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STREAMING SATURDAY: The decay of smart TVs

I bought my first smart TV in 2011. It wasn’t my first HDTV, but I was very excited about it. I liked the idea of having practically everything available on my TV without a separate box. That TV even had the “DIRECTV Ready” software in it so it looked like it would run pretty much everything I wanted in a nice clean installation. The love didn’t last. By 2013 that TV had several extra boxes littered around it, and by 2016 I was on to another TV altogether. That new TV also had smart features, which I swiftly ignored. Smart TVs have the best intentions The idea of a smart TV is a good one. I mean, you should be able to have just the TV in the room and not have to worry about a forest of wires connecting things up. For those who do...
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Is DIRECTV moving backwards with its H26K receiver?

Here’s the back of DIRECTV’s H25 receiver. The photo dates from 2011: In case you’re wondering, the person who took those pictures (it wasn’t me) was doing their best with the consumer equipment they had at the time. This is the back of DIRECTV’s latest H26K Commercial receiver. I took this picture in the using a pro-quality camera with proper studio lighting. Notice anything different? The new one has an Ethernet port. It doesn’t have a phone jack, but I bet no one misses that. Here’s something you won’t be able to tell from a picture though. The H25 will carry network data through its coax port. Connect all the receivers together, add a DECA connected to your network switch, and every receiver gets access to the internet. The...
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Here’s why recent channel blackouts feel different

On July 3, which seems like about ten years ago, stations owned or operated by Nexstar Media were blacked out on DIRECTV. At that time, I would have put money on the idea that the blackout would be solved in time for the first kickoff of the NFL season. Now, I’m writing this article in the morning of September 8, and who knows – there’s still time for things to improve before Sunday. But I have a feeling that this moment will pass and Nexstar stations, of which there are about 200 across the country, will remain dark on the country’s largest pay television service. Over on the other side of the business. Spectrum and Disney recently announced that they weren’t able to come to an agreement either, leading to not only Disney...
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FUN FRIDAY: Retro Review: Close Encounters of the Third Kind

The other day I was surprised to read an article claiming Close Encounters of the Third Kind was a “largely forgotten film.” It was the third highest grossing film of 1977 and the sixth highest grossing film of the 1970s. It ranks in the top 100 films of all time in inflation-adjusted grosses, earning over $612,000,000 in 2023 dollars. It’s also a film I’ve seen probably 100 times in my life. Largely forgotten? By who, I have to ask. Talking to the millennials I asked a millennial coworker if they considered the film to be largely forgotten. He hadn’t seen the film and figured most people hadn’t. So, I decided to give it a rewatch, as it had been a few years for me as well. Here’s what I decided. The first thing I will tell you is...
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Want a component connection from your H26K, H25 or Genie Mini? We can help!

DIRECTV’s latest H26K receiver is compatible with the latest and greatest TVs. It even does 4K. It’s the smallest DIRECTV receiver the company has ever done. But with small size comes a tradeoff. Older DIRECTV boxes were just flush with outputs: S-Video, composite, component, HDMI… it was a veritable smorgasbord of output possibilities with a DIRECTV box at one time. That changed when DIRECTV rolled out the H25 receiver. In those smaller boxes, there just isn’t enough room for all those outputs. HDMI doesn’t solve every problem, and DIRECTV knows that. The AV connector on your receiver You’ll find a connector like this one on practically every modern DIRECTV box. It’s one source that will provide component video, composite video, and...
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Optimizing Operations: Exploring the Advantages of Technology-Driven Workflows

Optimizing your workflow can spark a period of growth and help you outperform your competitors. That’s because 94% of small to medium businesses (SMEs) still perform repetitive, time-consuming tasks even though 68% of employees say they have too much work to handle. By optimizing the overall workflow of your business, you give employees a chance to bring their best selves to work. Staff who automate repetitive tasks can spend more time on creative challenges and may be less likely to become burnt out. Tech-driven workflow optimization can reduce the risk of human error, too. When folks have less on their plate, they’re far more likely to give each task the attention that it truly deserves. Optimizing Your Resources Maximizing your...
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THROWBACK THURSDAY: DIRECTV LA Broadcast Center

Back in 2012 I got invited on a tour of DIRECTV’s Los Angeles Broadcast Center. At the time it was the most advanced broadcast center in the world. It probably still is, but take a look at my review of it. It hasn’t aged well, unfortunately. From the old-school DIRECTV logo on the building to the matrix of standard-definition monitors, it doesn’t look good for this review. I mean, it still looks like a cool place to visit, but frankly I’m surprised that it hasn’t aged well at all. Even the server racks with their on-demand servers look kind of goofy compared to what you see today. And, I have to imagine that there is probably fifty times as much content stored there today and so all those servers have been replaced twice over by now...
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NFL Football kicks off tonight. Is the world ready?

