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How Do I Get High-Res Audio?
Al Griffin  |  Mar 20, 2014  |  4 comments
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Q I would like to get my feet wet with high-res audio, but don’t want to make a huge hardware investment. I’ve found some 192/24 tracks I’d like to buy from HDTracks.com. What would be the next step after I download these in ALAC format to my MacBook Air? Can I play them via my Mac’s optical output to the optical input on my preamp-processor (Emotiva UMC-1)? Can I stream them to said pre-pro via Apple TV or Airplay? Since the UMC-1 doesn’t have a USB input, do I need to buy a Dragonfly DAC or something like that? How about a USB headphone amp?  I obviously want a hardware setup that preserves the highest resolution. —Steve Burbidge / Minneapolis, MN

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How Can I Avoid Turning Up the Volume to Hear Movie Dialogue?
Al Griffin  |  Mar 17, 2014  |  6 comments
The effects of dynamic volume control are illustrated in this diagram from Audyssey.

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Q When watching a movie, I often have to turn the volume up to hear the dialogue but then find that the action scenes are too loud and have to turn it down again. My speakers are all from the same product line, so I know they are meant to play well together. I also use the automatic room correction on my Pioneer VSX-914-K AV receiver to adjust levels and distances for the speakers. Is the volume issue due to the way movies are mixed these days? —Ricky Meadows / via e-mail Ricky Meadows / via e-mail

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Can I Stream Music to My Receiver While Watching TV?
Al Griffin  |  Mar 13, 2014  |  4 comments
Q I'm looking for a way to play two-channel music via iTunes AirPlay streaming through my Pioneer SC-57 receiver while watching muted sports on my plasma TV, which doesn’t have ARC. All my HDMI sources currently go into the receiver, with a single HDMI output to the TV. Is there a way to set up a second zone on the SC-57? Some other simple solution that I'm missing? —Jason Karley / via email
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Is it Time to Replace the Lamp in My Old DLP Rear Projector?
Al Griffin  |  Mar 06, 2014  |  3 comments
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Q I have a 56-inch Samsung rear-projection DLP TV that I purchased in 2006. The set is installed in a room with low to medium light, and I sit about 12 to 14 feet away. I have never had any problems with the TV and have yet to replace its lamp. I’m now wondering, though, should I wait for the lamp to die, or replace it? Would a lamp replacement improve the picture? I have a two-year-old 40-inch Samsung LCD in another room that I’ve always admired for its crisp picture, though it looks a bit like a daytime soap opera even with the Movie mode selected.—Brian Pridgen / via e-mail

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Can I Go Wireless with My AV Receiver?
Al Griffin  |  Mar 03, 2014  |  5 comments
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Q I am moving to a new home and plan to transfer my AV receiver and speakers to the new location but don’t want to have to run new wiring. Is there a system available that will let me attach a wireless transmitter to my AV receiver and wireless receivers to my speakers and avoid running wires?—Michael DeWaters / via e-mail

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Why Do I See Motion Blur on My Plasma TV?
Al Griffin  |  Feb 27, 2014  |  7 comments
Q I thought that plasma TVs don’t suffer from motion blur, but I definitely see it when watching with my new Panasonic TC-P60ST60 plasma. Is there some setting I have configured incorrectly, or was I wrong in thinking that plasma tech is free from motion blur? —Bob Shedlock / Strongsville, Ohio
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How Do I Turn Off My TV’s 120 Hz Feature?
Al Griffin  |  Feb 20, 2014  |  4 comments
Q I recently learned that my television’s 120 Hz feature is global—when I turn it on, it remains on for all sources. I'm not a fan of this because I don't like seeing the “Soap Opera Effect” on TV and movie sources, though I do like it when playing videogames because the higher frame rate gives them a silky-smooth look. Here’s my question: Do you know of any TVs with a 120 Hz feature that can be turned on or off for specific inputs? —Ricky Meadows / via email
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Can I Buy a State-of-the-Art Dumb TV?
Al Griffin  |  Feb 13, 2014  |  3 comments
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Q I need a new TV. Here’s what I want: LED-backlit LCD, 55- to 60-inch screen, thin (2 inches or less deep), great picture.  I also want it to be truly dumb, with as few Smart features as possible. My research has turned up a new NuVision Lucidium NVU55FX10LS, a 55-inch model that appears to have a good picture. Can you suggest another dumb TV with an equally good picture that might be cheaper?  —Dennis A. Fuller / Dallas, TX

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Is it a Waste to Connect an Outboard Amplifier to My Receiver?
Al Griffin  |  Feb 06, 2014  |  11 comments
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Q I’d like to know if it would be a waste to use a power amplifier connected to the preamp outputs of an AV receiver with the same rated power. The AV receiver I have in mind is the Denon AVR-3313CI.—Morris Barber / via e-mail

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Will Video Adjustments in My Surround Processor and TV Conflict?
Al Griffin  |  Jan 30, 2014  |  0 comments
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Q Both my TV and Marantz AV8801 surround processor provide video adjustments. If I tweak the settings for both, will they conflict with each other? Also, if the Marantz does a good job handling video processing, will there be any advantage to using a high-end player like the Oppo BDP-93 instead of a PS3 for Blu-ray playback?—Michael McGehee / Macon, GA

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Is the Qdeo Video Processing in My BD Player and Receiver the Same?
Al Griffin  |  Jan 23, 2014  |  5 comments
Q I recently updated my old receiver with a Pioneer VSX-1123-K. The difference in picture and sound quality is fantastic. I had also planned to update my old Blu-ray player with an Oppo, which I hear has superior picture quality due to its use of a Marvell Qdeo video processing chip. I’ve heard that the VSX-1123-K also uses the same processor. Does that mean I wouldn't see a difference in picture quality if I upgraded to the Oppo? —Al Baran / Stratford, CT
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Does it Make Sense to Salvage an Old CRT Projector?
Al Griffin  |  Jan 20, 2014  |  3 comments
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What’s Expanded Color and Do I Need to Calibrate My TV for It?
Al Griffin  |  Jan 16, 2014  |  0 comments
Q Sony has produced some Blu-ray discs that are mastered at 4K resolution and have an expanded color gamut called xvYCC. Is this the same thing as Deep Color or the DCI color space on Panasonic Plasma TVs?  Also, do I need to calibrate my TV for xvYCC, Deep Color, or DCI instead of the Rec. 709 color space to see expanded color with these discs?— William Lee via email
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Which Receivers Route Digital Audio to a Second Zone?
Al Griffin  |  Jan 02, 2014  |  0 comments
Q I’m looking to buy a new receiver and was checking out Yamaha’s RX-A1030. A problem with that unit, however, is that it doesn’t appear to route signals from an optical digital input to its second-zone output—a feature that I require. (Other than that, the RX-A1030 has everything I need.) Is there another option on the market that can do this? Researching receiver specs is very tiring because specific info is hard to find. —Pete via email
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Should I Use an Analog Connection to Tap Into My Blu-ray Player’s DACs?
Al Griffin  |  Dec 30, 2013  |  2 comments
Q My Panasonic DMP-BDT500 Blu-ray player has four 192-kHz/32-bit Burr-Brown DACs. To take full advantage of these, should I use analog RCA cables to connect the player to my Denon AV receiver? I would only use an analog connection to the receiver’s CD input for music and would still use an HDMI hookup so that the Denon could decode high-resolution soundtracks on Blu-ray.—Paolo Fiorentino via e-mail
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