The Solid Signal Blog

This little montage came back into my life a few weeks ago. I am pretty sure I saw it several years ago, but since it popped up in my YouTube feed I thought I’d feature it in a Fun Friday article. It’s sort of a highlight reel for the best of animation up until 2017. A couple of takeaways: A world without animation? You don’t really think about it but there wasn’t any animation at all until about 1890, because there wasn’t any movie production. There used to be flipbooks, where each moment in time was on one page of a book and you flipped through it at high speed. That must have been somewhat more entertaining than making a doll out of corn silk, but not much. Styles change, and then they change back. I don’t know if it’s just me...

This is an early look at the Blender. If you’re interested, expect a lot more content in the coming days and weeks as I put the Blender through its paces. Sometimes, there’s a thing that does its job so well, it doesn’t matter that it only does one job. Marine Data Systems’ Blender might just fit that description. A test unit just hit my desk, and I didn’t want to wait before giving you my first impressions. The Blender unit This is an incredibly solid unit. Everything you see above is metal. I don’t think there’s bit of plastic on this thing except the power button. It’s heavy, too. I’m guessing that has to do with the massive heat sink at the top of it. Those grooves aren’t there just for show. You also get a mounting plate...

The right surveillance system for your apartment complex can be the difference between a safe and secure community and one that is vulnerable to criminal activity. With the increasing prevalence of technology, apartment complexes now have access to a wide range of security systems, each of which offers different features and benefits. In this article, we’ll discuss some of the key factors to consider when selecting the best surveillance system for your complex, including budget, the latest technology, and comprehensive coverage. We’ll also provide some tips on how to effectively deploy and maintain your security system to ensure that your community remains safe and secure. Assessing your apartment complex’s security needs...

There’s nothing quite like hopping in a new car and marveling at all of its bells and whistles. While new car technology is fun and exciting, it’s important to balance those bells and whistles with technology that serves a greater purpose. By staying up-to-date with the latest features, the potential impacts on safety and convenience, and even the expectations of car owners across the globe, you’ll feel more comfortable and confident with the new car technology offered today. You’ll also be able to adapt to and embrace those changing tech features as they start to appear. The more you understand this type of tech, the easier it will be to choose the right features for your next vehicle. What You Need and What You Don’t Again, it can...

The date was May 12, 2014. That’s when reality set in. There had been rumors of a deal between AT&T and DIRECTV before that, but on that day, there was enough concrete evidence to say that it could really happen. In a post that was lost in our transition to a new platform, I wrote, And a couple of days later… Just four days later, the official notice came out. (That article is still available.) Yes, AT&T would be buying DIRECTV. At first it was categorized as more of a merger, and akin to the majority stock purchases that had been done by News Corp and Liberty Media. When the deal finally did close in July, 2015, we all started to see the truth. AT&T implied almost from the start that they were not interested in DIRECTV as an pay-TV...

This week Ken welcomes fellow TV obsessive and the man behind the It’s About TV site Mitchell Hadley to the show. Ken and Mitchell discuss Indiana, Ken’s awful short term memory, growing up in Minnesota, Canadian TV, the Twin Cities, TV Guide’s amazing writing, time capsules, futurism, the original source documents, why a period piece will never get it quite right, the golden age of television, sci fi, the benefits of television, how sugar is bad, making us further apart as a society, Howdy Doody, rethinking TV for kids, how crime shows can be instructional, politics on television, doom saying, Nixon getting TV right before he got it wrong, JFK, the 1968 Democratic Convention, Ronald Regan’s origin story, the night James Brown saved...

Satellite television is one of the most popular upgrades for boats. It’s easy to see why. Cell service can take you about 10 miles off shore, and after that you’re looking at choosing satellite internet. Not everyone thinks of that as a great value, since marine internet packages are a lot more expensive than the ones you get on land. With satellite TV you get hundreds of channels of live TV up to 100 miles off shore. Once you install the satellite antenna, the cost of the service is about what you would pay on land. To me that sounds like a great value. But, not everyone wants satellite TV on their boat. You may not want it for when you set sail, but you might not want to miss your favorite programs while you’re in the marina. That’s...

