HDTVs, projectors, and surround sound systems.
Home Theater
Is there a universal remote control to eliminate having several remotes?
Episode 979
Jim from
Jim wants to get one universal remote so he can eliminate the need for having three different remotes. Leo says Logitech makes a programmable universal remote called the Harmony Ultimate which is around $350. It has additional benefits such as a big LCD screen on it, and it's very easy to program.
How could I control and watch TV with someone remotely over the internet?
Episode 979
Matt from
Matt's father has recently suffered a stroke and he lives across the country. He's concerned about his father's mental stimulation since he was once an avid reader. Leo says that audio books are ideal for that kind of situation. Leo bought his mother a huge iPod classic and an account on Audible to load the books on.
Scott Wilkinson
Episode 979
Scott says that we've reached the point in streaming online that the convenience of it far outweighs the quality of the image, which is improving over time. The quality looks as good as a DVD, but not as good as a Blu-ray. Leo says that for most people, that's good enough to "cut the cable." That's why video rental stores are closing by the droves. Sure, you can rent recent movies on RedBox, but older films live on streaming. What's really causing streaming to lag is the speed at which the video is delivered. The US is 25th in the world in high speed internet access.
How can I connect my old laptop to my HDTV?
Episode 978
Paul would like to connect his old laptop to his HDTV, but he doesn't have a VGA input on his TV. Paul only has a VGA output on his laptop, though. Leo says ideally, he'd want to use HDMI. Many modern laptops can use DLNA or Wi-Fi Direct that plays video over the air. Apple calls their version of this "Airplay". Paul's laptop probably doesn't support it, though.
Scott Wilkinson
Episode 977
Scott Wilkinson joins Leo to talk about the Seiki UHD $1500 4K TV. Scott says that CNet reviewed the TV and the word is that there's plenty of pixels, but that doesn't equate to a good picture. In fact, they say the picture is pretty poor. Leo says that to be fair, there really isn't any content out there to push 4K, only gaming can show it off. The TV can only accept 30fps, so even for gaming, it's lacking.
Scott Wilkinson
Episode 976
Scott is back from the Rennaisance Faire, where he enjoyed turkey legs, drank a flaggon of ale, and played his sackbutt horn. What's going on in home theater?
Why do Blu-rays on my HD TV have a plastic, soap opera look?
Episode 974
Kapeil from
Kapeil bought a Blu-Ray player not too long ago and video from it looks plastic, like a soap opera. Leo says that Kapeil's Panasonic LCD TV is set to a high frame rate (either 120 or 240Hz), but the Blu-ray streams it as 30fps. So the TV "interpolates" by adding frames, and upconverts the video. Kapeil needs to go into the program settings and disable interpolation. Panasonic calls this "Smooth Motion".
Is there a way to automatically switch between set top boxes?
Episode 974
Peter just bought his father an Apple TV and wants an easy way to switch from it to the regular box. Leo says the Logitech Harmony One is great because it's very programmable. It can, however, be unreliable.
How can I cool down an overheating home theater Mac Mini?
Episode 973
Penny just put her home theater Mac Mini into a cabinet to childproof it and now it's overheating. Leo says that needs better airflow. Raising it off the cabinet shelf is a good idea, or take it out and put it higher up so it can stay cooler.
How can I get my home theater PC to remember its settings?
Episode 973
David built a home theater PC and when he boots up, his sound card doesn't remember the settings to be able to watch TV. Leo says that's been a common problem and can be very frustrating. There has to be a way to save settings somewhere, but Windows isn't offering to do that. Leo has a hunch it's the source that should be saving it, and that would be the sound card driver. The chatroom says that the user access control (UAC) will prevent remembering.
