Michael Antonoff

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Apptitude
Why I Love HBO Now (and You Should Too)
Michael Antonoff  |  Jul 06, 2015  |  2 comments
Arguably the leading premium channel for movies and original series, HBO adds $23.24 to my monthly cable bill. I get six HBO channels, though they mostly repeat the same shows ad nauseam. Linear redundancy has been a waste of cable bandwidth since the DVR landed, but it’s become even more outmoded in the age of high-def broadband and on-demand viewing.

Refusing to pony up for unbreakable packages to get the few programs they’d watch, younger viewers have been cutting the cord on cable TV...

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Apptitude
From Smug to Snug: VR for the Rest of Us
Michael Antonoff  |  Jun 08, 2015  |  1 comments
Paul McCartney and Candlestick Park are more likely to be linked to endings (the last Beatles concert, 1966; the last big gig at the Stick, 2014) than new beginnings. But thanks to an innovative app that incorporates a 360-degree perspective from the stage of McCartney’s performance of “Live and Let Die” at the San Francisco ballpark, the man and place will now be coupled to the birth of an exciting way for everybody to enjoy music like never before.

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Apptitude
Ready, Set, Tap
Michael Antonoff  |  May 07, 2015  |  1 comments
I recently hung the new $14.97 60-watt Cree Connected LED Bulb on the wall above my easy chair so that whenever an idea entered my brain, I’d be able to tap my iPad and make a light bulb go on above my head. (For those unaware, the Cree is a Zigbee- and Wink-compliant light; mate it with a compatible smarthome hub, and you can control it from your phone or tablet.)

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Audio Video News
What’s in a Name?
Michael Antonoff  |  Feb 12, 2014  |  2 comments
Companies want shoppers to think of them first—just not too deeply. If consumers start dissecting the brands synonymous with electronics, some of them are just weird.
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Other Source Component ReviewsPortable Player Reviews
Belkin Dyle Mobile TV Receiver
Michael Antonoff  |  Nov 04, 2013  |  1 comments
Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
Price $100

At A Glance
Plus: Watch broadcast TV while commuting • Steady reception in motion • Works without Wi-Fi or a mobile data plan
Minus: Limited channels • Reception spotty in buildings and locking in stations can be frustrating

The Verdict
Lets you watch TV while on the on the go but programming options are limited and reception is not a sure shot.

Though the picture quality of over-the-air TV can surpass cable, you’re likely to get no reception at all in a moving vehicle. That’s because broadcast DTV was conceived for stationary screens—not today’s legion of mobile devices.

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Audio Video News
17 Years of Tech: Measuring Progress in Cicada Terms
Michael Antonoff  |  Oct 31, 2013  |  0 comments
Seventeen years is an odd interval for measuring progress, but if you’d been sleeping under a pile of VHS cassettes and emerged as a flash mob of cicadas, you’d be impressed by how far home entertainment technology has come.
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Audio Video News
Google Glass: Running with Screens—Or Not
Michael Antonoff  |  Aug 09, 2013  |  1 comments
A home theater display is more riveting and safer to operate than any mobile screen, yet tech pundits are abuzz over Glass, Google’s high-tech eyewear. Indeed, the spectacles’ first-generation specifications are compelling.
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HDTV Buying TipsHDTV Tech
The Bawl of the Smartass TV
Michael Antonoff  |  Jun 25, 2013  |  7 comments
A customer walks into a showroom and the TV says, “Hey, big spender, come spend a little time with me.”

The customer replies, “Of all the TVs on the wall, why should I spend any time with you?”

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HDTV Buying TipsHDTV Tech
How TV Makers Spin the Specs
Michael Antonoff  |  Apr 04, 2013  |  0 comments
When the technical specifications of a new but humdrum TV fail to come up to snuff, the model almost certainly will be priced less than the one with better resolution, faster processing, more connections, and so on. Whether it’s manufacturer or retailer, nobody interested in making a buck will promote the TV as “nothing special”—even if that’s exactly what it is. Sellers will likely spin the spec as “great value.” But not always.
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Other Tech
Truly Useful Apps: Watching TV on the Second Screen
Michael Antonoff  |  Feb 21, 2013  |  0 comments
So desperate are the networks to keep you cuffed to their shows that they’ve been launching apps for the second screen. Made for the tablets and smartphones to which viewers’ eyes keep darting—often at the expense of the TV screen—these apps are intended to boost fan loyalty.
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