By now, if you’re a DIRECTV fan, you’ve heard the term “SWM.” Most people pronounce it “swim” and have since its release in 2009. It’s a technology that DIRECTV uses to allow for one wire to carry all DIRECTV information. This makes installations a lot easier. But the last couple of years you might have also heard the term “DSWM” pronounced “d-swim.” Is this the same thing as “DIRECTV SWM?” Well yes and no, and in order to understand the difference, you have to get some backstory.
Disclaimer: DIRECTV’s SWM technology is so proprietary that there isn’t a lot of good information on how it actually works. I got a lot of this from my training as a D2 certified technician, but there could still be errors based on the way the information was...
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If you’re planning to expand your commercial satellite TV setup, you’re going to need more TVs. It’s pretty tempting to go to your local big-box or department store and pick them up at a discount. But will you end up regretting it? There’s a really good chance that you will, especially if you don’t think about what that TV is capable of.
A little bit about MPEG
All televisions made today are designed to take digital, over-the-air signals. That means they have a technology called MPEG-2 built into them. What’s MPEG-2? Back in the 1980s, software engineers realized that if people were going to get into digital video in a big way, there would have to be some sort of standard way to compress that video down to a manageable size. Even the...
Sustainability is a noble, praiseworthy goal for modern business. Achieving more sustainable operations will resonate well with consumers. One in four consumers are willing to pay more for eco-friendly products, and 11% say they make purchases based on carbon data availability.
However, achieving sustainability in the workplace can be tricky if you do not already track your emissions. It may even feel like an impossible task to go green when you’re producing paper waste and high emissions every day as part of your day-to-day operations.
Eco-friendly gadgets like IoT tech can streamline the sustainability process and help you achieve your ESG goals sooner. This is crucial if you want to start branding yourself as eco-friendly, as...
When you have a piece of tech from five years ago that’s still a top seller, you know you have something special. It’s pretty rare if you think about it. Would you be happy with an iPhone 11 or Galaxy S8 even if you bought it new today? Would a five-year-old laptop suit your needs, even if it’s new in box? Chances are you wouldn’t be pretty happy if you were stuck at 2019 levels of tech on most of the things you use.
weBoost Drive Reach
That’s why it’s so amazing that weBoost’s Drive Reach is still the king of the hill for mobile cell boosters. You can read the original announcement from 2019 here. A couple of months later I got my hands on one. I did an unboxing video as well as a full instrumented review. In the last five years...
What you see above you is our DECA Broadband, also called Broadband DECA. The two terms have been competing for years. It doesn’t really matter what you call it. (At one time it was called a Cinema Connection Kit, but that term has gone by the wayside.) It’s a device that connects your entire DIRECTV system to the internet. Once connected, you have access to on demand programming, enhanced search, and interactive TV features.
It’s a pretty good deal, although it’s also getting rarer and rarer? Why? Because all modern Genie DVRs have the capability built in. You can connect your Genie over wired or Wi-Fi and get the same features as if you’d used this DECA Broadband. So why would you still use one? Let’s talk.
One reason: maybe your...
Are you reading this article while your boat’s in the marina? Are you reading it because you turned on your satellite TV and got the dreaded “loss of signal” message? I’m here to help. There are a lot of reasons this could be happening and most of them can be solved without needing to make a phone call or send an email. There’s one super easy step you can take that will help you understand signal loss issues quickly.
Step 1 (and this is the only step)
Here’s all you have to do. Go out on deck and look around you at the other boats in the marina. Is it possible they’re blocking the southern or western sky? Chances are that’s the cause of your signal loss. Marine satellite systems expect to get a clear view of the sky and if you have...
This week Ken welcomes writer, director, producer Rolfe Kanefsky (There’s Nothing Out There, Nightmare Man, Pool Boy Nightmare) to the show.
Ken and Rolfe discuss Fangoria, Gorezone, the Catch 22 of trying to get a distributer without press and press without distribution, Brett Piper, going to film school, Hampshire College, watching horror on TV, Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstein, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, making a Russian movie into an American movie, My Family Treasure, Dee Wallace, moving to LA and staring over, directing soft core films, parodies, Playboy’s Inside Out, USA Network, The Hitchhiker, Playboy TV, Tomorrow by Midnight, the lost film, Clerks, Mad TV, Seizure, starting in B movies, making movies for Life Time...
