You never know what type of article will hit a chord with your readers. Will it be a clever piece about the pitfalls of shouting voice commands to smart devices that will click with visitors to Electronichouse.com? Or maybe a story about how a homeowner transformed his unused basement into a top-caliber home cinema will capture readers’ attention. Over the past year, it’s proven to be a mixed back of articles that have generated biggest buzz among our readers. Here are some of the Top 10 Electronic House articles for 2016. We’ve included the abridged version of each story; if you’d like to read an article in entirety just click on the link.
1. Is The Home Theater Receiver Dead? In the battle of simplicity vs complexity, who wins? The home theater receiver or the soundbar?
https://www.electronichouse.com/home-theater/is-the-home-theater-receiver-dead/
Originally posted January 13, 2016
By Grant Clauser
The SONOS PlayBar, and other similar products from companies like Samsung and Polk, can do a lot: provide music from many different streaming services; playback files from a smartphone or computer; connect to a TV to deliver audio from TV programs, video games and Blu-ray discs; act as part and processor of a 5.1 surround sound system and probably do something else important I’ve forgotten. All of this is accomplished without a traditional AV receiver
I asked Sonos product manager Tom Cullen what he thought about the future of the home theater receiver, and he replied very bluntly, “the receiver business is history.” Cullen went on to explain his point, saying that the AV receiver is too complicated, uses too much power, is poorly designed and costs too much money (remember, the Sonos PlayBar costs $700). Why does he say this? Because the PlayBar “plays everything, is easy to control,” and sounds great (paraphrased). The guiding principle of the digital age, he says, is simplicity managing abundance.
That last thought—managing abundance, is important. While inputs have been steadily growing on AV receivers over the last several years, an even greater emphasis has grown in the area of built-in services and wireless connections. A home theater receiver is still the place you plug everything in, but it’s also becoming the place with everything already built-in: internet radio, streaming movie services, Wi-Fi connections, AirPlay and more. Managing that abundance of content is the receiver’s biggest challenge, and often a receiver’s biggest failure.
2. Building a Network for Your Smart Home: Tips for better wired and wireless home networking.
https://www.electronichouse.com/smart-home/building-a-network-for-your-smart-home/
Originally posted February 2, 2016
By Robert Silver
Most home networks today are usually comprised of an Internet connection to the house, which links to a wireless router with which everything else—smartphones, smart light switches, surveillance cameras—communicates. This setup functions adequately when the only products connected to the router are laptops and Xbox gaming systems. Today, in many households these legacy devices have been joined by a new generation of connected devices, including media streamers, home automation hubs, cloud storage services, security systems, and other products which the industry has come to refer to as the “Internet of Things,” or “IoT.” As the number of IoT devices on a home network increases, it becomes increasingly more difficult for the network to function well. Problems such as buffering in video streams, latency in music streams, and signals that don’t reach their intended destinations can result. Thankfully, there are solutions:
3. Invisible Speakers for Home Audio that’s Heard, Not Seen: Invisible speakers are speakers that get installed in walls and ceilings, then are covered with joint compound and painted or papered over, and yes, they can sound great.
https://www.electronichouse.com/home-audio/invisible-speakers-home-audio-thats-heard-seen/
Originally posted January 6, 2016
By Grant Clauser
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 hold the opinion that speakers in an audio system should be as hidden as possible. Imagine if we could actually have invisible speakers?
That’s no Harry Potter trick anymore. Speakers can be invisible, at least in the strictest sense, meaning they’re in the room, you just don’t see them.
There are two main ways to make a speaker actually invisible, and both involve putting it behind something else.
The first, and most ingenious way, is with a kind of in-wall speaker that actually sits completely flush against the drywall (or other wall material), and then gets plastered over and painted so the speaker becomes 100 percent a part of the wall—-no visible grille.
4. 9 Smart Ways to Light Your Home Theater: Good lighting can make all the difference between a good movie viewing experience and a great one. Here’s how.
https://www.electronichouse.com/home-lighting/9-smart-ways-to-light-your-home-theater/
Originally posted August 2, 2016
By Lisa Montgomery
No matter what you happen to be watching on the TV in your media room—a movie, sitcom, ballgame, even the news—the picture always looks brighter and clearer when the room lights are off. This is one of the main reasons home systems integrators always suggest incorporating some form of lighting control into a media room or home theater. You can tap a button on your smartphone, a keypad on the wall, or a handheld remote to instruct the lights to turn off. This is the most basic form of lighting control and costs a couple hundred dollars to add. If you have a significantly larger budget, you can buy a more sophisticated sort of lighting control system and get a lot fancier with the way the lights in your media room function to make the entertainment experience even more engaging. Here are 9 great recommendations:
5. How to Protect Your Home with Surveillance Cameras: Blink recommends using more than one camera for enhanced home security.
https://www.electronichouse.com/home-security/protect-home-surveillance-cameras/
Originally posted July 28, 2016
By Lisa Montgomery
If you’ve ever thought about adding a surveillance camera to your home, you might want to consider broadening your scope by having multiple cameras installed. You’ll be able to getting a better perspective of what’s happening in the house—not just the back yard or the front porch—but the entire property, both inside and outside.
