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A podcast for and about HDTV and Home THeater Primary Format : Blogs Language : English Also Listed as: City : Tustin State/Province : CA Country : USA Region : NA User Tags: User Votes: RSS Feed Website People found this Podcast Searching for: View this Podcast on a Google Map. Podcast iTunes Link Text Only listing of HDTV Podcast Podcasts Methings.com listings of HDTV Podcast Podcasts If you like this podcast, you might also like:

Podcast #531: Quantum Dot Display Technology OLED TVs may have stolen the show at CES 2012, but just when you think it’s safe to be an early adopter and pick one up, you might want to hold off. There’s a new display technology on the horizon that backers claim will not only outperform OLED, but also be cheaper to manufacture. And it has a much cooler name - it’s called Quantum Dot display or QLED. And if that doesn’t sound like you’re living in the future, we don’t know what does. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #530: Harman Kardon AVR 2650 Ever since we saw (or better yet heard) our first demo of Dolby Volume we couldn't wait to find a reason to upgrade one of our receivers with this capability. That's going on four years now! So when Ara's Yamaha "Broke" he thought what better excuse to buy a receiver with Dolby Volume. The receiver he settled on was the Harman Kardon 2650. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #529: Google Drive and Outdoor Theater Screens Until recently, it felt like the weather was changing here in Southern California. We clicked over to daylight savings time; we had a few days of nice, sunny BBQ weather and it felt like the season of backyard movies was upon us. Since then it's gotten a bit gloomy again, but we always like to be prepared, so we've put together a list of screen options for you if you finally want to make the jump into outdoor cinema. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #528: Mohu Leaf Plus Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna We reviewed the Mohu Leaf Indoor HDTV Antenna back in July (Podcast #489) and thought it was the best indoor HDTV antenna we have ever tested. We’re here to tell you that is no longer the case. Enter the Mohu Leaf Plus Amplified Indoor Antenna (Buy Now $73.99). The Plus retains everything we loved about the original and adds amplification to help you pull in more channels. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #527: The Hopper by Dish Sometimes it’s OK to arrive fashionably late. It doesn’t always matter when you arrive to the party, what matters is what you bring with you when you get there. Dish Network has proven that waiting can pay off. Their recent entry into whole home DVR, the Hopper, brings some pretty cool features to the party. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #526: Audioengine A5+ Premium Powered Speakers We love looking for speakers that make whole house audio simple and provide high quality sound. There are plenty of choices out there, but few can fill a large room with sound and deep bass all from a package that measures 10.75" (27cm) x 7" (18cm) x 7.75" (20cm). We are talking about the Audioengine A5+ (Buy Now $399) powered speakers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #525: Acer H6500 DLP projector When we started the podcast back in 2005, CRT projectors dominated home theater. As great as they looked, they were big, expensive and required routine maintenance to keep them in top form. Today there are a wide variety of digital options that are both inexpensive and very easy to install and maintain. One option for those interested in trying out a 100” or 120” TV in their home theater is the Acer H6500 DLP projector. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol - Blu-ray Review #24 Super-agent Ethan Hunt dangles from skyscrapers and otherwise takes daring to new heights on another operation from the Impossible Missions Force. Helping Hunt get the job done is droll fellow IMF agent Luther Stickel. (Buy Now $21.99) Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #524: Eden, Amazon and the Ultimate AVR This week we are going to design the AVR of the future. This is a group effort! We will provide you with initial specifications and we would like you to add features that would make our new AVR the Ultimate AVR. Now we just need someone to build it. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Young Adult - Blu-ray Review #23 Taken aback when she receives a letter from an old boyfriend announcing that he's just had a baby with his wife, divorced fiction writer Mavis Gary decides to return to her small hometown and reconnect with her former lover. (Buy Now $24.99) Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #523: Google Play We promised more Android coverage, so here you go, our take on Google Play. If you’re familiar with iTunes and iCloud from Apple, you’re probably pretty familiar with the concept behind Google Play. Of course, Google would like to think it’s a new idea, according to the official site... "Now your favorite music, books, movies, apps, and games are all in one place that's accessible from the Web and any Android device. Discover, buy and share like never before." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Adventures of Tintin - Blu-ray Review #22 Blockbuster filmmakers Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson team up for this 3-D motion capture adaptation of Georges Remi's classic comic strip, centered around the adventures of fearless young journalist Tintin (Jamie Bell) and his trusty dog, Snowy. (Buy Now $27.99) Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #522: Crystal LED HDTV Technology It was pretty clear that the OLED TVs demonstrated by LG and Samsung stole the show at the last Consumer Electronics Show we went to. We were really impressed by the color, contrast and sharpness of the picture. Check out this video we shot in the Samsung booth (Samsung Super OLED HDTV). However, there are some issues that need to be resolved before we see mainstream OLED HDTVs in sizes that we would want in our living rooms. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Immortals - Blu-ray Review #21 In Ancient Greece, King Hyperion searches for a powerful weapon that will free the bloodthirsty Titans and enable them to overpower the gods and enslave mankind. Unable to interfere directly, the gods choose a champion to defend them: Theseus. (Buy Now $22.99) Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #521: Simple.TV - A DVR for a Connected World We were recently asked what DVR we would recommend for someone who wanted to cut the cord or simply connect a standalone DVR without paying additional fees to their cable or satellite company. We struggled to find anything we could enthusiastically recommend. But we had overlooked this year’s Best of CES Home Theater Winner: Simple.TV. At $149 it seems to fit the bill exactly. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Footloose - Blu-ray Review #20 This musical remake of the infectious 1984 hit finds dance-lovin', big-city kid Ren MacCormack stuck in a small town where dancing is illegal. As he rebels against the town and its influential Rev. Moore, Ren falls for the pastor's lovely daughter. (Buy Now $21.99) Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #520: Wireless Surround Speakers We receive emails from time to time asking us for advice on wireless surround speakers. When we first started the podcast there weren't too many options available and today we have plenty. The early wireless solutions had noise issues and today the noise has been dramatically reduced. On today's show we will talk about some of the options out there to help you bring surround sound to areas where running cables may not be possible. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Tower Heist - Blu-ray Review #19 When a group of workers at a ritzy Manhattan condo realize their boss has swindled them out of their pensions, they vow to reap their own justice. With the cooperation of the building manager, the group devises an ingenious plot to recover the funds. (Buy Now $20.49) Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #519: Skifta - May your stuff be with you. The concept of 'cutting the cord' is more than just dropping cable or satellite to get rid of a monthly bill. It’s also about the freedom and convenience of being able to access whatever content you want, whenever you want it, and on whatever device you’d like to play it back on. As smartphones and tablets continue to proliferate, we can only assume they’ll play a big role in that new world. Qualcomm hopes Skifta can help get you there. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website True Grit (1969) - Blu-ray Review #18 John Wayne landed one of his last great screen roles as crusty lawman Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn, who reluctantly helps teenager Mattie Ross (Kim Darby) pursue her father's killer. True Grit is more a character study than many of Wayne's formulaic Westerns. The rousing final showdown between Wayne and the villains adds to the Duke's long list of outstanding movie moments. (Buy Now $14.99) Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #518: Cord Cutting - A Financial Analysis Cord cutting has been in the news quite a bit lately.  A week doesn’t go by when we don’t receive an email from a listener telling us about how they have cut the cord and couldn’t be happier. Every email prompts us to consider a life without cable bills but inevitably there is something that keeps us from taking the plunge. A recent email from Van in Odenton Maryland got us thinking. Could we combine OTA with a Tivo Box and iTunes and a AppleTV and essentially ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #517: What is OLED and why do we care? One of the big hits at CES this year were the Samsung and LG OLED displays. Sure we’ve seen OLED TVs in the past, but they were 55” screens this year, and they looked great. But why all the hype? Why do we even see references to AMOLED in cell phone commercials? Is OLED really that big of a deal? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Drive - Blu-ray Review #17 A Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a getaway driver is lured from his isolated life by a lovely neighbor and her young son. His newfound peace is shattered, however, when her violent husband is released from prison. (Buy Now $19.99) Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #516: Listeners Respond There are many times when we ask our listeners for their opinions on topics we discus on the show. On last week’s show we asked you what you thoughts were on two subjects, How you would improve the Harmony Remote and would you pay $25 for day and date VOD titles. Since we received so many responses we thought we’d take a bit more time to share and discuss your emails as our main feature for today’s show. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Dolphin Tale - Blu-ray Review #16 A badly maimed juvenile dolphin is given a new tail, and a new life, through the efforts of the humans who save it in this true-life adventure saga. After losing its tail to a crab trap, the dolphin is doomed until a young boy spots its plight. (Buy Now $22.99)   Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #515: Pioneer Elite N-30 Networked Audio Player The HT Guys love music and when a product comes along that lets us enjoy it, we want to take a look. The Pioneer N-30 is just such a device. It's a networked device that lets you listen to your favorite music whether it's on a computer, iPad, or on one of over a thousand Internet radio stations from around the world. The N-30 will have a MSRP of $499 when it becomes available. At the time of this writing we could not find it available from the usual outlets. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Real Steel - Blu-ray Review #15 In a future world where flesh-and-blood boxers have been replaced by towering mechanized fighters, pugilist-turned-promoter Charlie Kenton reconnects with his estranged son, Max, to convert a discarded machine into a World Robot Boxing contender. (Buy Now $24.99) Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #514: CES 2012: Part 2 It's never enough to just talk about CES, we have to put eyes on all the goodies for ourselves. This year we did a whirlwind, one day, Vegas and back, Consumer Electronics Show supertrip. We hit the show on the final day and it was awesome. All the technology was the same, the TVs didn't look any different than they did on Monday, but all the crowds had left and there were almost no lines for any of the demos. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Moneyball - Blu-ray Review #14 An all-star cast brings to life the true story of Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), a former jock turned general manager who uses unconventional methods to bring the best players to the Oakland A's, a major league baseball team struggling against financial hardship. (Buy Now $19.99) Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #513: CES 2012: Part I It's that time of the year again, time to pack up and head out to Vegas, baby, Vegas for another Consumer Electronics Show. CES always has something fun and memorable in store for us, and we're sure 2012 won't be any different. We haven't actually left yet, so for this show we're telling you about what we've heard.  Next week, on Part II, we'll tell you about what we've seen. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Contagion - Blu-ray Review #13 Soon after her return from a business trip to Hong Kong, Beth Emhoff dies from what is a flu or some other type of infection. Her young son dies later the same day. Her husband Mitch however seems immune. Thus begins the spread of a deadly infection. For doctors and administrators at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, several days pass before anyone realizes the extent or gravity of this new infection. They must first identify the type of virus in question and then find a means of combat ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #512: What's Hot Right Now (2012 Time Capsule) We often look back at the technologies and prices of years gone by with shock and amazement.  Instead of simply trying to remember what things were like “back then” we thought it might make sense to put together a snapshot of the current HDTV landscape we can refer back to in the future. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #511: HDTV and Home Theater Predictions for 2012 2011 was in some ways a wild year for HDTV and home theater, but in many other ways, fairly uneventful. We didn’t fare so well in our 2011 predictions, so we’re back this year with a vengeance. A lot of thought, research and soul searching went into these and we’re really hoping for a better than 50% score this year. Without further ado, the HT Guys HDTV and home theater predictions for 2012. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #510: HT Guys 2011 Prediction Results Every year in late December or early January we look into our crystal ball to see what the coming year will bring in the way of HDTV and Home Theater. Each year we struggle to get a score of 50%, and in many years we fall way short. So let’s take a look at 2011 and see how we did. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Cowboys & Aliens - Blu-ray Review #12 It’s 1873 when gunslinger Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) awakens in the Arizona desert with no memory of his past and a mysterious metal shackle encircling his wrist.  Stumbling into the nearby town of Absolution, Lonergan discovers a tightly closed community that takes its orders from the iron-fisted Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford) — and Dolarhyde has a bone to pick with Lonergan. But the colonel’s influence wanes when the desolate city is attacked by monster ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #509: Home Theater "In a Box" 2011 As you know, we typically are not big fans of Home Theater in a Box (HTIB) systems. In years past we've decided to put our own "box" systems together, complete with TV, Blu-ray player and the audio system as well. Last year we had a $10,000 system and a $5,000 system. This year, with prices going the way they have, we decided to be even tougher on ourselves and try to produce a complete system for $1,500 or less. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Rise of the Planet of the Apes - Blu-ray Review #11 James Franco headlines the reboot of the immensely popular Planet of the Apes franchise, a prequel which boasts cutting-edge CGI effects and a gripping story set in modern-day San Francisco, where scientists are conducting genetic research on apes. The evolved primates, including Caesar (Andy Serkis), develop advanced intelligence and revolt against being used as lab rats, unleashing a war for dominion over Earth. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #508: Home Theater Projector Buying Guide This is our first time doing it, and we’ll admit, it presents some unique challenges, but we did it anyways. This is our first ever HT Guys Projector Buyer’s Guide. Of course no projector is complete on its own, it still needs a screen, and the screen plays a large role in how the projector will perform, but the same could be said of receivers and speakers as well. Instead of lumping them into cost categories, we just picked our fave 6 (couldn't use that other number due ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Hangover Part II - Blu-ray Review #10 In this booze and laugh soaked sequel to The Hangover, the buddies from the earlier film's bachelor party reunite for a wedding trip to Thailand where one of them, Stu Price (Ed Helms), is planning to tie the knot. Stu is determined that his own pre-wedding party should be a restrained and dignified affair, but between the habits of his friends and the multiple distractions of Bangkok, fate has other plans in store for him. Buy Now $19.99 Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #507: HDTV Buying Guide If we didn’t spend enough of your money with the Receiver Buying Guide on Episode 505 and you still have some budget left, you’re in luck.  Today we’ll give you our choices for what HDTV to buy in several different price categories.  Of course screen size goes up as prices go up, just as you’d expect. And similar to the Receiver Buying Guide, this guide isn’t about getting the latest and greatest. Its about getting a good value for your money and ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website 3:10 To Yuma - Blu-ray Review #9 In this remake of the 1957 classic, Dan Evans agrees to transport the captured outlaw Ben Wade to the nearest town with a rail station, where they'll catch a ride to court in Yuma. But all the while, Wade's henchmen are plotting their next move. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Extra Edition #3 - Interview with Jim Carroll of Savant From time to time we will record special editions where we speak with people in the industry. Today we have a discussion with Jim Carroll of Savant. Jim is the Co-Founder and General Manager, Residential Business of Savant Systems LLC. He is responsible for leading sales, marketing, engineering, and operations for Savant. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #506: Calibration Corner Due to the Thanksgiving Holiday in the US we are taking a little time off. But we won’t leave you hanging, we have a Calibration Corner with Ray Coronado of SoCalHT.com. We’ll be tweeting up deals all weekend long. Follow us on twiiter @HDTVPodcast (Ara) @BradenRussell and @RodWilliams Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - Blu-ray Review #8 Cunningly clumsy Capt. Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) meets his match when mysterious beauty Angelica (Penélope Cruz) forces the pirate to join her in search of the Fountain of Youth in the fourth installment of the humorous and action-packed "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise. Sparrow tries to determine whether Angelica is friend or foe while the riotous adventure sets him aboard a vessel belonging to the fearsome pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane). Buy Now $24.99 Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #505: Black Friday 2011 and Receiver Buying Guide Its that time of year again where the HT Guys get to spend your money. We start of our buying guides with receivers. BTW, this guide is not necessarily about getting the latest product. Its about getting a good product at a great price so you may see some of last year’s gear on the list. All these receivers are readily available online or at a big box store. This year there are some fantastic deals to be had! Enjoy! Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 - Blu-ray Review #7 The final chapter begins as Harry, Ron, and Hermione continue their quest of finding and destroying the Dark Lord's three remaining Horcruxes, the magical items responsible for his immortality. But as the mystical Deathly Hallows are uncovered, and Voldemort finds out about their mission, the biggest battle begins and life as they know it will never be the same again. Buy Now $19.99 Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #504: New ways to watch TV Going way back in the history of watching TV at home, we all used to have antennas so we could watch over the air broadcasts.  Eventually Cable TV service emerged and changed the way we would get our favorite shows at home.  Then came Satellite, then IPTV and we were in heaven.  Fast forward a few years and prices for TV service have constantly skyrocketed, leading us all to become frustrated at the lack of options.  But there may be a way out. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Super 8 - blu-ray Review #6 During the summer of 1979, a group of friends witness a train crash and investigate subsequent unexplained events in their small town. Buy Now $24.99 Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #503: Dolby Transform Contest Winners and ZVOX Z-Base 580 Way back on Podcast #417 we reviewed the ZVOX 575 and at that time we felt it was a great solution for an apartment dweller, den, or a bedroom because its so dead simple to setup. Today we are taking a look at the latest in the ZVOX family, the Z-Base 580 (Buy Now $599). The 580 builds on the solid base of the 575 and adds some great new features. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Captain America - Blu-ray Review #5 Marvel launches another super franchise with this action-packed origin story, which follows Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) as he volunteers for a secret experiment during World War II. Transformed into a superhero named Captain America, Steve goes after the Axis. With his perfect physique and heightened reflexes -- and his sidekick, Bucky (Sebastian Stan) -- Steve battles the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving), a super soldier created by Italian fascists. Buy Now $24.99 Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #502: Optoma Neo-i DV20A Projector Review You’ve heard us talk about projectors with built-in DVD players before, typically in conjunction with a feature on backyard or outdoor theater. But who uses DVDs anymore? OK, bad joke, but to be fair, more and more people are storing movies and videos right on their smart phones, portable media players and tablets. If that’s you, and your phone happens to be an iPhone, or you happen to use an iPod, Optoma has built the Neo-i DV20A projector just for you. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Green Lantern - Blu-ray Review #4 Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds), a brash, talented test pilot, is chosen by an alien force of warriors to become their representative on Earth and use his new powers as the Green Lantern to promote order and justice before conflict destroys his world. Despite being the first human to wear the ring that bestows his abilities, Hal must combat villain Parallax. Fellow pilot Carol Ferris (Blake Lively) aids Hal in his quest to save the galaxy. Buy Now $28.99 Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #501: TV Reliability We recently read and discussed an article by the HD Guru about disposable TVs (Vizio Disposable HDTV Sellers: Do They Have Your Back?) and thought it might be a good idea to discuss TV reliability. Armed with this information you can decide whether its worth paying a bit more for a TV that will last longer than some of the cheaper “Disposable” brands. This information comes from Consumer Reports. They surveyed 209,000 readers between 2007 and 2011 to determine Brand Reliabil ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Horrible Bosses Blu-ray Review #3 Disgruntled buddies Nick (Jason Bateman), Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) and Dale (Charlie Day) can't leave their miserable jobs, so they cook up a creative strategy for eliminating each other's micromanaging and maniacal employers (Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrell, Kevin Spacey) instead in this crackpot comedy. Peculiar advice from con artist Motherf**ker Jones (Jamie Foxx) gets the scheme in motion, but the pals can't keep the wheels from flying off. Buy Now $24.99 Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #500: A Look Back at 500 Episodes of HDTV Talk It is hard to believe we've done 500 episodes of the HDTV and Home Theater Podcast.  So much has changed in the almost 7 years we've been doing this, and so much has stayed the same.  It's been a great time; we've enjoyed sharing it with our listeners and are looking forward to 500 more. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Fast Five Blu-ray Review #2 Vin Diesel and Paul Walker head up an all-star reunion of the explosive Fast franchise set in sultry Rio de Janeiro. Former cop Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) and his girlfriend Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster) bust Mia’s brother Dom (Vin Diesel) out of prison, blasting across South America to elude the authorities. Finding themselves backed into a corner in Brazil, they assemble an elite team of top racers to help pull off the one last job that could mean freedom for them all. But ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #499: ZyXEL 500 Mbps Powerline Ethernet Adapter It seems like every new home theater device wants a network or an Internet connection these days. Your TV wants to be connected, your Blu-ray player, even some receivers want to be online. Not to mention dedicated media players and gaming devices. If you don’t have a hard wired connection to your theater gear, you can usually try WiFi, but even good connections can be unreliable at times. That’s where a good Powerline adapter can make all the difference. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Transformers Blu-ray Review #1 A mysterious event from Earth’s past threatens to ignite a war so big that the TRANSFORMERS™ alone will not be able to save the planet. Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) and the AUTOBOTS™ must fight against the darkness to defend our world from the DECEPTICONS’™ all-consuming evil in the smash hit from director Michael Bay and executive producer Steven Spielberg. Buy Now $19.99 Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #498: Accell UltraCat HD Up until now the longest HDMI cable run the HT Guys were able to successfully transmit video across was 50 feet. Those cables were pretty thick and hard to snake through walls and attics. We've tried longer cables but had no luck beyond 50 feet. Thanks to Accell there is a product that will allow you to extend your HDMI up to about 330 feet. The UltraCat HD HDMI extender uses HDBaseT technology to send video over Cat5e/6 Ethernet cables.  You can even send IR signals over the sa ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #497: Optoma HD33 3D 1080p Projector One complaint we have about 3D is that it needs to be immersive if you are to appreciate the effect. Since most of us can’t afford 100 inch plasmas, a front projector is pretty much the only choice you have for this type of experience, albeit an expensive one. Enter the Optoma HD33 (Buy Now $1500). Its a 1080p DLP projector that supports 3D. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Netflix Special Ara is in India so we weren't able to discuss the Netflix news of the past week. But judging by the volume of the email its something that a lot of you wanted our take on. So from Ara's hotel room in Hyderbad and the HT Guys world headquarters in Southern California we give you our take in an HT Guys Special Podcast. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #496: ZyXEL AeroBeam Wireless HD Video Kit Through the years we’ve had the opportunity to check out several wireless audio, video and wireless HDMI systems. This week we’re adding one more option to your list of choices for wireless HDMI. If you’ve always wanted to use a front projector for huge home theater, but never wanted to cut up the ceiling to run cables, you’ll want to listen to this review. It’s the ZyXEL AeroBeam Wireless HD Video Kit (WHD6215). Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #495: JVC 47-inch BlackCrystal 120Hz LCD HDTV The HT Guys have been JVC fans for quite some time, dating back to CRT tube TVs in years gone by.  Braden has a JVC rear projection TV still in use in his home and Ara has a JVC projector in his theater.  When we got the chance to talk to Tom Paterniti, VP of Sales for JVC BlackCrystal TVs and also check out a brand new 47” BlackCrystal LCD for ourselves, we jumped at the opportunity. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #494: Reflections, Streaming Movies and IFA IFA is essentially the Consumer Electronics Show of Europe. It is held in Berlin Germany and is attended by most of the same companies that attend CES. Although we couldn’t attend this year. We have been eagerly eyeing press releases coming over from Germany. Here are a few that caught our attention. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #493: Step by Step DIY Home Automation Many of our listeners have lights on timers so that their homes look lived in when they are away or so they don’t come into a dark home. With the end of Summer and day light savings quickly approaching, we thought it would be a good idea to give you some step by step tips for home automation so you never have to reset your timers again! Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #492: Projectors and Mistakes Have you ever wondered what the biggest mistakes are that people make when buying a new HDTV?  Or perhaps you're looking for ideas for projectors to use in your home theater.  Forget that, you want to know how to get NFL Sunday Ticket on your PS3.  We've got all that and more on an action packed episode of the HDTV and Home Theater Podcast.  And for your reference, the answer is 22 minutes. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #491: Portable Media Streamers A trend that we have been following for a while now is portability of your media. In the future many believe that the cloud will house all our media and make it available to us everywhere we go. But until we have universal high speed access at low costs we will remain dependent on physical storage. The current crop of portable devices have at most 64GB of storage so often you have to compromise on what media you take with you. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #490: PlayLater by MediaMall Technologies Have you ever sat down to watch a TV Show or Movie at your favorite streaming site, only to find that what you wanted to watch is no longer available? Sure, maybe you saw it just yesterday, but for some reason it has disappeared now. If so, you’ll want to check out a new application called PlayLater by MediaMall Technologies, the makers of PlayOn. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #489: MOHU Paper Thin HDTV Antenna We’ve been talking about cutting the cord quite a bit lately.  One of the primary components required is a TV antenna so you can pick up all the free digital goodness flying through the airways. If you are those lucky enough to live within 30 miles of your TV Transmitters then we have discovered probably the best thing you’ll ever plug into your HDTV. Its the paper thin HDTV antenna made by MOHU and it goes for $44 (Buy Now) and its made in the USA. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #488: Painting Your Home Theater A couple weeks ago on Episode 485 we talked about how to paint your own home theater projector screen. That might not be something you plan to take on, but you might have to paint the walls in your home theater or main TV room. If you get that item on your todo list, we’ve got a few pointers to help maximize your effort for an optimal HDTV experience. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #487: Next Generation Audio We received a few emails of late asking why there are more Blu-ray titles being released with DTS-HD Master Audio vs Dolby True HD. So we thought we’d take a look at the formats and see if we could determine why. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #486: Smell-o-Vision and Streaming Movies For TV manufacturers, the HDTV transition was a huge success. We all went out and bought new televisions, some of us even bought more than one. So far, the push for 3D televisions hasn't been quite as successful. Most of us have decided to sit this one out. So what would it take to get us all to run out and buy a new TV? What if your TV could actually produce the smells you see on screen? That might be a more immersive experience than 3D. Of course, that's a power you don't want falling int ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #485: Painting Your Projector Screen For many, a true home theater is one that has a projector and screen. This type of setup can range in cost from a few thousand to tens of thousands or dollars. Most of the cost goes into the projector but a good percentage is also taken up by the screen. Ara’s Black Diamond II screen goes for about $2700 online. Today we are going to discuss a way to save as much as 95% on the cost of screen and still have a high quality experience. All you need is some specialized paint, elbow ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #484: The Next Next Big Thing It seems the Home Theater industry has a new “next big thing” every few months. We read articles and blog posts from authors who claim anything Apple releases will be the next big thing that will revolutionize something somewhere. Others think anything that comes out of Google will reshape the modern technology world. We’re going to go out on a limb and talk about something that doesn’t come from either company.  We know, we know …crazy. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #483: Over the Air TV Signals - Are They Still Needed? On the last two shows we discussed an initiative by the Consumer Electronics Association to eliminate over the air (OTA) broadcasts of television signals. In CEAs findings they stated that only 8% of the US population receives their signals through the air. We feel that this number is artificially stated as low. The survey polled 1,256 adults but it did not say where the respondents were located. If the survey was done in rural communities that number may be as high as 25%. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #482: The Best HDTV Widgets An HDTV Widget is an application that runs on an Internet-connected HDTV, sometimes called a “Smart TV” or other home-theater device, like many Blu-ray players, a Roku, the Boxee Box or a Google TV, that offers functionality beyond the traditional TV watching experience. There are a plethora of these widgets, some useful, some not so useful. We’ve assembled our list of the best, or most useful, HDTV Widgets available right now. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #481: 720p vs 1080p or More Compression vs Less Compression Last September Apple released the AppleTV 2 and one of the things people complained about was that it was only 720p. We have talked on this program many times that resolution is not the most important specification of a good display or projector. Especially when you talk screen sizes less than 50 inches. There is study after study that says MOST people need to sit six feet away from a 50 inch TV to see the difference between 720p and 1080p. