http://www.mysimplehometech.com/blog/rss/feedsSimple Home Tech a family owned company in Windermere, Florida. Our philosophy is to provide best home automation service and advice at a reasonable priceTue, 05 May 2026 22:17:32 -0700http://www.mysimplehometech.com/blog/post/a-tv-that-looks-like-arthttp://www.mysimplehometech.com/blog/post/a-tv-that-looks-like-artSamsung’s newest TV is called The Frame and it’s meant to look like art when it is on the wall. Perfect for the room where you do not want the focal point to be a big black screen. Family Rooms, Living Rooms, even the Master Bedroom.Many times couples disagree on what rooms should have a TV. Often the TV breaks up the décor of the room, but this new TV is the perfect solution. The TV blends right in with the art work keeping the room décor intact. Just look at the pictures you can hardly tell the difference between the TV and the artwork.This TV was on display at this year’s home technology show in San Diego. Of course the TV is 4K, it’s available in popular 65” and 55” sizes, with other sizes coming soon. Seeing this TV in person is very impressive. Simple Home Tech can always help with TV installs and design. Tue, 19 Sep 2017 10:50:00 -0700http://www.mysimplehometech.com/blog/post/choosing-an-outdoor-tvhttp://www.mysimplehometech.com/blog/post/choosing-an-outdoor-tvAlmost everyone enjoys sitting out on the patio with a cool drink in their hand. While we are there some of us enjoy watching our favorite sports or TV shows. But dragging a TV in and out of the house isn’t practical. Additionally harsh weather can make it difficult to have a TV permanently installed. But technology has a solution to fit your needs. There are 3 options: 1) Install a weatherproof outdoor TV such as SunBrite or Seura. 2) Put your TV in a sealed weatherproof enclosure such as The Display Shield. 3) If the location has a moderate amount of protection take your chances and just install a regular TV. Of course there are advantages to each option. If you install a weatherproof outdoor TV like SunBrite the biggest drawback is the cost a small 32” TV starts at about $1500. And if you need it to go in direct sun it’s about $3000 add to that the mount and installation. With an enclosure prices start much more modestly as low as $450 for a small TV plus the cost of the TV, mount and installation. Sometimes ventilation can be an issue depending on the enclosure TV’s produce a lot of heat and need circulation. The last option would be to just install a really cheap TV. If the location is inside a covered porch this can be an option. Keep in mind that humidity and bugs will get in the TV and eventually cause the TV to stop working. However if you only have to spend a few hundred dollars every few years, this option can be more feasible than an outdoor TV. Enjoying the outdoors is great and if you want to watch TV outdoors Simple Home Tech has solutions to fit you needs. Contact us for a free consultation. Wed, 03 Feb 2016 00:00:00 -0700http://www.mysimplehometech.com/blog/post/tv-install-checklisthttp://www.mysimplehometech.com/blog/post/tv-install-checklistSo you’ve got a great new flat screen but now you need your TV installed on the wall. There can be a lot of factors that affect the job. Here is a checklist of things to consider. What kind of TV mount do you want? There are 3 basic types: Flat which means it does not move at all. Tilting which you can angle up or down for better viewing. Last is full motion which allows you to turn the TV in any direction so it can be seen from other areas like a kitchen. Is the wall drywall, block, or stucco? Is it an interior or exterior wall? Are the studs metal or wood? Is there a cable jack at the location you want the TV? Is there power at the location? Is the cable and power at the right height? Or will wires need to be run in the wall? No one wants their TV hung with unsightly wires running down the wall. If there is no cable or power is there attic access to the location so that wiring can be installed? Often we don’t realize the amount of work in a project until we really analyze what is needed. We may say I just need a TV hung but as you can see a number of factors come into play and affect the cost. Even in a perfect situation professionally mounting a TV is time consuming. Knowing the answers to the above checklist can help avoid costly surprises.Tue, 15 Dec 2015 00:00:00 -0700http://www.mysimplehometech.com/blog/post/ip-vs-analog-surveillance-camerashttp://www.mysimplehometech.com/blog/post/ip-vs-analog-surveillance-camerasIP vs Analog Surveillance Cameras Should I get IP or Analog Surveillance cameras? This is a question that is asked quite often. There are many opinions on the subject. Those who say analog is better usually state 3 reasons. Analog does not use compression so no video is lost. Analog is true real-time while IP can have a delay usually micro seconds. Analog does not require any bandwidth on your network. Let’s analyze these statements. The first one regarding compression really boils down to the compression technology. Of course data can be lost at various stages. Think of this over simplified illustration: would you rather have every other frame of a license plate that you can read flawlessly, or every single frame of a license plate you cannot make out. IP cameras offer the ability to see details down to the brand of shoes someone is wearing. Next Analog is true real time. The fact is a few microseconds just don’t matter. Even the TV we watch isn’t truly live by the time it bounces through all the satellites time is lost. Last Analog doesn’t use bandwidth. As long as you have a good network this doesn’t matter either. We’re not talking about your internet speed from your provider that has no bearing on your internal network. We are talking about your