The Technology Thread

[adamq]

On 2/20/2023 at 2:12 PM, 43M said:

am using it for console gaming.   Thats probably what Ill use it for most.   I just wanted to know if its really much of a game changer.   I know its a big deal with the competitive FPS crowd, but does 60 Hz vs 120 mean much when its mostly a casual player playing mostly story bssed, single player games?

I guess I haven't seen the difference side by side, but i bought a TCL 55" 4k a couple years ago and everyhing looks great to me. I would like something bigger, I was recently just looking at this one

 

SAMSUNG 65" Class 4K Crystal UHD (2160P) LED Smart TV with HDR UN65TU7000B https://www.walmart.com/ip/933852540

 

Uhd, 2160p, yada yada yada means nothing to me, though. And I'm cheap. 😂

[Soggust]

On 2/20/2023 at 1:12 PM, 43M said:

The 120 Hz for watching content really wasnt something I was considering.   It was more about the picture quality on OLED vs QLED and LED.

I am using it for console gaming.   Thats probably what Ill use it for most.   I just wanted to know if its really much of a game changer.   I know its a big deal with the competitive FPS crowd, but does 60 Hz vs 120 mean much when its mostly a casual player playing mostly story bssed, single player games?

Its KIND OF about future proofing, but Im really just trying to see if the picture quality overall is good enough to warrant that much of a difference in price.   (In reality, we will say the difference is $700ish, since the LG is 5 inches bigger.)

 

Money isnt really an issue, but I still hate overpaying.   If the LG C2 is worth it, then Im willing to pay.  Just trying to see if its worth all that extra money over the Samsung I listed based on my viewing and gaming habits.

The difference between OLED and QLED etc is substantial imo.

If you look at them side by side in the store, the OLED will be significantly brighter with deeper blacks.  There is no doubt it's a step up.

BUT - When you take your TV home, you won't be comparing it side-by-side to an OLED. Your new TV will look great in your house regardless. In fact, you'll literally never consider it again once you walk out of the store with your TV.

Some stores (Best Buy used to do this when I worked there circa 05) will even lower the brightness/contrast settings on the cheaper TVs and increase on the more expensive ones to increase the difference and push sales.

---

As far as 60hz vs 120hz - that is also a substantial difference imo. You know how you go to the Microsoft/Apple store and all their computers are just like silky smooth on the desktop? That's the refresh rate at play. If you have the correct wiring + hardware, it's a night and day difference, especially with gaming (not just FPS imo).

BUT - The better question is do you have the hardware to support 120hz? I'm pretty sure almost all broadcasts are in 50/60hz. Now, the TV will upscale and insert some black frames which will clear the image and helps reduce motion blur, but I certainly don't believe it's worth 900 for that. 

I don't know how you game, but for example, the PS5 is theoretically capable of 4k+120hz, however, I don't know of a single game that is truly both. Usually, the game lets you choose one or the other. Now, if you are hardwiring your Monster PC to your bigscreen, maybe there's a better argument, but I just don't see you picking up 900 dollars worth of value, given the situation you've described to date.

Just my opinion

[AkronsWitness]

Anybody a SMART HOME veteran in here? I need HELP/advice and here is my story haha

We are moving this weekend into our newer/larger home and naturally, I went a wee bit overboard with transforming/buying smart tech for the new house. Im a Google fan over Amazon so everything is a Google Home device

Here is what Im working with:

- 8 Google Nest Audio speakers. 2 for each major living space to create a budget conscious 'whole home audio' 

- Google Nest Thermostat and Doorbell

- Google/Yale smart lock and digital keypad for front door

- Google Nest Hub (2nd gen)

- 4 Chromecast devices for each TV

- Netgear Nighthawk 5400 RAX50 Wifi 6 Router

- Netgear CM1200 Modem

Here are my questions that I cannot for the life of me find a answer to online

- My new Nighthawk router I thought would be great and powerful, though after reading more it hit me the other day that it only supports 25 concurrent devices, 100 total paired through Wifi. I did the math on all of the devices we have in the house that use Wifi--- the number is 22. However, this is without the final step. What am I missing, you ask? SMART BULBS! 

What I cannot figure out is once I add 15-20 smart bulbs because my new kitchen alone has 8 recessed lights, each fan has 3 bulbs in the living room, den and master bedroom--I will clearly be over the 25 concurrent devices my Router can handle. It will be more like 45-50 total devices connected to Wifi

1) Do I spend $399 on the upgraded Nighthawk RAX200 which supports up to 50 concurrent devices on Wifi and boom, problem solved? Will this many devices bog down your speeds?

