Recent content by Selden Ball

I've only seen rumors that there might be a new "4K Blu-ray" standard by the fall. It'll doubtless be even longer before the studios actually provide 4K content on disc. In the meantime, the only 4K servers are the proprietary servers available from Sony and RED. They download their content from...

I suspect the original poster has completely forgotten about his query. It was back in July, after all. However the networking line raised a red flag for me. If you want reliable straming of audio and video, you need to use hard-wired connections: Ethernet or power-line networking, for example...

Nope, sorry, not in that player. Check to see if your TV includes a zoom function. Of course, you'll be losing the top and bottom of the picture.

Giancarlo, What kind of budget is involved? Preamp/processors (which don't include amps) tend to be more expensive than the equivalent receivers (which do include amps). This apparent contradiction is strictly because of the economies of scale in manufacturing. Far more receivers are made than...

Make sure the HDMI cables are certified as "High Speed", especially if your receiver is going to be more than a meter from the TV. "Standard Speed" cables cause viewing problems (image glitches and/or "sparklies") when they're used to watch full HD (1080p) movies. You should not have to pay a...

If your TV has more than one HDMI input, one option would be to plug the new Blu-ray player directly into the TV. If you haven't already, connect the TV's optical audio output to one of the optical audio inputs on the Panasonic HTIB. Your TV might or might not pass surround-sound through from...

There are many different video encoding methods which can be used to record video on a Blu-ray disc. Stand-alone Blu-ray disc players support very few of them. You'll need to get a computer with a Blu-ray drive if you want to view more of the different formats. Apparently, you have some discs...

Speakers and room acoustics have the most effect on the quality of the sound you'll hear. Electronics are a distant third, although room equalization software can make a big difference. Don't forget that you'll need sound treatments (absorbers and diffusers) on the interior walls. Otherwise the...

You should have received an e'mailed notice from D&M Holding: Pandora made a change to their service which broke Denon, Marantz and McIntosh streaming. Firmware updates will be available within the next few days to fix the problem. Some models have already been updated..

My understanding is that current Panasonic players are limited to 2-channel audio when streaming Netflix, but Sony players' Netflix app can do 5.1 surround sound. Also, no BD players support Flash, which is still used by many movie sites. In other words, connecting your computer to your hifi...

This year's Sony BD players have been getting good reviews, and are much less expensive than Oppo players. For example, the BDP-S590 often can be found for only slightly more than $100. Mine had no problems at all while playing Inception.

That sound is mechanical parts rubbing against one another. I suspect the arm which carries the disc-read-head is rubbing against something. In other words, the player is starting to fail. It might be something that's easy to fix, or not. If the drive is still in warranty, you should be able to...

Could you use a direct VGA connection? Many laptops have a 15 pin VGA video output port and many TVs have a VGA (RGB) video input port. Inexpensive VGA to HDMI video converters are readily available. See...

Some modern receivers and pre/pros (e.g. some from Denon and Marantz) include features which are claimed to improve the listenability of low-bitrate mp3 recordings. I can't vouch for them, though -- I don't listen to many mp3 tracks.

You can probably find some pre-owned manual graphic equalizers on one of the auction sites like ebay or craigs-list. They're similar in concept and easier to use but can't do as good a job. Another alternative is to upgrade your receiver to one which has built-in room equalization software. But...