Category: Home Technology

When it comes to our entertainment systems, we all want the best of the best –the perfect picture, the highest quality sound. However, if you don’t know the terms to look for, shopping for the best equipment for your home entertainment system can be a challenge. Once you learn expressions such as OLED, Quantum Dot Display, and HDR, the whole process becomes just a little bit easier.

The term OLED, meaning organic light-emitting diode, refers to a type of television or monitor that isn’t backlit, at least not in the sense that most of us are used to. The pixels in the screen can be controlled independently because they each have their own current, allowing for a greater contrast ratio and more precise imaging. HDR –or high dynamic range –is used to describe how, when a video is shot, a greater contrast between light and shadow is captured, allowing for a wider spectrum of colour to appear on your television. As much as the phrase Quantum Dot Display sounds like something out of Star Trek, its actually describes plates of Nano-crystals in your television between the backlight and the LED panel that enhances the varying shades of colour, allowing for greater depth of the image.

Now for every great imaging system, there is an equal and complementary sound system. Up until last year, most television companies neglected advancing the technology in their speaker systems in favour of high-definition images. However, this year audio companies have stepped in to create better and better sound to improve your home theatre. What you are looking for is something that has high-resolution audio –a term that was originally coined by Sony. Systems like the LG® MusicFlow which will allow you connect almost any type of speaker to your home network and control them through an app on your smart phone. The upside about connecting multiple speakers around your living room is that you can better replicate the type of sound that you would hear in a movie theatre. The downside is that stocking your room with speakers is that it gets pretty costly pretty quickly. However, one of the leading movie theatre audio companies, DTS, has been working hard in the advancement of audio technology and is, in doing so, revolutionizing the sound bar industry. DTS’s new sound bar technology tricks your brain into thinking it is hearing crisp surround sound when it’s actually being produced by a solitary bar under your television. Because of this advancement, soon even more cost effective sound bars will be of a much higher quality.

Getting a good night’s sleep seems to be almost out of reach for the majority of the population these days –despite the necessity of sleep to keep us functioning at optimal levels, from lowering blood pressure to helpings regulate our appetite and increase our everyday productivity. Unfortunately, all the glorious technology at our fingertips can disrupt the body’s sleep schedule, making it difficult to achieve full REM sleep. Although most gadgets should be considered a big mistake when it comes to improving your sleeping habits, there are a few pieces of tech that can help make the process a little easier.

One of the first things most sleep experts would recommend is a sound machine, a device that is often marketed as a device to play soft noises for babies to help them sleep through the night. Typically their purpose is to recreate the sounds heard within the womb in order to ease babies into a state of emotional wellbeing. Although the idea of a sound machine, sound soother, or conditioner may seem unappealing for some, there is some solid science behind the playing of white noise or pink noise (a softer variation of white noise) to help you fall asleep and stay asleep, and, luckily, they come in a variety of more grown up sounds like the ocean, the rain, and whale songs. You can find various types of sound machines in any home store or baby store, but if you aren’t the type to run out and buy one without trying it, there are a number of apps available for download onto your phone that will do the trick.

Tracking your sleep is another method of encouraging better sleeping habits. There a variety of wristband trackers that will not only measure how long you sleep but the quality of your sleep, how many times you wake up during the night, and whether you are sleeping deeply or lightly. Most sleep trackers can also sync up to an app on your phone so that you can view all your recorded data and compare it with factors such as your diet and your caffeine intake. These devices make it easy to adjust your daily routine in order to permanently improve your sleeping habits.

Lighting is another factor that can have massive effects on your sleep quality. When there is too much light in a room while you are trying to sleep, your body is prevented from producing melatonin, meaning that what sleep you are getting isn’t very restful. We’ve all heard that the blue light that is emitted from our phones and computer screens can also prevent our bodies from manufacturing melatonin, but slightly less known is that soft orange light can actually increase melatonin production. Investing in a small lamp or device that emanates these particular light waves can benefit your body in the long run and lead to a deeper and more peaceful REM sleep.

With technological upgrades taking over the world a little bit more every day, it can be hard to adapt to our new environment. Technology is a fickle thing and that makes stepping into the future with the latest gear to make your home a smart home is no simple task. The first thing you need is a Hub –a place by which you can run the show, the bridge, the command station, enter various Sci-fi references here. Your hub can take all of the various languages that your technology uses to communicate (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc.) and translates them so that you only need one app to control your world. Something as simple as upgrading your television to a 4k TV (the picture is about 4 000 pixels wide, resulting in super high definition images) can set you ahead of the curve. Of course, if super high-def. isn’t your thing, you can opt instead for a Smart TV, which can connect to your Hub. It is Wi-Fi enabled and thereby allows you to access an entire world beyond antiquated cable.  

A new set of blinds can further propel you into the world of smart technology –you see them in the movies –blinds that you can control with a push of a button allowing you to block out the sun for a little extra shut eye or bring in a little mood lighting. You can even connect it to systems that will schedule when the blinds should be open and closed so that you don’t even have to bother with the buttons. Of course, if natural lighting isn’t your thing, there are a number of ways to connect the light fixtures in your home to your smart phone –adjusting the brightness, the warmth, and even the colour of your bulbs just by tapping your touch screen.

An upgraded thermostat and heating system can allow basic things like room temperature can also be controlled by the push of a button or the touch of a smart phone. If your room still isn’t as state-of-the-art as you would like, your ceiling fan can also be connected to your smart phone to cool down your room on those hot summer nights when you’re too tired to get out of bed. If you plan on stepping up your home tech game, there are companies who are working on smart flooring that can track your movement and even light up in different colours to change the ambiance in the room.

Cool new tech isn’t just for you, though. If you’re a pet kind of person, there’s some gear out there that’s for both you and your furry little one. The Petcube® allows you to view your little fur-baby when you’re away or at the office so you never have to miss them too much. However, if you want to be more interactive, the PetChatz® allows your pet to see you too so that you can talk to them, or even feed them a treat.