What Is A Slingbox?
During the Winter in Naples, a lot of people come to stay for a few months from all corners of the globe. They enjoy the sun, fine dining and great shopping. Unfortunately, a lot of our out-of-town visitors miss out on television programming from their home state or country while they are staying with us. That does not have to be the case. Enter: Slingbox.
With a Slingbox plugged in to the cable line at one residence, you can watch familiar programming at familiar times on your computer. It even gives you the remote control layout that you are used to. No new remote controls to learn, and the same great programming you are used to is now available anywhere in the world as long as you have an internet connection or a cell phone that can browse the web. As Naples premier home theater and home automation center, of course we have them available.
I hope this helped.
Greg Zajaczkowski
Byte Shop/style
greg.z@byteshop.com
@byteshopstyle (Twitter)
Add comment January 24, 2010
Hope for Haiti
Naples is an affluent community. The wealth we have has been bestowed upon us by our constituents. We provide services or products that the world needs, we create jobs and they pay for the good or the service in a note that tells us what we are worth to the world. Once in a while, there comes a moment when we have to show the individual how much they are worth to us as well. Moments like this are rare, and often tragic, but they offer a chance to make a tangible difference for those of us who can.
Haiti is suffering. They are an island nation with minimal resources, and they are in great need. People are dying in record numbers in the aftermath of the earthquake, they are living their last moments as I write this blog and we have the chance to save lives, but we have a very small window of time.
On Saturday, January 16th, Mercato is holding a luxury car show. We urge you, our constituents, to come out, ogle the cars and shop to your hearts’ content. While you are taking some well deserved vacation time and enjoying your retail therapy, take comfort in the thought that a portion of the proceeds for the day will be going to the Hope For Haiti non-profit organization. You will be saving lives just by shopping.
There will be other options available to help. Byte Shop /style will be taking donations of food, batteries, water and money. Any donation in excess of $10.00 will qualify you for a free half hour training session. A representatives from Hope for Haiti will be in the mall to inform you how you can volunteer time at the organization. I hope this will help.
Greg Zajaczkowski
Byte Shop/style
greg.z@byteshop.com
@byteshopstyle (Twitter)
Add comment January 15, 2010
TiVo HD XL
…you just need one.
The TiVo HD XL is fan-freakin-tastic. It is the only DVR that is THX certified. What that means, ladies and gents, is that all your cool media sounds and looks like it does in the theater (provided you have the right equipment and connections). TiVo is way ahead of the game. With this machine, the user has a lot at his fingertips.
The TiVo HD XL isn’t just a DVR. This machine gives better quality video than a Comcast HD box will. It automatically adjusts your picture on non-high-def stations to get rid of the side bars that plague so many tv sets. It also processes the HD signal from your provider to provide the best image possible. It’s so good that if you fell asleep watching Gladiator and woke up halfway through, then you might wake up thinking you were in the heat of battle.
Maximus probably wouldn’t like that he put you to sleep, but if you wanted to watch from the comfort of your bed, then that would be just fine. You can power down all of your equipment, take the remote control into the bedroom, hit play on your TiVo remote, and start watching right where you left off. We can set that all up for you.
I did forget to mention, however, one key feature. The owner of this fantastic gadget need not leave the couch or bed, pick up a phone, or start up a computer to order a pizza from Dominos. A few clicks of the remote control will do it for you and, BING!, pizza delivered.
I hope this helped.
Greg Zajaczkowski
Byte Shop/style
greg.z@byteshop.com
@byteshopstyle (Twitter)
Add comment January 14, 2010
Do You Believe in Vudu?
The movie industry, like so many other entertainment industries is in a state of upheaval. Everybody seems to understand that digital distribution is the wave of the future, but not everybody seems to have a great idea of how to use it. At Byte Shop /style in Naples, we have a pretty good idea. For video, the best platform out there is Vudu.
The Vudu Box, shown above, is the keystone in the home theater system. It accesses the home owner’s internet connection and lets him or her choose the movie or television program he or she watches. The Vudu box can stream in High Definition or Standard Definition, or the movie can be saved to a hard drive for later viewing. There are no subscription fees, you only pay for what you watch. It’s just like having your own personal Blockbuster in your house.