router, switches, cable, and access points. Any current router is more than capable of handling the traffic. IP cameras have many more pixels allowing you to zoom in and see details that can’t be seen with analog. How much you can zoom is only limited by how many mega pixels your camera is. We’ve all seen a news report with grainy surveillance images where you can’t make out much, and that TV drama where they zoom in and clean it up just isn’t reality. IP cameras eliminate that problem. So why would I ever use analog? The cost savings of a 4 camera system is less than $300 if you go analog, so money should not be a determining factor. There is one situation when you would use them if your house is already wired for analog. In this situation I’d recommend a HD TVI system which allows HD quality over coax instead of network wire. You won’t be able to hook up a 10 megapixel camera but 1.3 – 2MP will be no problem.Fri, 04 Dec 2015 00:00:00 -0700http://www.mysimplehometech.com/blog/post/technology-concerns-when-building-a-new-homehttp://www.mysimplehometech.com/blog/post/technology-concerns-when-building-a-new-homeBuilding a new home can be one of the most exciting times. Many times once our home is built and we move in we realize there were things we should have done differently. Technology is one area where this ends up happening a lot. Whether its WiFi coverage, network for that new smart TV, music, surveillance cameras, lighting control, or control of any other device, many times we forget these concerns until after we have moved in. Most of us rely on the builder to put the proper infrastructure in the home. However depending on your builder can have numerous drawbacks. The 1 problem is that builders are not technology experts, most get little technology training unless its construction techniques, let’s face it would you ask a plumber or framer what channel your WiFi hotspot should be set to. The technology industry just changes to fast for builders to spend time concentrating on it. Can you really get technical advice from a person that doesn’t understand new options? Another problem is that most people do not use a custom builder we go through a large tract builder. These builders biggest concern is to keep the project simple, and cookie cutter, so they can get in and get out. Making changes for them slows down the assembly line. Of course cost is a huge concern with these builders. Yet another problem is that a lot of technology is unseen as humans we focus on what we see such as hardwood floors, or granite counter tops etc. which is why your builders budget focuses on those items. But the fact is those cosmetic items are easy to replace later. However once the 2nd floor goes on if you decide to add in ceiling speakers, or realize you have a WiFi dead spot, you could be looking at extensive drywall damage, and repair costs. When building a home use a practical approach focus the bulk of your budget on structural, and infrastructure changes. Cosmetic items can always be upgraded with your next big bonus. It’s always a good idea to speak with a home technology expert, a consultant can give advice on current and some future trends and how it relates to home construction. Simple Home Tech is happy to consult with you before your next build, a simple free consult can save you loads of frustration in the future.Fri, 20 Nov 2015 00:00:00 -0700http://www.mysimplehometech.com/blog/post/4k-tvs-vs-1080p-hdhttp://www.mysimplehometech.com/blog/post/4k-tvs-vs-1080p-hdTo 4K or not to 4K With black Friday and the holiday season approaching you may be considering the question “should I get a 4K or UHD TV?” This is a very common question. First let’s consider what the difference is just in case you are not familiar. A 4K or UHD TV compared to a 1080p HD TV has 4 times the pixels just over 2 million compared to just over 4 million, and twice the resolution 1080 vs 2160. What does that mean? Well if you think about when you blow up a picture how it loses resolution quality, this is the same concept.eagle-4K-ex As we get bigger TV’s we are blowing up the picture and losing quality. Here is an exaggerated example. Notice how the larger picture is more pixelated, which means you see the grainy pixels. Now there are fancy charts that tell you when this makes a difference relative to screen size and seating distance. But I recommend seeing it for yourself. Go to your local big box electronics store and check it out. The difference is night and day even to a person who is not real concerned about picture quality. So based on this we would naturally assume get the 4K its better. But some would argue this. The reason some argue this is because, currently there is very little 4K content. It is mostly online and soon to be some through DirectTV, due to bandwidth issues cable companies will be slow to adopt. Therefore some say there is no benefit to getting a 4K TV. But let’s consider a few points. First the same argument was made when HD TV’s came out, but now HD is everywhere and you wouldn’t think of getting something not HD. So it’s just a matter of time before content catches up, and then you’d be buying another TV anyway. Second there is very little price difference between 4K and 1080p, you would not go to a new car showroom and buy an obsolete model just to save $200. Third a large portion of our TV viewing is now being done online and this is the fastest growing viewing market. Online content lends itself well to 4K content and online libraries will continue to improve. Forth 4K TV’s include upscaling abilities to improve current content, granted this is not as good as content filmed in 4K but the visual difference is impressive. Based on this my recommendation would be to go 4K or UHD. But don’t take my word for it, go see it yourself. Wed, 11 Nov 2015 00:00:00 -0700