Wonder Weekend In Denver ~ Sushi Den, Hungarian F1 GP, Denver Outlaw Game, Watchhouse Concert @ Botanic Gardens 24Jul26-26Jul26

Friday... Kala & I headed to Denver for 100° heat and a bunch of fun with family & friends. We arrived Fri and Matt joined us for sushi at the excellent Sushi Den on Pearl. We'd never been but heard many good things. This was the best sushi in CO we've had, by all our accounts. We chose nice blue label dry Junmai Ginko that was light and tasty; we had an awesome albacore sashimi appetizer and many nice nagiri pieces including barracuda and sea bass, along with normals. The "fresh today - dated 7/24" list was superior. It was plenty close to Letha & Matt so we will definitely be back.

We stopped for a Sancere for a future concert and I was fortunate to score some La Cumbre Project Dank, a bi-annual special concoction of dank, bitter IPA ~ it is always different. I liked the Vinyl Edition, so bitter... Kala did not.

Saturday... We rose early for F1 qualifying in Bucharest on Sat AM. My fantasy team was advantaged as for the first time this season a Mercedes did not qualify in pole position. Lando Norris did in his updated McLaren ~ and I am the one who's hung in there with Lando and with McLaren. Good for me. Hope he has race pace too as the Ferraris and Max are nearby and known to start well.

Afternoon held a double header of pro lacrosse games at Barton Field on DU campus, the home of the DU Pioneers and the Denver Outlaws. We used to have season tix back in the day when games were at Mile High but we've not been there in a while. We had great seats on the midstripe in row 4 but unfortunately the games were not competitive... the Utah Archers crushed the Maryland Whipsnakes in game #1 (so effing hot in the sun) and worse, the Outlaws were trounced 18-8 in game #2 by the Philly Waterdogs. We thought we'd do well when we took the opening faceoff to the goal in the first 5 seconds ~ that never happened again and I quickly flipped to the rally cap. The only solace was that there are a number of CO players on the Waterdogs. We had fun but left early due to the drubbing.

Sunday... We awoke again early for the F1 race. "Sunday Is For Formula One!" Lando raced well and drove well on this twisty circuit and topped the podium for the first time this year. Ferarri was hobbled with penalties and Max did Max; Kimi was 3rd.

We headed out to grab nosh at Mendocino Farms on the way to the Watchhouse concert. Food at this chain is excellent and perfect for a take-in situation like a concert at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Yoho was tarp runner and we were food suppliers; of course we also each brought a nice bottle of wine for the event (Edgar's Albarino and the Sancere). Jim secured a nice front spot stage right. Two Runner opened the show and were "fine" but I was surprised by the big lineup shift at bass, and more importantly fiddle... long-time Two Runner, also from Nevada City. Emilee was gone and a new player was "in." I don't know the drama but I did like Emilee. Paige did the most as the opener, as usual.

We came to see Watchhouse and their set was completely fabulous. First off I was freaked out a bit with the addition of percussion, then we saw a sax! For only 2 weekends did the lead sax guy, a brother of the bass player (often present), join the show. Great addition. Watchhouse played much of the latest album Ritual, but then launched into an unscripted setlist of whatever we yelled out. The band was tight and the duo sounded fabulous through Andrew's sad stuff to some more happy times. The Watchhouse concert was excellent, especially as it was enjoyed with our good friends, and good nosh, and good wine.

 

Thanks everyone for a great weekend in Denver.

How Lame Is My Internet; Should I Upgrade? ~ Ting Is Coming & Xfinity Is Here 18Jul26

My: Current Situation... My current connectivity is $40/mo forever on bonded twisted pairs from Century Link. Ting will offer me fiber @ 2 Gbps symmetric when CSU completes the fiber through the neighborhood (probably $70/mo); Xfinity offers COAX ATM now (the current deal is $45/mo stable for 5 years, mo-to-mo, @ 300Mbps);  500Mbps for $55/mo or 1Gbps for $75/mo are also available. To actually have infrastructure competition is great. Speedtest results show the current ADSL is providing ~35Mbps and decent 8msec pings wired and little degradation from my WiFi network design (a separate AP and subnet with the ISP-connected modem's WiFi off... this is the home net design one wants for various reasons).

