Insights from recent episode analysis
Audience Interest
Podcast Focus
Publishing Consistency
Platform Reach
Insights are generated by CastFox AI using publicly available data, episode content, and proprietary models.
Total monthly reach
Estimated from 6 chart positions in 6 markets.
By chart position
- 🇨🇦CA · Tech News#1335K to 30K
- 🇦🇺AU · Tech News#1635K to 30K
- 🇸🇪SE · Tech News#1131K to 10K
- 🇹🇭TH · Tech News#933K to 10K
- 🇨🇭CH · Tech News#158500 to 3K
- Per-Episode Audience
Est. listeners per new episode within ~30 days
7.5K to 43K🎙 ~2x weekly·21 episodes·Last published 6d ago - Monthly Reach
Unique listeners across all episodes (30 days)
15K to 86K🇨🇦35%🇦🇺35%🇸🇪12%+3 more - Active Followers
Loyal subscribers who consistently listen
6K to 34K
Market Insights
Platform Distribution
Reach across major podcast platforms, updated hourly
Total Followers
—
Total Plays
—
Total Reviews
—
* Data sourced directly from platform APIs and aggregated hourly across all major podcast directories.
On the show
Recent episodes
There’s a New TV Technology Battle Brewing
May 14, 2026
1h 01m 23s
The State of Video in 2026
Apr 7, 2026
1h 20m 55s
Why Form vs Function Matters in Home Theater
Mar 17, 2026
1h 01m 04s
What Makes DLP Projection So Unique
Mar 4, 2026
1h 08m 10s
Marry Your Screen, Date Your Projector
Feb 23, 2026
1h 16m 30s
Social Links & Contact
Official channels & resources
Official Website
Login
RSS Feed
Login
| Date | Episode | Description | Length | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5/14/26 |  There’s a New TV Technology Battle Brewing | On this episode of The Front Row Podcast, we’re joined by Bruce Walker, Product Evangelist for TCL North America, for a deep dive into where TV technology is today and where it might be headed next. Bruce breaks down everything from traditional LCD panels to SQD Mini LED technology and the new RGB Mini LED TVs that are starting to hit the market. We talk about how light moves through the panel stack, why color volume has suddenly become such a huge focus, and how screen sizes continue getting bigger year after year. One of the more interesting parts of the discussion centers around a pretty simple question: has traditional QLED basically hit the ceiling, and is RGB the industry’s next move because there’s nowhere else to go? Or is there still more performance left in the tank through technologies like SQD Mini LED, which is the direction TCL is currently pursuing? We also get into the advantages and trade-offs of both approaches and what these technologies are actually trying to solve. And of course, we couldn’t end the episode without throwing Bruce a few bonus questions, including what he thinks is the biggest inefficiency in LCD today and the most overrated TV spec currently being marketed. If you’re into display technology or just curious about where TV technology might be headed next, this is definitely one worth listening to. We want to give a big thank you to our podcast sponsor, Anthem Electronics. Anthem isn’t just about power, it’s about precision. From clean amplification to intelligent room calibration, every element is engineered to deliver pure, articulate sound. Unlock the performance your system was made for. Anthem – Elevate. Refine. Enhance Listen to The Front Row Podcast on your favorite platform and be sure to follow and leave a review on Apple & Spotify: Spotify Apple Podcasts iHeartRadio Amazon Music Pandora | 1h 01m 23s | ||||||
| 4/7/26 |  The State of Video in 2026 | On this episode of The Front Row Podcast, we’re joined by Rob Brennan, Technical Account Manager at Epson, for a conversation focused on one big question… the state of video in 2026 and where it might be headed. What used to be all about black levels has turned into something very different. Now it feels like we’re in the middle of brightness wars and screen size wars. Everything is getting bigger and brighter. But that’s not the whole story. Rob describes it in a way that really sticks. Think of a Venn diagram with three overlapping circles: TVs, projectors, and video walls. Those categories used to feel separate, but now they’re starting to blend together. And in a lot of ways, we’re still early in figuring out where everything lands. We also talk about how viewing habits are changing. Dedicated home theater rooms aren’t as common as they used to be, and for a younger generation, watching on a phone or tablet isn’t a compromise, it’s just normal. That alone says a lot about where things might be going. Of course, every display technology still comes with trade-offs. We get into the pros and cons of each, what might make more sense depending on your setup, and even touch on something that doesn’t get talked about enough… how your display choice can affect your audio experience. And then there’s one moment where Rob shares his perspective on what the future of television might look like. It’s not exactly what you’d expect, and it opens the door to a much bigger conversation about where all of this is going. This episode is really about understanding that every setup is a balance. Every choice comes with some level of give and take. And as these technologies continue to evolve, the lines between them are only going to get more blurred. If you’ve been thinking about your next upgrade, or just trying to make sense of where things are going, this episode will be a good one to listen to. We want to give a big thank you to our podcast sponsor, Anthem Electronics. Anthem isn’t just about power, it’s about precision. From clean amplification to intelligent room calibration, every element is engineered to deliver pure, articulate sound. Unlock the performance your system was made for. Anthem – Elevate. Refine. Enhance Listen to The Front Row Podcast on your favorite platform and be sure to follow and leave a review on Apple & Spotify: Spotify Apple Podcasts iHeartRadio Amazon Music Pandora | 1h 20m 55s | ||||||
