On this week’s “You Asked”: Is Amazon Trying to Kill Blu-ray Discs? Are the Sony XM6 headphones coming? (And should you wait for them?) And can a ceiling fan change your Dolby Atmos audio?
Amazon is killing Blu-Ray discs? Sony XM6 coming? | You asked Ep. 34
Where Are You Blu-ray?
Brandon Baecker notes that Amazon still sells Blu-ray discs, but says Amazon is deliberately hiding them from us. He cites an example from his experience, suggesting that we type “True Lies 4K Blu-ray” into Amazon’s search bar to see for ourselves that the results show nothing other than a Prime link Video and a bunch of unrelated stuff. He also says the only way to find it on Amazon was to search on Google or follow a Blu-ray.com link. Brandon notes that this seems to be the case since Best Buy stopped selling records.
Your mileage may vary as search results are not always the same from user to user. (Try it, if you like.) But I agree that accessing Blu-rays and DVDs on Amazon isn’t as intuitive as you might think. However, I wouldn’t go so far as to suggest that Amazon is trying to kill physical media, and I don’t think Best Buy’s discontinuation of record sales is related, as I found that the search engine on Amazon’s site was really annoying. neck for years.
I think there are a few factors at play here. The first is that Amazon’s on-site search tool simply isn’t as good as Google. You could say he should consider Amazon running its own airline and trucking companies, and having tons of money and development talent. But I digress.
Plus, I don’t think Amazon has much to gain by selling fewer records. Sure, it’s possible that’s a little more margin on a $20 digital sale than on that $25 disc he has to ship, but I think the fact that we sometimes see more Prime Video links than of records has more to do. with the fact that (currently anyway) a lot more people stream than buy records. This is basic supply and demand.
I don’t think there’s a conspiracy here. But I appreciate that you pointed out this challenge because it inspires me to show people who TO DO want to find the correct disk version, saving them a lot of time and headaches of double-clicking to narrow the search to the correct product type.
While waiting for the XM6…
Alex Fringe wants comfortable wireless headphones with ANC and was eyeing the Sony XM5, but questions the rumored Sony XM6 and whether it’s worth the wait.
I don’t know how long you’d be willing to wait to buy your headphones, but historically, the Sony WH-XM series headphones — it’s the over-ear models, as opposed to the WF-XM series, which are the in-ear version – was released in the fall, around September. (Actually, I think I reviewed the first pair in Germany around the IFA show.)
So, if Sony sticks to this release window, then you could be waiting up to five months for the XM6 to release. And it’s if they really are a thing. But I think they will. Sony is on a roll with these headphones, and I’d be shocked if they weren’t real. Plus, some leaks seem pretty legit. And we’ve already published our wishlist of things we’d like to see in the XM6.
Is it worth the wait? Hard to say. The XM5 was slightly better than the XM4. But when the XM5 came out, I said getting the XM4 was a smarter move since they dropped $50 on the XM5’s debut. I expect the same thing to happen this fall. When the XM6 comes out, the XM5 is also expected to be discounted.
So if you want the latest and greatest, or want to save $50 to get an absolutely exceptional pair of headphones, you’ll have to wait four or five months. Otherwise, get the XM5 now. It’s about your finances and your ability to be patient. Choose accordingly.
Dolby Vision vs. HDR10+
Gabe Hartzler wrote in with very kind words for the channel and asked if all equipment needs to be Dolby Vision compatible to view content in Dolby Vision. He then asks if there is actually a difference between HDR10+ and Dolby Vision that the average person could see without a side-by-side comparison.
Yes. Complete stop. Everything – from the source material, to the source device, to the display device and everything in between – must support Dolby Vision for you to see anything in Dolby Vision. This means that the show or movie you are streaming must be available in Dolby Vision. The device you use to stream or the player you use to play the disc must support Dolby Vision. The receiver you’re passing the signal through (if you’re doing this) must be able to transmit Dolby Vision. And the TV or projector you are using must have Dolby Vision.
The great thing about Dolby Vision is that it is an end-to-end solution that scales depending on the capabilities of your devices.
