Apple TV 4K

Back in early 2020 (pre-pandemic!) when I left TiVo and cut the cord, I switched to YouTube TV and Amazon Fire TV Sticks as my media streamers. They’ve been working fine, but recently I’ve tinkering with integrating HomeKit into my Homeseer setup (using Homebridge, a post will be coming soon on that) and wanted to …

Continue reading ‘Apple TV 4K’ »

Onkyo TX-NR96 receiver

It’s hard to believe I’ve had my Pioneer Elite VSX-24TX for over 21 years. That’s probably a personal record for me using a single piece of electronic equipment. It’s served me well over the years, but alas recently it’s been having problem (the outputs weren’t working reliably, it would take a few power cycles to get …

Continue reading ‘Onkyo TX-NR96 receiver’ »

Amazon Fire TV Stick

This month, I cut the cord, cancelled my Spectrum cable TV service, and switched to YouTube TV, which meant I needed a way to watch YTTV on, well, my TVs! There’s a dizzying array of devices for the cord-cutter (Roku, Apple TV, smart TV apps, and more), but since I’m already an Amazon Prime subscriber, …

Continue reading ‘Amazon Fire TV Stick’ »

Switching to YouTube TV (farewell, TiVo!)

I’ve been an avid TiVo user ever since I got my first Series2 DVR back in 2003. I’ve owned almost every model and it’s been a staple in my household for the past 17 years. Recently, however, while analyzing our monthly bills, I realized just how much cable TV from Spectrum was costing us. That …

Continue reading ‘Switching to YouTube TV (farewell, TiVo!)’ »

Hydra: TiVo’s next-generation user interface

Last weekend, TiVo officially released their next-generation user interface, code-named Hydra so I used the Early Access Request link posted by TiVo_Ted on the TiVo Community Forums to upgrade my Roamio Pro so I could check it out: A few hours later, my box had upgraded to 21.7.2.RC7 and the next-generation UI: The new navigation …

Continue reading ‘Hydra: TiVo’s next-generation user interface’ »

Samsung UN50JS7000 50″ LED 4K SUHD TV

After over 11 years of faithful service as our primary family room TV, my 42″ Panasonic plasma died last week. Time to do some TV shopping! It’s hard to believe we’ve been using an ED (that’s right, 480P) television as our workhorse display for the past 11 years. When we bought it, we couldn’t quite …

Continue reading ‘Samsung UN50JS7000 50″ LED 4K SUHD TV’ »

Sennheiser RF120 wireless headphones

For Christmas I received the Sennheiser RF120 wireless headphones (and charging stand). My old wireless Sony headphones were starting to show their age: the original rechargeable batteries no longer held a charge so I had to use alkalines, the cushioned ear cups were peeling, and there was just too much interference and hard to get a …

Continue reading ‘Sennheiser RF120 wireless headphones’ »

TiVo Roamio Pro and Mini

When I got my first TiVo back in 2003 it seemed like I was adding new TiVos to my “collection” almost every year and had four of them by 2007. With the recent release of the TiVo Roamio line I decided to do a little consolidation and upgrade my setup with the latest hardware. My existing …

Continue reading ‘TiVo Roamio Pro and Mini’ »