The Solid Signal Blog

Here’s another question that came from our tech support reps at SolidSignal.com. They’re super-knowledgeable but they reached out to me for an answer on this one because the customer on the line wanted a really detailed explanation. After I finished with them, I thought this would also be a great topic for an article. Here’s the real answer This is a time domain reflectometer. In fact it’s this one, which is available at Solid Signal. But, cards on the table, you won’t buy it. It’s about the same price most people pay for four months rent. This device will not only tell you if a cable is good, it will tell you where the problem is if it’s bad. Time Domain Reflectometers, or TDRs, are one of those things that you just have to trust...

Believe it or not, it was eight years ago that DIRECTV first announced that it would be ending standard definition local service. The move, originally planned for 2019, was pushed to 2020 for logistical reasons. And then 2020 happened and I guess it didn’t seem like the right time to change the way people watched TV. I get it, and if you think about 2020 you probably do too. But, the plan has been back on track for about a year, and it’s switched into high gear. Recently, Tampa has seen its standard definition locals shut off, a plan that’s been in place for over a year. If you’re in Tampa, you should have received several notices along with your DIRECTV bill about this, but I get it — not everyone reads everything. But suffice it to...

Recently, our Solid Signal help desk got this very question several times in the space of a week. I’m not quite sure why, but when something like this happens, it’s usually due to a reddit post, instagram reel, or tiktok where someone raises doubt. Friends, that’s what I’m here for. Let me put your mind at ease. Yes, this antenna will pick up HD signals. Here’s the simplest way I can put this. Every TV antenna in the whole history of ever will pick up HD signals. Antennas made in the 1950s will pick them up. Small antennas will pick them up. Huge antennas will pick them up. If there’s a TV antenna sold in the United States, whether it was made in 1974 or 2024, it will pick up HD signals. Granted, some very very old antennas which...

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The world of game streaming is pretty electrifying — where gamers become entertainers, captivating audiences worldwide with their skills and charisma. With platforms like Twitch, YouTube Gaming, and Facebook Gaming, anyone can share their gameplay in real-time and transform a hobby into a thriving business. In this ultimate guide, we’ll explore game streaming in deep detail, equipping you with all that you need to know to start your own streaming adventure. From essential hardware and software requirements to strategies for building your audience and monetizing your content, this guide will help you with it all! How can you start streaming? Here’s a roadmap to kickstart your game streaming dream: Choose Your Platform: The first...

I’m one of those people who keeps a box of old power supplies around. I’m fairly sure I have the power supply from my first cell phone, which is older than some of my coworkers. In the days before most devices started getting their power from USB, the world was a pretty scary place if you needed a new power supply for something. If you’re dealing with older tech, it still can be. The lesson: first thing you need to know Pretty much every device uses direct current. Pretty much every outlet supplies alternating current. That alone could be the subject of a very long article, but it’s not important that you understand the difference. What you need to understand is that a the whole point of a power supply is to take 110 volts of...

Signal Connect is the world’s leader in satellite activations for boats. We’ve been doing it for over 20 years and no one has done more for the satellite TV marine community. But all that time, we’ve been located in the Detroit area. Sure, we’re not far from Lake Erie and Lake Huron, but throughout our history our customers have come from the coasts. We’ve always been able to take care of our customers in Orange County CA, New Orleans, South Florida, and other locations, but always from afar. Well, we finally decided that our marine customers deserve more! Welcome to the office We’ve partnered with Global Satellite, another industry leader, to bring our combined power to South Florida. Our offices are located within their Fort...

Yes folks, there exists a nearly infinite number of different abbreviations that are used in the communications industry and it’s practically impossible to know all of them. I’m right there with you. I’m actually glad there are so many different terms to learn. It keeps me employed, and I’m rather fond of being employed. So, let’s take a look at “IRD,” a term that you don’t hear much anymore but you still sometimes hear the old timers use. Back in the early days of DIRECTV… “IRD” is a term that dates back to the early days of DIRECTV, when your satellite box was the size of a pizza box. It actually dates back a little earlier, to the days when an a dish smaller than 40″ was just a pipe dream. In the early days of satellite...

