Podcast #1150: Ara Buys a New TV

HDTV and Home Theater Podcast

On this week’s show Ara gets a new TV! It came down to a UST Projector and a Mini LED. We also read your emails and take a look at the week’s news.

News:

• Amazon Debuts New Streaming Ads on Prime
• Disney and Warner Set to Bundle Disney Plus, Max and Hulu Starting This Summer
• Fox Says Tubi Now Has 80 Million Average Monthly Users; FAST Platform’s Engagement Also Up 36%
• Sunday Leadoff' Is Coming to The Roku Channel
• Apple, Netflix Amazon Want to Change How They Pay Hollywood Stars
• Comcast Plans Peacock, Netflix, Apple TV+ Streaming Bundle

Other:

• SportsNet Pittsburgh launches direct-to-consumer streaming service

My ideal TV has no tuner, no speakers and no smart platform

I’ve had my current TV for about a year now, and do you know how many times I’ve used its built-in tuner? None. I’ve not even plugged in the aerial. I’ve not used any of the built-in apps, either, and the built-in speakers have emitted a sound only a handful of times, and only because the connected sound system didn’t automatically switch on as it should have. Full article here…

New TV for Ara

Ara’s original Vizio P-Series UHD TV finally gave out. After posting this information on X, he received a few suggestions on how it could possibly be revived. Unfortunately nothing worked. Vizio customer service even offered to help resolve the issue. But after ten years of trusty service, it was time to move on.

Ara posted to X that it was between a Sony Mini LED and an AWOL UST projector. The response was mixed. So where did he land?

The field was quickly narrowed down to:

The AWOL LTV-2500 4K 3D Triple Laser Projector $3000 + $1000 for a 100” screen.

Bring The Cinematic Experience to Your Home: AWOL VISION LTV-2500 powered with a cutting edge Triple Laser without Color Wheel Technology, Dolby Vision & Dolby Atmos 4K UHD Resolution, HDR10+, 3D available, brings you a stunning 150", 4K Movie Theater experience. Coupled with exceptional audio immersion technology with Dolby Atmos, LTV-2500 is the most colorful with details' ultra short throw 4K laser projector for controlled light environment.

and

The BRAVIA XR 75” Class X93L Mini LED 4K HDR Google TV (2023) $2500

The Cognitive Processor XR™ delivers a picture with wide dynamic contrast and natural colors, replicating how we see the real world. See ultimate contrast from thousands of Mini LEDs and billions of accurate colors, all precision-controlled by the XR Backlight Master™ Drive and XR Triluminos Pro™.

The winner is…. The Sony Bravia.

The Process:

• Cost was a factor but not as big a factor as Lina not wanting to rearrange the artwork above the current TV.
• Some on X said that the UST was only an option if I had good control of the light in the room. Even my first gen UST looks decent in full daylight and it does not have the lumens of this projector. So that was not and issue that disqualified the UST
• While I would have liked a 100” screen. The 75” Sony is a small step up from the 70” Vizio.
• Tip! Regardless of choice I was going to have to get rid of my old Vizio. I’m thinking I’d have to call my trash company and pay to have it hauled away. So I thought let me try to see if someone wanted a free broken UHD TV. And to my surprise, four people reached out to me. The person who ended up with it worked at a youth center and had a friend who fixed TVs. So he came and picked it up and just like that, problem solved.
• Once the Bravia was delivered I simply plugged the cables in exactly as the Vizio. The output of the Yamaha RX-850 to the eARC port, power, and Ethernet. It's actually pretty heavy (97 lbs or 42Kgs). I powered it up and went through the setup. By the way, I did not accept anything that I interpreted as them spying on me. The TV is also a GoogleTV. I did not log into my account.
• For calibration I selected cinema mode and turned off motion flow and automated adjustments. I did enable calibrated mode for any programming that sends that info in the stream.
• First issue… My Yamaha for some reason would not pass HDR data even though it says it will. Solution… Connect Oppo and AppleTV to the Sony and use eARC for audio,
• Second issue…I could not send ATMOS data through to the receiver because it does not support eARC. Not a big deal because this is the family room and there is no ATMOS. But I also can’t get Dolby digital. Solution… Set AppleTV to force DD 5.1 and set Sony to pass signal untouched to Yamaha. Not the best solution but hey! I don’t have to explain to my wife why we now need a new receiver. There is a high probability that there will be a new receiver purchased on Black Friday!
• The picture looks phenomenal! A few times I caught myself saying it's like looking out a window. The colors are so saturated and beautiful! And while the black levels are not like OLED. They are quite good! No regrets. Not even a letter ;-)
• Review to come after I have had a chance to use the TV and dial it in.