Podcast: Philips TV Launch Event, Soundbar vs AVR, Samsung EzCAL and more... (27/01/21)

Phil Hinton

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This week we discuss the latest TV announcements from the Philips European launch event, look at whether a soundbar or AVR with speakers is the best option for home cinema and examine Samsung's EzCAL calibration software for their 2021 TV line-up. Plus, we have the latest Album of the week, TV show & Film reviews & news

00:00:00 - Start
00:00:30 - Welcome & catchup
00:15:35 - Competitions
00:17:40 - Philips TV launch news
00:20:55 - New Philips OLED TVs for 2021
00:27:55 - New Philips MiniLED TVs for 2021
00:33:05 - Soundbar vs AV receiver + speakers. What's best?
00:50:44 - Samsung EZCal TV calibration app news
01:02:30 - Q&A
01:11:10 - Ed's album of the week: The Glitz; The Glamour
01:13:25 - Ed's Vinyl of the week: Global Communication 76:14
01:15:47 - Bond No Time To Die release delayed again
01:18:43 - RIP Mira Furlan (Bablylon 5 and Lost)
01:24:00 - Shadow in the Cloud review
01:27:30 - Old Boy 4K Blu-ray review
01:28:49 - Collateral 4K Blu-ray review
01:35:00 - Has Nolan gone up his own arse? Tenet discussion
01:42:30 - More 4K Blu-ray news
01:44:23 - Star Trek Lower Decks review
01:50:00 - Wanda Vision ongoing review
01:54:00 - Night Stalker review
01:57:55 - More TV recommendations
02:01:26 - Podcast competition
02:02:20 - The AV / Hi-Fi retailers and custom installers map on AVForums
02:03:05 - Follow us and goodbyes

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

Subscription link: AVForums Podcast

Links to the audio versions will appear once the podcast has been live-streamed on Wednesday the 20th.

Direct Link



To watch the video with the live chat, click the YouTube logo in the video window
Support us by making a donation at avforums / Streamlabs
Become a Patron at AVForums is creating Videos | Patreon
Your donations help us to improve the website, publish more editorial and make better podcasts. Thank you.
 
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Babylon 5 was rendered on a bunch of Amiga 2000's so I would imagine part of the reason is just down to the render times. Old computers were very slow back then. I have a degree in computer animation from a good 15 years ago and even then remember my friends shock when he had two days to get his project finished and his establishment render time was 3 and a half years 😅
 
Thanks for the Podcast Gentlemen. I doubt it will ever happen, but a reboot of Babylon 5 a la Battlebob Galactipants would be something to see. Just give it to Ronald D. Moore - he really gets the genre IMHO.
 
Ron's already done Babylon 5, it was called Deep Space Nine :)
Ah OK, I totally missed that one - I only caught an episode of DS9 here & there, & didn't realise Ron was involved. Damn! :)
 
"the magical power of love, it can transcend time and ..... what utter cobblers" :laugh::laugh: Steve Williams, avforums.

Good podcast as usual, thanks guys.
 
Ron's already done Babylon 5, it was called Deep Space Nine :)
DS9 was created by Berman and Piller.
RDM got an exec credit and wrote a bunch but it wasn't really him doing it. Pushes glasses up

The interesting story goes that JMS shopped Babylon 5 around, including to Paramount who discarded the idea of having two sci fi franchises and weren't sold on the idea of a space station drama where no one went anywhere....
Then they commissioned DS9
 
Not listened yet, but in regard to "Has Nolan disappeared up his own arse?" the answer is yes, yes he has

He's not as deep as Stephen Moffat, but he's getting close.
 
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Great pod as always. I got a Philips LCD (PUS8505) last summer, it runs Android and I would say that it is somewhat buggy. Can be slow to start, and apps crash semi-regularly. I also lost 4K & DV/HDR10+ capability from Amazon & Disney+ apps at some point. Tend to default to Roku stick for streaming unless I want Netflix in Dolby Vision, and this is only a 6 month old TV. Thankfully the picture is great otherwise I might have asked for a refund.

Some stone-cold classics coming to Disney’s Star service:

Con Air
Conan The Barbarian
Crimson Tide
Ed Wood
French Connection
Good Morning Vietnam
Grosse Point Blank
Jewel Of The Nile
Ladyhawke
Office Space
Quiz Show
Tombstone
White Men Can’t Jump
 
DS9 was created by Berman and Piller.
RDM got an exec credit and wrote a bunch but it wasn't really him doing it. Pushes glasses up

The interesting story goes that JMS shopped Babylon 5 around, including to Paramount who discarded the idea of having two sci fi franchises and weren't sold on the idea of a space station drama where no one went anywhere....
Then they commissioned DS9
The great shame about CGI versus models a la 2001 & Star Wars, the really good years.
But....
They could still hook the logic circuits of a Bambleweeny 57 sub-meson Brain to an atomic vector plotter suspended in a strong Brownian Motion producer (say a nice hot cup of tea), feed in the original film, & we can get any definition and aspect ratio we want.
 