Everyone: How Much Is Needed?... We have two UHD (4K) HDR TVs and many PCs and handhelds connected to the Internet @ Blodgett. There are also plenty of IoT and security devices connected too. However, only one TV is ever connected at a time really, and then only modest requirements for WiFi-connected handhelds and IoT will be running simultaneously. I have worked on huge networks for stadiums of fans and to say Blodgett needs are modest is certain. Still, what are the recommendations, and what is the math to deliver a smidge more than a 4K/HDR12 (12 bit color depth for Dolby Vision)? Well, recommendations from streamers for 4K/HDR12 is a minimum of 25Mbps, with more comfort at 50Mbps. YouTube stuff is compressed almost always and YT uses effective and efficient encoding via OLEC ~ but this comes from them and many others. I don't know exactly how they got there but I am good to go with Century Link. Am I?

Geeks: The Real Math... Various things are going on in the casting studios & servers, and on the wires and routers in-between them, and with you and your own gear. But, what's the pure calculation of required network bandwidth to deliver an unadulterated/unbuffered 4K/UHD stream carrying HDR12 content to you?  D = (V + V_blank) × (H + H_blank) × F × Cd x (1 + 2 x c) where:

• D = Data rate in bits per second (bps)
• V = Vertical pixel count; for 4K 2160
• H = Horizontal pixel count; for 4K 3840
• V_blank = Vertical blanking interval (additional vertical pixels); spec 560
• H_blank = Horizontal blanking interval (additional horizontal pixels); spec 90 
• F = Refresh frequency in Hertz (Hz); assume 60 (this will double in the future)
• Cd = Color depth in bits per pixel; assume 12 (for Dolby Vision, HDR12, others are HDR10 at 10)
• c =  1 for 4:4:4 chroma subsampling, .5 for 4:2:2 subsampling, and .25 for 4:2:0 subsampling; assume 1 (from the 50s)

For 4K/HDR12: VxH is 2160 x 3840 and Cd = 12. Most current content refreshes at 60Hz but gamers and sports fans know we'll get to 120Hz or even 144Hz (see my monitor refresh specs); let's assume 60. D = (2160+560) x (3840 + 90) x 60 x 12 x 3 = 23.1Gbps!  But also transmission is more than bit rate because HDMI uses 10bits for 8 bits inbound and therefore on the HDMI cable transmission needed is 1.25 more! So, really, 23.1 x 1.25 ~ 28.9Gbps. Wow, that is just one ultra-high-end unadulterated stream inbound to your decoder. Use the 23Gbps as a benchmark for max needed from your ISP for one "pure" 4K/HDR/Dolby Vision movie steam. Less is likely OK but we're not close.

Me: Path Is Clear... I am on the fringe of tapout with degradation for my expectations & screens. I need to upgrade to Comcast/Xfinity in the short term and consider Ting for the realm.

Blodgett Theater Upgrade ~ miniDSP Tide 16 Experience; Front Height To 5.1.4; SofaBaton X1S Control 11Jul26

miniDSP Tide 16... My 15 yr old Integra controller/decoder left things to be desired and the wait was over to buy a miniDSP Tide 16 (FCS was delayed months). I've long gladly used miniDSP gear for measurement and EQ in audio systems and the Tide 16 is their most ambitious offer. It is a 16 channel AV controller/decoder for Dolby, DTS, and PCM streams from HDMI or other digital audio inputs (USB, SPDIF, Toslink, Bluetooth) and includes Dirac Live automatic measurement & correction and/or a myriad of DSP PEQs, impulse adjustments, and more across those 16 channels! What an incredible spec/design.

Import Delays... I bought my device directly from Hong Kong and paid $850 additional for tariffs. It was shipped FedEx but was held up in customs for 2 weeks awaiting correct documentation. I had to become an importer to free it from Nashville. I wasn't easy on folks along the way; this is just a snippet. I finally got it,when even greater challenges began.

