Miscellaneous: Vizio Soundbar And Latest James Bond Movie

I’ve had the same 2.1 Samsung soundbar since about 2014, though it was time for a new one. The sound is OK, good for TV shows, OK for movies, not quite as immersive. I’d love to be able to use my Bose 301 speakers with the stereo, but, have to use a converter, change a TV setting each time. Have been considering getting a new receiver, doesn’t have to be great, just take an optical cable, perhaps add a second set of speakers.

Anyhow, was looking for a new soundbar that is at least 3.1 with Dolby Atmos. All the reviews really showed that the best bang for the buck (had no plan to spend over a grand) was the Vizio M512a-H6, which I picked up at Best Buy, getting them to match the price from Amazon at $450. It was actually rated higher than the more expensive ones like the Sonos Arc, Bose 900, and many others.

Except, after getting it all set up, the first thing I noticed was that all the voice was coming from the center, from Atmos content (Carnival Row at Amazon), Hell’s Kitchen on Tubi, Burn Notice via Freevee, and 47 Meters Down on Amazon. Which is not particularly expansive. It doesn’t surround you. It felt like putting an Echo Dot in front of the TV. The music and background audio came from the side speakers, which sounded good. The satellite speakers did have sound, but, was so low didn’t really add much.

I’d consider playing with it a bit, but, the normal volume level is around 50. Out of a 100. Kinda makes no sense, and lots of reviews mention this. And getting vastly different volumes depending on the show. My current soundbar is good at around 8-10, go to about 15 for louder stuff, like playing a movie. Just not impressed with the Vizio.

So, for any of y’all who have something at least 3.1, preferably with Atmos, what do you have? I really do not want a 3.1 or more where the voice comes only from the center.

Then we have the latest James Bond, No Time To Die. Regardless of the pre-reviews and reviews, worried about Wokeness having a black, female 007, no, it wasn’t, it was actually pretty good. Well done, the story moves well, easy to track. It was utterly enjoyable (spoilers below the fold

But, see, there is a big problem. They killed James Bond at the end. Not in a “he could be back we’re tricking you” style, he was 100% dead. And that ruined a 2 hour and 38 minute viewing. That could have had him make a miraculous escape so he could retire (again) and live with his love and his daughter he didn’t know he had. Very, very disappointing. Like the end of The Mist, which I saw in the theaters. You know, when everyone kills themselves, then here comes the Army to save everyone? At least that was horror, and meant to be horror. I would have been very mad if I saw it in the theaters and paid for it, instead of watching on Amazon. Which, BTW, was not being broadcast in 4k like they said, but, standard 1080p

The post Miscellaneous: Vizio Soundbar And Latest James Bond Movie appeared first on Pirate’s Cove.