HDTVs, projectors, and surround sound systems.
Home Theater
QLED versus OLED, and What is Microlithography?
Episode 1603
Tom fromTom purchased a new OLED TV and it brought him to do research into the average diameter of an atomic nucleus and cutting circuit lines. Tom wants to know how production facilities are able to cut circuit lines so small and address the wiring grid within so that they don't overlap one another. Leo tells Tom that the process is called Microlithography, which he explains is similar to the idea of silk screening: Painters paint on a screen of silk and then apply ink to it, and the ink goes through the part of the silk that isn't painted. It's a fascinating process.
Why Does YouTubeTV Have Much Better Image Quality Than Other Digital Broadcast Signals?
Episode 1602
Tom fromTom is watching TV and he gets pixelation while streaming. When he switches to an antenna, he gets the same problem. What gives? Leo says that's due to the digital broadcast. Digital signals don't degrade gracefully. It just gets bad. And it could be a host of things from the antenna, to bandwidth, to the streaming box. Leo has a hunch it's the service that's streaming the programming to him.
How is YouTube getting such a clean signal? Leo says they may be using fiber directly from a network.
Scott Wilkinson ...Light Fields
Episode 1602
Scott joins us to talk about how the Sony OLED TV won the great Value Electronics Shootout. He's written a great article about it here. Also, this week, Scott attended a monthly meeting of SMPTE, the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, about immersive technologies. Scott says that the talk was about how 3D is essentially simulated. How do you get an authentic holographic presentation? The current solution is through Light Fields.
Scott Wilkinson and the 2019 TV Shootout
Episode 1600
This year, Scott Wilkinson was MC at the annual Value Electronics TV Shootout in New York. The test was done using TVs own on board Netflix apps to keep everything even. There was even a blu-ray player which used a switcher to send the signal to each TV. Top contenders for 2019 included the LG C9 OLED, Samsung Q90R, Sony A9G OLED, and the Sony Z9F LED LCD TV. There was also the Sony X800 Pro Reference monitor used for comparison to see how close each TV came to it. All 4K, HDR. There eight professional color grading pros judging.
Can I repair my TV?
Episode 1599
Brian fromBrian's TV recently went black. Leo says that means the backlight has died and it's really not worth repairing. So it's time to get a new TV!
How can I project my phone on a TV in portrait mode?
Episode 1599
David fromDavid wants to know how he can project his mobile device to a portrait sized monitor. He wants the monitor to have the same aspect ratio as the phone. Leo says that they tried to do that at TWiT, and you can, but it's quite expensive. One solution is to buy the Apple XDR monitor for $5K and the $1,000 stand. But there are other options out there. David has a monitor that will flip to portrait. Leo says that most operating systems can tell when the aspect ratio changes and adjusts. Apple has an emulator mode, where you can run an app on a Mac and it will look like it's on a phone.
Can I Use My Old Coax Cable With an Antenna?
Episode 1598
Bob fromBob recently cut the cable and is now streaming. He wants to know if he can use his old coax cable and connect it to the antenna. Leo says he may be able to, depending on the impedance. It should work, but look what kind of cable the antenna supports. Splitters may also cause a problem. From the chatroom - if the Coax is RG59 or RG9, he's in good shape.
Are expensive speaker cables better than regular cables?
Episode 1597
Tony fromTony wants to know if high-end Speaker Cables are worth the money. He spent $400 on some recently. Leo says HOLY COW. They also offer a "break in service." Is that worth the money? Leo says that cables don't need to be broken in, but the Speakers may. $400 for cables is pretty steep. There's no real way to measure if expensive gold cables are any better than lower cost cables. It's entirely subjective, whether you think it sounds better or not. But if it sounds better to you, then it is better. So, why not?
Scott Wilkinson ... super bright
Episode 1596
Scott says that Vizio has announced their 2019 lineup and he says that the TVs are very impressive. Vizio has been using Quantum Dot technology in their top of the line models for a few years, but this year, they have moved the technology down to the mid-range. And that's a good thing. In their top of the line Quantum PX, they have a peak brightness of 3000 NITS, which is super bright. Why so bright? Because of the high dynamic range. They need that brightness for "specular highlights" of tiny reflections. The Color Range has also been expanded.
Scott Wilkinson ... ARC
Episode 1592
Scott has a question from a user that wants to know how he can run his audio from the TV to his home theatre. He uses the TV's internal smart apps. Scott says that the audio return channel (ARC) that you want to use. This depends on his receiver. Current TVs have this capability. Take the HDMI out from the receiver to the ARC port. That way the sound will come out of the home theatre speakers.
