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February 22, 2009

Gadgets - Just Because You Can Make It, Doesn't Mean You Should

Besides AV and other home technology products, I also like clever gadgets. A few that I have found in the past are the Picture Placer, Jet Rack Ladder Storage and Monster Cable's Outlets to Go. While these products are not for everyone, they are innovative solutions that solve a problem.

I also have found a few that didn't quite make the grade, here are couple:

Black and Decker AutoTape - $25 - This is a 25' motorized tape measure. It uses 4 AAA batteries to extend the tape, (the tape is retracted by a spring, just like other none motorized tapes). The problem is that it:
- eats batteries,
- it weighs too much,
- and the motor only extends the tape about 5 or 6 feet.

For me, a plain old tape measure is better, cheaper and lighter. Extending a tape has never been a big problem for me. If you own one, buy your AAA batteries in bulk

Open It - $12.99 - When I first saw this product, I thought it might have some merit. Its primary purpose is to make it easier to open clam shell and blister packed products. I think that almost everyone has experienced some frustration when opening products that are entombed in tough plastic shrouds. The OpenIt has:
- offset jaws that cut through plastic packages,
- a retractable utility knife in one handle,
- and small interchangeable phillips and slotted screwdrivers that flips out of the other handle.

The scissor part cuts through packaging with ease, but a pair of ordinary scissors does the job just as well. The screwdriver and knife are a bit cumbersome, but work OK. This product delivers what it promises, but you probably already own scissors or a utility knife. Save your money, use what you already have.

Have you tried either of these products? And do you tried any gadgets that didn't live up to your expectations?

Posted by Bob Gatton at 12:07 PM | Comments (1)

February 19, 2009

Digital TV Transition Delayed

Originally February 17 was going to be the cut off day when analog television was to go dark. Congress has now delayed it until June 12, 2009. The reason is that 'millions' of consumers have not made the transition, they are still receiving the analog signal 'over the air and have not purchased a converter box'.

So the cut off has been delayed for about four months. Not a big deal, right? Well there are a few reasons why this might be a problem.

- if you are a consumer that needs a converter box and have not yet purchased a converter box - why? For at least the last year, it seems like every time that I watch TV I see commercials about the conversion. And with the $40 coupon the cost is very small to the consumer, many DTV converter boxes are available for $49 or less. The budget for the coupons has been exhausted, but Congress has allocated more funds for this program - more coupons should be available soon.

- Companies have paid billions for the spectrum that was going to become available on Feb 17th. Verizon, ATT, Qualcomm and others have bought this spectrum, now their plans to use it will be delayed..

- And maybe the most important reason why I am against the delay is electricity. One of the top costs that a local broadcaster has is electricity. It takes a lot of electricity to broadcast a signal. I have read that the cost range is about $10,000 to over $50,000 per month for each station to pay for the electricity to continue broadcasting the analog signal. Multiply this by over 1,800 full power local broadcasters and that is a huge quantity of electricity. Shouldn't we be trying to use less energy?

Have you made the conversion? And do you think that the June transition will be delayed again? I think that it might.

Posted by Bob Gatton at 6:48 AM

February 12, 2009

Compact Florescent Light Bulbs - How long do yours last?

According to the US Government's Energy Star web site; Energy Star CFL (Compact Florescent Light) qualified bulbs use about 75 percent less energy than standard incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer.

I have been using CFLs for several years and so far I have not had one fail. But I was having lunch with a couple of friends last week and one said that he has had many CFLs fail after a relatively short period of time. He, and everybody else, purchased these bulbs because they saved energy and lasted a longer than conventional bulbs. I have seen some estimates that you can save up to $60 per bulb using CFLs. Even though they cost several times what an ordinary bulb costs, over the long term they should pay for themselves, many times over, if they last.

A couple of his bulb failures were when he used a CFL outdoors in an exposed fixture. He used ordinary CFLs, they are not designed to be used in an outdoor exposed fixture. Standard CFLs life can be reduced when exposed to the elements and cold weather. There are special CFLs that can be used in this application. But he has had a few failures when a CFL was used in a normal indoor lamp.

Have you had Compact Florescent Lights fail soon after installing them? (When a CFL quits working make sure that you dispose of them properly, they do have some hazardous materials in them, for more information on disposal, go here.)

Posted by Bob Gatton at 8:19 AM | Comments (3)

February 9, 2009

An HDMI Cable with a Grip

After a few stumbles at the start HDMI cables are now common place on many home theater/media room DVD players (both standard and BluRay), satellite and cable boxes, AV receivers and televisions. It has made installations so much easier - just one connection is needed for audio and video.

But the HDMI cable, which looks a little like a USB cable (they are not interchangeable) sometimes falls out the socket on the back of equipment. This has happened to me a few times when when the equipment is installed in a piece of furniture where you need to rotate the equipment to make the connections on the back of all of the equipment. When I rotated the equipment back to their normal position, another cable or a speaker wire snagged an HDMI cable and pulled it out of its socket.

This problem doesn't happen everyday, but I have talked with a few installers and it does happened more often than you would think. A company that is new to me - PPC - introduced an HDMI cable at last months CES that, they claim, has 3 times the resistance to being pulled out as a standard cable. They sent me a sample and the cable does have significantly more grip than any of the other cables that I had on hand. And it is a well made cable.

It has a simple locking mechanism on the top of the connector that grips the socket. To release the cable from the socket, just press the raised button on top to release it. Very clever.

PPC HDMI cables are available in three lengths:
- 3 feet - $48.99
- 6 feet - $59.99
- 12 feet - 72.99

For more information, go to PPC. Have you had problems with an HDMI cable falling out of its socket?

Posted by Bob Gatton at 8:51 AM