Phil Hinton

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This week we discuss:

00:00:59 - Initial Thoughts on Ultra HD Blu-ray
00:06:10 - Panasonic’s lack of presence in the US
00:11:55 - First look at the Panasonic DX900 and UB900
00:20:25 - High Dynamic Range, Dolby Vision and Sony 4,000 Nits TV
00:50:17 - Technics turntables and the resurgence of vinyl
01:01:35 - Upcoming events
01:02:27 - Was Sony disappointing this year?
01:04:17 - Thoughts on the Ultra HD Alliance
01:06:52 - Favourite products at this year’s show
01:10:15 - Biggest disappointments
01:12:10 - Goodbyes

Presented by Phil Hinton with Steve Withers, Mark Hodgkinson and Ed Selley

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Subscription link: AVForums Podcast


Time: 01:13:27| File Size: 110mb | Direct Link
 
thanks really enjoyed that podcast especially your thoughts on the DX900 and HDR
 
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Wonderfully erudite, informational and concise guys....thank you all so much. #amazingavforums
 
I'm with Ed. If priced right I think the B6 could fly off the shelves. It would certainly make me think about trading in my VT65.
 
Please please please stop making podcasts like this one........:D it elates & depresses me equally:)

I am absolutely stoked now with the section on HDR and Dolby vision and the superlatives that are being thrown out after this years truly game changing CES:thumbsup: I can hardly wait to see this for myself sooner rather than later.

I am 64 next birthday and only hope I can last long enough to see all these wonderful products in my own home for a few more years to come.:smashin: Having gone through black & white tv, colour @ 480p then 720p and currently 1080p we are now to get 4k with all the bells and whistles.

I now have the sound sorted with my new Marantz 7010 avr and 7.2.4 Atmos/DTS:X so the video side now needs upgrading this year to complement it.

I don't have mega bucks to spend but the thought that I may be able to get a 65" 4k hdr tv from maybe Hisense later this year and an Optoma 4k hdr pj for a possible combined price of around £5k thrills me to bits, I can die a happy man when reaching this a/v nirvana.:love:

So thanks again guys for a great podcast and I just wish I could have been there with you seeing all that wonderful eye candy.:thumbsup:
 
Fantastic review of CES, it's great that it had so many quality products, great work in your coverage.
I'm really looking forward to the review of the DX900 as it sounds great and hopefully isn't too expensive, I'm particularly interested in how it looks when viewed from off centre which is why I've been drawn to OLED up until now, would be interesting to see if they can offer anything there.
 
Good podcast, great CES coverage. :smashin:
Sounds like some of the avforums staff plans to join the ranks of OLED owners this year. :)
 
Thanks all, great podcast.

Two comments:

1) Although it's true that with UHD Bluray we should be able to get HDR10 if both player and display (as well as everything in between as it needs HDMI 2.0a everywhere) support it, this doesn't address the fact that it's not possible yet to calibrate to HDR10 as a consumer playback standard isn't defined. So I can't wait to read your piece on HDR10 calibration, because for me the main point of Dolby Vision (beyond the higher bit depth which should help to prevent banding especially in the low end) is to define a proper consumer playback standard, which makes calibration - therefore accurate reproduction - possible. Not sure if this can work with projectors, as there are many variables (screen size, throw, lamp and iris settings), but otherwise with flat panels as the measured specs of every DV licensed display features in a database, the player knows exactly the capability of the display which makes both accurate playback and calibration possible.

2) It's not always true that we will always get HDR10 if our HDR10 compliant display or source do not support Dolby Vision. With UHD Bluray, it is because there is a mandatory HDR10 layer on each disc, but with streaming there is no such requirement. For example, a content provider could offer either Dolby Vision or UHD SDR, to save bandwidth. Some might offer a choice between HDR10 and Dolby Vision. But with streaming, everything is possible as there is no standard. Finally live broadcast can't use HDR10 or Dolby Vision as HDR can't be mastered in advance, so the BBC/NHK standard is likely to be required later. Unlike DV, it should be possible to add it with a f/w update, but it's better to make sure it's going to be either in the display or the source if you want any future-proofing and if live broadcast is important.
 
We were talking about specifically about UHD Blu-ray but you're right, when it comes to streaming that's a whole different ball game. As far as calibration goes, well I think it's going to be an interesting year.
 
I'm sure all Forum members will agree, A great BIG thanks to the AV Forums Team for providing an amazing and wide coverage of CES 2016. The news/videos were brill, much appreciated.:thumbsup:
 
Very interesting podcast and some strong new tech coming out.