It’s finally that time of year. NFL football kicks off tonight at 8:20 Eastern time (whatever, I guess things don’t start on the hour anymore) with the Chiefs and the Lions duking it out in Kansas City. Because this is a Thursday game, it should be available to everyone on their local NBC station. Those who would rather stream it can find it, unsurprisingly, on Peacock. But what if you can’t get it? Let’s say that for whatever reason your local NBC station is blacked out due to a contract dispute. Let’s say you’ve opted not to pay for Peacock, which is going up in price this month anyway. What are your options? Option 1: Get an antenna from Solid Signal If you have an over-the-air antenna you never have to worry about those pesky TV...
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What is a MAC address?

Ever wonder what a MAC address is? It’s one of those terms you hear a lot with computers and computer accessories. It’s not just a place where they serve macaroni. A MAC address isn’t where Mayor McCheese lives either. A MAC address is a critical part of the way your computer systems function. Without something like that, you could have some problems that wouldn’t be easy to fix. What a MAC address really is A MAC address is used in networking to help identify a specific part of your computer, phone or tablet.MAC stands for Media Access Control address, that it is an entry/exit point for connecting to a network. Every network device is given a unique number, sort of like a serial number. It’s not tied to the phone or computer, it’s...
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BREAKING: YouTube TV comes to Gemini just in time for NFL Sunday Ticket

This is one of those times when it all comes together. When I originally tested DIRECTV’s Gemini device, it didn’t support any apps that would compete with DIRECTV’s own live TV service. I didn’t think that would be much of a problem for people, and I don’t think it was for a long time. And then, Google bought the rights to NFL Sunday Ticket for this year and people started asking me if the Gemini would support YouTube TV. Well, just on a lark I checked again today. The Google Play Store on Geminis now supports YouTube TV and Sling. I’ll be honest with you. It’s not like I’ve been checking for it every day. A couple months ago it wasn’t there, and now it was. So inevitably I’ll get a commenter or two who will say “yeah, I’ve had it...
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Big projects? Call our enterprise team!

Sometimes it takes a little more than a few AA batteries and a gadget from Amazon to get the job done. There’s an amazing amount of DIY stuff out there, an an equally amazing number of videos to tell you how to use it. I should know, I’ve authored over 500 of them at our YouTube channel. But not every project is a DIY project, especially in big business, government and institutional projects. When it comes to those big projects, you need what’s called an integrator. You need someone who will organize the subcontractors, plan the installation, and take care of the entire thing from start to finish. You need Signal Connect’s enterprise team. What to look for in an integrator When it comes to choosing an integrator, it really comes down...
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Ken Reid and Caitlin Cook

April 3-9, 2006 This week Ken welcomes musician, comedian and brains behind the new Off-Broadway Show “The Writing on the Stall” (playing NOW in NYC, every weekend in September) Caitlin Cook to the show. Ken and Caitlin discuss Ken’s rude dogs, surprising Ken, post 2000 media, Ken learning things, strict TV watching rules as a kid, being in love with what you can’t have, being reference-less as a kid, being too old for Lizzie McGuire, growing up in Los Angeles, being the child of a choreographer, being acutely aware of pop culture in LA, going to the movies, pop music, tv themes, Caitlin’s grandfather’s invention of the Wah Pedal, Charmed, how some work is for the love and some is for the money, cute murder, SVU, Law and Order...
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Someone INVENTED it: Transistor

Chances are you never think about transistors. The thing is, though, you’re surrounded by millions of them if not billions. There are several million in your computer, another million or so in the monitor, plus they’re in the remote, in your phone, possibly even in your charging cable. If you were to consider the sheer number of transistors you interact with daily, it would probably send you into a state of advanced paranoia. The transistors surrounding you are almost too small to see and tend to hang around together on computer chips where hundreds of thousands fit on a square smaller than your phone’s home button. They form the basic building blocks of every single device you own with any sort of plug, acting as microscopic switches...
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Fast Food Drive Thru Improvement Tips

Does your fast food franchise have a drive through, aka drive thru? This option can increases your business, especially during the lunch and dinner hours. During these times, busy people who are in a hurry want to grab a meal and get back to work or home to their families. If your customers don’t get the service that they expect and pay for, they will not have a pleasant or positive drive thru experience. In fact, it might be enough to turn them off on your restaurant at whole. To keep this from hurting your business, use these tips to improve your drive thru system. These are just some of the problems that happen in fast food drive thrus. If they’re happening at your location, you have a big problem. Part of the allure of fast food is...
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