Welcome to the Home Automation Archives

PCmag writes: “The Voodoo ARIA ($4,897 direct) is a unique—and expensive—entry into the world of Media Center PCs. Like other Voodoo PCs we’ve seen, the ARIA carries top–of-the-line components—namely the AMD Athlon 64 FX-57 processor and an nVidia GeForce 7800GTX graphics card—a cool, “Infineon Red” paint job, and a premium price tag. But there are [...]

CNET reviews the Sony DVP-CX995V and here’s what they say: “Unlike in most other consumer-electronics categories, not much has changed in the world of high-capacity disc changers since we reviewed Sony’s DVP-CX985V. Pioneer still gives Sony some competition, but if you’re flipping through a Crutchfield magazine or browsing at Circuit City, you’re much more likely [...]

Maggie writes “The obvious benefit of a pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera is that it allows users more control compared with a fixed camera, such as panning or zooming in on an incident of interest.
“Everybody wants PTZ, but that main thing is the price,” says Tae Kim, system administration for KT&C USA, a Los Angeles-based manufacturer of [...]

Rachel writes “Confused about your connections? We fill in the holes behind your A/V equipment.
You’ve bought a new DVD player. The box opens to reveal a new shiny, sleek device that your home entertainment center is just screaming for. With manual in hand, you squeeze behind your equipment rack to hook up the latest addition—only [...]

Mike writes: “10 Stupid Things Smart People Do When Setting Up a Home Theater.
Home theater isn’t like what you see on TV ”tons of good-looking men and women dying to view a scary-real-life picture in a plush, high-tech room.
Unfortunately, in the rush to reach home theater nirvana, a lot of people make mistakes that can [...]

To match wide-screen format monitors, such as Apple’s Cinema Display line and Dell’s UltraSharp 2005FPW, venerable tablet maker, Wacom, introduces Intuos3 A5 Wide. The new wider-format tablet sports a 16:10 aspect ratio …..

There’s much speculation that Sony may cut PS2 prices to counter Microsoft Xbox 360 debut this holiday season. This is still up in debate as the year is approaching its end and Sony hasn’t release any news …..

Robert and Marshall write “Forget the shiny cabinets and mind-numbing specs—here is your best guide to choosing the right speakers.
Unless you relish returning to the days when the tiny speaker in a Zenith TV was considered high-tech, you’re probably itching to update your home theater audio into something awesome. But with so many types [...]

Daniel writes “Squelch electrical noise and get better audio and video
The new home entertainment system is all wired up. You’re ready to watch The Matrix Reloaded, but something’s not quite right.
There’s an annoying hum in the background coming from several speakers. Worse yet, the picture on the projection screen is a tad unsteady, and a [...]

Techliving writes “Reality TV rules and this is the stuff it’s made from. Your media begs to be turned into home videos and slideshows. Unfortunately, you are always out of disk space to store and retrieve everything.
You have four options: delete stuff, rip open your PC and add yet another drive, buy an expensive external [...]

This might lean towards more commercial, but it’s worth reading “All types of security systems - including intrusion detection, access control, video surveillance and fire protection - rely on batteries and power supplies. Typically, batteries and power supplies are used together to convert incoming 110/120-volt electrical service to meet the lower 12- or 24-volt requirements [...]

SDM writes “Finally the technology is catching up with the dream. Having “eyes” everywhere they are needed to verify alarms, check persons gaining access to sensitive areas, provide security for employees opening and closing facilities, and help maintain order at retail locations is becoming affordable.
Owners and managers can keep track of multiple facilities. They can [...]