Home Theater United Podcast

Home Theater United

Episode 39

September 19, 2022 6:30 PM EST

What’s cooking at Warner Archive (Target time about  1h):

• Intro by sam: Who is Mr. George Feltenstein? What’s his history with Warner?
• He’s been a great friend to HTF over the years and we’d love to visit with him again =) THANKS to Ronald Episode for bringing Mr. Feltenstein to the show!
• So big changes with Warner Archive moving from Time Warner to The new Warner Brothers Discovery, what can you tell us about this transition? 
• Adam Lenhart wonders if the sale is having effects on preservation.  How has the role of film preservation changed?  What’s the latest on it?  Is new technology helping it, or making it more economical?  
• Is Warner going “Streaming first”?  Is there a way to say what has priority between theatrical, streaming, digital ownership and physical media?  Are DVDs dead? Is MoD dead? Do you think streaming has good and well killed movies on demand?
• So… given the big changes and now 13 years in… what does the future of the warner archive collection look like? GF : I will address this
• It seems like everything is merging together into one of 2-3 big companies, yet there’s 18 different streaming services.  How do you see this shaking out? 
• How are you feeling about the future of actual movie theaters?  Can they survive? 
• What’s been recently announced that you are most excited about?

HTF questions:

• Jim Bur: THANKS for great 2020-2021 releases! Especially technicolor stuff 
• Roland L and many many others: Anything in the pipe in 3d? 
• Silent films?
• Angelo Columbus: Next year is the 100th anniversary!  Big plans? & Robert Crawford: I would like to ask him if next year’s Warner’s Centennial celebration will include titles across the different studio releases now under Warner control. Will there be a mixture of Warner, MGM, RKO and Goldwyn titles coming out on physical media in 2023, to celebrate 100 years of Warner?
• Ricard M S: Have there been any recent "unexpected" discoveries of film elements/missing footage in the vaults that are being incorporated into upcoming blu-ray release? particularly interested in the still-unreleased complete MATA HARI. 
• Battlebeast and others Any best picture winners in the pipe?  Do they tend to be given priority? 
• Rafael Piress: Any chance of getting back to 5-7 releases a month?
• SWFF: plans for more horror and/or SciFi flicks, and, maybe, more Hammer Films?
• JC Riesenbeck and others: Any chance of A Summer Place? (Sam notes this was his parents first date movie he thinks!) 
• Lots of folks asking about TV shows, Sam Favate wants to know about Babylon 5 
• Lots of folks interested in more classic animation, 80s forever notes the hints were for lots of animation in 2022,  Delayed or off the table?  GF: I will address
• Stephen J H how about collabs with cartoon network? 
• Deepscan: Any collaborations with Criterion, like maybe an ultimate Superman set GF: I will address
• Arthur Powell: Anything happening on the silent film front (Greed, The Crowd, The Wind, The Student Prince of Old Heidelberg, The Fire Brigade, So This Is Paris, the 1924 version of Captain Blood, etc.)? 
• Mark-P: The Opposite Sex Blu-ray having mono sound will ever be corrected and a replacement program initiated? Robert Harris made the following comment over a year and a half ago and nothing has come of it. 
• Xochipill: anything for fans of 70mm like Ryan's Daughter and Cheyenne Autumn?
• Keith Cobby: Any update on the hinted on Three Little Words? 
• Keith also asks Updates to 4k for big Blus like North By Northwest? Or are those not as important with great blurays already out 
• Mark Brown Ask what is Warner's position on using Perspecta on MGM titles?

Specific Titles:

Larry P: Any plans for the Warner-owned Abbott and Costello films? These are the last A&C holdouts for blu-ray. Also, how about some more love for Lucy? - more RKO and of course "The Long, Long Trailer". A complete restoration of TV's Adventures of Superman would be amazing. Oh, and Gilligan needs to be rescued from DVD and onto Blu!

Duke Togo: Will WAC/Warner have access to the restoration work that Second Sight is doing with The Hitcher in the UK?  WAC has about 200 Golden Harvest titles. Any updates on when we might see any in the line? 

Joel Arnt: Are more titles starring Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, ...

Mark Mayes Gone with the Wind in 4k?  (Sam asks has GWTW survived its time in the barrel recently!) 

David Weiker Captain Blood 

Astairefan: Any golden age musicals in the pipeline? Especially Astaire / Rogers films. 

Lots of folks asked about Northwest Passage or Raintree County.  Is raintree still problematic as reported in the past?

Stephen JH: Cartoon Network collab ?

Travelling Man: more Marx Brothers ?

Owen 35: hanna barbar?