Max Beta Boy... I unpacked and installed my Tide 16 ASAP after de-installing the Integra piece. In discussing (often) with Tech Support I learned: "there are many units in the field." I don't know about that ~ my remote didn't work for 10 days; decoding all the way to Dolby Atmos remains elusive; upcoding is amazing from PCM to Dolby or DTS; Dirac did not initially measure and sometimes didn't load the filters; there's much more. Hardware is keen... the 16 channels are all balanced outputs to my fab 7 channel Integra Research RDA-7 amp (and 2 other unbalanced channels to a D-Amp).

5.1.4 Array... To best take advantage of the most modern encodings, one wants some height speakers. Prior I added Paradigm Titans in the rear of the Blodgett Theater but prepping for the Tide 16 I added front height speakers as well. I repurposed some wide throw Bose satellites above and at the rear of my theater cabinet. I drove the 2 drivers/spkr with a Topping MX3s amp also hidden up there. This was perfect to yield a sweet 5.1.4 array. I knew I'd be able to balance and correct it all later with Dirac Live so the choice for front height transducers was fine. I am all about the DSP in the Blodgett Theater these days. Declaring the speaker config properly in the Tide 16 is important ~ the wrong declaration will eliminate some decoding capability. Too, setting bass management correctly for each speaker is time well spent.

Device Console... miniDSP gear has long been controlled from a mac/PC app called "Device Console." Fortunately the Tide 16 is network controllable (vs prior gear needing direct USB connections). I use my macBook Pro running the "Device Console" and on WiFi and it is rock solid. I am able to monitor & control my Tide 16 easily from my mac. I have all the dials and settings at my laptop fingers and mouse. However, who in the world wants to deal with a PC interface, no matter how solid or good, when using an audio theater? After set up (macOS is appreciated for that vs some requiring iOS apps), I want nothing but a click to "Stream Music" or "View Roku" on a simple remote, not booting a PC and connecting it and having it's screen brighten my face in the theater room... but I do want some feedback on status that all's good. We do also have the unit's very informative Panel but it's tiny and 12 feet away. Nonetheless, these are what we have. The remote finally worked after multiple reflashes of the various firmware packages for computers in the Tide 16. Not backlit, and again, the results of a button push are none too evident without Panel viz or Console blaring. Tide 16 should overlay the HDMI out with comprehensive device status. The pic is of my JRiver Media Center spinning FLAC through the Tide 16 USB ~ 2 channel PCM is upcoded to Dolby or DTS, or remains 2.1 native. From my music server I can send 128Kbps/32bit and the Tide 16 sees it but processes everything as 48Kbps/24bit internally (I knew that and am ok with it). 

Dirac Live... I use Dirac Live in the Nest Music Theater and like it's spin on auto-DSP config on my mains there. Getting the same for the entire Blodgett Theater's 10 channels is a boon. Early glitches to get measurements to complete and to get PEQs to load and reload live were overcome with settings and firmware updates. I took a doz measurements across the "listening sofa" in the Blodgett Theater using a miniDSP umic 2 to empower Dirac Live to build filters for every one of the 10 speakers in my array. Raw measurements are corrected to a desired house curve: flatten EQ, adjust dB, assess impulse response, adjust for time delays... all kind-of automatically. My system was pretty clean to start but the adjustments are noticed.

SofaBaton Control... I completely hate multiple remotes dancing to set the next scene. I am willing to "program" the handling of multiple devices into "activities" via IR or WiFi control like "Watch Roku." I have long used integrating universal remotes. I sold the originals to happy buyers; I've used an iPhone; I settled on Logitech Harmony One with Hub long ago and deployed it throughout my many systems. Many neophyte users have used the integrations successfully; it's now 7 years on from "end of life/service" and they are regularly beginning to die in one way or another. The CloudBase is still supported but it's dubious and slow. No one bought the Harmony servers, code and IP. Enter SofaBaton, a Chinese teams with a mocking design. Yep it is fast hardware; yep the coding is obtuse and sometimes ill organized; yep you can make it work ultimately. With the new gear and audio-paths in the Blodgett Theater, and the failing of the Harmony, I bought another X1S and coded up the new BT system. As always, tweaks and finicky IR shit was adjusted. We have a clean launch... Blodgett Theater rocks. From Nebula content, to DTS BluRays, to top JRMC FLAC files, to YouTube OLECs, to Dolby Digital & Atmos movies (almost).

