HDTV and Home Theater Podcast
367 episodes - English - Latest episode: 1 day ago - ★★★★★ - 352 ratingsAll the HDTV and Home Theater news and info you need, without all the reading.
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Episodes
Podcast #917: IOGEAR Wireless 4K UHD
October 11, 2019 10:00One of the reasons Ara ended up buying his UST projector system is that he didn’t want to route new cables in his hard to reach crawl space. However, he may have reconsidered that decision had he known about the IOGEAR 4K UHD transmitter/receiver kit (MSRP $299.95).
Podcast #916: New Echo Devices
October 04, 2019 10:00Last week Amazon introduced a slew of new Echo based products. On today’s show we try to figure out when will Amazon take over the world!
Podcast #915: Fall TV 2019
September 27, 2019 10:00It's that time of year when baseball crowns a world champion and football dominates our weekends. But there is something else that we are happy about at the HDTV and Hometheater podcast… TV is out of reruns! Today we run down the Fall TV schedule from ABC, CBS, CW, Fox, and NBC.
Podcast #914: CEDIA 2019
September 20, 2019 10:00Last week more than 20,000 home tech pros and 500+ exhibitors convened in Denver for the 2019 CEDIA Expo. This week the HT Guys run down some of the cool product announcements that came out of the show.
Podcast #913: Robert Spivack of DoItForMe.Solutions
September 13, 2019 10:00This week we have an interview with Robert Spivack owner of DoItForMe.Solutions.
Podcast #912: Make Your Family Love Your Smart Home and Filmmaker Mode
September 06, 2019 10:00This week we take a look at what it takes to make your family love the Smart Home you created and what Hollywood directors are doing to make sure you watch their movies the way they intended.
Podcast #911: Hacking a Sonos Speaker, Best Wifi Speakers, and Samsung entering the OLED game
August 30, 2019 07:00This week we take a look at taking apart a $99 powered Ikea Sonos speaker and transplanting it into any speaker you want. No allen wrenches are required. Then we take a look at the Best Wifi speakers of 2019 and finally we discuss Samsung entering the OLED market.
Podcast #910: What happened to the HTPC?
August 23, 2019 10:00When we first started doing the podcast many many years ago, the Home Theater PC was a thing. DIYers built them from scratch and others who were not so technically inclined could buy fully built ready to go products from third party vendors. Xbox owners were lucky enough to have the Windows Media Center client built into their gaming consoles so they could leave the PC in an office and still have the HTPC experience in the family room.
Podcast #909: Sonos Company Profile
August 16, 2019 10:00Sonos was one of the first companies that sent our fledgling podcast equipment to review. We were just starting as were they. It made us feel like we were legitimate and could make a go of this podcast thing. Now almost a thousand podcasts later we are still going and so are they. One of us has grown exponentially and the other records a podcast every week! This week we are going to profile Sonos Inc. Much of this information comes directly from the Sonos website.
Podcast #908: Story Time
August 09, 2019 10:00Ara and Braden go back in time to talk about a then revolutionary communication protocol that they worked on.
Podcast #907: Sevenhugs Smart Remote Review
August 02, 2019 10:00We were asked by a listener to take a look at the Sevenhugs Smart Remote ($199 without contextual awareness and $299 with) a few weeks back. The makers of the remote call it “The world’s smartest and easiest to use remote control. Stop wrestling with remotes and apps and simplify how you control your entire home.” That’s quite a statement in a world that has plenty of smart remotes. The question is whether that is a true statement or not. There is a video that goes along with this review that...
Podcast #906: The 7 Best LED LCD TVs - Summer 2019 (RTINGS.com)
July 26, 2019 10:00The editors at RTINGS.com have just updated their Seven Best LED TVs for the Summer and we bring those to you. RTINGS.com is a great resource when you are looking to buy a new UHD TV. They have the most thorough reviews of any site on the Internet. All the TVs that we discuss come with an in depth review that can be found at the links below.
Podcast #905
July 19, 2019 10:00As we add more speakers to our home theaters our current AVRs may not have enough amplifiers to drive the system. A solution to this problem is a seperate amplifier. Power amplifiers have minimal functionality beyond driving speakers but they have quite a bit in the way of design to provide a clean signal to get the most out of your speakers.