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #480: What is RVU? DirecTV recently began testing what they’re calling a new “media center” that will allow customers to watch live and DVR recorded programming on any TV in the house without the need for a set-top box in each room. This new media center is built on a technology called RVU. But what exactly is RVU? There’s an RVU Alliance, but what do they do? What does “RVU” even mean? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #479: HDMI 1.5 Wish List When we bought our first devices that supported HDMI way back in 2006 the hot devices could handle the HDMI 1.1 specification. At that time the big deal was an AV receiver that would take next generation audio formats decoded on Blu-ray players and sent to a receiver that could accept PCM audio via HDMI. HDMI is still the only way to get next generation audio into a receiver. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #478: Optoma 3D Projector Package It’s hard to get the full effect of a 3D movie on a standard TV screen. There’s something about being in a movie theater, where the screen takes up the entire wall, that allows the 3D to really come to life. Trying to get that big screen, IMAX feel on a home TV can be challenging. But what if you could watch 3D at home on a giant projection screen? Would that make it worth making the jump into 3D? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #477: Panasonic DMP-BDT110 Blu-ray Player We have been doing this show for the past six years and have had an opportunity to review a lot of Blu-ray players. So when the Panasonic DMP-BDT110 (Buy Now $135) showed up on our doorstep we were pretty sure we knew what to expect from a sub $150 Blu-ray player. We were wrong! Panasonic has raised the bar for every player out there regardless of price. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #476: Costco Round-up 2011 The HT Guys and the HDTV and Home Theater Podcast celebrated a 6 year anniversary just a few weeks ago. Hitting a mark like that got us to reminisce about the good old days of HDTV. The days when CRT and rear projection sets dominated store shelves. The days before 3D, Blu-ray and 1080p. Back in those days, we used to occasionally visit our local Costco to see what deals we could find. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #475: Zediva and the Blu-ray Process Recently we were talking with an old friend of ours who works for a movie studio in the Blu-ray production facility. This got us thinking about what it takes to create a disc filled with all that high definition goodness. Today we are going to take a high level look at what is entailed in producing a Blu-ray disc. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #474: Mobile DTV According to the Open Mobile Video Coalition, Mobile Digital Television, or Mobile DTV, will be available in 71 million homes in the US in the next 12 months.  That equates to roughly two-thirds of all US households by this time next year.  With that almost instant market penetration, we’re bound to see some shifts in HDTV, home theater and certainly consumer electronics. Amazon Prime: Stream movies and save on shipping; you're bi-winning. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #473: Microvision ShowWX Plus Pico Projector Last year Braden and Ara added projectors to our respective media rooms. We have been absolutely thrilled with the experience. There really is nothing like watching a movie on a 100 inch plus screen. Lately we have been reading about smaller scale projectors - so small that they will fit in your pocket. They are commonly referred to as Pico Projectors. Pico Projectors are a class of projectors that can be held in your hand. About the size of a smart phone, they are ideal for travelers ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #472: Crossover Frequency We got a Twitter question from a listener about how to set the Crossover Frequency for his speakers and subwoofer, so we thought it might be worth while to explain the concept for everyone. For some this may be review, but if you’ve struggled with crossover, or have just left it set at the default because you didn’t know what to do with it, this is for you. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #471: Hannspree 42 inch 120Hz LCD HDTV Back when we started this podcast (six years ago on Thursday) we never dreamt of being able to purchase a 42 inch LCD for around $460. And if you could would it be any good? Today that dream has come true with the Hannspree ST42DMSB 42 inch 120Hz LCD HDTV. As you would expect with a 42 inch TV at this price point there aren’t a ton of bells and whistles. What you get is a solid basic HDTV that can be used in your main or secondary room without breaking the bank. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #470: Samsung BD-D6500 Blu-ray player There’s a lot of talk about streaming movies eventually taking over for conventional disc based media like DVD and Blu-ray. But we all know the quality just isn’t quite there yet to eliminate Blu-ray entirely. So what are you to do? Why not buy a Blu-ray player that also streams movies so you’re covered for both cases? If it also supports 3D, you’re triple covered. That’s what you get with the Samsung BD-D6500. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #469: B&W P5 Headphones Portable music players have been around since the 80’s. Back then it was the Walkman, today its an iPod or a cellphone. Regardless of what you use to listen to your music on the go you need headphones. And depending on the quality of how your music is encoded, headphones can have a major impact on what your hear. Today we are reviewing headphones that are designed with those who demand the highest quality sound in mind, the B&W P5 (Street Price $300) Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #468: Easy Home Theater Audio Tweaks It seems like there was a lot going on in the news this week, so we have a bunch of current events to cover - everything from iPad 2 to AllRovi.com.  Then we go over some tips from an article at Electronic House called Acoustics Matter: Easy Home Theater Audio Tweaks.  The article has some good ideas for how to get the most out of your home theater audio equipment and configuration. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #467: SRS iWow 3D and Amazon Instant Streaming This week Amazon announced that Amazon Prime members will get instant streaming of 5,000 movies and TV shows. We are big fans of Amazon Prime. You get free two day shipping on almost anything Amazon sells. But with free unlimited streaming of 5,000 movies its a no brainer...or is it? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #466: HSU Research Speakers Recently Braden started looking for some new speakers for his house. Recommendations came flooding in, but one that really intrigued us came from good friend Ray.  He suggested we check out what HSU Research has to offer.  We know they make great subs, but were unfamiliar with their speakers, so we decided to check them out. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #465: McTiVia Review In the traditional sense a computer connected to your TV is commonly referred to as a Home Theater PC or HTPC. This requires you to dedicate a computer connected to the TV or at least use a Media Extender device like an Xbox 360. On today’s show we look at a device that is part Media Extender and part HDMI extension cord.  We are talking about the McTiVia ($230 with shipping) and it works with both Windows and Macs. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #464: Pioneer VSX-1120-K Audio/Video Receiver We recently switched our go-to value receiver to the Pioneer VSX-820-K.  For under $300, it packs in a great deal of features.  But it also makes some sacrifices to get the cost down that low.  So for those who want to step up to a 7.1 receiver, we decided to check out the Pioneer VSX-1120-K.  Right now it’s just over $200 more at a street price of $535. Check out our sponsor TheaterInvite.com Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #463: Oppo BDP-93 Blu-ray Player Oppo has been around since 2004, about a year longer than the HT Guys. We’ve watched them go from a company that built high performance upconverting DVD players to one that builds high performance Blu Ray Players. Today we take a look at the latest in the Oppo lineage, the BDP-93. The player is all black with a brushed aluminum face. The fit and finish is first rate and looks great in our equipment stack. The BDP-93 has a MSRP of $499.99. Check out our sponsor TheaterInvite.com ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #462: Where are they now? Being at CES this year made us think back to the many booths we’ve visited and exhibits we’ve seen in prior years.  There have been major highlights in years past that seem to have faded into the sunset.  Some of the things we were excited about just a couple years ago were nowhere to be seen this year.  Where did they go? Check out our sponsor TheaterInvite.com Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #461: Panasonic TC-P58VT25 58" 3D 1080p VIERA Plasma HDTV Ara has been watching his Panasonic TC-P58VT25 58-inch 3D 1080p VIERA Plasma HDTV (Street Price $2500) for about a month and thought it would be a good time for a review. When Ara purchased the TV it was going for about $2700, now you can buy it for about $2500. Dolby Volume Contest Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #460: CES 2011 It's hard to believe that another year has gone by and we're back on our annual trek to Las Vegas to pay homage to the consumer electronics industry.  The Consumer Electronics Show is always a fun adventure, showcasing some of both the best and the most peculiar devices imaginable.  Last year we were bombarded with 3D; this year it was all about connected TVs and tablets. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #459: Predictions for 2011 It’s that time of year where we try to look into the future and predict the state of the industry. Last year we improved our accuracy a small fraction but we’re still hanging in around 30%. So let’s take another shot for 2011. Dolby Volume Contest Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #458: 2010 Prediction Results Each year we try to look into the future and predict the state of the industry. The last few years we have been about 30% accurate but that doesn't stop us from trying. Let’s take a look back at what we thought 2010 would bring to see how we did. Dolby Volume Contest Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #457: Home Theater "In a Box" Typically the HT Guys are not big fans of Home Theater in a Box (HTIB) systems but for today's show we are making an exception. But these are not your typical HTIB systems. We decided to create two "Special" (Air Quotes required) HTIB systems. Actually, these systems come in many boxes and the components don't even come from the same manufacturer. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #456: HDTV Buying Guide 2010 and Dolby Contest Winner Announced Our HDTV buying guide comes back by popular demand, just in time for Christmas. We’ll break them down by size again, which gets pretty close to breaking them down by price as well.  The 2010 edition shows that same falling price trend as years past, so you don’t have to feel guilty when you drop hints on what you “deserve” to see under the tree this year. Check out our sponsor TheaterInvite.com Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #455 Interview with Ray Coronado THX Certified Calibrator We often talk about professional calibration on our show and when Ray reached out to both of us to offer his assistance in calibrating our newly purchased projectors we thought it would be good to have Ray on our show. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #454: Receiver Buying Guide The HT Guys buying guides have become an annual tradition, and something that we really look forward to putting together.  We hope you enjoy this year’s edition! Dolby Ultimate Home Entertainment Contest   Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #453: Audioengine N22 Desktop Audio Amplifier & Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 8700UB Projector Just after Braden installed his front projection theater, we recorded Episode 441 to go over the finer details of the installation and strategy behind it.  Braden has an Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 8100 (Street Price $1650) in his home theater and he dreamed of it growing up to be an 8500UB.  For the last few days, it actually grew up to be the newer 8700UB just released by Epson.   Dolby Ultimate Home Entertainment Contest Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #452: Logitech Revue and Google TV We have talked in the past about the various options for streaming content to your TV and Google TV always emerges as one of those options.  In fact, we’re on record as saying that Google TV may even revolutionize the consumer electronics industry by becoming the base operating system TVs and Blu-ray players are built on.  When we got the opportunity to review the Logitech Revue, we jumped at the chance. Dolby Ultimate Home Entertainment Contest Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #451: Nixeus Fusion HD Review We love Media players! So when we we given the opportunity to review yet another player we took it. By the way, with so many players on the market it can become difficult to know all the players. Thanks to a cool spreadsheet that Veronica Belmont got started its a bit easier. Check out the Networked & Set Top Boxes Google spreadsheet. Its like a program for set top boxes! Dolby Ultimate Home Entertainment Contest Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #450: Networked & Set Top Box Master List Today we have a short interview with Veronica Belmont of Tekzilla. We talk about a Google Document she created, and handed over to everyone, that compiles a list of everything you want to know about almost every set top box out there. Dolby Ultimate Home Entertainment Contest  Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #449: Epson MovieMate 85HD We typically have some sort of backyard or outdoor theater discussion every summer when the weather is nice and we’d all like to take our movie watching to the great outdoors. We didn’t do one this year, but maybe that’s a good thing. Epson recently released the MovieMate 85HD, a perfect backyard theater projector. But it’s good for much more than just outside, so you can even use it during the rainy season. Dolby Ultimate Home Entertainment Contest Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Episode #6: AV After Dark Its been a while but now that Tom has settled in down under we thought it would be fun to bring you another installment of AV After Dark. You can find AV Rant at their website (AVRant.com). We really enjoy these collaborations and hope you do too. Thanks to listener Ted for both the Intro and Outro music. Check out more of his work at www.thesysmusic.com. You can find both the HT Guys and AV Rant iPhone app in the iTunes music store.   Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #448: Apple's Airplay Its no secret that we both love our whole house audio systems. Judging from the email we get its pretty clear our listeners like whole house audio as well. Braden uses the Logitech Squeezebox setup and I use Apple’s Airport Express. We tested and really like Sonos as well.  So when Apple introduced their latest sharing technology called Airplay, we were intrigued to see what it offers over existing technologies. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #447: Google TV and CEDIA Themes We talked a few weeks back on Episode 444 about the new product announcements from the 2010 CEDIA show in Atlanta.  CEPro magazine recently posted an article about the 10 things they learned from the show.  Their themes point out what could be some interesting trends for home theater over the coming months and years. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #446: Home Theater of the Future We’ve been doing this show for going on six years. During that period we’ve seen the Home Theater world go through a lot of changes. Technologies have been announced and have either  completely failed or never lived up to their potential. We’re looking at you SED, HD DVD, and MoCA. To be fair MoCA is the closest to being a reality but its taking a long time. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #445: brite-View Air SyncHD and Bye bye Blu-ray Netflix just launched their service in Canada, but they aren't planning to ship a single disc. The entire service is what we refer to as "Watch it Now" or their streaming video service. They're also on record as saying that if they were starting in the US right now, they'd do the same thing: skip discs entirely and go straight to streaming. Microsoft has recently also predicted that Blu-ray will go the way of the HD-DVD very soon (article). So what do these companies know that we ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #444: CEDIA 2010 Each year CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association) holds an event where the industry gathers to show off their wares. We’ve been to a few of these and actually enjoy the show more than CES. It takes the parts of CES that we are interested in and compresses it down to a more manageable show. We didn’t go this year but that won’t stop us from talking about some of the products we think are interesting. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #443: Cutting the cord with ivi.tv Although neither of us have actually taken the plunge, we’ve talked quite often about canceling the cable or satellite bill in favor of Internet video and over the air TV. We know several of you have given it a shot, but there’s always been one big hangup. What about live TV? A new website calledivi.tvwants to fill that gap.Check out our HT Guys Gear at our Cafe Press Store! Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #442: Home Automation for Beginners Over the last few months we highlighted Home Automation companies that were on the high end side. While these system are what we all dream of, almost all of us can’t afford them. However, there is no reason that we can’t have a fully functional home automation system without breaking the bank. When we read an article at Electronic House entitled Home Automation FAQs for Beginners we thought it would be a good idea to talk a bit about Home Automation for beginners. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #441: We can go bigger The term “Home Theater” has become pretty subjective. Years ago it meant exactly what it sounds like, and actual theater in your home. Typically reserved for only the super rich, it slowly grew more mainstream as prices fell and DIY solutions came to market. Eventually, the term has come to describe any home audio-visual setup that has surround sound and perhaps a larger than normal television. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #440: Vizio XVT553SV LCD HDTV Review With football season just around the corner you may be in the market for a new HDTV to watch your favorite team try and make it to the Superbowl. We’ve seen a few technologies come and go and each of them try to produce a picture that’s as good asplasma. The latest is LED. The Vizio XVT553SV will run you about $1900 for the 55 inch version and its loaded with all kinds of goodies that we can finally say that Plasma may have finally met its match. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #439: Fall 2010 TV Schedule Pat yourself on the back, we did it again.  We all made it through another Summer with nothing to watch on TV.  Whether you had stored up a bunch of shows on your DVR to get you through the dry season, or relied heavily on Netflix and Hulu, you made it.  And now it’s time to reap the reward.  Football is back, and in just a few short weeks all your favorite shows will be back on, and perhaps a few new ones will make it to your favorites list. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #438: Crestron In the continuation of our ongoing series on home automation we discuss Crestron.  Perhaps the biggest name in home automation, Crestron is the standard by which other automation products are measured.  Crestron solutions are found in the home, corporations, hospitals, education and more. Like other solutions, Crestron home automation packages give you control over your lighting, climate, and entertainment. Here is a little of what Crestron supports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #437: Onkyo TX-SR608 Review Ever since we talked about Dolby Pro Logic IIz and Audyssey DSX in Episode 425, we've had a strong desire to experience them for ourselves.  And what better excuse is there to buy a new receiver than 9.1 surround?  That brought us to the Onkyo TX-SR608 home theater receiver.  It's a 7.1 receiver that will do just about everything you want, and a little more. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #436: Are High End Audio/Video Retailers a Dying Breed? We all know someone who has to own the absolute best gear on the market. They don't care how much it costs. Whether its a receiver that "reproduces sounds that only dogs can hear" or its the guy who buys the most expensive video processor for his equally expensive projector, we all have stories of friends or acquaintances that match that description. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #435: Can Blu-ray pull it off? Blu-ray would like to supplant DVD and take over as the dominant video format in households all around the world.  We see the advantage from a pure quality perspective, but believe that costs have to line up for it to actually happen.  With so many forces pulling against it, can Blu-ray really become the successor to DVD? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #434: Life|ware Today as part of our ongoing series on home automation we discuss Life|ware.  Life|ware™ is software developed by Exceptional Innovation that allows you to seamlessly merge control of your home along with your world of digital entertainment. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Blu Ray Top Ten Countdown 07-12-2010 Our Semi Monthly countdown of the top ten Blu Ray titles as measured by Amazon.com. Today's show is based on sales as of Friday June 18th Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #433: Bye bye HDMI; Hello HDBaseT There’s been a lot of activity on the Internet recently around the new HDBaseT Alliance. Bottom line, they want to replace HDMI with standard Cat5e or Cat6 cables.  The group was launched in December 2009, but recently announced that LG Electronics, Samsung and Sony have thrown in their support.  This, along with a finalized spec, have moved the HDBaseT idea to the forefront of home theater news. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #432: Home Theater Acoustic Treatments We all want great sounding home theaters. We spend our hard earned cash on receivers, speakers, subwoofers and TV/Projectors but one area many of us overlook is the actual room acoustics. Bare floors and walls can ruin an experience by allowing sound waves to bounce off these surfaces and create audio distortions. The net result is the most expensive systems will not live up to their potential. Acoustic treatments can absorb the sound waves and prevent echoes, reverberation, and audio ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #431: Quartics, Insteon, X10, ZigBee and Z-Wave We've started to talk quite a bit lately about home automation.  Granted it isn't exactly an HDTV or Home Theater topic, but we think it fits quite well.  After all, most home theater installers also offer some form lighting control.  If you can add your own lighting, window covering and screen control to your home theater, it makes perfect sense. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Blu Ray Top Ten Countdown 06-21-2010 Our Semi Monthly countdown of the top ten Blu Ray titles as measured by Amazon.com. Today's show is based on sales as of Friday June 18th Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #430: Pioneer VSX-820-K Audio/Video Receiver Every Fall, just before Christmas, we do a receiver buying guide to help our audience decide on what to buy. Last Fall our value receiver was an Onkyo SR607 which sold for $320. After spending time with the Pioneer VSX-820-K ($280) we have a new king! The VSX-820-K is a 5.1 system that has 4 HDMI inputs and does next generation audio. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #429: TV Specs and Settings - Are they for real? There is a great article at Maximim PC by Dr. Raymond Soneira called "Display Myths Shattered: How Monitor & HDTV Companies Cook Their Specs."  We're going to distill it down to a few soundbites and add a little bit of HT Guys color commentary along the way.  But if you find the information interesting or useful, we would encourage you to read the full article. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Blu Ray Top Ten Countdown 06-07-2010 Our Semi Monthly countdown of the top ten Blu Ray titles as measured by Amazon.com. Today's show is based on sales as of Friday June 4th Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #428: Aperion Audio SLIMstage30 by Soundmatters The HT Guys love simplicity and sound bars are exactly that, simple to setup and use. Today we take a look at a new entrant into the field, the Aperion Audio SLIMstage 30 (Street Price $799). Sound bars are great solutions for small rooms, bedrooms, or dens. The SLIMstage 30 is sleek, compact, and when using the Bravus 8A subwoofer, a powerful sound system. If you already have a subwoofer you can save $200 by ordering the same system without the 8A. Each version comes with mounting b ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Episode #5: AV After Dark No technical difficulties this time so you have all three of us for the entire show! We talk a bit about TV past, present, and future. We have some ideas for what to get your home theater lovin father. Can you game Pandora? We talk about our voting strategies. Ara asks, "Is it OK to record the Pandora One Stream"? Best Buy and Tivo team up. Is that a good thing? Finally, we talk low cost receivers. Thanks for listening. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #427: brite-View Air HD Review A few weeks ago water damage in Braden's home forced him to remove the ceiling in his family room.  He took advantage of this "opportunity" to run some new cables to allow for the installation of a front projector.  Of course, one of the necessary cables in that endeavor was HDMI.  But not everyone wants to rip out their ceiling to run HDMI. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Blu Ray Top Ten Countdown 05-24-2010 Our Semi Monthly countdown of the top ten Blu Ray titles as measured by Amazon.com. Today's show is based on sales as of Friday May 7th Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #426: 2009 - 2010 TV Season Ratings Recap Each year in the middle of May the TV season wraps up here in the US. High Definition TV is a big part of our HD experience and from time to time we like to take the pulse of what Americans are watching. On today's show we want to recap the top 20 shows based on Nielson's rating system. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #425: Surround Sound - The New Formats We came across an article at Home Theater Magazine about the various 7.1 speaker configurations available today.  It got us thinking.  Do we take the standard 7.1 configuration: 3 in the front, 2 on the sides, 2 in the back, for granted?  If we could put the speakers anywhere we wanted to, where would they go? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Blu Ray Top Ten Countdown 05-10-2010 Our Semi Monthly countdown of the top ten Blu Ray titles as measured by Amazon.com. Today's show is based on sales as of Friday May 7th Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #424: Home Automation - Control4 Lately we have become big fans of home automation. While not exactly home theater, home automation is like a first cousin. Home automation is routinely used to control home theaters. After all who wouldn't want to press one button on a controller and have the lights dim, audio system turn on, and have the projector playing the latest movie off your video server? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #423: Home Theater Market Trends Every so often we like to take a look at the top sellers at Amazon.com in various Home Theater categories.  We use this information as a thermometer to roughly gauge the market as a whole.  At least that's what our crack market research team tells us we can do.  There are always some interesting tidbits of information that emerge. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Blu Ray Top Ten Countdown 04-26-2010 Our Semi Monthly countdown of the top ten Blu Ray titles as measured by Amazon.com. Today's show is based on sales as of Friday April 23rd Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #422: Sonos S5 Review We're big fans of being able to listen to your music in any and every room in your house. In the past that meant connecting your multi zone receiver to speakers placed throughout your house. Sonos makes the entire process a snap. Each Sonos S5 ZonePlayer is a 5 speaker system with an all digital design that produces high quality audio.  Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Episode #4: AV After Dark Braden's computer cut out early in the podcast so it's only Tom and Ara this time. Netflix weighs in heavily in this podcast with a bit on their migration to the Wii and how they've signed more deals that delay new releases. What does that mean for you now and what do Ara and Tom think that holds for the future? Ara has some suggestions on HD Camcorders. What is the real cost of 3D? How will they get you to buy? Would you shop at a Brick and Mortar Circuit City? Thanks for listening. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #421: Logitech Squeezebox Touch Review Sure it's the HDTV and Home Theater Podcast, but we like to dabble a little in the peripheral edges of home theater from time to time.  One such area is whole house audio.  Braden has a whole house system based on Logitech Squeezebox devices and their Squeezbox Server software.  Logitech recently released a new Squeezebox Touch player, so of course, we wanted to try it out. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Blu Ray Top Ten Countdown 04-12-2010 Our Semi Monthly countdown of the top ten Blu Ray titles as measured by Amazon.com. Today's show is based on sales as of Friday March 26th. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #420: iPad Review Everyone must be aware by now that Apple has released a new product called the iPad.  It's selling pretty well and, according to some, may become the next big thing in technology. We've had a chance to play with it for a while, so we'll give you our take on it. Our biggest question: How does it apply to the HDTV and Home Theater market?  There have big some huge fads in the past, and some have been huge duds.  We'll let you know if the iPad makes the grade. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #419: Dell Inspiron Zino HD By now you know that Ara has built himself a nice HTPC out of a Mac Mini. We've received a bunch of email asking us to define a similar system using a PC. There far more options using a PC than a Mac and they come in all shapes and sizes. Ara touted size and quiet operation as a major factor in his love of the Mac Mini. So when we saw that Dell had a box that was roughly the same size as a Mac Mini we ordered one and put it through its paces. The Dell Inspiron Zino HD we bought cost ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Blu Ray Top Ten Countdown 03-29-2010 Our Semi Monthly countdown of the top ten Blu Ray titles as measured by Amazon.com. Today's show is based on sales as of Friday March 26th.  Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #418: Front Projector Technologies We have to admit, we got a little giddy when we got an email from Jason asking us to go over the various technology options available for front projector home theaters.  With rear projection television fading into the sunset, we don't often get the opportunity to talk about the various merits of LCD, DLP, and LCoS projection technologies anymore.  It'll be like the good old days. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #417: ZVOX 575 Single-Cabinet Surround Sound System We understand that many of our listeners don't have the space for a full blown home theater system. However, those same listeners don't necessarily want to listen to their movies through the TVs tiny speakers. For them a single unit solution is what the doctor ordered. The ZVOX 575 (Buy Now $699) is such a system that takes all of 10 minutes to un-box and start enjoying fuller richer sound from your home theater. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Blu Ray Top Ten Countdown Our Semi Monthly countdown of the top ten Blu Ray titles as measured by Amazon.com. Today's show is based on sales as of Friday February 26th.  Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #416: Cryptography, DRM and You We talk about DRM quite often.  Technically it stands for Digital Rights Management, but we did have a listener recommend we try to change that to Digitally Restricted Media.  The point of DRM is to protect digital media files from piracy.  The actual result of DRM is a lot of frustration for those who just want to watch movies and listen to music. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #415: Switched Digital Video Last week Braden wrote that Cablevision is planning on rolling out network DVR (Cablevision To Roll Out RS-DVR In April) functionality in April. This technology has got us excited because it shows that Cable is pushing itself to compete with Satellite, FiOS and U-Verse. One area that cable still falls a little short when compared to these other services is the number of HD channels they offer. A new technology called Switched Digital Video is being deployed that will allow cable companies t ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #414: Wal-mart is buying Vudu Rumors surfaced earlier this week, but it has been confirmed by official press release that Wal-mart is planning to acquire Vudu, a pioneer in the instant movie service market.  Wal-mart has tried to get into the online video game once before.  Does this mean the death of what otherwise was a great technology, or is it a huge step in the right direction? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Episode #3: AV After Dark Welcome to the third installment of AV After Dark. This time they guys discuss the Olympics and how it differs from market to market. What sport are Ara and Tom fans of? You'll never guess (or maybe you will). Is there a future for OLED? What is Hulu doing right, what are they doing wrong? What about Netflix? They guys weigh in. Panasonic black levels are addressed as are recommendations for displays. Ara went to Mecca... we mean Macworld. Thanks for listening. You can find the AV Rant at t ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #413: HT Guys HDTV Recommendations We receive emails from listeners all the time asking us which HDTV we recommend. That list will vary depending on the use case and budget of the emailer. On today's show we'd like to tell you what our picks are for a typical use scenario for low to medium budgets. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #412: VIA: Vizio Internet Apps If you happened to watch the Super Bowl and paid attention to the commercials, there were some really good ones.  Bud light had a few, Doritos had a couple, but there also might have been a few that didn't make much sense to you.  One of those could have been the Vizio add for their newly refreshed Vizio Internet Apps offering. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #411: Aperion Audio Home Audio Link (HAL) Pretty much since we have been doing the HDTV and Home Theater Podcast we have had listeners ask us about wireless solutions. We have been pretty happy with products from Rocketfish™ and AudioEngine. Today we take a look at the Aperion Audio Home Audio Link (HAL) which will transmit high quality uncompressed audio up to 100 feet. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #410: The Details Behind 3D TV Far be it from us to stay away from the latest juicy new idea in home theater technology, 3D.  