Welcome to Thankful: Across the Podcast-Verse!

This is our 4th annual multi-podcast, 6-man crossover event with Tom, Rob & Lee from AV Rant Podcast, Andrew from AV Gadgets, DJ from the Bright Side Home Theater Podcast, and this year we’re joined by one of DJ’s co-hosts, John C!

We’ll start by introducing John C. to our audience and hear all about what’s in John’s Home Theater. Then we chat about what we’re thankful for in 2023, both hardware and experience-wise. And we wrap things up with a look forward to what we’re each anticipating for our own home theaters in 2024!

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Tom had to call in sick this week. So Lee Overstreet is here to pinch hit.

Six James Cameron movies are getting Collector’s Edition Ultra HD Blu-ray releases. Portrait Displays has a new, affordable C7 HDR Colorimeter that’s accurate up to 10,000 nits, and new Calman bundles, too. Sonos fixed their Arc and Beam Atmos SoundBar problem. And NVidia Shield TV Pro is getting Auro-3D output.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjB4eV7

00:00:00 – Intro

00:06:38 – What We Watched

Lee recommends https://www.youtube.com/@EverydayAstronaut

Rob started Invincible S.2, and watched Blue Beetle.

00:19:12 – Thanksgiving Crossover Podcast

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tom, Rob, Lee, Andrew from AV Gadgets, and DJ & John from Bright Side Home Theater Podcast got together for our annual Home Theater Podcast Crossover Event! (Link Coming Thanksgiving Day)

00:20:07 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 134 Patreon Patrons.

And we appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Vince, Brandon, Sasi, J. Karl, Mohsen, Trevor, Allen, and Greg. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:24:49 – News: 6 James Cameron 4K Blu-rays

Collector’s Edition Ultra HD Blu-rays of Titanic, Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water, The Abyss, True Lies, and Aliens have all been announced with release dates: https://tinyurl.com/yzmyhnvm

00:28:23 – News: C7 HDR Colorimeter

Portrait Displays has a new, more advanced, more affordable colorimeter along with Calman software bundles: https://tinyurl.com/4tmde727

00:34:21 – News: Sonos Atmos SoundBar Fix

Sonos Arc & Beam SoundBars were making an incredibly loud bang with certain Atmos signals. They’ve fixed it: https://tinyurl.com/bdnj67vw

00:36:29 – News: NVidia Shield Getting Auro-3D

The newest update will add Auro-3D output to the NVidia Shield TV Pro: https://tinyurl.com/ydrkbwcr

Comments:

00:39:23 – Comment: Tyler – Silver Ticket Customer Service

Not just great prices, Silver Ticket provided great service, too!

QUESTIONS:

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Oh boy did we have lots of technical problems this week! No video of either of us. And a slightly awkward edit near the beginning. But we’re still here to answer your home theater questions!

SAG-AFTRA has a tentative agreement, ending the actors’ strike. The Abyss: Special Edition has been remastered in 4K and will be shown in theaters for one night only. 3D movies showed up in the Apple TV App with a Vision Pro logo. Creative Aurvana Ace wireless earphones use xMEMS solid state drivers for the treble. And Warner Bros’ “Coyote vs Acme” was shelved by David Zaslav for a tax write-off, but still might see the light of day somewhere.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjB3m6n

00:00:00 – Intro

00:07:04 – What We Watched

Rob finished Loki S.2. Tom rewatched Spider-Man: Far From Home, and went out to see Hollywood’s Golden Age by the Florida Orchestra. And we both saw The Marvels!

00:32:54 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Tyler for his PayPal donation, plus our 134 Patreon Patrons, including Jared and Bertrand, as well as Casey for talking us up to SVS.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Geoff, Jay, Julian, Jared, Casey, and Bertrand. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:36:22 – News: SAG-AFTRA Reaches Tentative Agreement

The actors’ strike has ended, but a new 3-year contract still needs to be ratified: https://tinyurl.com/hdk3mtac

00:39:02 – News: The Abyss: Special Edition

Remastered in 4K, and coming to theaters for one night only: https://tinyurl.com/47ej8wua

00:40:58 – News: 3D Movies for Apple Vision Pro

19 3D movie titles showed up in the Apple TV App with a Vision Pro logo: https://tinyurl.com/c9kyy3fu

00:43:29 – News: Creative Aurvana Ace MEMS Earphones

Creative Aurvana Ace and Ace 2 wireless earphones use xMEMS solid state drivers for the treble: https://tinyurl.com/mr8hptpt

00:49:12 – News: Coyote vs. Acme Shelved and Shopped

Warner Bros. Discovery was going to completely shelve their Looney Toons movie for a tax write-off. But now they might license it out: https://tinyurl.com/5y299jry

Comments:

00:54:22 – Comment: Casey – SVS Above and Beyond

Out of warranty, but SVS sent a replacement amp anyway.

