The Solid Signal Blog

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Here’s the basic problem. When satellite TV was first designed, it was designed for things that don’t move. Things like houses and restaurants. Looking back even further, all television was essentially built around the idea that you tended to stay in your local area. Back in the 1950s, driving more than 50 miles was rare. It was something you did maybe once a year to take a big trip. Today it’s no big deal– some of us commute that far to go to work. And let’s think for a minute about boats. TV on your boat wasn’t a big draw in the 20th century. Back then, getting away from it all meant no one saw you and you saw no one, sometimes for weeks at a time. It wasn’t until the early part of this century that satellite TV for boats even seemed...

Chances are, the Windows PC you use has gotten an update lately. I’m not talking about the routine ones that show up every Tuesday like clockwork. This one, called “Moment 3,” is supposed to be a big one. It’s one of a few times a year that your computer will get a pretty comprehensive refresh. And it’s boring as heck. Your phone may get an update soon, too. Or, it might have just gotten one. iPhone fans will be looking forward to iOS 17, while users of fairly current Androids might have already gotten Android 12. And you know what, they’re boring too. Here’s what I’m talking about. Windows’ latest update has huge new feature functionality like “This update provides the total amount of storage capacity of all your Microsoft OneDrive...

Is cutting the cord something you’ve considered? If so, don’t let these six totally untrue cord-cutting myths keep you from enjoying free HDTV. Before we get into the myths, it’s best to define what cord-cutting is. At Solid Signal, cutting the cord is using an over-the-air TV antenna to replace subscription cable TV. The broadcast spectrum is a public trust, which allows TV stations to use it for profit as long as it’s done for the public’s benefit. What this means is that free over-the-air TV will always be available in every media market. Once you buy a TV antenna, receiver, and other equipment, it could be the last time you’ll have to pay for TV. This equipment receives most or all free TV transmissions from your local stations. In...

Does your TV turn on in the middle of the night? Does it change sources when you don’t expect it? Things like that can be symptoms of problems with the HDMI Control protocol that’s been part of DIRECTV equipment for about a decade. This protocol is generally pretty useful. It lets you pick up the remote you want, and just use it. You don’t have to worry about finicky universal remotes or anything like that. What is HDMI Control? HDMI Control, otherwise known as HDMI-CEC, is a way for devices to work together. Using the remote from one device sends commands to another device over the HDMI cable. Usually it works flawlessly, turning on the TV when you power up the DVR, and setting the right input. It’s used on practically every modern...

DIRECTV’s EPS10 power supply has been around for about a decade. It premiered with the company’s H25 receiver but is now used for pretty much every box except for the HS17 Genie 2. Whether you have an original C31 or the latest Gemini, this is the power adapter for you. If yours breaks or you need another one, you can get one from Solid Signal. But let’s say for whatever reason you don’t want to do that. Maybe you have a bucket full of power supplies from other stuff and you want to use one of them. Can you? It’s all about the specs There’s a sticker on the EPS10 power supply that tells you everything you need to know. If you have a power supply that meets these requirements, it will work. Let’s go through them one by one. First...

What’s better than a tailgate party? Fire up the barbecue, put on some TV and watch people find you! It’s a perfect way to make new friends. A lot of folks with DISH don’t want to tailgate, they tell me, because setting up the dish is a pain. You have to put the thing up on a tripod and spend time aiming it “just so.” That can really kill the buzz you get from being in the stadium parking lot. I hear you. There’s a better option. This is the Tailgater from KING. Even the name tells you that it’s the right thing for you. It’s a 100% DISH approved, self-aiming product that will give you HD programming when you hook up a Wally receiver to it. (Need a Wally? Get one here.) It’s really what you want. Start by setting the Tailgater on a...

Last year, as I’m sure you all know by now, Discovery swallowed up what was then known as WarnerMedia. Before that, it was known as AOL TimeWarner, and before that, TimeWarnerTurner. Why am I listing all these deadnames? To get to the point that for about 30 years, there’s been a program source called TCM (originally Turner Classic Movies) dedicated to keeping the spirit of classic movies alive. I’m not just talking about the movies that we all liked as kids. I’m talking about important, award-winning fare from throughout the 20th century. To the extent that they’re available, even silent films are included. For most of its life TCM was a cable or satellite channel. It gained a streaming app like everyone else. And when HBO Max...