The Solid Signal Blog is your resource for thousands of articles and reviews, with new content coming every day. 2023 marks our seventeeth year since our humble beginnings, and today over 250,000 people read the blog every month. Every month, the staff gets together and gathers articles that really seem like they have long-term appeal. Here’s the list for November, 2023:
Your phone is more powerful than the PC you had in 2018. So why can’t you use it as a PC?
NICE AND EASY: What is an “STB?”
Can you take your Gemini Air with you when you travel?
What are your options if you have no cell signal at all?
What do the different color lights on a Gemini Air mean?
OPINION: The importance of broadcasting
How to fix Wi-Fi problems with your...
There’s an old song that goes, “I don’t care how you get here, just get here if you can.” I’m tempted to say the same applies to grounding. Grounding is so important and people will use almost any excuse not to ground their equipment. They will say it’s hard, they will say it’s expensive, and they’ll say it doesn’t make a difference. More often than anything else, they’ll say that they don’t have the right supplies.
Let’s get this out of the way now
If your excuse is that you can’t find the proper supplies… let me introduce you to the great selection of grounding supplies at Solid Signal. You’ll find everything from ground blocks to straps and rods, to all the ground wire you need. But let’s say you urgently need to ground something...
Friends, I get a lot of my best article ideas from people who call Solid Signal with questions. If you haven’t tried our help line at 888-233-7563, you really should. Our US-based team has tons of knowledge about the products and services we sell. And, whenever I hear about a question that I haven’t covered on this blog, I try to write about it. I’ve actually talked about this topic here and there but I haven’t ever done a whole article about it. So, here goes.
A little about the technology of broadcasting
Radio and television broadcasting is obviously one of those things that exists in the real world and so it follows certain laws of physics. Why do I even mention that? Because one of those laws has to do with the way energy...
Here on this blog we’ve been talking about the next generation of television broadcasting for a decade now. In most of that time, there’s been very little movement. Even recently, it’s seemed like a faraway dream that may never happen. But, here’s the good news– there are a lot of test ATSC 3.0 broadcasts and there’s finally a way for you to check them out for yourself.
This is the ADTH converter box. Chances are, if you’ve been looking for something like this, you’ve heard about it because it’s also offered at a large major retailer. Now it’s available at Solid Signal for the best price online, and it’s one of the lowest priced converter boxes we’ve ever sold.
If you’re not familiar with it…
This is a small device about the size...
This article originally ran in 2018. It’s been revised with links to current products.
If you read this blog a lot you’ll probably notice that I talk about solid copper center conductor RG6 cable a lot. I even link to it at SolidSignal.com, a great place to get custom lengths of cable that work well in a variety of professional situations. Have you ever wondered why?
The magic of copper
Copper is a great conductor of electricity. It’s almost as good as gold, and even though it’s expensive, it’s not as expensive as gold. It’s very flexible, easy to form, and it’s readily available. Copper is, in many ways the perfect choice for sending signal from one place to another.
However, copper is generally a lot more expensive than steel or...
This week, our podcaster really begins to feel the impact of the strikes last year. Are you feeling them too? Listen to find out what you can do. As always, shop at Solid Signal - Signal Solutions including HDTV Antennas, DIRECTV and DISH Network satellite equipment and home entertainment supplies and accessories for everything you need to live your best digital life and call Signal Connect at 888-233-7563 for the kind of customer service you never thought you could get again.
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Just choose one of the following:
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Option 2: The Solid...
The post The BEST Charging Cable – 50% OFF appeared first on The Solid Signal Blog.
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Solid Signal loves to cater to enthusiasts. There are plenty of places for “mainstream” people to find parts for their “mainstream” hobbies. The fun of working with Solid Signal is that I get to interact with people who love really esoteric things.
Take, for example, FM lovers.
Most of us listen to FM radio in our cars, maybe. More and more people are streaming in their cars and I could go on a whole rant about why that is. (Not the point here.) There are some folks though, who really dig FM radio. They want FM radios in every room, and they put up roof-mounted antennas to help them get the best reception.
