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Al Griffin  |  Jan 19, 2015  | 
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q I have a fairly large collection of CDs, all of which have been ripped to lossless WMA format. I’ve come across plenty of discussion of DACs while researching music servers, but I’m confused about why I would need one since I can already listen to digital music files, either through my computer speakers or headphones. Doesn’t that mean what I’m hearing is already in analog form? If so, what need is there to convert it to anything else? —Bill Begg / via e-mail

Al Griffin  |  Jan 15, 2015  | 
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

As I understand things, any motion on an LCD TV is accompanied by a loss in resolution. For example, 1080p isn’t really 1080p when the image is in motion. Here’s my question: Since OLED has a much faster response time than LCD, does resolution stay the same when the image contains motion? —Michael McGehee / Macon, Georgia

Al Griffin  |  Jan 05, 2015  | 
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q What processes what in the video chain? Say you have an Oppo Blu-ray player hooked up to a good AVR that’s hooked up to an Epson 5030 projector. Does each do its own thing? Or do you need to turn some types of processing off while leaving others enabled? Also, what is the meaning of life? —Jeff Riddick / via e-mail

Al Griffin  |  Dec 30, 2014  | 
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q I am in the market for a new home theater receiver and have a dilemma. My wife is hearing impaired and has trouble hearing the TV sound. We have tried a few infrared wireless headphone solutions and have been very disappointed by the poor sound quality. I am looking for a system that will allow me to hook up a separate set of headphones to run simultaneously with the TV sound. Is this possible? —John Bott / via e-mail

Al Griffin  |  Dec 30, 2014  | 
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q I am in the market for a new home theater receiver and have a dilemma. My wife is hearing impaired and has trouble hearing the TV sound. We have tried a few infrared wireless headphone solutions and have been very disappointed by the poor sound quality. I am looking for a system that will allow me to hook up a separate set of headphones to run simultaneously with the TV sound. Is this possible? —John Bott / via e-mail

Al Griffin  |  Dec 22, 2014  | 
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q I’m curious to know if there’s any criteria for home theater component selection based on room dimensions. I want to focus my search on equipment that’s an appropriate match for my space. —Bill King / via e-mail

Al Griffin  |  Dec 18, 2014  | 
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q I bought a Benq W1070 projector and plan to install it in my 22-foot long by 18-foot wide by 8.5-foot high basement. The room was pre-wired by the previous owner and there’s a ceiling mount with an electric outlet close to it. The mount is about 16 feet away from the front wall. Is that too far for this projector? I was originally planning to buy a 120 inch screen, but it appears that I would need at least a 150 to 170 inch screen for that distance.—Srikanth Athipatla

Al Griffin  |  Dec 10, 2014  | 
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q I just moved into a new house. Because of the way my home theater room is configured, the distance between the surround sound receiver and HDTV is about 30-40 feet. How would you suggest I make this connection? What about wireless solutions? —Joe Feller

Al Griffin  |  Dec 08, 2014  | 
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q I transferred video from a VHS tape to a DVR/DVD recorder a few years ago but did not finalize the disc and now no longer have the machine. My current DVD player, a Magnavox, won’t even recognize the disc, and my computer won’t either. Is there any way now that I can finalize that disc? —Joe Simone / via e-mail

Al Griffin  |  Dec 04, 2014  | 
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q How important is a TV’s video processing? Sound & Vision’s recent review of the Vizio P65ui-B2 UHDTV gave it a poor rating for that category. My Oppo Blu-ray player has excellent video processing. Can a disc player’s video processing overcome a TV’s shortcomings in that area? —David Hall

Al Griffin  |  Nov 25, 2014  | 
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q I plan to buy a KEF R300 surround speaker system and an Anthem MRX 310 AV receiver and use the system almost exclusively for watching movies. I’m getting older, and movie dialogue sometimes gets lost. (My wife says I don’t listen sometimes, but that is another subject.) What are your thoughts and recommendations here? —Michael Wood / via e-mail

Al Griffin  |  Nov 19, 2014  | 
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q Some of my friends argue that spending extra money on Blu-ray Discs is unreasonable since DVDs offer almost equal picture quality for less money. Worldwide, DVDs sell much better than Blu-rays, which many people still consider to be a format for videophiles. Do you think it’s possible that DVDs will ever disappear from the market? —Tomek Ciecwierz, Warsaw, Poland

Al Griffin  |  Nov 17, 2014  | 
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q I am building out a dedicated 7.2-channel home theater and was planning on buying dipolar surround speakers to help “spray” sound along the side and back walls. After reading a few articles on Dolby Atmos, however, it seems that direct-radiating speakers would be the more appropriate option since they can better pinpoint objects in the room. Am I correct in thinking that direct-radiating speakers would serve better in an Atmos environment, or do I have things totally wrong? —Adam Tremai / via e-mail

Al Griffin  |  Nov 13, 2014  | 
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q Back in the days of VHS, movies were formatted to fit 4:3 aspect ratio TV screens. Why can't widescreen movies on Blu-ray be formatted to fit today’s 16:9 TV screens? I don't like to use my player’s zoom function to remove black letterbox bars; it degrades the picture.—Alfred Escoto

Al Griffin  |  Nov 06, 2014  | 
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q Is there any benefit to using a bias light behind a flat-panel HDTV? —Mike Hassold

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