After another disappointing season for our home team and an overall weird year for professional football, it’s nearly time for the Big Game. And while this year the party won’t include as many people as in years past, that doesn’t mean you can’t still go big with it. From your TV setup to the perfect spread of snacks, there are some important things to address before you settle into the couch this…
Find the best TV wall mount and learn how to mount a TV yourself. Wall-mounting a TV is a great way to give your room a cleaner look, and can save floor space that would otherwise be taken up by a TV stand or credenza. It’s also a task that the average DIYer can accomplish in an afternoon—although those with extra large TVs or complicated wiring setups would be better off enlisting…
Real signs of spring have finally arrived, and as you open up the windows and air the house out, you might feel compelled to do some serious spring cleaning. That is, if you haven’t already cleaned every nook of the house while sheltering in place. A good spring cleaning should involve most every surface of your home, from the corners of your bathroom to the walls of your kitchen. And if you’re…
So you’ve just unboxed and set up your new LED TV, fired up Netflix to put on an intense action blockbuster, hit “play,” and…now you’re underwhelmed. It probably looks great, but you might find the sound lacking. Because while the picture on modern 4K TVs is impressive, the audio quality on nearly all flat panel TVs will most likely underwhelm you—it’s just a matter of physics. A thin TV can only contain…
Whether there is a global pandemic threatening the population or not, it’s always a good idea to keep your cell phone, tablet, and television screens clean. However, this isn’t as simple as wiping your phone on your shirt or using Windex and a paper towel on your TV. Due to the complex technology used to create these electronics today, there are a few additional steps you should take to remove the dirt,…
Owning a home opens up a world of freedom, especially for the DIYer. Renovating a kitchen to make it exactly fit your needs, or building out your dream home theater are often top goals for a new homeowner. But with that freedom comes the potential for nearly endless problems and projects. Thankfully, it’s never been easier to solve problems yourself than it is today, because there’s helpful information everywhere. Our Tips and…
In the great digital television transition of 2009, all broadcast television signals in the US shifted from analog to digital, to free up bandwidth and improve overall viewing quality. You may remember needing to purchase a set-top tuner and learning a new set of channel numbers. Due to some shuffling of the current digital spectrum, many of the channel numbers set in the digital switchover are in the process of being changed…
Whether you’re looking to build a full-scale home theater with the most immersive surround sound system, or just want a basic stereo system to listen to music, the one piece of equipment you’re absolutely going to need is an audio receiver. The receiver is the brains of any audio system, bridging the gap between your input devices and your speakers. It’s what takes the signal from a radio station, TV broadcast, vinyl…
In this new era of televisions that can order pizza for you and refrigerators that can monitor how old your eggs are, it’s more important than ever to stay educated on all of the functions of your new electronics and appliances. Unfortunately, whether it gets thrown out with the packaging or simply lost to that mysterious netherworld that claims stray socks and your car keys, it’s a common occurrence for product manuals…
Here’s a question you might have trouble answering: When was the last time you cleaned your dishwasher? Not “when was the last time your cleaned with your dishwasher,” but when was the time you actually cleaned out the dishwasher itself? For many, the answer will be months, years, or possibly even “never.” It’s not something most of us think about, because, well, the machine should clean itself, right? But if you open up your…
