home theater, cord cutting, video streaming, a/v tech, and more!

[Miami Vice]

Why not use Plex with a Roku?

Its not a bad idea, but it has to work for your situation. If all of your files are Roku compatible then its a great idea. But for me personally I'd still need a moderately powerful PC to convert my files in real time to something a Roku can play. Which would also mean compressing the video and sound. I do it in my bedroom since the Google TV box I have in there has lousy codec support and it works great. But since I need a powerful computer to do that I just plug it into my tv.

[Miami Vice]

Any cord cutters that own an Xbox One?

They will begin selling an OTA tv tuner for the XB1. It will allow you to use the One Guide directly with an antenna. Pausing live tv is possible, but not scheduling recordings (yet).

[columbia]

For those without cable, how much bandwidth per month are you using between Netflix, hockey (or whatever) and TV streaming services?

[Miami Vice]

I didn't have any cable from about February 15th to May 15th:

February - 223GB

March - 510GB (I think a lot of this was that I left Youtube auto-play on for about 48 hours at one point)

April - 334GB

May - 221GB (to date)

[columbia]

Thanks. The current cap with Comcast is 300GB, so I'm trying to figure out if that would work for me.

[DigitalGypsy66]

Now, we have four people using our network, but here are our numbers:

178 GB February
237 GB March
389 GB April
172 GB May

We haven't had cable since March 2010. Amazon, network streams, Netflix, gaming, and the very occasional torrent come into play with our usage.

I would think with 300GB, you should be fine.

[eddy]

We don't have cable. Family of 5. netflix, amazon, hbo go all on Comcast internet

Feb 124GB
Mar 111GB
Apr 131GB

[robbiestoupe]

General question regarding audio: I have a home theater system with a blu-ray that is connected via HDMI to a Smart TV for video and via optical cable to a receiver for audio. However, the audio is really lacking through the optical cable. The music and sound effects are somewhat muffled, even though the dialog comes through just fine. I have an Onkyo 6.1 system that has worked beautifully for me over the years. Normally puts out excellent sound.

I always thought optical cables were more crisp and clean that component cables. Am I wrong here? Is there something I may be doing wrong with the optical cable that causes it to not sound right? Could it be that the cable was bent at too small a radius and thus damaging the fiber optics?

[Miami Vice]

You're trying to use your TV as an audio switcher, and that's a bad idea for a number of reasons.

Optical cables (in practice) don't have enough bandwidth to carry the two main bluray audio codecs (Dolby TrueHD and DTS-MA). So you definitely want to send an HDMI cable from your bluray source to your receiver, and then another from your receiver to your tv. I suspect you aren't doing that because the receiver is pre-HDMI era.

There are a couple of things that could be happening to cause lousy sound.
1) you have the bluray player set to "bitstream" the audio. your tv doesn't really know what to do with it (they don't have HD audio decoders), so it mucks up the signal downmixing 5.1 or 7.1 to 2.0.

2) the optical out on most televisions can't pass surround sound that the tv receivers via HDMI, even for older audio codecs like Dolby Digital (aka AC3). the optical port is there for two reasons. the first being for people who use an antenna to get surround sound out to a receiver. the second that is becoming more common is for apps built into the tv like HBO Go and Netflix. so again it is downmixing 5.1 or 7.1 to 2.0.

then after whichever of those is happening above your receiver is trying to matrix a 2 channel signal into surround sound, so at that point the original audio mix has been butchered.

If your receiver has no HDMI ports your best bet would be to send optical out of your bluray player directly to your receiver, bypassing the TV. The player might need a setting checked off. While this won't be lossless audio quality, it will still be 5.1

If that isn't an option and you definitely must keep it connected as is you might dig through the audio settings on both the bluray player and the TV. If the TV can pass AC3 there might be a way to re-encode all audio out of the bluray player as Dolby Digital (you can do this with an Xbox One, for example). I'm actually stuck doing that right now because of my receiver's limitations. If that isn't an option, you would be better served having your bluray player downmix the audio and send it to the TV as a 2 channel source, rather than have the TV attempt to do that.

[columbia]

You're trying to use your TV as an audio switcher, and that's a bad idea for a number of reasons.

I can attest to this.

I somehow lost my lengthy RCA cable, so to watch (well, actually hear) video from my computer on my TV, I'm running an 1/8" to RCA cable from the set to the stereo. It's a sub-optimal way to handle it.

[robbiestoupe]

You're trying to use your TV as an audio switcher, and that's a bad idea for a number of reasons.

Optical cables (in practice) don't have enough bandwidth to carry the two main bluray audio codecs (Dolby TrueHD and DTS-MA). So you definitely want to send an HDMI cable from your bluray source to your receiver, and then another from your receiver to your tv. I suspect you aren't doing that because the receiver is pre-HDMI era.

There are a couple of things that could be happening to cause lousy sound.
1) you have the bluray player set to "bitstream" the audio. your tv doesn't really know what to do with it (they don't have HD audio decoders), so it mucks up the signal downmixing 5.1 or 7.1 to 2.0.

