The Connected Life

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The Connected LifeAudio Video News
Gaining Control
John Sciacca  |  Mar 26, 2012

Control4 unveiled two new processors at this year’s CES, the HC800 ($999) and the HC250 ($599). They offer way more power for system control and provide a much zippier interface when controlling different areas of the home or browsing a media library.

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Custom Installation How-ToThe Connected Life
Gear Hall
John Sciacca  |  Oct 06, 2008

Being a custom installer is no easy feat. More often than not, the job involves problem-solving and figuring out a way to make a square peg fit in a round hole. Fortunately, the manufacturers that support the world of custom installation have produced a lot of terrific products to make these possible.

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The Connected Life
Getting Surrounded
John Sciacca  |  Oct 22, 2014
Manufacturers have been so busy focusing on video upgrades with 3D, 4K, local dimming, and OLED, they’ve pretty much forgotten that audio makes up at least 50 percent of the experience. The end result is that we haven’t really seen any significant surround sound advancements since 2000 following the release of Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace, which brought Surround EX and rear channels.
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The Connected Life
Getting Wired for Surround Sound
John Sciacca  |  Jun 20, 2019
In my last blog, “Home Theater Planning: Walk Back the Design,” I discussed the process I use to help clients decide on a new surround-sound system installation. Basically, I encourage them to work back from how they want the project to look when it’s finished instead of focusing up front on other criteria like performance.
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Other TechThe Connected Life
Gift of Control
John Sciacca  |  Nov 20, 2012
For want of a smart control, the table was cluttered with remotes. For want of the right remote, the A/V receiver was turned to the wrong input. For lack of the right input, the audio and video signals were lost. For failure of the A/V signal, the movie could not be watched. For lack of the movie, the party was ruined.
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The Connected Life
Gone in 60 Seconds: Protect Your Data!
John Sciacca  |  Mar 23, 2015
A few years ago, I attended a product demonstration at CES by a company famous for touting how durable its hard drives were. In fact, the company—ioSafe—calls its products “disaster proof hardware” and used CES to deliver extreme, over-the-top demonstrations to prove just what kind of damage their drives could withstand and still protect all of the data stored within.
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The Connected Life
Got an App For That?
John Sciacca  |  Oct 16, 2012

App is a word that was barely even part of the public lexicon a few years ago, but now has become such an entrenched part of it that even my mom — quite possibly the least technologically inclined person on the planet — drops the phrase, “There’s probably an app for that.”

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The Connected Life
Haven: A Smarter AND Safer Door Lock
John Sciacca  |  Feb 13, 2015
Smart door locks have become a new automation frontier lately, and for good reason. With a smart lock you can remotely let someone into your home, monitor who is coming and going with the use of different digital key codes, don’t need a physical key to enter, and can make sure the door relocks automatically or at night before you go to bed. I’ve got three of them in my home and they have definitely been a lifestyle improvement.

However all of these smart door locks have one major weakness in common...

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The Connected Life
Help Me Help You
John Sciacca  |  Apr 09, 2021
I’ve been doing my “Connected Life” (originally “The Custom Installer”) column every issue now for almost 20 years. Over that time, I’ve covered numerous how to’s, tips and tricks, walk-thrus, and suggestions for virtually anything related to the custom installation world. But now, after roughly 200 columns, features, and blog posts, I’m wondering what kinds of posts will resonate and be most helpful to you, the Sound and Vision readers.

So, I’m asking for your help and input.

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The Connected Life
Home Theater Planning: Walk Back the Design, Part 1
John Sciacca  |  Mar 01, 2019
When I first began my job as a custom installer back in 1998, I frequently had to explain to people exactly what our company did. “We install home theater systems; it’s like having a movie theater in your house,” I’d usually say.
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The Connected Life
Home Theater Planning: Walk Back the Design, Part 2
John Sciacca  |  Apr 26, 2019
In my last blog, I discussed the many clients I meet with who have no idea how to begin the design process when planning a new home theater or media room installation. Instead of focusing on specific technologies and performance, I have found it best in these cases to work the design process back from how they would like the room to look after the installation is completed.
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The Connected Life
Home Theater Tips: Smart Shades, Smart Lights
John Sciacca  |  May 07, 2020
Motorized window shades and smart lighting are a godsend for controlling light in an open, mixed-use media room. Here’s how.
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The Connected Life
How to Avoid AV Information Overload
John Sciacca  |  Jul 29, 2014
One of the most disappointing things I face is spending time going over different options for someone’s new home’s entertainment and automation system and having them leave my showroom saying, “Wow! Now I’m even more confused than when I started!” (More disappointing is the, “Oh, I wish I’d come to you to do my system!” regret that comes when they can’t get the other guy/company to come back to finish or service the system.)
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The Connected Life
How to Maximize Your Network Performance
John Sciacca  |  Mar 01, 2017
The number-one service call issue at my custom installation firm used to be cable TV related—generally resolved by rebooting the cable company’s crappy set-top box. But as people increasingly “cord cut” away from traditional entertainment means, the majority of calls we receive now are internet and network related, specifically of the, “My Wi-Fi sucks. Can you fix it?” variety.
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The Connected Life
How to Plan Your AV Budget Part 2
John Sciacca  |  Mar 16, 2021
In my previous blog, I considered areas in your A/V budget where you should consider splurging when building a system. If you’re fortunate enough to have the budget for a high-end home entertainment system, then absolutely pursue the best gear available. Premium gear does offer premium performance — plus pride of ownership — and it’s hard to put a price on the joy a top-notch system can deliver. But for the bulk of us who need to carefully allocate our A/V budget, here are some suggestions on where to consider saving, or even scrimping.
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