The AfterMaster Pro and Why It's Bullsh*t™
Apr 15, 2017 at 6:06 PM Post #31 of 40
They're actually hocking this thing on HSN now. But I gotta say, even TVs like my high end Sony XBRs which DO have good audio are SUCH a pain in the ass to use without a surround system (which I don't want) when you want to sit down and enjoy a movie mixed in surround. The vocal track is ALWAYS so low as to be nearly worthless without cranking the volume up and then loud passages are too loud. If all this thing does is somehow analyze the audio coming from the cable box in real time and boost the vocal frequencies to match or exceed the surrounding frequencies I'd say it's not far off from being worth the 179.00 they were trying to get for it on HSN. I don't really know of anything else that is this simple (HDMI in and HDMI right back out) for the purpose of TV watching. And by doing it this way, it also means that my stereo audio system hooked up to the TV's optical out port will benefit from this conversion as well. I hope someone else copycats this and does it for 70 or 80 bucks, or as mentioned earlier in the thread, that they simply license the technology to the TV makers to add in to the TV itself. The downside of the current version is that you won't be able to enhance anything that comes from within the TV's own tuner or app suite.
 
Apr 15, 2017 at 7:12 PM Post #32 of 40
They're actually hocking this thing on HSN now. But I gotta say, even TVs like my high end Sony XBRs which DO have good audio are SUCH a pain in the ass to use without a surround system (which I don't want) when you want to sit down and enjoy a movie mixed in surround. The vocal track is ALWAYS so low as to be nearly worthless without cranking the volume up and then loud passages are too loud. If all this thing does is somehow analyze the audio coming from the cable box in real time and boost the vocal frequencies to match or exceed the surrounding frequencies I'd say it's not far off from being worth the 179.00 they were trying to get for it on HSN. I don't really know of anything else that is this simple (HDMI in and HDMI right back out) for the purpose of TV watching. And by doing it this way, it also means that my stereo audio system hooked up to the TV's optical out port will benefit from this conversion as well. I hope someone else copycats this and does it for 70 or 80 bucks, or as mentioned earlier in the thread, that they simply license the technology to the TV makers to add in to the TV itself. The downside of the current version is that you won't be able to enhance anything that comes from within the TV's own tuner or app suite.


The issue you're describing with the "voices are too quiet" is actually a function of the dynamic range that movie/cinema content is mixed with. There are (and have been for years and years) plenty of 3rd-party solutions that solve that problem and are built-in to many TVs and receivers these days. The stock Dolby AC-3 decoder actually includes this functionality, in addition to branded solutions from Dolby, DTS, and SRS. There is no "magical solution" there, nor does it require a box that costs "only $70-80" when its already included as a pretty standard feature everywhere.
 
Apr 15, 2017 at 7:59 PM Post #33 of 40
I've tried all of those devices and software. None of them work well (solutions within the TV, especially the stupid "decompress" options. Every TV has this in the menu and it doesn't do anything worthwhile) or have compromises I'm not willing to make, outboard receiver etc.. Yet the bottom line is simply turning up the volume DOES work, just with the unintended consequence of hearing everything else louder. A device that could selectively filter the vocal portion of the spectrum and boost it without affecting the rest *for stereo listening*, not AC3 or any of that other surround processed crap, would be worth purchasing to me. 
 
Apr 16, 2017 at 7:24 PM Post #34 of 40
I've tried all of those devices and software. None of them work well (solutions within the TV, especially the stupid "decompress" options. Every TV has this in the menu and it doesn't do anything worthwhile) or have compromises I'm not willing to make, outboard receiver etc.. Yet the bottom line is simply turning up the volume DOES work, just with the unintended consequence of hearing everything else louder. A device that could selectively filter the vocal portion of the spectrum and boost it without affecting the rest *for stereo listening*, not AC3 or any of that other surround processed crap, would be worth purchasing to me. 


It isn't "the vocal spectrum" nor is this a "surround vs stereo" thing. Film/cinema content is generally mastered to Dolby's reference levels, which assume an 85 dB baseline with peaks to 105 dB, so around 20 dB of dynamic range. Dialog and other content will thus be (comparatively) much less intense than sfx and similar. The Dolby decoder, by spec, has to include DR comp functionality to counteract this, because most residential systems aren't desired to be played that loud - it may be called "night mode" or similar. There's also third-party licenced features like DTS/SRS (SRS is part of DTS now)'s "TruSurround" and "TruVolume" which work in a similar fashion. None of this is "magic" and has been around for years and years (like I said), and there was a time when stand-alone boxes (predominately with the SRS licenced IP) were common/popular from companies like Xitel and Terk. Nowadays its all built into the TV, since modern TVs have the processing power and functionality to run those suites internally. Many streaming players and disc players also feature this kind of thing, as they are similarly well equipped to run it, but of course that won't apply to any content sourced externally.

To note: AC3 is the name of the Dolby Digital codec - for digital TV you're already dealing with AC3, and its being decoded by the TV or an external box depending on your setup.
 
Apr 17, 2017 at 5:20 PM Post #35 of 40
You guys are pretty defensive for a product that isn't shipping.  I just filed a complaint with the State of CA Attorney General and asked IndieGoGo to intercede, as well.  I've sent a few emails to you
guys and received 1 response from John Lombardo.
 