"Has Nolan disappeared up his own arse?"

The film certainly has its problems and is far from Nolans best, but I certainly found enjoyment watching it as a cinematic experience.

And just for any listeners that might have been confused or mislead...

No cropping the IMAX image on the disc with centre masking will not give you the same framing as the 2.20:1 version shown in cinemas - its creates an entirely new and incorrect framing of the movie.

iTunes version (with correct 2.20:1 framing) laid over IMAX disc showing scenes where the top of the IMAX image has been chosen for the 2.20:1 framing

IMG_6798.jpeg
IMG_6797.jpeg


IMG_6796.jpeg



This is likely to be exacerbated if a harder matte to 2.39:1 is done to the disc.
 
Thanks as always for the excellent Podcast, it takes me a while to work through it (as a live viewer that gets pulled aside for the kids bedtime and then listens back on audio podcast) but I haven't missed one in many years.

I'm starting down the rabbit hole of looking for a new TV and considering the audio solution to go with it and found Steve's Soundbar V AVR article fascinating and have been swinging back and forth between the two options since.

With that in mind I am thinking that if I did go down the soundbar route again I am concerned how well they would fit under a TV. Most of the newly announced TVs I have seen pictures of on here seem to have stands where the TV sits so low on them that it would be hard to fit a soundbar in front of them at all without blocking the picture.

Maybe a question you could discuss on the podcast is How many of the TVs you seen in the last year or so could properly fit a Soundbar under them? (obviously excluding the TVs with one built in already).
I'm starting to lean towards wall mounting the TV (to keep it away from the kids sticky fingers), but having never done that before and not really knowing the best way to do it I really want to avoid having a brand new TV face plant into the ground like someone who had a few too many pints before leaving the pub (back when that was a thing), I think there might be merit in having a guide to wall mounting screens on the site too.
 
Thanks as always for the excellent Podcast, it takes me a while to work through it (as a live viewer that gets pulled aside for the kids bedtime and then listens back on audio podcast) but I haven't missed one in many years.

I'm starting down the rabbit hole of looking for a new TV and considering the audio solution to go with it and found Steve's Soundbar V AVR article fascinating and have been swinging back and forth between the two options since.

With that in mind I am thinking that if I did go down the soundbar route again I am concerned how well they would fit under a TV. Most of the newly announced TVs I have seen pictures of on here seem to have stands where the TV sits so low on them that it would be hard to fit a soundbar in front of them at all without blocking the picture.

Maybe a question you could discuss on the podcast is How many of the TVs you seen in the last year or so could properly fit a Soundbar under them? (obviously excluding the TVs with one built in already).
I'm starting to lean towards wall mounting the TV (to keep it away from the kids sticky fingers), but having never done that before and not really knowing the best way to do it I really want to avoid having a brand new TV face plant into the ground like someone who had a few too many pints before leaving the pub (back when that was a thing), I think there might be merit in having a guide to wall mounting screens on the site too.

Philips 43PUS8505 with a Q Acoustics M3 underneath:
58465906-55DA-4687-806D-47910697D198.jpeg
 
Philips 43PUS8505 with a Q Acoustics M3 underneath:
It's good to know that some do, but there seems to be plenty more that don't. Just judging from the photos of the TV News announcements for the latest crop of high end TVs I would say the following wouldn't take a Soundbar underneath:
Philips 9206, 9506, OLED806,
Sony Z9J, A90J and A80J,
LG C1
It's too hard to tell if the Samsung Neo QLED could as it actually looks like it might be high enough, but from the pic I would worry that the stand comes too far forward to allow a Soundbar to sit flush on the desk. In the current situation it's not possible to go to a shop and look at them to tell.
 
Thanks for the this weeks podcast.

It will be an interesting tv awards this year as it’s looking like each manufacturer has something solid to offer (each flagship).

Keen to see what nit value/heat dissipation tech the new evo/Sony panel will bring.
Sony threads are going a bit mad with an early preview showing well over 1000 nits on a 10% window, yet Panasonic state they will have the brightest panel so something doesn’t quite add up. I’d be keen to get the instant image retention removal v the slightly more pronounced speculator highlight.