It's been all over the news and the blogs for a while, recently culminating with a huge display at CES.  Whether or not the technology actually catches on is a discussion for a different day.  Today we're going to talk about the technology behind it. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #409: LED TV Technology When we first started our podcast there were five competing technologies vying for your living room. Today its pretty much down to LCD and Plasma. Most would say LCD is running away with the market but Plasma is hanging in there. So what about LED? LED is not a new TV technology but rather a different way to light the LCD. A Liquid Crystal Display is a glass panel that works by controlling the opacity of segments of itself by varying the electrical signal. Each individual segment, called a ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Special Edition Podcast Interview with Clint DeBoer of AudioHolics. Discussion of Lexicon $3500 Blu Ray player It's an Oppo BDP-83. Normally we'd launch into a statement like this with more tact. We may, for example, wax eloquent about the Lexicon BD-30's beautiful chassis or it's billet aluminum front face. We could tell you about the heft of the unit, or the fact that comes double boxed with enough padding to warrant throwing it off the FedEx or UPS truck while it's still moving. While all of that is true, the L ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #408: CES Roundup We decided to once again make the trek out to Las Vegas to get our own impression of all the hype coming out of CES.  We didn't go last year, and we missed it a little, so we had to go this year.  By far the biggest theme of the show this year was 3D.  Some of what we saw was really good, some was really bad and of course some was just downright strange. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #407: Preview of CES 2010 We know its kind of late to be talking about what we expect to see at CES since there is only two days left of the show, but what the heck. Here we go! Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #406: Predictions for 2010 Each year we try to look into the future and predict the state of the industry. The last few years we have been about 30% accurate but that doesn't stop us from trying. With technology moving so fast its difficult to know where its going to end up in just one year but its still fun to try! Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Episode #2: AV After Dark Thanks for listening and everyone have a happy New Year. You can find AV Rant at www.avrant.com. We really enjoy these collaborations and hope you do too. Thanks to listener Ted for both the Intro and Outro music. Check out more of his work at www.thesysmusic.com. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #405: Listener Q & A Merry Christmas to all and to all another HDTV Podcast episode.  May your tree be full of gifts to help you enjoy HDTV and Home Theater even more this coming year and may your stocking overflow with great gadgets. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #404: 2009 Prediction Results Each year we try to predict what will happen in our industry and each year we usually miss the mark. On today's show we take a look back at our predictions for 2009. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #403: Last Minute Shopping Guide 2009 You know we're always looking out for you, so we've decided to revisit the last minute shopping guide we assembled last year.  We know you've been busy, and so have we, but if you screw up on the gift you get for special someone in your life, you'll be paying for it for a long, long time.  We do recognize that procrastination could be strategic, you need to make sure you get the absolute perfect gift, so we aren't trying to judge here.  Whatever the reason, if you still need ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #402: RedEye Remote Control and HTiB Buying Guide 2009 Typically we are not big fans of Home Theater in a Box (HTIB) systems. Its not because the electronics are not good. In most cases the electronics are decent middle of the road components. The area we feel HTIB systems break are the speakers. When you consider that the manufacturer needs to bundle 7 speakers in a system that goes for $500 how good can the speakers be? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #401: What we're thankful for '09 Thanksgiving is a time to, well, to give thanks.  So that's what we're going to do; give thanks for everything we have in our lives.  The things we're most thankful for: our families, our health, our friends, and our wonderful listeners, don't make good topics for a show about HDTV and Home Theater. So as is tradition over the last five Thanksgivings, on today's show we give you our list of consumer electronics things we are thankful for. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Episode #1: AV After Dark - Inaugural Edition Welcome to this inaugural edition of AV After Dark. This podcast is planned to be a once a month collaboration between the HT Guys and AV Rant. This month we discuss such burning topics as Windows 7 and how un-sucky it is (mostly). Why do Blu-ray players come with composite video cables? Braden has the answer. What is Managed Copy? I'm not sure any of us really knows. The Oppo-83SE - is it for you? Hint - No. Netflix via the PS3 - experiences. Is the Wii really worth it as an exercise devic ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #400: Black Friday Preview On today's show we will discuss the expected Black Friday deals we can all look forward to on the day after Thanksgiving. Last year the cheapest Blu Ray player was $128 and a  50 inch 720p plasma was going for $900. This year the cheapest Blu Ray player comes in at $78 and you can pick up a 50 inch 1080p plasma with a Blu Ray player for $1000. There are so many deals out there we can't talk about all of them. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #399: Receiver Buying Guide 2009 The HT Guys buying guides have become an annual tradition, and something that we really look forward to putting together.  Last week we covered TVs, this week we'll do A/V Receivers.  We'll break them down into price categories, just like last year, $500 or less, between $500 and $1000, and greater than $1000. It's become commonplace for receivers to support Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio, so we'll be looking for other features to distinguish each unit this time around. ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #398: HDTV Buying Guide 2009 It's time for our annual HDTV buying guide. Just like last year, we're listing them by size instead of technology. Prices have dropped quite a bit in just 12 months, and there are some really exciting deals available right now. This year the prices for tier one manufacturers are even more affordable. Without further ado, here is the list for 2009: Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #397: Logitech Squeezebox Radio Review On Episode 386 we got into the details of Ara's whole house music system based around Airport Express and iTunes.  Braden has a whole house audio system based on Logitech Squeezebox devices and their Squeezbox Server software.  Logitech let us play with a new Squeezebox Radio.  It's pretty cool. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #396: HD Fury 2 and Home Automation with Insteon As Daylight Savings time draws to a close those of us with lights on a timer need to do our bi-annual ritual of readjusting the settings so lights are on when it gets dark. This year Ara decided that he wanted to look into home automation so his lighting could be set once. He decided to go with an Insteon System starter package that included two lamp controllers, one appliance controller, a computer interface, access points for the mesh network, a remote control, and software. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #395: brite-View CinemaTube and Philips Prestigo SRU8008 We'll admit it, there are other companies that make remote controls.  We decided to try one this week.  The Prestigo 8008 is a cool remote with a color screen, but how does it stack up to the entry level Harmony 510?  Excellent question. And we had a chance this week to take a look at the CinemaTube from brite-View.  It's a network media player that supports full 1080p/60 video and Dolby Digital and DTS audio, so it's right up our alley.  After all, who wants to st ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #394: Zune HD All of us have a need to take our content on the road for one reason or another. There are plenty of devices that can do that for you. Anything from an iPod or a laptop to a portable media center. You can choose the ultra portability of an iPod but you'll give up video quality. If you want HD quality you can use a laptop or portable media center but those are a bit bigger and more difficult to drag around with you. Today we are taking a look at the ZuneHD. With the Zune you can have ultra ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Tom Andry of AV Rant Interview Ara had the opportunity to speak with Tom Andry of AV Rant.We hope you enjoy this bonus mid-week show! Save $10 on any order of $50 or more of Insteon Products at SmartHome. Use Checkout Code EHTGUYS. Offer good through 10/12. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #393: Harmony 700 Universal Remote Not content with what the HT Guys have declared the best universal remote on the market, Logitech continues to put out new Harmony Universal Remotes.  Of the two most recent models on the market, the Harmony 700 and the Harmony 900, we've had a chance to look at the 700.  It is the less expensive of the two, and can be found in retail stores and online for an MSRP of $150 US (Buy Now). Save $10 on any order of $50 or more of Insteon Products at SmartHome. Use Checkout Code EHTGUYS ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #392: Belkin Gigabit Powerline Ethernet Adapter With so many devices connecting to the Internet these days we like to see products like Powerline Ethernet adapters come to market. In general the technology has improved vastly since our first review back in 2006. At that time we reviewed a product that was rated at 85Mbps and we were lucky if we got 10 Mbps. So imagine our excitement when we heard about the Gigabit Adapter from Belkin (Model # F5D4076). Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #391: Denon Review, CEDIA 2009 Part 2 and Front vs. Rear Pro We received a great listener review of the Denon AVR-3310CI Home Theater Receiver, so we'll share that with you. We also found a slightly different take on this year's CEDIA show with a few more products to talk about. Then we dive into the ageless debate, what to buy: a Front or Rear Projector for your home theater. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast #390: CEDIA 2009 CEDIA stands for "Custom Electronics Design and Installation Association". Each year they have an expo where manufacturers show off there wares. This year the show is in Atlanta. While the HT Guys did not go we have friends who did attend. Listen to the show for some first hand reports from the show. In the mean time we run down some of the announcements that came out of the show. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Fall 2009 TV Schedule: Podcast #389 It's that time of year again.  The weather begins to cool, leaves start to change colors, Football is back and we get a bunch of new HDTV shows.  When we were kids we looked forward to Christmas and the first day of summer.  As adults, we look forward to the fall more than anything else.  Some of our favorite shows are coming back with new episodes and we get the opportunity to fill the DVR with brand new series to see what sticks. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Popular Options for Blu-ray Players: Podcast #388 Now that you can find Blu-ray players at Wal*Mart for less than $150 we thought it would be a good idea to present five slightly more expensive options that you may want to consider. Spending a little more can get you a more capable player that won't feel obsolete by Christmas. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Football, At Home or Away? Podcast #387 It's football season, and we're ready to watch a serious amount of football. For us, it's one of those things that you miss in the off season, but you don't really realize how much you miss it until it it's back. A recent San Diego Chargers pre-season game was blacked out because they didn't sell enough tickets. To see it live, you've have to attend, which isn't cheap. Is it worth it? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website DIY Whole House Music: Podcast #386 We talked last week about 7 tips for creating an entertaining whole-house audio system.  We talk this week about all the tools and technology you need to build your own.  Of course wireless is the easiest way to get there, we've got all the particulars to get you up and running. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HP MediaSmart Server LX195: Podcast #385 Imagine with me, if you will, a day when a small box no bigger than a standard dictionary will be able to hold as many pictures as you can ever take, as many songs as you could ever listen to and a ton of movies and video as well. That day has come, and HP calls it the MediaSmart Server LX195. We got a chance to play around with one, and really liked it. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Oppo BDP-83 Blu Ray Player: Podcast #384 It was in September of last year that we first got wind that Oppo was developing a Blu Ray player. Since then we have received a boatload of emails asking us when it would become available. The good news for those who have asked is the answer is it is available today! The BDP-83 can be found online for $499.99 and is available at the HT Guys store. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website How To, Home Theater Audio Connections: Podcast #383 Springboarding off a few listener questions, we get into the nitty gritty of audio codecs, DVD players, Blu-ray players, Receivers, you name it.  How do you get all those things to play nice together?  What happens if a Dolby Digital audio track on your DVD wants to run through your Receiver, but it wants DTS audio?  Turns out it isn't nearly as complicated as it sounds. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast Call In Show #6 Today we talk to listeners about: Klipsch vs Aperion Audio The state of HD in Australia Is there a HTPC expert in the house DirecTV Multi-Room DVR update SONY Webbie MHS-PM1 HD Camcorder Today's Show is brought to you by the OPPO BDP-83 Blu-ray Disc Player with SACD & DVD-Audio Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Predictions for 2009, Mid-Year Results: Podcast #382 Today we're giving ourselves a progress report, a midterm of sorts, on the 2009 predictions we made back in January. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Movie Download Roundup: Podcast #381 There are a few movie download services vying for a spot in your entertainment cabinet. They all have their pros and cons, so we thought we'd look at four of the big dogs to see how they stack up. We chose to look at services that offer both the movies and a piece of home theater equipment to watch them with. There a ton of other options if you want to connect a computer to your TV, but since most people aren't doing that, we've decided to omit them from the discussion. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #380 It's been almost a year since we first checked out the beta of PlayOn from MediaMall Technologies. Now there's some new beta functionality in PlayOn, so we've decided to do a little update. The new feature allows you to stream local media content to your connected players. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #379 An HD picture is only half of the Home Theater experience. To complete it you need a good sound system. On this show we routinely talk about receivers that cost $750 and more which frustrates many listeners who want advanced features without spending a ton of money. The Yamaha RX V565 may be the machine that some of you have been looking for. At $430 its not the most capable machine out there but for some it will be a major step up over what they currently have been listening to. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #378 Never a shortage of things to talk about, topics in this episode range from the best football movie of all time - and yes, we are talking about American football (although Goal! would have been up there if we weren't). We dive into projectors a little bit and talk about the new HD streaming service Epix. The show closes with a discussion of an article from Electronic House about how to tune your surround sound system. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #377 Some say that Plasma is dead but they forgot to tell Panasonic. Today we take a look at the G10 line of plasmas more specifically the TC-P54G10 54 inch THX Certified 1080p TV. From what we can tell, plasmas are not dead yet! At $1900 it the best bang for the buck flat panel on the market. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #376 It's almost become an annual tradition for us to do a feature on backyard HDTV for summertime. This time of year there isn't much to watch on TV, so we have concentrated mostly on movie setups. We'll expand the scope a little this year, and hopefully provide a little something for everyone. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #375 It seems like all of the HDTV shows we watch have ended for the season, so we're clearing out the divvers and watching alot of Netflix. While the world of HDTV may not be terribly exciting right now, we still have a ton of stuff to talk about. One of our favorites, 1080p, is back. We get into two-way communication and finish with HDMI 1.4. Enhancements in the new HDMI spec include Ethernet networking, audio return channel, 3D capability, improved performance and new connectors. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #374 The major networks have all finally released their fall TV line ups. We now know for sure what's coming back and what's been terminated. If you've been waiting and waiting to hear what will happen to your favorite shows, wait no longer. We have all the details. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #373 With the digital switch taking place right in the middle of Hurricane and Tornado season many of our listeners wonder what will replace the trusty old portable analog TV in emergencies.Apparently a lot of people have been thinking about this. In Amazon.com's list of popular TVs there are two portable digital models. So for today's show we thought we'd rundown your options. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast Call In Show #3 Today we talk to listeners about: The state of HD in New Zealand and South Africa - Streaming services may be ruining HD - U-Verse - Calibration - What will Home Theater be like in the year 2020 Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #372 The secret ingredient in any home theater is the right universal remote control. And it's no secret that our special blend involves a few different Harmony Remotes strategic placed throughout our homes. If you're still living without a universal remote control, still forcing friends and relatives to sort through multiple remotes just to do the simplest things, you owe it to yourself to spice it up a bit. Give it a try, you'll love it. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #371 If you listen to our show chances are you have a lot of media stored on your computer. Everything form mp3s to DVDs to family videos and pictures. It probably took you a while to take, scan, rip or download all this stuff and you certainly don't want to lose it since you probably can't recreate it all if you did. What we all need is a good backup strategy. One that works well and does not require much thought beyond the initial setup. That's where the Drobo comes in. The Drobo is a device t ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #370 Ara had a chance to speak with audio expert Kevin LaTour about speaker cables. Kevin presented the other side of the argument that says you really should spend more on your speaker wire. He explains why he believes it's worth it. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast Call In Show #2 We talk about shows on the bubble - Hollywood Reporter Online - Shipping a TV to Europe - Will it work with European Sources - Should you wait for Dolby Volume or buy receiver that decodes Dolby True HD? - DIRECTV referral offer upped to $100 Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #369 We got an email recently from a listener named William asking what we think about the future of the high end audio/video retailer. There's no doubt this economy has been rough, hitting both the specialty dealers and the big stores like Circuit City alike. Eventually the economy will rebound, we all know it works in cycles. But will the downturn have a permanent impact on the way we buy gear? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #368 Today we want to go over some of the news that came out of the recently concluded Cable Show. The show was held in Washington DC and ran from April 1st to April 3rd. The show drew record attendance this year with more than 12,000 attendees. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #367 It's annual income tax time here in the United States, and odds are quite a few of those listening will be getting a refund back from the government. If you haven't left things to the last minute, you may already know how much is coming back. If you have to pay this year, we're sorry for you. Better luck next year. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast Call In Show #1 We are trying an experiment. Today we did a call in show. If you like what you hear please let us know and we'll keep doing it. If not it was a fun experiment for us. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #366 Today we tackle some of the myths we have heard related to speaker wiring. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #365 One issue many of us come across when setting up our home theaters is that the TV would look great in a particular spot in the room that is not necessarily the best spot for the source equipment. The dilemma is how do you get the video to the TV or projector. Gefen has you covered in this case. Their new wireless HDMI adapter will transmit HDMI audio and video up to 30 feet using Ultra-Wideband technology. But that is going to come at a cost. For that capability Gefen is selling the WDHDMI ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #364 We first talked about using a Mac Mini as a video server way back in March of 2007. It has served us well now housing more than 150 movies, almost 1500 songs and podcasts, and dozens of HDTV that was recorded via the HD Homerun. Just over two years later we have upgraded one of our three Mac Minis with the latest offering from Cupertino. The version the HT Guys chose was the $799 model that comes with 2GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive. The older Minis did a good job with almost all the vide ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #363 Have you ever wondered how other guys get away with some of the home theater purchaes they make? It seems like they always have a creative way to either get the finance committee to authorize the purchase or to slip it past them like a magician. There's a great blog post from Elemental Designs Audio with some of the ways their customers have pulled off some rather large purchases. And when you think of the most influential inventions of the last 30 years, what would you put on that list? Th ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #362 If you have been listening to our show for a while you know that Braden would really like an a la carte sway to buy TV. It makes sense, why pay for 300 channels when in reality you only watch about 30 or 40. And really you probably only watch about 10 to 15 90% of the time. So the other day Ara missed an episode of Lost and was forced to watch it via the ABC website. After about 5 minutes of so called streaming HD video he got fed up and downloaded an HD version from iTunes. It cost $2.99 b ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #361 We get a handful of emails every week asking about Refresh Rates and Response Times: what are they? are they different? do I care? While refresh rate applies to any TV technology, response time is something an LCD buyer needs to know about. And with the rapid growth of LCD sales, it looks like just about everyone these days is an LCD buyer. So what do they mean and why do you care? We're glad you asked... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #360 Lots of content to cover in this episode. Of course there's news and email. We also have the monthly review of the top 20 shows on TV. The core of the show covers a couple articles that we thought were interesting. First off, is Blu-ray a rental format, or should you buy discs? And then a few cool, cheap home theater tips and tricks. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #359 We first mentioned the AirRemote application for the iPhone on Episode #286, noting that it should be coming soon and that it looked pretty cool. CE Pro recently posted a nice writeup about it. While we haven't tried it ourselves just yet, it does look like a very interesting concept. Although the power isn't just in using the iPhone to control your TV and Surround Sound receiver, it goes much deeper than that. Unfortunately we aren't quite there yet. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #358 With more products entering the marketplace that support network connectivity it has become important for you to have network access near your electronics. For many a wireless adapter is enough to do the trick. But if you want to stream HD content you need 802.11N which will work well in most cases. Wireless works well until you have interference from other electronics or a neighbor's wifi setup. So what can you do to install a secure hardwired network without crawling through attics and ri ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #357 From time to time we take a look at the top ten selling TVs at Amazon.com. This time we are not really going to list the TVs individually but will instead focus on the overall statistics about the TVs. They're pretty enlightening if you can trust them to really indicate trends in the retail TV landscape. The list is updated hourly, so we pulled the statistics from a particular point in time. We're assuming the top ten is fairly stable, at least from an overall trend breakdown and that the l ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #356 We got a ton of great feedback from our 1080p Projector Options show in January (Episode 349). For today we're reviewing the Mitsubishi HC6500 3LCD projector to make good on the promise we made in a bunch of emails to do more front projection content. Let's face it, projectors rock. Those with them know it and those of us who don't have them really wish we did. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #355 Each year Insight Media releases their CES Best Buzz awards to showcase some of the hottest items from CES. We expected to see a couple of the items that made the list, a few of the them surprised us and several made us really wish we'd been able to attend this year. Hopefully next year. We also went over some of the items in a resent article from Lifehacker about how to upgrade your home theater without spending much money. Some of the items on the list were pretty cool. Check it out. ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #354 If you have been listening to our show for a while you know that we have love the ability to watch TV or listen to music in any room in the house. So when we were given the chance to live with the HP TouchSmart PC we jumped at the chance. The TouchSmart PC is an extremely capable PC that will do your email, spreadsheets, and word processing. But for this review, we will strictly focus on the Multi Media Aspects of the computer. In fact, in our minds, this is a TV that also is a computer. ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #353 There's nothing better than a really good food fight, a close second is a really good technology battle. The Charlotte Observer's Eye on Electronics column recently featured point-counterpoint on some of the hottest technology debates of our time: Satellite vs. Cable, Wired or wireless networking, DSL vs. Cable high speed Internet, and a few more. All that and 5 Digital Television Transition Myths to wash it down. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #352 Although the US Government has opted to push the digital transition back a few months, we're still fairly confident that it will eventually happen. When it does, everyone receiving over the air television will still need a converter box if their TV doesn't have a built in digital tuner. Dish Network has three options available if you find yourself in that situation. We've had a chance to check out their DVR option, the DTVPal DVR. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #350 Here in the United States we use a technology standard called ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee) for digital, over-the-air (free-to-air) television broadcasts. Sometime this year, hopefully, we'll migrate all TV signals off of the legacy analog system and on to ATSC. Once that happens, we'll certainly need to be planning for the "next big thing." From what we can tell the ATSC is already moving on defining what will come next in high definition. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #350 We discuss reactions to an article on why people aren't watching HDTV and go over some of the cool HDTV techie facts for the 2009 Super Bowl. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #349 We get asked via email to spend more time talking about front projection setups. While the idea is something we're big fans of, and often drool over, neither of us have a front projector, and to be perfectly honest, neither does the vast majority of our audience. But that doesn't diminish the fact that a 110" screen comes a lot closer to being a true "theater in your home" than even a massive 65" TV does. But 65" is great, don't get us wrong. We drool over those, too. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #348 Its been a while since we reviewed an HDTV so for today's show we put the LG 47LG70 through its paces. This is a 120Hz 47 inch 1080p LCD TV that can easily be used as your primary TV. While it may be a bit too big for your bedroom it will fit nicely in most people's living rooms. The TV has a street price of about $1700 but you get a lot for the price. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #347 We've touched on Yahoo's platform for Internet connected television, sometimes called the Widget Engine, briefly in the past. One of the really big themes we saw come out of CES this year was streamed or Internet video content in the family room. What started as a hardcore geek experiment using Home Theater and Media Center PCs slowly grew into a legitimate consumer electronics phenomenon in 2008 with the help of products like Vudu, Apple TV and TiVO. We're now poised for an all out explosi ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #346 We mentioned in our CES roundup that Netbooks are fast becoming a popular class of personal computer. Their main use is for web browsing, email, and light general computing. Their main draw is cost and size when compared to a regular laptop. When Ara saw the new HP Mini Netbook in Costco he wondered if this device could be used as a portable media device. This feature will only concentrate on using this device in that capacity. This will not be a full review of the Netbook. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #346 We mentioned in our CES roundup that Netbooks are fast becoming a popular class of personal computer. Their main use is for web browsing, email, and light general computing. Their main draw is cost and size when compared to a regular laptop. When Ara saw the new HP Mini Netbook in Costco he wondered if this device could be used as a portable media device. This feature will only concentrate on using this device in that capacity. This will not be a full review of the Netbook. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #345 Second round of our overview of all the news and announcements from the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (CES 2009). Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #345 Second round of our overview of all the news and announcements from the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (CES 2009). Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #344 First round of our overview of all the news and announcements from the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (CES 2009). Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #344 First round of our overview of all the news and announcements from the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (CES 2009). Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #343 That's right, time has come again for us to make our annual trek to Las Vegas to see all that the world of Consumer Electronics has to offer. Some years we see some really great stuff. Other years we get home really tired with not much to show for it except a bunch of free giveaway junk. So here's our list of things we expect to see, or are at least really hoping for. If we see all of them, it'll be a home run. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #343 That's right, time has come again for us to make our annual trek to Las Vegas to see all that the world of Consumer Electronics has to offer. Some years we see some really great stuff. Other years we get home really tired with not much to show for it except a bunch of free giveaway junk. So here's our list of things we expect to see, or are at least really hoping for. If we see all of them, it'll be a home run. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #342 It's that time of year again. We try to predict the future, at least the future of HDTV and Home Theater. We'll try to stay away from the real obvious ones like TV prices will come down or Blu Ray players will be more affordable. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #342 It's that time of year again. We try to predict the future, at least the future of HDTV and Home Theater. We'll try to stay away from the real obvious ones like TV prices will come down or Blu Ray players will be more affordable. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #341 It's an awesome show to close out 2008. Ara had to fly solo because Braden lost his voice, but there's still a ton of great news, emails and articles to cover. The "Beware of the Dog House" video may be one of the instant classics for this year. You've got to check it out. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #340 Technology moves faster now than it ever has before. Things that were cutting edge just a year ago are almost antiques already. 2008 saw some really great and exciting things in the world of HDTV and Home Theater. Back in January we tried to predict what we thought would happen. Let's take a look at our predictions to see how we fared. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #340 Technology moves faster now than it ever has before. Things that were cutting edge just a year ago are almost antiques already. 2008 saw some really great and exciting things in the world of HDTV and Home Theater. Back in January we tried to predict what we thought would happen. Let's take a look at our predictions to see how we fared. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #339 It's almost Christmas and maybe you've been too busy watching LCD prices fall, trying to figure out the best time to grab one, and you forgot to pick up a gift for that special someone in your life. Or maybe you're just one of those crazy people who likes to do all their shopping last minute. Whatever your circumstance, we have some tips for you. These are gift suggestions for that special someone in your life. The person who maybe doesn't share your passion for all things Home Theater. ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #339 It's almost Christmas and maybe you've been too busy watching LCD prices fall, trying to figure out the best time to grab one, and you forgot to pick up a gift for that special someone in your life. Or maybe you're just one of those crazy people who likes to do all their shopping last minute. Whatever your circumstance, we have some tips for you. These are gift suggestions for that special someone in your life. The person who maybe doesn't share your passion for all things Home Theater. ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #338 We've talked about wanting to give our television providers the boot for the past two years now. In the end, at least for us, there is no way to eliminate them completely. This week while reading an article in Broadcasting and Cable entitled Web Sports Enters HD Arena we thought it would be a good idea to revisit the subject. For this study we looked at our viewing habits and tried to come up with online equivalents. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #338 We've talked about wanting to give our television providers the boot for the past two years now. In the end, at least for us, there is no way to eliminate them completely. This week while reading an article in Broadcasting and Cable entitled Web Sports Enters HD Arena we thought it would be a good idea to revisit the subject. For this study we looked at our viewing habits and tried to come up with online equivalents. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #337 Just when you might think that you have enough gadgets, you come across a new one that reminds you: you can never have enough cool stuff. We were lucky enough to get our hands on the "world's smallest HD camcorder," the Flip Video Mino HD. Not only was it a lot of fun to play with, it was very useful and extremely convenient. If you'd like to record some Holiday memories this year in true 720p high definition, or you need to find a cool, unique gift for the techie who has everything, the Mi ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #337 Just when you might think that you have enough gadgets, you come across a new one that reminds you: you can never have enough cool stuff. We were lucky enough to get our hands on the "world's smallest HD camcorder," the Flip Video Mino HD. Not only was it a lot of fun to play with, it was very useful and extremely convenient. If you'd like to record some Holiday memories this year in true 720p high definition, or you need to find a cool, unique gift for the techie who has everything, the Mi ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #336 Each year we put together an entire starter home theater system. This year we know money is tight so we assembled something that we feel will provide a great experience without breaking the bank. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #336 Each year we put together an entire starter home theater system. This year we know money is tight so we assembled something that we feel will provide a great experience without breaking the bank. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #335 We start off the main content in today's show talking about a couple of low cost options we found for recording your Holiday memories in High Definition. Then we move on to the 2008 edition of our annual Home Theater Receiver buying guide. Like last year, this year we have given you our HTIB and HDTV buying guide. Once again our series would not be complete without talking about the hub of your Home Theater, the Receiver. This year we have three categories, $500 or less, greater than $500 a ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #335 We start off the main content in today's show talking about a couple of low cost options we found for recording your Holiday memories in High Definition. Then we move on to the 2008 edition of our annual Home Theater Receiver buying guide. Like last year, this year we have given you our HTIB and HDTV buying guide. Once again our series would not be complete without talking about the hub of your Home Theater, the Receiver. This year we have three categories, $500 or less, greater than $500 a ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #334 Its time for our annual HDTV buying guide. This year we are listing them by size instead of technology. Last year's most expensive model was the Pioneer Elite Pro-150FD 60 inch plasma TV which came in at $7500. This year the same TV can be found online for less than $5000. Our most inexpensive TV was the Olevia 237T 37 inch LCD which came in at $765. This year the prices for tier one manufacturers are quite affordable. Without further ado, here is the list for 2008: Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #334 Its time for our annual HDTV buying guide. This year we are listing them by size instead of technology. Last year's most expensive model was the Pioneer Elite Pro-150FD 60 inch plasma TV which came in at $7500. This year the same TV can be found online for less than $5000. Our most inexpensive TV was the Olevia 237T 37 inch LCD which came in at $765. This year the prices for tier one manufacturers are quite affordable. Without further ado, here is the list for 2008: Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #333 We did this a couple years ago, and it's probably just as good an idea now as it was then. Being that many of you may have recently purchased your first HDTV at a great price on "Black Friday," we wanted to do a show that will help you decide on a Home Theater in a Box (HTIB) system that will bring the other half of the HD experience into your HD Theater. We list and briefly discuss 5 systems; all of which support Blu-ray - some even include it. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #333 We did this a couple years ago, and it's probably just as good an idea now as it was then. Being that many of you may have recently purchased your first HDTV at a great price on "Black Friday," we wanted to do a show that will help you decide on a Home Theater in a Box (HTIB) system that will bring the other half of the HD experience into your HD Theater. We list and briefly discuss 5 systems; all of which support Blu-ray - some even include it. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #332 Each year at this time we stop to give thanks for everything we have in our lives. Home electronics is pretty far down the list in the bigger picture. It goes without saying that we are thankful for our families, our health, our friends, and our wonderful listeners. With that said, there are a few things that we are thankful for in the home electronics area. As is tradition over the last four Thanksgivings, on today's show we give you our list of things we are thankful for. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #332 Each year at this time we stop to give thanks for everything we have in our lives. Home electronics is pretty far down the list in the bigger picture. It goes without saying that we are thankful for our families, our health, our friends, and our wonderful listeners. With that said, there are a few things that we are thankful for in the home electronics area. As is tradition over the last four Thanksgivings, on today's show we give you our list of things we are thankful for. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #331 There's never a bad reason to watch another Blu-ray movie, especially if that movie is about a Marvel comics hero. We've compiled lists in the past of our favorite DVDs to use to show off a home theater. It seems like just about every Blu-ray movie coming out these days can easily be added to the list - for sure the block-bluster movies from the big studios. Iron Man is no exception. If you're looking for a fun movie that looks and sounds great, look no further. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #331 There's never a bad reason to watch another Blu-ray movie, especially if that movie is about a Marvel comics hero. We've compiled lists in the past of our favorite DVDs to use to show off a home theater. It seems like just about every Blu-ray movie coming out these days can easily be added to the list - for sure the block-bluster movies from the big studios. Iron Man is no exception. If you're looking for a fun movie that looks and sounds great, look no further. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #330 On today's show we will discuss the expected Black Friday deals we can all look forward to on the day after Thanksgiving. We will also see how our predicitions we made back in September turned out. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #329 Every year the Consumer Electronics Association compiles Five Technology Trends to Watch. The full document is about 25 pages long, but it has some great information in it, so we went through it to pull out the highlights. The CEA claims that the "topics chosen this year by CEA market analysts cover a wide range of digital technologies that will impact the world." While they may not end world hunger or and end to war, we do agree that they are interesting trends that we all will want to kee ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #329 Every year the Consumer Electronics Association compiles Five Technology Trends to Watch. The full document is about 25 pages long, but it has some great information in it, so we went through it to pull out the highlights. The CEA claims that the "topics chosen this year by CEA market analysts cover a wide range of digital technologies that will impact the world." While they may not end world hunger or and end to war, we do agree that they are interesting trends that we all will want to kee ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #328 Today we take a look at the Western Digital WD TV HD Media player. The WD TV HD Media Player is a device about the size of an external hard drive that plays A/V content from USB storage media. The WD TV HD Media player is optimized for the WD "My Passport" line of hard drives but it will work with other USB devices. The player supports 1080p for content and menus navigation. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #328 Today we take a look at the Western Digital WD TV HD Media player. The WD TV HD Media Player is a device about the size of an external hard drive that plays A/V content from USB storage media. The WD TV HD Media player is optimized for the WD "My Passport" line of hard drives but it will work with other USB devices. The player supports 1080p for content and menus navigation. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #327 There are quite a few solutions on the market for wireless digital audio. When Logitech acquired Slim Devices a couple years ago, they jumped into the fray with the Squeezebox line of products. Logitech quickly turned out their own twist on the product line, the Squeezebox Duet. We've had one in the HT Guys lab for quite a while and recently got the chance to plug it in, power it on and give it a listen. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #327 There are quite a few solutions on the market for wireless digital audio. When Logitech acquired Slim Devices a couple years ago, they jumped into the fray with the Squeezebox line of products. Logitech quickly turned out their own twist on the product line, the Squeezebox Duet. We've had one in the HT Guys lab for quite a while and recently got the chance to plug it in, power it on and give it a listen. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #326 Ara got a chance to speak with Avner Ronen, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Boxee Inc. Boxee is billed as the open, connected, social media center for Mac OSX and Linux. It is a fork of the XBMC project that has taken the media center application in a new 'social networking' direction. Currently in a limited alpha release, big things are already happening and it's gaining a lot of traction. It's a fun piece of software and was a fun interview. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #326 Ara got a chance to speak with Avner Ronen, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Boxee Inc. Boxee is billed as the open, connected, social media center for Mac OSX and Linux. It is a fork of the XBMC project that has taken the media center application in a new 'social networking' direction. Currently in a limited alpha release, big things are already happening and it's gaining a lot of traction. It's a fun piece of software and was a fun interview. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #325 CE Pro magazine has put together another list of amazingly priced home electronics products. We're looking for ideas to put on our wish lists for Christmas, so we figured this list would be a good place to start. And Yahoo has a list of new TV shows that have either already been picked up for a whole season or are looking promising. So if you're wondering if that new show you've really gotten addicted to will be around in the springtime and beyond, you'll want to have a listen. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #325 CE Pro magazine has put together another list of amazingly priced home electronics products. We're looking for ideas to put on our wish lists for Christmas, so we figured this list would be a good place to start. And Yahoo has a list of new TV shows that have either already been picked up for a whole season or are looking promising. So if you're wondering if that new show you've really gotten addicted to will be around in the springtime and beyond, you'll want to have a listen. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #324 As the first Halloween with one High Definition movie disc format, we compiled a list of the ten best spooky movies on Blu-ray, just in case you don't have anything to do and want to watch something scary. But before we get too far on that, we also cover some recent reports about Blu-ray being a temporary format and not having that much life left. Who knows, maybe next year we'll give the list of the top ten high definition downloads for Halloween. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #324 As the first Halloween with one High Definition movie disc format, we compiled a list of the ten best spooky movies on Blu-ray, just in case you don't have anything to do and want to watch something scary. But before we get too far on that, we also cover some recent reports about Blu-ray being a temporary format and not having that much life left. Who knows, maybe next year we'll give the list of the top ten high definition downloads for Halloween. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #323 We've compile a few lists of some of the top selling items at Amazon.com. A few of the lists shocked us a little bit. Of course, we have an opinion on what they mean, and what we might see for the Holiday shopping season. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #323 We've compile a few lists of some of the top selling items at Amazon.com. A few of the lists shocked us a little bit. Of course, we have an opinion on what they mean, and what we might see for the Holiday shopping season. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #322 We've both seen the entire Indiana Jones Trilogy, so when Paramount said they were filming a fourth movie we both became very excited. Braden saw the movie in the theater and Ara waited for it to come out on Blu Ray. While this review is technical in nature, be fore warned, we may throw out a few spoilers.We talked about a Vudu's new HD Technology (HDX) back on Show #316. For those of you that did not hear that show, Vudu's HDX technology, according to Vudu, is a new video format that deliv ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #322 We've both seen the entire Indiana Jones Trilogy, so when Paramount said they were filming a fourth movie we both became very excited. Braden saw the movie in the theater and Ara waited for it to come out on Blu Ray. While this review is technical in nature, be fore warned, we may throw out a few spoilers.We talked about a Vudu's new HD Technology (HDX) back on Show #316. For those of you that did not hear that show, Vudu's HDX technology, according to Vudu, is a new video format that deliv ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #321 It's no secret we're into projects; we like to geek out every now and then to see what we can put together without breaking the bank. We've built our own MythTV server, assembled a Mac based video server and have messed around with whole house audio as well. Another project we've had in the back of our minds for years now is the infamous DIY Home Theater Projector project. As we started to do our research, a thought hit us. Would it be better to build a projector ourselves, or just pay ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #321 It's no secret we're into projects; we like to geek out every now and then to see what we can put together without breaking the bank. We've built our own MythTV server, assembled a Mac based video server and have messed around with whole house audio as well. Another project we've had in the back of our minds for years now is the infamous DIY Home Theater Projector project. As we started to do our research, a thought hit us. Would it be better to build a projector ourselves, or just pay ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #320 We first saw the Yamaha YSP-4000 Sound Projector in use at CES 2007. At that time we were quite impressed that a single unit could generate a 5.1 sound field. For those of you who are not familiar with what the Yamaha Sound Projector, it is single unit resembling an oversized center channel that decodes surround sound and generates multi-channel experience by bouncing sound waves off the walls in your room. The advantages are obvious, no running of speaker wire, easy placement of a single c ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #320 We first saw the Yamaha YSP-4000 Sound Projector in use at CES 2007. At that time we were quite impressed that a single unit could generate a 5.1 sound field. For those of you who are not familiar with what the Yamaha Sound Projector, it is single unit resembling an oversized center channel that decodes surround sound and generates multi-channel experience by bouncing sound waves off the walls in your room. The advantages are obvious, no running of speaker wire, easy placement of a single c ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #319 MediaMall has released a new version of PlayOn that now supports Netflix Watch Instantly streaming. This is the feature we've all been waiting for, so we had to check it out. Setup is simple, you just add your Netflix username and password and you're done. There's even a test button to make sure you typed your password correctly.For the last couple weeks, since we did Episode #315 complaining about the lack of good choices for DLNA servers, we've received a ton of recommendations and tri ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #319 MediaMall has released a new version of PlayOn that now supports Netflix Watch Instantly streaming. This is the feature we've all been waiting for, so we had to check it out. Setup is simple, you just add your Netflix username and password and you're done. There's even a test button to make sure you typed your password correctly.For the last couple weeks, since we did Episode #315 complaining about the lack of good choices for DLNA servers, we've received a ton of recommendations and tri ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #318 Apple recently released a firmware update for its AppleTV to add support for HD TV Shows. On today's show we talk about the update and our latest experience with the AppleTV. The latest firmware brings the version to 2.2 and, according to Apple, it promises to provide bug fixes, improve stability, and add a feature or two. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #318 Apple recently released a firmware update for its AppleTV to add support for HD TV Shows. On today's show we talk about the update and our latest experience with the AppleTV. The latest firmware brings the version to 2.2 and, according to Apple, it promises to provide bug fixes, improve stability, and add a feature or two. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #317 Amazon has an excellent write-up on four super slim HDTVs. They offer a glimpse into the future of what television may be like in a few years. Imagine what the family room or the home theater will look like when wireless HDMI removes the need to tether your TV to a set top box or a Bu-ray player. And it also removes the need to have your speakers wired to your receiver or amplifier. Couple that with a giant 60, 70 or even 80-inch flat panel TV only millimeters thick, mounted directly to ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #317 Amazon has an excellent write-up on four super slim HDTVs. They offer a glimpse into the future of what television may be like in a few years. Imagine what the family room or the home theater will look like when wireless HDMI removes the need to tether your TV to a set top box or a Bu-ray player. And it also removes the need to have your speakers wired to your receiver or amplifier. Couple that with a giant 60, 70 or even 80-inch flat panel TV only millimeters thick, mounted directly to ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #316 We reviewed the original Slingbox way back in 2005. Ara currently has two of them and has been able to watch TV from his hotel in Chicago, Denver, and Europe. But the main way the Slingbox is used in the Derderian family is to extend TV reception to any room in the house. While the Slingbox works well via the Internet it works really well on your local network. The issue with Internet usage is bandwidth. First, if your upstream bandwidth is limited it really doesn't matter how much downstre ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #316 We reviewed the original Slingbox way back in 2005. Ara currently has two of them and has been able to watch TV from his hotel in Chicago, Denver, and Europe. But the main way the Slingbox is used in the Derderian family is to extend TV reception to any room in the house. While the Slingbox works well via the Internet it works really well on your local network. The issue with Internet usage is bandwidth. First, if your upstream bandwidth is limited it really doesn't matter how much downstre ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #315 We've talked about DLNA, or Digital Living Network Alliance, several times before - on Episodes 264 and 161 both get into the nitty gritty on what it is and what it's for. Let's just cut it short and say that it's a way for consumer electronic devices to share media content. You've got DLNA servers that dish out content and DLNA players that play it back. There are a ton of great options out there for DLNA players, as well as a bunch of server options. While many of the players are top ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #315 We've talked about DLNA, or Digital Living Network Alliance, several times before - on Episodes 264 and 161 both get into the nitty gritty on what it is and what it's for. Let's just cut it short and say that it's a way for consumer electronic devices to share media content. You've got DLNA servers that dish out content and DLNA players that play it back. There are a ton of great options out there for DLNA players, as well as a bunch of server options. While many of the players are top ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #314 Dennis from Medina OH sent us a link to an article that ran down a list of Black Friday Predictions at BlackFriday @ GottaDeal.com. We want to do the same thing. The only rules we had were not to read the article prior to making our predictions. The article has predictions about computers, computer peripherals, GPS, and all things electronic. Our predictions will stay in the realm of HDTV and Home Theater. We also recently received an email asking us for a good solution to archive old fami ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #314 Dennis from Medina OH sent us a link to an article that ran down a list of Black Friday Predictions at BlackFriday @ GottaDeal.com. We want to do the same thing. The only rules we had were not to read the article prior to making our predictions. The article has predictions about computers, computer peripherals, GPS, and all things electronic. Our predictions will stay in the realm of HDTV and Home Theater. We also recently received an email asking us for a good solution to archive old fami ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #313 There's a lot of talk about the economy these days. Things are slowing down and people are trying more than ever to make their hard earned money work for them. We don't claim to be financial advisers or economic experts, we don't even play them on the Internet, but we do have a few options for those looking to enjoy HDTV while riding out a difficult economy. Because as we all know, some things in life are optional, Starbucks, Swedish massages, expensive creams and lotions ... but HDTV is ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #312 We have a listener review of the ps3toothfairy and a bunch of cool gadgets for your home theater or home theater-centric lifestyle. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #312 We have a listener review of the ps3toothfairy and a bunch of cool gadgets for your home theater or home theater-centric lifestyle. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #311 We had to do it. When we reviewed the HD-DVD version of Transformers back in October of 2007 (Episode #216) it was, at the time, one of the best, if not the best, home movie experiences we had ever had. The video was flawless and the audio was amazing - straight 10's across the board. So now that the Blu-ray version is out, is it even better? Is there anything it could do to improve the experience? But first, are we ready for the digital cut-over? They ran a test in Wilmington NC and ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #311 We had to do it. When we reviewed the HD-DVD version of Transformers back in October of 2007 (Episode #216) it was, at the time, one of the best, if not the best, home movie experiences we had ever had. The video was flawless and the audio was amazing - straight 10's across the board. So now that the Blu-ray version is out, is it even better? Is there anything it could do to improve the experience? But first, are we ready for the digital cut-over? They ran a test in Wilmington NC and ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #310 Lately when we have been talking about VOD we have been talking abut AppleTV or Vudu. After going to CEDIA last week and visiting with DirecTV and Dish Network we decided to see what improvements both companies have implemented in their respective products. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #310 Lately when we have been talking about VOD we have been talking abut AppleTV or Vudu. After going to CEDIA last week and visiting with DirecTV and Dish Network we decided to see what improvements both companies have implemented in their respective products. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #309 CEDIA 2008 Round-up, Day 2: Samsung, Sony (again), Mitsubishi, Blu-ray, Yamaha, Audessey, much, much more! Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #309 CEDIA 2008 Round-up, Day 2: Samsung, Sony (again), Mitsubishi, Blu-ray, Yamaha, Audessey, much, much more! Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #308 CEDIA 2008 Round-up, Day 1: Universal, Panasonic, Dolby, Sony, Blu-ray, Niveus, Tivo, much, much more! Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #308 CEDIA 2008 Round-up, Day 1: Universal, Panasonic, Dolby, Sony, Blu-ray, Niveus, Tivo, much, much more! Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #307 It was a hot topic in the inbox last week, and we promised to check it out. So keeping to our word, we spent some quality time with the PlayOn Beta from MediaMall Technologies. MediaMall is all about allowing set top boxes to access Internet video. PlayOn is the consumer software version of that technology. In short, it's really cool; well worth installing if you have a windows computer and a PS3, Xbox 360 or HP MediaSmart TV. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #307 It was a hot topic in the inbox last week, and we promised to check it out. So keeping to our word, we spent some quality time with the PlayOn Beta from MediaMall Technologies. MediaMall is all about allowing set top boxes to access Internet video. PlayOn is the consumer software version of that technology. In short, it's really cool; well worth installing if you have a windows computer and a PS3, Xbox 360 or HP MediaSmart TV. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #306 Each year since we've been doing this show we tale a look at the Fall TV season and try to pick shows that we'd like to watch. Back in 2006 when we first starting doing this, a good number of shows were in SD. Today pretty much all of them are in HD with the exception of a few reality shows. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #306 Each year since we've been doing this show we tale a look at the Fall TV season and try to pick shows that we'd like to watch. Back in 2006 when we first starting doing this, a good number of shows were in SD. Today pretty much all of them are in HD with the exception of a few reality shows. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #305 On a recent family vacation to Sequoia National Park, Braden's trusty digital camera finally died. Sure losing an old gadget is great because you know you get to replace it with the latest and greatest, but it certainly isn't ideal when you're in one of the most scenic places on the planet and happen to be the only tourist with a circa 1990 disposable camera. Since the newest digital cameras also allow for HD video capture, we thought the quest for a new camera would make nice content for ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #305 On a recent family vacation to Sequoia National Park, Braden's trusty digital camera finally died. Sure losing an old gadget is great because you know you get to replace it with the latest and greatest, but it certainly isn't ideal when you're in one of the most scenic places on the planet and happen to be the only tourist with a circa 1990 disposable camera. Since the newest digital cameras also allow for HD video capture, we thought the quest for a new camera would make nice content for ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #304 Anyone who owns a home theater system knows that a Subwoofer is essential to the experience. Watching a movie in HD with surround sound is great, but some scenes require that you feel the bass. A subwoofer does just that. An issue some have is Subwoofer placement. Its not always convenient to place the subwoofer next to the receiver. This requires that you run cable to a spot that is more conducive for the placement of the speaker. The ULS-15 has a nice feature that makes this no longer nec ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #304 Anyone who owns a home theater system knows that a Subwoofer is essential to the experience. Watching a movie in HD with surround sound is great, but some scenes require that you feel the bass. A subwoofer does just that. An issue some have is Subwoofer placement. Its not always convenient to place the subwoofer next to the receiver. This requires that you run cable to a spot that is more conducive for the placement of the speaker. The ULS-15 has a nice feature that makes this no longer nec ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #303 Not a week goes by that we don't hear something about the Popcorn Hour A-100 network media player. We tried relentlessly to get a demo unit for review, but to no avail. Finally, slightly weary but committed whole-heartedly to the show, Ara decided to pony up the cash and purchase one. It arrived last week and we got a chance to play with it. All in all, not a bad little unit. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #303 Not a week goes by that we don't hear something about the Popcorn Hour A-100 network media player. We tried relentlessly to get a demo unit for review, but to no avail. Finally, slightly weary but committed whole-heartedly to the show, Ara decided to pony up the cash and purchase one. It arrived last week and we got a chance to play with it. All in all, not a bad little unit. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #302 For the week Ara was on vacation and was away from his HDTV. This really made him appreciate what was missing at home. It also gave him time to think about a few things. For example, would a DirecTV and Dish Network merger be a good thing? Today we'll bring to you his thoughts and listener responses. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #302 For the week Ara was on vacation and was away from his HDTV. This really made him appreciate what was missing at home. It also gave him time to think about a few things. For example, would a DirecTV and Dish Network merger be a good thing? Today we'll bring to you his thoughts and listener responses. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #301 In a ruling on August 4th, the U.S. Court of Appeals overturned a district court decision that barred Cablevision from launching a new technology it is calling Remote-Storage DVR (RS-DVR). The district court had blocked release of this service to Cablevision subscribers, but as of Monday, it's back on the table. Remote-Storage DVR provides all of the benefit of a DVR, without all of the drawbacks. You can record, playback, pause, fast-forward and rewind television just like a DVR, but yo ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #301 In a ruling on August 4th, the U.S. Court of Appeals overturned a district court decision that barred Cablevision from launching a new technology it is calling Remote-Storage DVR (RS-DVR). The district court had blocked release of this service to Cablevision subscribers, but as of Monday, it's back on the table. Remote-Storage DVR provides all of the benefit of a DVR, without all of the drawbacks. You can record, playback, pause, fast-forward and rewind television just like a DVR, but yo ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #300 After being chastised for spending too much time talking about HDTV gear and equipment and not enough time talking about what to actually watch in High Definition, we devote an entire episode to just that: what we watch on TV. As part of the discussion, we cover all the shows that are returning for the 2008-2009 season as well as those that have been canceled. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #300 After being chastised for spending too much time talking about HDTV gear and equipment and not enough time talking about what to actually watch in High Definition, we devote an entire episode to just that: what we watch on TV. As part of the discussion, we cover all the shows that are returning for the 2008-2009 season as well as those that have been canceled. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #299 Good News for Blu-ray Early Adopters. Since we last talked about the coming of the BD-Live era on Episode #289, we've had a chance to check out some Blu-ray titles with BD-Live functionality.So far, BD-Live is pointless - no need to rush out and upgrade your player. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #299 Good News for Blu-ray Early Adopters. Since we last talked about the coming of the BD-Live era on Episode #289, we've had a chance to check out some Blu-ray titles with BD-Live functionality.So far, BD-Live is pointless - no need to rush out and upgrade your player. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #298 We talk about one of Ara's favorite movies, Patton. Over the weekend he watched it on Blu Ray and will tell you if Blu Ray breathes new life into the nearly 40 year old movie. And with the analog cutoff around the corner we found a small outdoor antenna that we that will make the transition a bit easier for you. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #298 We talk about one of Ara's favorite movies, Patton. Over the weekend he watched it on Blu Ray and will tell you if Blu Ray breathes new life into the nearly 40 year old movie. And with the analog cutoff around the corner we found a small outdoor antenna that we that will make the transition a bit easier for you. