TIL (two days ago actually) that my DVD player (which was paused) will automatically start playing when I turn on the HDMI attached TV. Pretty neat.

What’s a DVD player?

It's a kind of CD-ROM

Interactive?

Opinions on Google or other mesh network vs. powerline network with wifi?

I have google and it’s been great. Very easy setup and never any problems with it. I get full speeds through my whole house even into driveway and back deck. The app makes it easy to manage kid devices too. It’s the only one I’ve used but so far so good

I set up a UniFi mesh with four hardwired access points and it works great. But I'd probably recommend the google system for most people. Looks much easier to manage and set up. The one downside to the google system is that you're married to their router (for all intensive purposes) so if there's a router feature that you really want or use and they don't have it you're SOL. For instance, port forwarding, advanced family controls, QOS, ReadyShare, whatever. Granted this is probably out of scope for your average home network, but should be considered in case it's not applicable to you.

Another vote for Google. Just give in and let them be your everything.

Guess I'm going to have to wait until we move in to fully evaluate this. Our current setup is cable modem/wifi router in the basement. The wifi signal from this reliably reaches the living room directly above but not much else, so we have a powerline setup with an ethernet access point in the finished basement, where I have my home office, and a wifi access point in the kitchen, which puts out a decent signal to the first and second floors as well as out to the deck.

In the new house, cable service comes in on the first floor in the room where the laundry is, which is not centrally located. So I'm assuming we'll have our cable modem/router there. There is a bewildering assortment of cable splitters there; it's going to take some time to figure out where they're all going, but a MoCA network with wifi access points might be a good solution. Powerline would be a possibility as well of course, though it's vulnerable to interference from other electrical devices. Google Wifi could be a component of the overall setup as well.

I was going to suggest MoCA for you. I’ve used it successfully many times where Ethernet outlets are not available but coax outlets are. From there it should be pretty easy to set up wireless access points using an Ethernet cable from the MoCA adapter into the access point. I’ve had good luck using Apple Airport Extremes/ Expresses in that situation. Just set them up with exactly the same SSID and passwords and you’ll have yourself a seamless web. I’m doing that here in our house (without the MoCA since the house has Ethernet outlets throughout). I have two AirPort Extremes plus an Airport Express on the lanai along with one other wireless extender given to me free from my security installer and we’re covered seamlessly both inside and out. Plus we have some of the more advanced options such as port forwarding and Back to My Mac. Of course you can use another brand besides Apple to achieve the same effect.

Blendtec, yes it blends.

JFLNYC wrote:I was going to suggest MoCA for you. I’ve used it successfully many times where Ethernet outlets are not available but coax outlets are. From there it should be pretty easy to set up wireless access points using an Ethernet cable from the MoCA adapter into the access point. I’ve had good luck using Apple Airport Extremes/ Expresses in that situation. Just set them up with exactly the same SSID and passwords and you’ll have yourself a seamless web. I’m doing that here in our house (without the MoCA since the house has Ethernet outlets throughout). I have two AirPort Extremes plus an Airport Express on the lanai along with one other wireless extender given to me free from my security installer and we’re covered seamlessly both inside and out. Plus we have some of the more advanced options such as port forwarding and Back to My Mac. Of course you can use another brand besides Apple to achieve the same effect.

So the cable modem I bought prior to my move has an integrated wifi router, and that by itself, though located in a corner of the house on the first floor, adequately covers the whole house, but I hooked up my powerline adapters and was able to get that working including an additional wireless access point across the house on the second floor. Now I have strong coverage through the house (though I haven't checked the basement yet). Maybe someday I'll do a MoCA setup but this seems to be doing the trick for now.

Glad it’s working for you. Always more than one way to skin a cat.

About a year ago I bought 2 of these little jump start thingies. Think it was a W00T deal or something. Put one in each car. Had it in the back of my mind often that I should freshen up the charges on each of them, but never did. So today we're at the hospital and my sister left her lights on and her battery was dead as a doornail. Might as well see if it works. Battery meter still said 3/4. Hooked it up, her radio turned on immediately (evidence to show how dead the battery really was), she turned the key, it fired up immediately. Amazing. The thing is about the size of a large USB battery (and in fact it has USB ports to use in a pinch too, along with an LED flashlight/strobe). Fits into a little case about 10"x8"x1".

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01 ... UTF8&psc=1

Let me get this straight Milty, you’re using this as both a way to start your motorcycle and a built-in security system. Fantastic

Bucky wrote:About a year ago I bought 2 of these little jump start thingies. Think it was a W00T deal or something. Put one in each car. Had it in the back of my mind often that I should freshen up the charges on each of them, but never did. So today we're at the hospital and my sister left her lights on and her battery was dead as a doornail. Might as well see if it works. Battery meter still said 3/4. Hooked it up, her radio turned on immediately (evidence to show how dead the battery really was), she turned the key, it fired up immediately. Amazing. The thing is about the size of a large USB battery (and in fact it has USB ports to use in a pinch too, along with an LED flashlight/strobe). Fits into a little case about 10"x8"x1".

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01 ... UTF8&psc=1

One of those save our asses the morning of our settlements. I had been packing some stuff in one car the evening before, went inside for something and got distracted, and never went back out front again -- so the car was left open overnight. It would not start the next morning as we're approaching zero hour for when we had to be out of the house. Fortunately a passing neighbor had one in his glovebox and was able to use it to give us a jump. Worked like a charm.

This was a big deal because while we have two cars, both were loaded to the gills with stuff, including the front seats, and we had a cat in a carrier we were taking along with us besides ourselves.

A pair of dolby atmos speakers reached impulse buy territory at $100 (thank you camelcamelcamel) so I picked them up yesterday. If they work as advertised they'll somehow bounce sound off of my ceiling to create a faux surround effect. Figured it was worth a shot at that price level.

I assume you already have an Atmos capable receiver? Unfortunately there’s very little Atmos content out there.

JFLNYC wrote:I assume you already have an Atmos capable receiver? Unfortunately there’s very little Atmos content out there.

Yep. And yeah, there isn't a ton. I noticed Annihilation had the capability when I rented it from Vudu last week.

And more dumbly, no devices except the 4k Apple TV can do Atmos and Dolby Vision.

for another couple hundred bucks you could of been warged