The Phillips is looking very good, haven’t owned on since the CRT days, but pq back then was stunning.

MiniLed is interesting, doubt I’ll leave oled as with kids we tend to be evening viewers, but happy to be convinced.

Im the same @MrMrH really love to participate in the live pod, but I’m trying to settle the kids at the same time. While not quite Nolan moving back through the live stream, there is a bit of jumping around to catch up, although I replay in full the next morning. Questions with slight banter on the live chat is amusing.
 
Thanks for the enjoyable Podcast again Gents, Although the lack of love for interstellar got me a bit weepy :)
 
This week we discuss the latest TV announcements from the Philips European launch event, look at whether a soundbar or AVR with speakers is the best option for home cinema and examine Samsung's EzCAL calibration software for their 2021 TV line-up. Plus, we have the latest Album of the week, TV show & Film reviews & news

00:00:00 - Start
00:00:30 - Welcome & catchup
00:15:35 - Competitions
00:17:40 - Philips TV launch news
00:20:55 - New Philips OLED TVs for 2021
00:27:55 - New Philips MiniLED TVs for 2021
00:33:05 - Soundbar vs AV receiver + speakers. What's best?
00:50:44 - Samsung EZCal TV calibration app news
01:02:30 - Q&A
01:11:10 - Ed's album of the week: The Glitz; The Glamour
01:13:25 - Ed's Vinyl of the week: Global Communication 76:14
01:15:47 - Bond No Time To Die release delayed again
01:18:43 - RIP Mira Furlan (Bablylon 5 and Lost)
01:24:00 - Shadow in the Cloud review
01:27:30 - Old Boy 4K Blu-ray review
01:28:49 - Collateral 4K Blu-ray review
01:35:00 - Has Nolan gone up his own arse? Tenet discussion
01:42:30 - More 4K Blu-ray news
01:44:23 - Star Trek Lower Decks review
01:50:00 - Wanda Vision ongoing review
01:54:00 - Night Stalker review
01:57:55 - More TV recommendations
02:01:26 - Podcast competition
02:02:20 - The AV / Hi-Fi retailers and custom installers map on AVForums
02:03:05 - Follow us and goodbyes

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

Subscription link: AVForums Podcast

Links to the audio versions will appear once the podcast has been live-streamed on Wednesday the 20th.

Direct Link



To watch the video with the live chat, click the YouTube logo in the video window
Support us by making a donation at avforums / Streamlabs
Become a Patron at AVForums is creating Videos | Patreon
Your donations help us to improve the website, publish more editorial and make better podcasts. Thank you.

Please Phil do not abandon reviewing hardware and software during the podcast. It would be a big mistake to assume that listeners have read your reviews on the forum. (I listen to the podcast every week and I never read reviews on the forum.). It adds needful substance to the podcast when participants verbalize their review comments for podcast listeners. The light-hearted banter and spontaneous discussions are a great charm. But the raison d'être of a podcast from a review journalism resource is to highlight the reviews. (The excellent NYT Book Review Podcast is exemplary.). I fear that the podcast would degenerate into a meandering mess without the structure you've had in place to summarize, verbalize and elaborate your carefully prepared and published reviews.
 
Thanks gents, I finally managed to finish this week's show and a delight as usual. I would echo the thought that hardware reviews should not be diluted too much. Your podcasts allow you to expand on your articles and the explanations/discussions about specific hardware/software elements are informative.

With regards to content ( or software as you call it ), how about the regular inclusion of podcasts? I subscribe to numerous across a wide spectrum of interests including technology, sport, comedy and current affairs. There are some rich pickings out there. As a starter, the below may interest members -

 
I agree with the previous comments, the reviews are great for going in depth however the podcast charts gives more colour to the product and provides an opportunity for the others to comment, the discussion about the way the Nad T778 (and Nad’s in general) handle power was very interesting.
I also agreed with @Toon Army about podcasts being a useful addition to the content section. Steve’s recommendation of Wind of Change was brilliant and I’m always on the lookout for more podcasts or even just podcast episodes.
 
i was interested in Mr Withers comments about sound bars vs AV receivers and in particular 1 comment he made about a dolby atmos set up not being as huge leap over 5.1 as you might think.

I currently have a 5.1 set up which enjoy very much and have for years but have been thinking of going 5.1.4 or 7.1.4 for some time now.....the expense and the hassle are the negatives for me but if it is a whole new level of experience i might go for it

my set up is a bat cave with Projector onto a 102 inch screen

any comments positive or negative on the difference?
 

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