Podcast: Christmas Special Best Home Cinema, Hi-Fi, Movies & TV Shows of the Year 2020 (16/12/20)

Phil Hinton

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This week we round-up our favourite AV and Hi-Fi kit and technologies, look back at the best movies, TV Shows and 4K discs of the year and look forward to what we might see in 2021.

00:00:00 - Start
00:00:22 - Welcome
00:08:30 - Notices. When we're back after Xmas
00:09:20 - Catching up with what everyone's been up to
00:26:54 - Competitions. Thousands of pounds worth of prizes
00:30:34 - Live giveaway of Ghostbusters 1&2 Blu-ray
00:35:30 - Best products of the year - NAD T 778 AV receiver
00:37:28 - Best products of the year - Panasonic HZ2000 OLED TV
00:39:50 - Best products of the year - Kudos Titan 505 Hi-Fi speaker
00:41:10 - Best products of the year - Rega IO stereo amplifier
00:42:20 - Best products of the year - JVC DLA-N7 4K projector
00:50:00 - Projector screen discussion
00:55:40 - Best products of the year - Manhattan T3-R PVR
00:57:17 - Which ultra-short-throw projector?
00:59:27 - CES 2021 - what to expect
01:02:09 - Best album and vinyl of the year
01:12:24 - Best games of the year
01:22:30 - Best movies of the year
01:35:20 - Best TV shows of the year & the Mandy update
01:50:15 - Best 4K Blu-rays of the year
01:56:20 - Best Christmas movies
02:08:11 - What movies & TV to look forward to in 2021
02:15:30 - What's coming to Disney+
02:24:44 - Marvel universe titles coming
02:28:22 - News about the podcast
02:28:27 - Podcast competition
02:30:18 - Mark's last word
02:32:20 - Thanks, Merry Christmas and goodbyes

Presented by Phil Hinton with Steve Withers, Ed Selley, Cas Harlow, Tom Davies & Mark Botwright.

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Over 2 1/2 hrs?! Bravo boys, that'll keep us going!

Not listened yet, but I did laugh at CES 2021 - What to expect; with a running time of less than 3 minutes. The optimism is (not) strong with that one.
 
"Steve Withers - Origins" *** that was funny, almost made me look like Phil :laugh::laugh:

Happy holidays boys !
 
Thanks gents ( and the team behind the scenes ) for this Christmas Special and all your efforts over the year. The transition to YouTube has been a highlight and I will save this week's episode for when I get some " me time " over the festive lockdown period. To show my appreciation, I have just signed up as a Patreon member.
@Phil Hinton - I see Richard Hammond has test driven your new intended purchase on Drivetribe. I bet you don't do donuts in it!
 
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Just wanted to drop a note to say thank-you for each member of the AVForums team for your efforts throughout 2020.

As well as the site being incredibly useful, the podcasts have been a weekly highlight - have learnt a huge amount from your reviews and insights.

Hope you all have a great Christmas and New Year!
 
Nice One Guys and Merry Christmas!
@Steve Withers 14:05 "The Internet's Full of P***** who...." Had me laughing out loud - well said, sir!
 
Merry Xmas and thank u for brilliant podcasts.
Next Bad Boys movie title “Bad Boys, Badder” or “Bad Boys, No time for Good”.
 
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It’s from 2016 (still on iPlayer) but the Inside No.9 Xmas special is excellent, and features Krampus!

Thanks to all for a hilarious podcast.
7D5E4929-46DC-4DA9-B5E8-404F891F460B.jpeg
 
Re "Stopcocks". If you have a main stopcock too close to the wall, and can't turn it off- buy a long "Tool" that turns off the main water supply in the road. That's what I did.. ! Job dun..
 
Just my 2 pence worth: Best TV: The 12 hour live and very dangerous "Third day" showing, filmed on Osea island. Never to be forgotten and probably will never be shown again. J. Law and the camera man deserve an Oscar. Best music discovery: Brilliant musicians, grins from ear to ear, and dancing in the streets of New Orleans: "Tuba Skinny". ( on YT ). Best Christmas carols: The annual Swedish girls concert "Lucia". ( YT ) Gorgeous girls, wonderful singing and amazing lit candles on top of the girl's head, throughout the whole concert. Astonishing. This year's concert has just been shown. Check out the one from 2015, too....!
 
..and: most frightening film that foretold our current predicament ( with a few notable exceptions ) in graphic accuracy: "Contagion". Check out the extras, too.... From 2011. Nuff said..
 