However I think I'll bide my time a bit, year or more before even considering upgrading

Still feels like early adopter time to me and prices still drop and tech will improve

Those who bought non HDR compliant UHD sets last year must be totally gutted, I don't fancy being in that boat
 
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The UHD Blu-ray has real impact thanks to HDR, 10-bit video depth and a wider colour space, so images pop off the screen but obviously it's still 2D. If you want to watch The Martian in actual 3D you'll have to buy the 3D Blu-ray because UHD Blu-ray doesn't support 3D in any way, not that there are any 4K 3D movies anyway, they are alway shown at a 2K resolution for each eye. The Martian is a relative rarity these days in that it was actually shot in native 3D but there's no denying that popularity of 3D is waning, especially in the home. However you would think that 20th Century Fox would include the 3D Blu-ray, along with the UHD Blu-ray of The Martian. It basically means if you want both, you'll have to buy it twice, which is what I'm doing.
 
If a film is shot in native 3D, I'm personally still interested in seeing it as intended but I have no interest in post-converted 3D, which is what most 3D films are these days.
 
I wouldn't say the popularity of 3d is waning especially at the cinema , Starwars, The Martian, Jurassic World, Mad Max ,Age of Ultron, Terminator genysis, Minions , Good Dinosaur, Inside out pretty strong line up in 2015 alone imo

I personally love a bit of 3D and on a projector its a whole different proposition than a TV

hope they keep pumping them out at the cinema and on home release
 
Fantastic podcast guys, first time I've listened to a podcast twice !
Your enthusiasm for HDR has me very excited, I knew it would be a nice to have feature, but it sounds like it will change the way we appreciate film, roll on Jaws UHD Blu !!
Also, the new Pany lcd, never been interested in lcd, plasma man at heart, but this has peaked my interest, I'll probably still go for OLED, but this will be the first lcd review I'll actually read with interest.
Disappointed to hear Pany aren't doing too well stateside (or at least in those outlets mentioned), I'm hoping there are enough global sales to keep them going, I'm more than happy to pay for quality!
 
just read that new release blu ray UHDs are going to be about £30!
With HDR I'd pay £20 tops, may have to wait until 2017...lets hope Amazon apply the 20% discount for prime users to preorder UHD Blu as well as games !!
 
Your comments about the trend in the USA for "bigger, cheaper" TVs with less interest in paying for quality are interesting. A year or two ago my local Currys would give the flagship 'premium' TVs the pride of place in the shop, with the lesser TVs staggered away from them. But more recently pride of place went to the very big very cheap TVs, as if to say "you too can own a 65 inch beast".

(Actually there is a telling postscript to this story. That particular Currys no longer exists. It was a town centre shop and now it sells clothes for £5.)
 
Looks like the 2015 TVs are now history with that new 'UHD premium logo certification' of 2016.
Only the previous top two models from Sony and Samsung might make it to the group and pass the tough HDR standards.
Glad I didn't upgrade in 2015.
What a difference one year can make.
 
Looks like the 2015 TVs are now history with that new 'UHD premium logo certification' of 2016.
Only the previous top two models from Sony and Samsung might make it to the group and pass the tough HDR standards.
Glad I didn't upgrade in 2015.
What a difference one year can make.


What's annoying is that every manufacturer must have known about HDR long before they produced their 2015 sets and sold them knowing that they would be out of date within a year, shocking and very cynical.......NEVER be an early adopter you just get mugged
 
I don't think it's fair to say that the manufacturers were being cynical. Technology is always changing, what do you suggest they do, not make any TVs for a year? At the end of the day it is a business and a tough one, with very thin margins. As you say there's always a risk associated with being an early adopter and we repeatedly said last year that if you don't need to buy a TV then wait until this year.
 
I don't think it's fair to say that the manufacturers were being cynical. Technology is always changing, what do you suggest they do, not make any TVs for a year? At the end of the day it is a business and a tough one, with very thin margins. As you say there's always a risk associated with being an early adopter and we repeatedly said last year that if you don't need to buy a TV then wait until this year.

Well it's one thing when it's a marginal evolution that occurs from year to year such as slightly better contrast, better colors etc but when as you state in the podcast it's the first time In ages that there has been drastically new tech namely HDR then yes I think it's very cynical to knowingly sell a product that is going to be very dated in a few months if you know that technology is coming that's going to massively supersede it.
Not everyone reads or listens to AV forum so how would they know to hold of, the whole push has been strictly about 4k for ages no mention of HDR coming yet they must have known

When did you at A V forums know about HDR?
 

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