Ask S&V

Sort By:  Post Date TitlePublish Date
Ask S&V
New Speakers, 3D Glasses, Audio Connections
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 23, 2011  |  0 comments
What speakers do you recommend to replace my old ones? Will one company's active 3D glasses work with another company's 3D TV? What's the best audio connection for watching TV with or without the AVR?
Continue Reading »
Ask S&V
Remote Viewing, Filter Cleaning, Optical Cables
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 16, 2011  |  0 comments
How do I watch content on my DVR when I'm away from home? How often should I clean my projector's air filter? Why are optical-cable prices so wide ranging?
Continue Reading »
Ask S&V
3D PJs, Ground Loop, Width vs. Height
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 09, 2011  |  0 comments
Do you need active-shutter glasses with 3D projectors at home? What's causing moving lines on my TV? Are width or height speakers better?
Continue Reading »
Ask S&V
Used Projectors, Dubbing VHS, Hiding Speakers
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 02, 2011  |  0 comments
Should I buy a used projector? Can you recommend a VHS/DVD recorder combo? Should I hide my speakers?
Continue Reading »
Ask S&V
3D Wars, Roku Controversy, 3D TVs
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 26, 2011  |  2 comments
Are Walter Murch's arguments against 3D reasonable? Why does Barb Gonzalez dislike Roku? Which 3D TV should I get?
Continue Reading »
Ask S&V
HDMI Switcher, No HDMI Audio, 3.1 Sound
Scott Wilkinson  |  Dec 21, 2010  |  1 comments
Never Enough Inputs
I recently purchased a Toshiba 46-inch LCD TV, which has four HDMI inputs. Unfortunately, I need more than that. I own an Apple TV, Mac Mini, PS3, XBox 360, and Boxee Box, and I will soon get a Roku XDS player. I want to get an HDMI receiver that has at least six HDMI inputs and one or two outputs to accommodate all these devices. I have decent home theater speakers connected to an audio receiver, which I don't intend to upgrade at the moment.

So here's my question: What HDMI receiver would you recommend? I don't want to spend a lot on it, but I want something that gets the job done. My budget is around $150-$200.

Clive Rodrigues

Continue Reading »
Ask S&V
UPS, MEMC, HTG
Scott Wilkinson  |  Dec 15, 2010  |  6 comments
Power to the People
I'm buying a new HDTV for my girlfriend for Christmas, but her neighborhood has more then a few power outages a year. What kind of protection do you recommend?

Ron

Continue Reading »
Ask S&V
4K, Online Content, AVR Upgrade
Scott Wilkinson  |  Dec 08, 2010  |  12 comments
Whither 4K?
When I got my first
 real job, I decided to buy a 
big TV, so I got a 65-inch Mitsubishi rear-
projection TV that accepts 1080i signals. As the years have passed, 1080p showed up as 
well as HDMI and other features. I started looking around and decided I wanted a Pioneer Kuro, but then Pioneer stopped making them. From everything 
I've read, Panasonic plasmas can't match the Kuro in picture quality, and I couldn't 
care less about 3D.

So, here are my questions.

 Should I wait for 4K to become mainstream? Do you know 
when such TV sets might become available? Do you have any idea
 what the 2011 line of Panasonics will be?

Matt Hedges

Continue Reading »
Ask S&V
HDMI Cables, Speaker Impedance, HDMI Splitters
Scott Wilkinson  |  Nov 24, 2010  |  8 comments
What's in a Number?
Will Blu-ray play through an HDMI 1.3 cable? I replaced a standard DVD player with a BD player and 
lost the sound. The cable is 1.3. Does that make a difference?
 


Bruce K. Dormanen

Continue Reading »
Ask S&V
HT, 3D BD, RPTV
Scott Wilkinson  |  Nov 18, 2010  |  0 comments
We're in the Money
My wife and I have gone into business for ourselves, and we plan to be making 6 or 7 figures in a few years. So, I'll finally get my own home theater. Where do I start? I like Martin Logan electrostatic speakers, which I saw and heard at Fry's. I also saw an 82-inch Mitsubishi DLP rear-projection TV, but the LED TVs looked so much better. As far as projection is concerned, is it too soon for 4K?
Continue Reading »
Ask S&V
Calibration, Sub Crossover, Separates vs. AVRs
Scott Wilkinson  |  Nov 10, 2010  |  5 comments
Calibration Challenge
I've been listening to you on Leo Laporte's radio show for years. One of your pet subjects is the correct calibration of HDTVs. I would like to challenge you on this. I have previously accepted your advice, but now with multiple media sources running into my TV, I find that one setting doesn't suit all of them. I'm sure that accurate calibration is fine in a perfect world, but because media quality often changes, I have to change the picture settings to suit the media in order to fully appreciate the viewing experience.
Continue Reading »
Ask S&V
Correction, PIP, Volume Settings
Scott Wilkinson  |  Nov 03, 2010  |  6 comments
Oops!
In the last two installments of Ask Home Theater, I wrote that the Sony STR-DA4600ES and DA5600ES A/V receivers can convert HDMI sources to 1080i component video for a remote room. My source at Sony was confident about this, and I took his word for it. However, reader Dan couldn't find anything about this feature in the DA5600ES manual. Was my Sony contact wrong?
Continue Reading »
Ask S&V
Tiled Video, HDMI to Component, Upconversion
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 27, 2010  |  5 comments
Video Skypeasaurus
I'd like to create a four-TV setup in my media room. Rather than purchasing one large TV, I thought I might buy four medium-size TVs and tie them together so each one can display a quarter of a single program or four separate programs such as football games. Leo Laporte uses a similar system with four PC monitors that show his TWiT logo across all four screens or several individual guests, such as yourself, via Skype.
Continue Reading »
Ask S&V
HD in Zone 2, Two Subs, Video Conversion
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 20, 2010  |  16 comments
In The Zone
As digital HDMI connections (and their associated HDCP requirements) become the default for A/V gear, I wonder if the days of a second HD zone on AVRs are behind us? Or are the manufacturers planning to address the current limitation of sending only SD video to a second zone? Will I be forced to buy an HDMI matrix?
Continue Reading »
Ask S&V
In-Wall HDMI, Screen Size, Sub Pops
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 13, 2010  |  8 comments
Baluncing Act
Is it worth the effort to install HDMI cables "in-wall" given that they update the version so frequently? How long do you expect HDMI 1.4 to last ?
Continue Reading »

Pages

X