Blink, a manufacturer of battery-powered wire-free smart HD home monitoring and alert systems, says that multi-camera systems are the new norm in home monitoring. Based US Census reports, the multi-camera approach makes sense, given that 72% of homes have five or more rooms and 62% of homes have two or more floors.
6. World Water Day 2016: Home Tech that Helps Conserve and Control: Blossom offers special $99 for smart irrigation controller; new leak detectors prevent water damage and conserve.
Originally posted March 21, 2016
By Lisa Montgomery
In observance of World Water Day tomorrow, Blossom is one company that’s celebrating with the release of its eight-zone Blossom 8 Smart Watering Controller. It’s just one of many smart, connected devices to help homeowners take control of their water usage, save money, and protect their residences from unforeseen damage due to leaks and flooding. The Blossom controller focuses on smarter, more efficient lawn irrigation by linking its product to the cloud and utilizing data that triggers the system to irrigate only when necessary, not simply when a timer goes off. Tapping into the power of cloud computing, the Blossom 8 self-programs existing sprinklers based on the local forecast and daily data from thousands of weather stations and satellites—combined with user feedback—to create the ideal watering schedule.
7. 3 Smartest Homes on the Planet: Smart systems rule the roost at these stunning, high-tech households where the living is easy and always ready for a fun time.
https://www.electronichouse.com/homes-of-the-year/3-smartest-homes-planet/
Originally posted August 22, 2016
By Lisa Montgomery
Each year the editorial staff at Electronic House reviews hundreds of submissions to its Home of the Year contest. The entries submitted by home systems integrators represent some of the smartest, most innovative home tech projects on the planet. Here, you’ll see our picks for the Best Smart Homes, $150,000 and over.
Smart Home of the Year 150,000+, GOLD Winner
Warm to the Touch: Automated fireplaces, snow melting system, and 96 window shades prep 8,000-square-foot mountain home for fabulous family retreats — with a touch of a button.
Tucked within a grove of evergreen trees stands a home so smart, the family that visits there occasionally for long ski weekends barely needs to lift a finger to ready their mountainside dwelling for their arrival. Well, maybe they lift a finger, pressing it to the screen of their smartphone — but that’s about as difficult as it gets. There’s no snow to shovel off the driveway, no thermostats to adjust to crank up the heat, no window shades to open, or lights to turn on. It all happens automatically during their hour-long flight from the San Francisco Bay Area to Lake Tahoe. Or, as is the case with the start-up of the hydronic heating system that warms the 8,000-square-foot home slowly yet efficiently from below the floor, the finger tap happens a few days before their departure.
8. DISH Network Hopper 3 DVR Comes Packing 16 Tuners: The DVR features options for 4K TVs, split-screen functionality, and remote viewing.
https://www.electronichouse.com/home-theater/dish-network-hopper-3-dvr-comes-packing-16-tuners/
Originally posted January 12, 2016
By Rachel Cericola
Another CES, another insanely cool announcement from the people at DISH Network.
Since the Hopper whole-house HD DVR: first debuted back in 2012, it seems like the company has: come out with innovative: enhancements on an annual basis. Despite the fact that we’re still waiting on the Joey for 4K TVs, they have plenty of new announcements to keep us interested—and pretty entertained as well.
This year, we’re going to see the Hopper 3 (pictured above), the latest and craziest version of the set-top box yet. That’s because this DVR has a whopping 16 tuners, which will allow users to watch shows in multiple rooms, view live programs remotely via DISH Anywhere, and set multiple recordings simultaneously, without any sort of conflicts. At least, we hope there are no conflicts; you’ll have 16 tuners!
9. Toucan Home Security Cameras Fit into Existing Light Fixtures: These outdoor home security cameras can deliver 720p images and two-way audio.
Originally posted February 2016
By Rachel Cericola
We’re always trying to figure out new: spots to put: home security cameras: in the Electronic House.: After all, you don’t want to just leave all of them out in the open, right? VuPoint Solutions has come up with a unique, interesting location for its new Toucan—and it’s outdoors.
Toucan home security cameras: are weatherproof, so they can capture any action outside, whether it’s a potential intruder or a package delivery. However, it’s not the tough exterior that makes this product a standout. It’s that these compact cameras are made to be covert. In fact, each one is designed to: fit: into any existing outdoor light fixture. That’s right; this setup can: easily attach a 720p HD camera with two-way audio to the light you currently have outside.
10. 3D Audio Installation Tips: How to add Dolby Atmos to a home theater.
https://www.electronichouse.com/home-theater/3d-audio-installation-tips/
Originally posted February 11, 2016
By Lisa Montgomery
The big buzz in home theater audio is a relatively new type of “objected-oriented” system that enables sound effects from a movie to move seamlessly throughout the space–even overhead–to create a more realistic, engaging listening experience. During a scene that features a rainstorm, for example, the audio seemingly “rains” down from above. The extra height channels that make up these types of systems, which include Dolby Atmos, Auro 3-D, and DTS:X, provide an extra dimension of audio that might have you rethinking your home theater plans. Should you stick with a traditional surround-sound system? Should you invest in additional overhead speakers? Should you install these speakers now? Is there a way to upgrade to Atmos (or some other 3-D sound system) later, even after your home theater is finished?
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