You Asked turns 1, with a major giveaway!

Each week, we'll hand pick some of the most commonly asked questions and answer them as concisely and helpfully as we know how.

Today is the one-year anniversary of You Asked! That’s 52 uninterrupted weeks, and it feels like a cool milestone. So let’s take a look back on the year that was, answer some more questions, and give some stuff away!

But first, some numbers! Over the course of the first 51 episodes, we’ve answered over 210 questions. This show has pulled in over 4 million views so far on YouTube, along with over 8,000 comments and 160,000 likes.

Now in order to make sure we produced a show every single week, we’ve had to get creative. And the most memorable occasions were when we had to record the show while away from the studio. The first remote You Asked recording took place in Tokyo. The next remote shoot was in Las Vegas during CES. I love how we were able to get The Sphere in the background for that one.

Some folks have asked me to talk about the most memorable question I got for this show. And, right or wrong, one thing immediately pops into my mind. And it wasn’t even a question.

A viewer named Jenn Orr wrote:

My husband loves your content so you’re on my TV a lot. I noticed it looks like you may have a nodule on the right side of your thyroid. Just thought you should get it checked out if you haven’t already.

Now, at first I was like … “Wow! Either Jenn has some eagle eyes, or they are watching on a huge TV.” (Maybe a bit of both?) Anyway, I did not toss this question aside. I checked myself out and was like “Huh! Yeah, there is something going on there.” So I paid my doctor a visit and while it turns out the old thyroid is doing just fine, I did discover something else on that visit, and we took care of it right away. Here I’m trying to help you out, and y’all are helping me out. So, thank you, Jenn!

Now, let’s do a few questions, and then we’ll get to the giveaway portion of this anniversary edition. There’s a TV involved, by the way.

Is there any TV without the bloat?

Marco writes: I’m looking toward buying a new TV, but I’m turned off by the amount of bloat the software has these days. Having to create accounts and having ads shown every time I start it up is annoying. I use my TV like a monitor for the attached PC and PlayStation mostly. Any suggestions on brands/OS types that are close to turn-on-and-go?

The Google TV platform makes it possible to have the TV immediately tune in to the last-used HDMI input, so that every time you turn on the TV, you’re looking at whatever is connected, and not the Google TV OS. It’s still waiting in the background, but you really only have to see it when switching inputs, or maybe if you decide to check for an update, assuming you don’t have auto updates turned on. Also, you can sort of set up Google TVs to operate without logging into your Google account. This doesn’t change anything about the way it looks — it just doesn’t have you logged in. I know Sony and TCL TVs allow this, and I am pretty sure Hisense TVs do as well. So you’ve got options.

Which Bravia is best?

Mike is having trouble deciding between the Bravia 7 and 9 and feels they are very close in performance. Mike then tries to trick me into telling him whether to get an 85-inch Bravia 7 or a 77-inch Bravia 8. Very clever, Mikey! And he mentions that he would like to see a comparison between the Bravia 7, 8, and 9.

The performance differences between the Bravia 7 and 9 are going to be pretty nuanced for most viewers. And the price difference between the Bravia 7 and Bravia 9 is going to be hard to justify based purely on picture quality differences. But the Bravia 9 doesn’t just minimize blooming, it also does well with shadow detail (most of the time), and it also punches up HDR highlights while maintaining overall contrast a bit better than the 7. It’s nuanced for most folks, so the Bravia 7 would be the better call.

Now you tried to trick me by asking whether I would personally buy a 77-inch Bravia 8 OLED or an 85-inch Bravia 7, which is both an OLED-versus-mini-LED question and a big TV-versus-bigger TV question. My preferences aren’t your preferences, but you’re the one trying to trick me here, so yeah, I’d buy the Bravia 8.

How to clean your TV

Nick from Birmingham, Alabama, gets his question answered because I was born in Birmingham. Yes, we’re going that random today. Nick recently built a new house and adopted two new cats via a recent marriage — cats he is careful to point out he loves very much, by the way — but he says the dust and cat hair and paw prints are dirtying up his screen like never before. Dusting doesn’t do it anymore, and he wants advice on the best way to clean his TV screen that won’t damage it or leave streaks.

Nick, you’re in luck, because one of the most successful videos I’ve ever made is how to clean your TV screen. Just be prepared to see a very different-looking Caleb in that video. Yes, that’s really me.

Giveaways: Enter to win

OK, it’s giveaway time! Here’s the deal. We are giving away a Fluance RT81 turntable as part of a joint-anniversary celebration of Fluance’s 25th year. And we are also giving away a TCL QLED TV. And here’s the best part: The winner will get to choose between a 75-inch QM7 OR a 65-inch QM8!

Since Fluance is headquartered in Ontario, Canada, the RT-81 turntable prize is available to both U.S. and Canadian residents. The TV is, I’m afraid, only available to U.S. residents due to shipping and customs restrictions.

Thanks so much for watching and celebrating this little milestone with us, everyone.