I got a chance to review the new Play:3 unit from Sonos, and I must say I am very impressed. Not to talk up the Sonos brand any more than I already have in the past, but the Sonos Wireless HiFi System is a group of devices that let you stream music wirelessly throughout your house. You can stream music from your iTunes Library that is located on a computer that is connected to your home network, or choose from a number of sources including, but not limited to:

…And over 100,000 free radio stations worldwide

What makes Sonos an ideal choice for those looking to distribute music throughout their house is the fact that you don’t need to run any wires (with the exception of a power cord) to use any of the equipment. Simply connect one of the Sonos devices to your router, and you can keep adding units to anywhere you want music wirelessly because the devices create a wireless mesh network that doesn’t interfere with your current network.

The Sonos device that the good folks from Sonos sent me was a pair of the brand-spankin’ new Play:3 units – “the small, sexy, tuck in a corner and blow off the roof all-in-on Sonos Player” (their words, not mine). So I decided to put their words to the test to see how good these new speakers are.

Design

At $299, The Play:3 is the entry level audio output device from Sonos that comes in either white or black and can be stack horizontally or vertically. I tried both orientations and the Play:3 does look pretty good in either. The Play:3 are as about as large as an old-school clock radio and would look good on a desk, bookshelf, dresser, nightstand or hanging on a wall in a kitchen.

The cool thing about Sonos is that any of the units can connect to your router to stream media to other devices throughout your home. So the only connections that the Play:3 has in back is for the power cord and an ethernet jack, Which should speak to the simplicity of setting up the device.

Setup

Setting up any of the Sonos units is a simple as connecting them to your router via a the ethernet connection. With the provided setup disc, I pointed the Play:3 unit to my music library that is located on a NAS device. I use an old Windows laptop as a media server that pulls content from the NAS. That way, I don’t have to make sure my personal laptop is connected in order to stream music.

Once the sonos software that was installed on my server was satisfied with where my media was located (I did have to do some extra steps to share my music across my network so the Sonos software could see it), it indexed my library for quick access from any of my Sonos controllers. If you’re pulling your media directly from a personal computer, setup is even easier. Adding the Play:3 units was as simple as making the software “listen” as I pressed the “mute” and “volume up” button on the unit. The process works for adding different controllers as well.

Control

“Pick your poision” – Sonos makes it stupid-easy to control your library from a multitude of devices. There is a separate Sonos Controller remote that you can purchase for $349 or you can just use the free Sonos desktop/laptop software that’s compatible for Windows and Mac. OR you can do what I did and download the free mobile apps for iPhone/iPod Touch, iPad, or Android. I have an iPhone, iPad, and Android device, and all were able to connect to my Sonos setup and control my content.

The MAIN feature that sets Sonos apart from other methods of streaming music to several devices, is that each individual Sonos device connected to your network can listen to different content at the same time. In other words, I can be in the office listening to iTunes music, and Mrs. Tech can listen to a Pandora music station in the bedroom. With a couple of taps from my iPhone, I can go into “Party Mode” and force both units to play the same music throughout the house. I currently own a couple of Apple AirPlay Express units that I have connected around my house, but through iTunes I can only turn units on or off, and control the volume. I can’t play different sources at the same time (well played Sonos, well played)

Back to Sonos, I can search all the music from my iTunes libary and play immediately, or add songs to a queue to be played later. I can also create Sonos playlists to quickly play music. It would’ve been killer if the software could automatically read and refresh my iTunes playlists that I already manage instead of manually exporting and importing them into Sonos. But that is the only knock I have against the software. Everything else like adding radio stations or online media services, controlling the sound (treble, bass, volume, etc) and managing additional settings like social networking integration was easy-peasy.

Sound

This little device packs a punch. The bass could be just a little bit deeper, but these things can handle just about everything you can throw at it. The two units I was sent would more than handle the job if I had some friends/family over for a get-together, and not just because my family would be amazed that I can control it all with my Android smartphone either. Using the controller software on my laptop, smartphone or tablet, I can control the equalizer to dial in the sound effect I want.