Now, is there a recognizable difference between HDR 10+ and Dolby Vision for the average person? I would say that in most cases the answer is no. But there are many variables to consider, not the least of which is that there are many more titles available in Dolby Vision than in HDR 10+.
In reality, though, the dirty little secret of Dolby Vision is that it’s not used to look its full potential, and that’s actually up to the creators.
Does a bigger TV need bigger sound?
Ian Cox just moved to a new place and upgraded to a bigger TV since he sits further away. (You don’t need to justify to me why you bought a new TV, just say it.) And now that they have a great Samsung S90C QD-OLED, they’re considering upgrading their A-receiver /V. Ian currently uses a Panasonic SA-HE100 and is wondering what to look for in an A/V receiver.
First of all, Ian: this receiver of yours is a blast from the past for me. I used to sell this model and I think it’s over 20 years old now. One way to move this thing forward.
The good news is that whatever you’re playing on your Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5, the best audio format is virtually guaranteed to be supported by almost any A/V receiver you buy. That’s the least of your worries. Since you’re gaming, I recommend using your TV’s eARC port to transfer the audio signal to the receiver. I think you need an A/V receiver that supports HDMI 2.1 with eARC, and there are quite a few available these days. Just make sure the recipient checks this box.
Then I guess you should think about how you might want to expand your speaker system. I would probably consider getting an A/V receiver that supports 7.1 (or at least 5.1.2) channels so you can get two Atmos channels. If you think you might get really hardcore with surround later, you’ll need to support more channels.
As for power, it depends on the brand. For example, I will take 70 watts of power from Anthem over the 100 watts of power from Pioneer.
As for the brands. I like Yamaha, Marantz and Onkyo. Sony makes some good receivers these days. There’s Anthem, of course, and then there are boutique brands like Emotiva that you can also check out. Or more specialized brands like NAD and Cambridge. Denon is… fine; the same company owns them as well as Marantz. I just prefer the Marantz vibes.
That’s about all I can tell you without knowing much more about your space and the speakers you’re currently using or those you may use in the future. But I hope I’ve allayed some concerns about support for surround formats since that seemed to be your main concern.
It’s not Texas…
Harriet Delphi Green lives in Texas, where it’s hot. So the ceiling fan in their living room runs 75% of the time. They are concerned about how this might affect ceiling-reflected sound that would come from upward-facing speakers in a Dolby Atmos soundbar system like the Samsung Q900C. And this is my favorite part: Harriet mentions memories of standing in front of an oscillating fan and hearing their voice come out like a “robot”, which really got them thinking.
I love this question for so many reasons. I grew up in Texas and I know what you mean about the heat and the ceiling fan running constantly. And I did the same thing talking to a fan when I was a kid. I found the old box fans did the best job warbling my voice, and to this day I have a hard time resisting the urge to turn one on and just say “ahhhhhhhhhhh.”
But most of all, I like this question because it really made me think about your situation. I’ve had questions about vaulted ceilings, popcorn ceilings, very high ceilings, and even ceilings with skylights or obstructions like beams crossing the ceiling. But this is the first fan-related question!
I’ll tell you right now that I don’t know how your fan could affect the sound. There are just too many variables that I can’t take into account.
We know that all sound interacting with these moving blades will be changed. But I don’t know how noticeable this change might be. With our setup, I have a speaker that runs directly into this fan. I suspect that any sound coming from this rising driver, directly below the fan, would be most impaired on the way down. But I don’t know how visible that would be. All other up-firing speakers in this system bounce sound off the ceiling and would have minimal interaction with the fan blades themselves. The question then arises as to how much the air movement created by the fan would affect our perception of sound.
I don’t suspect much, but I’m not sure.
I believe that the closer the sound source is to the blades and the closer the listener is to the blades, the more likely it is that the effect of the fan blades will be audible. But it’s hard to imagine your ceiling fan reducing the pressure level of any sound coming back to you from the ceiling. I don’t think this would significantly delay the arrival of sound. At worst, it could modulate the sound. But it’s so hard to imagine that it would have such a serious impact.
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