2) the optical out on most televisions can't pass surround sound that the tv receivers via HDMI, even for older audio codecs like Dolby Digital (aka AC3). the optical port is there for two reasons. the first being for people who use an antenna to get surround sound out to a receiver. the second that is becoming more common is for apps built into the tv like HBO Go and Netflix. so again it is downmixing 5.1 or 7.1 to 2.0.

then after whichever of those is happening above your receiver is trying to matrix a 2 channel signal into surround sound, so at that point the original audio mix has been butchered.

If your receiver has no HDMI ports your best bet would be to send optical out of your bluray player directly to your receiver, bypassing the TV. The player might need a setting checked off. While this won't be lossless audio quality, it will still be 5.1

If that isn't an option and you definitely must keep it connected as is you might dig through the audio settings on both the bluray player and the TV. If the TV can pass AC3 there might be a way to re-encode all audio out of the bluray player as Dolby Digital (you can do this with an Xbox One, for example). I'm actually stuck doing that right now because of my receiver's limitations. If that isn't an option, you would be better served having your bluray player downmix the audio and send it to the TV as a 2 channel source, rather than have the TV attempt to do that.

Thanks for the tips. You are correct that my receiver is pre-HDMI era. However, what I'm doing is running the video via HDMI from my bluray to my TV, then running an optical cable from the bluray directly to the receiver. I put the TV on mute and turn on the receiver's DVD source to pipe in the movie sound. So what I'm running is your first suggestion to the fix.

You may be correct in that there is a setting somewhere in the bluray that will allow it to encode the signal properly. I'll look into that.

What about coax cable? Not the coax that is normally used for cable TV and broadband, but the orange RCA jack? Is that better/worse than an optical cable in your opinion?

[Miami Vice]

Optical/toslink vs digital coax should not make any difference in quality. They are carrying computer data, not an analog signal that can be degraded. Much like HDMI it either works or it doesn't.

What kind of signal is your receiver reporting, and what kind of sound mode is it in? On Sony models that mode is called Auto Field Direct. When that is applied it will light up DTS 3/2.1, Dolby Digital 2.0, PCM 44.1, etc when I bitstream it audio. This step will tell you if the player is set correctly but the receiver is downmixing it.

If that isn't the problem there must be a setting on the bluray player that needs to be adjusted. Go into the sound options, then digital output. You'll want to turn HDMI audio off. You also definitely do not want any setting enabled that says PCM - that will limit you to only 2 channels. If you can turn HDMI audio off, and enable a setting that says bitstream, then that should solve it.

[robbiestoupe]

Thanks MV I'll check it out tonight when I get home

[LITT]

i bought my tv on black friday special 4 years ago. apparently the BF model only has 2 HDMI ports. is there a clever way to hook up a cable box, apple tv and xbox through 2 hdmi ports? not sure if there are hdmi switches?

[skullman80]

HDMI switches exist and aren't overly expensive. I have one for the bedroom TV that I got before having more than 2 HDMI outs was the norm.

Amazon has a bunch just search HDMI switcher, most are 30$ or under, just read the reviews.

[Miami Vice]

is it an xbox one? id run the cable box thru it.

or id just run component video out of the cable box. you likely wont notice a difference.

[LITT]

is it an xbox one? id run the cable box thru it.

or id just run component video out of the cable box. you likely wont notice a difference.

360

[Miami Vice]

I've been playing around with a PC operating system called OpenElec - Open Embedded Linux Entertainment Center. The sole thing it does is boot up to run the Kodi media software.

So far I'm really liking it. I'm using it on a 6 year old PC (with a 4 or 5 year old video card) and it can play everything. I wanted to use my powerful HTPC in my living room where it doubles as a DVR, and this is just for movies (and occasionaly TV).

If you have a PC or laptop collecting dust this was super easy to install (all you need is a thumb drive) and can be a great way to watch movies if you are into torrents. You can set up automatic download managers and things like that, and there are lots of add-ins for various streaming services.

Its feeding a projector now, so one of my main reasons for choosing OpenElec/Kodi over Windows Media Center (which I'm much more familiar with) is the ability to use Cinema Experience, an add in for Kodi that allows you to show trivia, trailers, intro clips, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LkdJGN_mN0

[eddy]

google adds an Ethernet Adapter for Chromecast

https://store.google.com/product/_ether ... chromecast

[cadams]

google adds an Ethernet Adapter for Chromecast

https://store.google.com/product/_ether ... chromecast

I have been playing with casting my browser on a PC hardwired to my network of the xfinity live tv website (thanks inlaws!) but the stream quality is passable but relatively poor over strong wifi. I think this might be worth trying since I prefer to keep as many things hard wired to keep the strain off my wifi.

[LeopardLetang]

I finally impulsed a 55" smart 4k Samsung today. I doubt I got the best tv or deal at $1099 at best buy with 10% back. I use a Samsung phone.

