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HDTV and Home Theater Podcast - Podcast #628: New Pioneer Receivers
Home Theater HDMI HD Receivers

HDTV and Home Theater Podcast - Podcast #628: New Pioneer Receivers

Pioneer's five new VSX-line receivers mark the first consumer AV receivers to support HDMI 2.0, enabling 4K/60fps passthrough and expanded color depth for Ultra HD displays. The flagship VSX-1124 ($599) pairs an ES9006S DAC running at 192kHz/24-bit with multi-channel FLAC/WAV playback and DSD 2.8 MHz support, while the Elite VSX-80 ($700) adds Crestron and Control4 compatibility with full two-way RS-232C-over-IP control. Buyers evaluating a 4K home theater upgrade will find these receivers cover both high-resolution audio and next-generation video connectivity in a single unit.

The HT Guys •
Podcasts
HDTV Expert - Smart Watches Have Not Excited Consumers - But They're About To

HDTV Expert - Smart Watches Have Not Excited Consumers - But They're About To

The smart watch market remains nascent, with Samsung's first-generation Galaxy Gear selling roughly one million units at $299 despite poor reviews and suspected warehouse stockpiles. Motorola's Moto 360, running Google's Android Wear OS with a round full-color LCD and refined watch-like design, is positioned as a potential breakout product if priced at $250 or below. With LG, Samsung, and fashion brand Fossil also adopting Android Wear, the OS could establish platform dominance similar to Windows on PCs, making display technology choices - LCD, OLED, mirasol, and emerging Pixtronix MEMS - a key differentiator.

Ken Werner •
Columns
HDTV Expert - Samsung Has No Trouble With The Curve
4K Ultra HD

HDTV Expert - Samsung Has No Trouble With The Curve

Samsung's 2014 TV lineup centers on curved 4K LCD panels, spanning the HU9000 and HU8700 series (55 to 78 inches, $4,000 to $8,000) alongside a 110-inch S9 UHD set priced at $150,000. The SEK-2500V UHD Evolution Kit adds HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.2 support via an Intel Quad Core processor, while a $300 UHD Video Pack bundles five 4K movies for owners lacking streaming options. With global TV sales down 3% in 2013, Samsung's push into 4K content partnerships and Smart Hub software signals a strategic shift toward software-driven revenue.

Pete Putman •
Columns
4K Ultra HD Home Theater Projection HD

HDTV and Home Theater Podcast - Podcast #627: JVC 4K UltraHD Projectors

JVC's Procision projectors, including the entry-level DLA-X500R at $5,000, use e-Shift3 technology to simulate 4K by offsetting two native 1080p D-ILA chips by half a pixel diagonally, achieving high pixel density rather than true 4K resolution. All 4K input signals are downscaled to 1080p before processing, meaning the projected image approaches but does not match a native 4K display like Sony's VPL-VW500ES at $10,000. Buyers gain impressive contrast ratios up to 150,000:1 native and strong color reproduction, making these a compelling compromise for home theater enthusiasts not yet ready to invest in true 4K.

The HT Guys •
Podcasts
Home Theater HD Audio

HDTV and Home Theater Podcast - Podcast #626: Interview with Jack Sharkey of Kef Speakers

KEF Speakers representative Jack Sharkey walks through a six-part series on transforming an acoustically problematic room into a functional product showcase space. The series covers practical acoustic treatment techniques including bass traps, absorption versus diffusion panels, subwoofer placement, rear channel configuration, and floor and ceiling treatment. Listeners dealing with difficult room acoustics will find actionable guidance on the specific challenges that affect low-frequency response and overall sound quality.

The HT Guys •
Podcasts
DTV Transition Streaming HD

HDTV Expert - Aereo And The Law Of Unintended Consequences

Aereo's Internet retransmission service, which re-encodes terrestrial digital TV broadcasts using AVC coding over IP, faces mounting legal and technical scrutiny as a 10th Circuit judge ruled its operation indistinguishable from a cable company under the 1976 Copyright Act. The service's antenna-per-subscriber architecture, while designed to sidestep copyright liability, likely contributed to catastrophic buffering failures during the Oscars and Golden Globes broadcasts. For cord-cutters, alternatives like the Channel Master DVR+ with dual tuners and USB-expandable storage, or Hauppauge WinTV USB receivers, may offer more reliable local HD reception without the legal uncertainty.

Pete Putman •
Columns
Home Theater HDMI

HDTV and Home Theater Podcast - Podcast #625: Gefen TV Wireless Extender for HDMI 60 GHz

The Gefen TV Wireless HDMI Extender (GTV-WHD-60G) operates on the 60 GHz frequency band, delivering uncompressed 1080p Full HD video with near-zero latency (less than one frame) and support for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio up to 7.1 channels. Its strict line-of-sight requirement limits range to a reliable 33 feet and prevents through-wall use, but blind tests confirmed indistinguishable audio and video quality compared to a wired HDMI connection. At a street price of around $300, it is a strong choice for projector or flat panel installations where signal quality outweighs placement flexibility.

The HT Guys •
Podcasts
HDTV Expert - January's TV is February's Digital Sign

HDTV Expert - January's TV is February's Digital Sign

Technologies debuted at CES 2014, including 4K Ultra HD panels and multi-touch displays, rapidly transitioned to commercial digital signage applications at the Digital Signage Expo just weeks later, with LG's 105-inch Ultra HD display and 55-inch OLED Gallery TV among the crossover products. Transparent LCD panels, demonstrated by LG-MRI and others in commercial refrigerator doors and retail kiosks, showed notably improved color saturation alongside genuine transparency. For signage professionals, the convergence of gesture control, customer analytics, and large-format touch interfaces signals a significant shift toward interactive, data-driven display deployments.

Ken Werner •
Columns
4K Ultra HD

HDTV Expert - Thursday Evening at a Sony Store

Sony's 84-inch 4K LCD TV at $25,000 MSRP anchors a broader discussion of the company's strategic pivot away from PC hardware toward a media ecosystem built around smartphones and televisions. Quantum-dot enhanced LCD panels, which deliver expanded color gamut at modest added cost, illustrate how quickly hardware advantages erode in consumer electronics. Sharp's Quattron+ four-subpixel technology offers near-4K picture definition at roughly half the price of true 4K sets, though patent protection may prove a temporary shield in a fast-moving display market.

Ken Werner •
Columns
HD DVR

HDTV and Home Theater Podcast - Podcast #624: Channel Master DVR+ Review

The Channel Master DVR+ ($249.99 MSRP) is a subscription-free over-the-air DVR featuring dual tuners, support for video resolutions up to 1080p, Dolby Digital Plus surround sound, and a Rovi-powered Electronic Program Guide at no extra cost. With 16GB of internal storage and support for external USB hard drives, a 1TB drive yields approximately 160 hours of HD recording. Cord cutters seeking to eliminate monthly fees entirely will find the DVR+ a capable, responsive solution, though firmware limitations currently prevent recording new episodes only, and network streaming is limited to Hulu.

The HT Guys •
Podcasts