Podcast #904: Dedicated Home Theater vs. Media-Friendly Living Room
July 12, 2019 10:00We saw this poll over at AVS Forum, Dedicated Home Theater vs. Media-Friendly Living Room and since we are going through this same analysis we thought it would be good to share the results and discuss the pros and cons of each.
Podcast #903: Are AVRs too complicated? And the Best Smart Plugs for 2019
July 05, 2019 10:00On this week’s show we discuss whether the new Ultra Short Throw projectors that Hisense is making are a viable replacement for large format LCD/OLED display. And are AVRs too complicated which accounts for the rise in sound bar sales. Finally we go through a list of the best Smart Plugs for 2019 as decided by CNET.
Podcast #902: Vizio P-Series Quantum X
June 28, 2019 10:00If you have been listening to the show for a while you would think there are only four TV manufacturers out there LG, Samsung, TCL, and Sony. Obviously there are many more but the aforementioned manufacturers dominate the news. Today we want to talk about a manufacturer that rose to be an extremely popular brand in the US but has been pretty quiet lately, Vizio.
Podcast #901: Samsung’s The Wall Luxury
June 21, 2019 10:00Samsung just announced their “Wall Luxery” display technology will be available in July of this year. Maybe they will announce a “Wall Economy” for mere mortals some day. We also discuss if Samsung Smart TVs are a security risk to your network and is it worth studios time and money to give old movies the 4K Treatment?
Podcast #900: Five Items Every Home Theater Needs that Cost Less than $500
June 14, 2019 13:00We love our home theaters and want to get the most out of them that we can. This list is not about the actual AV parts, Display, Receiver, Speakers, etc, but more about things that will help you enjoy your home theater more.
Podcast #899: Cord Cutting, New TV Tech and Aereo Back from the Dead?
June 07, 2019 10:00This week we discuss the top five Cord Cutting Stories to watch for this Summer, look at a new TV technology and bring Aereo back from the dead.
Podcast #898: Thoughts on the State of Home Audio
May 31, 2019 10:00In a recent interview with TWICE Magazine Tom Summer of Yamaha shared some thoughts on the state of home audio. The following are excerpts from that interview.
Podcast #897: Email and News
May 24, 2019 10:00Braden is on travel this week so we have a short show for you this week. Email and News. Have a great weekend everyone!
Podcast #896: Best Overall 4K TV
May 17, 2019 10:00We get asked what’s the best TV I can buy from time to time and we always reply with, “That depends on what you want to use it for”. Few people have a specific purpose. Mainly it's for overall viewing. So when we ran across a page over at CNET that helps you select the best TV we thought it would be great to share it with all of our listeners.
Podcast #895: Sennheiser Momentum vs GoNovate Airo True Wireless Headphone Face-Off
May 10, 2019 13:48Recently my Bragi Dash Pro headphones broke which ended my love hate relationship with them. I loved how they were truly wireless, had great sound, and fit comfortably in my ear. I hated how the Bluetooth connection was flakey, the short battery life, and were really expensive. Granted they do far more than play music wirelessly. It could track your heart rate and was geared towards people who worked out.
Podcast #894: USB 4.0
May 03, 2019 10:00The USB Promoter group recently announced that the latest specification (4.0) will be released towards the latter part of the year which means USB 4.0 devices should be available at sometime in early 2021. Here is a quick rundown of what you can expect.
Podcast #893: Master Quality Authenticated - MQA
April 26, 2019 10:00We recently received an email from Scott in Pine Arizona asking us to talk about MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) audio. We’ll take a look at it from a 30,000 foot level in the hopes that you take a deeper look on your own.
Podcast #892: Is Amazon Listening to You?
April 19, 2019 10:00Today we are on travel but we pre-recorded a short conversation about an article over at Bloomberg that discusses Amazon employees listening to recordings of echo conversations. The conversations are then compared to what the echo thought was said. All in an effort to increase accuracy of the echo's voice recognition software.
Podcast #891: Interview with Gary Yacoubian of SVS
April 12, 2019 10:00Last week we told you about the new speakers that SVS introduced, the Prime Pinnacle ($799.99 each) and this week we asked Gary Yacoubian President of SVS to join us on the show to discuss what went into the design.
