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Why are hotel TVs different from other TVs?

Go into any decent quality hotel and you’ll find a fairly nice TV. Chances are it looks very much like any other TV. Turn it on and it does tricks your TV at home doesn’t do. It might let you get on demand movies, check out from your room, or play video from around the hotel. It may even connect to a panel on the wall that lets you connect to it via Bluetooth or HDMI. What makes a hotel TV tick? Hotel TVs can do everything regular TVs can do, obviously. Some of them don’t have tuners for over-the-air TV, but all are going to have cable TV tuners. That’s because most hotels use a headend system that puts the channels you watch in a specific order. In most cases, hotels pay for TV on a channel-by-channel basis, unlike regular people who...
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The problem with Wi-Fi Calling

A couple of weeks ago, I ran an article about cell phone signal boosters. I run a lot of this sort of article, because after all this blog is affiliated with Solid Signal. We sell a lot of cell phone signal boosters. I happen to think that cell boosters are awesome and I don’t understand why more people don’t buy them. I do understand this though, based on some of the comments I get. People think that if they have Wi-Fi calling, they don’t need a cell booster. Who doesn’t love Wi-Fi calling? Wi-Fi calling is an option found on pretty much every Android and iPhone. It’s available through pretty much every carrier. It’s a great low-cost way to improve your voice service in the home or office. Wi-Fi calling uses your Wi-Fi network for...
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Podcast #557: Can you use an outdoor antenna indoors? Here’s the secret

Learn all about how to get the best free TV reception using an antenna that has no monthly charges! Shop https://www.solidsignal.com or call us at 888-233-7563. 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. Amazon iTunes Overcast TuneIn Spreaker Player.fm Spotify Option 3: Download the podcast in MP3 format. Option 4: Paste the following...
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Can you use a DIRECTV Gemini for Satellite with DIRECTV Stream?

DIRECTV has two-and-a-half different services to choose from. That’s good for customers who want options, but it can be hard to understand sometimes. Let me explain. DIRECTV Satellite When most folks think of DIRECTV, this is what they think of. There’s a satellite dish on your roof and it brings programming into boxes that are in your house. DIRECTV for Internet This is a live-TV streaming service that gives you pretty much the same content you get on DIRECTV satellite. The difference is that you don’t need a satellite dish on your roof. DIRECTV Stream This is also a live-TV streaming service that gives you pretty much the same content you get on DIRECTV satellite. The difference is that there’s no contract and you pay...
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Now’s the perfect time to get that wiring project done in your business

If you’re reading this article, you’re probably bored at work. I get it. This time of year it can be hard to focus on work, and a lot of people are taking vacations. This is the time of year when people tend to be thinking about other thing. Which means, it’s the perfect time to get some of those projects done that you’ve been putting off. Installers are probably bored too If you’re not doing a lot at work, chances are your local installers and contractors aren’t doing a lot either. They’re probably sitting in their workshops wondering what kind of holiday presents they’re going to be able to give. Why not give them a little extra income right now when they need it? What kinds of projects are you thinking of? Think back. How many...
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What is the difference between dBd and dBi?

Over the years, I’ve tried several times to explain the idea of decibels. You can read one of my favorite tries here. I know it’s kind of a hard concept to understand. That’s why when people ask me what a dB is, I just say it’s a way to measure the strength of something. That’s true, and it’s also roughly all that people really seem to want to know. Note: What follows isn’t a scientific thesis. It’s not designed to hold up to the sort of rigorous scrutiny as a peer-reviewed paper. As always, I’ve simplified things so that the average person can understand them. This pretty much means that your average retired RF engineer is going to want to poke holes in it. Yeah but what you’re measuring matters. Most people are familiar with...
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Businesses need television too

If you run a business, making sure you have TV service probably isn’t your biggest concern. Sure, everyone knows a bar or restaurant needs a TV or too, and everyone knows that businesses with waiting rooms need them. What about smaller businesses? What about offices and air-conditioning salespeople and commercial print shops? Pretty much every business can benefit from television service. Let me explain. “stuff” happens and the internet may not help When you need to know what’s going on in the world, TV is still the most reliable way. Storms may take down internet lines and even if yours stays up the speeds will get really slow. If there’s something going on in your neighborhood you may need to bring your employees together. There are...
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EDITORIAL: Moving from one PC to another shouldn’t be this hard

About two months ago, I got a new PC and a new phone. This gave me an opportunity that I really hadn’t had before: I could compare the setup experiences of both, while they were fresh in my mind. I’ve had probably 15 phones and maybe 30 computers in my life, but I am pretty sure this is the first time I got a new one of both in such short order. And it led me to an inescapable conclusion: moving from one PC to another is HARD. Much harder than it should be. When I got my new phone As frequent readers of this blog will tell you, I’m an iPhone guy. I started with the iPhone because, ironically, it worked better with PCs than either Androids or the Windows-based phones of the era. That distinction has become less important since so much...
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What is DIRECTV whole-home (multi-room) viewing or MRV?

