TechBlog

Why I Love: DirecTV

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 18:16:22 -0400

Or . . . why cable sucks.

DirecTV isn’t obviously better. It’s the subtle differences that make DirecTV the better choice.
Here’s a few reasons why i think DirecTV is better then Cable:

- Better HD!!!!: bottom line, compare cable HD to DirecTV HD and you will see how big of a difference there is. besides having MORE HD channels, the HD quality is waaay better. you can see it!
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- DirecTV Screensaver: when you pause anything you are watching, after a few minutes a screen saver comes up . . DirecTV understands that burn in on plasmas is not fun . . .

- Schedule Recordings - From Anywhere! : pretty simple, but quite useful. schedule a DVR recording from any web based device - including mobile phones!

- DVR - Managing Existing Recordings: everything you record is not only organized by most recent, but also in folders. so when you have 5 LOST episodes, they arent scattered all over . . but instead they are in a folder , all together. it will even let you know which ones you have watched already, and which ones you haven’t! Anything new is in Bold, anything watched is faded.

- DVR - Resume: stop watching a recording at anytime, return later, just click resume to start watching where you left off . .

- DVR - Gets along well with LiveTV: this is hard to explain, but when you finally realize it, AHA! - basically, you are watching LiveTV, you press pause, then you open up your list of existing recordings .. watch an Hour or so of the latest House episode. when you are done, just push exit, this will take you right back to where you left off on LiveTV. what you were last watching will still be there waiting for you since you had it paused. you now have about an hour of already aired TV waiting for you . .

- DVR - Last: kind of related to the last bullet point . . if you are watching something from your DVR, and you press the last channel button . . it will return you to whatever you were last watching. pretty normal . . the cool part? press last again and it will take you right back to the DVR recording you were watching, letting you return to the exact moment you left off.

- QuickTune: got 10 favorite channels? too bad, you only get 9! but who cares, this feature is so handy, even the smartest remote cant beat it (yet!). press Up on the DirecTV remote and it will bring up a small 3X3 grid that lets you store favorite channels in them, and access them from anywhere anytime. TBS HD is right smack in the middle of my grid. all i do to get to it is press Up, Enter - boom! TBS HD!

- XM: need i say more, you have XM stations on your DirecTV, and since Sirius and XM merged, you have a great selection of music stations that are actually worth something.

- Active Channel: current weather, horoscope, etc.. not excited ?
well one cool feature about the active channel is that it shows you the 5 top things being watched on the east coast, top 5 things Nationally, top 5 movies being watched, and top 5 sports being watched.

- Fast Forward Through Commercials: sure most DVR’s do this (well all actually), but whats great about DirecTV’s version? while fast forwarding through the commercial, once you see your show start again, press play and it will automatically (within reason) start at the precise moment that the commercial ended and the show started. eliminating the need to rewind after you go too far.

- Record Easily: if you are watching something, press the record button once to record
that entire episode. press the record once again and you will set your DVR to record the entire series of that show for you.
Same goes for when you are in your guide, press the record button once and it will record that one episode for you, press it twice and it will record the entire season (you can adjust the details of how it records later, but the default is to record only new episodes - you can also change the default settings).

- Delete Easily: if you want to delete an entire season of episodes, just scroll down to the folder, and press delete. if you want to clear out your DVR of random recordings, there is an advanced delete setting that lets you check off everything you want deleted , then just choose delete. this takes care of deleting multiple items a snap! cable on the other hand, complete torture to delete anything, and on cable, it takes forever!

- Previous Channel:S (as in multiple): press the yellow button and access a list of 4 previous channels. thats better then one previous channel any day!

- Know what you can watch: when browsing the guide, any channels you do not pay for are dimmed out, so you know what you can or can not watch . . .

- More Custom Friendly: when designing a whole house video distribution system, cable companies can be a real pain to deal with. DirecTV on the other hand, let you assign special codes to each DirecTV receiver, and come with Discrete Power Commands. Besides that, the DirecTV boxes can also be controlled via RS232 Serial Commands (for advanced control), and some boxes even come with rack-mount ears to easily be mounted in an equipment rack.

- Game Mix, News Mix, March Madness, US Open: watch 8 games of football at once, or the same with news. Choose the audio you want from which game just with a few clicks. Track Player stats in a custom list, check out future matches, etc.

things i dont like:
1. slight delay when changing channels (definitely worth it!)
2. once in a blue moon you have service interruption? well ive never experienced it in over 6 months since switching . . but i hear it happens .. rarely.

im sure i am missing some other great features, so let us know what else you love below in the comments!