| 3/17/26 |  Why Form vs Function Matters in Home Theater | On this episode of The Front Row Podcast, we’re joined once again by Peter Aylett from Officina Acoustica and Cinema Buro, and the topic is one that can get a little controversial, especially since it comes up so often when people start planning a home theater: form versus function. Peter has a simple way of explaining it. Think of your theater room like a mullet, business in the front, party in the back. In other words, the performance of the room should always come first, even if that means making a few compromises with how the space looks. We spend time talking about the kinds of design choices that seem harmless at first but can actually affect the performance of a theater. Things like reflective surfaces, or even something as simple as carpet patterns. A fun, squiggly theater carpet might look fantastic in a home theater, but it’s possible that it reflects light back toward the screen, which could impact perceived image quality. Those kinds of trade-offs are more common than people realize. A big theme throughout the podcast is something many enthusiasts, myself included, are guilty of: buying equipment before thinking about the room. Let’s face it, shopping for projectors and speakers is the fun part. Acoustic treatment and lowering the noise floor are usually the last things people want to deal with. But Peter explains why the room itself is often the most important part of the entire system. Peter also touches on another interesting concept: when people talk about home theaters, the focus is usually on how loud the system can get. But just as important is how quiet the room can be. Lowering the noise floor and controlling the environment can dramatically improve immersion. And yes, we even get into the surprisingly controversial topic of home theater seat headrests. They’re comfortable, but could they actually be interfering with the sound reaching your ears? Peter explains why that happens and what some possible solutions might look like. This episode is a reminder that the room itself plays a huge role in the experience, and sometimes the biggest improvements don’t come from buying new gear, they come from designing the space around it. We want to give a big thank you to our podcast sponsor, Paradigm Electronics. At Paradigm, sound is not just heard, it’s felt. It’s audio that stirs emotion and is designed to move you. Paradigm - Authentically Canadian, Acoustically Brilliant. Listen to The Front Row Podcast on your favorite platform and be sure to follow and leave a review on Apple & Spotify: Spotify Apple Podcasts iHeartRadio Amazon Music Pandora | 1h 01m 04s | ||||||
| 3/4/26 |  What Makes DLP Projection So Unique | On this episode of The Front Row Podcast, we’re joined by Janina Baltaziewicz, an engineer with Christie Digital Systems who works directly with professional cinema projection systems. If you’ve ever been to a Dolby Cinema in Europe, there’s a good chance you’ve already experienced some of her work without realizing it. Janina is one of those behind the scenes making sure those systems are performing exactly the way they should.This episode takes a dive into the world of DLP projection and the technology that makes it possible. We talk about how DLP actually creates an image, the differences between single-chip and three-chip designs, and what’s really happening inside a projector when a color wheel is involved. If you’ve ever noticed rainbow artifacts on certain DLP projectors and wondered why they appear, Janina explains what’s going on there and why that exists in the first place.We also touch on the DMD chip itself, which contains thousands of tiny mirrors constantly tilting to shape the image on screen. Janina also sheds light on the optical side of projection, from how prisms guide light through the projector to how contrast can be influenced by stray light that doesn’t get fully absorbed by the light dump. Even small details inside the optical path can have an impact on the final image. We also touch on the differences between 1080p and 4K DLP chips, as well as the newer high-efficiency pixels and how they improve the way a projector handles light.If you’ve ever been curious about what’s actually happening inside a DLP projector while it’s throwing a massive image onto the screen, this episode offers a great look behind the curtain.We want to give a big thank you to our podcast sponsor, Anthem Electronics. Anthem isn’t just about power, it’s about precision. From clean amplification to intelligent room calibration, every element is engineered to deliver pure, articulate sound. Unlock the performance your system was made for.Anthem – Elevate. Refine. Enhance | 1h 08m 10s | ||||||
| 2/23/26 |  Marry Your Screen, Date Your Projector | On this episode of The Front Row Podcast, we’re joined by Chris Seymour, Manager and Co Founder of Seymour Screen Excellence. If you’ve spent any time around projection, chances are you’ve heard his name. Chris has been building acoustically transparent screens for years, and lives in the weeds when it comes to what actually happens once light hits the screen. This conversation is all about the part of the system most people treat as an afterthought: the screen. We dig into gain and what that number really means. A 1.0 gain screen sounds like it should give you 100% of the light back, right? Not exactly. Chris explains why it’s close, but not quite that simple, and why understanding screen gain matters more than most people realize. We also get into ALR properties and when they actually make sense in a home environment. Not every room needs it, and not every projector plays nicely with it. Speaking of projectors, we also talk a bit about sparkle. If you’re running a single chip DLP and have ever noticed a little extra shimmer on certain screen materials, this part you don’t want to miss. We also spend time on the long standing debate between micro perf