IndieGoGo isn't very helpful; one response I received was "Indiegogo is not able to guarantee that perks will be delivered or deemed satisfactory."  Then again, "That said, campaign owners are still held by our Terms of Use to fulfill perks."  "Perks" - sigh; I bought a physical product, not a "perk".  Calling it that trivializes the transaction.
 
Ha - that's working well.
 
I paid $150 on April 25, 2016 with a promise of the product being shipped to me by July 2016.  Nothing.  Nada.  Zip.  Zilch.
 
What does it take to get the product?  You've raised almost $1M ($797,988) for this campaign, which started on December 20, 2015 and according to the IndieGoGo website, you've achieved 158% of funding.

I don't think this exists.  I ordered mine 4 months after the start of the campaign so I would think I'd be in the first third of the shipments.  You have sent out numerous "updates" stating that the product saying the product is shipping "soon", and covering some issues that are hindering product shipment.  All the crap you detail in your "updates" sounds like you guys don't know squat about product development.  You decide on the components and test models until you find the right mix.  You line up suppliers for these parts before you announce.  You get the HDMI testing lined up and ready BEFORE you start promising shipment.

My guess is you didn't have a project manager running this - pretty bad form.

If this is real, and if it does what is claimed, this could be a hot product (though I'd imagine Samsung, others, licensing the technology from Aftermaster Labs  is the end goal.  It's nice to be a marketing guinea pig.
 
May 22, 2017 at 4:02 PM Post #37 of 40
I recieved mine today (shipped to Sweden), it is not a complete scam after all - Check! (though I contributed in Feb 2016, a long wait)
I connected it between my Cable box and my TV and it let sound through - Check!
I put it through the toughest test I had available, I asked my wife if she thought it had improved the dialog in her favourite series. The response was "Now I can hear what they say even if I turn down the volume a bit, it is perfect!" - Check!!!
I tested with different pieces of music, everything from Metallica to Mozart had a clearer quality - Check!

So I actually wrote this letter to Mr Lombardo at Aftermaster:
"Finally FedEx were able to deliver the unit today.
I have connected it and tested the sound - I am impressed, it was well wort waiting for! You have not overrated the product in your campaign - it works as advertised and the real thing is better than the audio samples that you have published.
The sound part is more or less 100% flawless, a barely perceptible glitching can be noticed in the moment of a big amplitude change if I intently try to find it.
2 design notes though;
- I would have appreciated if I could have connected the Aftermaster on my HDMI Audio return channel (ARC) as it would save me to switch sources manually.
- When I now have to switch sources, the "stepping" with the power button requires me to do a power off/on cycle to get back to input 1 from input 2.
A construction where a short press steps and a long press powers off would have been more intuitive and in line with other audio products.
Those are two small wrinkles that I guess will be ironed out in time on an otherwise good product. If you tell me when, i will definitely upgrade!"


I hope this information is of value for somebody else interested in, or patiently waiting for their delivery.
 
May 26, 2017 at 1:22 AM Post #38 of 40
You need an upgrade to one of these......



Pan-Galactic-Gargle-Blaster.jpg
Pan Galactic guide.jpg
 
Oct 11, 2017 at 3:52 AM Post #39 of 40
Just a bit of input from the Production Manager of Aftermaster, in reply to a technical question about improving TV sound from Set Top Boxes:
"

So , having explained the background, will the addition of your device, help achieve better TV Movie/programme dialogue?

As long as you disable surround and force it to PCM stereo, from the cable box, it will work fine. We cannot re-process surround because the encoding process is in a quite large box. It will improve every concern you have with the sound."

So, posted this so you are aware it does NOT re-process surround streams.
 
Mar 17, 2018 at 4:46 PM Post #40 of 40
After reading the comments on the AfterMaster Pro and promo hype by the manufacturer I am compelled to set the record straight.
As a starting point I will say that many consumer comments/complaints are true but said in non technical terms and the manufacturer's promo is misleading.
Here are the facts (from an EE expert):
First, technically "remastering" as the manufacturer claims is not technically possible because the manufacturer has access to only the composite audio where the voice is mixed with background sounds and cannot be separated out.
Second, because the audio from a tv channel is mixed the only thing an AfterMaster Pro device can do is to filter out the non-voice background sounds. This filtering is possible because the frequency range of voice is in the range 85-255 Hz and background sounds can be in the range 20->8,000 Hz. So an AfterMaster Pro device can enhance the tv channel voice by selectively increasing the sound level in the voice frequency range and or decreasing the sound level below 85 Hz and above 255 Hz.
Any consumer can do the same thing if they have an audio frequency equalizer device - a device that allows the adjustment of frequency bands by sliding bars up or down. Some top end tv's have audio tuners or equalizers built in.
Now in reviewing the AfterMaster Pro web site info there is confusion about how to hookup an AfterMaster Pro device. I think this confusion is deliberate. Here are the facts: An AfterMaster Pro device cannot alter the frequency response of any TV channel audio when the TV channel is internally stripped out of the tuner carrier. The AfterMaster Pro device can only affect the audio if it operates on the audio signal directly. This can only happen if the AfterMaster Pro device is connected between an external tuner and the Tv via an HDMI connection. The external tuner can be any DVD player, cable box or game box but cannot be the TV built-in tuner channel such as used to tune in Netflix, Amazon, etc.
Some consumer complaints have addressed issues of product reliability. I cannot comment on such complaints since I have no supporting facts. My comments above are purely technical to set the record straight.
 

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