Turning HDMI into Lemonade

 

There are few things in this world that have created more headaches for electronics installers since the introduction of the television in 1925 than the HDMI cable.  This nifty little invention came boasting as the fix all to all of our Audio and Video problems. By sending all of the signals we would need (Video, Audio, Control even Internet signals) digitally over this single HDMI cable we would be able to conquer the world! But in reality it only served to increase the number of visits to our therapist’s office.

Getting Back to Nature

 

With the ushering in of the digital age came the cold hard feel of business as usual. And now with cloud storage and streaming content our music has found its niche in this sharp edged world of ones and zeroes.

Making Cents of Remote Services

Recently I was talking with a friend of mine about the new services that the security company he works for is offering. This company is following the big market players like ADT and Comcast in offering automation services with remote connection to their home alarm.  For a reasonable installation charge and an additional monthly fee their customers will have the ability to turn on and off lights set thermostat controls unlock doors set the alarm etc. all from a smart phone or computer.

A Note to Consumers

Just because two electronic devices can be combined into one doesn’t always make it a good idea. And if those electronic devices are dependent on an alliance between two different companies it makes it all the more complicated. I recently ran across a surround receiver that belonged to a SSAV client of mine. It was a Marantz SR5001 installed about 6 years ago. Not a bad receiver at all and it is works very well, all except the integrated XM radio.

Netflix

Netflix is awesome.  My whole family enjoys it. It's easy to use and it works almost all the time. The other day when updating my account I noticed that there was something new. It was an option to set up profiles –an option to create a separate DVD queue for each member of your family.  This is an awesome idea, but kind of irrelevant. It is suppose to make it easy for my wife to order the movies she wants without interrupting the deliveries of the movies in my queue all under one account.

Great thought –Right? The only problem is that at my house my wife and I almost always watch movies together. Imagine that, a husband and wife that spend time together enjoying the same thing (every once and a while I have to send her to her sisters… there are just some things I will not tolerate in myhome.)

The thing that could be very useful for my family is a profile option for streaming video.  You see, my wife enjoys her TV shows and I enjoy my own, and the kids have, well, kid shows. But I don't want Netflix telling me I would love to watch another episode of Dora the Explorer or recommending I watch Barney and Friends based on my recent enjoyment of Elmo's World. And vice versa I don't want my kids to stumble on a recently watched episode of The Walking Dead when I am too busy, doing… all of the important things I do, to go and turn the TV on for them.

With multiple profiles I could set the TV in the play room to the "kids" profile and would know that the only thing available for them to watch were age appropriate and parent approved material, and in the family room we could have the family profile which would allow access to everything else we would want to see. I know they have parental controls, but having to turn them on and off will kind of defeat the purpose of simplicity of use. Won't it?

So, Netflix, you're doing a great job.  My family loves your services and we think you are on the right track. Keep up the good work. And maybe if you find the time, can you create profiles for online streaming… And while you're at it, make a kick butt iOS app to manage my DVD queue.  These third party ones really suck.