Tom Brauser

                                    Apple and Roku make the top media streaming devices in the market today. So if you want to convert your TV to a Smart TV, an Apple TV or Roku 3 are both excellent choices. Sure, there are quite a number of other choices, but Apple and Roku have a more established streaming platform since they have been at it much longer than most. You won’t go wrong with either one.   Although they both function largely the same, there are a number of differences between the Roku box and Apple TV. So how do you choose which one is best for you? I happen to have both units and can give you a side-by-side comparison to help you decide.

    Since announcing WebOS earlier this year at CES 2014 in January, LG just congratulated themselves on selling over 1 million WebOS enabled Smart TVs. But what is all the fuss about and why are they selling so many WebOS TVs? The answer is “simple,” no pun intended. The WebOS operating system for their Smart TVs is all about improving the user experience and making it easier to use. It is very easy and even entertaining to set up, and simpler to quickly access exactly what content you are looking for. It even allows you to flip back and forth between apps or different devices while returning exactly where you left off. Here’s how it works.

  As far back as the Ancient Romans there is evidence of air-conditioned homes. Water from the aqueducts were circulated through their walls of to cool them. However, the first electrical air conditioner was invented by Willis Carrier in 1902. He invented it not for comfort, but for a publishing company to keep down the temperature and humidity so the paper did not expand or contract. Since then air conditioning has become one of the most significant engineering achievements of the last century and has impacted the economy and the world in many ways. If you think comfort is the only reason you need air conditioning in your home, think again as there are many other benefits.

          If you want to better secure your home, a video surveillance system is an excellent choice. A surveillance system has a number of advantages over a burglar alarm system, and the Q-See 960H Premium Surveillance System is an excellent option. Its cameras have up to 100 feet of range, it has remote monitoring from almost anywhere, and there is tremendous flexibility in adjusting the settings of the system. I have 7 cameras around the perimeter of my house that provide a lot of other convenient benefits in addition to being a great security system.

  If you are a serious gamer, or even not-so-serious, to get the most entertainment value out of your gaming you need the right TV. Some TVs just won’t do justice to your gaming. So how do choose the right TV? One that will allow you to take your enjoyment to the next level. Here’s a quick guide to choosing the best gaming TV.

  Best Buy has all sorts of Kitchen appliances, from major appliances to small toasters, blenders, and coffee makers. But a couple of “appliances” I would also suggest for your kitchen is a TV and sound system. The kitchen is probably the one room that you spend the most waking hours in. It is the room that everyone congregates in at social gatherings, so why not have some entertainment in it? The cook doesn’t want to miss the action in the big hockey or football game, nor should they since having to cook is already punishment enough. Here are some suggestions on solving the entertainment system for the kitchen, since it is probably a trickier room to equip.

If you are looking for new headphones, there is an unbelievable assortment to choose from. In figuring out which ones are best, you could research lab evaluations and critiques, or compare technical specifications but there are a few problems with doing this. First of all, technical superiority tends to mean “more expensive.” What you really want are the best ones in your price range. Technical specs often aren’t easy to decipher, and usually don’t point to a clear-cut winner, and they can’t account for personal preferences.  After all, there is a personal element to what type of sound people like. So rather than rely on the audiophile experts, who can recite frequency response and impedance statistics, why not rely on the toughest critics of all – other consumers?

  Sony has taken an entirely new approach to their TV design for 2014, and they are bucking the trend. Their competitors have made their sets slimmer and slimmer, and some even added a curved profile instead of flat. Instead, Sony launched their innovative wedge design earlier this year at CES. I like the fact that Sony hasn’t simply followed the trend because the wedge design is not just aesthetically appealing, it also has a number of other functions that actually improve the TV.

    Samsung is the de-facto leader in LED TVs and have produced some of the best TVs in the market. Their 6000 series over the last couple of years has been extremely popular, and for good reason. But how does the sexy new H8000 curved LED TV compare to the tried-and-true and continuously improving 6000 series? The H8000 is undoubtedly the future of home entertainment while the 6000’s are the proven technologies and quality products that are in so many living rooms. It is hard to go wrong with Samsung, but what gives with the new H8000 vs. the not so new?