And I completely support them! You should absolutely find a hobby that really makes you happy and then dive into it. If you’re an...
For a moment, let’s be honest. Have you ever thought about how to create one of those square barcode things that everyone seems to be using in shopping, navigating and so on? You know, the ones where you can scan them with your phone to quickly get contact details, websites, and a tonne of other goodies?
Yes, the thing is a QR Code.
Well, get ready to have your mind blown, because it’s much simpler than you may think to create your QR code.
So, let’s get started and see how useful QR codes may be for your personal and professional needs!
What is a QR Code?
A QR code (quick response code) is a form of barcode, but more advanced than the ones we see on product labels in stores. Instead of just a few numbers, a QR code can hold a...
The other day I talked to a boat owner who was just getting everything ready for the summer. That’s pretty common this time of year, of course. As the snow melts, folks take the boat out of drydock and get ready for another year of marine fun. Except in this case, it didn’t seem like things were going smoothly for the boat’s on-board satellite TV system.
Wait, satellite TV? Boats still have those things?
It’s pretty popular to say that satellite TV is on its way out, and with recent changes in satellite internet, you might be thinking that satellite TV is a thing of the past. The funny thing is, though, reality isn’t like that. Satellite internet is great for the things you do most of the time with internet, like emails, social media...
If you read this blog or watch our YouTube videos, you’ll know that I’m a big fan of Blackmagic Design cameras. Blackmagic cameras aren’t the least expensive option out there, but they bring real studio-level quality and control down to a level where regular folks can afford it. This is digital camera tech that would have cost over $100,000 just a generation ago and today it’s within everyone’s reach. Blackmagic cameras come in a lot of different shapes and sizes, and they continue to evolve to get better and less expensive.
I personally use a Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro. It’s perfect for my needs, if a bit of overkill for the kind of video that I produce. With it, I get ultimate control over what I want to shoot and...
It’s April, friends. To me that means one thing: baseball. It’s my favorite major league sport and I get excited every year when it comes up. Last year the world of baseball changed drastically with the coming of the pitch clock. I’m one of the few people who didn’t like this “innovation” because I think it ruins the leisurely pace of the game. It also means more commercials per hour, which takes me out of the flow.
With so many commercials, I decided to try streaming. I figured that some of the “gameday” feeds would just show the field while the commercials were going on. And you know what, I didn’t care for the streaming experience.
What’s with the video quality?
A decade ago, I was impressed that MLB.TV could give you an HD feed...
When it comes to DIRECTV upgrades, you have a choice. You can choose the sleek DIRECTV HR54 Genie or the monolith-looking HS17 Genie 2. These two options are both great, but you’ll have to decide which one to get when you upgrade. Unfortunately you can’t have both.
Before even starting: do you have a second location?
There are certain cases where you are allowed to have a second location on your DIRECTV account. This can be a boat, RV, or seasonal home. The key is that you can’t use DIRECTV service at both locations at the same time.
If you have a second location, you must choose the HR54. If you have a Genie 2, you won’t be able to add receivers to your account, only client boxes. The client boxes will only work with the Genie, so...
Back in 2013, I wrote a story about Atari filing for bankruptcy. It wasn’t really the “original” Atari. That company dissolved back in the 1980s, and was bought by a series of holding companies. But the intellectual property rights kept following and eventually Atari, the bankrupt one, was a French holding company with several subsidiaries including three named Atari.
Atari came out of bankruptcy and has been experiencing a bit of a renaissance in the last few years thanks to the interest in retro gaming. They’ve licensed their name to several companies, and those companies have created updated versions of several products. You can now find reproduction Atari 2600s and Atari 400s as well as a USB version of their iconic joystick. There...
When we hear from our customers, the most common thing they say, right at the start, is “This thing almost never gives me troubles, but…” It’s true. Satellite TV systems for boats are incredibly reliable. When you consider the combination of sensitive electronics and sea air, add in the huge number of motors and gears and whatnot to keep the thing working while the boat is moving, it’s pretty amazing how well they work. Year after year, satellite TV systems keep doing what they should do. It’s just that one rare time they don’t, and you’re stuck looking for someone to talk to.