LPC Denver Cutover To Xfinity ~ Century Link Speed To Just 8Mbps Prompts Shift To XFinity Yeilding 300Mbps 11Jul26

LPC's internet provider CenturyLink's bonded pair DSL service near Lowry had doubled in price to $75 in just a couple of years, while the delivered speed had halved to just 8Mbps. It was untenable. I helped her convert to Xfinity lowish end 100Mbps service for $45/mo for 5 years. I am a modem buyer,  not renter, and chose the $150 Arris DOCSIS 3.1 modem with 2.5Gig Ethernet ports from AMZ for delivery coincident with service provisioning on July 10th. It arrived and I installed it all today. I could not activate service from a browser so needed to download the Xfinity app (ugh). Fortunately that all ultimately worked, after having verified the modem can't be beyond a splitter and that her in-home Cat5 net was still connected. I'd already separated the install with a dedicated subnet for WiFi via a reasonably modern Nighthawk. I also confirmed there are no known vulnerabilities on the Arris or Nighthawk currently. Speedtest confirms ~300Mbps down and ~30Mbps up on WiFi and even better when wired. Woohoo.

Grace Potter Concert @ Botanic Gardens... Killer Rock Voice, Stellar Perfomance, And GR8 Eve With Friends 07Jul26

Yoho, Scooter, Ben, and I heard Grace Potter at the Denver Botanic Gardens tonight. The show and evening together were excellent. Grace belted out the jams like only she can do. At 43 it is amazing how strong her voice, stunning her beauty, and vibrant her songs continue to be. I've been a fan she was a teen fronting the Nocturnals... she's a multi-instrumentalist with a rock & blues voice for the ages. What a show!

Yeah, we were photo-bombed by a woman behind. Jim was "tarp runner" and queued early for our spot in the front of stage ~ thanks buddy. Ben was late on a sushi & tart run ~ thanks Ben. Scott & I ran up in the FlyBox in short stead. We wandered a bit to find parking when the garage was full but found a great workaround in the end. We parked free on the street across from Cheeseman Park and came in the back gate of the Gardens; there was no queue at all. It's open for concert events... this is a great dodge to use in the future.

We had a great plan for the show. Three bottles of wine and a 4 course meal to accompany. We had an Edgar blend, La Guera, with salmon & brie appys and jalepeno jam appys; we had a Willamette pinot noir with cheese & crackers and fruit; we had a '21 Faust cab with sushi; we had individual tarts. We had a nice view of artists from stage right row 3. 

Opening the show was Canadian Emily Brimlow, sweet voice, nice songs, and accompanying guitar, but Grace would ultimately strut and stun. Fun event with great friends.

250th With The Fam ~ Porkies, F1, And Bar Hop 04Jul26

With LPC still under repair and the Silverstone F1 race weekend we headed to Denver to enjoy July 4th weekend. Kala & I spun up in the FlyBox and MLC tooled over in Linux. We scored the garage as there was weather pending ~ thanks Kala & Letha. We can't be out ripping with the team but display the logo proudly. For the Great Britain Grand Prix, Kimi in Mercedes again took pole with the Ferarris close; Kimi's car failed late and Charles LeClerc brought is Ferarri home to the checkered flag first. Grest for him; good for Ferrari showing competitive with the Mercedes cars; fun for the Alpine Rippers fantasy league. Good for the Coffin's to be out in the sports cars and best was LPC with stunning progress on the new hip. Dave made eggs and we watched the race.

 

After the post-race interviews and shows, we birthed a July 4th celebration scheme to catch  some brews and such in the 'hood. We started at the Lowry Beer Garden )Hanger 2) outside (but hot in the shade). We moved to Cerebral's main brewing location in Aurora and enjoyed their many great recipes; Cerebral is my fav in DEN and I'd not been to the big spot. Then, Matt noted a nearby well-reviewed cidery and we stopped by there. Vanishing West was very good despite the sweetness. It was a nice day out with the kid.

Happy 250th.