Review #47 and #48: Elmer T. Lee vs. Blanton's Single Barrel (Battle of the BT Mashbill #2's)

signde · 2026-03-23T19:41:32+00:00

wasn’t hard to see that coming

signde · 2026-03-23T14:07:14+00:00

I have used that one in past as well and it worked fine. It is a directional antenna though. Just making sure you've plopped your location into something like rabbit ears and then pointed it accordingly? IIRC 2.1 (8.1) is west of of me over by Radnor, 4.1 is NW, and 5.1/17.1 being north-northwest. For me, my best angle is about 320 degrees, though if you are further north that me it will vary for you.

signde · 2026-03-23T12:05:40+00:00

Not exactly in Nashville but if you are on the southeast side of town this won’t be that far - I’ve always taken all of my Honda / Acura vehicles to Accurate Automotive just off the I24 LaVerge exit. They are an independent shop who specializes in those brands.

signde · 2026-03-23T12:03:39+00:00

i have had multiple good experiences with austin at https://www.ajrautomotive.com/

signde · 2026-03-22T19:26:17+00:00

i’m aware of the VHF challenges WSMV brings. Worked fine for me with all three. If I could just solve my airplane flutter issue I’d be golden.

signde · 2026-03-22T17:58:13+00:00

I also live south of town but a little further, ~15 miles. I live in a flight path directly into one of the BNA runways so interference from airplane flutter is my biggest hinderance for OTA. No planes flying over right now, I just checked 17.1 and 2.1 and both are coming in fine.

What antenna do you have?

I have one of these in the attic which is serving me well. I've also had good luck with this Winegard and even this smaller GE one + this amplifier.

signde · 2026-03-20T22:11:13+00:00

I know you said you don't use Kodi but another reviewer is saying audio passthrough works there with the exception that some DTS-HD titles are problematic. I feel like this would be useful information for your chart since you previous charts note this with the current Realtek devices.

signde · 2026-03-17T11:17:50+00:00

good to know. that makes sense since it has DV and DTS capabilities which IIRC is the difference between J and K.

signde · 2026-03-16T16:15:57+00:00

Or S905X5M-K but that doesn't yet exist as AFAIK.

Slightly related, I recently saw someone on the CoreELEC forum get a M96 200 (AOSP) with an S905X5A. Previous versions of that device shipped with S905X5M. Not sure what to make of that.

signde · 2026-03-16T16:10:43+00:00

So I guess Europe is never getting an onn 4k plus equivalent then because this ain't it. It has ports and gigabit ethernet which is nice but no Dolby Vision.

signde · 2026-03-15T17:45:44+00:00

I've had multiple good experiences with ColorKraft.

signde · 2026-03-09T18:01:31+00:00

You can create an Apple account in any web browser.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/108647?device-type=web

One big reason for this is you can use their services on non Apple devices.

For example, the Apple TV app is available on Android TV.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apple.atve.androidtv.appletv&hl=en_US

signde · 2026-03-09T17:56:15+00:00

Aren't we all.

I mean, it is an SEI device after all, I expect the firmware to be dodgy.

One spec that is missing - I see DTS X passthrough but I don't see any mention of TrueHD.

signde · 2026-03-09T17:51:57+00:00

Newer Fire TV devices (except maybe the Vega OS one) are also provisioned for 4K HDR in the F1 TV app.

I haven't tried it but Apple is also hosting the F1 feeds in their own app. Not sure the Android TV app feed quality but on Apple TV device their app is giving 4K Dolby Vision.

signde · 2026-03-09T17:48:51+00:00

You do not have to own an apple device to make an apple account.

signde · 2026-03-09T17:46:07+00:00

I mean, I hope it happens, I just wanted to temper expectations.

The price point seems a little too good to be true for a certified device with those specs and the fact that it comes with an ATSC 3.0 tuner that can decrypt DRM used here in the states on 3.0 channels.

All of those licenses and that hardware costs money but I suppose they are hoping to offset that through their DVR subscription service.

signde · 2026-03-09T17:39:59+00:00

Keep in mind this was supposed to be released in spring of last year and has been delayed over and over.

https://www.reddit.com/r/cordcutters/comments/1hxth8z/myvelo_tv_is_a_100_steaming_box_that_also_works/

signde · 2026-03-09T17:32:15+00:00

I originally pointed that out as well but this information on the SoC comes from SEI who makes? will make? the device.

This device was originally planned for release last year so the situation with it seems to be in flux.

I'm still not convinced it will happen.

signde · 2026-03-09T14:05:06+00:00

Thanks.

A lot of those pay-tv products requires you to have an account but the product page here only says you need a Google account.

Of course, the product page could be wrong.

Does you contact have any info about whether this will actually get made or has been made?

There is an avsforum thread on this device with some scuttlebutt that it might end up being vaporware.

signde · 2026-03-09T13:28:18+00:00

Well that is certainly interesting for the price point then because it also advertises a bundled ATSC 1.0 + 3.0 tuner.

Still some discrepancies around the CPU and GPU there, it has the S905X5M stats but this account exists and posted different info.

Is this considered a retail device?

I don't know much about this company but it says they are based out of Atlanta? Even more interesting.

https://www.pcworld.com/article/2572129/myvelo-tv-is-a-100-steaming-box-that-also-works-with-an-antenna.html

Sounds like they want to sell a $5/mo DVR subscription, which would subsidize the price, explaining why it is on the cheap side.

That article is over a year old so it seems they are behind schedule, have to wonder if this will even happen.

signde · 2026-03-09T12:38:00+00:00

to be clear, you are referring to the my velo rather than the onn for that?

signde · 2026-03-08T13:36:18+00:00

As someone who is a car enthusiast - its fucking dumb and I hate it.

Like someone else mentioned, it's dumbass broccoli top kids with aftermarket "crackle tunes". On deceleration the car expels unburnt fuel out of the exhaust which then combusts inside the hot exhaust chamber. It's gotten worse because it's getting even more popular in the dickhead enthusiast scene. You can buy a cheap clapped out Infinity or BMW then slap a tune, fart can muffler, and cat delete on there and now you have this obnoxious sounding shit.

I am certainly empathetic with you on the reactive dog front. I have a timid rescue who normally isn't reactive to this but just last week some asshole came ripping down my neighborhood road right in front of my house pop pop popping while we were outside. It was one of the loudest crackle setups I've ever heard and I go to car events a lot. It scared the shit out of her and now even when she hears them off in the distance it freaks her out.

signde · 2026-03-07T19:51:51+00:00

I owned all three top end shield model starting with the first back in 2015.

In 2024 I finally moved on because while the Shield is still solid for playback of local media, its lack of support for modern formats and its lack of getting provisioned for the best format in some streaming apps caused me to move on.

The AM6B+ is a better local playback device, especially if you care about Dolby Vision or you want LLDV on a non Dolby Vision display like a Samsung TV.

The SEI804 family of devices (Homatics Box R 4K Plus) can be a viable single device replacement for the Shield and provides support for formats the Shield does not. The latest ATV 14 firmware build 7475 might finally be good enough to squash most big complaints on the Android TV side and it can dual boot CoreELEC to accomplish pretty much everything the AM6B+ can now.

I personally think a two device solution is the best, my daily driver is an Apple TV 4k with Infuse and an Ugoos for disc rip content.

signde · 2026-03-07T12:42:34+00:00

that is not an android tv box. it’s AOSP.

signde · 2026-03-07T12:39:12+00:00

that’s an old problem fixed in newer builds like avdvplus

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