Before you call…
A lot of common satellite TV issues can be fixed quickly without any technical knowledge or even a phone call. Here are three things you can...
Anglophiles will tell you that the BBC has a history of being, well, a bit stuffy. But occasionally, they’ll laugh at themselves. When they do, it’s usually hilarious to the rest of us. A perfect example, and probably a subject of a future Fun Friday, is “Monty Python’s Flying Circus,” a sketch comedy show that was so far ahead of its time in the early 1970s that it’s still hilarious today.
The BBC Archive
The BBC has their own YouTube channel. They probably have several of them, but I came across this one while I was looking for something else. It’s called The BBC Archive, but it’s not really a great representation of the work the BBC have done in the last almost 100 years. It’s more a place where you can watch videos that started...
The internet has a lot of information but I was surprised that the answer to this isn’t already online. The best search result I found was a scanned PDF from about 25 years ago. So let’s dive in. First, the basics.
What is a headend?
“Headend” describes a television system that’s like a small cable TV system in a commercial building. There are a bunch of antenna tuners, cable boxes, or satellite receivers all in one place. Each one of them is tuned to a different channel. The signals from each box go into modulators, which are specialized pieces of equipment designed to put each signal on its own TV channel. (Maybe you had a modulator for your 90s-era video game system that put its output on channel 3. Does that sound familiar?
When...
Summer’s fast approaching and that means road trips! It’s time to get out there and see the sights. If you’re like millions of other Americans, you got into the RV craze a few years ago. You realized that it’s a lot nicer to be on the road without worrying about overpriced hotels and weird food choices. Sure, exploring the local culture is a big part of travel, but there are some parts of local culture that are definitely worth skipping.
You’ve probably also realized that RV parks are a destination by themselves. When you’re driving, there are a lot of ways you can spend the night but RV parks offer a safe alternative. They give you the ability to fill up and empty out those tanks in your RV, and meet other people like yourself who...
See if this sounds familiar. You have a bunch of satellite or cable receivers in one location. Whenever you need to change the channel, you have to cover all the receiver but one with aluminum foil or unplug them. If you want to show the same content on multiple TVs, you end up changing a bunch of receivers or pulling wires around. Does that sound like the story at your business? If so, you should consider a matrix switch.
What is a matrix switch?
A matrix switch (also called a matrix switcher) is a device that lets you intelligently control what input goes to what output. You could have 16 receivers and 16 TVs, for example. A matrix switch will let you send the output from any receiver to any TV. Many matrix switches also give you...
You wouldn’t think walkie talkies would cause such controversy. But, back in 2019 they sure did. One of our biggest selling daily deals at that time was a handheld radio that promised to work for FRS and GMRS broadcasting. These two forms of broadcasting are very similar except for the amount of broadcast power they use. Both use a similar range of frequencies, so it’s very easy to make radios that work with both. Except that here in 2024, it’s illegal to have radios that do both. Here’s why.
It helps to have friends in the business
Resident guru Phil Karras informed us of an FCC rule change which I went into in detail in this 2019 article. The real issue is that GMRS use requires a license, while FRS didn’t. If you bought one of...
If you’re familar at all with the term “IPTV” it’s in the context of connecting to, ahem, out-of-the-way streaming video sources. Most people who use IPTV devices at all do so in order to stream content that you wouldn’t find on your average streaming stick. That doesn’t automatically mean pirated video or stuff of “questionable moral value.” It sometimes means foreign language programs or private feeds designed for within companies. But yeah, sometimes it does mean that other thing.
IPTV in the corporate world
Not all IPTV is bad. IPTV simply stands for internet protocol television, and it means video streamed using network cables instead of coax cables. There are legitimate reasons to use IPTV solutions out there, and they outnumber...
The item above is (or was) Sonora Design’s SWM-D3 diplexer. This type of diplexer was created in the early 2010s for commercial installations in apartment buildings. However, hobbyists sometimes used it to combine over-the-air antenna signals and satellite signals so they didn’t have to drill so many holes into the house.
