Introducing C.I. Scource

In an effort to better engage and inform our customers, Metra Home Theater Group would like to introduce our mascot - C.I. Source ! C.I. Source (appropriately named after the Custom Integrator audience he will serve), is an adorable, approachable, tech-savvy, and slightly frazzled-looking, home theater enthusiast created to provide brand recognition for Metra Home Theater and serve as a tool to educate and provide solutions to our customer base.

To ensure customers fully appreciate our new mascot, we gave C.I. Source a rich history:

C. I. always had a passion for technology dating back to the days of turntables and loudspeakers. While selling Hi-Fi in his college days, C.I. decided to turn his passion into his life’s work. After an illustrious career in the car audio business, he expanded into other areas including home automation. C.I. was right in the middle of the mix when digital came along and changed the home entertainment industry forevermore. Instead of boxes going out the door, customers wanted video and audio in every room, with custom functions ranging from automatic draperies to home monitoring.  This meant new electronics – distribution amplifiers, projectors, switchers –- and it all had to be designed to work seamlessly in the home. C. I. was thrilled to take on this challenge, which would be the first of many as he was faced with wider bandwidths, fascinating new delivery systems and extreme home theater advances. C.I. – who is married to his high school sweetheart, Sandy Tereo aka S.Tereo (now hyphenated Stereo-Source.) They have one son, Di’Gital. C. I. is passionate about making home theater and home automation accessible to all.

Metra Home Theater Group strives to be a problem solving resource for CIs by sharing a wide range of content and actively communicating with our Custom Integrator audience.  By creating C.I. Source, we hope our customers past, present and future will find him an accessible, fun way to get the guidance and support so many crave in setting up and operating their home theater and automation systems exactly to their specifications, needs and wants.

The Internet of Things

Back in March I posted about the Internet of Things (or IoT for short).  Since that post I have seen the #IoT in regards to a wide array of topics.  The uses of the IoT are varied with some being downright scary.  Some examples that I have run across in the last few weeks are as follows:

•  Disney has plans to change its experience at theme parks and hotels with its wearable device. From an app or wristband one can get into a park, purchase a souvenir and even sign up for the fast pass on various rides.  All of this can be done from a wristband or phone app.  Learn more here.  No more paper tickets or waiting in lines for rides. 
• Hospitals are using the IoT helping sick children play interactively with shelter pets helping the children forget about their illness for a small time.  
• TheLevis Company is using the IoT to develop clothes that connect to the internet to help people interact more with the real world around them instead of staring at phones. 

Convenience, helpful & scary is how I categorize the above list.

The IOT can help make lots of things more organized (Disney) and helpful (kids in hospitals).  What scares me is there may be a market for wearable clothes that help people be more interactive with the real world. What is that about?

The INTERNET OF THINGS needs to help people be more INTERACTIVE with the REAL WORLD!  People do stare at their phones a lot when out in public.  I am guilty of that myself.  In my house, we had to implement a rule that all cell phones are turned off and put away during family dinner.  Sadly, the rule was put in place for my husband and myself – not my children.  To think that clothes might connect with our cell phones in the near future makes me fear for my grandchildren.  Will we have to change clothes before dinner to continue the tradition of eating as a family and the end of every single day?  Smart phones have changed society in positive and negative ways.  How will Smart Clothes change the next generation?  Do we really need an IoT device (clothes) to help us connect more with reality or should we just be more responsible with the technology we have?  IF the smart clothes catch on – where will this lead us as a society?  Will we start living the science fiction books I grew up reading?  Sounds great in theory but the reality of all of this “connectivity” may be it actually make us less “connected” to real people and the real world around us.

I would love to hear what others think about this Brave New World that is upon us. #IoT #GlobalIndustry #BigData #WearableTech

Most asked Spyclops Tech Questions

Our Spyclops tech department is busy helping customers and I happen to sit in the same room.  So the thought came to be one day, “What are the most asked questions?”    I fired off an email and asked “What question do you answer the most regarding our Spyclops line?”

I was given the top three most asked Spyclops tech questions:

1.       I am having issues connecting on my phone with ESEE, HELP? 

Make sure you have full signal on your Smartphone or tablet to pull the video through, especially if you have more than four cameras connected.  Videos pull more bandwidth than games or regular apps.

2.       I have an Android but I can only view four cameras, where are the other cameras?

Make sure you selected the correct number of cameras when you added your DVR.  If you did, then simply swipe the screen left at the camera view to scroll through all the cameras views.

3.       How do I verify my DVR is recording:

After you set up your recording information, you will see one of the three icons in the upper right hand corner of each camera view that is actively recording.  You will see a clock for timed recording, a red dot for manual recording or a yellow running man for motion recording.  If one of these icons are showing, your camera is recording.

THE EASY WAY TO DIGITAL AUDIO BACK TO YOUR AVR

Today everybody has a smart TV with all kinds of built in Apps. The most common problem that “CI's” face is getting the Digital Audio from these TV Apps back to the AVR.  One answer is of course the ARC function back thru the HDMI cable and while this is a “simple” one cable solution it is NOT a simple one button user solution.

Here is a simple one button user solution and if you can get a piece of coax (RG/6 or RG/59) between the display and the AVR you can make this happen.

Directions: First, on most displays there is an Optical output connection that supports Dolby Digital, come out of this with a short optical cable and go into our CS-D2D optical to coax format convertor. Second you will adapt the “F” connector to an RCA connection at both ends, plug the coax into one of the SPDIF connections on the back of your AVR.  Third program the remote to select that SPDIF input when your client wants to watch in TV apps.

You now have a one button solution.

Parts Needed:

• CS-D2D Digital Format Convertor.
• 1 meter optical cable. (MHY Toslink Cables)
• Coax cable with RCA terminals on both ends.  (Digital COAX Cables)