Barb Gonzalez

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CES 2009
Samsung's Stylish Red Blu-ray
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 09, 2009
The Samsung BD-P4600 full-featured player has been designed with more than a “touch” of the red color to go along with their TVs. The whole unit is a deep red. Designed to hang on the wall, or sit angled to show off its good looks on a shelf, Samsung simply added good looks to its best Blu-ray Disc player. Featuring Netflix and Pandora for streaming media, this player can use Samsung’s $39 wireless dongle so the user doesn’t have to find other solutions (like powerline adaptors or running long lengths of Ethernet cables) to connect online. Sleek enough to keep your interior designer happy.
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CES 2009
Sony Keynote - Video Glasses and Rollup TVs
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 08, 2009
After Tom Hank’s fun snarky intro to Sony’s omnipotence in the electronics and content market, we were treated to Sony’s vision for upcoming products. It started with glasses with a portion of the lens devoted to little video screens. Imagine walking through your real life while watching a picture-in-picture movie.
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CES 2009
Monster High Def Music- A Ludacris Idea
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 07, 2009
Monster Cable’s Head Monster, Noel Lee, announced today that Monster Music will be releasing “Theater of the Mind,” the new album by hip hop superstar Ludacris. The “HDS” format of Monster Music allows their discs to be played in any DVD player producing high performance surround sound. The new Ludacris offering will be released on Blu-ray Disc in high definition lossless 7.1 surround sound that can be played on a Blu-ray player without the need for special audio decoders.
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CES 2009
The Internet Has Invaded Our TVs!
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 07, 2009
We’re hearing it again and again from many TV manufacturers. TVs are becoming the center of our home entertainment beyond broadcast TV, cable or satellite. Networked TVs that can download content from the internet and can show photos, play videos and music from the computers on your home network. All of the TV manufacturers from LG, to Toshiba, Sharp, Panasonic, Sony and Samsung were announcing their partnerships with different content providers. Yahoo widgets were omnipresent. These mini applications—widgets—let you get local weather, news, sports, stock tickers and more. As widgets you can choose the type of stocks you want to follow or put in other customizable information. Yahoo widgets are open source which means that software developers can let their imaginations run wild and we’ll all benefit from what they dream up.
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Other TechSmartStream
Integration
Barb Gonzalez  |  Aug 25, 2008
Simple ways to set free your photo, music, and video libraries for the “10-foot” home theater experience.
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AV GlossaryOther Tech
HDMI CEC
Barb Gonzalez  |  Mar 24, 2008
Still lacking simple self-control.

The holy grail of home theater simplicity is to have fewer remote controls and one-touch operation without confusing programming. HDMI CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) promises to control components that are connected via HDMI cables with just one remote. Turning components off and on and one-touch play and record are some of the first features enabled on these initial HDMI CEC home theater offerings. But they often prove to be not so easy. You must set up the HDMI CEC in each component’s menu, and controlling the components can be inconsistent. Plus, each brand has its own nomenclature for menu and action items. But perhaps being forewarned will enable you to be forearmed.

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HDTV TechSmartStream
Simplifying Home Theater
Barb Gonzalez  |  Aug 13, 2007  |  Published: Jul 13, 2007
This year's TVs are incorporating ease-of-use features.

While I love the amazing picture on my flat-screen HDTV, there are times when I find myself nostalgic for the days when all you had to do to watch TV was pull on a power button, turn the channel dial, and adjust the rabbit ears. It's bad enough that we home theater enthusiasts struggle to decipher menus and muck about a 75-button remote control, but it's our loved ones who curse us when they can't figure out how to use the TV. Manufacturers and retailers have been talking about simplicity in home theater for the past few years. Well, 2007 is the year that easier menus, setup, and remotes have been incorporated into some HDTVs. Some companies have been quietly working toward ease of use; others, like Philips, have made the pursuit a brand tag line: "sense and simplicity." Perhaps you can finally relinquish your remote to your nervous spouse.

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Integrated Amp Reviews
WiiM Amp Review: Value-Priced Multi-Room Audio
Barb Gonzalez  |  May 29, 2024

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $299

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Works with Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri
Equalizer settings for each input
Can input/output Bluetooth and AirPlay
Uses passive speakers you may already own
Minus
No way to see the input or what song is playing
Could be easier to navigate with fewer clicks/taps
No headphone jack
No Bluetooth aptX for streaming hi-res audio

THE VERDICT
The reasonably priced WiiM Amp is the perfect device to leverage a house full of speakers to create a multi-room sound system. You may have Alexa, Google, or Apple HomePods. Or, passive speakers connected to other WiiM devices. This amp makes it easy to control streaming from the most popular music services anywhere in your home.

Many of us use smart speakers throughout our homes. They control everything from lights to microwaves and washing machines. Usually, these are inexpensive devices like the Amazon Echo, which are not optimal for music listening. But they are perfect for controlling more capable smart speakers and amps.

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