and woven materials. There are compromises on both sides. Chris breaks down what those compromises are and which use cases make the most sense for each. And of course, we touch on screen masking and why it might be relevant again with variable aspect ratio movies and even some streaming content using different ratios. There is a lot more going on with screens than just picking a size and calling it a day. If you’ve ever focused all your energy on the projector and barely thought about the screen, this episode might change that. The screen is not just a white surface. It changes the image more than people realize. We want to give a big thank you to our podcast sponsor, Anthem Electronics. Anthem isn’t just about power, it’s about precision. From clean amplification to intelligent room calibration, every element is engineered to deliver pure, articulate sound. Unlock the performance your system was made for. Anthem – Elevate. Refine. Enhance Listen to The Front Row Podcast on your favorite platform and be sure to follow and leave a review on Apple & Spotify: Spotify Apple Podcasts iHeartRadio Amazon Music Pandora | 1h 16m 30s | ||||||
| 2/12/26 |  Are We Misunderstanding Reference Level? | On this episode of The Front Row Podcast, we’re joined by Ben Goff, owner of the U.K.-based integration and consultancy firm Cinema Bureau. He’s an active contributor to CEDIA’s R10 standards group, helping shape recommended practices for RP22 immersive audio and RP23 immersive video. He’s also a past CEDIA EMEA award winner and now serves as a judge, splitting his time between designing high-performance cinemas for clients and supporting other integrators with design work. In short, he lives and breathes this stuff. This conversation centers around something many of us have heard, and probably repeated, without always questioning it: reference level. For decades, “reference level” has been treated like a universal setting. In commercial cinema, that makes sense. Theatrical standards were created to ensure consistency between dubbing stages, screening rooms, and theaters around the world. But home theaters do not operate in that same controlled system. Today, much of the content people watch is never mixed for theatrical release at all. Streaming and residential movie mixes are often monitored at different listening levels and optimized for a wide range of playback systems. Even films that start in theatrical environments frequently receive a separate home entertainment mix for disc and streaming. So when we talk about “reference level” in a home, what are we actually talking about? Ben helps unpack the idea that reference is not a universal number that every residential system must hit or routinely be played at. We get into why a cinema calibrated system might feel different in a living room, and why two sources of the same film may not line up at the same volume setting. If you’ve ever wondered why “reference” sounds different in someone else’s room, or even different from source to source, this episode connects the dots in a way that makes a lot of sense. We want to give a big thank you to our podcast sponsor, Paradigm Electronics. At Paradigm, sound is not just heard, it’s felt. It’s audio that stirs emotion and is designed to move you. Paradigm - Authentically Canadian, Acoustically Brilliant. Listen to The Front Row Podcast on your favorite platform and be sure to follow and leave a review on Apple & Spotify: Spotify Apple Podcasts iHeartRadio Amazon Music Pandora | 1h 00m 21s | ||||||
| 1/23/26 |  Everyone Talks About Target Curves, But This Part Matters Most | On this episode of The Front Row Podcast, we’re joined by Chuck Back, Managing Partner of Trinnov Audio and Procella Audio US, for a conversation that digs into one of the most talked about and least clearly explained topics in calibration: target curves. With nearly 50 years in high end audio, Chuck has spent decades designing and tuning systems at the highest levels. He also spent more than 20 years as EVP and General Manager of M&K Sound, where he was an early advocate for home theater and worked closely with dealers, integrators, and technology partners like Dolby, DTS, and Lucasfilm. Target curves get mentioned constantly, but they’re often treated like a preset you pick and forget. Chuck slows things down and breaks apart what target curves actually are and what they’re trying to accomplish when tuning a system. We walk through some of the most commonly referenced curves, including the well known Harman curve and the classic B&K musical target curve, and talk about what each one is designed to do. More importantly, we discuss how these curves are meant to be used and why they should be treated as tools that guide decisions rather than rules that every system has to follow. In the second half of the episode, we switch gears and step into Audio over IP, with a focus on Dante. While this technology has been in the professional world for years, it’s starting to show up more often in residential systems. We talk about the problems Audio over IP is especially good at solving, and whether it makes sense to move away from traditional analog setups or go digital if you’re starting from scratch. If you’ve ever wondered why two systems calibrated “correctly” can sound completely different, or wanted a clearer understanding of how target curves shape what you hear, this episode is a great listen. We want to give a big thank you to our podcast sponsor, Paradigm Electronics. At Paradigm, sound is not just heard, it’s felt. It’s audio that stirs emotion and is designed to move you. Paradigm - Authentically Canadian, Acoustically Brilliant. Listen to The Front Row Podcast on your favorite platform and be sure to follow and leave a review on Apple & Spotify: Spotify Apple Podcasts iHeartRadio Amazon Music Pandora | 55m 14s | ||||||
