Podcast #997: Understanding Digital TV Signal Reception and B&W PI7 Headphones Review

On today’s show we announce a fantastic giveaway to celebrate our 1000th show. Be sure to enter the contest! We also discuss Apple being sued for terminating the account of someone with $25,000 worth of apps and videos. With ATSC 3.0 around the corner we discuss what can cause issues with over the air reception of Tv signals. We have a review of the B&W PI7 wireless headphones. All this and your emails and the week’s news

Apple sued for terminating account with $25,000 worth of apps and videos

Lawsuits claim people don’t truly own content they purchase on digital platforms. Full article...

Understanding Digital TV Signal reception

With ATSC 3.0 picking up steam, many of our listeners are interested in Over the Air TV. If you live within 40 miles of the TV transmitting towers you can pretty much guarantee watching beautiful HDTV in 4K for free. If you live beyond 40 miles, it's hit or miss. The most frustrating part is that sometimes the signal is rock solid and then it just vanishes for a few seconds, minutes, or sometimes hours. What causes this and is there anything that you can do to fix this?

Electromagnetic or EMI interference

This is caused by nearby power lines, LED lightbulbs, thunderstorms, solar flares, the Northern Lights and even household appliances like electric blankets, popcorn poppers, microwave ovens, electric dryers and water heaters. 

However, the stronger your signal the less EMI will interfere with the reception. If you live in a fringe area this is one reason why things are going well with your TV reception and then boom, nothing! We both live in a deep fringe area and it's the reason why we have given up on using an antenna for picking up DTV.  

Multipath interference

This is caused by OTA signals being reflected off of items such as airplanes, wet/icy surfaces or shiny buildings. And for those living in hilly or mountainous areas, reflections off of the local terrain plays havoc with the signal. But in some instances it can help. It's hit or miss. 

Moisture 

Heavy amounts of moisture in the air in the form of heavy fog, high humidity or intense rain can also weaken signals enough to fall off the digital cliff. 

Transient/Variable Physical Obstructions 

The most interference may come from sources that you hadn’t considered, such as leaf growth on a tree. In the Fall you have good reception that goes away in the spring. Construction of a new building between you and the broadcast towers or even your neighbor parking a new RV in their driveway.

What can be done to counteract this?

There are companies that spend a lot of money on developing antennas and electronics to fight signal interference. Mohu has been a goto for the HT Guys for years. In our opinion they make the best antennas on the market. But they are not miracle workers. In our testing the Mohu antennas consistently pulled in more channels than the competitors. But even as good as Mohu is, living in the deep fringe will make the best antenna struggle when conditions are not optimal. 

Bottom line. If you live within 40 miles of the TV towers, get an antenna and enjoy ATSC 3.0. If you live 41- 60 miles, it's hit or miss. One day will be good and another will be bad. Of course the signal will drop in the middle of watching something you really care about! At this range you will definitely need an outdoor antenna with a lot of height. If you have buildings or other obstacles in the way you will be out of luck. Beyond 60 miles, there really isn’t much you can do to combat physics.

AntennaWeb.org

AntennaWeb.org is a good resource that will help you determine what signals you can receive and what type of antenna you will need. For us, it says we can look forward to picking up 5 stations with a deep fringe capable antenna. We have indeed picked up more than that, but not consistently. 

B&W PI7 Review

When Ara worked for Delta Airlines he was responsible for implementing a way to allow passengers to use their own Bluetooth headphones with the in flight entertainment system (IFE). The long term approach was to build in a pairing mechanism into the IFE system that was easy to use. The short term approach was to use an adapter that the passenger would pair with their headphones prior to boarding the plane. 

You ask what does this have to do with the Bowers and Wilkins PI7 (MSRP $399)? Well this model has a built in IFE adapter in the unit’s battery case that makes using the headphones with ANY airline’s IFE system trivial. Based on that alone, Ara bought the PI7 and put them to work.

The Specs

24-bit True Wireless design with Qualcomm aptX™ Adaptive - sound quality that adjusts dynamically and optimizes connection reliability. Dual Hybrid Drive units with individual amplifiers Adaptive noise canceling Six microphones for perfect sound and call quality Smart charging case with audio retransmission - you can use the 3.5mm plug to USB-C connection to any device making it bluetooth capable. However, you can also use the include UBC-C to USB-C cable to connect to your laptop and transmit high res files wirelessly to your headphones.  Fast wireless charging

Controls

The controls are simple to use, just tap either earbud to start/stop/pause/answer/hangup. Long press the left headphone to activate noise canceling and long press the right headphone to activate your smart assistant. This is typical of these types of headphones, however, you can inadvertently activate some commands simply by adjusting the headphones in your ear. 

Performance

Battery Performance - Ara was working in the garage for more than four hours with no issues. The advertised time is four hours and these exceed that. The battery case/holder will recharge the headphones four times which will last you on a flight from LA to Sydney.  

Range - Ara was able to walk about 30 feet indoors with one wall in between the headphones and his iPhone. Outdoors he was able to move 120 feet away from the source. Perfect for working in a garden! 

Noise Cancelling - In a word, Fantastic. Ara took these right into the wood shop and turned on his dust collection system and planed some wood all while listening to music at normal volumes. It worked so well that the normal fatigue that would accompany using loud equipment never happened and quite frankly extended the time Ara was able to work in the shop.

Podcast Performance - Voices sound clear with plenty of presence and texture.   

Music Performance - Music where these headphones excel. They are warm with plenty of detail. The bass is tight and has omph. The mids are vibrant and not lost in the low end. The high surprised me in that I really heard them! These are my new favorite headphones!

Odds and Ends

Only the right headphone can be used individually.  There are three sizes of ear cushions to optimize the fit They are comfortable and can be worn for extended periods The audio passthrough function is only available via the app. You can select the amount of passthrough via a slider bar.

Conclusion

These headphones are worth the $400 they cost if you are into music. The added benefit for travelers is that they connect to an IFE system without the need for a separate adapter. If the $400 is a little more than you are willing to pay you may be interested in the PI5 It has four microphones instead of six and no IFE adapter. It also only costs $250.