Early last year, a savvy startup set out to solve a problem that plagued households across the country: home wireless networks with poor coverage. The average users expects WiFi in all areas of their home, and why wouldn’t they? We’ve all got a multitude of devices that require an internet connection: the laptop in the bedroom, the smart TV in the den, and the smartphone everywhere in between, from the front door to the bathroom. But that reliable coverage was hard to achieve. A typical wireless router might have stellar bandwidth at close range, but when you turn a corner, go upstairs, or close a couple of doors, your wireless signal may drop significantly.
Eero solved this problem by reinventing the way home wireless systems are propogated, using multiple points of network access instead of just a single router. The resulting mesh network blankets your entire home with full coverage, meaning that even in the nooks and crannies of your home, on a floor above or below your modem, you’ll have no problem tuning in an excellent wi-fi signal. We took a look at the Eero here:
Today, Eero released their second generation wireless system, improving upon the original by making it more powerful and even easier to use. Though outward appearance remains unchanged, the Eero wireless base stations have been upgraded with much-improved internals. A new antenna array and the addition of tri-band support give the new Eero twice the bandwidth and double the range of the original, letting your Eero network support more users while giving faster speeds with farther signal penetration. (more…)
Since the beginning of the flat-screen TV era, manufacturers have been slowly marching towards creating the “perfect” TV. Plasma TVs produced a phenomenal picture, but their glass screens were susceptible to bad glare and the technology was an energy hog, plus the TVs were still quite heavy. LCD TVs—and then LED TVs—were much more energy-efficient and could be made significantly lighter and thinner than plasma displays, but they never quite measured up in picture quality. Whichever technology a user opted for, there was a compromise to be made, until now. OLED TVs check every box on the list of traits you’d ever want on a TV: nearly infinite contrast ratio, vibrant colors, 4K resolution, extreme energy efficiency, and an ultra-thin construction.
OLED TVs were, for many years, something of a technological holy grail. They’ve existed as prototypes for years, and were often dismissed as vaporware. But now that two of the biggest names in television have multiple models of OLED TVs for sale, it’s safe to say that the technology has officially arrived. Both the LG Signature OLED TV and Sony A1E OLED TVs are available at Abt, so we unboxed one of each and compared the two. If you’re in the market to buy an OLED TV, this is the comparison you need to see:
There are few things that hit the spot like a freshly-poured, freshly-brewed glass of craft beer. Anyone who’s ever done a brewery tour will tell you how much better a beer tastes when it comes straight from the barrel. And even beer from a keg has a taste advantage over its equal that came from a bottle or can. But obviously, it isn’t always practical to have a keg of your favorite beer in your house or to pop down to the local microbrewery when you’re craving a pint. But the Pico from PicoBrew aims to change all of that, by letting you get those same fresh, flavorful pours in the comfort of you home any time you want.
We’ve got our fingers crossed that the spring weather arrives for good any day now, which means it’s time to open the windows, air out the house, and get down to that bittersweet annual ritual: spring cleaning. If you’ve been cooped up in the house all winter—and especially if it was with a four-legged friend—chances are your carpets could use a little cleaning. We’ve been trying out some of Dyson’s newest vacuums, which could be your best friend in the fight against dust and dander. Pet owners will definitely be a fan of the Dyson Animal vacuums, which have features designed specially for dealing with animal fur and hair. Take a look at the videos below to find out which Dyson vac is the best choice for your cleaning needs.
We recently got our hands on two of the most anticipated TVs of the year, the Samsung QN65Q8C and the Sony XBR65X930E. Both are high-end 4K TVs with a wealth of smart functionality and gorgeous HDR displays, and each set leverages a proprietary technology to create some of their best LED TVs yet. If you’re trying to decide between a Samsung QLED and the Sony XBR E Series, give the following videos a watch to find out more info about each of the TVs.
The Samsung touts the company’s new Quantum LED technology (hence the Q in the model names), which uses special color-emitting particles called “quantum dots” that give the display unprecedented levels of color accuracy.
Sony, meanwhile, has outfitted their E series with the Slim Backlight Drive+, their most advanced LED panel illumination technology, for brighter brights and deeper blacks than you’d ever get in a conventional LED TV.
If you have any more questions about either of these TVs, or any other 4K TVs at Abt, give us a call at 888-228-5800 and we’ll be glad to answer any of your questions.
Picking up a new TV for the Big Game? One of the major considerations you’ll have to make after buying a new flat panel TV is whether you want to place it on a TV stand or hang it on your wall. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, so there’s never one right answer. If you choose to wall mount, you’ll have one more decision to make: what type of wall mount to use. There are a few different types, so we’re here to help you decide what TV mount is the best for your needs.
