TV & Home Theatre

  Various studies have shown how much time we watch TV, and it is more than I thought—about 4 ½ hours per day! North Americans are quite the couch potatoes (US and Canadian studies are similar). That’s over 1,600 hours a year. If you are spending that much time watching TV, why not seriously upgrade your viewing experience? I will tell you the three things to consider in taking your TV experience to the next level.

Every year an organization called Harris Interactive measures and rates the reputations of 100 of the world’s most visible companies. In the 2015 report, Sony was ranked as #13, which is pretty impressive considering how many big brands there are out there these days. So it makes sense that if you are looking at setting up a new home theatre system that you put Sony products at the top of your list. Here are two options for you to consider – one for bigger budgets and one for more modest budgets.

Get the most out of your receiver – use it to spread music throughout your entire home!

      Well, maybe “teams up” is too strong a comment as they are not literally on the same team, which sounds more like a merger. What is newsworthy is that CTV is the first Canadian broadcaster to make their content available through Google’s Chromecast device. This is great news for all you prospective cable cutters and for you non-cutters that have trouble with your PVR missing past episodes of your favorite shows.

    LG has some of the best value TV and home theatre components you will find because their brand perception isn’t as strong as their competitors, but the quality of their equipment is. Because of this, they have to price a bit more aggressively even though their products are as good or better. So if you are looking at a new home theatre system picking all LG components is a great way to go – good quality, lots of features, and good value.

     A lot of people underestimate the impact that sound has on the Home Theatre experience. A decent sound bar can be a big step up from TV sound, while a surround sound system can take it up yet another level. In fact, once you have a good surround system, I can guarantee you will never turn back—it is noticeably that much better. At the heart of any surround sound system is the receiver, and the better the receiver the more impact your entertainment system will create.

Stream the content you want without upgrading your television with one of these great media streaming devices!

Let’s be honest. Wires suck. They’re ugly, intrusive, binding, and seemingly everywhere you look. We’re right smack dab in the middle of an era where we all have so many personal electronic devices and gadgets that it seems as though every electric outlet in our homes needs an adapter to accommodate many more inputs than the two for which it was designed. That’s why I was happy to review the new Polk Omni S2 Wireless Speaker. I’ve been looking for a new wireless speaker for my home office for some time now … and the Polk Omni was given the honour of being my first guinea pig.

Buying a fancy surround audio system doesn’t mean anything if it’s not set up correctly!

  You don’t have to be a pro to get rid of your cable subscription—all you have to do is call your cable provider. But what you need to figure out is how will I get great entertainment to watch. The good news is that there are more options every day for finding excellent content. But quitting your cable subscription cold-turkey can be pretty intimidating, especially if you tend to watch a fair bit of cable. I am going to try to make it easier.