Sari Mizrahi Designs

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 22:36:01 -0500

An amazing designer of all things graphic, her mother’s daughter . . she is truly gifted. Responsible for creating catalogs, billboards, food labels, business cards, logos, and much more, and for so many people. She brings her own creative touch to her designs, bringing life and drawing eyes towards whatever it is you will be displaying.

A background in the arts, both culinary and visual, Sari Mizrahi is constantly finding new ways to expand her artistic background, and express her visions. Being the daughter of Lilly Levy (the interior designer) doesn’t hurt either, born with an eye for design.

Check out her new website here!

Let us know what you think in the comments section below
Take a look at some of our other strategic partners

Happy Holidays!

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 21:32:46 -0500

Happy Holidays, from your local Technologists!

This is a time to truly shut out all thoughts of work, or any other stress inducing thoughts . . and just concentrate on being happy. However you are spending your time, if it’s fun in the sun, or just time alone with your family, we wish you the best for the holidays, and the coming new year.

We’re very thankful for all of our amazing clients, and how easy it is to work with you. We look forward to another great year with all of you!

Thank you for your support.
Technologist Designs

What are you thankful for this year!? Let us know in the comments below
also, be sure to check out some of our strategic partners . . .

Lilly Levy Designs

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 23:28:05 -0400

Lilly Levy Designs is run by a woman who helps you find out what you want. Her design is your taste, honed and amplified. She is highly regarded by her clients, and for good reason. She is great at what she does, and a pleasure to be around . . she also happens to be my mother.

You might think that everything i just wrote is just my blood speaking . . .
If you saw her work, you would understand better. It’s her life. She works 27 hours a day . . for her clients. She is in constant communication with the people she needs to be. She is design.

On that note, i want to share with you the reason she is on my website.

Collaboration . . .

When you are building your new home, you have so much to worry about. The reason you hire a contractor is because he handles a big bulk of the project for you. Which is less for you to worry about . . . You communicate with the contractor, and he communicates with everyone else on the job . .

but what happens when communications drop? you end up with errors, and a final look that may or may not look like it was intentional . .

We have worked many projects with Lilly Levy Designs, and we are always in constant communication, checking on furniture layouts, getting the aesthetics of some our electronics pre approved before presenting to the client, working together on automated systems and their final look, figuring out the proper placement for volume control knobs, final tv placement, etc.

She is great at what she does, and she makes our jobs even easier.
Having us as a team when you build your home . . its just one less thing to worry about.

On that note . . i would also like to mention Level Construction , run by Alan Levy - my brother.
Between the three of us , we can build your entire home . . but more on that in another post . .

- Mosey Levy

Colorado vNet - Builder Software

Fri, 30 May 2008 00:31:25 -0400

Colorado vNet
a home automation solution that beats em all!
Includes control of lighting, shades, security, hvac, surveillance, audio, etc

Creating a new electrical plan for approval by the architect. Creating lighting patterns, eliminating multiple dimmer switches with one smart pad... the video speaks for itself.
This is my first day of electrical design, and its amazing stuff . .
Keep in mind, all the lights you see being controlled by this smart pad, can also be controlled from anywhere in the home via in wall touch screens . . . more on that later . .

Apple TV Updates to 2.02

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 19:02:48 -0400

Apple has updated the software on the Apple TV's to version 2.02
this usually means new features and/or just bug fixes . .

either way, we highly recommend updating
all the Apple TV's in your home as they will
most likely lead to a more pleasant experience.

How To:

•Go to the Settings section on your apple tv (main menu , bottom left)
•Once in "Settings", goto "General"

•Then choose "Update Software"

(Settings>General>Update Software)

• Once you choose update software, the apple tv will then search to see if updates are available.

• the Apple TV will prompt you asking you if you want to download the update or not, choose yes.

• the download will take between 5-20 minutes depending on your internet connection and the size of the update. note some updates are larger and may take 40 minutes to download

• leave the tv and apple tv on as they download and update through the entire process (ie do not switch to cable or shut system off)

• check back on your apple tv 5-10 minutes later to see if the download has been completed .

•once the download is completed, it will ask you if you want to actually update the software now
or later. choose now . . the apple tv will update and restart within 5 minutes. after that you can shut
the system down. . .