The SWM-D3 is discontinued and Holland, the owner of Sonora Design, doesn’t offer a direct replacement. Why would such an important part no longer be available? It’s simple: Diplexers don’t work with DIRECTV systems and haven’t worked with DIRECTV systems in over 15 years. There are a few exceptions, but they only apply to apartment complexes and commercial installations.
Let’s unpack that: diplexing doesn’t work...
A lot of folks are tired of spending too much for cable. The average cable bill is now well over $100 per month, and that’s too much for some people. Hey, if you’re the sort of person who gets a lot of value out of TV, if you watch a lot of sports or premium programs, that’s great. I’m that kind of person too. You’re going to pay a lot for that kind of TV if you want it.
I’m that kind of person, but I also appreciate a good value. I see people cutting their bills in half. I see some of them cutting even further. If you wanted to, you could cut your bill down to zero and still get a lot of content. Is that the right choice for you?
What’s the best value for your money?
Often times the best value for you is going to be a live streaming...
I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to updating software and hardware. I admit it. I don’t always update my gear the very day that new software comes out, but I do that most of the time. To me, there’s something very satisfying about making sure everything has the latest and greatest software.
I have a feeling that some of my readers out there are that way too, because people ask me if it’s possible to manually update the apps on a Gemini, or even update the Gemini itself. After all, we see updates to streaming apps on our phones, and we’re even aware when Android itself gets major updates. For those of you who feel the itch to update…I have some news for you.
Most of your Gemini can’t be manually updated.
The DIRECTV part of the...
This week Ken welcomes the incredible co-hosts of the amazing How NOT to Make a Movie podcast, writer-producers A.L. Katz and Gil Adler.
Ken, Alan and Gil discuss good rooms, Bordello of Blood, when Alan and Gil first met, moving from New York to LA, 1985, Rhonda Shear, The Groundlings, Basic Training, how a good producer sacrifices to get nudity on screen, Freddy’s Nightmares, Rubik’s Cubes of writing problems, anthology horror TV, non-Union shows, Ken’s love of Steven King’s Dance Macabre, the connection of comedy and horror, it’s not TV it’s HBO, Tales from the Crypt, why season 3 was supposed to be the end of Tales from the Crypt, Tobe Hooper, problem solving, worms, working with Brian DePalma, Dylan Dog, cutting on 35mm film, EC...
There’s a weird trend out there which I’ve recently become aware of. There are companies out there making miniature versions of old computers that actually run the old computer software. They do it with emulation, I guess, and supposedly it’s a pretty popular thing. If you ever had an Atari 2600 in your youth (and if you’re over 50, who didn’t) then you can find a replica that works the same but it’s smaller. It’s a weird thing considering how primitive the software for these things was and how far we’ve come. But hey, nostalgia is a funny thing.
Party like it’s 1994
2024 is the 30th anniversary of the launch of DIRECTV. I’m not aware of the company doing anything special, though. The 25th anniversary, back in 2019, was during the...
If you’ve recently lost access to standard definition local channels on DIRECTV, you’re probably not too happy. Listen to this week’s podcast and you might understand the process a little bit. Plus, call Signal Connect at 888-233-7563 to find out innovative ways to keep local channels on satellite.
Listen to the podcast your way!
Just choose one of the following:
Option 1: Click on the image above to stream the podcast in your browser. If you use the YouTube player above, be sure to subscribe to get future videos delivered to you!
Option 2: The Solid Signal Podcast is available on several podcast aggregators. Search for us, or tap on the links below on your mobile device. If you want us to add another aggregator leave a comment below...
Believe it or not, The Solid Signal Blog has been educating people about technology for 17 years. Our Solid Signal YouTube Channel is in its 13th year. In that time, well over ten million people have learned more about the world around them thanks to Solid Signal. We believe that education is important, and we hope you do too. We also hope that if you get introduced to us as tech experts, you might buy something. Yeah, it’s true, that’s why we do it.
We’re taking a new leap today with the introduction of “The Signal Series.” In The Signal Series, members of our Signal Connect team give you long-form tutorials on the topics they know best. You’ll get to know Signal Connect, where our top minds are available to help you with custom...
