| |
| |
|
Satellite & TV Information brought to you by insurance deals at 2shopsmart.com |
|
|
|
Home Theater Control - Its The Remote, Stupid!
It's the one piece of equipment that can really make or break your home theater system; the remote control. It's no good to have the latest and greatest gear and world's biggest DVD collection if you can't figure out how to use anything. True home theater nirvana is a fantastic performing system anyone can use with a single button press. Many of today's home theater receivers and surround processors come with a "smart" remote control. Some of these are actually pretty good too. B&K and Denon come to mind. If you know what you are doing, you can get one of these babies programmed to orchestrate your entire system pretty well. If you haven't the time or inclination for such a project yourself, hire a professional installer to bring everything together for you. A great place to start is CEDIA (Custom Electronics Design and Installation Association). They have member firms in every state, and many foreign countries, that are experts in making complex home theaters easy to use. Remote controls come in several flavors. The one most people are familiar with comes with almost any electronic component you buy these days. For the most part it does a pretty good job at making the particular component do what you want. Some of these even let you control other components, especially if they are from the same manufacturer. This way, for example, you can use your TV remote to also control your VCR or DVD player. The next rung up the remote control ladder is the so called "smart remote". This type of remote is able to control multiple pieces of equipment from different manufacturers. Some can control up to 8 or 10 different components. They are usually set to control each piece of equipment by entering a 3 or 4 digit code. Some of these units will learn control functions from other remote controls. This is helpful if the unit you need to control is not in your remote control's internal database. You usually accomplish the learning by entering a "learn" mode on the smart remote, pointing the "teaching" remote at the smart remote and pressing the desired button. Viola! Your smart remote has learned the command from the original remote control. If you want things even easier than using just one remote to control everything, you need a remote that does macros. These are command sequences initiated by pressing one button. For example, you want to watch a DVD. Typically you would have to turn on your TV, DVD player and surround receiver. Then you would have to switch your TV to the component input and your receiver to the DVD input. With a macro capable remote, this sequence is programmed into the remote. The remote then plays back all the commands in the appropriate order so you don't have to. If you want a remote that controls everything, you need a remote with a lot of different buttons. This can make the remote a little intimidating. Sure it can do almost anything but make toast, but where to start? If you have the budget, now is the time to get a touch screen remote. With a touch screen, you typically have only a few actual buttons. These are typically the most used functions such as volume up / down, channel up / down, mute and possibly cursor functions. All other buttons are just icons on a screen that you touch to initiate the desired command. The beauty of this approach is that you only need to have just a few icons on the screen at any one time. This really cuts down on button clutter and confusion. The icons can be graphical representations of the command, which makes everything very intuitive. For example, you can have an "NBC" logo you touch to go to the local NBC station. Touchscreen remotes come in four basic variations. First there is the choice of color or grayscale. Color looks better and more information can be conveyed more quickly. Grayscale units are much less expensive. Next, the communication with the remote can be one way or two way. Two way communication allows status to be updated on the remote itself. For example you can display album and artist information from a music server or check the status of your security system or thermostats. Two way communication has been provided via a two way radio link, similar to a digital spread spectrum telephone. The latest two way remote controls being introduced from companies such as AMX and Crestron use WiFi. This allows a whole host of other possibilities. The range is spectacular for one thing. You can roam around your entire home. On some units you can browse the internet too. Imagine, you are watching a game but you want updates from around the league. Just go to ESPN.com on your remote and take a look. The remote can really make or break your system. You can have an unusable system with 7 different remotes or a slick system that even visitors can use with no instruction. It's all up to you, your budget and your programmer. Steve Faber has almost 15 years in the custom installation industry. He received his BA from Washington State University. He is a CEDIA certified designer and Installer 2 with certifications from both the ISF and THX. His experience spans many facets of the industry, from the trenches as an installer and control systems programmer, and system designer, to a business unit director for a specialty importer of high end audio video equipment, a sales rep for a large, regional consumer electronics distributor, and principal of a $1.5M+ custom installation firm. He currently is senior sales engineer for Digital Cinema Design in Redmond, WA. He is on the web at http://www.1touchmovie.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Ahmadinejad lauds launch of Iran's Spanish-language satellite TV as blow to US ... - Washington Post