| 1/8/26 |  What to Look For When You See Speaker Measurements | On this episode of The Front Row Podcast, we’re kicking off the new year by sitting down with Adam Pelz, a name many of you already know, but one that’s worth properly introducing if you don’t. Adam is the Owner and President of Bespoke Cinemas, and he’s spent years designing, installing, and dialing in high performance home theaters. He’s ISF, THX, and ARCOS certified, an expert instructor with the Home Acoustics Alliance, and currently serves as Chairman of CEDIA Standards. This episode tackles a topic that gets mentioned all the time but rarely explained in plain language: Spinorama data. Adam walks us through what these speaker measurement graphs actually are, how they’re created, and why they matter when you’re evaluating a speaker. We talk about how these measurements are taken in an anechoic chamber, capturing a speaker’s output from all directions, and what parts of the graph are actually useful versus what people tend to misread or overemphasize. We spend a lot of time focusing on how to read these graphs in a practical way. Not to turn listeners into measurement experts, but to help them better understand what Spinorama data can and cannot tell you about how a speaker will behave in a real room. Adam does a great job of cutting through the noise and explaining what deserves your attention and what probably doesn’t. We also touch on CEDIA RP22 standards and he even gives us a glimpse at the upcoming RP1 standards and what they aim to address. We would love to do a part two with Adam, especially to dig into topics like speaker sensitivity, and how measurements translate into real-world performance. If there are questions or topics you want us to cover next time, drop them in the comments and we’ll make sure they make it into the follow-up. One quick heads-up before you hit play: toward the end of the episode, Ryan’s mic starts dropping out due to an internet issue that we didn’t catch until after the fact. We apologize for the hiccup. We want to give a big thank you to our podcast sponsor, Paradigm Electronics. At Paradigm, sound is not just heard, it’s felt. It’s audio that stirs emotion and is designed to move you. Paradigm - Authentically Canadian, Acoustically Brilliant. Listen to The Front Row Podcast on your favorite platform and be sure to follow and leave a review on Apple & Spotify: Spotify Apple Podcasts iHeartRadio Amazon Music Pandora | 1h 14m 25s | ||||||
| 12/16/25 |  The Real Reason Bass Is So Hard to Get Right | On this episode of The Front Row Podcast, Peter Aylett from Officina Acustica and Cinema Bureau joins us once again to close out the year with a conversation about subwoofer placement and low frequency in a room. This episode feels like a natural continuation of our earlier discussions around room design, but this time we zoom in on the part of home theater that tends to cause the most head scratching once the system is powered on. We spend time talking about active room treatment, and why it may be one of the most important developments in audio over the last decade. We also revisit the long standing sealed vs ported subwoofer discussion and break down why neither option is inherently better than the other. Peter explains how each design plays a different role depending on the room, and the type of experience you are trying to create. Rather than treating it as a simple checklist decision, we talk about how subwoofer design choices tie back into room size, layout, and how bass actually behaves in someone’s space. Placement is a major focus of this episode, especially why putting a subwoofer in a convenient spot is rarely the best choice. We spend time talking about why measurements matter, and how room interactions can create peaks and nulls. Understanding what is happening at the listening position is key, and Peter does a great job of explaining how to approach this in a practical way without overcomplicating it. We touch on infrasonic subwoofers, when they make sense, and why you might consider them. This episode closes out the year and helps tie together many of the themes we have covered so far, from designing the room first to making informed equipment decisions and now dialing in low frequency performance. If you are planning a new build or looking ahead to improvements in the new year, this is a fitting way to wrap things up. We want to give a big thank you to our podcast sponsor, Martin Logan. MartinLogan delivers high-performance audio that fuses cutting-edge technology with sleek, elegant design. Engineered for audiophiles and home theater enthusiasts alike, MartinLogan products bring every sound to life with incredible clarity and power. MartinLogan – Bringing you truth in sound since 1983. Listen to The Front Row Podcast on your favorite platform and be sure to follow and leave a review on Apple & Spotify: Spotify Apple Podcasts iHeartRadio Amazon Music Pandora | 1h 36m 11s | ||||||
| 12/2/25 |  The One Thing Most Theaters Get Wrong | In this episode of The Front Row Podcast, we sit down with Peter Aylett from Officina Acustica and Cinema Bureau, a thirty year veteran of the industry and one of the most respected voices in acoustics. Peter is known throughout the professional community as a mentor, teacher, and lecturer, and his work has shaped the standards many integrators follow today. He is a longtime CEDIA instructor, and currently serves as Chair of the CEDIA and CTA R10 Standards Committee. This week, we dive into home theater and entertainment room design, and Peter immediately flips the usual approach on its head. Most of us in this hobby, myself included, tend to buy gear first and then try to build a room around it. Peter explains why that approach often limits what the system is capable of and why it makes much more sense to start with the room, the goals you want to achieve, and the experience you are trying to create. He breaks down how to think about the space itself before choosing products, and why that mindset