The three main types of TV mount are: fixed, tilting, and fully-articulated.
A fixed TV mount keeps your TV snug against the wall and does not allow any fine position adjustment.
A fixed TV mount is the simplest type of TV mount, which makes it the most inexpensive. This type of mount holds your TV flush to the wall, and offers no adjustment. Fixed mounts are a fine choice if you’re able to hang your TV at eye level, know the audience will always be sitting in the same spot, and if you have total control over lighting in the room so you can avoid glares. (more…)
The Big Game is just a few days away, but there’s still time to make sure you’re set up with all the gear that will make Sunday as super as possible. Our resident tech expert, Josh, paid a visit to our friends at WGN News to talk about some must-have products that will make the most out of your gameday.
If you already have all the gear you need for your Big Game party, it’s important to make sure it’s all set up and working properly before the action starts. Soundbars are a popular alternative to complicated surround-sound systems, and though they’re usually pretty easy to set up, it’s not always perfectly clear how to hook them up. Depending on your TV and soundbar models, you’ll use either an HDMI or optical cable to connect the soundbar to your TV. We’ve got a couple quick tutorials that will ensure your soundbar is hooked up properly so you get every bone-crunching hit in perfect clarity.
How To Connect Your Soundbar with an HDMI Cable
How to Connect Your Soundbar with an Optical Cable
Other Tech Tips
Make sure your cable or satellite box is connected with an HDMI cable for the best picture possible.
Set your TV to Sports mode, if available. This setting includes color adjustments for common sports visuals like the green of stadium grass and usually gives a brighter, punchier color, while also optimizing settings for fast onscreen action.
If you’re using an antenna to get an over-the-air HD broadcast, make sure you’re tuned into Fox’s HD channel, which will have a -1 or .1 after it. For instance, in the Chicagoland area, FOX HD is 32-1.
Cord-cutter with no antenna? Good news, you can stream the game this year on a Roku via the FOX Sports GO app, without needing any type of provider log-in
In a sea of biggest, brightest new products you can imagine from the industry powerhouses, sometimes it’s the clever, small items that catch your eye the most. Here are some of our favorite gadgets from CES 2017.
iPowerUp Solar Charging Phone Case
Solar-powered phone cases are nothing new, but good solar-powered phone cases are. In our experience, the cases typically never meet their claimed specs, taking much longer than expected to deliver any worthwhile juice to your phone. So we’re optimistic that the iPowerUp cases live up to their claims. Thanks to refinements in photovoltaic technology, the extra-efficient panels on this case can produce 450-500 mAh of power in one hour of sun exposure. That means a typical smartphone battery should be charged to full capacity in five to six hours.If the iPowerUp Solar Case lives up to its claims, we can see this being one of the year’s most popular iPhone accessories.
CES 2017 wasn’t much for shocking new technology debuts or any real game-changers. Instead, we saw plenty of refinements and advancements to the wowing tech that debuted maybe last year or the year before. That trend was especially evident with televisions and associated home theater stuff. Here are our Top 5 Developments in TV from this year’s CES.
1.) More OLED
For nearly three years now, LG has had run of the court as the only manufacturer with a commercially-available OLED set. While a bit pricey, they also produced what was unanimously considered the best picture possible in a backlit display that you could fit in your family room. That changed this year, with both Sony and Panasonic showing off their own OLED models. The Sony Bravia A1E OLED has a few other tricks up its sleeve, in addition to the stunning picture. Meanwhile, Panasonic’s 65EZ1000 OLED is claimed to have double the brightness of a typical OLED, which may make it reigning champ of the home theater picture quality, a crown they often wore in the Plasma TV days.
Listeners who were impressed by the Klipsch Heritage speakers but might want something a little more portable are in luck. Also debuting at CES were the Klipsch Heritage Headphones, which follow the same “new inside, old outside” philosophy of the rest of the lineup. These headphones are crafted from a variety of machined metals, fine woods and hand-selected leathers, which gives them a rustic, old-school look and superior comfort.
The Klipsch Heritage headphones include multiple models with different fits and options. First in the lineup is the Klipsch HP-1, which features 40mm drivers in a closed-back, on-ear design, and which will be available in wired, wireless, and active noise-cancelling models. The HP-2 is an open-back, on-ear design, while the HP-3 will be an open-back, over-the-ear model. Both the HP-2 and HP-3 will available only as wired models. Each model is designed home-quality sound even without amplification. Very excited to get our hands on these, but we’re going to have to wait. Klipsch expects them to be available in late 2017.
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