Friends, I want you to think back to the late 2000s. It was a different time. It was a time when most people didn’t stare at their phones, but instead they called each other using Nextel’s walkie-talkie feature. And if you watched TV, chances are you watched it live. The DVR itself came on the scene just at the tail end of the 20th century and by about 2007 it still wasn’t common. Most cable companies had truly awful ones that had practically no storage and were hard to program. So by and large, people didn’t use them except to pause TV to go to the bathroom. And then there was DIRECTV. In those days, both DIRECTV and DISH were about as bleeding edge as you could get. Both services delivered TV for a fraction of the cost of the cable...
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Do Home Cell Phone Boosters Work?

reprinted with permission from the weBoost blog. If you’ve ever struggled with weak cell phone signals at home, you’re not alone. Whether it’s for an essential work call, streaming the latest blockbuster, or simply staying connected with loved ones, a reliable cell phone signal is critical. Yet, how often have we faced the frustration of weak signals, dropped calls, and painfully slow data speeds? Enter weBoost, leading manufacturer of cell signal boosting technology. But do home cell phone signal boosters work? weBoost solutions aim to amplify the existing signal and ensure a seamless connection. Let’s explore the intricacies of this technology and how well it actually works. Understanding cell signal challenges at home Before...
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STREAMING SATURDAY: Better or worse?

Well friends, we’re coming to the end of another year. The world of streaming has changed a lot in 2023, and I’m not sure it changed for the better. Since the next two weekends will be holidays and I’ve got pre-written content to go into those slots, now’s the time to look at the high points and low points of the year that’s about to be behind us. HIGH POINT: Google sure showed me I have to admit, I didn’t think even Google’s servers could handle the extra traffic from hosting all those NFL Sunday Ticket games. I think they pulled it off quite well. There was one week in the middle of the season where things didn’t go as planned, but otherwise there were very few issues. I think it helped Google that businesses are still using...
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Should you amplify the output of a SWM-enabled dish?

One of our Signal Connect representatives took a call from a commercial installer recently. In this call, the installer wanted to run about 250 feet from a SWM-enabled dish into a small headend system, and wanted to know the best amplifier to use. The answer is… don’t do that. If you’re putting in a commercial satellite system, AT&T’s standard policy dictates the use of a legacy (6-wire) dish and an external SWM. You can place an amplifier and polarity locker near the dish if needed. In a case where the dish was 250′ from the rack, it would be needed. Why use such a complex setup? A SWM-enabled dish can easily feed 13 receivers. It is not only the standard dish for home installs, it’s practically the only dish. With this dish, you...
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THROWBACK THURSDAY: Old Antenna Flyers

One thing I love about the internet is how you can find all this old advertising. I used to love visiting the KVHF Blog, run by broadcaster Gary Arnold. At some point it faded away, but of course the internet still has a full archive of it. One of the images you’ll find posted is this one: At one point Solid Signal was a Channel Master dealer. That’s why I was drawn to this ad from long ago but it’s only one of the many ads you’ll find there. I’d say they were mostly from the 1950s and 1960s, when TV antennas were flying off the shelves of local retailers. You’ll find plenty of other Channel Master ads and flyers as well as Winegard ones and ones for other brands, some of which are still around! Still looks great today A lot of...
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Yes you can get HD channels on a KING One Pro. Here’s why we say that.

The KING One Pro is the top of the line in portable, self-aiming satellite dishes. It supports DIRECTV and DISH, it can handle up two receivers (even more in some configurations) and it’s so easy to use. Literally all you have to do is set it up on a level surface with a clear view of the southern sky. Connect it to a receiver and let it do it’s thing. Seriously, that’s it. But does it do HD? Really? First of all, yes. Here’s how we can say that. DISH customers This device will let DISH customers get all their channels in HD, period. There’s no more to that that story. But realistically, most DISH customers will opt for the less expensive Tailgater Pro. It’s the same device without the DIRECTV compatibility. DIRECTV customers If...
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