AV Adviser

Consultant At Your Service

I have parted ways amicably with my audio video employer for the past fifteen years.  I am now offering my years of expertise in a whole new way.  One that will be a great benefit to you. 

AV Adviser now offers consulting.  For a fee of $200 I will come to your home and do a physical walk through or, if new construction, review your blueprints.  After assessing your needs and desires I will then write up a proposal outlining all of the equipment you will need to achieve your goal.  I will also give you the best and wisest choices on where to procure the product and can even recommend someone to install it for you.  

Benefits to you? 

1.  As an independent consultant I am not going to push a specific product on you.  I will determine what you need it to do and then recommend the most efficient and economic product available.

2.  As an independent consultant I will not be adding unnecessary items that do not reflect your needs. 

3.  As an independent contractor I will save you time.  No need for you to compare and contrast equipment for the best prices.  I'll have done it for you.  Again, with no ties to one particular company. 

4.  As an independent contractor I will save you money.  I will show you where to get the best prices from legitimate dealers.  I won't be adding unneeded work to your project.  

In essence my fee will save you more than $200, save you time and give you piece of mind. 

Look for more in depth marketing and explanation in the upcoming weeks along with my continued observations and announcements about what's happening in the industry. 

Please pass along this blog to anyone you know who may be in need of it and thanks for being a reader yourself. 

If you have a question or if I may be of service call me at 440.724.0558

John Hannibal

You Know You've Got Good Equipment When...

A couple of days ago I talked about Bang & Olufsen.  It's always fun for me to be watching a movie and spotting good audio gear.  B&O pieces are often used.  You know you've got good equipment when you see it in a film. 

McIntosh can also be spotted in films on occasion.   Two that come to mind are As Good As It Gets and The Departed.  In the former, Jack Nicholson has a nice McIntosh system set up on the wood floor of his apartment from which he makes mix CD's.  In "The Departed" Matt Damon's character is seen with an extensive set up in his swanky high-rise apartment. 

Another way to tell you've got good equipment is when rock musicians use it.  The Grateful Dead used countless McIntosh amps to drive their famous "wall of sound" road set up back in 1974.

Even after they'd abandon that very difficult st up Jerry Garcia always had McIntosh amps for his guitar.

See the telltale blue v.u. meters?

 

Brian Wilson used McIntosh amps in the studio.

Now there's some endorsements.

If you have a question or if I may be of service call me at 440.724.0558

John Hannibal

Why All The Surround Modes On A Receiver?

Here's a question that I've been asking for years.  Why are there so many surround modes on an audio/video receiver?  In my book the most important thing is to make operation of your system as simple as possible.  The plethora of surround modes doesn't help matters. 

The reps from the manufacturers will tell you all about the painstaking efforts it took to get the speakers to sound just like Carnegie Hall or whatever room they sampled.  Go through those surround modes and you'll find stadium, concert hall, sports, game, DTS, Dolby surround, stereo, 7 channel stereo, etc.

The worst is when I go into a customers home and find that they've been watching all of their TV in something like stadium. Or they're listening to music in concert hall.  If the artist wanted the music to sound like a concert hall performance they would have recorded it that way. 

Back to the question why?  Part of it has to do with the team of engineers working on a receiver.  They all have their little pet project and want to see it incorporated into the final production piece. 
The other reason is simply the belief that the manufacture has to one up the competition.  "we have 15 surround modes and they only have 12", might be their pitch.  How about three or four is my response.

I tell my customers that when watching any video leave it on dolby digital surround.  For music dial it to either 2 channel stereo, or if you want to feel your getting your money's worth from all the speakers set it to 5 or 7 channel stereo.  Receivers will remember what you had an input set on so their should be no screw ups once you set them and leave them alone. 

OK, I confess that I have found one odd ball surround mode I enjoy.  I tend to watch quite a few classic films now with my Netflix "watch Instantly" account.  Most of these movies are recorded in mono so that all the sound comes from my center speaker alone.  By the way, make sure you have a good center speaker.  I've found that if I turn the surround mode to mono movie I get a surround effect that gives the sense that you are watching it in a movie theater.  It's pretty cool.

If you have a question or if I may be of service call me at 440.724.0558

John Hannibal

Bang & Olufsen Still Brings Awe

I remember my friend's father had some Bang & Olufsen audio equipment.  We were all in awe of it.  So space age looking.  It was probably where I first fell in love with the gear that played the music that was already a part of my life. 

I was lucky enough to sell the line when I first got into this business.  The Danish line of equipment is more than functional.  They are works of art.  Eventually the company decided to only sell their product in their own stores.  The closest store to Cleveland is unfortunately in Columbus.  There's also a flagship store on Michigan Ave. in Chicago and one on Broadway in New York City. 

Even if you can't afford these high priced luxuries it's certainly worth a look at their showroom if you ever happen by one.  They sell telephones as well that aren't too expensive.  These sell well here in the U.S. because it's a way to at least own something cool from B&O.  The only thing I own is a splendid turntable.