If you have an RV, you have the world at your command.. There’s so much to see out there. All you have to do is drive, and you bring your entire home with you. You don’t have to worry about strange hotels or expensive restaurants. You have your kitchen and bedroom wherever you go. But, of course, you don’t want to leave it all behind, especially your connection to the virtual world. At this point in the world, no one is leaving their phone or computer at home. Entertainment and connection are as important as the spirit of exploration. What about live TV? Let me tell you a secret. Live TV is alive and well. You can read plenty of stories about how live TV is “dying” and how “no one wants live TV anymore.” Folks, stories like that get...

We’re just days away from the latest Mission: Impossible movie. This is a franchise with an incredible life. It’s second only to Star Trek in its longevity and the number of films produced. We’re heading toward the seventh film, with many of the actors from the original 1996 film still in place. While none of the original characters from the original 1966 show ever made it to the big screen, the film franchise has been spectacularly successful. It’s been so successful that many people never even knew there was a TV series. If they’re aware of the show, most will say they’ve never watched it. The miracle of the Cruise Mission: Impossible in its current form owes it all to Tom Cruise. It’s his production company that’s produced the...

Bar and restaurant owners, you’re losing money each day you don’t have DIRECTV in your business. When it comes to commercial DIRECTV accounts, some bar/restaurant owners focus on how much this service costs. They need to focus on the amount of money they’re losing by not offering this service at their business. The truth is, having DIRECTV in your bar, restaurant, or pub is a proven moneymaker throughout the year. This is one of the benefits of having DIRECTV at your bar or restaurant. The Satellite TV Expert… When it comes to all things satellite TV, we turn to Signal Connect, the part of our company company that specializes in satellite TV sales and activation. The Profits of “Beer Math” We want business owners to stop seeing...

Imagine your personal data is sitting in a data center in Kansas where strangers can see it. Now, just pretend that phrase uttered by the late, great Don LaFontaine. Does that scare you? Seriously, there are people who back up all their data and never store anything online except spam e-mail. On the other side of the spectrum are folks who live their lives on the cloud… not just Instagram and TikTok but storing their entire lives on Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, or other cloud storage services. How safe is it? Let’s compare three scenarios. 1. Someone wants to steal your personal information. Well, it’s clear. If you store nothing on the web, there’s nothing to steal, right? Not true. Your address is a matter of public record… and...

If you dig deep enough into the world of cell phones, you’ll realize that there’s a real controversy as to how call quality is measured. We know that the bars on your phone don’t mean anything. So how can you tell if you’re likely to get good voice calls and fast data? RSSI is one measurement you could look at. RSSI is one of those terms that’s supposed to tell you how bad your signal is so you’ll spend money on fixing it. Let me explain. Received Signal Strength Indicator RSSI stands for “received signal strength indicator” or “received signal strength indication.” It’s a number that is supposed to tell you how good your signal strength is, except it kind of doesn’t. It’s actually a relative number that tells you how good your...

See if this sounds like a familiar problem. You’re in a large group, maybe you’re at church or in a meeting or a seminar. All of a sudden everyone’s phone goes off at the same time. It’s an emergency alert. They happen every so often, and if you’re in a major city you’ve even seen one in the middle of the night. Although the alert system has been around since 2011, hostility towards it seems to date back to 2013. That was the year when two high profile stories came up, one in New York and one in Los Angeles, where smartphone users heard a unique shriek arising from their devices. Reaction to this system was all over the map. Many reports at the time said people got “alert burnout.” The Los Angeles Times responded with a story on how...

One of the most amazing things about Apple is the way they take something that’s 4-5 years old, something that someone else failed at and we all thought we didn’t wanted, tweak it a little bit and all of a sudden it’s the best thing ever. Take augmented reality. It launched a while back with Apple iOS 11. You might have experienced this with Pokemon Go, but for the fuddy-duddies among us, let me explain it. You look at your phone, and its camera shows you an image of what’s in front of you. That’s not new. What is new is that the screen also shows you things that aren’t there. In this demo of an upcoming IKEA app, the chair isn’t real… the app is showing you what the chair would look like in your real room. Get it? All eyes are on...