And so it is to another monthly installment of our What’s on the Tube? series where we find hopefully relevant and engaging videos for you to feast your eyes on when you can’t find anything to stream or watch on cable. Despite the ongoing situation with a rampant global pandemic and the impact on product availability through disrupted supply chains, there’s still plenty of activity among home theater consumers and professionals online. With fall approaching, it’s also becoming clear that the studios and independent labels are ramping up release schedules with some amazing titles coming our way, on both the reference 4K UHD and standard BD formats, so let’s hope we get some great hardware announcements in the coming months too.
If you have a lazy Sunday afternoon on the horizon, try out this superb Audioholics interview with self-confessed “audio geek” Anthony Grimani. Although heading up his own speaker design and acoustics operation, Grimani Systems, many of you will know of him from his years heading up the Home THX department at Lucasfilm Ltd. His acoustics lectures as part of the THX dealer trainings were the stuff of legend and there are arguably only a handful of experts out there who can truly tell us the way it is when it comes to room characteristics and treatment. Grimani doesn’t take himself too seriously either which is surely a bonus in the world of tech.
You may regularly dream of how you want your home theater to look after you’ve won the lottery. But more realistically you probably want to make your living or AV room resemble something a little more professional by applying your own DIY skills or using budget materials. My advice is to turn the irritating music to mute while playing this next video which cycles through hundreds of presumably net-captured images of luxury media rooms. Runtime is only 11 minutes but whatever your taste, without doubt, there’s something for everyone here.
Another YouTube channel to keep your eye on is Chris Majestic. Although I’m posting his latest entry here (an unboxing and analysis of the BenQ V7050i laser TV), I suggest you look at his archive of posted offerings of reviewed equipment and useful advice videos. Chris’s enthusiasm is infectious and, while he doesn’t dig in deep enough for some in the community, his subjective take on what AV products will deliver for the price paid is a great reference. You will also hopefully enjoy the highly professional presentation and editing of his channel’s output. Majestic never stands still and makes improvements to his media room and gaming setup at apparently regular intervals.
My moonization is a YT channel dedicated to showing up the relative differences between 4K UHD and standard Blu-ray discs. The owner of the channel is self-described as “passionate about stereoscopic 3D and technology” and uses a bank of professional equipment to extract the necessary data to show us how formats differ in terms of resolution and color space. By definition, this can’t be an exact science, as we all view these videos with restrictions inherent in our own tablets and monitors. But we can at least come away with an impression of what is getting better with advancing video disc technologies, and it’s a fun preview before making a commitment to buy that latest 4K disc. Here you can see how the recent In the Line of Fire (1993) UHD release weighs up against the former Blu-ray.
Lastly, take a look at how the truly bespoke high-end home theater integrators set up their permanent demo rooms. Atlanta Home Theater can create totally customized and themed environments for top-drawer clients all over the world while providing the most sophisticated AV equipment and home automation solutions. The company leads its customers through a series of good/better/best home setups before upselling high-net-worth individuals on an $800k in-house-designed, impeccably-crafted cinema room, adorned with top-of-the-range Wisdom Audio planar magnetic speakers. This video was created by home theater channel Youthman.
Martin, a seasoned journalist and AV expert, has written for several notable print magazines. He’s served in key roles at Lucasfilm’s THX Division, NEC’s digital cinema division, and has even consulted for DreamWorks. Despite his illustrious career, Martin remains rooted in his passion for cinema and acting, with notable appearances in several Spielberg films, Doctor Who, and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. He currently resides in San Francisco.
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