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
No More Searching for the Best Satellite Products You need the best satellite products for your home and business needs, and luckily for you, the market is teaming with the latest and greatest satellite products.Technology has reached levels of achievement only thought possible in your wildest imagination. Dish Network Vs. DirecTV - Race For Top Is On If you have taken sane decision to replace your cable TV with the Satellite TV, one thing is sure that you won't look back in regret. In fact you would regret for depriving yourself of this modern technology for so long. How to Select a Video Display for Your Home Theater First of all, don't assume you need a huge video screen in your media room. If your screen is too large, visual fatigue will detract from your theater experience. HDTV and the iPod Photo: A Perfect Marriage? They may seem like an odd combination, but the iPod photo could be the perfect choice for anyone who wants to view photo slideshows on an HDTV. The iPod photo can store thousands of digital photos, and syncs with a Mac or PC via iTunes. The Benefits of Satellite Television! Most teenagers today won't remember what the entertainment world was like before the days of satellite television. They simply take the hundreds of entertainment channels for granted, unlike the adults, who remember just how tedious things could get before the luxury of satellite television exploded on to our screens. Cable Vs Satellite TV - 7 Benefits To The Real Deal About Satellite TV Offer In the United States, the two big satellite providers are Dish Network and Direct TV. Today, satellite TVs are all on the rage right now as both companies are promoting aggressively with free satellite package throughout the country. Selecting a Satellite TV Network from the Audiences Perspective The numbers of those who just connect their TV to a simple roof top antenna can probably be counted on the fingers of one hand. I assume you are not one of those minimalists who need 30 minutes of news programming to get by in a day. The Path of United States HDTV World The history of High definition television, HDTV in United States can be recalled back to 15 years ago.It is amazing to see that despite short history of HDTV in the nation, HDTV started to play a major role in United States home entertainment system. In the know: Dish Network DVR What's a DVR system and what else can it brings for us?DVR is a hard drive that located inside a DVR receive to record and store satellite TV programs in digital format. It is the combination of the advanced technologies of Digital Video Recording and satellite TV systemThrough introducing DVR into their free satellite TV package, Dish Network DVR provide you the power to to allow you to watch TV the way you want, when you want. DirecTV and DISH Network - How Do The Two Leading Satellite TV Providers Stack Up? DirecTV and DISH Network - How Do The Two Leading Satellite TV Providers Stack Up? If you live in the U.S. Plasma Compared To DLP Television and LCD When you think of comparing plasma to DLP technology you should really compare the main aspect and that is the picture quality. The contrast by definition is the measurement of black depending of the white amount. HDTV: An Introduction HDTV stands for High Definition Television, and if you live in the USA, Australia, or Japan you may already have experienced it. There are three key differences between HDTV and what's become known as standard definition TV ie regular NTSC, PAL or SECAM. Why Satellite TV is better than Cable TV Satellite TV is Making the Cable Companies Run ScaredSatellite TV holds a great advantage over the cable TV companies. Not only is the picture and sound quality superior, but there's more choice in what to watch. How to Shop for Satellite TV Receivers and Dishes It's undeniable - shopping for a new satellite tv system can be tough. Take a look, for example-if you dare-at Rapid Satellite, a one-stop Internet shopping point for satellite TV. The Potential Conundrum of Regulating Pay-TV In last week's column, I argued the merits (or rather the lack thereof) of extending decency regulations to cable and satellite TV. This week, I'll point out just how much of a quagmire this would actually be and how difficult it would be to implement, regardless of the merits. Satellite TV Deals FAQ Satellite TV 'What'?So, what is a satellite TV?It's a complicated question. In short, a satellite TV system is a wireless system delivering television programming directly to an end user. Guide to Mounting Your Satellite Dish The Dish Network satellite dish is only about 2 feet in diameter. Very much a space saver when it comes to mounting the satellite dish on a wall, fence or garage!Since the satellite dish is small, it is also light and not bulky in size, this also makes it easier to mount. Entertainment Technology: What to Consider Before Buying HDTV HDTV - or, High Definition Television - is the new generation of TV, and is capable of displaying analog signals as well as those that are digital in nature. While this offers a viewing experience that's unmatched, it also requires external hardware in order to receive the HDTV signals in addition to the monitor. Troubleshooting your Cable Box Unless you've recently moved from Alaska to Texas and you're feeling a little homesick, chances are that the last thing you want to see when you turn on your TV is snow. Combine a snowy screen with that loud, obnoxious static sound, and you've got a problem on your hands. Analog TV Digital Transmission Remember the old days of analog TV, radio, etc. Most of us do unless you're really young.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