leads to better results every time. He also surprises us with a few things many enthusiasts never think about. One of those is why carpet is not the acoustic advantage many believe it to be. We also get into the do’s and don’ts of building a baffle wall, and why small design decisions can have a big impact on performance. This is only part one of a two part series with Peter. In the next episode, we’ll be getting into low frequencies, and the challenges that come with managing bass. If you have questions you want us to ask Peter in part two, drop them in the comments and we'll make sure to ask when we shoot part 2 in the next week or so. We want to give a big thank you to our podcast sponsor, Paradigm Electronics. At Paradigm, sound is not just heard, it’s felt. It’s audio that stirs emotion and is designed to move you. Paradigm - Authentically Canadian, Acoustically Brilliant. Listen to The Front Row Podcast on your favorite platform and be sure to follow and leave a review on Apple & Spotify: Spotify Apple Podcasts iHeartRadio Amazon Music Pandora | 1h 35m 36s | ||||||
Want analysis for the episodes below?Free for Pro Submit a request, we'll have your selected episodes analyzed within an hour. Free, at no cost to you, for Pro users. | |||||||||
| 11/20/25 |  Inside the Components That Make or Break Your Speakers | In this episode of The Front Row Podcast, we’re finally kicking things off on the audio side, and we could not have asked for a better guest to start with. We’re joined by Geoffrey Heinzel, co managing partner and designer at Ascendo Immersive Audio, and someone who brings a wealth of experience in how speakers are designed and engineered. We dig into what actually goes into designing a speaker from the ground up. Geoffrey walks us through the decisions behind different tweeters and drivers, the materials used, and why certain designs come with advantages and trade offs. He also helps break down parts of speaker design most people never think about, like cabinet enclosures, porting, and one of the most overlooked components of any speaker, the crossover. What does it do and how much can it influence what you hear? You might be surprised by how big of a role it plays. This episode is really the start of us getting into the audio side of home theater. Over the next few episodes we’ll be discussing room design, measurements, setup, and everything that goes into getting great sound at home. We would love to Geofrrey have him back for another episode, so if you have questions you want us to ask him next time, drop them below and we’ll make sure they make it into the conversation. We want to give a big thank you to our podcast sponsor, Martin Logan. MartinLogan delivers high-performance audio that fuses cutting-edge technology with sleek, elegant design. Engineered for audiophiles and home theater enthusiasts alike, MartinLogan products bring every sound to life with incredible clarity and power. MartinLogan – Bringing you truth in sound since 1983. Listen to The Front Row Podcast on your favorite platform and be sure to follow and leave a review on Apple & Spotify: Spotify Apple Podcasts iHeartRadio Amazon Music Pandora | 1h 37m 05s | ||||||
| 11/4/25 |  Why Cinema Might Never Be the Same Again | In this episode of The Front Row Podcast, we sit down with Tayloe Stansbury, CEO of Kaleidescape, to talk about the changing landscape of cinema and home entertainment. Tayloe isn’t just the company’s CEO, he’s also a longtime Kaleidescape customer and fellow enthusiast with a background in both technology and the film industry. We discuss how the movie industry continues to evolve, from theatrical production and mixing to how films are mastered for the home. Tayloe shares insights into the technical and creative differences between theatrical and residential mixes, and even where we think the film industry is headed. We also touch on Kaleidescape’s Filmmaker Spotlight Series, including our recent conversation with Ron Bartlett, the Oscar-winning sound mixer behind Dune and Blade Runner 2049. Tayloe gives us an inside look at what inspired the series and why it resonates with both filmmakers and enthusiasts. And of course, we talk a little about Kaleidescape itself such as how the process looks once the mezzanine file comes in, where it’s heading and how it fits into the entertainment ecosystem. It’s a great conversation about where the industry stands today and how the relationship between cinema and home entertainment continues to evolve in exciting new ways! We want to give a big thank you to our podcast sponsor, Martin Logan. MartinLogan delivers high-performance audio that fuses cutting-edge technology with sleek, elegant design. Engineered for audiophiles and home theater enthusiasts alike, MartinLogan products bring every sound to life with incredible clarity and power. MartinLogan – Bringing you truth in sound since 1983. Listen to The Front Row Podcast on your favorite platform and be sure to follow and leave a review on Apple & Spotify: Spotify Apple Podcasts iHeartRadio Amazon Music Pandora | 59m 55s | ||||||
| 10/21/25 |  Is HDR Actually Hurting Your Projector’s Picture? | This week on The Front Row Podcast, we’re joined by Rob Brennan, Technical Account Manager at Epson, and someone who’s been around long enough to see just about every shift in display technology. We sit down to talk about HDR - what it is, why it matters, and why it can be such a mixed bag on projectors. If you’ve ever looked at HDR on a projector and thought something seemed off, you’re not alone. Rob helps break down why HDR looks great on TVs, the challenges projectors face, and why tone mapping has become such a big deal when it comes to home theater projectors. We even get into the question that always comes up, sometimes, is it just better to stick with SDR on a projector? So grab a drink, get comfortable, and join us for an honest and practical conversation about HDR, tone mapping, and the ongoing journey to get projectors looking their best. We want to give a big thank you to our podcast sponsor, Martin Logan. MartinLogan delivers high-performance audio that fuses cutting-edge technology with sleek, elegant design. Engineered for audiophiles and home theater enthusiasts alike, MartinLogan products bring every sound to life with incredible clarity and power. MartinLogan – Bringing you truth in sound since 1983. Listen to The Front Row Podcast on your favorite platform and be sure to follow and leave a review on Apple & Spotify: Spotify Apple Podcasts iHeartRadio Amazon Music Pandora | 1h 24m 13s | ||||||
