Neil continues his journey of immersive home entertainment gadgetry by reviewing the latest edition of the HP Reverb G2.  This video gives a full rundown of the Reverb G2’s hardware, software, user experiences, and recommended out-of-the-box settings.  For viewers that already own the HP Reverb G2, this video also includes helpful setup information to get a little more out of it – especially for fellow audio aficionados!  Be sure to also read our special guide on how to fix Chromatic Aberration with Windows Mixed Reality.  This could be very enriching for glasses wearers using the HP Reverb G2 and other WMR solutions.

TIME INDEX

• Introduction
• Features
• Testing Machine
• The Hardware Experience: Clarity & Comfort
• The Hardware Experience: Glasses Wearers
• The Hardware Experience: Audio
• The Hardware Experience: VR Controllers & Tracking
• The Software Experience: Windows Mixed Reality
• General Observations
• Recommended Settings
• Chromatic Aberration
• Conclusion & Final Scores

In the last episode of Neil’s Messy Basement, we reviewed the Roku Streaming Stick Plus 4K Edition, the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Edition, and Chromecast With Google TV. While their features are all marketed in much the same way, they each have important differences that could determine whether or not they each meet your needs. For example, you may find that your favorite content that is supposed to work in Dolby Atmos is limited to 5.1 surround sound because the content provider only supports the technology with certain stick providers – and it’s an unorganized mixed bag! Read More

Happy American Thanksgiving! The year-end holidays are nearly upon us, and if you’re like us, you’re going to want to kick back and enjoy your entertainment the way it’s meant to be seen and heard. While this series has focused on making the PC the ultimate home entertainment and gaming solution – PC can’t do it all. For streaming media like Disney Plus, Apple TV, Amazon Prime and others – a streaming stick is often necessary to get the highest resolutions and enable the most advanced surround sound technologies available. Read More

4K UHD Blu-ray is a conundrum on PC, and yet PC is the BEST platform for getting our Blu-ray movies looking and sounding their absolute best. So what is best exactly?

This episode begins with an explanation of why 4K HDR technologies are so radically different from FullHD 1080P displays. We then discover the unique challenges that HDR technologies present to the projection industry. In particular, why is HDR on projector so difficult compared to HDTV?

This leads us to an opportunity! Can the quality gap be closed between 1080P FullHD projectors and 4K HDR projectors? Can 4K HDR projectors and HDTVs be coaxed to do a better job than the way they perform out of the box?

To help answer these questions, the hour is rounded out with a step by step guide on how to get 4K UHD Blu-ray discs running on PC and looking and sounding their best on both 1080P SDR displays and 4K UHD HDR displays with the power of PC and modern graphics cards.

Pay close attention to the disclaimers in the video and research the legality and copyright responsibilities in your area. There is much debate on the steps necessary to make PC compatible with 4K UHD Blu-Ray and this is outside our area of expertise.

Introduction
Why 1080P FullHD and 4K UHD Are so Far Apart
Is There a Bigger Story Here? (What I Learned From the AVS Forum)
Introduction to Blu-ray
How to Play 4K UHD Blu-ray on PC
MakeMKV Software
Madshi’s MadVR
DAUM Potplayer
The Real Moment of Truth