The 2026 TVs are starting to trickle out, and many 2025 models are close to the lowest prices. TCL’s QM7K and QM8K remain my favorite picks for last year’s #LCD TVs, and I’d scoop up an LG C5 #OLED for its epic contrast, color, and viewing angles - budget permitting 📺😎
#EyeCandy
#CommissionsEarned
Posts by Robert Heron
Flanders Scientific XMP310 4K QD-OLED pro monitor
I've had the distinct pleasure of working on a few of the 31.5-inch Flanders Scientific XMP310 QD-OLED 4K pro monitors. Every time, I'm impressed by its speedy processor and how quickly I can dial its image quality to reference standards. Damn fine display hardware!
flandersscientific.com/XMP310/
An annual calendar entry reminded me that now is a good time for deals on last year’s LG OLEDs - especially the all-around-great C5-series televisions.
*clearing inventory for the upcoming 2026 model introductions 😎
www.amazon.com/dp/B0DYQM4BD...
#CommissionsEarned
#EyeCandy
Sony FW-98BZ50L Professional Display being measured with a video calibration meter and a laptop computer.
The scale may be difficult to visualize, but I was recently working on a 98-inch Sony Pro Display (pictured) + a couple of 97-inch LG G5 OLEDs.
The Sony remote was MIA, and my old school universal remote saved the day 😎
UPS device with a faux-carbon fiber wrap
I am not suggesting that you disassemble your UPS, but applying this faux-carbon fiber wrap was much easier once I removed the case 😎
www.amazon.com/dp/B00YLFUFL...
#CommissionsEarned
*Exact model: M5406WA-AH94
Changes: IPS to OLED (120Hz/600 nits!), 8GB(DDR3) to 24GB(DDR5X), 250GB to 1TB, and 6th-gen Core i5-6200U to Ryzen AI 9 365.
Same weight: 1.3kg/2.87lbs
www.amazon.com/dp/B0CX1GF3R...
Also happens to be on sale for #BlackFriday - lowest price yet😎
#CommissionsEarned
Asus Vivibook S and Asus Zenbook laptops
Time flies! The old notebook was pushing 10 years of use as my sub-3-lb travel companion on every calibration job and mobile writing tasks around the world. Its replacement arrived the other day, and I'm looking forward to getting to know it and putting it to work.
*Exact model: M5406WA-AH94 😎
Zork game logo
Seeing Zork I, II, and III go open source warms my heart. Classic text adventures for everyone to poke around with 😎
opensource.microsoft.com/blog/2025/11...
I forgot how slow secure erasing a hard drive can be - it might be time to pull out the drill and go full-on caveman 💥😎
A screen capture of a map showing Disk Dr. in San Jose, California.
There are a few of these in the United States, but the nerd in me cracks a smile every time I'm driving on Disk Drive in San Jose, California 💾😎
I still like this TV, and the 65-incher finally dipped under ($800) again... barely 😎
I was experiencing some odd video signal artifacts with a new Sony BRAVIA 8 II OLED, and restarting the TV with the power button on the remote didn't help. What worked was an "AC" restart by unplugging it for about a minute - it performed a complete reboot, and all was well 📺😎
Also, nice TV!
I've been working on lots of OLED monitors lately (TVs too), and every one of them has a firmware update that addresses display issues or improves the chances of it living a long and productive life 😎
If you own an OLED display, ensure it's running the latest firmware.
PowerToys Light Switch menu setting
If you are a PowerToys user on Windows 11, you may have noticed that recent OS updates have caused the dark mode theme setting to revert to a light/bright setting.
I don't recall enabling the Light Switch function, but the fix is to turn it off and reboot ;)
learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answer...
Ignore the power lines and I managed a decent picture of the Milky Way's thick part 😎
That image makes me want to find an even darker part of California for better stargazing 🌠
Friend's DirecTV dish was misaligned enough to prevent the tuning of HD channels. Half of the transponders were ~69% signal strength and the others were ~86%. Tweaked the fine-tuning knobs and got everything to ~95% 😎
#MiddleOfNowhere
Just noticed that this antenna is now discounted by ~33% - not a bad deal if you need one!
My favorite $10 over-the-air TV antenna is now a $35 favorite 🤑📺
I'm fortunate to live somewhere a device like this can add 120+ channels for free 😎
#ChannelMaster
#CommissionsEarned
amzn.to/41jsiuW
The MPG321CURX is currently 10% off the list price 😎
#CommissionsEarned
Calman ColorChcker results - pre-calibration
Calman ColorChcker results - post-calibration
Calman Saturation Sweeps results - pre-calibration
Calman Saturation Sweeps results - post-calibration
Spent a week with an MSI MPG321CURX on my desk - 4K240 @ 32" is nice, albeit a bit too big for competitive FPS gaming 😎 Decent factory calibration, but improved with a quick/dirty custom ICC profile - sRGB before/after pics.
Didn't appreciate MSI software asking to install Norton 🫤
#QuantumDot
*The y-cruncher + FurMark combo is pretty spicy 🔥
**Should get some Folding(@)Home in the mix... **
A screen capture of the shortcut icons of the apps used for PC stress testing
I find it difficult to decide whether I prefer building a new PC or stress testing its optimized settings 😎
I'm pleased to see that the latest #Sonos App update added #Trueplay room tuning support for my 2024 iPad Mini (A17 Pro) 😎
#EarCandy 🎶
Screen capture of the Ubiquiti gateway interface showing blocked connections for a local device
I appreciate Ubiquiti's gateway products for alerting me to this one security camera that was pinging at least four IP addresses around ten times every minute. Easily blocked until I can replace that camera (w/something NDAA-compliant) later this week 😎
Helping a friend upgrade an old #LCD TV on a budget - chose the TCL QM7K for its great contrast and color. The QM6K's low price is tempting, but it has a smaller color gamut and less than half the peak brightness. They're similarly priced at Best Buy 😎
amzn.to/46CMAmm
#CommissionsEarned
Quantum dot electroluminescent display demo from Samsung Display at Display Week 2025
The latest quantum dot electroluminescent (QDEL) display demo from Samsung Display has doubled the longevity of the blue emitter and increased light output by 60% compared to last year's demo!
Still, there are a few more years to go before commercialization.
#DisplayWeek2025
#SID
I edited a few items from that picture 😎
I'll probably still regret it.
UV-activated logo seen on a US passport card
I picked up an inexpensive UV light to highlight leak-detection products, and I'm now checking every ID and document for interesting UV-activated holograms and watermarks 😎
This eagle is the coolest one I've found so far!
Also, do yourself a favor and drag that device outside before you decide to blow the dust out of it 🙂
The weather is warming up - a good reminder to keep your PC or laptop running cool!
My 500-watt plug-in Metro DataVac has served me well for a dozen years😎 However, the Torque Test Channel crew found a couple of more affordable (and impressive) cordless options that also get the job done.