| 10/6/25 |  Manufacturing, Myths, and Misfires of HDMI Cables | We’re back with part three of our HDMI series featuring James Chen, Managing Director of Kordz. This time, we’re taking a look at the physical side of HDMI: how the cables are manufactured, what testing looks like, and what’s really going on inside once you strip away the jacket. James walks us through the cable-building process and gives us a clear understanding of how design and build quality play a role in performance and longevity. We talk about what makes a high-quality cable, how shielding and conductor design impact performance, and why some cables are rigid and unforgiving while others feel like they might fall apart in your hand. We also discuss why some cables fail, what standards really mean, and how to look past flashy packaging and buzzwords when picking the right one for your system. Coming up in Episode 10, we’re shifting focus to the video side of the chain. Rob Brennan joins us to talk tone mapping and projectors, how HDR gets interpreted by different systems, and why your image might not always look the way you expect it to. And after that? We’re stepping away from video for a bit and finally moving into audio, so be on the lookout for that. So grab a drink, get comfortable, and join us to take a closer look at how the cables are manufactured and what to look for when you’re on the hunt for a new HDMI cable. We want to give a big thank you to our podcast sponsor, Martin Logan. MartinLogan delivers high-performance audio that fuses cutting-edge technology with sleek, elegant design. Engineered for audiophiles and home theater enthusiasts alike, MartinLogan products bring every sound to life with incredible clarity and power. MartinLogan – Bringing you truth in sound since 1983. Listen to The Front Row Podcast on your favorite platform and be sure to follow and leave a review on Apple & Spotify: Spotify Apple Podcasts iHeartRadio Amazon Music Pandora | 1h 31m 05s | ||||||
| 9/18/25 |  CEDIA 2025 Recap | This week, we’re switching gears for a special CEDIA 2025 recap episode. It’s a more relaxed conversation, more like a roundtable hangout, and we’re joined by a few friends we caught up with at the show: Don from Horizon Home Theater, Ike from EasyHT Tech, and Paul from Brews and Views. CEDIA is one of those events that’s hard to explain unless you’ve been there. Yes, it’s about gear and demos, but it’s also about reconnecting with people you only see once a year, finding weird surprises in the back of a booth, or getting into a long discussion over a single speaker placement. In this episode, we talk through the demos that stood out, the gear that caught us off guard, and the conversations that kept coming up while walking the show floor. It’s not a best of list and we’re not ranking anything, this one’s more about the moments that stuck with us and the things that had us thinking long after the show ended. We also touch on what we’re optimistic about, where we think the industry might be spinning its wheels, and the little details that often get overlooked in the bigger headlines. If you missed CEDIA this year or just want to hear some honest takes from folks who were there, this one’s for you. And while this episode is a bit of a detour from our HDMI series, we’re not done with that topic. James Chen will be back next episode to dig into HDMI issues and how to fix them. In the meantime, grab a coffee or a drink and hang out with us as we decompress from a packed few days in Denver. We want to give a big thank you to our podcast sponsor, Martin Logan. MartinLogan delivers high-performance audio that fuses cutting-edge technology with sleek, elegant design. Engineered for audiophiles and home theater enthusiasts alike, MartinLogan products bring every sound to life with incredible clarity and power. MartinLogan – Bringing you truth in sound since 1983. Listen to The Front Row Podcast on your favorite platform and be sure to follow and leave a review on Apple & Spotify: Spotify Apple Podcasts iHeartRadio Amazon Music Pandora | 2h 27m 31s | ||||||
| 9/2/25 |  HDMI Part Two: Because One Episode Wasn’t Enough | In Episode 7 of The Front Row Podcast, we’re back with part two of our deep dive into HDMI with James Chen, Managing Director of Kordz. Last episode, we set the stage by unpacking the fundamentals, from pin layouts to protocols like TMDS and FRL. This time, we’re going further down the rabbit hole. We start by breaking down HDMI 2.2 and what it actually means in a real-world setup. From there, we look at the different types of HDMI cables and their use cases. We also start to touch on one of the most requested topics from Episode 6: HDMI issues. What do they look like, what causes them, and how do you fix them? We’re just getting started here, but this episode sets the stage for an even deeper dive into real-world HDMI problems. So if you’ve ever had gear mysteriously stop working or been stuck in a signal handshake loop, you’re going to want to stick around. This is part two of our four-part series with James, because honestly, there’s just too much to cover in one or even two episodes. Part three is already in the works and will air after CEDIA, so keep an eye out for that. And speaking of CEDIA, we’ll be on-site this week with some of the highlights from the show in our next episode. We want to give a big thank you to our podcast sponsor, Martin Logan. MartinLogan delivers high-performance audio that fuses cutting-edge technology with sleek, elegant design. Engineered for audiophiles and home theater enthusiasts alike, MartinLogan products bring every sound to life with incredible clarity and power. MartinLogan – Bringing you truth in sound since 1983. Listen to The Front Row Podcast on your favorite platform and be sure to follow and leave a review on Apple & Spotify: Spotify Apple Podcasts iHeartRadio Amazon Music Pandora | 1h 12m 28s | ||||||