Satellite TV is still a very popular option for RVers. It’s a better choice than internet because it’s less expensive. Not only that, if you are getting a used RV, you may already have all the hardware you need in order to use it. But let’s say that you’re getting a new RV and you want to trick it out with satellite TV. You have some options. You can choose from DIRECTV or DISH. Each has benefits. Choose DIRECTV if you want faster channel changes and more sports. Choose DISH if you want more HD channels and an available month-to-month option. Either way though, you’re going to need some sort of satellite receiver. There’s never been a TV with a built-in satellite receiver in the US, and so you’ll need to wire for that receiver. Is...

Your business is hanging by a thread. LITERALLY. If the thin strand of fiber that connects your business to the world breaks, you’re in deep trouble! Learn what you can do with failover solutions from Signal Group. 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 Google Podcasts Overcast TuneIn Spreaker...

That’s right, I said it. DIRECTV turned on the national feed of MeTV yesterday on its satellite and internet (DIRECTV Stream) services. But, chances are you can’t get it. You can try going to channel 77 now and trying it. I’ll wait. If you tried it, you may have gotten a “gamesearch” message saying the program was blacked out. If you’re lucky, you were then directed to a channel showing the same content. Personally I’m having a bit of trouble with the functionality but I expect it will improve. Why, and how? The reason it’s happening is that the national feed of MeTV is being blacked out if you have a local affiliate that shows its content. (You can check that here.) A lot of cities have MeTV already. Some have it as a subchannel...

I’ve been talking for years about the proposed next-generation TV standard. I think this is a critical year for it, and I’ll even go further and say that unless we really see something interesting happen with ATSC 3.0 (or NextGen TV as they would like you to call it) the whole thing will start to fade away. Maybe that sounds negative, but I actually mean it in a positive way. Let me explain. The big roadblock is largely gone It was way back in late 2017 when the FCC first authorized test broadcasts of ATSC 3.0. It took about two years to build out the basic technology and infrastructure, and by the time early 2020 rolled around we all had our focus on something else. That took another two years or so to shake out as you may remember...

One of the real problems with today’s cell phones is, surprisingly they’re not as good at taking voice calls as older phones. In fact, there’s a good chance that this flip phone performs as well or better than any $1,000 phone. Or at least it would, if today’s 5G networks supported it. You can get a dumbphone today if you search. They aren’t that expensive. Sure, it doesn’t do any of the neat things that a more expensive phone does and your kids will probably laugh at you for using it. But if you’re trying to make a call, it’s probably going to outperform any slick little smartphone on the market. In fact, it seems like dumbphones are making a comeback The younger generations seem to be embracing dumbphones as a bit of a statement. A...

If you don’t read anything else in this article, read this: if your business internet goes down, you’re out of business. You knew that, but it’s worth mentioning. Your internet connection runs your phones, your point of sale terminals, credit card processing, email, and so much more. If that one bit of fiber to your business breaks, that’s it. Game over. Now, imagine the dozens of different ways that could happen. The cable company’s supplied router or terminal could break. Someone could break a fiber line when digging a hole. There could be water or ice damage. If your lines are above ground, a tree could fall and snap a fiber strand. It’s enough to keep you up at night if you’re a business owner. Sleep soundly if you have...

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If you have satellite TV on your boat you know that voltage matters. Boats generally have 12 volt DC current, but larger boats will have an AC inverter so you can plug in anything you want. Now, that’s fine if you’re staying in the US but hey… I’m speaking to you really wealthy folks out there. If you sail across the world then you’re just as likely to have 220 or 240 volt current running through the vessel. This can be a problem when hooking up electronics. Voltage converters are great, but Obviously if you have a boat that uses 220 volt power you know about voltage converters. A voltage converter does what it says: it converts one form of voltage to another. It’s a very common thing, part of practically every electronic device...