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What Can Your Lights Do? Smart Lighting Makes Everything Better
When I was in a home automation system training class a few years ago I made a joke to friends that we spent four hours learning to turn lights on and then another four hours turning them off. It was a...
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Common Compromises in Home Theater Design, Ideas and Products
I won’t say I’m a snob about home theater design or equipment, but I’ve probably been heard to make a comment about friends’speaker systems or a poorly set-up TV now and then. That said, designing a...
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Two Subwoofers Balance Bass In an Open-format Home Theater
The owners of this Atlanta home theater had a couple of unique challenges, the biggest one being the open-nature of their room. The theater area is adjacent to the home’s main living area and the...
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Great Accessories for Your Sonos Wireless Speakers
Do you like Sonos wireless speakers? If you’re a Sonos fan, you probably have several of the speakers throughout the house. You may have a Sonos PLAY: 3 in the bedroom, a pair of Play: 1 speakers in...
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The Best Home Theaters for Football Parties
Serious football fans will want to watch their favorite teams play in the most impressive room they can. What gets a sport fanatic excited more than watching their team win? Watching that win on a...
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Invisible Speakers for Home Audio that’s Heard, Not Seen
If you ask an interior decorator about loudspeakers, he or she will tell you they should be heard and not seen. Maybe some home theater enthusiasts and audiophiles would disagree, but a lot of people...
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Understanding New TV Tech: OLED TV, Nano Crystal Technology, Quantum Dot and...
As new televisions arrive in electronics shops, custom installers and online stores, TV buyers are faced with an assortment of new technology terms and decisions: OLED TV or nano crystal technology or...
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Is The Home Theater Receiver Dead?
A couple of years ago I visited the Sonos headquarters in Santa Barbara, CA, for a sneak peek at the company’s new PlayBar, a networked soundbar speaker that can be part of a wireless whole-house audio...
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Soundbase vs Soundbar: Which Speaker Style is for You?
So you’ve decided that a surround sound receiver and 5.1 or 7.1 speakers spread around your media room is not how you want to experience home theater. Maybe you rent your home or apartment and can’t...
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Streaming Media Stick vs. Streaming Media Box: Understanding the Differences
Not everyone wants to buy a new TV just to get access to all the latest smart TV streaming media features. And you don’t have to. A streaming media player, like Roku 3, Amazon Fire TV, Nexus Player or...
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Three Things to Think About When Picking a Wi-Fi Thermostat
Picking a thermostat for your home used to be a no-brainer. When you moved into a new home, if there was a thermostat on the wall, your selection process was done. Now smart thermostats and Wi-Fi...
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Ferrari-inspired Home Theater Combines Muscle and Style
The inspiration for an extreme home theater design can come from just about anywhere, so it seems appropriate that the concept for this luxury room would come from the homeowner’s other favorite luxury...
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4 Smart Energy Monitoring Systems to Help You Control Your Electricity Bill
We’ve written extensively on the benefits of home automation for energy management, particularly on how smart thermostats, such as those offered by Nest, Honeywell, Carrier and others allow you to...
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Four Sonos Alternatives: What Other Wireless Speakers Are Worth Buying?
Here we are in 2015, 13 years since the Sonos brand launched, and but with a thousand other audio brands on the market, Sonos is still the leading maker of wireless speakers. Why’s that? Well, for...
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Smart Garage Door Openers for Home Security
The humble garage door has been the smartest device on the block for decades. Why? Garage-door openers of course. Yes, the boring old motorized garage door is probably the first smart home gadget you...
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How to Get the Best Flat Screen TV
If it’s been a few years since you purchased a new Flat Screen TV, well, a lot has changed. No longer is it enough to go into a store and simply look for the best picture and sound. The advent of smart...
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Smart Lighting Scenes for Home Automation and Lighting Control Systems
Most people think of their home lights as things that get turned on, off or dimmed as needed, but not as a design and lifestyle element that can be programmed to fit a family’s moods, activities or...
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What to Look for in a TV Wall Mount
Flat panel TVs look great hanging up on the wall, but what do you look for in a TV wall mount? Are they all the same? Yes, and no (you expected a simple answer?). First, you need to figure out how and...
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9 Top Questions When Starting Your DIY Smart Home
Today’s DIY smart home systems, from companies like SmartThings, Wink, Lowe’s Iris, iRule, Universal Devices, Vera, Insteon and others are fairly easy to install, setup and use. They’re also getting...
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What is HDR and Why is it Important in 4K TVs?
Lately the term HDR (high dynamic range) has been popping up in some of our coverage of new 4K TVs, and soon, if not already, you’ll hear the phrase bounced around at electronics stores and dealer...
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