Their crew had opinions. Especially about the vizio tvs. Showed me a green ring surrounding those tvs and said they all got them, eventually turning purple and then the screens blew up. So that took vizios out of the running. They really didn't seem impressed by sharp tvs. I went 55 instead of 50 since they told me I'd benefit more from the 4k at that size.

My question though is about hdmi cables. Should I spring for higher end cables? And of course any opinion of my tv choice? Thanks!

[Craig]

I dont intend to be back on the tv market soon, but im pretty loyal to samsung, they always seem to be putting out quality stuff. I pretty much always start there and usually end up there.

[Miami Vice]

For starters I think you made a good choice. That price for a 55" tv is good. We are just in a weird transitional time like 2004-2007 was, where the standards, specs, and pricing were all out of sync. So its hard to be confident in your choice. But at that price its a no brainer. I think the people buying the premium sets, the ones with $6000-$10,000 msrps, are making really dumb decisions because those tvs still have far inferior pictures than 2012 flagship plasma sets.

Especially about the vizio tvs. Showed me a green ring surrounding those tvs and said they all got them, eventually turning purple and then the screens blew up.

thats nonsense. they wouldnt be the best selling tv in america if they blew up. now granted most of them are poorer quality. what you saw was a screen uniformity issue. all lcd based screens suffer from it on some level - that was one of plasmas many superior points. but they dont just blow up as a result of it. they are releasing a line very soon called the reference series that will compete for best quality picture on the market (or so the pre-release buzz goes). they will also carry a much heftier price tag.

I went 55 instead of 50 since they told me I'd benefit more from the 4k at that size.

Just for starters, what you actually bought is a UHD set. They use UHD and 4K interchangeably, and they are both a little more than 8 megapixels, but 4K in a cinema standard and is slightly wider than 16x9 and slightly higher def. But it doesnt cost them much more to make a 3840 x 2160 set than it does a 1920 X 1080, so thats whats in stores now.

Thats true about bigger screen sizes, but you still wont benefit very much from it until your screen gets up above 80" or 90." I just went with a 110" screen that I am sitting about 9 feet back from. UHD would be a noticeable improvement there. But that supposes there is anything in UHD to watch, and outside of Netflix there really isnt.

On top of that when the standards for UHD bluray and UHDTV programming actually are finalized there will be more than just higher resolution. the difference between black and white will be greater, there will be a wider range of colors, and color compression will be different. the problem is that those things still havent been agreed to yet. so the UHD tvs in stores now might not be able to display them and that's seriously unfortunate because all of those points will be much more noticeable at 55" (or 50" or 32" for that matter) than just more resolution.

My question though is about hdmi cables. Should I spring for higher end cables? And of course any opinion of my tv choice? Thanks!

In general no. HDMI carries a digital signal. That means it carries computer data like an ethernet cord. The image and audio cant degrade the way speaker wire or RCA connections do. As long as it gets from the source to your tv one cable is no better than another.

Now, whether or not that happens is another story. I just hung my Samsung tv on the wall in my living room and fished the 10ft AmazonBasics hdmi cord thru the wall to my htpc. Just this morning when I turned the tv on the hdmi cord didn't sync quickly enough, and i had to unplug it and plug it back into to my computer to get a signal. Its happened a few times. Thats not going to fly with my girlfriend, so at some point soon I'm going to need another cable and have to pull the entire thing off the wall to fix it. The cable came in a 2 pack from Amazon so its entirely possible the other one works just fine. HDMI is just a terrible standard.

I ran a 40ft length of cord from my basement a/v rack up to my living room so I could play Xbox on either tv. I spent a few extra dollars for a cable with Redmere technology built into. Redmere makes chips that go into the source end of the cable and help to amplify the signal, allowing for thinner and/or longer cables (hdmi often fails above 15 or 20 ft). I'm going to try a 10ft Redmere to fix my living room issue.

Buying a 6ft cord is probably best because at shorter lengths the signal can actually be too strong and cause the sync between the two products to fail.

You additionally might have HDMI 2.0 jacks on your tv (I hope so at least). You won't need any special cords yet, but once those things like high dynamic range and higher color gamuts come into effect you will need an HDMI 2.0 cable to carry them.

Also newer tvs are starting to get HDCP 2.2 built into the HDMI ports. its a stupid and ineffective copy protection scheme. NVidia just released a 4K game console/video player called Shield TV. If you bought one you would need HDCP 2.2 to be built into your tv for services like Netflix to allow you to watch 4K.

[LITT]

so are you saying dont buy a 4k tv then?

[Miami Vice]

im saying dont spend a ton on one. they are starting to fully replace 1080p at larger screen sizes, the same way you cant buy a 46" 720p set.

but all the ancillary standards (high dynamic range, wide color gamut, chroma sub-sampling) that will actually make a big visual improvement still have not been decided. so its stupid to buy a $10000 LG EG9600 when you have no idea if it will be compatible with the movies you want to watch on it.