| 8/19/25 |  Everything You Didn’t Know About HDMI (But Probably Should) Part One | In Episode 6 of The Front Row Podcast, we’re joined by James Chen, Managing Director of Kordz, for a deep dive into HDMI—what it is, how it works, and why it’s been both a blessing and a headache. In Episode 4, we laid the foundation by explaining the basics and frustrations around HDMI. This one peels back the layers and gets into the engineering and signal science behind the cable we all love to hate. We explore what actually goes on inside that little port, from the role of each pin to how HDMI communicates through EDID (Extended Display Identification Data), and what makes TMDS different from FRL (Fixed Rate Link) in newer cable specs. James also walks us through the certifications and what they mean, which ones matter, and how manufacturers use (and sometimes misuse) them. One of the most fascinating parts of this episode is the physical anatomy of the HDMI cable. If you’ve ever cracked one open or wondered why some cables are incredibly stiff while others feel like they might fall apart, we explain why that is and how it affects performance. We also break down why HDMI has remained the standard despite its quirks and what the future of the connection might look like as bandwidth demands increase. So if you’ve ever asked yourself, “Why does my HDMI setup sometimes just stop working?” or been caught swapping cables in the middle of movie night, this episode is for you. It’s everything you never thought you needed to know about HDMI, and you’ll walk away with a better understanding of why these cables continue to be such a critical, and often misunderstood, part of every home theater. This is part one of a three-part series with James, because there’s simply too much ground to cover in a single episode. Part two airs September 2, so stay tuned. And if you have questions you’d like us to ask James in part three, feel free to drop them below! We want to give a big thank you to our podcast sponsor, Anthem Electronics. Anthem isn’t just about power, it’s about precision. From clean amplification to intelligent room calibration, every element is engineered to deliver pure, articulate sound. Unlock the performance your system was made for. Anthem – Elevate. Refine. Enhance Listen to The Front Row Podcast on your favorite platform and be sure to follow and leave a review on Apple & Spotify: Spotify Apple Podcasts iHeartRadio Amazon Music Pandora | 1h 28m 38s | ||||||
| 8/5/25 |  Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Projectors (Almost) | Episode five of The Front Row Podcast is here, and this week we’re sitting down with the one and only Rob Brennan. He’s the Technical Account Manager at Epson and someone who’s been around the industry for a long time. Some of you probably remember him from his Sony days, and let’s be honest, Rob knows his stuff! We all know projectors are awesome, but choosing the right one isn’t always easy. There’s a lot of different technology out there, and in this episode, we dive straight into it. We start by talking about how projectors made the jump from commercial cinemas to home setups and how that shift helped shape the tech we see today. Ever wonder how bright the projector is at your local movie theater? We cover that too. From there, we break down the different types of projection tech like single-chip DLP, multi-chip DLP, LCOS, and 3LCD. Rob breaks down the differences, where each shines (pun intended), and where each might fall short. We also get into brightness levels, touch briefly on pixel-shifting tech, and talk about what all of this means for your setup at home. We had so much fun, he’s already planning to come back in September. Next time, we’ll be digging into a topic that doesn’t get enough attention, how projectors were never really built for HDR and what manufacturers are doing to make HDR actually look good in a home theater. We’ll also get into why tone mapping matters more than you think. If you’ve got questions about anything we covered, or if there’s something you want us to ask Rob next time he’s on, drop it in the comments below. We want to give a big thank you to our podcast sponsor, Paradigm Electronics. At Paradigm, sound is not just heard, it’s felt. It’s audio that stirs emotion and is designed to move you. Paradigm - Authentically Canadian, Acoustically Brilliant. Listen to The Front Row Podcast on your favorite platform and be sure to follow and leave a review on Apple & Spotify: Spotify Apple Podcasts iHeartRadio Amazon Music Pandora | 1h 39m 15s | ||||||
