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Used Projectors, Dubbing VHS, Hiding Speakers
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 02, 2011  | 
Should I buy a used projector? Can you recommend a VHS/DVD recorder combo? Should I hide my speakers?
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3D Wars, Roku Controversy, 3D TVs
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 26, 2011  | 
Are Walter Murch's arguments against 3D reasonable? Why does Barb Gonzalez dislike Roku? Which 3D TV should I get?
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HDMI Switcher, No HDMI Audio, 3.1 Sound
Scott Wilkinson  |  Dec 21, 2010  | 
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

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UPS, MEMC, HTG
Scott Wilkinson  |  Dec 15, 2010  | 
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

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4K, Online Content, AVR Upgrade
Scott Wilkinson  |  Dec 08, 2010  | 
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

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HDMI Cables, Speaker Impedance, HDMI Splitters
Scott Wilkinson  |  Nov 24, 2010  | 
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

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HT, 3D BD, RPTV
Scott Wilkinson  |  Nov 18, 2010  | 
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?
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Calibration, Sub Crossover, Separates vs. AVRs
Scott Wilkinson  |  Nov 10, 2010  | 
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.
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Correction, PIP, Volume Settings
Scott Wilkinson  |  Nov 03, 2010  | 
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?
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Tiled Video, HDMI to Component, Upconversion
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 27, 2010  | 
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.
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HD in Zone 2, Two Subs, Video Conversion
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 20, 2010  | 
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?
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In-Wall HDMI, Screen Size, Sub Pops
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 13, 2010  | 
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 ?
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Soundbars, 60 vs. 120Hz, DVRs
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 06, 2010  | 
Clutter Cutter
We have a budget of about $600 for a sound system to go with our new Panasonic TC-P54G25 plasma TV. We are looking for a system without a lot of clutter. Is there something with a subwoofer and just a couple of speakers, or do we need many speakers? Our TV room measures 22x22 feet.
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Casio Projectors, Headphones, 3D vs. 2D
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 30, 2010  | 
Howdy, Slim
First, let me tell you how much I enjoy your podcasts—very informative and entertaining. I loved the episode with Gene Dolgoff, a true pioneer in this field.
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3D TVs, AVRs, Screen Size
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 15, 2010  | 
3D Quandary
I'm looking for a 3D TV in the 55- to 65-inch range. I was leaning toward the Panasonic TC-P65VT25 until a salesperson at Best Buy told me the Samsung PN63C8000 is better, plus it includes a Blu-ray player. I thought Panasonic made the best plasmas. Also, which is better for 3D—LCD, LED, or plasma? Is Sony, Samsung, or Panasonic the best brand?
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