2) Do smart switches consolidate all of the smart bulbs it is connected to in order to count for 1 device??? For instance, instead of having 8 individual smart bulbs in the kitchen taking up 8 slots on the router, does putting a smart switch on the wall that the lights are connected to consolidate everything down to just 1 device on Wifi? Just the switch and not the bulbs?

3) Same question, just for the Nest Hub, if I connect and setup all of the Smart Bulbs/Nest Audio speakers on the Google Nest Hub, does the Hub consolidate everything to down to just 1 device on Wifi?? That should be the point of the Hub, right? To act as a conduit that all of your devices run through so the only thing connected to Wifi is the Hub and not each individual device?

UPDATE: I just contacted Google support and no, this is not a option--the Nest Hub does not consoloidate devices onto your network.

4) Should I buy 2 routers and daisy chain them together or get a Netgear wifi extender and hopefully be able to pair more devices to the extender? Someone told me to get access points and I said no way there isnt a easier solution to having a smart home with a lot of devices than having to get a commercial use access point

I cannot for the life of me find a way to consolidate all of these smart devices down to fit on the wifi network together without having to drop major money on the most expensive router Netgear makes.

 

 

Edited February 27, 2023 by AkronsWitness

[BobbyPhil1781]

On 2/27/2023 at 12:44 PM, AkronsWitness said:

Anybody a SMART HOME veteran in here? I need HELP/advice and here is my story haha

We are moving this weekend into our newer/larger home and naturally, I went a wee bit overboard with transforming/buying smart tech for the new house. Im a Google fan over Amazon so everything is a Google Home device

Here is what Im working with:

- 8 Google Nest Audio speakers. 2 for each major living space to create a budget conscious 'whole home audio' 

- Google Nest Thermostat and Doorbell

- Google/Yale smart lock and digital keypad for front door

- Google Nest Hub (2nd gen)

- 4 Chromecast devices for each TV

- Netgear Nighthawk 5400 RAX50 Wifi 6 Router

- Netgear CM1200 Modem

Here are my questions that I cannot for the life of me find a answer to online

- My new Nighthawk router I thought would be great and powerful, though after reading more it hit me the other day that it only supports 25 concurrent devices, 100 total paired through Wifi. I did the math on all of the devices we have in the house that use Wifi--- the number is 22. However, this is without the final step. What am I missing, you ask? SMART BULBS! 

What I cannot figure out is once I add 15-20 smart bulbs because my new kitchen alone has 8 recessed lights, each fan has 3 bulbs in the living room, den and master bedroom--I will clearly be over the 25 concurrent devices my Router can handle. It will be more like 45-50 total devices connected to Wifi

1) Do I spend $399 on the upgraded Nighthawk RAX200 which supports up to 50 concurrent devices on Wifi and boom, problem solved? Will this many devices bog down your speeds?

2) Do smart switches consolidate all of the smart bulbs it is connected to in order to count for 1 device??? For instance, instead of having 8 individual smart bulbs in the kitchen taking up 8 slots on the router, does putting a smart switch on the wall that the lights are connected to consolidate everything down to just 1 device on Wifi? Just the switch and not the bulbs?

3) Same question, just for the Nest Hub, if I connect and setup all of the Smart Bulbs/Nest Audio speakers on the Google Nest Hub, does the Hub consolidate everything to down to just 1 device on Wifi?? That should be the point of the Hub, right? To act as a conduit that all of your devices run through so the only thing connected to Wifi is the Hub and not each individual device?

UPDATE: I just contacted Google support and no, this is not a option--the Nest Hub does not consoloidate devices onto your network.

4) Should I buy 2 routers and daisy chain them together or get a Netgear wifi extender and hopefully be able to pair more devices to the extender? Someone told me to get access points and I said no way there isnt a easier solution to having a smart home with a lot of devices than having to get a commercial use access point

I cannot for the life of me find a way to consolidate all of these smart devices down to fit on the wifi network together without having to drop major money on the most expensive router Netgear makes.

 

 

Have you ever thought about getting a mesh Wifi system? Not sure if those allow more devices to be utilized or if they just boost the signal. I dont' have experience w/ them but from what I understand, they're very easy to set up and very good at what they do. I'm pretty sure they allow for more devices though.

That would be the first place I look rather than daisy-chaining routers. Google has a very good mesh product from what I've read as well. I just don't have a purpose for one.... yet lol

[BobbyPhil1781]

On 2/20/2023 at 2:53 AM, 43M said:

Can anyone give me some advice on a TV?