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #297 Listener Kevin sent us a link to TidalTV.com a new service that mimics the Cable or Satellite experience over the Internet. You get a complete channel guide and can tune into shows on various networks such as CBS, MSNBC, Food Network, HGTV, Sports Illustrated and the Weather Channel. What Hulu might be to a DVR replacement, TidalTV wants to be for your set top box replacement. It's currently in Beta, so we decided to have a look to see if it might be the next big thing. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #297 Listener Kevin sent us a link to TidalTV.com a new service that mimics the Cable or Satellite experience over the Internet. You get a complete channel guide and can tune into shows on various networks such as CBS, MSNBC, Food Network, HGTV, Sports Illustrated and the Weather Channel. What Hulu might be to a DVR replacement, TidalTV wants to be for your set top box replacement. It's currently in Beta, so we decided to have a look to see if it might be the next big thing. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #296 From time to time our listeners send us emails asking us to review equipment that they are interested in buying or themselves. Recently we received an email from Kris asking us to take a look at the Orb Audio line of speakers. We were able to obtain the Orb Audio Mod 2 speakers with an upgraded Uber Ten subwoofer. The total cost for the 5.1 system was $1597 including standard ground shipping. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #296 From time to time our listeners send us emails asking us to review equipment that they are interested in buying or themselves. Recently we received an email from Kris asking us to take a look at the Orb Audio line of speakers. We were able to obtain the Orb Audio Mod 2 speakers with an upgraded Uber Ten subwoofer. The total cost for the 5.1 system was $1597 including standard ground shipping. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #295 For today's show Ara had a chance to connect with Clint DeBoer, editor-in-chief of Audioholics.com about a recent article they published entitled Long HDMI Cable Bench Tests - Monster Cable Shootout. It's a great article and a great interview. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #295 For today's show Ara had a chance to connect with Clint DeBoer, editor-in-chief of Audioholics.com about a recent article they published entitled Long HDMI Cable Bench Tests - Monster Cable Shootout. It's a great article and a great interview. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #294 Sony announced on Tuesday that that they would begin offering movies and TV shows for download to the Playstation 3 through the Playstation store. Movies are available from Disney, Fox and Warner Bros in addition to the obvious inclusion of Sony Pictures titles. The system is setup much like Vudu and AppleTV, new release movies can be rented for $3.99 in standard def and $5.99 in high definition or purchased in SD for $14.99. Older titles are available for rent for $2.99 for SD, $4.50 fo ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #294 Sony announced on Tuesday that that they would begin offering movies and TV shows for download to the Playstation 3 through the Playstation store. Movies are available from Disney, Fox and Warner Bros in addition to the obvious inclusion of Sony Pictures titles. The system is setup much like Vudu and AppleTV, new release movies can be rented for $3.99 in standard def and $5.99 in high definition or purchased in SD for $14.99. Older titles are available for rent for $2.99 for SD, $4.50 fo ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #293 We get email after email asking for advice on when is the right time to upgrade your home theater equipment. The answer, of course, is always "right now," but that isn't always possible. Often we have to compromise in one area to upgrade another. So what components are the most important to keep up to date? Which ones can wait a while? Let's take a look. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #293 We get email after email asking for advice on when is the right time to upgrade your home theater equipment. The answer, of course, is always "right now," but that isn't always possible. Often we have to compromise in one area to upgrade another. So what components are the most important to keep up to date? Which ones can wait a while? Let's take a look. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #292 With money tight and more of it going to fill up your gas tank instead of your AV rack we thought it would be a great time to discuss an article on haggling. Jennifer DeFeo has written an article for Electronic House entitled "10 Tips for Haggling with A/V Retailers". We also discuss the highlights of the Entertainment Merchant Association 2008 Annual Report. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #292 With money tight and more of it going to fill up your gas tank instead of your AV rack we thought it would be a great time to discuss an article on haggling. Jennifer DeFeo has written an article for Electronic House entitled "10 Tips for Haggling with A/V Retailers". We also discuss the highlights of the Entertainment Merchant Association 2008 Annual Report. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #291 We have been trying to get a hold of a Vizio TV for review for some time now but with no luck. This weekend while the family was in Costco stocking up on supplies Ara spent some time looking at the Vizio 50 inch 1080p Plasma. In actuality this feature is more of a Costco roundup than an in depth review of the TV. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #291 We have been trying to get a hold of a Vizio TV for review for some time now but with no luck. This weekend while the family was in Costco stocking up on supplies Ara spent some time looking at the Vizio 50 inch 1080p Plasma. In actuality this feature is more of a Costco roundup than an in depth review of the TV. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #290 Happy Fourth of July! If you have the day off, we hope you're enjoying it; if you have to work, we hope you get a day off real soon. We didn't take the day off but instead interviewed John Griffin from Dolby Laboratories and tested out Google's new MediaServer gadget. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #290 Happy Fourth of July! If you have the day off, we hope you're enjoying it; if you have to work, we hope you get a day off real soon. We didn't take the day off but instead interviewed John Griffin from Dolby Laboratories and tested out Google's new MediaServer gadget. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #289 We've never really been into special features on discs, but what if the special features weren't actually on the disc, but were on the Internet? Like it or not, BD Live looks like it's coming in full force very soon. It could be cool, or it could just be a lot of hype. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #289 We've never really been into special features on discs, but what if the special features weren't actually on the disc, but were on the Internet? Like it or not, BD Live looks like it's coming in full force very soon. It could be cool, or it could just be a lot of hype. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #288 Living large and lovin' life. Ara's back from vacation and we hit the ground running. Can you tell it's summer yet? Of course there's tons of great news and emails, but we also came across an article at lifehacker on how to turn your Xbox 360 into a streaming Netflix player. Pretty handy. Check it out. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #288 Living large and lovin' life. Ara's back from vacation and we hit the ground running. Can you tell it's summer yet? Of course there's tons of great news and emails, but we also came across an article at lifehacker on how to turn your Xbox 360 into a streaming Netflix player. Pretty handy. Check it out. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #287 DisplaySearch recently released a report about what TV manufactures will need to do to sell more televisions in the coming years. One of the key features was network, and specifically Internet, connectivity. Just a couple days prior to that report we received a press release about the availability of HP's MediaSmart Connect for pre-order. We saw the demo at CES and liked the idea. All of this got us thinking; DisaplySearch says TV's need Internet connectivity, HP agrees in theory, but ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #287 DisplaySearch recently released a report about what TV manufactures will need to do to sell more televisions in the coming years. One of the key features was network, and specifically Internet, connectivity. Just a couple days prior to that report we received a press release about the availability of HP's MediaSmart Connect for pre-order. We saw the demo at CES and liked the idea. All of this got us thinking; DisaplySearch says TV's need Internet connectivity, HP agrees in theory, but ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #286 Isn't it annoying when you want to turn on your home theater with your IR based remote control and one or more components misses the command. It could be that someone walked in front of the remote or that you just didn't keep it pointed at your system long enough for the entire macro sequence to be transmitted. That's why most integrators shy away from IR based remotes and use systems like Crestron or Control4 to transmit commands to a head end unit which then sends the commands via Ethern ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #286 Isn't it annoying when you want to turn on your home theater with your IR based remote control and one or more components misses the command. It could be that someone walked in front of the remote or that you just didn't keep it pointed at your system long enough for the entire macro sequence to be transmitted. That's why most integrators shy away from IR based remotes and use systems like Crestron or Control4 to transmit commands to a head end unit which then sends the commands via Ethern ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #285 Every year CE Pro puts together a list of the top 100 custom electronics dealers in the country. Then they poll those top dealers for their favorite brands to sell in 37 different categories. Of course half the picture for dealers is how much profit they can make selling a particular product, but the other half of the picture is reliability and returns. We like to look at the list to see what all the custom home theater installers are endorsing. If you've narrowed a purchase down to two ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #285 Every year CE Pro puts together a list of the top 100 custom electronics dealers in the country. Then they poll those top dealers for their favorite brands to sell in 37 different categories. Of course half the picture for dealers is how much profit they can make selling a particular product, but the other half of the picture is reliability and returns. We like to look at the list to see what all the custom home theater installers are endorsing. If you've narrowed a purchase down to two ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #284 Father's Day is in just a couple days. If you still need to pick up a gift, or help someone pick one out for you, we have a couple of ideas. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #284 Father's Day is in just a couple days. If you still need to pick up a gift, or help someone pick one out for you, we have a couple of ideas. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #283 Home Theater Magazine recently put a panel together to look at five different soundbars. Since we've only ever used the Yamaha Sound projector, and often get questions about models from other manufacturers, we thought it would be valuable to share their results. The full article, called 'The Power of One' was written by Adrienne Maxwell. It's certainly worth reading if you're in the market for a soundbar, since we won't cover all the details. The five models tested were from Philips, Ma ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #283 Home Theater Magazine recently put a panel together to look at five different soundbars. Since we've only ever used the Yamaha Sound projector, and often get questions about models from other manufacturers, we thought it would be valuable to share their results. The full article, called 'The Power of One' was written by Adrienne Maxwell. It's certainly worth reading if you're in the market for a soundbar, since we won't cover all the details. The five models tested were from Philips, Ma ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #282 We have designed whole house video and audio systems and talked about them on our show. The one room we really haven't done much with is the Bathroom. Now We know what you are probably thinking. The Bathroom is one area in the home where you don't want to be bombarded with the worlds problems. We hear you but what if you are in the middle of a football game and your wife tells you that its time to get ready so you can go to your In-Law's? Having a TV in the bathroom sounds like a good way k ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #282 We have designed whole house video and audio systems and talked about them on our show. The one room we really haven't done much with is the Bathroom. Now We know what you are probably thinking. The Bathroom is one area in the home where you don't want to be bombarded with the worlds problems. We hear you but what if you are in the middle of a football game and your wife tells you that its time to get ready so you can go to your In-Law's? Having a TV in the bathroom sounds like a good way k ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #281 Today we got into a discussion on a recent article from the CE Pro Magazine website. It's about 17 "green" products installers can use to make their custom home theater or automation installations more eco-friendly. We thought some of the products were pretty cool. You can read the full article online. And you really need to check out "The Ultimate Remote" if you haven't already. It might give the Harmony One a run for its money. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #281 Today we got into a discussion on a recent article from the CE Pro Magazine website. It's about 17 "green" products installers can use to make their custom home theater or automation installations more eco-friendly. We thought some of the products were pretty cool. You can read the full article online. And you really need to check out "The Ultimate Remote" if you haven't already. It might give the Harmony One a run for its money. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #280 So you want to watch movies with Netflix watch it now but you aren't thrilled about sitting in front of your computer to do it. Netflix and Roku have partnered together bring the Watch it Now functionality to your TV. We have one of these players and have spent a week putting it through its paces. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #280 So you want to watch movies with Netflix watch it now but you aren't thrilled about sitting in front of your computer to do it. Netflix and Roku have partnered together bring the Watch it Now functionality to your TV. We have one of these players and have spent a week putting it through its paces. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #279 Today we've decided to take a little walk down Home Theater memory lane. The last couple years have seen some significant changes in home theater technology, and we've seen a few devices go extinct. A few are still on the endangered species list, but will probably be gone very soon. We'd like to bid farewell to some technological advances that changed the way we enjoy entertainment in our homes, or were supposed to, but maybe it didn't quite pan out. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #279 Today we've decided to take a little walk down Home Theater memory lane. The last couple years have seen some significant changes in home theater technology, and we've seen a few devices go extinct. A few are still on the endangered species list, but will probably be gone very soon. We'd like to bid farewell to some technological advances that changed the way we enjoy entertainment in our homes, or were supposed to, but maybe it didn't quite pan out. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #278 If you are a Tivo lover and have your Series 3 box so that you can watch and record HD from your cable company, you may be wondering what will happen to your service when your cable company rolls out Switched Digital service. We have great news for you! Your Tivo Series 3 will be compatible with the new format. You will need an adapter to make it work however.A few weeks ago on Show 272 we discussed the emerging mobile TV standard of the Open Mobile Video Coalition. At that time we discuss ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #278 If you are a Tivo lover and have your Series 3 box so that you can watch and record HD from your cable company, you may be wondering what will happen to your service when your cable company rolls out Switched Digital service. We have great news for you! Your Tivo Series 3 will be compatible with the new format. You will need an adapter to make it work however.A few weeks ago on Show 272 we discussed the emerging mobile TV standard of the Open Mobile Video Coalition. At that time we discuss ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #277 In keeping with tradition, we have a new show full of, dare we say, great content - even though we needed to take a few days off. All the stuff you'd expect: news, email and even a discussion on how to keep your home theater gear cool. But you have to listen to the show. No notes for this one. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #277 In keeping with tradition, we have a new show full of, dare we say, great content - even though we needed to take a few days off. All the stuff you'd expect: news, email and even a discussion on how to keep your home theater gear cool. But you have to listen to the show. No notes for this one. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #276 If you look at our DVRs you will see that the majority of the recorded shows are of over the air networks. These are high quality programs that arrive at your home free of charge. All you need to watch them is an ordinary antenna. On today's show we will talk about what you need to begin enjoying high quality picture and sound free of charge. We hope to give you the information you need to begin enjoying HDTV for free! Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #276 If you look at our DVRs you will see that the majority of the recorded shows are of over the air networks. These are high quality programs that arrive at your home free of charge. All you need to watch them is an ordinary antenna. On today's show we will talk about what you need to begin enjoying high quality picture and sound free of charge. We hope to give you the information you need to begin enjoying HDTV for free! Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #275 With Electronic House Magazine announcing their 2008 Electronic House of the Year awards, and Kobe Bryant winning the NBA MVP award, we thought it fitting to announce some sort of recognition ourselves. For the first time ever, we've decided to declare some 'Home Theater Heroes.' They are companies or individuals that we believe are doing the most to drive innovation in HDTV and Home Theater. We're either thankful for what they've done, are enjoying what they're doing, or are excited to ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #275 With Electronic House Magazine announcing their 2008 Electronic House of the Year awards, and Kobe Bryant winning the NBA MVP award, we thought it fitting to announce some sort of recognition ourselves. For the first time ever, we've decided to declare some 'Home Theater Heroes.' They are companies or individuals that we believe are doing the most to drive innovation in HDTV and Home Theater. We're either thankful for what they've done, are enjoying what they're doing, or are excited to ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #274 As you would imagine being a close friend of the HT Guys comes with some benefits. We have a friend that just bought the SONY KDLXBR4 46 inch LCD and a SONY Blu Ray player. He asked for some help setting the TV up and of course we said yes. Well, we said yes because it provides good material for our show. Our friend uses Cox cable, OTA and Blu Ray for his HD material. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #274 As you would imagine being a close friend of the HT Guys comes with some benefits. We have a friend that just bought the SONY KDLXBR4 46 inch LCD and a SONY Blu Ray player. He asked for some help setting the TV up and of course we said yes. Well, we said yes because it provides good material for our show. Our friend uses Cox cable, OTA and Blu Ray for his HD material. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #273 Mother's Day is coming this Sunday, May 11. Sure, you can be like every other guy out there and get your mom or your wife, the mother of your children some flowers or a nice meal (j/k) for Mother's Day, but is that what she really wants? Be bold, get her something she'd never expect. She won't know how great a gift it is until a few months from now, when she realizes that it's become a part of her every day life and she can't imagine living without it. Here are some of the best bet tech ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #273 Mother's Day is coming this Sunday, May 11. Sure, you can be like every other guy out there and get your mom or your wife, the mother of your children some flowers or a nice meal (j/k) for Mother's Day, but is that what she really wants? Be bold, get her something she'd never expect. She won't know how great a gift it is until a few months from now, when she realizes that it's become a part of her every day life and she can't imagine living without it. Here are some of the best bet tech ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #272 Our recent discussion about the Digital Television transition prompted a few emails asking about emergency preparedness and how the loss of analog TV transmission would affect consumers in the event of a natural (or man-made) disaster. This prompted a great email from one of our listeners about the emerging Mobile Digital TV Standard. And we have a quick review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX35A 10.1MP Digital Camera. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #272 Our recent discussion about the Digital Television transition prompted a few emails asking about emergency preparedness and how the loss of analog TV transmission would affect consumers in the event of a natural (or man-made) disaster. This prompted a great email from one of our listeners about the emerging Mobile Digital TV Standard. And we have a quick review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX35A 10.1MP Digital Camera. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #271 When you're researching an HDTV, you often find yourself reading what others have posted at various forums such as AVS. In those forums they tend to use a lot of jargon and lingo that a casual TV watcher may not understand, be aware of, or for that matter even care about. Today we'll try to define a few of them and add some clarity around the whole subject. As a "spoiler warning" if you own an HDTV, especially a rear projection HDTV, be warned. We'll talk about some issues that can appe ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #271 When you're researching an HDTV, you often find yourself reading what others have posted at various forums such as AVS. In those forums they tend to use a lot of jargon and lingo that a casual TV watcher may not understand, be aware of, or for that matter even care about. Today we'll try to define a few of them and add some clarity around the whole subject. As a "spoiler warning" if you own an HDTV, especially a rear projection HDTV, be warned. We'll talk about some issues that can appe ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #270 We receive emails all the time from listeners asking us about cables. Many ask what they would be missing of they were to use Component cable instead of HDMI. From a picture point of view your not giving up too much. From an audio point of view you would need to run eight RCA cables to bring in Dolby True HD or DTS MA sound tracks. Eight cables for audio and three for video. That's eleven cables to do the work of one HDMI cable. So with such a big advantage in cable management alone, we fou ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #270 We receive emails all the time from listeners asking us about cables. Many ask what they would be missing of they were to use Component cable instead of HDMI. From a picture point of view your not giving up too much. From an audio point of view you would need to run eight RCA cables to bring in Dolby True HD or DTS MA sound tracks. Eight cables for audio and three for video. That's eleven cables to do the work of one HDMI cable. So with such a big advantage in cable management alone, we fou ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #269 In Episode 260 we covered various options for energy efficient home theaters. One of those involved making sure you look for the Energy Star logo on the products you buy. After all just because we want to watch HDTV doesn't mean our kids should be robbed of watching Quad-HDTV when they grow up. There are a lot of colors talked about in home theaters, white noise, black-out shades, red lasers, blu-ray...even rainbows on your DLP TV. But today we're going to continue in the green theme. ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #269 In Episode 260 we covered various options for energy efficient home theaters. One of those involved making sure you look for the Energy Star logo on the products you buy. After all just because we want to watch HDTV doesn't mean our kids should be robbed of watching Quad-HDTV when they grow up. There are a lot of colors talked about in home theaters, white noise, black-out shades, red lasers, blu-ray...even rainbows on your DLP TV. But today we're going to continue in the green theme. ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #268 First of all, you can now follow us at Twitter. Check it out and tell us what you think. There's a fun article about Great Movie Scenes for Surround Sound at Electronic House and it seemed like something cool to discuss on the show. And we've compiled a list of six 32" HDTVs for budget conscious buyers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #268 First of all, you can now follow us at Twitter. Check it out and tell us what you think. There's a fun article about Great Movie Scenes for Surround Sound at Electronic House and it seemed like something cool to discuss on the show. And we've compiled a list of six 32" HDTVs for budget conscious buyers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #267 Back in Episode #178 (June, 2007) we did a feature on the Vista Media Center. For that review we used an HP m8000n to run the Media Center. We talked about the features of the Media Center and how one could use the computer to run spreadsheets during the day and watch live TV or movies using an extender device at night. If you are not familiar with the features of the Media Center that would be a good show to go back and listen to. We will only be covering specific features of the Media Ce ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #267 Back in Episode #178 (June, 2007) we did a feature on the Vista Media Center. For that review we used an HP m8000n to run the Media Center. We talked about the features of the Media Center and how one could use the computer to run spreadsheets during the day and watch live TV or movies using an extender device at night. If you are not familiar with the features of the Media Center that would be a good show to go back and listen to. We will only be covering specific features of the Media Ce ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #266 For today's show we'll talk about CNet's listing of the 5 best HDTVs they have reviewed. Then we get into a discussion on Hulu.com - a new video streaming site with a lot of potential. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #266 For today's show we'll talk about CNet's listing of the 5 best HDTVs they have reviewed. Then we get into a discussion on Hulu.com - a new video streaming site with a lot of potential. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #265 As most of us know the big transition from analog to digital television in the US will happen in less than a year. Either the public service announcements are starting to work, or people are just finally starting to pay attention, but our inbox is filling up with questions. We tried to cover the whole issue back in Episode 257, but we must have left out some crucial details because the email keeps coming. We'll probably need to do this again in the future, but let's see if we can clarify ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #265 As most of us know the big transition from analog to digital television in the US will happen in less than a year. Either the public service announcements are starting to work, or people are just finally starting to pay attention, but our inbox is filling up with questions. We tried to cover the whole issue back in Episode 257, but we must have left out some crucial details because the email keeps coming. We'll probably need to do this again in the future, but let's see if we can clarify ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #264 Today we discuss what DLNA is and what it can mean for your home theater system. DLNA stands for the Digital Living Network Alliance and began in 2003 when a group of companies came together to create products that worked together. Today, there are more than 250 companies in the alliance.. They include consumer electronics, computer and mobile device manufacturers. DLNA published its first set of Interoperability Guidelines in June 2004 and the first set of DLNA Certified products began app ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #264 Today we discuss what DLNA is and what it can mean for your home theater system. DLNA stands for the Digital Living Network Alliance and began in 2003 when a group of companies came together to create products that worked together. Today, there are more than 250 companies in the alliance.. They include consumer electronics, computer and mobile device manufacturers. DLNA published its first set of Interoperability Guidelines in June 2004 and the first set of DLNA Certified products began app ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #263 So by now everyone knows what's in Ara's Home Theater, in fact all over Ara's house, but we get questions occasionally on what Braden is using as well. To put those questions to rest, we'll get into all the details today. You've heard bits and pieces, like the recent addition of the PS3, but here's the whole system, all at one time. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #263 So by now everyone knows what's in Ara's Home Theater, in fact all over Ara's house, but we get questions occasionally on what Braden is using as well. To put those questions to rest, we'll get into all the details today. You've heard bits and pieces, like the recent addition of the PS3, but here's the whole system, all at one time. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #262 Today we discuss a recent article in CE Pro that runs down 9 A/V Receivers that you may want to consider for your next home theater. These receivers are not entry level and as such will cost a little more than your bargain receivers. For more information on the author check out his website at LeeDistad.com. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #262 Today we discuss a recent article in CE Pro that runs down 9 A/V Receivers that you may want to consider for your next home theater. These receivers are not entry level and as such will cost a little more than your bargain receivers. For more information on the author check out his website at LeeDistad.com. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #261 Up until recently the only extender device available for your media center PC was the Xbox 360. On today's show we will discuss some new extender devices that are currently (or soon to be) on the market. We also discus the results of a survey that we recently conducted. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #261 Up until recently the only extender device available for your media center PC was the Xbox 360. On today's show we will discuss some new extender devices that are currently (or soon to be) on the market. We also discus the results of a survey that we recently conducted. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #260 Many of us want to make sure that we are the most efficient we can be in how we use the resources we consume. One concern that has come up in our email inbox lately is all the power that is consumed by adding so many new home theater gadgets. We're using bigger TVs than ever before, more surround sound processors are in use, often people will add a game system like and XBox360 or PS3 and still have a DVD player or a Blu-ray player along with it. Of course you have to have a DVR, and ther ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #260 Many of us want to make sure that we are the most efficient we can be in how we use the resources we consume. One concern that has come up in our email inbox lately is all the power that is consumed by adding so many new home theater gadgets. We're using bigger TVs than ever before, more surround sound processors are in use, often people will add a game system like and XBox360 or PS3 and still have a DVD player or a Blu-ray player along with it. Of course you have to have a DVR, and ther ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #259 Well the folks at Oppo Digital are at it again. This time they have released a new high end Up-Converting DVD player. The DV-983H is the new gold standard in up-converting DVD players. It incorporates Video Reference Series processing (VRS by) Anchor Bay. This is the same technology used in video processors costing $3000 or more. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #259 Well the folks at Oppo Digital are at it again. This time they have released a new high end Up-Converting DVD player. The DV-983H is the new gold standard in up-converting DVD players. It incorporates Video Reference Series processing (VRS by) Anchor Bay. This is the same technology used in video processors costing $3000 or more. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #258 This week we finally get to the review at lot of listeners have been asking for, the Harmony One Advanced Universal Remote by Logitech. We reviewed the Harmony 880 almost three years ago, and although Ara questioned the price premium, it eventually became our standard universal remote recommendation. Now with the release of the One, we were eager to see if it would replace the 880 in our hearts and minds. It won the 'Best of Innovations' award in the Home Theater Accessories category at ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #258 This week we finally get to the review at lot of listeners have been asking for, the Harmony One Advanced Universal Remote by Logitech. We reviewed the Harmony 880 almost three years ago, and although Ara questioned the price premium, it eventually became our standard universal remote recommendation. Now with the release of the One, we were eager to see if it would replace the 880 in our hearts and minds. It won the 'Best of Innovations' award in the Home Theater Accessories category at ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #257 The United States is set to transition all over the air, or free to air, television broadcasts from analog to digital in just under a year from now. It acronym speak, we'll all need to use ATSC tuners instead of the NTSC tuners we've been using for the past half century. There are a bunch of questions swirling about the transition, we'll try to answer the most popular ones. If you live outside the US, this information may apply to you at some point in the future, when your governing body de ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #257 The United States is set to transition all over the air, or free to air, television broadcasts from analog to digital in just under a year from now. It acronym speak, we'll all need to use ATSC tuners instead of the NTSC tuners we've been using for the past half century. There are a bunch of questions swirling about the transition, we'll try to answer the most popular ones. If you live outside the US, this information may apply to you at some point in the future, when your governing body de ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #256 Now that the Writer's strike is over, we can finally start to get our favorite shows back. We'll talk about when you can expect to see new episodes of the great HDTV you've been missing for the last few months. You can read all about it a TV Guide. We've also got a review of the Pioneer VSX-94TXH 7.1 A/V Receiver. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #256 Now that the Writer's strike is over, we can finally start to get our favorite shows back. We'll talk about when you can expect to see new episodes of the great HDTV you've been missing for the last few months. You can read all about it a TV Guide. We've also got a review of the Pioneer VSX-94TXH 7.1 A/V Receiver. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #255 If you are like us you probably have one or two recordings on your DVR that you simply won't delete. But what if you want to archive the recording or watch it on your computer? Your choices in the past have been to down convert the program to 480i and record it on a DVD recorder or a computer with a capture card. Today we talk about a product that we saw at CES that solves this problem. The Gefen HD PVR (EXT-HD-PVR Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #255 If you are like us you probably have one or two recordings on your DVR that you simply won't delete. But what if you want to archive the recording or watch it on your computer? Your choices in the past have been to down convert the program to 480i and record it on a DVD recorder or a computer with a capture card. Today we talk about a product that we saw at CES that solves this problem. The Gefen HD PVR (EXT-HD-PVR Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #254 It's pretty clear by now that Blu-ray won the high definition video disk war. By the end of this year HD-DVD will be a distant memory and those who want to watch High Definition movies will need a Blu-ray player. There are a bunch of options out there for those in the market, and the Sony PlayStation 3 has been talked about as the most capable player available. For a long time it was the least expensive way to get a Blu-ray player. That isn't true anymore, but it's still close. It's cu ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #254 It's pretty clear by now that Blu-ray won the high definition video disk war. By the end of this year HD-DVD will be a distant memory and those who want to watch High Definition movies will need a Blu-ray player. There are a bunch of options out there for those in the market, and the Sony PlayStation 3 has been talked about as the most capable player available. For a long time it was the least expensive way to get a Blu-ray player. That isn't true anymore, but it's still close. It's cu ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #253 We've received a few emails asking for Ara to describe his A/V network. By now you probably know that at the center of the system is a Mac Mini serving up DVDs but what else can it do and how many zones does Ara have in his house. Today's show will take you through a virtual walk through of Ara's home. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #253 We've received a few emails asking for Ara to describe his A/V network. By now you probably know that at the center of the system is a Mac Mini serving up DVDs but what else can it do and how many zones does Ara have in his house. Today's show will take you through a virtual walk through of Ara's home. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #252 We had planned some very different content for today's show, but something very strange happened this week. There seems to be a huge backlash against Blu-ray for some reason. It caught us somewhat by surprise, but the trend is too strong to ignore, so we just have to talk about it. If the war really is over, and by most accounts it is, why aren't people rejoicing in the peaceful times ahead? Why can't we put the differences behind us and move on to soak in all our movies in HD on one ki ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #251 Today we go through an article published in Sound and Vision Magazine entitled M-Card: Possible Its a guide that will help you obtain and use the new Multi Stream Cable Card.Braden has been contemplating a new screen for his home theater, and the 73" DLP from Mitsubishi would fit quite nicely. So just like any good audio video enthusiasts would do on the weekend, he packed up the kids and spent some quality time at Best Buy and Magnolia to check it out. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #251 Today we go through an article published in Sound and Vision Magazine entitled M-Card: Possible Its a guide that will help you obtain and use the new Multi Stream Cable Card.Braden has been contemplating a new screen for his home theater, and the 73" DLP from Mitsubishi would fit quite nicely. So just like any good audio video enthusiasts would do on the weekend, he packed up the kids and spent some quality time at Best Buy and Magnolia to check it out. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #250 When Steve jobs introduced the next generation of AppleTV it took Ara about 30 seconds to decide it was worth buying the device. If for only satisfying his curiosities. So Ara purchased the new AppleTV about a month ago and there it sat until Tuesday of this week. That's because the device is essentially identical to the previous AppleTV but now with a new version of software the AppleTV is a brand new Machine. Ara gives his 'Take' on it, and we discuss Netflix and Best Buy going Blu. ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #250 When Steve jobs introduced the next generation of AppleTV it took Ara about 30 seconds to decide it was worth buying the device. If for only satisfying his curiosities. So Ara purchased the new AppleTV about a month ago and there it sat until Tuesday of this week. That's because the device is essentially identical to the previous AppleTV but now with a new version of software the AppleTV is a brand new Machine. Ara gives his 'Take' on it, and we discuss Netflix and Best Buy going Blu. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #249 Most of us believe that what color you choose to put on the walls is a decision that should be left firmly in the hands of the aesthetics committee. But according to an article from the online version Electronic House magazine, the home theater enthusiast may want to weigh in on the decision. It seems there are some very good colors to use in the home theater, and some very bad colors.And yes we went to CES, but no we didn't see everything. Insight Media just released their "Best Buzz" a ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #249 Most of us believe that what color you choose to put on the walls is a decision that should be left firmly in the hands of the aesthetics committee. But according to an article from the online version Electronic House magazine, the home theater enthusiast may want to weigh in on the decision. It seems there are some very good colors to use in the home theater, and some very bad colors.And yes we went to CES, but no we didn't see everything. Insight Media just released their "Best Buzz" a ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #248 Listener Mike sent in a review of the Samsung BD-UP5000 combo Blu-ray and HD-DVD player. We review the Audioengine AW1 Wireless Audio Adapter. And the top 10 things we really wish could have been in high definition. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #248 Listener Mike sent in a review of the Samsung BD-UP5000 combo Blu-ray and HD-DVD player. We review the Audioengine AW1 Wireless Audio Adapter. And the top 10 things we really wish could have been in high definition. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #247 We go over an article published at ElectronicHouse.com entitled How Much Will my Home Theater Cost? It describes what you can expect to get for $5K, $10K, $20K, $50K and $100k. We give your our take on the article. This is an audio feature but you can follow along with the link to the original article.We also review the Monoprice HS-102 1X2 HDMI Distribution Amplifier. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #246 We go over an article published at ElectronicHouse.com entitled How Much Will my Home Theater Cost? It describes what you can expect to get for $5K, $10K, $20K, $50K and $100k. We give your our take on the article. This is an audio feature but you can follow along with the link to the original article.We also review the Monoprice HS-102 1X2 HDMI Distribution Amplifier. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #246 The Super Show; everything you'd ever want to know about Super Bowl XLII. There's something for everyone, even those who'd rather watch the Golden Girls than a sporting event, as we look at the technical production details behind the game, what TV to buy...even the somewhat odd way we decided who to pull for this year. You name it, it's all in there. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #246 The Super Show; everything you'd ever want to know about Super Bowl XLII. There's something for everyone, even those who'd rather watch the Golden Girls than a sporting event, as we look at the technical production details behind the game, what TV to buy...even the somewhat odd way we decided who to pull for this year. You name it, it's all in there. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #245 This year's CES was as big as ever. Its too big for us to see and talk about everything so we try to stay focused on what most of our listeners are interested in. We recently received an email from Dale in McPherson, KS asking us to look into a product that was not shown on the main floor but in the Venetian hotel. The product is the Neosonik wireless home theater and hi-fi system. We have requested an evaluation system but we thought that the product would make a good topic for discussion. ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #245 This year's CES was as big as ever. Its too big for us to see and talk about everything so we try to stay focused on what most of our listeners are interested in. We recently received an email from Dale in McPherson, KS asking us to look into a product that was not shown on the main floor but in the Venetian hotel. The product is the Neosonik wireless home theater and hi-fi system. We have requested an evaluation system but we thought that the product would make a good topic for discussion. ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #244 There's lots of news and email to discuss, including the 'Save HD-DVD' petition. Will it work to slow the momentum Blu-ray is building? And DirecTV has some new features that aren't new to the market, but new for DirecTV subscribers, so we'll use them to get into deeper discussions on High Definition movies, specifically downloads versus discs. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #244 There's lots of news and email to discuss, including the 'Save HD-DVD' petition. Will it work to slow the momentum Blu-ray is building? And DirecTV has some new features that aren't new to the market, but new for DirecTV subscribers, so we'll use them to get into deeper discussions on High Definition movies, specifically downloads versus discs. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #243 We witnessed the death of CRT a few years ago when we searched high and low all over the CES show floor for somebody showing anything resembling a tube TV and came up empty. This year, if you don't count the Texas Instruments DLP booth, we saw only three rear projection sets at the entire show. Sony has announced their exiting the market because it wasn't profitable. By not announcing anything new, JVC has all but announced that they won't be in the game for very much longer. Samsung an ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #243 We witnessed the death of CRT a few years ago when we searched high and low all over the CES show floor for somebody showing anything resembling a tube TV and came up empty. This year, if you don't count the Texas Instruments DLP booth, we saw only three rear projection sets at the entire show. Sony has announced their exiting the market because it wasn't profitable. By not announcing anything new, JVC has all but announced that they won't be in the game for very much longer. Samsung an ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #242 Last week it was CES and this week its Macworld. On today's show we cover Macworld from the perspective of HDTV and Home Theater. This year's Macworld was not as exciting as last year's but there were four announcements that you may be interested in. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #242 Last week it was CES and this week its Macworld. On today's show we cover Macworld from the perspective of HDTV and Home Theater. This year's Macworld was not as exciting as last year's but there were four announcements that you may be interested in. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #241 On Day two we walked the Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, scouring the thousands of booths to find stuff you'd want to hear about. Listen to the show for all the details, but we've got highlights a bunch of great companies. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #240 We walked the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, scouring the thousands of booths to find stuff you'd want to hear about. Listen to the show for all the details, but we've got highlights a bunch of great companies. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #239 What we will be looking for at CES Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #238 Since we received positive feedback on the Transformers technical review we did a few months back, we decided to make them monthly features. We'll alternate between Blu Ray Discs and HD DVD discs. For our second technical movie review we chose Close Encounters of the Third Kind on Blu-ray. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #237 This being our first show for 2008 we decided to give you our predictions on whet we see happening. We have ten items and they are in no particular order. Please feel free to send us your predictions for 2008. Happy New Year from the HT Guys!! Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #236 As we close another year on the HDTV Podcast, we look back over what happened in 2007. We also revisit the predictions we made back in January to see how well we did. We hope you had a wonderful 2007 and look forward to an exciting and prosperous 2008. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #235 Merry Christmas from the HT Guys. We would like to thank all our listeners for your continued support! Today's show pretty much empties out our email and voice mail. We hope you enjoy! Ara Derderian and Braden Russell Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #234 Ever wonder who made the best Holiday turkey in High Definition, or what is the most watched animal in High Definition? DirecTV did a survey of some very off-beat HD topics. We'll go over the results. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #233 We recently did a review of the Pioneer Elite PRO-150FD 60" Plasma TV back in November (Podcast 224) so when Pioneer offered us the 42 inch model we weren't sure that we wanted to review a TV that was so similar. Since the TV was 720p we decided that it was different enough to warrant a review. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #232 Last year we assembled two starter systems (see Podcast 132 for details) that we felt was a nice entry into the world of HDTV and Home Theater. This year we do the same. Last year Braden designed a system with a 42 inch plasma, 5.1 sound, upconverting DVD player and a universal remote all for $3032. Ara's system included a 56 inch LCoS rear projection, 7.1 sound, upconverting DVD player and a universal remote all for $3359. Both systems cost less than our original HDTVs did by themselves. ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #231 So you've been listening to the show for a while and now you are ready to buy your HDTV. We have some tips for you to get the most out of your HDTV once you get it out of the box. With permission from Audioholics we go through Clint DeBoer's Basic Television Setup Tips. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #230 So far this year we have given you our HTIB and HDTV buying guide. Our series would not be complete without a Home Theater Receiver buying guide. This year our list contains receivers that will support Dolby True HD and DTS HD. We feel recommending a receiver without this capability would be wrong. There are cheaper receivers out there that will produce good sound but without next generation audio to go with your next generation DVD it would be like watching a VHS movie on your new HDTV. ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #228 The HT Guys 2007 Home Theater in a Box Buying Guide. We list and briefly discuss eight systems ranging from just under $300 to about $1000. Most systems do not include a DVD player. Why when you can get a great upconverting DVD player from Oppo Digital or buy and HD DVD player for less than $200! Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #227 Our first place-shifting review happened way back in October of 2005 on Episode 40 when we first looked at the Sling Media Slingbox. It's been two years, and we're now looking at a device that bills itself as the Slingbox Killer - the HAVA. Place shifting isn't exactly the revolution that it might have been 2 years ago, but it's still cool, and the HAVA adds some unique twist to the application that are really nice. In a nutshell the HAVA allows you to watch TV on virtually any PC on you ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #226 Today we put together a special Thanksgiving episode. You'll have to listen to hear what the HT Guys are thankful for. Have a great Thanksgiving weekend! Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #225 With Black Friday rapidly approaching, here are some of the deals our listeners may be interested in. This way you'll know where to camp out Thursday night. Our research came from various sites including: www.bfads.net, www.blackfriday.info, and blackfriday.gottadeal.com. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #224 When Ara went to CEDIA last September one of his favorite demonstrations was the Pioneer Elite Kuro plasma TV. Today we take a look at this TV and help you decide if you want to convince Santa to load this monster in his sleigh. The first thing you notice about the TV is how large and black it is. It measures 57-15/16 x 34-23/32 x 4-13/16 inches (WxHxD) without the stand and it weighs in 122 pounds without speakers. The speakers are optional and can be added onto the sides of the panel. It ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #223 Netflix Watch Instantly Technology - Quick Review There are so many ways to get movies from the Internet, and they seem to be multiplying daily. We've talked about the Netflix Watch Instantly feature in the past, but want to take a few minute to give it a closer look. Sometimes you need a movie right away. With Blockbuster you just swing by the store, withVUDU you just queue a download, but with Netflix you're our of luck, right? Wrong. If you have a computer connected to the TV - or ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #222 Apple updated the Mac Operating System, and with it came some updates to Front Row and the DVD player, moving the platform even closer to the video server system we've put together. We'll fill you in on the details. We also have a review of the Audioengine A2 speakers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #221 We already know that you can buy TVs and HTiB systems at Costco. But this weekend while shopping for much less important stuff I found that Costco has come a long way in selling gear that you would want in your home theater. While its not a Best Buy or Circuit City it does offer some essential gear at reasonable prices. Today we talk about what you might expect to find while walking down the electronics section of your local Costco. Note: not all products are available in all Costcos. This ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #220 Ever since the Transformers HD-DVD episode there have been questions about audio formats, especially Dolby Digital Plus versus Dolby TrueHD. Questions like: Why would we want one instead of the other? What's the difference? Should we be upset if TrueHD is missing from a disc? We had the opportunity to ask Dolby experts Jack Buser and Craig Eggers these very questions. It's a great interview with a ton of great info. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #219 The features we have for you today are both listener requested. Ashton sent us an email asking to to explain PCM, Linear PCM and Bitstreams and Nathan wanted more information about Aspect Ratios. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #218 We try to be as format neutral as possible, after all what really matters is that you're watching movies in high definition. Who cares what disc format you use, right? To be fair, and to set the record straight, we'll go over all the specs for the two formats and see who has the edge in each category. By all accounts this format war is still neck and neck. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #217 We are big proponents of movie downloads and we always have our eyes peeled for a good solution. To date, all the solutions out there have something that the HT Guys don't like. The biggest issue we have is video quality but other issues include the payment system or requiring a computer to download and store the movie. Enter Vudu. It is a $400 set top box not much bigger than a Mac Mini that promises to deliver movies on demand that passes the HT Guys video quality requirements. The Video ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #216 Paramount released the Transformers HD-DVD on Tuesday and if you have an HD-DVD player, this one is a must buy. If you don't have a player yet, this movie might be a good reason to finally pull the trigger and get one. As a quick overview, the video quality is amazing, the surround sound is awesome and it's packed with special features. We aren't typically big fans of special features, but some of them are really worth your time. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #215 We update our discussion on Audio and Video cables Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #214 An update to the Mac Mini Video Server project using new new 4.0 release of DVDPedia. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #213 So you've got your eye on a shiny new Plasma or LCD TV and think, well if I buy the flat panel TV, I might as well mount it to the wall, right? For some it may seem like a walk in the park. For others it might sound like a daunting task. But really, no matter what your background or skill level, mounting a flat panel TV is pretty easy. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #212 With more and more devices on the market supporting digital interfaces like HDMI and DVI it has become a necessity for TV manufacturers to build TVs with more than one HDMI input. That's great if you are buying a TV today. But what do you do if you have a relatively new TV with one HDMI input? You certainly are not going to trade it in. You have two choices, buy a new A/V receiver with HDMI switching capability or you can buy an HDMI Switch. Today we take a very quick look at a new product ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #211 This is the time of year when we add the most new listeners to the HDTV and Home Theater Podcast. First of all, welcome to the show, we're glad you found us. Some of you new listeners are new to the world of HDTV, having just installed your first one. Maybe you wanted to see this Football season in high def, or the world series, or the 2007 Fall dramas. Whatever it is, congratulations on your new TV. Or maybe you're anticipating jumping into the world of high definition with you first HDTV ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #210 A few weeks ago we learned that most consumers put a heavier emphasis on cost than any other specification when selecting an HDTV. So we decided to obtain and review a TV that can be considered a value brand. While not the cheapest TV on the market today the Westinghouse TX-42F430S is definitely a value for what you get. This Westy has many of the cool features that the more expensive tier 1 TVs do and a couple that they don't. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #209 Al Gore recently won an Emmy Award for interactive television for his Current TV network. The network features a mix of professionally produced and viewer submitted content. It's almost like the Cable TV version of YouTube. Gore says that we live in a world where viewers want to be in control of their media. Whether the Current TV model is actually what one would call "Interactive TV" is probably debatable. Just because there's a network devoted to running home movies, like a 24 hour Funnie ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #208 Recently, Kevin from Wright City Missouri sent in an email asking us if we had heard anything more about any Microsoft plans for IPTV using their Xbox360 as a platform. Way back in January, Robbie Bach, president of The Microsoft Entertainment and Devices Division, showed the IPTV service at CES and since then we have not heard much more about it. At that time they said the service would be available around the Holiday season, which is just around the corner. So what will the service provid ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #207 Part 2 of our CEDIA Roundup. We'd like to talk about the companies that we visited and what we saw. Use the following as a guide to follow along with the discussion on the podcast. We have provided as many links as we can to help in your information gathering. So here we go in no particular order... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #206 Now that we have had some time to collect our thoughts on the recent CEDIA Expo. We'd like to talk about the companies that we visited and what we saw. Use the website as a guide to follow along with the discussion on the podcast. We have provided as many links as we can to help in your information gathering. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #205 Today's show is mostly news and email. Ara spent the weekend in Denver Colorado at the CEDIA expo. We will have a full CEDIA rundown on Friday's podcast. For today, Ara briefly talks about his experience at the show. We wrap up with the top ten selling Blu Ray Discs and HD DVDs as ranked by Amazon.com on Monday September 10th. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #204 We received a question from a listener regarding HDMI and it's various versions. That led us into a full discussion on everything from what all the various versions are capable of, how they inter-operate, backward compatibility issues, you name it. Today it's all about the HDMI. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #202 In Ara's never ending search for the perfect low cost whole house audio system he has experimented with many powered speaker systems but its always been a compromise. Either the speakers were too small and did not produce enough volume, or they did not produce an acceptable level of audio quality, or they were just plain ugly. Today we talk about a speaker system that gives him everything he was looking for without compromise. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #202 We all know that HDTV is a sports fan's best friend. In many aspects watching your favorite sport on a big screen HDTV in the comfort of your own home is even better than being there live. You get a better view, you don't have to worry about any kind of weather issues, and you control the remote and the concessions. What could be better? With the football season in full swing, we thought we'd take a look at what you need to enjoy the full sports experience at home. Whether you watch co ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #201 We've talked in the past about the Yamaha Sound Projector. It's a box that looks like one center channel speaker, but really it simulates a full surround sound experience. In demos we've had, it actually works really well, better than we would have guessed, but it needs some help from the environment. It's really at its best when the room it's in is fairly rectangular and doesn't have too much sound dampeneing material, like drapes, on the walls. But there seems to be some competition e ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #200 We announce the Winners of the show 200 giveaway contest and by now you have probably heard that Paramount and DreamWorks Animation are now exclusive HD DVD studios. So if you want to watch Shrek the III or Transformers on a next generation format you'll need an HD DVD player. We'll give you our take on the big announcement. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #199 It seems like the concept of IPTV or Internet video or downloadable movies comes up almost weekly on the HDTV Podcast. We're excited about the idea that one day we'll be able to just queue a Netflix movie and have it download straight to some sort of STB or HTPC. Hopefully it will be at least DVD quality. But getting the movie selection of Netflix or Blockbuster, without having to wait for a DVD to arrive in the mail or having to visit a store, will be great. The next step is to actuall ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #198 We've received a few emails lately asking us to talk about 2.1 home theater systems. This is not something that would necessarily go into a large dedicated home theater but something that would work well in a small apartment or a master bedroom. It consists of a receiver. left and right speakers, a sub woofer. You would supply your own DVD player and television set top box. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #197 It seems like a lot of what we've been talking about on the show lately has revolved around something Braden is doing. But if it matters to one of us, odds are it might matter to some of you, so here's another one. With the addition of boy number four to the Russell home, we've realized that our current car just doesn't quite fit our needs. We spent the whole weekend minivan shopping, and loved every minute of it. But the one thing in the van that mattered most to Braden was the rear en ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #196 From time to time we like to run down to our local Best Buy and see what they have in their Magnolia Home Center. This weekend we saw the 65 inch LCD from Sharp (LC-65D93U) that just grabbed our attention and said take a look at me. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #195 Most of us have had a computer just give up on us at one point or another. For whatever reason it just decides to give up and die. It can happen to a PC, a Mac, a Linux box, you name it. Nowadays there are so many options on replacements, it's tough to decide what to do. What are the options? We also announce a show 200 giveaway! Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #194 It is no secret that the HT Guys like and recommend Oppo Digital upconverting DVD players. We have reviewed the current lineup of DV-970HD, OPDV971H, and DV-981HD players in the past. Today we take a look at the new Oppo Digital DV-980H. Essentially the 980 is the same as a 970 but with 1080p and better audio capability for just $20 more. This review will not be as detailed as previous Oppo reviews because we found that the performance was similar to the 970. We'll concentrate on what is ne ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #193 Back in April of 2005, Episode #2 in fact, we did a comparison between LCD, DLP and Plasma as your three main choices for living room HDTVs. The landscape has changed a little since then, so we've decided to update the comparison. We also had to add flat panel LCD and LCoS to the discussion. Like the original, we're sticking with only the digital display types. Sorry CRT fans. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #192 Today, we are taking a look at the Gefen Home Theater Scaler; a scaler that costs $450 and can scale your video, convert your analog sources to digital, and act as a switch box for up to four video sources. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #191 Braden is back (sort of) from paternity leave, so the show is almost back to the regular format. There's a little news, some listener email and a detailed discussion of Ara's experience with the Mac Airport Express for whole house audio. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #190 Braden's is a father again. His son was born on Wednesday July 18th. Mother, Baby, and HT Guy are doing fine. I would love it if you could send the Russell family a congratulations email or e-card. Please send it to babyforbraden@gmail.com. Braden and I know we have the best listeners out there. It would be real cool for Braden's wife to get the same appreciation. We still have a full show for this week. I (Ara) will talk to my wife Lina about what its like living with an HD nut. I'll ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #189 We talk about the Family and Consumer Act of 2007 and how it may bring a la carte pricing to your TV. We also revisit a subject that we have received allot of email about. Should you go and buy a 1080p when you can get a great deal on 720p TVs. For a refresher we are including information from our November 14th show as well as a link to an interview at Electronic house with SIM2 marketing Manager Greg Nicoloso. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #188 Back to our normal, lively format we review the HDHomeRun from Silicon Dust. Then we diverge into a topic we can't really explain - you just have to listen to it. I bet you never thought you'd hear this phrase ever uttered on the HDTV and Home Theater Podcast. Enjoy! Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #187 We are still on vacation. But that didn't keep us from pre-recording a great show for you today. We have the usual listener emails but we also have a listener review of the Sharp LC- 37D62U LCD TV and we have a listener's first impression of the SONY BDP-S300 Blu Ray Player. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #187 We are still on vacation. But that didn't keep us from pre-recording a great show for you today. We have the usual listener emails but we also have a listener review of the Sharp LC- 37D62U LCD TV and we have a listener's first impression of the SONY BDP-S300 Blu Ray Player. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #186 We are officially on vacation today, but just like the post office, we continue to deliver - even in the face of really nice weather and hawaiian shirts. We consider this one to be a "casual dress" Friday; no formal content, just classic HT Guys discussion. On the list of topics: * Creating a Wii Media Server * Managed copy for standard DVDs * ESPN HD on Dish Network * Sitcoms in HD - what's up with that? * Is Disk Size (file size) the new DRM? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #186 We are officially on vacation today, but just like the post office, we continue to deliver - even in the face of really nice weather and hawaiian shirts. We consider this one to be a "casual dress" Friday; no formal content, just classic HT Guys discussion. On the list of topics: * Creating a Wii Media Server * Managed copy for standard DVDs * ESPN HD on Dish Network * Sitcoms in HD - what's up with that? * Is Disk Size (file size) the new DRM? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #185 CE Pro produces a list of the top 100 custom electronics dealers every year, ranked by revenue. Then they take that information and ask each of those dealers what their favorite products are to sell in a bunch of different categories. They call it the Top 100 Products Analysis. We go over this information every year not because we believe these are necessarily the best you can buy, but because it provides some really good insight. We came across an article recently at cable360.net e ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #185 CE Pro produces a list of the top 100 custom electronics dealers every year, ranked by revenue. Then they take that information and ask each of those dealers what their favorite products are to sell in a bunch of different categories. They call it the Top 100 Products Analysis. We go over this information every year not because we believe these are necessarily the best you can buy, but because it provides some really good insight. We came across an article recently at cable360.net e ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #184 Today we talk about the DVD Copy Control Associations attempt to add an amendment to its licensing agreement that requires a DVD to be present during playback. Then we move on to discuss an email from Jason in Brooklyn, NY which spurred some debate around the offices of the HT Guys. Jason asked us to convince him why he should upgrade to the next generation DVD format. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #184 Today we talk about the DVD Copy Control Associations attempt to add an amendment to its licensing agreement that requires a DVD to be present during playback. Then we move on to discuss an email from Jason in Brooklyn, NY which spurred some debate around the offices of the HT Guys. Jason asked us to convince him why he should upgrade to the next generation DVD format. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #183 We finally talk about our MythTV experience. For this show we have invited Jeff Davis to be our guest. Jeff was critical in putting our MythTV project together. He did most of the Low Level LINUX work for us including finding and installing device drivers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #183 We finally talk about our MythTV experience. For this show we have invited Jeff Davis to be our guest. Jeff was critical in putting our MythTV project together. He did most of the Low Level LINUX work for us including finding and installing device drivers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #182 First we cover the ins and outs of the FCC CableCard mandate. Then we review the Toshiba HD-A2 HD-DVD player. You can find some great deals on the Toshiba HD-DVD players right now, we'll let you know whether or not to take advantage of them. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #182 First we cover the ins and outs of the FCC CableCard mandate. Then we review the Toshiba HD-A2 HD-DVD player. You can find some great deals on the Toshiba HD-DVD players right now, we'll let you know whether or not to take advantage of them. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #181 We have heard, and read, countless stories about listeners, and their friends, ordering HD only to find out that their service was not properly set up. Today we are going to give you a check list of things to ask your installer to Make sure you you get all the HD you pay for! Also, we throw a bunch of terms around when talking about Home Theater receivers, and, based on some of the emails we have received, it has come to our attention that a few of you may not understand some of them. W ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #181 We have heard, and read, countless stories about listeners, and their friends, ordering HD only to find out that their service was not properly set up. Today we are going to give you a check list of things to ask your installer to Make sure you you get all the HD you pay for! Also, we throw a bunch of terms around when talking about Home Theater receivers, and, based on some of the emails we have received, it has come to our attention that a few of you may not understand some of them. W ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #180 Last week we talked about Microsoft Vista Media Center using the HP Pavilion Media Center m8000n. After getting a ton of emails on the subject, we decided to revisit the topic and install some add-on programs to trick out the Media Center a little. While Microsoft has done a solid job at creating a well rounded home theater PC interface, there are a few companies and individuals out there that have extended the original design to create the ultimate experience. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #180 Last week we talked about Microsoft Vista Media Center using the HP Pavilion Media Center m8000n. After getting a ton of emails on the subject, we decided to revisit the topic and install some add-on programs to trick out the Media Center a little. While Microsoft has done a solid job at creating a well rounded home theater PC interface, there are a few companies and individuals out there that have extended the original design to create the ultimate experience. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #179 There are have been a allot of stories going around the Internet about how Major League Baseball may go after Sling Media. Today we will talk about the issues and give you the HT Guys take on the subject. As always feel free to send us your thoughts on the subject. The HT Guys are both dads, and yes we both have some idea of what would make a nice Father's Day present. As we're sure everyone already knows, especially our wives and kids, Father's Day this year falls on June 17th. Instead ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #179 There are have been a allot of stories going around the Internet about how Major League Baseball may go after Sling Media. Today we will talk about the issues and give you the HT Guys take on the subject. As always feel free to send us your thoughts on the subject. The HT Guys are both dads, and yes we both have some idea of what would make a nice Father's Day present. As we're sure everyone already knows, especially our wives and kids, Father's Day this year falls on June 17th. Instead ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #178 Using a computer in your home theater in one way or another has been a hot topic on the show for a while now; we have looked at the Mac Mini, we're looking at Linux and MythTV, various Windows topics have come up, etc. Today we want discus another HTPC product, but this time it's an off-the-shelf Media Center running Microsoft Vista, the HP Pavilion Media Center m8000n. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #178 Using a computer in your home theater in one way or another has been a hot topic on the show for a while now; we have looked at the Mac Mini, we're looking at Linux and MythTV, various Windows topics have come up, etc. Today we want discus another HTPC product, but this time it's an off-the-shelf Media Center running Microsoft Vista, the HP Pavilion Media Center m8000n. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #177 We cover two topics that appeared online recently. The first is an article from Electronic House and it discusses what the networked home of the future will be like. The second comes from ProAV Magazine and it covers Outdoor Speaker Design. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #177 We cover two topics that appeared online recently. The first is an article from Electronic House and it discusses what the networked home of the future will be like. The second comes from ProAV Magazine and it covers Outdoor Speaker Design. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #176 We'd all love it if every show we watched was in HD; and for many of us that includes a reality show or two. We'll discuss a few reasons why they may not be in High Def yet, and why those reasons may not be valid. Then we have a review of the Panasonic TH-50PZ700U 1080p plasma television. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #176 We'd all love it if every show we watched was in HD; and for many of us that includes a reality show or two. We'll discuss a few reasons why they may not be in High Def yet, and why those reasons may not be valid. Then we have a review of the Panasonic TH-50PZ700U 1080p plasma television. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #175 We give you a debrief about our recent visit to Dolby Laboratories. And since the TV season in the US just ended this week, we want discuss what we enjoyed in HD and what we stopped watching. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #175 We give you a debrief about our recent visit to Dolby Laboratories. And since the TV season in the US just ended this week, we want discuss what we enjoyed in HD and what we stopped watching. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #174 A very special HDTV and Home Theater Podcast. We have an abreviated one for you today. Braden was called away on an emergency so Ara had to fly solo. The show today was just email and news. Back to the regular podcast on Tuesday. Thanks for understanding! Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #174 A very special HDTV and Home Theater Podcast. We have an abreviated one for you today. Braden was called away on an emergency so Ara had to fly solo. The show today was just email and news. Back to the regular podcast on Tuesday. Thanks for understanding! Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #173 We have a review of the Panasonic TH-50PX75U 50 Inch Plasma TV we also give you our thoughts on an article from Connected Home Magazine titled The Future of Media in the Networked Home. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #173 We have a review of the Panasonic TH-50PX75U 50 Inch Plasma TV we also give you our thoughts on an article from Connected Home Magazine titled The Future of Media in the Networked Home. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #172 After listener emails and the news, we go over a few tips on buying speakers. Then we close it out with a review of the Rocketfish Wireless Rear Speaker System. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #171 We have a discussion about building a do it yourself Drive-In Theater. The idea comes to us from Popular Mechanics magazine. We also talk about a fantastic 3D movie experience from Real D. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #170 Highlights from the 2007 Cable Industry Show in Las Vegas and a discussion on DVD on Demand technology. There's some really great stuff on the horizon, you don't want to miss it. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #170 Highlights from the 2007 Cable Industry Show in Las Vegas and a discussion on DVD on Demand technology. There's some really great stuff on the horizon, you don't want to miss it. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #169 We have a review of the Samsung LN-T2332H 23" LCD HDTV and we discuss an article in Electronic House Magazine called 10 Things About Sound That You Were Afraid to Ask. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #169 We have a review of the Samsung LN-T2332H 23" LCD HDTV and we discuss an article in Electronic House Magazine called 10 Things About Sound That You Were Afraid to Ask. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #168 Ever wonder how you would design the perfect Xbox 360 Home Theater Edition? Gizmodo thought about it, and came up with some cool ideas. We also have a review of the Panasonic DMR-EZ47VK DVD Recorder; it received the coveted 'digital video Swiss Army knife' award. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #168 Ever wonder how you would design the perfect Xbox 360 Home Theater Edition? Gizmodo thought about it, and came up with some cool ideas. We also have a review of the Panasonic DMR-EZ47VK DVD Recorder; it received the coveted 'digital video Swiss Army knife' award. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #167 Just when we were ready to pronounce traditional movie theaters dead and buried, they may be in the early stages of a very strong comeback. We received an email from listener Darin about some work Peter Jackson, the director of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, had done using a new camera from a company simply called Red. We talk about what impact this can have on both the cinema and the home theater. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #167 Just when we were ready to pronounce traditional movie theaters dead and buried, they may be in the early stages of a very strong comeback. We received an email from listener Darin about some work Peter Jackson, the director of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, had done using a new camera from a company simply called Red. We talk about what impact this can have on both the cinema and the home theater. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #166 We throw around terms like Dolby Pro Logic and Matrix Decoding all the time. In today's show we actually define the terms, give a little background on the technology and hopefully explain it a bit. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #166 We throw around terms like Dolby Pro Logic and Matrix Decoding all the time. In today's show we actually define the terms, give a little background on the technology and hopefully explain it a bit. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #165 The timing was almost perfect. We did a little feature on home automation a few episodes ago, then started to receive a ton of email on the subject. Not long after the April 2007 edition of CE Pro magazine showed up. It had a feature in it entitled "The Ultimate Guide to Home Automation." We go through a list of DIY home automation products. We also discuss a recent blog by Mark Cuban that talks about the HDTV becoming the new PC. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #165 The timing was almost perfect. We did a little feature on home automation a few episodes ago, then started to receive a ton of email on the subject. Not long after the April 2007 edition of CE Pro magazine showed up. It had a feature in it entitled "The Ultimate Guide to Home Automation." We go through a list of DIY home automation products. We also discuss a recent blog by Mark Cuban that talks about the HDTV becoming the new PC. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #164 We discuss a blog about the top 20 reasons why Home Theater is better than the Movie Theater. Then we review the Mitsubishi WD-65831 65" 1080p DLP. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #164 We discuss a blog about the top 20 reasons why Home Theater is better than the Movie Theater. Then we review the Mitsubishi WD-65831 65" 1080p DLP. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #163 When you go out to buy an HDTV you are usually bombarded with all kinds of specifications and numbers. One of the most misused is Contrast Ratio. Today we help you understand what Contrast Ratio is all about. We also opine about being able to control your system over HDMI via CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #163 When you go out to buy an HDTV you are usually bombarded with all kinds of specifications and numbers. One of the most misused is Contrast Ratio. Today we help you understand what Contrast Ratio is all about. We also opine about being able to control your system over HDMI via CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #162 In this, our spooky Friday the 13th episode, we cover some really scary stuff, like the DLO Homedock Pro and HD Radio. OK, so they really aren't all that scary, but it's a fun show. Take a listen. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #162 In this, our spooky Friday the 13th episode, we cover some really scary stuff, like the DLO Homedock Pro and HD Radio. OK, so they really aren't all that scary, but it's a fun show. Take a listen. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #161 We decompose an article in Home in Home Media Magazine entitled Katzenberg: HD is a Niche. We try to get to the real meaning behind Jeffrey Katzenberg's statements. We also talk about the Digital Living Network Alliance, or DLNA and what their view of the future is. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #161 We decompose an article in Home in Home Media Magazine entitled Katzenberg: HD is a Niche. We try to get to the real meaning behind Jeffrey Katzenberg's statements. We also talk about the Digital Living Network Alliance, or DLNA and what their view of the future is. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #160 We discuss what might happen in the DVD server market now that Kaleidescape has put their legal struggles behind them, including devices like the T2 Media Server from Interact-TV. We also picked our 10 favorite shows in High Definition, but we each used slightly different criteria to pick them. You'll have to listen to find out more. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #160 We discuss what might happen in the DVD server market now that Kaleidescape has put their legal struggles behind them, including devices like the T2 Media Server from Interact-TV. We also picked our 10 favorite shows in High Definition, but we each used slightly different criteria to pick them. You'll have to listen to find out more. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #159 We go through the 2007 RAVE awards from Home Theater Magazine and we provide a basic introduction to home automation. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #159 We go through the 2007 RAVE awards from Home Theater Magazine and we provide a basic introduction to home automation. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #158 In response to emails about those on a limited budget, we put together a complete HDTV setup for under $1200 to get you in the game. We also have a review of the Intimus 532 speakers from Aperion. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #158 In response to emails about those on a limited budget, we put together a complete HDTV setup for under $1200 to get you in the game. We also have a review of the Intimus 532 speakers from Aperion. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #157 We have a review of the JVC HD-61FN97 61" 1080p HDTV we also have a discussion on home automation that the home owner can program. Well sort of. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #157 We have a review of the JVC HD-61FN97 61" 1080p HDTV we also have a discussion on home automation that the home owner can program. Well sort of. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #156 Today we provide what we think is a definitive list of what HD channels are available, and what one's are coming in 2007 and 2008. Then we discuss the HQV Benchmark DVD from Silicon Optix. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #156 Today we provide what we think is a definitive list of what HD channels are available, and what one's are coming in 2007 and 2008. Then we discuss the HQV Benchmark DVD from Silicon Optix. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #155 Today we have the pleasure of speaking with Jack Buser and Craig Eggers of the DolbyCast. We talk about their latest audio technology and other audio related topics. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #155 Today we have the pleasure of speaking with Jack Buser and Craig Eggers of the DolbyCast. We talk about their latest audio technology and other audio related topics. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #154 Just two guys hanging out in Ara's new media room, talking home theater and having a good time. We go over all the ins and outs of Ara's new setup. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #154 Just two guys hanging out in Ara's new media room, talking home theater and having a good time. We go over all the ins and outs of Ara's new setup. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #153 We discuss an article from Electronic House entitled "Home Theater for Small Rooms" And we remember Dr Robert Adler, the father of the remote control, by talking a bit about the history and technology behind the one product in the home theater that we all take for granted. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #153 We discuss an article from Electronic House entitled "Home Theater for Small Rooms" And we remember Dr Robert Adler, the father of the remote control, by talking a bit about the history and technology behind the one product in the home theater that we all take for granted. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #152 This is part one in our one part interview with Ara Derderian, co-host of the HDTV and Home Theater podcast. We pick his brain about setting up a do-it-yourself video server and home entertainment network. He based his on the Mac Mini from Apple. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #152 This is part one in our one part interview with Ara Derderian, co-host of the HDTV and Home Theater podcast. We pick his brain about setting up a do-it-yourself video server and home entertainment network. He based his on the Mac Mini from Apple. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #151 When we saw the new Vizio 60 inch Plasma (the MAXIMVS) via a press release a few weeks ago we were very impressed by its specifications. This week we take an in store look at the TV (Vizio does not send out evaluation samples). There's a new acronym emerging that we want to give you a heads-up on. It's called 'iDCR' and stands for 'Interactive Digital Cable Ready.. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #151 When we saw the new Vizio 60 inch Plasma (the MAXIMVS) via a press release a few weeks ago we were very impressed by its specifications. This week we take an in store look at the TV (Vizio does not send out evaluation samples). There's a new acronym emerging that we want to give you a heads-up on. It's called 'iDCR' and stands for 'Interactive Digital Cable Ready.. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #150 Part three of our three part interview with Phil Dade of Cavalti Home Theater. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #150 Part three of our three part interview with Phil Dade of Cavalti Home Theater. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #149 We run down a list of the top 10 "Must Have" home technology trends from a Market watch article and we talk about three cool home theater gadgets that we found interesting. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #149 We run down a list of the top 10 "Must Have" home technology trends from a Market watch article and we talk about three cool home theater gadgets that we found interesting. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #148 Last Friday (Episode 146) we played part one of an interview we did with custom home theater designer Phil Dade of Cavalti Home Theater in Newport Beach. Today's show is part two of the Q and A session. Great stuff! Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #148 Last Friday (Episode 146) we played part one of an interview we did with custom home theater designer Phil Dade of Cavalti Home Theater in Newport Beach. Today's show is part two of the Q and A session. Great stuff! Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #147 Today's show is pretty much all audio. We have an interview with Alex Thatcher Senior Product Marketing Manager for Flat Panel Television. We met Alex at CES this year and asked him if he would come on our show to talk about what HP has in the way of networkable TVs. The conversation went into home networking and included a discussion on movie downloads. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #147 Today's show is pretty much all audio. We have an interview with Alex Thatcher Senior Product Marketing Manager for Flat Panel Television. We met Alex at CES this year and asked him if he would come on our show to talk about what HP has in the way of networkable TVs. The conversation went into home networking and included a discussion on movie downloads. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #146 We had a chance to meet with custom home theater designer Phil Dade of Cavalti Home Theater in Newport Beach. We sat with him and picked his brain about home theater. Today's show is part one of the interview. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #146 We had a chance to meet with custom home theater designer Phil Dade of Cavalti Home Theater in Newport Beach. We sat with him and picked his brain about home theater. Today's show is part one of the interview. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #145 We have a listener review of the SONY HDR-HC3 HD Camcorder and we take a look at the history of the Yamaha corporation from an A/V perspective. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #145 We have a listener review of the SONY HDR-HC3 HD Camcorder and we take a look at the history of the Yamaha corporation from an A/V perspective. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #144 We go over the history of high definition television and discuss some tips and tricks for wiring in difficult situations. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #144 We go over the history of high definition television and discuss some tips and tricks for wiring in difficult situations. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #143 We have a review of the Helios H4000 and we talk about what we are watching on TV. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #143 We have a review of the Helios H4000 and we talk about what we are watching on TV. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #142 Living in the US its pretty hard not to know that this Sunday (February 4th) is Superbowl Sunday. We take a look at the Superbowl from an HD perspective. We also take a look at HDMI 1.3. Should you buy something today that does not support HDMI 1.3 or should you wait. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #142 Living in the US its pretty hard not to know that this Sunday (February 4th) is Superbowl Sunday. We take a look at the Superbowl from an HD perspective. We also take a look at HDMI 1.3. Should you buy something today that does not support HDMI 1.3 or should you wait. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #141 We've got news, listener email, some talk about Microsoft and the HD-DVD format, and a review of the Sony VPL-VW50 SXRD projector. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #141 We've got news, listener email, some talk about Microsoft and the HD-DVD format, and a review of the Sony VPL-VW50 SXRD projector. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #140 In today's show we have a review of Toshiba's 42HP66 42 inch plasma HDTV. Then we do a look back and look forward at SED and OLED technologies. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #140 In today's show we have a review of Toshiba's 42HP66 42 inch plasma HDTV. Then we do a look back and look forward at SED and OLED technologies. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #139 We give you our first impression of the Sling Media Sling Catcher. We also go through another list from Phil Swann of TV Predictions. This time Phil picks his winners and losers of CES. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #138 We finish up our CES coverage with some cool odds and ends announced at CES that may not have received a lot of press coverage. We also take a first look at the AppleTV Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #138 We finish up our CES coverage with some cool odds and ends announced at CES that may not have received a lot of press coverage. We also take a first look at the AppleTV Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #137 More coverage of CES 2007. The show is over, but we still have a bunch to talk about. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #137 More coverage of CES 2007. The show is over, but we still have a bunch to talk about. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #136 Live from CES 2007, at least it was when we recorded it. We talk about some of the great stuff we saw at the show. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #136 Live from CES 2007, at least it was when we recorded it. We talk about some of the great stuff we saw at the show. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #135 By now, CES is alive and kicking, but we haven't been able to gather enough information to present, so we decided to put together a preview episode covering what we expect to see when we get there. By Friday we'll have first hand accounts of all the big news and announcements, latest technologies and anything else we saw that you should know about. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #135 By now, CES is alive and kicking, but we haven't been able to gather enough information to present, so we decided to put together a preview episode covering what we expect to see when we get there. By Friday we'll have first hand accounts of all the big news and announcements, latest technologies and anything else we saw that you should know about. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #134 We have a review of the Panasonic TH-50PX60U 50" Diagonal Plasma HDTV and we discuss an article written by Rebecca Day of Electronic House Magazine titled: "Companies Battle to Serve You and Your TV A war between cable, satellite and phone giants could yield more TV options and lower costs for consumers". Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #134 We have a review of the Panasonic TH-50PX60U 50" Diagonal Plasma HDTV and we discuss an article written by Rebecca Day of Electronic House Magazine titled: "Companies Battle to Serve You and Your TV A war between cable, satellite and phone giants could yield more TV options and lower costs for consumers". Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #133 Since this is our first episode for 2007, we decided to take a stab at some HDTV and Home Theater predictions for this year. Ara also put together a review of his new Xbox 360. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #133 Since this is our first episode for 2007, we decided to take a stab at some HDTV and Home Theater predictions for this year. Ara also put together a review of his new Xbox 360. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #132 We've assembled a couple of Home Theater Starter Systems for those looking to get into the High Definition world. We'll also take a look back at some of the big events and non-events of 2006. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #131 A short show on the day after Christmas. Now that you have your new HDTV at home, the HT Guys give some quick pointers to get the most out of your investment. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #131 A short show on the day after Christmas. Now that you have your new HDTV at home, the HT Guys give some quick pointers to get the most out of your investment. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #130 As we start winding down for the year we have one final review. Today we take a look at the Oppo DV-981HD. Its an upconverting DVD player with 1080p support. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #130 As we start winding down for the year we have one final review. Today we take a look at the Oppo DV-981HD. Its an upconverting DVD player with 1080p support. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #129 Today's show we finally get to the DirecTV and Dish Network discussion we've been wanting to do. We pepper in some comments on Cable and Over-the-Air as well. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #129 Today's show we finally get to the DirecTV and Dish Network discussion we've been wanting to do. We pepper in some comments on Cable and Over-the-Air as well. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #128 Today's show has a couple of reviews to hopefully help with your Holiday shopping. We look at the Mvix MX-760HD and do a first impression of the Sony BDP-S1 Blu-ray player. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #128 Today's show has a couple of reviews to hopefully help with your Holiday shopping. We look at the Mvix MX-760HD and do a first impression of the Sony BDP-S1 Blu-ray player. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #127 We finish out our Holiday buying guide with a look at receivers. We also had another listener review. This time Al from Green Bay tells us about living with the DirecTV HR 20 DVR. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #127 We finish out our Holiday buying guide with a look at receivers. We also had another listener review. This time Al from Green Bay tells us about living with the DirecTV HR 20 DVR. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #126 Today we do another history piece. We talk about Panasonic. Speaking of Panasonic they have a website dedicated to comparing Plasma TVs to LCD TVs. We go through the bullet points and try to shed some light on the subject. Finally, we have a listener review of the SONY HDR-SR1 Handycam. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #126 Today we do another history piece. We talk about Panasonic. Speaking of Panasonic they have a website dedicated to comparing Plasma TVs to LCD TVs. We go through the bullet points and try to shed some light on the subject. Finally, we have a listener review of the SONY HDR-SR1 Handycam. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #125 Today we explain a bunch of HDTV and Home Theater terms you need to know if you're buying a new TV this Holiday season. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #125 Today we explain a bunch of HDTV and Home Theater terms you need to know if you're buying a new TV this Holiday season. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #124 We put together an HDTV Buyer's Guide for Christmas 2006. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #124 We put together an HDTV Buyer's Guide for Christmas 2006. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #123 Last week we went to the Electronic House Expo (EHX) show in Long Beach California. This show is geared towards custom installers but we found products that all of us would be interested in. Most of these products are priced out of our reach but it is still cool to see where the technology is going. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #123 Last week we went to the Electronic House Expo (EHX) show in Long Beach California. This show is geared towards custom installers but we found products that all of us would be interested in. Most of these products are priced out of our reach but it is still cool to see where the technology is going. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #122 Being that today is "Black Friday" and many of you just bought your first HDTV at a great price. We want to do a show that will help you decide on a "Home Theater in a Box" HTIB system that will bring the other half of the HD experience into your "Home Theater" We list and briefly discuss eight systems ranging from just under $500 to just over $1000. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #122 Being that today is "Black Friday" and many of you just bought your first HDTV at a great price. We want to do a show that will help you decide on a "Home Theater in a Box" HTIB system that will bring the other half of the HD experience into your "Home Theater" We list and briefly discuss eight systems ranging from just under $500 to just over $1000. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #121 We'll discuss how to archive all your media content, and how to distribute it to all the rooms in your home. We'll weave in some detailed info on Ara's construction project as well. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #121 We'll discuss how to archive all your media content, and how to distribute it to all the rooms in your home. We'll weave in some detailed info on Ara's construction project as well. