John Sciacca

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CEDIA 2017
Co-Star Gives Kaleidescape Collections Equal Billing
John Sciacca  |  Sep 08, 2017
Kaleidescape launched a new product at CEDIA called the Co-Star Switch which combines film library collections between the companies Strato and Premiere movie servers. Up until Co-Star, the two systems were completely separate, with movies stored on the Strato’s hard drive only viewable using the Strato’s on-screen interface, and movies stored on a Premiere server only visible using it’s interface. The Co-Star solves this issue in a simple yet ingenious way.

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The Connected Life
5 Ways to Get Decorator-Friendly Bass
John Sciacca  |  Aug 18, 2017
Without a doubt, one of the most impressive and important speakers in your home theater system is the subwoofer. The sub lays down the bedrock foundation of a good system, producing deep, tactile bass that makes music more dynamic, movies more visceral, and raises the overall performance of any speaker system. When I’m working with clients on designing their surround systems, my recommendation is almost always that they buy the biggest and best subwoofer they can afford.
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The Connected Life
4 Ways to Hide Your TV in Plain Sight
John Sciacca  |  May 19, 2017
How to enjoy a large TV without having it dominate your room.
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The Connected Life
5 Ways to Boost Your Wi-Fi Performance
John Sciacca  |  Apr 26, 2017
Does your Wi-Fi network suck? Here are five things you can do to significantly improve its performance.
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The Connected Life
How to Maximize Your Network Performance
John Sciacca  |  Mar 01, 2017
The number-one service call issue at my custom installation firm used to be cable TV related—generally resolved by rebooting the cable company’s crappy set-top box. But as people increasingly “cord cut” away from traditional entertainment means, the majority of calls we receive now are internet and network related, specifically of the, “My Wi-Fi sucks. Can you fix it?” variety.
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Custom Installation Equipment ReviewsStreaming Device Reviews
Russound MCA-88X Whole-House Audio Streamer Review
John Sciacca  |  Mar 01, 2017

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $3,499 ($4,477 as reviewed)

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Fast setup/programming
Supports modern and legacy sources
Integrates with many third-party systems
AirPlay gives virtually unlimited access
Minus
NAS streaming has quirks
Native app support is fairly limited

THE VERDICT
Russound delivers whole-home audio entertainment in a single, massively expandable chassis, allowing you to enjoy legacy analog/digital sources or modern streaming.

Streaming and app-based control may be all the rage for music listening, but they ignore the fact that many people still have older, legacy gear they want to enjoy around their homes. Sometimes, whether it’s a CD player, turntable, or cable/satellite set-top box, “stream it from the cloud” isn’t a workable solution. Also, most modern wireless streaming music systems, such as Sonos and Play-Fi, eschew any type of wall-based control, relying solely on a smartphone or tablet interface.

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The Connected Life
Six Truths About Surround-Sound Audio
John Sciacca  |  Feb 01, 2017
It surprises me how often people come into my showroom looking to improve their TV audio with still no idea how a surround system works or what it entails. Just last week, a 20-something came in saying he wanted a wireless audio system by a specific brand that he’d heard was the best. I talked to him for a few minutes, querying him on what he wanted the wireless audio system for and what his room layout was like, and it turned out that he was looking for a dedicated home theater system in the $15,000-to- $20,000 range but thought a wireless soundbar was the best place to start. I’ll be honest; I died a little inside.
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CES 2017
Soundcast Unveils World’s First Outdoor PlayFi Speaker
John Sciacca  |  Jan 08, 2017
Nothing completes a pool party or day at the beach like some good tunes, but many companies shy away from offering truly portable, weatherproof speaker options. Most solutions involve small, Bluetooth speakers that have thin sound and are splash-proof at best. Soundcast displayed its upcoming VG10 which will be the world’s first wireless, truly portable, weatherproof speaker to be part of the DTS PlayFi family.
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CES 2017
Arcam Plays with PlayFi
John Sciacca  |  Jan 08, 2017
Add Arcam to the growing list of companies that have joined the DTS PlayFi wireless streaming camp with the introduction of the company’s new rPlay Wireless Music Receiver. For performance minded listeners that have been looking for a way to dip their ears into the wireless listening waters, rPlay will enable adding PlayFi to any system and has a ton of features to get excited about.

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CES 2017
Paradigm New In-Wall LCRs Bring the Cinema Home
John Sciacca  |  Jan 08, 2017
New in-wall speaker announcements at CES are about as dry and parched as the city’s desert air, so I was pleasantly surprised when I stepped into Paradigm’s Venetian suite and saw the company was introducing six new models across its CI Pro and CI Elite lineups. Designed for residential home theater installations, these new models are all LCR designs featuring integrated backboxes made from ¾-inch MDF to provide an optimal acoustic environment as well as keeping sound from bleeding into adjacent rooms.

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