• repeat for all apple tv's in home

• enjoy : )

health clubs - expanding to philli and boston

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:55:59 -0400

The health clubs job has been expanding at an amazing rate. The number of clubs has risen weekly. We have completed near 80 health clubs, in different areas. These areas include
• Brooklyn
• Queens
• Manhattan
• Bronx
• Staten Island
• Long Island
• Across all of NJ
• Upstate NY
• CT

The exciting part is that we are ahead of schedule, and we have taken on two new locations.
•Philadelphia
•Boston

We already started Philli about a week ago, and we just got approved to do boston as well.

as we continue to excel with residential work,
we are simultaneously pumping out excellent commercial work . . .ahead of schedule.

The Future Looks Exciting From Here . . . .

Equipment Phase - Manhattan Luxury Building - Siedle Systems

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 16:10:11 -0400

When we start a large project, we usually split it up into two phases.

- Wiring Phase
this is the phase when the building is still under construction, no walls (sheetrock) yet.
we go in and wire for everything at this point. we carefully position our speakers, wall jacks, intercoms, etc with gang boxes and speaker brackets. to some people this might be a boring phase, but it sure is a lot of fun. our wiring guys love it, and so do i . . but the really exciting part? well . . . .

- Equipment Phase
yes, this is the exciting phase. all the walls are up, the home or building is being painted and getting prepped for functionality . . elevators, heating/cooling , electric, and of course - Technology. Install speakers, tv’s , phone systems, intercoms, surveillance, etc...

one of our larger projects, a residential luxury building in manhattan, is now entering the equipment phase. we are doing some exciting things in this building.

the third floor is ready for equipment, the rest of the building is still being worked on.
on the third floor, we proceeded to install the ‘in ceiling’ speakers. we are also going to install the intercom/access control aspects for the third floor, and the elevator...

for the third floor apartment, we are putting in a video intercom unit by the front entry door.
the intercom systems we use on the higher end buildings are by siedle.
they have the best designed components with amazing levels of functionality....

a great example of this systems functionality is the video entry cam. Everytime someone rings your apartment, the video entry intercom will automatically save a snapshot of the guest, for you to review later in cased of missed guests etc . .

another great example of functionality is the electronic key solution we are implementing . . .
with a little orange key fob (goes right on your key chain), you wave it in front of the front entry panel, it will automatically unlock the front door for you, call the elevator down, and set what floor the elevator is allowed to go to (taking you right up to your floor). we are also putting a key fob station in the elevator itself so that you can wave key fob in elevator and unlock your floor as well if needed. you barely ever have to ever press a button to get around . .

we are very excited for this phase, as we love to push in to new boundaries all the time.
we became siedle certified specifically for this project, and look forward to implementing similar solutions for future projects.

mac tutorials

Wed, 5 Mar 2008 23:58:39 -0500

got a new mac? or maybe you had it for a while?
either way - the point of owning a mac is to create!
to edit photos, video, create music, websites , flyers and more!
you can do it all with two applications suites.
the first one is called “iLife”
the second one is called “iWork”

they both come with your mac and are made by apple - so you know they are easier then most . .

iLife consists of the following applications (programs):
iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iWeb, & Garage Band
with each of these you can really create some amazing stuff!!

iWork consists of the following applications:
Pages, Number, & Keynote
Pages is similar to microsoft word - but much more.
its a full featured word application, but where it really shines is layouts.
create menu’s or flyers or resumes - make them look amazing really easily.
Numbers is like microsoft excel
Keynote is like microsoft powerpoint, but again, much easier to use - and graphically stunning . . .

check out these two web pages, they both have great videos showing you
how to get the best out of both suites.

just remember that when trying to learn something new, the best way to learn is through patience and through paying attention to what you are doing. dont be afraid to read instructions or watch videos.

if you have any additional questions on how to use the apps please feel free to email me - i will do my best to answer them . .

http://www.apple.com/ilife/tutorials/

http://www.apple.com/iwork/tutorials/

Update: a few weeks after i posted this, apple released a new section on their website for people that are new to mac. great video tutorials on how to use all aspects of your mac, including saving files and navigating around your system . .

check it out here:

http://www.apple.com/findouthow/

health clubs

Tue, 1 Jan 2008 14:48:41 -0500

We have been contracted by a california company to install Digital Signage in over 70 health clubs in the tri-state area. Each monitor is connected to a computer that is fed content from a central station in california. The monitors display current news, weather, stocks tickers + video feeds. Each club gets the setup for free, and is actually paid monthly to have it in the club as the it displays advertisements as well. If you are interested in a similar setup please contact us.