Optimum Sound & Vision

12/18/2024

PSA about Roku and Dolby Vision . . .

If you have a Roku 4K streaming media player and an HDTV that supports Dolby Vision, one of the few HDR (High Dynamic Range) video technologies available today, there is something you ought to know.

When configured for Dolby Vision, I discovered these Roku players would convert all SDR and HDR10 video to Dolby Vision, and this is not desirable because it alters the picture quality of non-Dolby Vision content and makes the highlights appear too intensely and unnaturally bright.

There is a way to configure your Roku for Dolby Vision without the streaming media player converting all SDR and HDR10 video to Dolby Vision, but the advanced display settings are buried in the Roku's menu.

First, make sure the Roku is set for the correct display type:

𝗦𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 > 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲 > 𝟰𝗞 𝗗𝗼𝗹𝗯𝘆 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗛𝗗𝗥 𝗧𝗩

Then configure as follows (the navigation might be different for your Roku):

𝗦𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 > 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 > 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 > 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 > 𝗗𝗼𝗹𝗯𝘆 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗼𝗻 > 𝗢𝗳𝗳

So now the Roku 4K streaming media player should only output Dolby Vision video when the source content is originally in Dolby Vision.

HDR10 is minimally what you'll find for HDR, but there are a lot of movies and TV shows in Dolby Vision, which can be found on popular streaming services, like Disney+, Netflix, Max, Apple TV+, and Paramount+:

https://www.dolby.com/experience/home-entertainment/articles/tv-series-in-dolby-vision/

(Note Max, Netflix, and Paramount+ may require an upgrade in subscription to get 4K UHD and Dolby Vision.)

Find out how to enjoy your favorite TV shows and series in Dolby Vision quality across enabled streaming platforms and devices. Get Dolby for your home theater.

12/10/2024

Optimum Sound & Vision is now accepting payments via Zelle.

Zelle® is a fast, safe and easy way to send and receive money with friends, family and others you trust. Look for Zelle® in your banking app to get started.

12/10/2024

A client upgraded his system with a new AV receiver but kept all his cable connections, in which the Blu-ray player was connected to the HDTV and a Toslink optical digital audio (S/PDIF) cable was connected from the HDTV to the AVR.

However, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio cannot be used with the S/PDIF, which stands for Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format, because this type of digital audio connection doesn't have sufficient bandwidth. You must use an HDMI connection for these Blu-ray lossless compressed audio formats.

After optimizing the home theater system connections and setup, we could hear the best Dolby and DTS audio possible, and it also fixed an issue with the erratic volume changes from the subwoofer.

This is an excellent article about surround sound, its history and the available formats today . . .

"Ultimate surround sound guide: DTS, Dolby Atmos, and more explained"

Surround sound is a great add-on to any TV setup, but the jargon is enough to make you dizzy. From DTS to Dolby Atmos, we demystify the tech and its terms.

12/09/2024

Calibrating a high-mounted, downward-tilting HDTV . . .

12/03/2024

Tednique: During the holiday shopping season, I don't want to take any chances and prefer to use a pickup service, especially for higher-priced items. Certain Amazon Locker locations are accessible 24/7.

The same suspect has stolen MacBook Pros from homes in Irvine and Lawndale as they were being delivered, apparently by using fake IDs.

11/29/2024

One issue that comes up for AV professionals who work in the field is getting Internet access. Usually, a corporate client has a guest Wi-Fi we can use, but that's not always the case. Occasionally, we would have to jump through hoops to get temporary access to the Internet. The worst is new construction sites, where there's usually no available Wi-Fi, and not everyone has a sustainably usable mobile hotspot with their phones.

When I was at one company, we had a client job site where it was so problematic to get Internet access that it was impacting our ability to do our work efficiently. Partly out of frustration, I searched for a solution, preferably one that is readily available and relatively inexpensive.

I learned about the SIMO Solis 5G. This mobile hotspot looks for an available phone carrier (including international) and has pay-as-you-go data plans.

SIMO also offers a 4G LTE model. There are similar products on the market, but the SIMO Solis is consistently highly reviewed and offers up to 1GB of free data per month.

Experience seamless global connectivity with the Solis 5G Hotspot & Power Bank. Enjoy Lifetime Data, secure 5G speeds, and stay charged on the go!

11/26/2024

Just some pics . . .

11/26/2024

This is a good primer on HDMI and DisplayPort specifications (so far) . . .

Will you choose DisplayPort or HDMI cable? Is DisplayPort better than HDMI? In most cases, they are. But DisplayPort and HDMI have their own pros and cons.