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In: Home Theater
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4k resolution televisions are now widely available and potential buyers are wondering if the extra resolution is worth it. In some cases it is, but in most, it’s not.  The details below can help you decide. 4K (and 8K) Resolution Defined The older 1080p HDTV standard has a resolution of 1920×1080 (2.1 million) pixels. The UHD resolutions are multiples of this base 1080p resolution. 4k resolution is named for the approximately 4,000 (4k) pixels that make up the horizontal resolution across the image. More specifically, the resolution is 3840×2160, which gives 8.3 million total pixels – 4 times that of 1080p. (4k is sometimes calledRead More →

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In: Uncategorized
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In a recent episode of the Entertainment 2.0 podcast, the question was asked “what is the best smart-home tech for a vacation rental property?” Since I’ve recently stayed in several VRBO/Airbnb rental properties, and since I’m in the middle of an extensive smart home build at home, I decided to put this list together. While there is some overlap between a home you live in and a home you rent to strangers, there is quite a bit that will be different. Here’s my list of the best smart home products for the guests in a Vacation Rental Property. Some of these items are on theRead More →

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In: Wordpress
With: 3 Comments

I happened upon the site WebSiteOptimization.com and started testing the performance of my site. I was astounded by how long it would take to load the front page of my site over a 14.4 kbps modem connection. True, not many people use a modem connection anymore, but still, 130 seconds is a long time to wait! Now this the time required to load every last image, not the the time required before the page starts to render and become readable, but still there is room for improvement. So I started playing around with performance settings and quickly made some substantial gains. First of all, IRead More →

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In: Home Theater
With: 863 Comments

Recommended Seating Distances and Resolution benefits (small)I’ve read various articles debating the importance of the 1080p. I want to set the record straight once and for all: if you are serious about properly setting-up your viewing room, you will definitely benefit from 1080p (and even 1440p.) Why? Because the 1080p resolution is the first to deliver enough detail to your eyeball when you are seated at the proper distance from the screen. But don’t just take my word for it, read on for the proof.

There are a few obvious factors to being able to detect resolution differences: the resolution of the screen, the size of the screen, and the viewing distance. To be able to detect differences between resolutions, the screen must be large enough and you must sit close enough. So the question becomes “How do I know if need a higher resolution or not?”. Here is your answer.

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With: 543 Comments

Over the past several years, I’ve slowly constructed a spreadsheet to meet all of my home theater design needs. I noticed on various forums that others could probably benefit from this spreadsheet, so I cleaned it up and I’m now making it available to the public. Please download it and put it to good use! The spreadsheet contains calculations for the following: recommended viewing distances for a given screen size – for both flat panels and projectors (based on THX and SMPTE standards) recommended viewing distances for a given display resolution – 480p, 720p, 1080p/1080i, 1440p, etc (based on Visual Acuity standards) various screen aspectRead More →

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With: 23 Comments

I created this list because: I’m frequently asked for technology recommendations and decided to keep a consolidated and updated list. I wanted to speed-up my software download/install process when setting up a new computer. I’ve personally tested everything on this list and feel all of it offers the best performance for the price. Many of the software products are free and open source; the developers deserve more recognition than I can give them this is a start. Home Theater Hardware: High-End Video Projector: In the $5,000 price range and above, I prefer anything from the JVC D-ILA line. This is what I use at home. JVCRead More →