| 7/15/25 |  HDMI - Can’t Live With It, Can’t Live Without It | This week on The Front Row Podcast, we’re joined by Eric Bodley, founder of Future Ready Solutions and a well respected voice in the AV industry. Eric’s career spans over four decades and includes everything from launching Monster Cable programs and developing the Perfect Path brand of locking HDMI cables, to training hundreds of installers through his IHAVS certification program. He’s also a former CEDIA President and serves on multiple CTA boards. Simply put, if there’s anyone who can break down HDMI in a way that actually makes sense, it’s Eric. In this episode, we take a deep dive into HDMI cables. We talk about why the industry moved to HDMI in the first place, walk through how it’s evolved over the years, and get into that age-old question, what really is the difference between a cheap cable and an expensive one? We also touch on some of the most common HDMI problems and how to avoid them. Anyone who’s ever had a blank or “no signal” screen knows how frustrating it is to swap out gear only to find it was one little cable causing the problem. This episode brings some clarity to one of the most overlooked parts of any setup. And we’re not stopping here. Next episode, we’ll keep the HDMI conversation with James Chen, Managing Director of Kordz HDMI, with a deeper dive into specs and standards and all the things that make people love and hate these cables at the same time. So like always, if you have any questions you would like us to ask, please drop them down below. We want to give a big thank you to our podcast sponsor, Anthem Electronics. Anthem isn’t just about power, it’s about precision. From clean amplification to intelligent room calibration, every element is engineered to deliver pure, articulate sound. Unlock the performance your system was made for. Anthem – Elevate. Refine. Enhance Listen to The Front Row Podcast on your favorite platform and be sure to follow and leave a review on Apple & Spotify: Spotify Apple Podcasts iHeartRadio Amazon Music Pandora | 1h 30m 23s | ||||||
| 7/2/25 |  The Path From 1080p to HDR Is More Layered Than It Seems | In Episode 3 of The Front Row Podcast, we’re back with part two of our conversation with Jason Dustal, who brings over 25 years of expertise as an ISF trainer, Level 3 calibrator, CTS certified professional, CEDIA certified instructor, and Certified for Envy Product Specialist. This time, we dig deeper into the video technology and how we went from 1080p LED TVs to today’s 4K HDR display. We talk through the differences between HDR formats, what makes Dolby Vision unique, what bit depth really means, and why it matters. We also get into tone mapping and how it can make or break your HDR experience. We got a lot of great feedback on Episode 2, so it only made sense to keep the conversation going. We cover a lot in this one, and if you care about getting the best out of your TV, it’s definitely one you won’t want to miss! We want to give a big thank you to our podcast sponsor, Anthem Electronics. Anthem isn’t just about power, it’s about precision. From clean amplification to intelligent room calibration, every element is engineered to deliver pure, articulate sound. Unlock the performance your system was made for. Anthem – Elevate. Refine. Enhance Listen to The Front Row Podcast on your favorite platform and be sure to follow and leave a review on Apple & Spotify: Spotify Apple Podcasts iHeartRadio Amazon Music Pandora | 1h 45m 44s | ||||||
| 6/17/25 |  From CRTs to Calibration and Everything in Between | Welcome to episode two of The Front Row Podcast, and the first where we sit down with a guest - Jason Dustal! As a well-known and highly respected figure in the AV industry, Jason brings over 25 years of expertise as an ISF trainer and Level 3 calibrator, CTS certified professional, CEDIA certified instructor, and Certified for Envy Product Specialist. He also serves as co-chair on multiple CEDIA standards committees, helping shape best practices for video system design and calibration. His contributions have earned him a spot on Dealerscope’s “40 Under 40” list. In this episode, we dive into the basics of video calibration, things like why it matters, what to look for and what some TV settings actually do. From SDR on old CRT TVs to how calibration has evolved over the years, Jason walks us through where calibration started and where it’s headed. This is part one of a two-part series, with the next episode diving deeper into today’s standards such as HDR, tone mapping and much more! So sit back, relax, and join us for a conversation with one of the true experts in video calibration. We want to give a big thank you to our podcast sponsor, Anthem Electronics. Anthem isn’t just about power, it’s about precision. From clean amplification to intelligent room calibration, every element is engineered to deliver pure, articulate sound. Unlock the performance your system was made for. Anthem – Elevate. Refine. Enhance Listen to The Front Row Podcast on your favorite platform and be sure to follow and leave a review on Apple & Spotify: Spotify Apple Podcasts iHeartRadio Amazon Music Pandora | 1h 25m 49s | ||||||
| 6/3/25 |  Where Our Home Theater Journey Began - The Front Row Podcast Episode 1 | In case our written reviews and video content weren’t enough, AVSForum has officially entered the world of podcasts! Say hello to The Front Row Podcast, hosted by Erik Wesley and Ryan Charpentier. In our very first episode, we talk about what the podcast will focus on, how often you can expect new episodes and why we think it’s worth tuning in. We also share how we each got into the AV industry and our journeys that led us to where we are today. Since this is our very first episode, we would really appreciate your feedback. If there is something we can do better or something you want more or less of, please let us know in the comments. There is also a quick teaser for the next episode at the end and if you have any questions you would like us to ask on the next episode, feel free to drop those below. We want to give a big thank you to our podcast sponsor, Paradigm Electronics. At Paradigm, sound is not just heard, it’s felt. It’s audio that stirs emotion and is designed to move you. Paradigm - Authentically Canadian, Acoustically Brilliant. Listen to The Front Row Podcast on your favorite platform: Spotify Apple Podcasts iHeartRadio Amazon Music Pandora | 1h 14m 19s | ||||||
Showing 22 of 22
Sponsor Intelligence
Sign in to see which brands sponsor this podcast, their ad offers, and promo codes.
Chart Positions
6 placements across 6 markets.
Chart Positions
6 placements across 6 markets.