I am told that the younger people today have no regard for the half-hour sitcom format. With the exception of shows like Friends and The Office, people under 40 have no interest at all in sitting down to an episodic, light-hearted TV show where nothing much happens from week to week and all of life’s problems are solved in 22 minutes. That fact explains why you find so few traditional sitcoms on live TV anymore. The 18-34 demographic is the most desirable and even though few folks that age even watch live TV, their opinions still dictate what’s on. Simply put, it seems like the sitcom has outlived its usefulness. Like everything, it will come back eventually. I would never have guessed westerns would come back but, well, Yellowstone so...

That’s the question that was posed by a Solid Signal customer a few weeks ago. You’d think there was a yes-or-no answer. You’d be wrong. The answer is “yes but” and that means it’s a great topic for a blog article. Yes but Like DIRECTV’s 4K Genie Client, with which it shares some core design, The H26K Commercial Receiver is capable of displaying content at a 1920×1080 resolution. However, not all 1920×1080 content is created equal. In order to understand the real core of the question, you have to understand not just resolution, but frame rate and scanning. Frame rate When we talk about HD or 4K content, we always talk about the actual frame rate. This is the number of unique frames per second. More frames mean smoother content, but...

That’s right, it’s time for a free preview of Paramount+ with Showtime. The premium app with the longest name in the business is holding its first official free preview, and it’s a great one. DIRECTV customers have an opportunity to check out all thirteen channels of Paramount+ with Showtime this weekend! The free preview has already started and goes on all thirteen Paramount-owned channels. By the way, that also includes three channels of “The Movie Channel” plus Flix and Sundance TV. This is a lot of entertainment, folks. Don’t forget that you can schedule recordings remotely with the DIRECTV App for smartphones and tablets so you don’t have to wait until you get home. If you haven’t seen these channels since before they changed...

We all know what a cliffhanger is. Most of us probably already know that the term comes from movies in the 1920s and 1930s. In those days, you would go to the movies every week (or every couple of weeks) and get a new chapter of the same story. In order to keep you coming back, the hero was left in peril, driving you to return to see the same chapter. Two of the most common endings were seeing our hero dangling off the cliff or seeing our heroine in peril, often tied to a train track. That’s why they’re called “cliffhangers,” although you could just as easily call them “traintrackers” I guess. I don’t know why people don’t. We all know about the famous cliffhangers If you’re over 50, you probably think the most famous cliffhanger is...

The following is attributable to KVH’s Mobile Connectivity Group: Here’s what you need to know Longtime readers know that Signal Connect does more satellite TV activations for mobile and marine customers than anyone. We’ve been doing it for over 20 years. Now, our partnership with KVH means that every KVH customer gets the benefit of Signal Connect’s superior customer service. Mobile and marine satellite television can be very different from satellite TV for homes and businesses. Most installers won’t set foot on a boat or an RV. You need someone who knows how to take care of you. That’s where Signal Connect comes in. We take special care with every customer to make sure you’re getting what you need. We’ll help you get the...

“It’s a victimless crime.” “Everybody does it. “No one will ever know.” These are things we tell ourselves every day when we want to so something that is against the law or against the moral compact we live by. I’m talking about taking a grape or two at the market, running a red light at 3am, or making a copy of your friend’s music collection. Society allows for these relatively minor infractions. We just move on. And then, there’s the matter of streaming sports in your bar. It used to be that there just wasn’t much to stream. Today that’s changed. However, one thing hasn’t changed. It’s still illegal to stream virtually anything in your bar. Here’s why you can’t do it. Here’s the thing. Anytime you have a TV on in public, you’re...

How would you like to control your home theater with your voice? How about using any smartphone? What if all the TVs in your bar could be controlled with a single iPad? Of course a few years ago all that would have sounded like science fiction. Today it’s commonplace. Average folks have added smart assistants to their lives. Little black boxes connect to our home networks, and they do more than just control our TVs. They control the temperature, set the oven so it’s ready when we come home, and turn the lights on and off when we go through a room. IP control is the key All of this magic is possible thanks to IP control. IP control is the framework that makes it all happen. It’s better than using RF, Bluetooth, or infrared because it...