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Remotely Possible
Big-Button Remotes Aren’t Just Gag Gifts Anymore
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Mar 17, 2015
Remote controls suck. Even the best remote controls, such as the Harmony Ultimate Home, suffer from issues that are inextricable parts of what make a remote control a remote control. For instance, there are buttons to press. They’ll either be too small for some people, or the layout won’t be ideal for others. Then there’s the fact that it’s easy to misplace a remote control. Some wind up in between the cushions on the couch. Others—and this happens more often than you would think—have been known to mysteriously make their way inside the kitchen refrigerator. Those are just two of the many problems associated with remote controls for the average person. Now think about that remote control from the standpoint of someone who is up in years and is perhaps suffering from arthritis and/or poor eyesight. For the elderly, remote controls don’t just suck, they’re often impossible to use...
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Biggie Size That HTiB
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 07, 2007
Epson and Atlantic Technology are teaming up to bring out the world's largest HTiB. There are two versions. Each one includes a drop-down screen with built-in Atlantic Technology speakers (LCR), a DVD-based media center (with HDMI inputs and upscaling capability), and rear speakers (also from Atlantic Technology) that can either hang on each side of the projector or be mounted on the wall. For $4,999, you get a 720p Epson LCD projector with the system. For $6,999, you get an Epson 1080p model. Both systems come with racetracks to help hide the wires for installations even I could do.
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CES 2010
Billy Mays Would Not Have Liked It
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 10, 2010
Billy Mays, were he still with us, along with Andy Sullivan, the Slap Chop guy, and the rest of the TV pitchmen won't like this new outboard device from SRS Labs. Hook it up between your satellite or cable box and your TV or AVR, and it will use its processing magic called SRS TruVolume, to reduce the volume of those annoying commercial interruptions down to a more listenable level. The MyVolume Volume Leveling Adaptor is available now for $99.95. The analog audio version is $49.95. CHECK ONE OUT...I mean, check one out.
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Birds not Included
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 04, 2008
You’ll find more rock-like speakers here at CEDIA than anywhere else in the world. A new one from an old company caught my eye as I was moving through the crowds to get to my next appointment. StereoStone’s Fountain Speaker has a real working water fountain, submersible low-voltage lighting, and an 8” woofer with left and right tweeters. The whole thing ships completely assembled in a single box – without the water, I assume – and sells for $599.95.
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CEDIA 2013
BitWise Offers a Bit of Wise Control – From Anywhere
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 26, 2013
Automation controller company BitWise Controls came to CEDIA to celebrate the company’s fourth birthday and announce the upcoming availability of the BitWise Access Anywhere subscription service. BitWise’s AccessAnywhere will enable homeowners to access and control their BitWise home automation system from anywhere the homeowner has internet access, anywhere in the world, via a smartphone or tablet.
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Audio Video News
Bling and Fling your iPod Thing
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Oct 14, 2006
It's hard to believe, but more iPod-related stuff is on the way. Soon to be available are kiddie cases from ifrogz, a company started by the same guys who developed Reminderband custom silicone bracelets. (And how many times haven't we all wondered how the world existed before those came along?) The new company's Tadpole line of video iPod cases are made specifically for children ages one and up - but they do not come with sedatives or tension relieving headache medicine for adults of child-rearing age.
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Audio Video News
Blu-ray Coming Your Way
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Feb 28, 2006
In an effort to take the wind out of the sales of the HD DVD promotional armada heading to retail stores this month, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE), MGM Home Entertainment, and Lionsgate announced they're targeting May 23rd of this year to deliver the first batch of Blu-ray Disc (BD) titles at retail.
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Audio Video News
Blu-ray Recordable Discs at a Store Near You
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Apr 13, 2006
Before the first consumer players - that's right, players - have even hit the market, TDK has started shipping cartridgeless 25GB recordable and rewritable Blu-ray Disc (BD) discs to retailers and is thus claiming bragging rights as the first company to bring blank BD media to the market. TDK Vice President of Marketing, Bruce Youmans, went so far as to say being the first to introduce recordable BD discs "can be counted among the most significant product introductions in the company's distinguished 70 year history."
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Media Server Reviews
Bluesound Digital Multiroom Audio System
Darryl Wilkinson  |  May 23, 2014  |  Published: May 22, 2014

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $3,396 as reviewed

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Support for multiple high-rez codecs
No computer needed
Up to 32 players
$449 system entry price
Minus
No AirPlay support
Limited access to some popular streaming Internet services

THE VERDICT
Bluesound’s audio system takes the pain out of being an audiophile in a streaming digital music era.

Bluesound, as I found out, has nothing to do with the mythical brown note. (Go Google it.) Instead, this is how John Banks, Bluesound’s chief brand officer, described to me the who, what, and why of the new company—a splinter of the Lenbrook family responsible for the NAD and PSB brands—and its high-resolution, 24-bit native, pure-digital streaming music system: “Bluesound is an exciting alliance of audiophiles. We are designers, engineers, and passionate music lovers who have spent our lives in the audio industry. NAD and PSB, who you know well, pioneered hi-fi in the ’70s; clearly, innovation and the pursuit of perfection in audio runs deep in our collective DNA.”

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Remotely Possible
Bluetooth-Enabled Lockitron Bolt Is Your Key to a Super-Affordable Smart Door Lock
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 06, 2017
Lockitron’s latest smart door lock iteration, the Lockitron Bolt, is unlocking a new level of affordability in DIY smart locks. Unlike the original crowdfunded Lockitron, the fit over existing deadbolts, the Lockitron Bolt is a full replacement deadbolt device that includes a Key Match feature allowing for the Bolt cylinder to be used with the homeowner’s or apartment renter’s original key. Since the Bolt is designed to replace an existing deadbolt—rather than fit over an existing mechanism—the new smart lock is smaller (1.1-inches deep, 7-inches tall, and 2.75-inches wide) with a knob that is only 0.7-inches deep. The center point of the knob is 1.2 inches from the bottom of the unit, so there is plenty of room for use with separate doorknobs and doorhandles.

The standard Bolt has...

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