Central Coast Audio Visual

Bought a Sonos speaker system? Here's 9 ways to make sure you make the most of your multiroom setup Sonos has defined the multiroom, music streaming space. And with good reason. Its selection of speakers manage to cover all ends of the market, from the affordable Play:1 to the pricier Playbar Soundbar and they're all easy to set up and boast great sound. But there’s a lot more to these speakers that you might not have yet uncovered. Thankfully, we’re here to help. Here's our round-up of the best tips and tricks for your Sonos system. Read more: http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/sonos-tips-and-tricks

Samsung hosted a launch event last night in Sydney for its 2015 SUHD TV range. While the TVs themselves aren’t very “Androidy”, the company also launched an update to its Multiroom Audio app and demonstrated its wild new 360-degree speaker. When I looked at Samsung’s Multiroom Audio system last year, I enjoyed the hardware though I wasn’t very impressed with the app, but was hopeful that there might be an update to improve the experience. That update has arrived now, with version 2.0 of Multiroom Audio (confusingly, version 3.x of the app) bringing a fresh new look. Read more: http://ausdroid.net/2015/04/15/samsung-demonstrates-360-degree-speakers-updates-multiroom-audio-app-to-version-2-0/

LG’s Music Flow speakers are already on the market, and are an alternative to Sonos’ whole-home speakers. But while LG’s system has some interesting features on its own, such as a way to send text commands to the speakers through Line’s messaging app, it can’t match the huge number of music services that Sonos supports. Google Cast should help LG fill in some of those gaps. Prices for Music Flow start at $179 for a 30-watt speaker, and scale up to $379 for a 70-watt speaker. A few sound bars are also available at $499 and up, and LG will sell a 20-watt speaker with battery power for $199 next month. Read more: http://www.techhive.com/article/2909545/lgs-whole-home-speakers-are-among-the-first-with-google-cast-audio-support.html

A number of companies today leverage the ubiquity of smartphones in order to offer parents “connected” baby monitoring systems that can be accessed from anywhere. Often, as with devices like NapTime or Evoz, these include a monitor and camera of some sort and an accompanying mobile app. But a startup called Dormi has historically offered a different take – instead of selling new hardware, the company allows you to re-use old Android smartphones or tablets in order to remotely monitor your baby’s room. Now its system has received a long-anticipated update, with the much-requested addition of video monitoring. Previously, Dormi’s system was audio-only. Using an app that worked over Wi-Fi or cellular connections or even WiFi Direct/WiFi Hotspot, you could listen in on baby while out of the room, much like traditional baby monitoring systems allow for today. You could also press a button to speak into the app which would transmit the sound of your voice to the other device in the child...

The Ultra Short Throw Projector (given its name because it “throws” images onto your wall, according to Sony) was first released in the US, but is now making its way to Europe. Priced at $50,000 it’s certainly a luxurious purchase, though I’d wager that there aren’t many things in this world more worthy of your money, aside from perhaps food and shelter, though I’d quite happily sleep in a box if I could project Daredevil onto one of its sides in glorious 4K HD. Of course, purchasing the projector would require you to carry out a number of tasks prior to having it in your possession – firstly, you’d need to find $50,000 (begin by checking down the sides of the cushions on your sofa). Secondly, you’d need a plain white wall. Thirdly, you’d need a considerably large group of friends that you can invite round to your home, in order for you to put on Inception and pummel them with your smugness as they’re blown away by your new home theater experience. Read more: http://www.craveonline...

In the market for a new TV, but think a super-clear Ultra HD model is way out of the budget? Think again. Vizio last year brought UHD to the mainstream with a $1,000 set, and now the TV maker is one-upping itself. The company on Monday launched its second Ultra HD TV lineup, offering a range of screen sizes from 43 to 80 inches, with prices starting at just $600 all the way up to $4,000. For a full list of screen sizes and prices, see below. The new TVs display more than 8.3 million pixels in every image, offering four times the resolution of 1080p Full HD for "breathtaking detail and clarity," Vizio said. They also boast full-array LED backlighting for a more even distribution of light compared to edge-lit sets, and up to 32 active LED zones for "precise, controlled backlighting with extremely high contrast and deep black levels." Read more: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2481316,00.asp

Much that is written about home automation focuses on the consumer benefits of IoT, but there are also potential for manufacturers investing in building smart devices to save themselves money in the long run. Andy Lau, executive director of SAS Dragon Holdings Limited which specialises in marketing of digital products, illustrated this point by using the example of the air conditioner, “How many buttons are on your air conditioner remote? How many of those do you ever actually press?” He asked. A smart air conditioning system allows manufacturers to capture consumer behaviour and habits, for example which buttons they are using on the remote to redesign and simplify the product. The remote can be personalised and customised for different markets he said. “If I capture the data I can make an even smaller remote control. The design is much cheaper and user friendly,” Lau said. Read more: http://www.applianceretailer.com.au/2015/04/5-smart-home-lessons-from-the-hong-kong-electroni...