Podcast #890: Monoprice Monolith Cassette Series Smart Boombox
April 05, 2019 10:00Almost at the same time as when we started our podcast we discovered Monoprice. For us Monoprice was a company that built and sold high quality HDMI cables at a fraction of the price as big box retailers. They have come so far over the years to where they sell electronics, speakers and home automation products. But today we are super excited about their new high end product.
Podcast #889: AppleTV Plus, Channels, and Arcade
March 29, 2019 10:00This week Apple launched it's new TV streaming service called AppleTV Plus. The service features original content along with a redesigned AppleTV app. According to Apple the new service will be “the new home for the world’s most creative storytellers featuring exclusive original shows, movies and documentaries”. Apple will spend about $2 Billion initially
Podcast #888: Crutchfield Speaker Comparison Tool
March 22, 2019 10:00For years we have been saying that the only way to know how speakers will sound in your home is to listen them in your home. That isn’t always possible. Many online speakers companies do offer a no cost in home “Audition” of their speakers which truly allow you to hear what they will sound like in your environment. But even with that it's hard to A/B different sets of speakers. Perhaps you can have a few sets on hand and then swap out cables. But more than likely you will order a pair and if ...
Podcast #887: How are this Season’s New TV Shows Doing?
March 15, 2019 10:00Back in September we ran down the new network TV shows and we are sure you are wondering how they are doing! Well you are in luck. Today we’ll discuss how they have fared now that the season is about ⅔ complete. The renewal scorecards come from tvline.com
Podcast #886: Best Smart TVs for Streaming
March 08, 2019 11:01More and more people are streaming content these days. At one time it was a cool novelty but today it's how many of us get our television. Netflix and Amazon are at the forefront of 4K UHD content followed closely behind by Apple, Amazon, and Google. So with all this content out there you may be asking yourself which TV should buy that works best with streaming content.
Podcast #885: HDMI 2.1
March 01, 2019 11:00After reading Robert’s email we thought it might be a good idea to review the HDMI 2.1 specification will everyone. The following information and more is available at HDMI.org. HDMI® Specification 2.1 is the most recent update of the HDMI specification and supports a range of higher video resolutions and refresh rates including 8K60 and 4K120, and resolutions up to 10K. Dynamic HDR formats are also supported, and bandwidth capability is increased up to 48Gbps.
Podcast #884: Hollywood is Now Irrelevant
February 22, 2019 11:00“Hollywood is now irrelevant,” says IAC Chairman Barry Diller the former CEO of Paramount and Fox, talks about the diminished power of movie studios and why “Netflix has won this game. It was these six movie companies essentially were able to extend their hegemony into everything else. It didn’t matter that they started it. When it got big enough, they got to buy it. For the first time, they ain’t buying anything. Meaning they’re not buying Netflix. They are not buying Amazon.”.
Podcast #883: SVS Prime Wireless SoundBase
February 15, 2019 11:00Ever since Ara has begun building speakers he has been searching for ways to drive them. He has tried small desktop amplifiers with some real success. His current go to is the AudioEngine N22 (MSRP $199) desktop amplifier 40W a channel. That works great for most desktop and some booksehelf setups. If you wanted to go wireless you had to add the Audio Engine B1 (MSRP $189) Bluetooth receiver. This did add AptX, including AptX HD support which allowed for high quality listening. The cost of th...
Podcast #882: Bluetooth 5.1 and the Smart Home
February 08, 2019 11:00Today we discuss the new Bluetooth 5.1 specification and how it could impact your smart home. We look at the top ten global TV brands and the reasons why some have not yet bought into the Smart Speaker craze.
Podcast #881: Interview with the Owners of Creative Sound Solutions
February 01, 2019 11:00Ara recently purchased a DIY Speaker kit (Model P215 $439) from Creative Sound Solutions because he has heard a lot of great things about the company and products. He reached out to Dan Poinsett and Kerry Armes the owners of Creative Sound Solutions and they agreed to come on the show and talk about their company and DIY speaker kits.
Podcast #880: Netflix Audience Numbers
January 25, 2019 11:00Netflix audience numbers have been a mystery for some time now. World wide Netflix has 130 million subscribers but what and how much they are watching have never been disclosed by the streaming service. In a letter to shareholders Netflix has revealed some of its audience numbers and plans for 2019. We present and discuss this letter on today’s show.