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #120 In this episode we review the Samsung HL-S5687W 56" Widescreen 1080p DLP HDTV and cover a bunch of the deals that will be available on Black Friday. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #120 In this episode we review the Samsung HL-S5687W 56" Widescreen 1080p DLP HDTV and cover a bunch of the deals that will be available on Black Friday. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #119 We talk about an article by Pete Putman, CTS titled "Your Top 25 HDTV Questions Answered" It's in the Nov 2006 issue of Home Theater Magazine. We also help you determine if saving some money on your next HDTV purchase by buying a 720p TV is a good idea. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #119 We talk about an article by Pete Putman, CTS titled "Your Top 25 HDTV Questions Answered" It's in the Nov 2006 issue of Home Theater Magazine. We also help you determine if saving some money on your next HDTV purchase by buying a 720p TV is a good idea. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #118 Previously we have talked about things you should consider when deciding on which HDTV or Home Theater Receiver you should buy. Today we will finish the discussion with speakers. Shop at our Store Buy the HT Guys a cup of Coffee Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #118 Previously we have talked about things you should consider when deciding on which HDTV or Home Theater Receiver you should buy. Today we will finish the discussion with speakers. Shop at our Store Buy the HT Guys a cup of Coffee Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #117 An all review show, with appearances from a Polaraid 32" LCD and the Universal Remote MX3000. Shop at our Store Buy the HT Guys a cup of Coffee Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #117 An all review show, with appearances from a Polaraid 32" LCD and the Universal Remote MX3000. Shop at our Store Buy the HT Guys a cup of Coffee Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #116 Today we cover a new sensation that will be sweeping the home theater world in about ten years, Ultra High Definition. We also discuss round two in the "are you getting all the resolution you deserve" debate.Shop at our StoreBuy the HT Guys a cup of Coffee Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #116 Today we cover a new sensation that will be sweeping the home theater world in about ten years, Ultra High Definition. We also discuss round two in the "are you getting all the resolution you deserve" debate.Shop at our StoreBuy the HT Guys a cup of Coffee Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #115 How to pick your Home Theater Receiver Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #115 How to pick your Home Theater Receiver Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #114 Today we take a look at a survey about HDTV from HDTV Magazine. We also talk about our experience with the DVDO VP30 Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #114 Today we take a look at a survey about HDTV from HDTV Magazine. We also talk about our experience with the DVDO VP30 Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #113 The future of home theater is going to be simplicity. Does that mean no wires?Shop at our StoreBuy the HT Guys a cup of Coffee Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #112 In this episode we cover HDTV options in Canada, check out a 100 foot HDMI cable from Monoprice.com and review a 32" Samsung LCD HDTV.Shop at our StoreBuy the HT Guys a cup of Coffee Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #111 In this episode we cover HDTV options in Canada, check out a 100 foot HDMI cable fromMonoprice.comand review a 32" Samsung LCD HDTV.Shop at our StoreBuy the HT Guys a cup of Coffee Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #111 We receive a lot of email asking about HD camcorders. Since we haven't bought one ourselves its hard for us to talk about the topic. So today we are going to talk about CNETs Quick Guide to Camcorders. We also talk about the SONY Corporation. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #110 We receive a lot of email asking about HD camcorders. Since we haven't bought one ourselves its hard for us to talk about the topic. So today we are going to talk about CNETs Quick Guide to Camcorders. We also talk about the SONY Corporation. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #112 Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #110 Well if you have gone ahead and bought a new HDTV wouldn't you want HD sound? Today we discuss the two audio formats that bring even more life to what you see on the screen. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #109 Well if you have gone ahead and bought a new HDTV wouldn't you want HD sound? Today we discuss the two audio formats that bring even more life to what you see on the screen. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #109 Today we discuss more HDTV buying tips, how to select the right TV for you. Then we cover Phillip Swann's top ten HDTV predictions for 2007. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #108 In this episode we cover some historical fun facts about everyone's favorite movie format, the trusty DVD. Then we review the Yamaha RX-V459 based on Ara's experience helping his brother install one. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #108 In this episode we cover some historical fun facts about everyone's favorite movie format, the trusty DVD. Then we review the Yamaha RX-V459 based on Ara's experience helping his brother install one. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #107 We talk about buying tips for purchasing your HDTV and we cover a topic originally did back in June of 2005, compression Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #107 We talk about buying tips for purchasing your HDTV and we cover a topic originally did back in June of 2005, compression Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #106 We have a review of the Harmony 720 (currently only available at Wallmart and Costco). And by request, we talk about the various Audio Formats that are commonly used in your home theater. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #106 We have a review of the Harmony 720 (currently only available at Wallmart and Costco). And by request, we talk about the various Audio Formats that are commonly used in your home theater. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #105 In this episode we take a look at what's happening with HDTV availability by going over an interview with Eric Shanks from DirecTV from TVPredictions.com. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #105 In this episode we take a look at what's happening with HDTV availability by going over an interview with Eric Shanks from DirecTV from TVPredictions.com. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #104 Today you get the HT Guys overview and recap of CEDIA 2006, including all the announcements from the HD-DVD and Blu-ray camps. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #104 Today you get the HT Guys overview and recap of CEDIA 2006, including all the announcements from the HD-DVD and Blu-ray camps. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #103 We talk about a great online resource for those of you looking get HDTV for the first time called HDTV Pub. We also have two top five lists from Phillip Swann. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #103 We talk about a great online resource for those of you looking get HDTV for the first time called HDTV Pub. We also have two top five lists from Phillip Swann. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #102 Apple and Amazon announce movie downloads and we do our yearly Costco Roundup Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #102 Apple and Amazon announce movie downloads and we do our yearly Costco Roundup Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #101 This is our first Tuesday show of the season. We cover our favorites from the Electronic House Magazine 2006 Products of the Year. Then we do another backgrounder on the story behind THX. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #101 This is our first Tuesday show of the season. We cover our favorites from the Electronic House Magazine 2006 Products of the Year. Then we do another backgrounder on the story behind THX. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #100 Today has a little look back at the previous 100 episodes, then we talk about 50 feet of HDMI and review the new 60" Sony SXRD. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #100 Today has a little look back at the previous 100 episodes, then we talk about 50 feet of HDMI and review the new 60" Sony SXRD. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #99 We do our annual Fall TV season preview and we prognosticate a bit on the future of Home Theater five to ten years out. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #99 We do our annual Fall TV season preview and we prognosticate a bit on the future of Home Theater five to ten years out. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #98 Discussion on user email from 1080i vs. 1080p to the Brady Bunch in high definition. Plus the top 10 most popular televisions (HDTVs, that is) at CNet and our review of two OPPO upconverting DVD players, the DV-970HD and the OPDV971H. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #98 Discussion on user email from 1080i vs. 1080p to the Brady Bunch in high definition. Plus the top 10 most popular televisions (HDTVs, that is) at CNet and our review of two OPPO upconverting DVD players, the DV-970HD and the OPDV971H. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #97 We went to the HDTV Conference and today's podcast is all about what we heard. We heard from Warner Brothers, ESPN, and CBS. We also listened to two panels, one that was comprised of retailers and the other had representatives from Blu Ray and HD DVD camps. We went long with this one because there was so much information. We hope you enjoy it! Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #97 We went to the HDTV Conference and today's podcast is all about what we heard. We heard from Warner Brothers, ESPN, and CBS. We also listened to two panels, one that was comprised of retailers and the other had representatives from Blu Ray and HD DVD camps. We went long with this one because there was so much information. We hope you enjoy it! Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #96 For this episode we went out again for a "first impression" run, this time looking at the new Pioneer 1080p plasma, the PRO-FDH1. Then we talk about Sony's surround sound format, SDDS, and close out with a review of the OnAir Solution USB HDTV Tuner, the 'GT.' Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #95 We review MediaCentral for the Macintosh computer and we get back to some basics. We talk about some things to consider when trying to decide if you want to install your home theater by yourself. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #94 We empty out the mail bag, do the news, talk about HD-DVD and Blu-ray and finish with an explanation of compression and multicasting and why your HDTV isn't living up to its full potential. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #94 We empty out the mail bag, do the news, talk about HD-DVD and Blu-ray and finish with an explanation of compression and multicasting and why your HDTV isn't living up to its full potential. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #93 Today we go over a history of DTS and review the LaCie Silverscreen portable multimedia hard drive. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #93 Today we go over a history of DTS and review the LaCie Silverscreen portable multimedia hard drive. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #92 We'll give you our impression of the first Blu-ray player on the market and talk about all the options available for calibrating your TV. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #91 Today we talk a bit about HDMI. In particular there was an interview with Steve Venuti, Director of Marketing for HDMI Licensing LLC at ElectronicHouse.com on the basics of HDMI. We also have a review of the Lacrosse UHF antenna. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #89 We discuss an article written by TV industry expert Peter Putman that explains why your brand new HDTV has issues. We also talk about setting up a theater in your backyard for some Summer fun. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #88 Some tips for the Home Theater Junkie and a review of the Samsung 61-inch 1080p DLP TV Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #87 Today we talk a bit about the history of Dolby labs and we look at some Father's day gift ideas for the dad who loves home theater. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #87 Today we talk a bit about the history of Dolby labs and we look at some Father's day gift ideas for the dad who loves home theater. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #86 A review of the LG 32-inch High Def LCD and our recap of the 2006 HDTV season. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #85 We have a listener review of the DLO Homedock Deluxe for iPod Video, we go into detail on IPTV, and we discuss power and how much a typical Home Theater uses. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #85 We have a listener review of the DLO Homedock Deluxe for iPod Video, we go into detail on IPTV, and we discuss power and how much a typical Home Theater uses. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #84 We had a great time playing with the new Sonos package and got to review the Dell 26" LCD HDTV. All that plus listener email and HDTV news. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #84 We had a great time playing with the new Sonos package and got to review the Dell 26" LCD HDTV. All that plus listener email and HDTV news. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #83 We take a first look look at Yahoo Go! and we review the Slingmedia SlingPlayer Mobile. We'll also talk news and prbably sneak a little 24 talk in for good measure. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #83 We take a first look look at Yahoo Go! and we review the Slingmedia SlingPlayer Mobile. We'll also talk news and prbably sneak a little 24 talk in for good measure. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #82 Today we discuss some fascinating TV trivia and do a review of SageTV 5.0 media center software. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #82 Today we discuss some fascinating TV trivia and do a review of SageTV 5.0 media center software. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #81 We look at adding a tuner to the Mac Mini. We review the El Gato EyeTV 500 and the Miglia Mini TV HD. We also review the NevoSL Remote from Universal Electronics. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #81 We look at adding a tuner to the Mac Mini. We review the El Gato EyeTV 500 and the Miglia Mini TV HD. We also review the NevoSL Remote from Universal Electronics. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #80 Three big items today. First we take a look at JVC's 56 inch 720p TV. Then we talk about our personal experience with the tecStream system. The show ends with a quick overview of the products named in this year's RAVE awards. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #80 Three big items today. First we take a look at JVC's 56 inch 720p TV. Then we talk about our personal experience with the tecStream system. The show ends with a quick overview of the products named in this year's RAVE awards. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #79 Short show for the Holiday, but still plenty of HDTV and Home Theater news and listener emails. Great stuff. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #79 Short show for the Holiday, but still plenty of HDTV and Home Theater news and listener emails. Great stuff. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #79 Short show for the Holiday, but still plenty of HDTV and Home Theater news and listener emails. Great stuff. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #78 We talk about the Tivo vs Echostar battle over a key patent that makes digital video recorders work. This could potentially impact all DVR owners. And we talk about syndicated TV's move to HD - finally. Plus our usual roundup of current events and listener email. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #78 We talk about the Tivo vs Echostar battle over a key patent that makes digital video recorders work. This could potentially impact all DVR owners. And we talk about syndicated TV's move to HD - finally. Plus our usual roundup of current events and listener email. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #77 Some discussion on the HD-DVD and Blu-ray delays, and our dream all-in-one home theater devices. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #77 Some discussion on the HD-DVD and Blu-ray delays, and our dream all-in-one home theater devices. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #76 We review the The Mvix 5000U Multimedia player. We have another top ten list from TVPredictions.com's Phillip Swann and we have a discussion of resolution and de-interlacing prompted by your email and a recent article in Home Theater Magazine written by Gary Merson entitled "Are you getting All the HDTV Resolution you Expected?" Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #76 We review the The Mvix 5000U Multimedia player. We have another top ten list from TVPredictions.com's Phillip Swann and we have a discussion of resolution and de-interlacing prompted by your email and a recent article in Home Theater Magazine written by Gary Merson entitled "Are you getting All the HDTV Resolution you Expected?" Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #76 We review the The Mvix 5000U Multimedia player. We have another top ten list from TVPredictions.com's Phillip Swann and we have a discussion of resolution and de-interlacing prompted by your email and a recent article in Home Theater Magazine written by Gary Merson entitled "Are you getting All the HDTV Resolution you Expected?" Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #75 Reviews of the 5x1 HDMI switch from Monoprice and the Mitsubishi 62" 1080p DLP. Then a detailed discussion about using the new Mac Mini (2nd generation) as a Home Theater PC. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #75 Reviews of the 5x1 HDMI switch from Monoprice and the Mitsubishi 62" 1080p DLP. Then a detailed discussion about using the new Mac Mini (2nd generation) as a Home Theater PC. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #74 In this episode we review the Belkin PureAV Home Theater Power Conditioner PF40L, the Philips RC9800i remote control, and we talk about watching WMV HD DVDs on the I-O Data Link Player. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #74 In this episode we review the Belkin PureAV Home Theater Power Conditioner PF40L, the Philips RC9800i remote control, and we talk about watching WMV HD DVDs on the I-O Data Link Player. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #73 In this episode we talk about DVD recorders and the new Mac Mini. We even get a chance to talk to a special someone on the phone, but you'll have to listen to find out what that's all about. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #73 In this episode we talk about DVD recorders and the new Mac Mini. We even get a chance to talk to a special someone on the phone, but you'll have to listen to find out what that's all about. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #73 In this episode we talk about DVD recorders and the new Mac Mini. We even get a chance to talk to a special someone on the phone, but you'll have to listen to find out what that's all about. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #72 Today we talk with Ladd Wardani, the President of MoCA. We also discuss the 60" Sony SXRD and some low cost ways to get surround sound in a secondary room. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #72 Today we talk with Ladd Wardani, the President of MoCA. We also discuss the 60" Sony SXRD and some low cost ways to get surround sound in a secondary room. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #71 Today we talk about a new video-on-demand service called MovieBeam and review the InFocus 7210 DLP Projector. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #71 Today we talk about a new video-on-demand service called MovieBeam and review the InFocus 7210 DLP Projector. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #71 Today we talk about a new video-on-demand service called MovieBeam and review the InFocus 7210 DLP Projector. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #70 Today we define UHF and VHF and discuss an article written by Jonathan Takiff about what is hot in TV this year. We also have brief discussion about A la carte pricing for your TV programming, SONY announces Blu Ray DVD pricing, and the great HDCP fiasco. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #68 We talk about a couple of home (shower?) theater products and we had the opportunity to meet with Bill Thompson, the President of a company called usTec. They claim to have already made the dream of home video networking a reality with their tecStream product. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #67 Today we have two reviews on the show. First we discuss the new Netgear XE104 Powerline Ethernet Adapters, then we talk about a wireless digital audio player from Slim Devices called the Squeezebox. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #66 In this episode we have a few tips for the Home Theater Novice from Daily Tech. We talk about the most technologically advanced Super Bowl. And we finish up with a discussion of some higher end gear from Harman Kardon. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #65 A review of the Dell 5100MP DLP Projector and a history lesson: a discussion of analog TV formats. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #64 We review the Viewsonic N3250w wide-screen LCD TV. And we've talked about HANA in the past, today we introduce MoCA, the Multimedia over Coax Alliance. They are doing similar things but over the Coax already running through your house. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #63 In this episode we do a more detailed review of a unit we mentioned a few weeks ago, the I-O DATA AVeL LinkPlayer 2. Then we get into a discussion on HDCP and what it really means to all of us home theater enthusiasts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #62 Review of the Logitech Harmony 520 Remote Control and Phillip Swann's top ten shows in HD. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #61 We continue with our CES coverage. There was a ton of great things we weren't able to cover in the last show. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #60 More CES on today's podcast. As you all know we were at CES last week. Today we give you our impression of the show and what we found interesting. We were given some great demos and can't wait to debrief you all. Over the next few shows we'll bring you all up to speed. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #59 CES started today and as the HT Guys prepare for our journey to the desert announcements are coming out faster than we can read them. In today's show we talk about some key announcements that have already happened and what we plan on seeing at the show. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #58 It's the first show for 2006, and with most of the big news coming at CES, things are still a little slow. In this episode we talk about the future of the movie venue - will it be the theater, or the home theater? Then we talk about the future of TV, whether it will be broadcast, time shifted, or on demand. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #57 We mentioned their press release a couple weeks ago, and since that time, some more reading and a few listener emails have pushed us to look into HANA a little deeper. Today we'll talk about the High-Definition Audio-Video Network Alliance and close out with a discussion on Over-The-Air (or Free to Air) High Def recording. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #56 We hope you all enjoyed your time off. It has been pretty slow around here but this is just the lull before the CES storm. In today's podcast we go through Phillip Swann's Predictions for 2006. We also have a listener feature from Ricky Brigante on turning your old XBox (not the 360) into a media center for your home. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #55 We talk with Kevin Tofel of HDBeat.com about streaming HDTV wirelessly using a Windows Media Center PC and the XBox360. Then we get into a discussion on projectors, talking about them and defining a few terms. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #54 Christmas is right around the corner and some of you are still undecided if you should jump onto the HDTV bandwagon. This podcast will try and point you to some great deals on some great equipment. We know that online you may be able to find better prices. This list is for the last minute shopper who needs to walk into a store and walk out with the goods. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #53 Of course, on the show we talk quite a bit about HDTV: the programming, the technology, the gear. But we haven't yet looked at the other side of the experience, the content creation side. Today we're going to give in to all the email pressure and take a look at some reasonably priced options for high definition cameras. We all need our home movies and vacation videos in high definition, right? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #52 We have talked a lot about our desire to store our media content on a central server and deliver it to other areas of the home. Solutions exist that can get the job done but they are usually very expensive. Today we highlight four reasonably priced products that claim to be able play audio and video from a network connected PC (or Mac). Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #51 Today we talk with Joe Kane of Joe Kane Productions. We ask him about video compression as it pertains to Over the Air broadcasts and Cable and Satellite systems. Then we'll talk about the future of video content delivery, especially downloading of Movies and TV shows. Of course Joe will talk about calibration and his Digital Video Essentials DVD. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #50 This is it, the 50th Episode. Thank you everyone for listening and making the show such a fun and rewarding experience for us. Today we'll announce the winners of our 50th Episode Contest. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #49 Today we give you our picks for A/V Receivers that we would buy based on four budgets: less than $500, from $500 to $1000, from $1000 to $2000, and greater than $2000 (US). Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #48 In this episode we'll cover ground loops and MPEG4 compression. Ara will give an account of his Walmart adventure on "Black" Friday. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #47 Happy Thanksgiving to our listeners the world over. The HT Guys are truly grateful for you, our listeners. You make doing this podcast fun and worthwhile. We also want to welcome a new sponsor. The Projector People are sponsoring this podcast. We talked about knowing who you are dealing with when you order online. You can order from the Projector People with total confidence. Today, the HT Guys go through our list of what we are thankful for. That is with a HDTV and Home Theater twist. ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #46 As we approach the Holiday buying season, we wanted to cover a couple topics that have come up in our email recently: buying online and extended waranties. We also have a review of the Sonos digital music system. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #45 In Today's podcast we briefly discuss what a Diplexer is and how it can help those with Satellite TV receive OTA digital broadcasts without the need to run additional cable. Then we try to answer a bunch of various listener emails in an overview of resolutions and scaling. We end with a review the Sensio 3SD-100 3-D Video Processor. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #44 Today's episode is a EHX round up, EHX is the Electronic House Expo. This year's show was held in Anaheim, California on November 9-11, 2005. We had a chance to visit the show and talk with some of the manufactuerers; we talk about what we found interesting or exciting. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #43 Today we talk with Jeff Cove, Vice President of Technology and Alliances for the Panasonic Corporation of North America. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #42 In today's podcast we review the Dell W4200 42" High Definition Plasma TV and the Syntax Olevia LT37HVS 37 inch High Definition LCD TV. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #41 We go over the ten HDTV Myths covered in a recent PC World article. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website HDTV Podcast #40 In this episode we review two of the cool home theater gadgets from our round-up in Episode #35, the SpyderTV from ColorVision and the Sling Media Slingbox. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 38 On Friday we were invited to tour the Mitsubishi Digital Electronics of America facility in Irvine CA. This podcast discusses what we saw. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 37 In this episode we talk with, Jack Buser, Director of Consumer Electronics for Dolby? Laboratories. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Dolby Headphone Demo Dolby Headphone Demo Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 36 Today we have a special guest on our podcast, Andy Parsons, Senior Vice President, Advanced Product Development, Pioneer Electronics and Spokesperson for the Blu-ray Disc Association. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 35 In this episode we've put together a round-up of five cool home theater gadgets you may not know about. These items range from a tiny, pocket-sized DLP projector to a device to help you calibrate your television. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 34 Today we have a special guest on our podcast. Phil Swann president and publisher of TVPredictions.com. Join us on the podcast as "Swanni Sez" Reveals his 10 HDTV Predictions he made at the Iowa Digital TV Conference Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 33 We look at the world of Home Theater PCs, but from a Microsoft Media Center point of view. Then we'll look at the other side of the spectrum with a discussion on the open source system, MythTV. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 32 The pros and cons of DLP, LCD, and LCoS and listener email Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 31 Virtual Surround - Listener review of the Niro 400 and Movie Mouse Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 30 Review of the DVDO iScan HD+ scaler and tips on optimizing your TVs picture Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 29 In today's episode, we cover some news from the HDTV and Home Theater world and talk to the founders of the AVS Forum, David Bott and Alan Gouger. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 28 The most awesome home theater you have ever seen! Check out www.htguys.com for pictures Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 27 We welcome our new listeners who found us through the AVS Forums. This show is the CEDIA round up Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 26 In Today's Podcast we talk all about the Harmony 880 Advanced Universal Remote, by Logitech. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 25 News from the HDTV world and a primer on Audio Receivers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 24 After our Costco roundup we received a lot of email asking for more information about the Proview TV. So this week we take an in depth look at the Proview RX-326 LCD TV. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 23 We met with Billian President and CEO Vincent Sollitto and Vice President of Marketing Hope Frank last week at the HDTV Conference. This week we talk about our conversation. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 22 This week we went to the HDTV Conference. We give you our take on it Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 21 Quick discussion about A/V cables and the Fall 2005 Primetime HDTV Lineup Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 20 We review three tube based HDTVs and continue our first look at 1080p TVs. Today we look at the Samsung 1080p DLP. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 19 We discuss our first impression of the Sharp 1080p LCD and we talk about the wonders of universal remote controls. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 18 The Costco Roundup - An in depth look at value priced plasmas, LCDs and Home Theater in a Box systems Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 17 Sharp's new two way viewing angle LCD and Crowson's Tactile Effects System (TES) 100 Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 16 HDTV News and events, we talk subwoofers, review the Panasonic 50" HDTV Plasma, and Braden goes temporarily insane Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 15 News from the HDTV and Home Theater world, we explain HDMI and have a review of the Belkin RemoteTV Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 14 Today we have some news from the HDTV and Home Theater world, we have a Plasma Shootout, and explain some Home Theater terms you have all heard but some may not know what they mean. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 13 Video Compression Techniques - Integrating the iPod into your Home Theater - Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 12 Backyard Theaters - DVR study done by ESPN Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 11 HDTV shootout - DVD's we use to show off our Home Theater Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 10 Listener emails - How to set speaker levels Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 9 Next generation DVD - Video Scalers Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 8 Today we will tell you what's going on in the HDTV world and take an in depth look at HTPCs Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 7 On tap today we will cover the news. We'll explain how LCDs work. We'll look into the future of TV technology. And finally, we'll talk about what ever else comes up during our discussions. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 6 On tap today we will cover the news. We'll talk about the best way to lay out your home theater. We'll explain how plasmas work. We'll talk about the state of HDTV in Canada. Finally, we'll see if any of our favorite HD TV shows have "Jumped the Shark" Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 5 On tap today we will cover the news. We'll talk about some low cost HDTVs, and we discuss the NIRO 1.1 PRO II. We'll talk about our up coming contest. And we both will give you our top five list of our favorite HDTV programming. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 4 On tap today we will cover the news, explain the term PSIP, explain how a DLP projector works, and talk about projectors. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 3 On tap today we will cover the news, a nice discussion on Cables, we will explain the various Audio Formats, what to look for in a Home Theater System, and finally we will discuss HDTV programming for the coming week (at least for the US and parts of Canada) Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Podcast Number 2 On tap today we will cover the news, talk about where you can get HDTV programming and how to get it hooked up. We have information about the HD Summit held recently in Washington DC and finally we give you the pros and cons of DLP, LCD and Plasma. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website