Podcast #601: New TV Shows for Fall 2013

It's that time of year again - a whole fall slate full of new HDTV shows. These new shows give us the opportunity to make new friends, share some laughs, and have an adventure or two, all from the comfort of your comfy living room sofa. As children we looked forward to Christmas and the first day of summer. As adults, we look forward to the fall more than anything else. Yes, our own kids are back in school, but also our favorite shows are coming back with new episodes and we get the opportunity to fill the DVR with brand new series.

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Podcast #600: IFA 2013

Each year in Germany consumer electronics manufacturers come together to display their wares at IFA. The IFA or Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin (International radio exhibition Berlin, aka 'Berlin Radio Show') is one of the oldest industrial exhibitions in Germany. Kind of like CES, manufacturers announce new products and services. This year was no exception. We’ll try to run down announcements as they pertain to Home Theater.

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Podcast #599: HDMI 2.0 Announced

When it comes to movie sequels, 2.0 is rarely better than 1.0. In fact, we struggled to think of a single instance where a 2.0 movie was better than the 1.0. But in technology, we crave the latest and greatest, and the next version of anything gets our heart rates up. When the HDMI licensing group announced HDMI 2.0, we could hardly contain our enthusiasm.

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Podcast #598: DirecTV Genie

It's hard to believe that only about 5 years ago most of us had to watch TV when the Networks wanted us to. Our first DVRs were so liberating because it allowed us to watch television on our own terms. No more missing programs because they conflicted with another show or were on late at night. The only real issue was that when DVRs first came out you had to watch in one room, typically the family room.

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Podcast #597: Google Chromecast review

There was a lot of buzz a couple weeks back when Google announced the release of a new HDMI device called the Chromecast ($35). We weren’t immune to the curiosity, so we ordered one. The popularity made them tough to get, but when ours finally arrived, we couldn’t wait to see if it would live up to expectations. We’ll admit, we set our own expectations. Google didn’t do much to hype it up. They simply said, here it is, at a very reasonable price, have at it.

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Podcast #596: ZyXEL 500 Mbps Fast Ethernet Powerline Adapter

Just about everything we add to our home theaters need an Internet connection. Sure you can use WiFi but nothing beats a hardwired connection. If you have an older home it may be difficult to string wire yourself or costly to hire someone to do it for you. One option that is dead simple and as easy as plugging a device into a socket is Ethernet over Powerlines. We have reviewed many over the years but as technology improves we like to test newer products to see if data rates are getting faster. On this episode we take a look at the ZyXEL 500 Mb/s Fast Ethernet Powerline Wall-Plug Adapter.

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