00:49:42 – Comment: Herb from Cross-Spectrum Labs

Don’t feel bad for ordering a UMIK-1 directly from miniDSP right now.

QUESTIONS:

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Welcome back, Tom! Thanks to Joe for co-hosting last week. Updates on Tom’s bad back. And his TV is still broken. Emotiva Differential Reference Design Series offers four, stackable, 2-channel Separates you can purchase individually, or in a money-saving bundle: the DRA-1, DRP-1, DRD-1, and DRS-1.

Pictures shows in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCHJG4

00:00:00 – Intro

Tom returns! Thanks to Joe. Update on Tom’s bad back.

00:08:20 – Tom’s Samsung S90D QD-OLED

Repairs aren’t quite as easy as we hoped.

00:13:54 – What We Watched

Rob finished Andor S.2, and Pluribus S.1

00:24:30 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Dan for his PayPal donation, plus our 121 Patreon Patrons.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Mark, John, Greg, Dazz, Larry, and Sasi. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:26:10 – News: Emotiva Differential Reference Design Series

The new DRA-1, DRP-1, DRD-1, and DRS-1 are fully-balanced, stackable, 2-channel Separates: https://tinyurl.com/55r9rk8w

Comments:

00:38:25 – CORRECTION: miniDSP Tide16 & Monolith HTP-1

Our YouTube commenters corrected us about Dirac ART, DTS:X, and price: https://www.minidsp.com/products/ht-series/tide16 | https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=37887

00:44:25 – Comment: Chris – Stream Your Gaming PC

A potential solution for keeping your AMD gaming PC in one room, but streaming its output to your theater: https://youtu.be/ZEZRWjtFTyQ

00:46:50 – Comment: John – Warranty Check

Thankfully, John checked his Sony TV’s receipt before buying a new TCL!

QUESTIONS:

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Tom is away this week, so Rob is joined by Joe Klusnick for an extra-long episode. SVS SB-3000 & PB-3000 R|Evolution subs are available now. miniDSP Tide16 is a 16-channel Pre-Pro with the full Dirac Live Suite included. Sony is selling 51% of its TV & Audio business to TCL. Sony Pictures will stream exclusively on Netflix. Netflix adjusted its Warner Bros. bid.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

Welcome back, Joe Klusnick!

00:04:32 – Missing Emails Reminder

We had emails go missing on us from Jan 6 – 11.

00:05:41 – How to Contact Us

Joe on AVS Forum: https://tinyurl.com/a5hxrpaf

00:07:34 – What We Watched

Joe watched: Stranger Things S.5, Tron: Ares, Avatar: Fire and Ash (in 3D), The Terminal List, Song Sung Blue, Roofman, and he read Project Hail Mary.

Rob watched Bugonia.

00:25:17 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 121 Patreon Patrons, including Rohan, Andy, and Nathan.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Infinite Gary, Dazz, Christian, Ilango, Rohan, Andy, Karl, Nathan, Scott, J.R., and Tim. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:29:58 – News: SVS 3000 R|Evolution Subs Launch

SB-3000 R|Evolution & PB-3000 R|Evolution now available: https://tinyurl.com/487auv66

00:34:09 – News: miniDSP Tide16 Pre-Pro

$3,500, 16-ch Pre-Pro w/ the full Dirac Live Suite: https://tinyurl.com/2hm8jnhw

00:41:57 – News: TCL & Sony Joint Venture

New agreement will see TCL take over 51% of Sony’s TV & Audio business: https://tinyurl.com/zns8tvms

00:46:04 – News: Netflix Exclusively Streams Sony Pictures

Sony Pictures features will stream exclusively on Netflix worldwide: https://tinyurl.com/544dfjeu

00:47:31 – News: Netflix Adjusts Warner Bros. Bid

Netflix commits to 45-day theatrical window, and an all-cash bid: https://tinyurl.com/jm5brbtn

Comments:

00:49:11 – Comment: Christian – ELAC Towers & LG B5

What if new speakers blend too well? And LG B5 Settings: https://youtu.be/YQ9E7RK0gDM

00:51:36 – FOR SALE: Adam – Outlaw Audio Model 976

We make an exception to maybe help Adam sell his Pre-Pro.

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Tom had a horrible week with a bad back and his new TV broke. He’s here for half the podcast. But on top of that, our email forwarding broke again! We can nail down that it was from Jan 6 – 11. If you emailed us during that time, all we can do is apologize, because those all vanished without a trace. Please, please send them again.

At CES: SVS announced their SB- and PB-3000 R|Evolution subs, and the new 3000 Micro R|Evolution that will come a bit later. They also announced their first R|Evolution SoundBar. Klipsch announced 2nd gen The Fives, The Sevens, and The Nines, plus the Reference Premiere III and Reference Signature Series. And Project Apollo is Klipsch’s high-end 2-ch prototype. Onkyo had new TX-RZ31, RZ51, RZ61 & RZ71 AV Receivers, and a return to Separates with the PR-RZ91 15-ch Pre-Pro and PA-RZ11 & RZ04 amplifiers.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

Tom shouldn’t be here. But he is. Last week’s back issues were bad.

00:06:05 – Tom’s TV Broke!

At least it happened early and is clearly under warranty.

00:10:09 – Broken Emails Again!

We are so sorry! But more emails vanished, and the only thing we can do is ask for you to send them to us again. If you emailed us last week from Jan 6 – 11, we didn’t get your email. Our website was briefly down, too. We think all of it is fixed now.

00:22:00 – Rob’s Personal Updates

Just been toying with some tech for the parents.

00:24:32 – What We Watched

Tom finished S.1 of Fallout, and continues watching St. Denis Medical. Rob watched Tron: Ares.

00:49:30 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Keegan for his PayPal donation, plus our 121 Patreon Patrons, including Ilango, as well as Yanick for alerting us when our website was down, Curt for helping us test our emails, and Ilango for sending Rob some money to put towards Dirac Live ART.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Daniel and James. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:52:31 – News: SVS 3000 R|Evolution Subs & SoundBar

SVS SB-3000 R|Evolution & PB-3000 R|Evolution will soon replace the original 3000 Series models. A 3000 Micro R|Evolution sub will come later. As will the R|Evolution SoundBar and R|Evolution SoundBar Max bundle: https://tinyurl.com/2s47rubx

01:04:01 – News: Klipsch & Onkyo

New Klipsch The Fives II, The Sevens II, and The Nines II. Plus new Reference Premiere III and Reference Signature Series home theater speakers, and 2-ch Project Apollo.

Onkyo TX-RZ31, RZ51, RZ61 & RZ71 AV Receivers. And a return to Separates with the PR-RZ91 15-ch Pre-Pro, and PA-RZ11 & RZ04 amplifiers: https://youtu.be/HwNXkF5MmfY

01:14:23 – Happy New Year, Lee Overstreet!

Lee joins Rob in Tom’s absence to answer this week’s questions. Naturally, we catch up a bit first.

01:21:24 – What Lee Watched

Lee dropped Netflix in favor of Apple TV, so he watched Pluribus, and Murderbot.

QUESTIONS:

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