They've never really made too big an impact in video here in the United States but they are trying once again with their touring introduction of the Beovision 10 television.  Details on the tour can be found here on E-Gear.   

If you have a question or if I may be of service call me at 440.724.0558

John Hannibal

More TV Channels Has Its Price

Adding more TV channels to a service, be it cable, satellite or AT&T's U-Verse comes with a price.  Due to the limited bandwidth a provider has, there is only so much information they can send down the "pipe" before there is no more room. 

So how do they make more room?  By compressing the channels, especially HD channels.  It's true that the majority of customers would rather have more choices than better picture quality, but us A/V geeks can see the degradation. 

Here's Engadget HD calling Comcast on it.  Notice all the tech jargon.  Glad I don't try and lay that stuff on you?  Ha.

The issue of bandwidth is going to be huge in this next decade.  There are solutions which I'll discuss in the future.

If you have a question or if I may be of service call me at 440.724.0558

John Hannibal

A Watched TV On My iPhone

In Japan they've been watching TV on their smart phones for some time now.  Some people here in the U.S. are also watching TV on their phone via Slingbox.  There are other technologies that are allowing for portable TV viewing, all of them costing money. 

I watched TV on my iPhone for free last week.  Actually, the first time I saw live video was through the CNN app which will show breaking news in a live video stream on occasion.  But again, that app costs a few bucks. 

Flycast, a free audio and video app, recently launched a new version...a completely new app, not just an update.  They've begun offering some video on demand.  Then last week they delved into live broadcasting.

During the NCAA Women's Basketball Conference playoffs, of which they had been offering audio feeds, there suddenly was a button to watch a game live.  Granted it wasn't a game of interest to me...Towson University versus someone I believe...but the point is that I was able to watch a live program on my iPhone for free.

I plugged the phone into my car and drove home during rush hour.  No, I didn't watch the game as I drove.  I just glanced at the screen from time to time to see if it was still playing.  Sure enough the 3G network kept me "tuned in" the entire commute. 

I did notice a good amount of smearing of the image as I'm sure the technology is having problems keeping up with fast motion in these early stages.  Minor details in the big picture. 

What it felt like to me was that I was watching and participating in the future.  Exciting times indeed.

If you have a question or if I may be of service call me at 216.431.7300 or 440.724.0558

John Hannibal

Acousticians When You Want Near Perfect Sound

Just having the best set of speakers and audio components money can buy won't guarantee amazing sound.  A big variable in the equation is the room itself and specifically the acoustics of that room. 

Mind you, getting an acoustician involved and sound treatments are not cheap.  I often will work with the interior designer to assure for a decent sounding room by simply taking advantage of what is going to be in the room.  This might include carpet or rugs, curtains, furniture and bookshelves. 

One big rule of thumb to avoid a lousy sounding room is to not use a perfectly square room.  This has to do with the soundwave behavior in such a room. 

If you do want the best sound possible then learn more about what you'll need to do.  Here's a good piece from The Post Chronicle.

If you have a question or if I may be of service call me at 216.431.7300 or 440.724.0558

John Hannibal

Officially Tired Of 3D Hype

Ok, Ok, I get it.  3D is the savior of us all.  Look it's prophet Cameron indoctrinating the Black Eyed Peas.  What do Fergie's humps look like in 3D I wonder?

The Analog Sunset Must Be Stopped

I've been railing against the "analog sunset" since I became aware of it some weeks ago.  It is totally unacceptable for the government to degrade or shut off our video content at the behest of Hollywood. 

The problem is that it's hard to explain to the average consumer what is about to happen at the end of this year.  Consequently there has been no rallying cry.  Our representatives need to hear from us. 

Here's an article that explains what's about to happen as simply as I've been able to find, from the folks at Audioholics.

Please pass along this story to anyone you may think needs to read this and express your concern to your representative in Congress.

If you have a question or if I may be of service call me at 216.431.7300 or 440.724.0558

John Hannibal

Those Poor 2D People

There are people who can't see 3D.  Their brain just can't get it right.  There are also folks who may have health issues in regard to 3D.  3D can trigger migraines or even seizures.  The Consumer Electronics Society (CEA) is contemplating warning labels on 3D products.  Here's an interesting story on it from CNN.

I'm beginning to feel badly for those people who can only experience 2D.  It's as if the world is leaving them behind or so you'd think.  I guess it'll be like those that are color blind.  

It seems like everything is going to go 3D.  I know, it's just the hype and I still find it hard to believe people will wear glasses to watch TV.  Note to self...come out with a line of designer 3D eyeglass storage boxes so they will look tasteful in the family room. 

CBS has just announced that the NCAA Final Four will be televised in 3D at 100 select movie theaters throughout the country.  Here's the story from USA Today. 

If you have a question or if I may be of service call me at 216.431.7300 or 440.724.0558

John Hannibal