Re "Stopcocks". If you have a main stopcock too close to the wall, and can't turn it off- buy a long "Tool" that turns off the main water supply in the road. That's what I did.. ! Job dun..
The Wife said something similar to me on our Honeymoon Night. Been downhill since then.
 
Has HBO MAX just launched in the UK on Roku and PS5? if so thats big news right. Goodbye crappy NowTV.

edit: Sorry, USA only. Almost had to change my pants with excitement.
 
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@Ed Selley Come on? Taylor Swift ? Really?


secretTaylorSwiftfanclubhandshake



Thanks for a year of laughs chaps.

'folklore' and 'evermore' are great albums. Sound fantastic on my KEF speakers & Rega amplifier.

But I like Taylor Swift's 'pop' music too. Funny how with movies it's always perfectly acceptable to like different genres and types, but some people can get very sniffy about 'popular' music and artists. Doesn't matter if it's Led Zeppelin / Taylor Swift / ELO / Billie Eilish / David Bowie / Bebe Rexha / Frank Sinatra - I like 'em all and happy to admit it.

I'm currently rediscovering and enjoying lots of 80s new wave. Never had the equipment to do the tunes any sonic justice back in the day. Totally different experience hearing them today.

Regards,
James.
 
Hello Phil,

please may I request a consideration to create a review category for Near Field Desktop Speakers. Ed is the man for this in my humble opinion.
 
'folklore' and 'evermore' are great albums. Sound fantastic on my KEF speakers & Rega amplifier.

But I like Taylor Swift's 'pop' music too. Funny how with movies it's always perfectly acceptable to like different genres and types, but some people can get very sniffy about 'popular' music and artists. Doesn't matter if it's Led Zeppelin / Taylor Swift / ELO / Billie Eilish / David Bowie / Bebe Rexha / Frank Sinatra - I like 'em all and happy to admit it.

I'm currently rediscovering and enjoying lots of 80s new wave. Never had the equipment to do the tunes any sonic justice back in the day. Totally different experience hearing them today.

Regards,
James.


Agree with all the above.

Incidentally, Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia is, as the kids might say (I dunno, I'm 41), ... 'an 80s banger'.

Also Miley Cyrus new one quite obviously has an enormous amount of Fleetwood Mac about it.

Just embrace it... ;-)
 
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Hello Phil,

please may I request a consideration to create a review category for Near Field Desktop Speakers. Ed is the man for this in my humble opinion.

I've been more than happy with a pair of Audio Engine 2+ speakers that I bought a couple of years ago. They are small (which is what I wanted), but definitely more aligned to playing back music with a flat sounding response. They are not bass heavy, which tends to be the norm for 'game' centric PC speakers.

I don't use any subwoofer with them. I have then wall mounted on either side of my dual-monitor setup, in a fairly small office. They are about about 55 cm away from me, just above ear height. They are not going to fill a large room with sound, but sound good in a small space.

Audio Engine do other speakers aimed at the audio-serious PC desktop user, so it's worth giving them a look.

Regards,
James.
 
Agree with all the above.

Incidentally, Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia is, as the kids might say (I dunno, I'm 41), ... 'an 80s banger'.

Also Miley Cyrus new one quite obviously has an enormous amount of Fleetwood Mac about it.

Just embrace it... ;-)

Yes, Dua Lipa is great and I'm amazed how good Miley Cyrus sounds singing live - she's an exceptionally talented vocal artist. I would urge anyone to listen to some of the BBC Live Lounge sessions she did in 2018.

Regards,
James.
 
Happy Christmas guys - loved every minute of the podcasts this year. Last 5 mins of this were the best. Looking forward to 2021 podcasts
 
Television series of the year has to go to these guys. The Christmas special was brilliant and likely to be the best thing on TV over the festive period. I believe a fourth series has already been commissioned.:clap:
Mortimer_&_Whitehouse_Gone_Fishing.jpg
 
Thanks guys for another year of great podcasting. The move to video is a welcome one, I seldom get to see it all in one go but I always see/listen to it.

For Christmas movies I recommend you hunt out “Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale”, a Finnish movie that’s almost “Amblin”esk in the way the kid stands up for himself and his friends, .
Another is a French movie called “Deadly Games” (aka “Game Over” or “36.15 Dial Code Santa”, it’s basically the movie that inspired Home Alone though you might need to tunnel your way to the US to find that on Shudder.
I discovered both those thanks to the only other podcast I never miss, “Junkfood Cinema” which has a great back catalogue of movie deep dives, including a good few that have been discussed here over the years, so I know what I’ll be doing while you’re having a well earned break.

Keep safe, stay well and have a Merry Christmas

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