How To

Last weekend I had a yard sale with a few pairs of speakers to unload. After the first wave of hard-core hagglers trampled through my yard I noticed that someone had trouble resisting the impulse to dent the center of my vintage speakers.

The bastards!

Since I was not about to let them spoil my day (or my profits), I rushed the speakers inside the house to fix them up. A quick online search for some DIY solutions bore some useful results, which I've gathered here.

Swabs and glue OK, honestly, this technique bubbled up from the dark recesses … Read more

About a year ago, Roku stole a little Apple TV thunder by adding "Play on Roku" capabilities to its iOS app, making it possible for users to stream music and photos from their mobile devices to their TVs via connected Roku boxes.

Last week, Play on Roku was updated to include support for videos. That brings Roku boxes one step closer to matching Apple TV functionality, at least for iDevice users. The Android version of Play on Roku still limits you to music and photos, at least for now.

Let's take a look at how to use … Read more

Mini-humans are an inquisitive bunch, poking, grabbing, and pulling everything in sight. If that "everything" is a loose glass of water, it's inconvenient. If a cat, it's potentially disagreeable. If it's a 65-inch television, the result can be...

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, 43,000 people are injured each year in TV- and furniture-related incidents. And it's not just kids getting hurt, either. So let's figure out how to prevent your TV from falling over.… Read more

To hear Google tell it, you'd think its Chromecast practically installed itself. I can tell you from experience that this is not the case.

To Google's credit, Chromecast setup is a breeze compared with some of the hair-pulling experiences I've had involving the Apple TV, for which I suspect Apple designed the remote control out of metal in order to help you withstand the compulsion to throw that thing back into the useless hell it spawned from. But I digress. Here's how to set up your Google Chromecast.

Plugging it in Sounds simple enough. Grab your … Read more

Editors' note: This post was updated on 7/16/2013 to reflect changes in newer iOS devices.

Until smart TVs get smarter and set-top boxes solve more problems, sometimes, the swiftest means to get media on your TV is directly via your phone or tablet.

It's not ideal for all cases, but if you've got home videos, photos, or even video-streaming apps you want to see on the big screen, you have a few options. The solution will depend on how new (or old) your device is, what video quality you're going for, and (as always) how … Read more

Every time I write an article like "Five lies your TV salesperson will tell you," there's an outcry from the (very small) minority of salespeople who proclaim their integrity and sincere desire to help people find the right gear.

I do believe these people exist, but the problem is, how do you find them? Here are some tricks, tips, and steps to help you find the right salesperson.… Read more

One great thing about Bluetooth speakers is you can use them to learn about how room size and acoustics affect a given speaker's sound quality. Experiment with placement and you'll quickly learn that where you put a speaker in a room can make a big difference in the sound, for better or worse. That's true for all speakers, but since BT speakers tend to be small and light, they're easier to move around.

Start by putting the speaker on the floor in the middle of the room, and you'll hear that it makes more bass … Read more

Last year Panasonic introduced intrusive advertising in the form of pop-up banner ads on its Smart TVs, and unfortunately the company has decided to continue the practice this year.

But that's not the only potentially annoying thing about the new interface. When you first turn it on the TV also defaults to a new Home screen filled with apps you'll mostly never use, like a calendar. Your actual TV show is relegated to an inset window until you actively select and expand it.

Banner ads are the way of life for Web sites and many apps, as advertising … Read more

Years before smartphones were a thing, Nokia was one of the first manufacturers to add IR blasters to its dumbphones. The use case was pretty limited, though, as the cool factor typically ended after the fun of turning TVs off at Circuit City died off.

But IR is getting its second wind in a new wave of smartphones packing the technology, namely, the S4. This time around, the use case is much more tangible, posing a real threat to the traditional TV remote. Powered by WatchOn (and Peel), the S4 is more than just a substitute clicker -- it's … Read more