Al Griffin

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How Can I Avoid Turning Up the Volume to Hear Movie Dialogue?
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Al Griffin • Posted: 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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How Can I Connect an iPhone to an Old AV Receiver?
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Al Griffin • Posted: Jul 17, 2014 • 4 comments
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Can you recommend an affordable device to connect an iPhone or iPod to an old AV receiver and still get good sound? — Stan Reed 

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How Can I Convert LPs and Cassette Tapes to Digital Files on a Laptop?
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Al Griffin • Posted: Jul 03, 2014 • 5 comments
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Q Are there any inexpensive options for converting LPs and cassette tapes to digital files on a laptop via USB? I know of several software programs (such as Audacity) that can capture and edit the audio files, but what about the hardware? I own quite a number of LPs and cassette tapes that I would like to archive, and I don’t want to have to buy a USB-equipped tape deck (provided there is such a thing) and turntable. Instead, I would prefer to connect my components directly to the converter or use my AV receiver’s record loop ouput. —Eric Tang / via email

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How Can I Get the Best Sound Quality When Streaming Tidal?
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Al Griffin • Posted: Feb 19, 2015 • 2 comments
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Q I just signed up for Tidal music streaming and want to make sure I am getting the best sound quality from that service. My laptop is connected to my router with an Ethernet cable and then to my Onkyo pre/pro via an HDMI cable. I have the Tidal app’s settings set to HiFi.

My question is, as music streams from Tidal, does it pass through the laptop’s sound card first and then to the HDMI cable, or straight from the HDMI cable to the Onkyo pre/pro? I don’t know what sound card is equipped with the computer, and want to make sure that if streamed music does pass through, that the card isn’t detracting from the sound quality. —Andre Spits / Atlanta,GA

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How Can I Play Music from My Android Phone Through My System?
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Al Griffin • Posted: Dec 26, 2013 • 4 comments
Q My Onkyo HTS-S5400 home theater system has a front USB input where I plug in my iPhone to play music. I recently bought a new Sony Xperia L Android smartphone, however, and would like to use that for music playback instead. The Onkyo’s manual says the USB input is for iPhone/iPod playback only. Is there any special cable or app that I can use to play music through the system with my Android phone? —Mila Arasu via email
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How Can I Salvage an Unfinalized DVD?
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Al Griffin • Posted: Dec 08, 2014 • 0 comments
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Q I transferred video from a VHS tape to a DVR/DVD recorder a few years ago but did not finalize the disc and now no longer have the machine. My current DVD player, a Magnavox, won’t even recognize the disc, and my computer won’t either. Is there any way now that I can finalize that disc? —Joe Simone / via e-mail

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How Do I Adjust Movie Images to Fit My 16:9 Screen?
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Al Griffin • Posted: Nov 03, 2014 • 8 comments
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Q I have a Samsung plasma TV and a Panasonic Blu-ray player. Almost none of the movies I watch are in the right aspect ratio to fill the screen. This is annoying—I never get to enjoy the movie as I should. The player has no settings that I know of to stretch the picture. Is there a device on the market that will format the picture to fill my TV’s 16:9 aspect ratio screen? —Gary Roberts / via e-mail

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How Do I Arrange Seating For a Dual Screen Setup?
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Al Griffin • Posted: Oct 02, 2014 • Published: Sep 30, 2014 • 0 comments
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Q I’ve seen a couple of instances in Sound & Vision magazine of installations with a flat-panel TV for normal viewing and a projector and large screen for special viewings. If the screen comes down in front of the flat panel, how do you arrange room seating to accommodate both screen sizes? A 60-inch flat panel and a 100-inch projection screen for instance?—W. Ladd Romans, Jr. / via e-mail

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How Do I Boost the Dialogue Level on My TV?
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Al Griffin • Posted: Aug 28, 2014 • 2 comments
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Q I want to amplify just the dialogue on my TV. Is it possible to do that? —Glenn Goudeau

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How Do I Convert S-video Signals to Component Video?
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Al Griffin • Posted: Jun 16, 2014 • 0 comments
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Q Is it possible to convert S-video signals to component video? If so, where can I find a conversion device? —Richard S. Hubina / via e-mail

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