Admittedly, Ive never put a ton of thought into buying TV's in the past.   I just made sure I bought a decent brand and looked for basic specs, but never went much further beyond that.    I dont watch much TV outside of football, only occasionally use it to watch movies, and use it mostly to play games (and even then its spotty).

I am bouncing back and forth between two TVs right now.....

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lg-65-class-c2-series-oled-evo-4k-uhd-smart-webos-tv/6501491.p?skuId=6501491

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-60-class-q60b-qled-4k-smart-tizen-tv/6502242.p?skuId=6502242

Now, obviously, the LG C2 is more expensive and more feature rich with a better picture, but I am really wondering if its worth the extra 900 Id have to throw down.   The money isnt really a huge deal, but I still want to get the best value, especially since Im not someone who is constantly on my TV.

Ive done some research and the C2 gets rave reviews and seems to be one of the better TVs on the market, but I hear alot of stuff about burn in with OLED's.     Still, everyone raves about the picture quality and gaming features.

On the flipside, the Samsung Q60B is much cheaper, and while I get that it doesnt have alot of the features of the C2, Im just not 100% how much it would actually improve my experience.   Gaming wise, Im not much more than a casual gamer, and dont play E-sports or anything, so I dont necessarily know much much things like variable refresh rates would improve my gaming, and not sure 100% sure if the picture quality improvement is enough to justify and extra 900.

Any feedback is appreciated.

Did you wind up scooping one of these? If so, thoughts? 

[43M]

2 hours ago, BobbyPhil1781 said:

Did you wind up scooping one of these? If so, thoughts? 

I ended up going with the 65 in LG B2, which was a few hundred cheaper, but still rated highly by tech pros and customers.

Picture is amazing, but I havent got to watch much or play any games yet, which Im really looking forward to...especially new PS5 stuff.

[Soggust]

On 2/27/2023 at 11:44 AM, AkronsWitness said:

2) Do smart switches consolidate all of the smart bulbs it is connected to in order to count for 1 device??? For instance, instead of having 8 individual smart bulbs in the kitchen taking up 8 slots on the router, does putting a smart switch on the wall that the lights are connected to consolidate everything down to just 1 device on Wifi? Just the switch and not the bulbs?

 

Yes, the switch counts as one and controls all bulbs (which also means you can use cheaper bulbs if you don't need the rgba colors of a smart bulb. 

The thing you need to be slightly wary of is that in order to use the switches, you need to have a neutral wire in your house's electrical wiring. There is one switch (iirc) on the market that does not use the neutral wire but its overpriced and underfeatured compared to the competition.

If your house is newer-ish, it's probably not a concern. But my house was built in like 1952 or something and doesn't have the wiring and I ended up going with bulbs instead after much heartburn. 

[AkronsWitness]

33 minutes ago, Soggust said:

Yes, the switch counts as one and controls all bulbs (which also means you can use cheaper bulbs if you don't need the rgba colors of a smart bulb. 

The thing you need to be slightly wary of is that in order to use the switches, you need to have a neutral wire in your house's electrical wiring. There is one switch (iirc) on the market that does not use the neutral wire but its overpriced and underfeatured compared to the competition.

If your house is newer-ish, it's probably not a concern. But my house was built in like 1952 or something and doesn't have the wiring and I ended up going with bulbs instead after much heartburn. 

Thanks for this, I bought 6 switches but didn't get the dimmable ones so now I have to return them lol

I went ahead and got the Nighthawk RAXe500 router so it can support up to 60 connected devices, so the amount of bulbs shouldn't be a problem. Im leaning towards bulbs instead of switches now because I'm obsessed with the Sunrise and Sunset automation feature where the lights go from Daylight during the day, to Soft white at night and dim down to different yellow/red sunset colors in the evening. 

I feel like I'm 12 again but that sounds super cool hahaha

 

[Soggust]

4 minutes ago, AkronsWitness said:

Thanks for this, I bought 6 switches but didn't get the dimmable ones so now I have to return them lol

I went ahead and got the Nighthawk RAXe500 router so it can support up to 60 connected devices, so the amount of bulbs shouldn't be a problem. Im leaning towards bulbs instead of switches now because I'm obsessed with the Sunrise and Sunset automation feature where the lights go from Daylight during the day, to Soft white at night and dim down to different yellow/red sunset colors in the evening. 

I feel like I'm 12 again but that sounds super cool hahaha

 

Absolutely! 

I actually set up themes for Chiefs Games (Red / Yellow) and UFC Nights (Green / Purple / Blue), so the bulbs are certainly awesome and a talking point when people come over (and if you have kids, the "Alexa/Google turn the lights blue" will be the coolest thing they've ever seen). 

