John Sciacca

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The Connected Life
Big Screen Dilemma: TV or Video Projector?
John Sciacca  |  Jul 12, 2022
When I started my career as a custom installer, getting a cinema-size image meant a front projection system in a light-controlled room. But technology has since developed to the point where you can now get a 100-inch flat-panel TV for well under twenty grand. Which solution is right for you?
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The Connected Life
Big-Screen Duality: A 2-in-1 TV/Projection Solution
John Sciacca  |  Sep 15, 2022
When I began this series of columns earlier this year, I had no idea it would turn into a four-part, treatise on the evolution and current state of choosing a big-screen TV for your media room or home theater. To conclude this tetralogy, I address two additional solutions that straddle the divide between wanting a fantastic, cinematic experience in a non-dedicated/light-controlled room — options that don’t require a wallet melting budget.
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CEDIA 2016
Bluesound Unveils First Hi-Res/MQA Soundbar
John Sciacca  |  Sep 17, 2016
Bluesound added the latest products to its wireless BluOS ecosystem with the new Pulse Soundbar and Pulse Sub. Both models are meant to add easily to a BluOS audio system, but now bring improved TV audio into the mix.

The two-channel high resolution soundbar will support audio resolution up to 192/24-bit and also support Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) audio streaming, another first in the soundbar category...

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CES 2014
Blumoo $99 Appcessory Universal System Control
John Sciacca  |  Jan 09, 2014
If you haven’t got thousands or even hundreds of dollars to shell out for a smart, universal control system or you’ve been looking for a way to add app-based control to you theater or you wanted to add Bluetooth audio streaming to a legacy system, Blumoo might be exactly what you’re looking for.

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Other Tech
Breaking Out of the Box
John Sciacca  |  Sep 08, 2005

Buying a home theater system used to mean going to a swanky boutique where a designer deftly guided you through the process. Like a tailored suit, your system was carefully assembled one component at a time after hours of diligent auditioning.

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CES 2015
Bring This Smart Battery Home to Roost
John Sciacca  |  Jan 07, 2015
The coolest bits of technology can often come from someone looking at the same problem everyone else has but seeing a new and better way to fix it. Every been awakened at 3 AM to the dreadful CHIRP! from a smoke alarm? Ever heard the chirping and then had to wander around the house trying to figure out which detector it is that is making the infernal racket? What if you were away at work or on vacation and your house caught fire…wouldn’t you like to know about it before you came home to find the smoldering ruins of Pompeii where your home theater used to be? These are all problems solved in a brilliantly simple manner by Roost.
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The Connected Life
Buy Once, Cry Once: How to Plan Your AV Budget
John Sciacca  |  Nov 19, 2020
Buy once, cry once. You might be familiar with that old adage, which is used to describe the purchase of a high-cost item that entails upfront financial “pain,” but with no need to buy again in the future due to the superior craftsmanship and build quality. It’s often associated with tools and watches but works quite well for A/V gear.
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CES 2015
Cambridge Audio’s Azur Launches Music Into the Sonic Stratosphere
John Sciacca  |  Jan 10, 2015
In November 1969, West Germany launched the Azur, the country’s first scientific satellite, into space. At CES Cambridge Audio launched the Azur 851N, the company’s flagship upsampling network music player that takes any incoming audio signals up into the high-resolution stratosphere.

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Ask S&V
Can I Mix Wired and Wireless Speakers in a Dolby Atmos Setup?
John Sciacca  |  Mar 11, 2024
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q Is it possible to combine wired and wireless speakers in a Dolby Atmos setup? —Divyesh Patel

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The Connected Life
Can You Hear Me Now?
John Sciacca  |  Nov 12, 2014
A fairly common complaint I hear in my custom showroom is the inability to hear dialog while watching TV or movies. The scenario plays out almost identically every single time. A couple will come in, usually older, and the husband will stand there sheepishly while his wife explains that her husband’s hearing has deteriorated and now it’s to the point where he can’t hear the TV unless he blasts the volume which is then too loud for her to tolerate. The husband will then usually chime in that his hearing is fine, and that he just has a hard time with the dialog. But do we have anything that would help so they could both enjoy TV together?

So, first off, guys! I’m not sure what it is that we’re doing in our younger years, but, dammit! It is causing us all to go slowly deaf as we get older! We need to pull it together!

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