Vudu gets movies from every major production house in the movie industry. They are available the same day as the DVD and they are more affordable. There are not any late fees to be concerned with. Over the internet, the customer has access to millions of free videos and photos from popular Internet sites like YouTube, Flickr and Picasa, free On-demand television and games, plus free Internet radio from Pandora.
Ahead of the curve, as they as seeming to be more and more often, is LG. LG is currently offering a line of high-definition televisions that have the Vudu service built in. You can read more about that here. So far a wireless connection is not available in the televisions, but you can bet it’s coming. You can always come out to the shop to ask me any questions you might have. I’m always happy to help.
I hope this helped.
Greg Zajaczkowski
Byte Shop/style
greg.z@byteshop.com
@byteshopstyle (Twitter)
2 comments November 2, 2009
Home Theater Simplified
Making a purchase of a new home theater, especially in Naples, can be a fairly pricey ordeal. A home theater system that looks and sounds great can run into the tens of thousands of dollars very quickly, but at Byte Shop Style, we know it does not have to. Not only can home theater be done cheaper than expected, but it can still look great. You do not have to have ugly bulky speakers cluttering up your room or wires running everywhere. Today I will go over two of the affordable alternatives to “high-end” home theater. First up is the Samsung HT-WS1R:
The Samsung HT-WS1R, a soundbar that Byte Shop Style carries, is a device known in the industry as a “soundbar.” It consists of a bar with multiple speakers that can be mounted on the wall or placed on a stand below the TV. The bar mimics a 5.1 surround sound system by bouncing sound off of the walls in the room. It actually sounds like there are multiple speaker points in the room, but it is all generated from the soundbar.
In order to reproduce the low-end sound, that is crucial in so many movies, most sound systems have a visible and cumbersome subwoofer that has a big long wire running to it. Fortunately for you, Samsung has gotten rid of the subwoofer cable! Now it can just be plugged in to the wall for power within 50 feet of the soundbar and all of the low-end noise transmits wirelessly. Second up is the LG 50PS60.
This is a 50” plasma TV with all the bells and whistles as far as picture is concerned. It has an extremely high contrast ratio, 1080p picture, 120Hz motion processing and, above all, it looks good on the wall. The TV prices out at about $1,450, which places it well below other 50″ TVs in the flat panel market. Pair this baby up with the Samsung HT-WS1R, and you’ve got yourself a great system that will work for most small to medium-sized rooms. If you live in Naples and are looking to set up a new home theater, but don’t want to break the bank then drop me a line. Let me show you what options you have with Byte Shop Style.
I hope this helped.
Greg Zajaczkowski
Byte Shop/style
greg.z@byteshop.com
@byteshopstyle (Twitter)
Add comment October 27, 2009
Home Automation In Naples
Home automation is a phrase that doesn’t make sense to a lot of us. That’s because it used to be the domain of the rich only. With heavy-duty Crestron systems costing in the tens of thousands of dollars, home automation was out of reach for the general public. Byte Shop /style will be able to bring home automation to everyone in Naples at an affordable price. With Control4, home automation has never been easier or more cost-conscious. Instead of an expensive remote control, a person can use his iPhone with the free Control4 App to run his house and home theater.
Byte Shop /style’s Control4 system can tie into an existing security system to give the home owner camera views from around her house, arm and disarm her security system from the couch, lock or unlock the doors with the touch of a button, start the jacuzzi, dim the lights, play some music in the living room and play two other songs in separate areas of the house, roll down the shades for her, or turn the TV to her favorite station as soon as she sits down on the couch. We at Byte Shop /style offer a full line of Control4 products for home automation, and control of your home theater.
If you want to talk with me further about it, feel free to stop by the store, shoot me an email or leave a comment.
I hope this helped.
Greg Zajaczkowski
Byte Shop/style
greg.z@byteshop.com
@byteshopstyle (Twitter)
3 comments October 23, 2009
How Does An LCD Work?
LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display. At Byte Shop /style, we know that can be a little bit confusing, because most of us think of crystal as a solid and not a liquid. Liquid crystal exists in both states simultaneously and is profoundly useful. By running an electric current through the liquid crystal, the crystals form in a controllable way that can be used to manage what wavelength of polarized light will pass through the crystal. This picture should help you visualize what’s happening.
