John Sciacca

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Custom Installation How-ToThe Connected Life
Microsoft Achieves Complete Home Domination
John Sciacca  |  Sep 11, 2008

You may consider Jim Carrey to be many things - comedic genius, overpaid goofball - but technological futurist probably isn't one of them. However, his prediction in the 1996 movie The Cable Guy has proved to be surprisingly accurate: "The future is now!

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CEDIA 2015
Millson's Super Stealthy CinemaFrame Puts TV in the Wall
John Sciacca  |  Oct 17, 2015
What do you do if you want to have a terrific sound system, the low bass impact of a subwoofer, access to all the modern sources, full control and power management, and see absolutely nothing except the video display on the wall? The answer very well may be, “You use Millson Custom Solutions’ new CinemaFrame.”

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CEDIA 2013
Monitor Audio CP Goes Trimless
John Sciacca  |  Sep 28, 2013
Monitor Audio has released the new Controlled Performance – CP – Trimless range of speakers with ten new models, delivering high performance across a range of budgets and sizes. The line-up includes eight two-way models in three performance levels and two three-way designs. All models in the line-up will features the company’s signature 1-inch Gold C-CAM dome tweeter, a Ceramic-Coated Aluminium/Magnesium material originally developed by the aerospace industry for use as blades in jet engines. In a speaker, it results in increased clarity and reduced distortion. The speakers also integrate fully-sealed back boxes, meaning they are not going to be affected by the unknown acoustics elements of an open wall or ceiling cavity and offer better acoustic isolation from adjoining rooms. The trimless bezels offer a much more discreet and clean design aesthetic.
CEDIA 2016
Monitor Audio Previews Extreme Weather Speakers
John Sciacca  |  Sep 18, 2016
You’d expect the British to know a thing or two about inclement weather, which is maybe why it took England-based Monitor Audio so long to come up with a right proper speaker designed to handle the elements with a stiff upper lip. The company proved it was more than ready to take on Mother Nature with the launch of its new All Weather in-ceiling speaker series.

The new line-up will feature four models, both a 6-inch and 8-inch version in stereo and single stereo-summing options. All speakers incorporate Monitor’s C-CAM (Ceramic-Coated Aluminium/Magnesium) driver system which has been ported from the company’s critically acclaimed loudspeakers, utilizing 1-inch C-CAM Gold dome tweeters.

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Other Tech
Monster Cable Monster Central Control AVL300
John Sciacca  |  Nov 02, 2006

•Photo Gallery

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The Connected Life
Mount a TV Like a Pro: Part 1
John Sciacca  |  Nov 17, 2017
In my last blog I listed some essential tools for tackling various DIY custom install projects around the house. This time, we’ll put that toolkit to work mounting a flat-panel TV! I’ll cover running the wiring to your new TV, and in my next blog we’ll tackle the physical mounting of the set.
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The Connected Life
Mount a TV Like a Pro: Part 2
John Sciacca  |  Dec 15, 2017
Last month’s blog, Mount a TV Like a Pro: Part 1 detailed the first part of mounting a flat-panel TV onto a wall. To recap, it covered determining the size and location of where the new TV will go, figuring out the needed wiring for the install, making a plan for powering the TV, making sure there’s a clear path in the wall for routing the cabling to the TV, and then cutting wall boxes into the sheetrock and running the wiring.
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Custom Installation How-ToThe Connected Life
Multiroom Audio Made Simple
John Sciacca  |  Jan 30, 2012

Many people love the idea of a house-wide audio system, but they may not love the idea of paying to have one installed. Plus, the fancy features that come with dedicated multiroom audio systems — such as keypad controllers with metadata feedback, and the ability to divide a home into numerous listening zones — might be more than what many people actually need.

In fact, for the way many people actually live, two listening zones may be the perfect amount: a “main” zone linked to the TV/surround system and a secondary zone for playing music, radio, or something else in a different room. Think one person watching Oprah’s Life Lessons, while a second seeks refuge on the patio with ESPN radio and a beer. If a two-zone audio system sounds like it would fit your bill, chances are that you’ve actually got most of the components for it already on hand.

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Other Tech
Music Around the House
John Sciacca  |  Jan 11, 2005

For years, "whole-house" music meant either a pair of speakers in the living room blaring loud enough to be heard everywhere or bad-sounding radio playing through intercom panels. Most people confined their listening to a single room and used table radios and portable music systems in other rooms.

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Other Tech
MX-450 Remote: Back to the Future?
John Sciacca  |  Aug 26, 2008
The Short Form
$249 / UNIVERSALREMOTE.COM / 800-901-0800
Snapshot
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