John Sciacca

CES 2020
TiVo Debuts New 4K Streamer
John Sciacca  |  Jan 07, 2020  |  0 comments
TiVo is going to take on low-priced streamers like Roku and Fire TV with the introduction of its new streamer, the TiVo Stream 4K. Unlike all previous TiVo products, the Stream 4K will not have any traditional TiVo DVR functionality, but rather will be entirely dedicated to streaming.
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The Connected Life
System Building Advice, Part Two
John Sciacca  |  Oct 30, 2019  |  0 comments
After 20-plus years in the custom installation business, I’ve learned the value of making a project as future-proof as possible. In System Building Advice, Part 1, I discussed the importance of prewiring, installing conduits for future access, covering large areas with multiple speakers, and buying the best subwoofer possible. I have some more bits of advice to share.
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CEDIA 2019
New Legend Series Revives Polk Legacy
John Sciacca  |  Sep 14, 2019  |  0 comments
Founded in 1972, Polk Audio is a legend in this industry, and the company’s new Legend Series is looking to capitalize on everything the company has learned over the years and push the performance boundaries in its newest series of flagship loudspeakers.

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CEDIA 2019
Alexa, Klipsch Can Make You Sound Better
John Sciacca  |  Sep 14, 2019  |  0 comments
Tons of people use Amazon Alexa Echo smart speakers around their homes as an inexpensive way of utilizing voice control for a variety of tasks, and while the Echo is great in this role, it kinda sucks as an audio speaker. Klipsch wants to do something about that with its new KVA-40 and KVA-110 Echo Input Amplifiers that keep everything that’s good about the Echo while kicking the audio performance up several notches.

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CEDIA 2019
IMAX Enhanced Expands Program and Content
John Sciacca  |  Sep 14, 2019  |  0 comments
Launched a year ago at last year’s CEDIA, IMAX Enhanced has been busy signing new device partners such as Anthem and Strom Audio, bringing their current number of certified television and A/V receiver partners to 14. However, there has been precious little in the way of Enhanced content available to watch save for a handful of IMAX documentaries. The company was at CEDIA to announce it has signed new streaming partners to deliver content as well as studios delivering titles on physical 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc.

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CEDIA 2019
Klipsch Adapts Pro Cinema Speakers for Behind Screen Use at Home
John Sciacca  |  Sep 14, 2019  |  0 comments
You can usually tell how popular – or good – a demo is at CEDIA by how steady and long the line is, and on the last day of the show, when many integrators had already left Denver to return home, one of the booth’s that was still drawing a steady crowd for its surround demonstration was Klipsch's sound room where the company debuted its new Pro Cinema Home surround system. And the experience was definitely worth the wait!

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CEDIA 2019
Integra Launches Three Reference-Grade Surround Offerings
John Sciacca  |  Sep 14, 2019  |  0 comments
Integra used CEDIA to do a refresh at the top of its cinema surround line-up, displaying two new reference grade receivers in its “Dot 3” series along with a new flagship pre-amp processor and matching 11-channel amplifier. All of the new products are fully featured, supporting Dolby Atmos and DTS:X formats in up to 7.2.4 channels with THX Ultra certification and IMAX Enhanced support along with a host of other top-shelf performance features.

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CEDIA 2019
You Call that a Sub?! THIS is a Sub!
John Sciacca  |  Sep 14, 2019  |  0 comments
In a classic game of total one-upmanship, Ascendo Immersive Audio brought its SMSG 32 Subwoofer to CEDIA, with a immense 32-inch driver that basically called out all the other “large” subs at the show and told them to make it a sandwich. And the crazy thing? This is only the third biggest sub the company manufacturers!
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CEDIA 2019
Powershades Simplifies Shade Wiring and Retrofit
John Sciacca  |  Sep 14, 2019  |  Published: Sep 15, 2019  |  0 comments
For years, I’ve been telling Sound and Vision readers in my Connected Life blog that they should be pulling extra wiring throughout their home whenever possible — and that although they might not use that wiring today they would be thankful for having it tomorrow. PowerShades has totally validated my suggestion with its new line of PoE (Power over Ethernet) shades unveiled at CEDIA that can be fully powered and controlled by a single Category rated (Cat5/6) cable!

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CEDIA 2019
Control4 CA-10 Designed for Maximum Uptime
John Sciacca  |  Sep 13, 2019  |  0 comments
With automation controllers designed to run projects of any size, having a system failure can be catastrophic. In a large project, the failure of the main controller or processor could mean that lights don’t work, security integration fails, surveillance cameras would be unreachable, and all the home’s entertainment systems would also go offline. To ensure that these mega-projects keep working through either snow, rain, heat or gloom of night, Control4 unveiled its latest flagship controller, the CA-10 Automation Controller.

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