Klaus: The Prisoner of Zenda (1937) 

Home Theater United

Episode 38 July 11, 2022 7:30 PM EST

Streaming Frustrations 2022 with Todd Erwin

Reconnection (5m or less):

• Amazon Prime day tonight at 12 midnight.  Does Todd think the $120 Apple TV is a good deal or the best deal of all time? Pretty Awesome! - Best Buy is price matching that, 64Gb is $140, Roku Ultra $80, StreamStick 4K $30 (both are Roku sales, not Prime Day)
• The adventures of Terrific Man! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuwa8vtOgB44qnnKovNDvysB_FmKQH0AG

Streaming Frustrations 2022 (Target time about  1h):

• Playstation removing content from paid customers lockers?!?!
• Lionsgate supports iTunes with unbearable weight.  One off from a specific licensee or part of a long term shift?
• Why hasn’t movies anywhere expanded?
• Doctor stranger’s picture quality thread.  
• Vudu/FandangoNow library merger
• Paramount+ (and HBO Max) HDR issue on Roku (both are now resolved)
• Disney+ and Netflix to add new lower cost ad-supported tiers
• Sony's inconsistency on HDR and Atmos across digital retailers
• Sony's content deal with both Netflix and Disney+/Hulu
• Content reverting back to studio-owned streaming after this year
• Best Streaming devices

Shout out to Spare Change talking the same subject tonight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmH32zZitZw

Quick Good Bad and Ugly:

Sam - RRR

Todd - Cinderella (2021)

https://www.hometheaterforum.com/cinderella-2021-blu-ray-review/

Episode 37

June 27, 2022 7:30 PM EST

New and returning hobbyists

Todd Rice

Dave Hahn

Reconnection:

• Sam’s new toy: Rodecaster 2 - Robot Voices and spoiler alert
• Mini G2 review: HGIG is still broken but movies and HDR10 gaming are glorious

New and returning hobbyists:

• Where are you at with your current build?  How long have you been assembling it?  
• Dave: What’s different in your current build from where your last one was at? You thought your last one would be the ultimate build and get you 10-20 years.  What changed your thinking?
• What do you wish someone had told you about home theater before you began?  What are you still investigating? What do you wish the industry did a better job of explaining?
• What's got you jazzed about 2022 displays, and what other tech are you adding?  Is Atmos on your radar?
• Are projectors part of your investigation? Are TVs big enough for you or do you desire and have room for bigger screens?  
• Have we reached saturation and maturity on display tech?  Are you into HDR?  Have you experienced it yet? Are retail vendors able to demo it well for you?
• Do you read and participate on other forums besides HTF?  Are you on AVS or Bluray.com?
• Got an opinion on physical media vs streaming / buying digitally?  Is it “And” or “Or” for you?
• Where are you buying media?  Are sites like the HTF’s WRU or HDDN’s bargain hunting useful to you?
• Are you a movie goer?  Have you returned post pandemic?
• What do you see as the biggest home theater issues that most users are facing?  It’s 2022 and we are still using one way (ie dumb) RF tech to try to coordinate all our components.  How has nobody fixed this?  CAN anyone ever fix it?
• Have you dealt with multiple HDMI and USB standards?  Are they as big a mess as Sam thinks it is?

Quick Good Bad and Ugly:

Sam - In the heat of the night

Todd - Measure of a Man

Dave - The Contractor

April 28, 2022 4:30 PM EST

Pro Reviewer Caleb Denison of Digital Trends

Caleb Denison | Senior Editor, Digital Trends

Reconnection:

• Sam’s pain:  Got G2 77” on Monday.  Installer not coming til next week. 
• Sony tries to beat JVC’s 2022  projectors, Sam is not super impressed 

Pro Reviewer Caleb Denison of Digital Trends:

• How would you describe your job, and how does Digital Trends fit in to the wider internet and home theater landscape?
• What's got you jazzed about 2022 panels, and what other tech are you tracking and reviewing?  How has your “most anticipated” article shaken out so far?  You dig the latest Macbooks I see, Love mine!
• How do you see the role of pro reviewers evolving given the flood of independent tech enthusiasts?  
• You follow all the tiers of the market, right?  How do you see the low end evolving?
• What's going on with 3D?
• Have we reached saturation and maturity on display tech?  What do you see the next great leap being?
• What do you see as the biggest home theater issues that most users are facing?  It’s 2022 and we are still using one way (ie dumb) RF tech to try to coordinate all our components.  How has nobody fixed this?  CAN anyone ever fix it?
• Is HDMI as big a mess as Sam thinks it is?
• Got an opinion on physical media vs streaming / buying digitally?  Is it “And” or “Or” for you?
• Going big and going small.  42" and 97 OLED are finally arriving. The waiting is the hardest part.. Think either end will make any big waves in the market?
• Can projectors hope to compete and survive with panels nearing and beating 100 inches?  

