Editorials September 17, 2013
EDITORIAL: Here's why 4K won't go mainstream
It was a little over a year ago that Sony showed one of the first production-ready 4K TVs at CEDIA Expo. Just three months later 4K was everywhere at the Consumer Electronics Show. That was just eight months…
What is "quality TV?"
As we inch closer to the end of Breaking Bad… there's some argument as to what real "quality TV" is. Breaking Bad is arguably the best-produced, most meticulous show of the 2010s so far, but it's not the only…
MARK THE DATE: Here's where Apple's design leadership ends
Seriously? Colored plastic and gold metal? Seriously, that's what the world has been waiting for from an iPhone? When iOS 6 hit with a massive THUD last year you'd think that Apple would learn its lesson. Apparently not,…
Editorials September 2, 2013
Why a phablet?
For a generation raised on ever-smaller devices, the "phablet" craze doesn't make any sense. Didn't we leave gigantic cell phones behind in the 1980s? Younger folks are snapping up these half phone, half tablet devices in…
Fun and Games August 8, 2013
See the Solid Signal office staff in action!
Last week we showed you the warehouse… this time it's the office staff getting the time-lapse video treatment. Check out the well-oiled machine that is our general office… and see if you can spot your favorite…
Editorials August 8, 2013
Another take on a la carte programming
A la carte programming. Everyone wants to pay for just what they watch. We've shown you before how that could end up costing you more, and how it's not likely to happen as long as cable companies and content…
News August 7, 2013
Will ESPN bring down the entire pay-TV industry?
We've told you the story before: ESPN gets a huge slice of the average pay-TV bill. It's estimated that up to 25% of the average customer's bill goes to Disney, the parent of ABC, ESPN and the…
CHECK IT OUT: Solid Signal Warehouse staff in action
Your Solid Signal warehouse staff is always moving… although maybe not this fast. This timelapse video shows a day in our busy warehouse. Believe it or not, we keep a pretty tight crew in the warehouse,…
The police can find you by cell phone, and it's totally legal.
In 1998, it was all science fiction. Most people don't even remember Enemy of the State where Will Smith is having troubles and runs into Gene Hackman, a paranoid maniac who tells him that the government can track…
Editorials July 28, 2013
EDITORIAL: Copyright law is out of control
You know that song? You know, the one people sing when it's someone's birthday? I'd sing it to you now but it turns out it's copyrighted. That's why the people at The Olive Garden mumble something…
The nightmare scenario of streaming TV
No live video, anywhere. It could happen. Here's the recipe for Armageddon: First, local broadcasters start to fall when the networks stop being able to deliver full-time programming. Honestly we're halfway into this. NBC's well-publicized fall will be just…
An artificial brain. What could go wrong with that?
Three billion human lives ended on August 29th, 1997. The survivors of the nuclear fire called the war 'Judgment Day.' They lived only to face a new nightmare, the war against the Machines… That's the…
Editorials July 7, 2013
Is it worth looking for a brand name?
Before 1975 or so, most people didn't know what "generic" meant. All of a sudden, though, there was a feeling that you could "stick it to the man" by getting the same quality goods in a…