TV & Audio

The race for the coolest trophy in sports is set to begin this week, as 16 NHL teams open the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. This will be an especially riveting year for Canadian hockey fans. Five of the seven Canadian NHL teams are in the post-season, making the odds even greater for a Canadian team to bring home the Cup and end the over 20-year drought since Montreal did it in 1993.

  I can’t remember when I last watched a 32” TV. I think it was my old CRT Display TV, which was a big screen in its day and weighed a ton making it impossible to move. But the new 32” flat screens, which now seem small, have come a long way and there are a lots of reasons to get one. The size is perfect for a kitchen, wall mounted in the kids room, or in the guest room or den. The Sony R500C 32” Bravia that I recently tested out is ideal for those rooms. It is a smart TV with an extremely good picture and is at a very reasonable price.

Cable and satellite TV bills are high. There are few in Canada who haven’t felt the pinch of paying for access to hundreds of channels in order to watch a fraction of that. Depending on where you live, you can gain access to some of the most popular network channels in both Canada and the United States. With the right gear, you can also watch those channels throughout your home.

There’s nothing like a good playoff run. Gatherings with friends, nights out at the pub, or maybe a couple tickets and a chance to see a live game, there are many different ways to have a great time. It’s getting to be that time of year again. Today I’m using a little imagination to envision my perfect playoff experience. Let’s get ready for the puck to drop!

If you’re a Sony speaker enthusiast, you may look to the left and think that design looks familiar.  That’s the Sony SRS-X55, which looks exactly similar to last year’s SRS-X5. However, just like a new car, looks can be deceiving.  The extra year has given Sony the chance to re-evaluate last year’s successful design and make it even better.  The results include better sound quality and a longer battery life.  Keep reading on to find out more!

    At CES earlier this year, quantum dot technology was touted a big thing in TV technology for 2015. Although quantum dot TV technology has been around for a few years, it hasn’t really been produced in TVs yet. LG is about to release a couple of new 4K UHD models, one of which is a quantum dot TV. What was great is that I got to test them out side-by-side and see the difference this makes. Both models were excellent sets with extremely clear pictures as you would expect with 4K sets, but the UF9500 with quantum dot technology did have better colour.

It may not be very Canadian of me, but I don’t watch much hockey during the regular season, eh! There are just too many games where one or both teams don’t really show up to play, plus there are a lot of Bobby Clobbers that take away from the game. But the playoffs are a different story! Each game really counts so everyone usually comes with a totally different sense of urgency, and Cinderella stories happen all the time. I hate missing any playoff action, but fortunately there are lots of different ways to catch playoff games no matter where you are. Here are the best options to make sure you get your fix.

Quantum Dot was the latest buzzed about TV technology at CES 2015, but what is it and what makes it great?

I love checking out the latest technology, and recently had a chance to get a preliminary view of a new line of TVs that LG is releasing in the next few weeks. Because the big brands like LG already have extremely good TVs, the improvements with each new generation are pretty subtle. Here’s a sneak peak of their newest TVs yet to hit the streets.

  Vizio is definitely one of the top brands in North America, especially if you look at their sales and market share, but it is not a top-of-the-line brand. If you are looking for a premium quality Home Theatre System that has absolutely the best picture, Vizio won’t likely be on your short list. However, you will likely pay a lot more for that high-end picture. Vizio does so well in the market because of their value. For the price, it is hard to find an equal combination of quality and features. I am going to show you how to create a couple of different home theatre rooms using Vizio that anyone would be proud of, and they won’t break the bank­—especially considering what you get.