Quick Good Bad and Ugly:

Sam - The Northman

Caleb -  Dune

Home Theater United

Episode 35

March 29, 2022 7:30 PM EST

2022 new flat panel round table

Guests:

Stop the Fomo

Whisper Status 74

Tech with KG

Keep it classy tech

Reconnection (5m or less):

• Brian on sabbatical 

2022 flat panel round table (Target time 1h or less):

• What's got you jazzed about the new panels?
• LG seems to be smashing it with C2/G2 line, is anyone else able to keep up?
• Launch prices seem pretty reasonable, is it worth buying launch window or is Black Friday / closeout still the way to go?
• Buying a closeout c1/g1 worth it?
• Are the heatsinks the real deal?  
• It's 2022, and reviewers are still talking about OLED burn in, especially for gaming.  Is this FUD or reality?
• Going big and going small.  42" and 97. The waiting is the hardest part..
• $25k for 97 reasonable?
• Can projectors hope to compete and survive with panels nearing and beating 100 inches?  
• Do you think CEDIA 2022 will go?  Will you attend?

Home Theater United

Episode 34

February 7, 2022 8:00 PM EST

Directors Rountable Discussion

Reconnection (5m or less):

• Reflecting on MD trip, visit to Sam’s, movies, filling suitcase
• Revisiting Brian’s Scariest Movie
• Sam’s “new” projector
• Sam cleared out 500+ disks!
• Todd: Does the LOTR collection “hold up”
• Ghostbusters Afterlife at home better than Dolby Cinema?

Directors (Target time 1h or less):

• How much power does a director really have?
• “Final cut” 
• What’s the best analogy for director: conductor, dictator, somewhere in between?
• Favorite Directors?
• Shitty Directors?
• Who had the best career?
• Who are you most excited about from the crop of new directors? 
• What director is influencing/mentoring the most? Back to Corman

Quick Good Band and Ugly:

Sam - Pam and Tommy

Brian - Godzilla vs. Kong, WW84

Todd - Reacher

Neil - it’s a secret

Home Theater United

Episode 33

January 15,  2022 8:00 PM EST

We have questions! The Lipton and Films to be buried with quizzes

Reconnection (5m or less):

• Basement coming along
• Covid

Lipton questions:

https://washfm.iheart.com/featured/toby-and-chilli-mornings/content/2020-03-03-we-answer-james-liptons-10-question-questionnaire/

• What is your favorite word?
• What is your least favorite word?
• What turns you on?
• What turns you off?
• What sound or noise do you love?
• What sound or noise do you hate?
• What is your favorite curse word?
• What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
• What profession would you not like to do?
• If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?

Films To Be Buried With Questions

https://medium.com/@tcggamerwill/films-to-be-buried-with-podcast-c34168fbc15d

• What was the first-ever film you saw?
• What was the film that scared you the most?
• What was the film that made you cry the most?
• What film is TERRIBLE but you love it?
• What is the film you once loved but watching it now you realise it’s terrible?
• What is the film that means the most to you? Not because of the film it’s self, but because of the memories, you have of it.
• What is the sexiest film?
• Which film do you most relate to?
• Which film is objectively the greatest ever?
• Which film is the one you’ve watched the most?
• What’s the worst film you’ve ever seen?
• What is the film that’s literally made you laugh out loud the most?

Quick Good Bad and Ugly:

Sam - Don’t look up

Brian -  Tenet

Brian Dobbs and Sam Posten talk about what they have watched in 2020 -- the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Listen in, as they try to guess where each other’s selections ended up.

Brian Dobbs and Sam Posten take a deep dive into how they store, organize, and display their home theater media collection.  Sam embraces chaos, Brian is way more thoughtful.  They also discuss the tchotchkes and other items that bring personality to their home theater areas.

Home Theater United

Episode 32

December 27,  2021 8:00 PM EST

Special Guest Adrian Silva of Stewart Filmscreen

Reconnection:

• Whatcha get for Christmas and or Boxing day???
• Sam’s got no screen on the wall, oh no!  But the carpet is back and the walls are darker, dun dun dun!
• JVC NZ8 still delayed
• Matrix DRM Disaster
• Denon 1700h still delayed (best buy had stock for about an hour tho!)
• CES is coming!
• Brian’s Outlaw amp

Guest Interview Adrian Silva of Stewart Filmscreen:

• What's the general history of Stewart, have you always focused exclusively on screens?
• What are the different lines of screen materials and form factors?
• Can you tell us about your automated masking systems?
• Do you sell more 16x9 or ultra wide?
• How does someone make the call on materials?  Can you talk about your web program that goes question by question to narrow it down?  
• White versus grey?
• How do you select gain?
• Are laser sparkles and PJ hot spots big considerations?
• Can you order direct from Stewart or must you use a local rep / store?
• Can you tell us more about the Kaleidescape deal?
• Is there really a need for different materials with 8k?
• What’s in your own home theaters?
• Do you think CES 2022 will go?  Will you attend  or are you CEDIA focused?

Quick Good Bad and Ugly:

Sam - Spider-Man No Way Home Dolby Cinema

Brian - Mortal Kombat 2021 (Dick Tracy quick mention)

Adrian - A Christmas Story