Podcast #879: QLED vs OLED vs LED
January 18, 2019 11:00The Super Bowl is right around the corner and that is a time when many Americans buy new TVs. Right now there are three competing technologies (QLED, OLED, and LED) readily available for purchase. With the help of RTINGS.com we try to help you make an informed decision.
Podcast #878: CES 2019
January 11, 2019 11:00CES (Consumer Electronics Show) is the world's gathering place for all those who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. It has served as the proving ground for innovators and breakthrough technologies for 50 years - the global stage where next-generation innovations are introduced to the marketplace. Owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), it attracts the world's business leaders and pioneering thinkers.
Podcast #877: Predictions for 2019
January 04, 2019 11:00Time for the HT Guys to look into our crystal ball and try and predict the HDTV and Home Theater landscape for 2019. Our crystal ball isn’t as clear as a good HDTV but we faithfully give it another shot nonetheless.
Podcast #876: Prediction Review for 2018
December 28, 2018 09:00Wow. Another year in the books. And another year of stellar prediction results! With that it's time to see how we did with our 2018 predictions. If you’re feeling nostalgic, the predictions are from Episode 825.
Podcast #875: Amazing Last Minute Home Theater Gift Ideas
December 21, 2018 09:00It's just a few days until Christmas and you have a home theater lover in your circle that you haven’t been able to find a gift for. We “The HT Guys” have you covered. We have a list of items that you can go out and buy from, gasp, a physical store! Yes you’ll have to go battle the crowds but with our list it will be easy! All gifts can be had for less than $100.
Podcast #874: Ultimate Home Theater in a Box for 2018
December 14, 2018 09:00Each year we design a Home Theater setup that is considerably better than a typical home theater in a box. We have seen complete setups for less than $500 from manufacturers like Sony and Panasonic that quite frankly do not sound good. While our system costs more than a name brand HTIB your satisfaction will be dramatically more. Plus we include EVERYTHING you need to actually setup a home theater. Minimum components for our system are an HDTV, a receiver, a means to get content (streaming b...
Podcast #873: HDTV Buying Guide 2018
December 07, 2018 09:00Tis the season for us to go shopping and to continue to help you spend your money - one of our favorite times of the year. If you or anyone in your life is looking for a new UHD TV this Christmas, but still aren’t sure which one to buy, we’ve got you covered. We each pick two TVs and one ‘money is no object’ / ‘dare to dream’ TV for you to consider.
Podcast #872: Receiver Buying Guide 2018
November 30, 2018 09:00This week starts our annual shopping spree where we get to spend your money on new products for your home theater. We’ll start the spree with receivers. As always, our goal is to maximize the value for your dollar, so we aren’t necessarily concerned about getting the latest product or the latest features. It's about getting a good product at a great price so you may even see some of last year’s gear on the list. All these receivers are readily available online or at a big box store. We each p...
Podcast #871: Giving Thanks 2018
November 22, 2018 09:00Each year at this time of year we do a show where we discuss what we are thankful for. There are the obvious things to be thankful for like our families, especially our wives who put up with our home theater obsessions. And of course we are thankful for you, the listener/reader of our show. So as is tradition over the last many Thanksgivings, on today's show we give you our list of consumer electronics things we are thankful for.
Podcast #870: Black Friday 2018
November 16, 2018 09:00The older we get, the more things seem to sneak up on us, even though we know we should be expecting them. It happened again; Black Friday is already here. Just like all the years we’ve talked about it, there are some exceptional deals to be had. The question is where to you put your focus. If you’re going to wait in line somewhere, where is the right place to maximize your reward for that time?
Podcast #869: SiliconDust Streaming TV Service
November 09, 2018 09:00We recently read a news story about a TV streaming service from SilconDust, makers of the HDHomerun a device that allows you to take your over the air TV signal and broadcast it over your network to mobile devices as well as set top boxes like the AppleTV.
Podcast #868: 2018 TV Shows, So Far
November 02, 2018 08:00To find out which shows were the most popular this year so far, Nielsen estimated the average number of US viewers tuning in to regularly scheduled programming. ABC's massive success with "Roseanne," along with CBS' high ratings across numerous shows on this list, demonstrates how broadcast networks remain the heavyweights in overall viewership — even in the age of streaming. Here are the 10 most popular TV shows of 2018 so far, according to Nielsen's ratings.