What you see above you is DIRECTV’s PI-29Z power inserter. It’s used to power DIRECTV dishes. The idea is that you put it inline between your dish and your receivers and it sends the necessary power up to the line to the dish. DIRECTV’s dishes need a minimum 21 volts of power minimum to run, and most DIRECTV boxes can’t provide it. (The HR54 and Genie 2 are an exception.) Did you ever wonder how one cable can carry a fairly decent amount of voltage and also carry a satellite TV signal? I mean, especially since the power goes one way and most of the signals go the other way. Let’s dive in.
A little side note before I begin
DIRECTV uses the term “power inserter.” A lot of other manufacturers, like Winegard and Televes, use the term...
Hopefully, this has never happened to you. You want to upgrade your home entertainment system. Maybe you want a satellite dish. Maybe you want an antenna and you’re pretty far from the city center. Either way, you have to put something on the roof. As you make your plans, your landlord or HOA says, “Not so fast, bud.”
Maybe your landlord says you can’t drill holes in the moldings. Maybe the HOA says antennas are ugly. You agreed to certain things when you moved in, and you have to abide by those rules. I agree, you do. Except when there’s a federal rule that supersedes it.
The OTARD rule
The OTARD rule is a nickname for edition 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 1.4000, concerning over-the-air reception devices. That rule...
Last year, DIRECTV released the H26K Commercial Receiver. It’s not only the first receiver specifically designed for commercial use, it’s also the company’s first new receiver of any kind in a decade. It’s stuffed with the features business customers want, like real buttons on the front panel, maximum energy efficiency, and of course it does the fancy stuff like 4K and Dolby Audio. Because it’s designed from the ground up for commercial use, it’s easier to network and it’s easier to control things like the screen saver and power saver modes. Those two have been a problem in the past for users of the H24 and H25 series.
However, some installers are finding that when they put in an H26K to replace an existing H25, the receiver will work...
This week Ken welcomes artist, writer and comic book legend Evan Dorkin to the show.
Ken and Evan discuss living the dream, low bars, being disgusted by your own personal failings, Spring Break, hating Florida, how nobody actually grows up in Staten Island, being an artist, 80s punk, never leaving your home, being Jewish in an Italian neighborhood, Ska, Bim Skala Bim, accents, being too hung over to see your name in the credits of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, kids getting their shoes stolen at punk gigs, Kevin Shields ordering food, The Cars, Suicide, Milk and Cheese, Space Ghost, music on TV, pre-MTV days, Rockworld, the legend of Steranko, meeting girls, the introduction of surrealism to America, big egos, John Romita, Jack Kirby...
Yep, I looked it up. The last time I ranted about passwords was this article back in 2023. In the meantime there have been some pretty high profile data breaches, including some that may have affected readers of this blog. Yet here we are and there’s still no really good answer to dealing with the problem we have with passwords.
The best answer so far still isn’t that good
It’s become pretty common now for big tech companies to give you the option to automatically create strong passwords and then save them for you. Then you can use biometrics like Apple’s Face ID to store them all behind a wall. This doesn’t help much if the password manager itself is hacked, and that did happen not long ago. But at least it makes it easy for you to...
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The picture above is a typical cell tower. It’s very wide at the base. Sometimes they are a bit narrower but still very thick, similar to this one:
That’s still pretty thick compared to some broadcast towers which are extremely thin. Here’s a typical example of a broadcast tower:
That tower is so thin it needs to be held up by guy wires. Sometimes you’ll see cellular equipment on a tower like that, but it’s rare. Most often cell towers are fairly thick affairs.
So why?
It’s actually a pretty simple answer. Cell towers have more stuff on them. A typical cell tower will have transmitting and receiving equipment for more than one carrier, and in order to make the most of their investment, a tower owner will put multiple antennas up...
It’s travel time, friends, and for a lot of us, that means time spent in RV parks. The RV life has never been more popular than it is today. RVs are a great way to travel the country and save money on hotels and plane tickets. With an RV you get all the comforts of home wherever you go. All the comforts, that is, except…
Do you have an internet problem in your RV?
Sometimes it’s hard to get internet within your RV. The way RVs are built– fiberglass shells over metal cages, with hardwoods and tons of wiring inside– does a great job of blocking all sorts of signals. Cell signals can get cut to almost nothing, and if you’re in an RV park with Wi-Fi, you might not be able to get it inside the RV.