This interaction happens hundreds of times per second over every pixel on the entire screen. That’s about 240 Million pixels changing every second for a brand new LCD. That takes some serious processing power. The TVs that take care of these transactions the most efficiently have better processors and materials to produce the best pictures possible. Some brands skimp in those areas, offering the buzz terms of the industry (120Hz, 240Hz, 1080p, etc.) but not the substance to actually produce a great picture.
The contrast ratio is a good indicator of the quality of the TV. The higher the contrast ratio on a TV is, generally, the faster the processor is. A television can not have a high contrast ratio without the right materials and high quality electronic brains. For LCDs, I prefer Sony, Samsung and LG. You can always come down to the store and say hi or shoot me some questions online. I’m looking forward to meeting you!
I hope this helped.
Greg Zajaczkowski
Byte Shop/style
greg.z@byteshop.com
@byteshopstyle (Twitter)
1 comment October 20, 2009
What is 240Hz? How Does it Compare to 120Hz? 60Hz?
Yes. The numbers can be very confusing. Simply put, 240Hz means that a brand new image is displayed on the screen 240 times per second. What this means, viewing wise, is that if you are watching a movie or television program with fast motion in it, there will be no flicker or motion blur. TVs today produce a range of screen refresh times from 60Hz to 120Hz to 240Hz and it can be hard to decide which is for you.
All television signals on cable, satellite and over the air come in at 60Hz. The only time there is a difference is when you are watching a Blu-Ray at 24p, which is 24 frames per second, which is the speed at which movies are filmed. A 120Hz or 240Hz television will upconvert those signals to a higher refresh rate so the viewer will not notice any motion blur or flicker in the set.
In essence, the set is taking each image and flashing it on the screen two or four times before the next image comes. This gives the viewer a sense of ultra realism. At Byte Shop /style, we want our customers to know the differences so that they can get exactly the right solution for their home theater.
So, come in to see me or talk to me online. I will show you what the differences look like and we can move from there.
Greg Zajaczkowski
Byte Shop/style
greg.z@byteshop.com
@byteshopstyle (Twitter)
1 comment October 14, 2009
Wigglebutt /style
Our friends over at the Wigglebutt Inn have set up a great business. A person can come and drop off their dog for the day (or the week) while they work or go on vacation and have the dog well taken care of. The Inn boasts a full size exercise area for your pet, luxury suites with all of the appointments your dog requires for its beauty sleep and tons of friends to play with.
While your dog is in the luxury suite, it can enjoy some doggie programming on the flat panel television that Byte Shop/style just installed.
The dogs can relax an watch some Lassie in their suites after a long, hard day of playing with their buddies, chasing balls, playing with the staff and generally just having a good time. The best part about the place is that they LOVE the dogs and there is someone on the premises 24 hours a day.
Who knows, maybe the next time we go back, George and Karen (the owners) will want us to put in a system that controls the television, lights, air conditioning and security system on a touch screen remote.
But, my fellow Neapolitans, pay these fine folks a visit and check out the wonderful business they have established. There’s nothing else like it in Naples. They’ve got style.
I hope everyone has a wonderful day, drive safe, and enjoy the beautiful weather.
Greg Zajaczkowski
Byte Shop/style
greg.z@byteshop.com
@byteshopstyle (Twitter)
Add comment October 12, 2009
To Serve Is To Be Great
Byte Shop/style strives to have the best service in the industry. Dr. Martin Luther King once said, “Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve.” At Byte Shop/style we hold that philosophy dear to our hearts and provide the same award winning service that has been provided at Byte Shop/computers for over 20 years.
We want our customers to come into our store knowing that every employee is educated on the product and we can help them find the best solutions to fit their needs. Byte Shop/style features a full sized training room where groups of people or individuals can come to learn about any new software they don’t completely understand. We also offer a home theater demo room where a person can see the marvels of home automation and the latest advances in home theater systems. We can tailor fit a solution for anyone. Our systems can even help you save on electric consumption in your home.
Have you ever wanted to hide that ugly TV so that when it’s not on, you and your guests are looking at something beautiful? Our art screens fix that problem for you.
If you want some more information about what we can do for you, then feel free to email or tweet. I hope I helped. All of you have a wonderful day!
Greg Zajaczkowski
Byte Shop/style
greg.z@byteshop.com
@byteshopstyle (Twitter)
2 comments October 7, 2009
