home theater | The Tech Guy

How Can I Connect My TV to My Sonos Speakers?

Episode 1807

Jason from Henrico, VA

Jason is blind and wants to route the audio from his TIVO to his Sonos speakers, so he can hear all over the house. Leo says that electronics "age out," and Sonos deprecated a lot of gear in a recent update. So there has to be a third-party workaround. If your Sonos has a line in, you could hardwire it. That's the way to go. But the Roam Bluetooth speaker doesn't. There is a raspberry pi way to do it using a Pi-Sonos server. It's cheap too at $35 for the Pi.

Scott Wilkinson and the True Demo

Episode 1806

Scott experiences a demo of a true holographic display this week, and it made Scott realize why people don't really like 3D. It presents a high cognitive load on viewers, where they have to process two separate signals to get a faux 3D experience. It causes headaches and is ultimately uncomfortable. And it doesn't really work. What you really need is a true holographic display that works in 3D space, and he saw that this week. Completely glasses-free. Avalon Holographics uses light field projection to create the holographic image.

How You Can Prevent a Streaming Box From Changing Volume When Changing Channels

Episode 1804

Langdon from Mizzoula, MT

Langdon says to change the volume control settings from Variable to Fixed, and enable volume lock.

Can I Have an Old Plasma TV Repaired?

Episode 1804

Phillipe from Camarillo,CA

Phillipe has an old Samsung Plasma 3D TV that needs repairing. Leo says that TVs are really rather disposable now. So it could be hard to find someone to repair it, and if he can, it may be more expensive than buying a new TV...like an OLED. Parts are also an issue. But there maybe someone out there who can fix it.

Scott Wilkinson ... Isn't that Spatial?

Episode 1802

Scott joins Leo to talk about Vizio's latest line of LED LCD TVs ... the MQ7 series. Scott says that starting with the MQ7, Vizio offers full-array local dimming, which Scott recommends. It's great for gaming and has variable refresh rates. The next step up is the PQ8 and PQX. And it's a pretty nice TV.

Scott Wilkinson... gone Coo Coo

Episode 1800

Scott joins Leo to talk about a new streaming speaker system out there called Coo Coo, which streams live music from all over the world. Scott says the idea is that the music is designed to go with the speakers and so you need to subscribe to the season. Four seasons a year. It's a completely live performance, with no recordings, that are streamed directly to the speakers over the Internet. And when there isn't a concert scheduled, you hear live ambient sound from nature or a city square.

Scott Wilkinson ... Dual-ity

Episode 1798

Scott joins Leo to talk about a new dual-cell LCD that's coming out, which will bring LCD closer to OLED in terms of quality and will make halo-ing and bloom a thing of the past. And it will be in the same price range as OLEDs. The first models will be coming out from HiSense and they promise to be a marked improvement over standard LED LCD TVs. There's also a new immersive sound design that promises high-quality surround-style sound from a single speaker.

Is it Legit to Buy a TV on Sale for $500?

Episode 1796

Dennis from Marina Del Rey, CA

Dennis is going to buy an LG OLED. He recently saw an ad for $500 off. How can they do that with such a recent model? Leo says that sometimes they do sales like that to clear out last year's model. Sometimes, it's a liquidation of inventory or even a damaged box, which must be sold as refurbished. The real key is whether the warranty is intact. So pay attention to the reviews. Throw out the highs and lows and take the rest seriously. Also, be sure they will accept a return if the TV doesn't perform or work out.

Scott Wilkinson ... Getting Past It

Episode 1794

Scott joins Leo to talk about the news that Sennheiser recently got sold to a hearing aid company. They promise to keep things as they are, but it's a strange acquisition for an audiophile equipment company. Scott recently reviewed the Sennheiser IE300 In Ear monitors, which he says sound fantastic. Well balanced from bass to treble. He gives them 5 out of 5 stars.

Why is My TV Flickering?

Episode 1793

Louie from Orange County, CA

Louie is having home theater issues when he switches from his TV to blue-ray and back. He's getting flickering. Leo says that there's an HDMI handshake that happens between your AV receiver and the television. So, Leo says it sounds like the handshake may be failing for some reason. It could be as easy as a bad cable. Probably the HDMI cable. The TV ports may also be slightly expanding when they get hot. So try a different HDMI port to be sure.