Home Theater & Automation

Posts related to home theater equipment and home automation.

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The difference between saying you have a “home theater setup” vs. simply having a TV hanging on your wall is, of course, having the audio played back on something other than your TV’s built-in speakers. And for the budget and space conscious, Vizio has recently launched a family of “sound […]

Product Review: Vizio 42″ 5.1 Home Theater Sound Bar with ...

This entry was posted in Home Theater & Automation Product Reviews and tagged Bluetooth Bluetooth audio review S4251W-B4 sound bar soundbar speakers Vizio on by
The Harmony Ultimate handheld remote communicates via RF to the Harmony Hub, which blasts IR to all your devices 2
Universal remotes have come a long way… and I’ve been along for the ride for pretty much the entire journey. I owned an old-skool “All In One” remote that controlled my cable box, VCR, and TV. I owned a variety of Phillips Pronto and Marantz RC5000 controllers, which required me […]

Product Review: Logitech Harmony Ultimate Remote

This entry was posted in Home Theater & Automation Product Reviews and tagged Harmony Harmony Hub Harmony Touch Harmony Ultimate Logitech MyHarmony product review review Ultimate on by (updated 4122 days ago)
Blueline PowerCost Monitor Facebook Post 5
Initially, I had intended this post to be one of my “rant” posts. In fact, I’d already written it in my head after a frustrating day of wrestling with a combination of badly-behaved piece of network hardware and unhelpful front-line tech support personnel. Regular followers of my blog are familiar […]

Rave: Blueline Innovations Customer Service

This entry was posted in Home Theater & Automation Rants and Raves Technology and tagged Blueline customer service Facebook MyEragy PeoplePower PowerCost Monitor rave tech support WiFi WiFi Gateway on by (updated 4306 days ago)
Winland Electronics WaterBug Sensor 22
I’ve already written plenty of posts about my experiences with the Ecobee Smart Thermostat. To say I’m a fan would be putting it mildly. But today, I became an even bigger fan after extending the functionality of my Ecobee Smart Thermostat by connecting a water sensor to it. My basement […]

DIY: Connecting a WaterBug Water Sensor to an Ecobee Smart ...

This entry was posted in DIY Home Theater & Automation Product Reviews Technology and tagged alarm dry contact ecobee how to product review review smart thermostat water sensor WaterBug WB-200 Winland Electronics on by (updated 4362 days ago)
Remote Cable Modem and Router Power Cycle 2
We’ve all been there. You try to load a web page, or check your email, or download a file, and nothing happens. “The Internet’s down!” is the cry at my house when we lose connection. It’s also the #1 reason why people call their Internet service providers’ tech support numbers, […]

How To Automatically Power Cycle Your Modem and Router on ...

This entry was posted in Home Theater & Automation Linux Technology and tagged automate Comcast Linux modem PHP power cycle reboot router script on by (updated 3596 days ago)
BlueFusion by Scoche 6
My wife’s been nagging me gently reminding me that she wants to be able to listen to her iPhone’s music library in her 2008 Cadillac Escalade ESV. Combine that with her patriotic respect of the law and love of automobile safety (she’s never got a ticket, and her first one […]

Review: Scosche BlueFusion Bluetooth Car Kit

This entry was posted in Cars DIY Home Theater & Automation Product Reviews Technology and tagged A2DP audio BFGMK BlueFusion Bluetooth Bluetooth audio Escalade GM hands-free Scoche Scosche on by (updated 4404 days ago)
Honeywell EconoSWITCH RPLS741B 86
For years, I’ve used programmable switches at our Utah vacation house to turn exterior lights on at dusk and off at dawn. Having a well-lit exterior is a deterrent to potential thieves, and creates a nice visual setting when returning home at night. Previously, I used four Intermatic EJ500 switches, […]

Review: Honeywell EconoSWITCH Programmable Timer

This entry was posted in DIY Home Theater & Automation Product Reviews and tagged astronomical clock automatic timer EconoSWITCH EJ500 Honeywell Intermatic RPLS740B RPLS741B switch timer switch vacation timer on by (updated 4405 days ago)
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As part of our preparations for winter, my wife gently reminded me last week that she’s been asking me to fix the gas fireplaces in the house for months. But as a geek’s geek, I can’t just fix a fireplace, I have to upgrade a fireplace! We have three gas […]

Review: Skytech SKY-5310 Fireplace Remote Control

This entry was posted in Home Theater & Automation Product Reviews Technology and tagged 5310 fireplace fireplace remote gas remote remote control Skytech thermostat on by (updated 4485 days ago)
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I’ve written a number of posts about the Ecobee Smart Thermostat since installing my first one in 2010. Since then, I’ve received a number of comments and emails asking if I knew of any discussion forums for Ecobee users. I didn’t, so I decided to launch my own using Google […]

Ecobee Discussion Forum for Owners, Installers, and Enthusiasts

This entry was posted in Home Theater & Automation Technology and tagged discussion discussion forum ecobee forum support tech support user forum user group on by (updated 3733 days ago)
ecobee Firmware Update Screen 4
I’ve already discussed most of the pros and cons of the product in my ecobee Smart Thermostat review, and detailed my experiences with installing a second ecobee unit and using the group features. I’ve also documented some of my frustrations with ecobee’s tethered device approach, especially in the rare cases when […]

Installing Ecobee Smart Thermostat #5

This entry was posted in Home Theater & Automation Product Reviews Technology and tagged ecobee remote thermostat smart thermostat thermostat WiFi thermostat on by (updated 3742 days ago)
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A few months ago, I wrote a product review for the ecobee Smart Thermostat (along with complete installation instructions and photos) which had I purchased to remotely monitor and control the thermostat in my Utah house while I was away. Overall, my review of the ecobee was

Installing my 2nd ecobee and Using Group Admin Features

This entry was posted in Home Theater & Automation iPhone Linux Product Reviews Technology and tagged ecobee furnace heat pump iPhone remote thermostat smart thermostat thermostat WiFi WiFi thermostat on by (updated 4807 days ago)
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One of my favorite movie lines is from the 2001 movie Bandits, starring Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton. Billy Bob plays a neurotic genius who, at one point in the movie, states “You know the hardest thing about being smart? I always pretty much know what’s going to happen next. […]

ecobee Mothership Won’t Let My Thermostat Phone Home

This entry was posted in Home Theater & Automation Product Reviews Rants and Raves Technology and tagged ecobee hosted application remote thermostat smart thermostat thermostat WiFi on by (updated 4807 days ago)
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As the owner of a couple of vacation homes in climates more extreme than Seattle’s, I’ve had plans for a while now to eventually install thermostats in those houses which I could control remotely. In the winter, I could turn on the heat at my Utah house the day before […]

Product Review: ecobee Smart Thermostat

This entry was posted in Home Theater & Automation iPhone Linux Product Reviews Technology and tagged cooling ecobee equipment interface furnace heating HVAC iPhone remote access remote thermostat smart thermostat thermostat WiFi thermostat on by (updated 4007 days ago)
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Evening Magazine, a local show here in Seattle on NBC-affiliate KING5, did a segment on “over the top” home theaters. They tracked me down on the Internet (not really that hard to do) and talked me into allowing a film crew into the house (which also wasn’t that hard to do), […]

Look, Ma! I’m on TV!

This entry was posted in Cars Home Theater & Automation Personal and tagged Arcade Evening Magazine Ferrari Home Theater & Automation on by (updated 5435 days ago)