Cost me a cool couple hundred getting all my bulbs swapped out in my house, but "Alexa, goodnight" when I go to bed and having every single light in a 3 story house turn off is worth it alone, imo.

[Tugboat]

On 2/20/2023 at 2:21 PM, BobbyPhil1781 said:

Gotcha. I misunderstood.

I personally have never seen an OLED TV in action so I cannot comment on that further. I would like to think the picture quality between OLED and QLED may be negligible but it's simply a guess. If you do go to the store and look at both and the difference isn't much, this is what I was eyeing last year but didn't pull the trigger. This Black Friday though, I'll have something new

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-tv-home-theater/samsung-tvs/pcmcat1482436089002.c?id=pcmcat1482436089002

Not OLED technology but everything else, on the surface, looks similar to the LG TV you linked. Either way, I don't think you can go wrong w/ the choice you're going to make but if money isnt' an issue like I think you said it wasn't, I'd go the future proofing route.

Honestly, the thing i find with TVs is that there's an element of "quality" to certain brands above others...but beyond that, you can have really comparable model TVs with similar specs from quality brands and different people will prefer different TVs.  Just going to the store and looking at them...it's a useful exercise.

I might be crazy, but it always feels to me like Samsung/LG/Sony all have their own sort of distinctive "default viewing profile".  Just a ton of extremely minute differences that add up to a different viewing experience.  Some people want ultra sharp, ultra bright, ultra in your face.  Some are more "curated" but still extremely precise.  Idk.  I kinda prefer what Samsung tends to do.  But everyone sees things differently.

 

The other thing is with Smart TVs and the UI and engine they run on in general.  Quite frankly, a more intuitive user interface is something that you're going to use constantly and really care about.  That probably matters a lot more than a higher refresh rate for content that mostly doesn't exist.  That's also a question of subjective personal preference.  But to me...that'd be a guiding force in selecting a TV.

[Tugboat]

On 3/7/2023 at 6:48 AM, Soggust said:

Yes, the switch counts as one and controls all bulbs (which also means you can use cheaper bulbs if you don't need the rgba colors of a smart bulb. 

The thing you need to be slightly wary of is that in order to use the switches, you need to have a neutral wire in your house's electrical wiring. There is one switch (iirc) on the market that does not use the neutral wire but its overpriced and underfeatured compared to the competition.

If your house is newer-ish, it's probably not a concern. But my house was built in like 1952 or something and doesn't have the wiring and I ended up going with bulbs instead after much heartburn. 

I feel like if my house didn't have properly grounded wiring...i'd want to fix that before i started getting a million multicolor mood lighting bulbs to run from my telephone.  But that's just me.

That's not just a problem for smart switches. That's a problem for everything.  Easier said than done.  But...safety first?

 

 

But the switch idea was a real good one.  A much easier way of doing a "smart" home with a problem like that.

Honestly, i don't see how you can do a true "smart home" without some sort of integration like that, or even some more extensive systems.  There are better, more integrated systems and Hubs...but they're not necessarily easy to just retrofit piecemeal.  You've gotta figure all that stuff out and it seems really dreadful.  But you've gotta start using those sorts of tools...Otherwise, it's just a bunch of "smart components" cobbled together in a "smart shack" or something?  Like...i have zero desire to have a smart home.  I hate the idea on every level.  But i can still easily have more than half a dozen simultaneously active devices just by myself in a workflow and background connections.  Without any "smart home" tech whatsoever.  That smart home tech is basically just like a latent dead load on the system that can add up quick...so if you want robots in your home, you've gotta figure out ways to streamline that a lot more.

 

I hate that i feel like i have to even vaguely keep up on "Smart Home" developments and systems.  Why do people even like this ****?  lol.

[D82]

I figured this would be the right place to ask.

Looking for a good site that would be able to handle storage of media files (scanned magazines, high-quality images, etc.)...anyone have suggestions? 

[RavensTillIDie]

On 4/7/2023 at 12:29 PM, D82 said:

I figured this would be the right place to ask.

Looking for a good site that would be able to handle storage of media files (scanned magazines, high-quality images, etc.)...anyone have suggestions? 

Are you looking for just some type of cloud storage?

[D82]

53 minutes ago, RavensTillIDie said:

Are you looking for just some type of cloud storage?

That would most likely work best.

[RavensTillIDie]

21 minutes ago, D82 said:

That would most likely work best.

https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/best-cloud-storage-software-options/

 

That link provides a pretty good breakdown of the major cloud storage providers. I personally use/recommend Google Drive, but they're all pretty comparable.