Mesh Wi-Fi is the “it” home networking product right now – for good reason. With the increase in streaming media content, and device proliferation a single wireless access point (AP) off wherever the cable comes into the house is not good enough. Mesh networking solves this problem in a more elegant way than the repeaters of yesterday. With […]
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It isn’t very often when a new product leaves me speechless, but the Axiim Link HD did exactly that when I discovered its existance. It is fantastic in its simplicity (as a product) because it essentially turns your Windows 10 HTPC or Xbox One into a multi-channel wireless audio (via WiSA) “AVR”. Based on the PR it looks like audio […]
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If you use an ISP provided, low-end, or older Wi-Fi router, the options for network management are often quite limited. There is simply no way to find out who is connected to your network or control which devices have access when. Devices which add this capability have recently started popping up on the market; each with a different set […]
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SVS is known for making amazing subwoofers, both from a performance and value perspective. So it is great to see them launching a new line that look fantastic and promise specs to shake the floor/room/house. The three models in the 4000 Series lineup offer different form factors and range price from $1500-$2000 (check the release below for more details). Like […]
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I love home automation (HA) because it allows me to make mundane tasks happen without any sustained intervention. Just setup a scene, and let the magic happen. Generally, this works great whether it is a scheduled event or something that is trigger driven. But, every so often I have a scene that requires more intelligence than is available out of […]
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The first time I went crazy with Z-Wave at my house, I had to build my own garage door controller. It was not hard, involving a Z-Wave switch, some components from Radio Shack and a door sensor – all tied together with a couple scenes. As I am sure you all know, time has been very kind to the home […]
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I have an older home. One thing about older houses is pull chain lights, many, many pull chains. Anyone who has walked around a basement in the dark or near dark fishing for a light pull chain can attest that it is a massive pain. After one stubbed toe too many, I turned to home automation as a lower cost […]
Read moreWhen Amazon announced their new Echo Plus, I was immediately intrigued, and then a bit put off by the decision to use Zigbee instead of Z-Wave (although both radios would have been better). Afterall, Z-Wave has the biggest pool of devices and [near] guarenteed compatiblity. Aparently I’m not the only one who doesn’t get the choice – CEPro just does […]
Read moreLittle disappointed to find my Xbox One S excluded from the top Ultra HD Blu-ray picks due to it’s gameyness and Netflix HDR performance (does anyone sell a 4K TV without Netflix built in?). So feel free to completely disregard Chris’s picks :). After researching every currently available 4K Blu-ray player, and spending more than 20 hours testing the features […]
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The other day while I was troubleshooting a network issue I stumbled upon an interesting device called “Fingbox“. The device connects via Ethernet to your network and makes some interesting claims around network monitoring and device blocking. Intrigued I reached out to the company to get a better understanding of how it works. As it turns out, it’s mostly messing […]
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