Here’s a 2016 New Year’s Resolution for you
Take control of your home this year. Whatever it takes. Are you tired of high cable bills? Are you tired of going over on your cell phone data plans? Is your Wi-Fi covering your whole home?…
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OLED: is it worth it?
Every couple of years the consumer electronics industry comes up with something they think “you just have to have.” Sometimes, something like HDTV comes around and they’re right, you’ve gotta have it. Sometimes, they come up…
Does your next television need HDMI 2.0a?
Yes. HDMI 2.0a is the latest version of the HDMI specification and it’s pretty likely that when the folks at the UHD Alliance come up their “4K certified” badge next month, it will require 2.0a…
Wi-Fi isn’t wireless Ethernet. Honest.
It’s really tempting to think of Wi-Fi as “wireless Ethernet.” But, really, it isn’t. You see, Ethernet is just part of the way we describe network information traveling over a wire. It’s so popular that we…
Will commercial customers ever get the ability to share programs between receivers?
If you have DIRECTV at work, you might think it would be great if you could do some of the things you could do at home, like record a program on one DVR and share it…
Why can’t you extend a SWM signal past 150 feet?
Actually you can. But you have to know what you’re doing. The total run between receivers is generally 250-300 cable feet, meaning for example a 200 foot run on one and a 100 foot run on the other….
NICE AND EASY: What do the bars on your cell phone mean?
Nothing. Or, almost nothing. For decades, we’ve been using the bar indicators on our phones to try to have some idea whether or not we have cell reception. The problem is that they’re almost meaningless….
Can a DIRECTV H25 be turned into a DVR?
Sure, it’s frustrating. You know that the DIRECTV H25 Receiver looks and acts so much like a DVR, but it isn’t a DVR. Your friends with DISH may have told you stories of a receiver you can convert into…
Hey, does anyone still use converter boxes?
Yeah, you remember converter boxes. Back in 2007-2008, the government issued $50 certificates to every household so they could buy special boxes that would let their existing TVs work with the new digital broadcast standards. 2008…
Is it legal to rip physical media that you own?
Yeah, except you don’t actually own it. Every single disc of any type you have in your house isn’t really a purchase, it’s a license. That’s right, you’re just paying for the right to use the…
Can you get 4K content from a DIRECTV DVR?
OK, here’s the deal. You just bought a new 4K TV. You want to watch 4K programming. The facts are simple, although a little frustrating. Here’s everything you need to know. There isn’t a DVR…
IMPORTANT NOTE: DIRECTV Wireless Genie Client reset instructions
What’s good for the average Joe isn’t always good for you. DIRECTV recently updated the software on their C41W Wireless Genie Mini Client and while the change should reduce service calls and help most people, it’s making it…
What is the DIRECTV “Advanced Receiver Service” Fee? Do I need it?
One of DIRECTV’s more vexing fees is explained.
DIRECTV using RDBS? What does it mean?
Remember almost two years ago… when I told you all about Reverse DBS, the technology that could let DIRECTV get a lot more use out of its bandwidth? By using the frequencies it’s reserved for sending…
What is 5G?
It’s nothing. At least not today. It seems like all the hype about mobile internet speeds has died down a little bit. Back when we all talked about speeds of 256kbps over a mobile connection…