But then, you know all that. You’ve come...
Just a couple of days ago I was talking to a friend who told me a little about what was going on at home. They said their spouse did a lot of streaming but could never remember what app anything was on. It’s been a while since I wrote about this problem, and I thought it was time to bring it up again.
Are you better off now than you were 4 years ago?
Four years ago there were more streaming apps than there are now. Some have gone away. Some have merged with other apps. But the world of streaming is shrinking, and that should make it easy to remember where things are. Yet, it doesn’t.
Luckily things are a little bit better. If you have an Apple TV it aggregates most of your apps into one list so you can see what you were watching...
To say that software development is fast-paced has become a bit cliche at this point, but sometimes expressions become cliche because they’re true. Software developers rely on efficiency to beat their competitors to market with similar ideas, and many others depend on it to appease an ever-changing consumer base. Either way, getting the most out of a development team is a main component of a software developer’s success.
Assuming that all the important factors are even between two competing software companies–skill set, versatility, expediency, and accuracy–the edge may occur elsewhere. Here we present the part of software development that often goes undervalued; that is, the environment in which your engineers operate. To that end...
Here’s another question that comes from our support lines. You see, of all the cables we have at Solid Signal, most are not rated for burial. In fact only a few are. So what if you want a cable for burial, and we have that type of cable but not in a burial rated version?
What is burial rated cable anyway?
Well, it’s cable that is supposed to perform well when you bury it. But there’s a little more than that. Typically, burial rated cable will have three characteristics that non-burial-rated cable might not have.
Visibility
It’s not always true, but often times you will find burial rated cable in a bright color that stands out. You’ll see burial rated cables in yellow, orange, blue, and other colors like that. The reason is obvious...
There’s nothing better than coming home from a long day’s work, turning the car off, and going inside. The little things during the day actually get us through the storm. Sometimes, closing your garage door without any trouble is just that.
Think about it: who wants to waste another ten minutes struggling with their garage door? That’s the reality for people who still need to move on to newer methods and technologies. Manual labor days and traditional garage doors are a thing of the past.
This article focuses on smart garage door openers, exploring the science behind them and shining light on the benefits they bring. In addition, we will cover the importance of working with professionals and the value that they bring.
What’s Behind...
That’s right, longtime readers, I’m back to writing about Star Trek. Maybe it’s been on my mind since the long-awaited last season of Discovery finally made it to screens. Or maybe the idea of Trek never left.
This time around, I want to point to to The Roddenberry Archive. For the last year or so, this web site has been showing you virtual reality visions of pretty much every Star Trek location they can. These are really well-done 3D models. The Archive was originally only available to those with VR headsets, but it’s been rendered so that anyone with a screen can use it. There’s also an incredibly well-rendered series of videos which show you little snippets of stories using 3D renders of original actors. No word if the families of...
If you look at Solid Signal, you will see hundreds of parts designed for waveguides. You can shape a waveguide, connect a waveguide, cut a waveguide… all of this sounds great unless you’re asking yourself:
What is a waveguide, anyway?
You can think of a waveguide as a hose for radio signals. Signals that come in are kept inside and directed, in an orderly way, down the waveguide to somewhere else where they can be received and put on a cable.
The shape of the waveguide makes this possible. Depending on what sort of signals you are trying to receive, the waveguide could be shaped like a hot dog or a box or a mostly round tube. Different frequencies respond to different shapes of waveguides.
Waveguide theory goes back to the very end...
Here at the Solid Signal Blog we have staff members who remember 1984 like it was yesterday, and others who hadn’t even been born yet. It helps us keep a fresh perspective. So, the other day, we were spitballing about the way things were thirty years ago. Everyone agrees that 100 years ago the world was a very different place, but even the oldsters among us were surprised by how much things had changed since 1984. Sure, computers were coming and some old tech was on its way out, but just walking around homes or offices back then would reveal a different world. Here are 20 ways that things were done back then:
If you needed to know some obscure fact, you went the library for about an hour.
If you needed to make a phone call while you...