QUESTIONS:

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SVS is running a Black Friday sale, and this year, it includes most of their current speakers and subwoofers. Amazon, Peacock, Max, YouTube, and Apple TV+ are all increasing prices and/or inserting more ads. And Disney fully owns Hulu now. Also, sorry for the multiple dog barks and unplanned interruptions this week!

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjB2xQx

00:00:00 – Intro

Check out Rob’s appearance during DJ’s 24 Hours of Home Theater marathon live stream: https://www.youtube.com/live/L33l-OxBxpA?si=Er-oGbdOtof2F4fs&t=13497

00:04:56 – What We Watched

Rob is enjoying this rather unusual NHL hockey season, finished Star Trek: Lower Decks S.4, and is keeping up with Loki S.2.

Tom rewatched Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and is making his way through Welcome to Wrexham.

00:23:45 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 134 Patreon Patrons.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Chad, Jared, Craig, Mike, and Rohan. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:26:44 – News: SVS Black Friday Sale

For the first time, most of SVS’s current speaker and subwoofer models are on sale: https://www.svsound.com/collections/black-friday-sale

00:32:10 – News: Streaming Price Hike Roundup

– Amazon Prime Video introducing ads: https://tinyurl.com/y9c8x2tt

– 4K Netflix is $23 now: https://tinyurl.com/bdf94psy

– Peacock, Max & Hulu show ads when you pause: https://tinyurl.com/3pdt2epw

– YouTube hates ad-blockers: https://tinyurl.com/4krvse7r

– YouTube Premium costs more: https://tinyurl.com/3y27xj9u

– Max has new tiers: https://tinyurl.com/kuu7v5yd

– Apple TV+ is $10 now: https://tinyurl.com/5bf4chsm

– Disney fully owns Hulu: https://tinyurl.com/a93j9hz6

Comments:

00:41:43 – Comment: Craig – Rhino Quadio in DTS

A correction that Rhino Records’ Quad albums are in DTS-HD MA.

00:47:42 – Comment: Will – View Bitrates on Apple TV

Jaremy over at Techthusiasm explains how to use a Mac with XCode to unlock Apple TV’s Developer menu: https://youtu.be/mIcJmPIInjQ

00:51:45 – Comment: Chris – Simply Speakers Fix

A DIY foam surround replacement kit came with excellent instructions: https://www.simplyspeakers.com/

00:57:10 – Comment: Rohan – Harmony Activity Glitch

A strange audio dropout seems to all be the fault of a Harmony Activity command.

QUESTIONS:

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The transition to UHD television broadcasts is going slowly, but France intends to make it happen by 2029. MEMS are solid state devices that are manufactured like semiconductor chips and vibrate in response to an electrical current, and they’re here to transform our earphones and cooling fans.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjB1z5r

00:00:00 – Intro

00:05:26 – What We Watched

Rob watched The Mummy (2017), and Amsterdam. Tom takes a tangent to update us on his house repairs, and then talks about having finished Star Wars Rebels.

00:31:11 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Tyler for his PayPal donation, plus our 136 Patreon Patrons, as well as Zach for telling SVS we recommended them, Michael for talking us up to the owner of RSL Speakers, and Vince and Jonathan for alerting us when there was a problem with our audio-only version last week.

Thanks also to Julian 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: Tyler, Zach, Michael, Julian, and Parker. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:38:32 – News: France’s 2029 UHD TV Broadcast Transition

The 2024 Olympics will be broadcast in UHD, and by 2029, France intends to turn off the HD versions: https://tinyurl.com/3w3fed9p

00:41:48 – News: MEMS for Earphones & Cooling Fans

Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems are solid state and manufactured like semiconductor chips, but they can vibrate the air, and that means exciting new advancements for:

– Solid State Earphones: https://tinyurl.com/yckwtzut

– Solid State Frore AirJet Cooling Chips: https://tinyurl.com/36dfyhmb

Comments:

00:56:02 – Comment: Tyler – Free-Standing Projection Screen

Great success using clothing rack poles and pole-mounted VESA brackets.

00:59:29 – Comment: Julian: Fewer Speakers, Better Outcome

Following our advice worked out! Repositioned Surround speakers and a speaker removal improved immersion.

QUESTIONS:

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