Another cool feature (That I of course tried) was setting up the two units in one room in “Stereo Mode” that set up one unit as a left channel and the other as a right channel speaker. That lack of deep base I mentioned earlier…you can scratch that when I set them up in this configuration.

If you really want a larger sound, you can either take a look at a Play:5 device: add a ZonePlayer 120 with a built-in amplifier to a pair of speakers; or a ZonePlayer 90 to a already powered stereo system for music just the way you want it.

Outro

Sonos dubs their new Play:3 device as “the small, sexy, tuck in a corner and blow off the roof all-in-on Sonos Player”. Do I think the unit’s bite is a big as its bark? If you want quality sound to fill a decent sized area, Hellz yeah the moniker fits! If you’re looking to rock a ultimate house party…A couple of the Sonos Play:3 units from Sonos (at $299 a piece set up in Stereo Mode) may just do the trick as well.

It’s just a shame that I have to send these bad-boys back. I wonder if Sonos would let me keep them indefinitely so I can closely examine “wear n tear” over the lifetime of their units.

*Sends the Sonos marketing rep an email*

Don't fall for the "Snake Oil"

Don’t let Monster Cable “High-end” cable manufacturers sell you any Snake Oil by saying the only way to get high quality performance out of your Audio/Video gear is to buy $60-$100 cables. If the cables you buy to hook all of your gear up alone cost anywhere near half of what it cost to buy the actual equipment, you just got played.

Which should segway very nicely into the 6ft. In-Wall Rated HDMI cable the nice folks over at Triangle Cables sent me to review. Since I am still an A/V guy at heart, I jumped at the chance to try out the cable. I must say for the price, this cable ROCKS. One of these cables will run you approximately $27 dollars plus shipping…if they weren’t on sale. Right now, you can grab a pair in the 6ft length from the Triangle Cables website for $9 Dollars. Honestly, you really don’t know how good a deal that is, so let me break down the quality of this cable:

In-Wall, CL2 Rated
If you want to get fancy with your install and run the cable inside the wall in order to reduce cable clutter or get that professional, custom install look, this cable is in-wall rated so you don’t have to worry about breaking any construction/fire codes buy hiding this cable behind your walls.

HDMI 1.4
This cable has the latest High Definition Multimedia Interface specifications (Now you know what HDMI stands for…you’re welcome) that will transfer not only fully uncompressed 3D Video AND Multi-channel Digital Audio, but can also transmit control signals as well. In other words, that 3D ready TV you bought along with the same-brand 3D BluRay player will not only deliver full 3D (if you also sprung for the active 3D glasses), but the cable can also send control commands to the BluRay player by pointing the remote at the TV if you decide to hide your components in a rack in another room.

You can believe it, all of that in addition to just a downright sturdy cable for only $9 dollars (shipping extra). You will have to take my word for it when I say you don’t have to spend a ton of money just on cables to get a great Home Theater experience from your A/V equipment. The 6ft. In-Wall rated, HDMI 1.4 cable from Triangle Cables will more than suit your needs for just about any setup you can imagine. You can take my word for it that this is a good deal, or you can conduct your own experiment – Shop around your local Big Box retailer for the same cable and let the sales kid guy try to convince you of all the reasons you need to spend $60 + dollars for one cable. Go ahead and buy the cable and then buy from Triangle Cables and see if you can tell the difference.

…I’ll wait

Triangle Cables has many other lengths of HDMI cables as well as just about any other type of cable you may need. So check them out and let me know what you think.

As usual, with any other product I review and you decide to buy, you can enter “BrothaTech” in the promo code box and…you will probably get some sort of “promotional code does not exist” or you computer may very well freeze up. So instead of doing that, Triangle Cables is giving away a free 6ft. In-wall Rated HDMI 1.4 cable to anyone who:

- Leaves a comment describing their current A/V setup.

- Follows @TriangleCables on Twitter

- Likes Triangle Cables on Facebook

(You must leave a comment for each action, so for those who are counting, that’s three comments)

One lucky winner will be announced one-week from the date of this post using random.org

No Computer...or Wires Needed for an Awesome Music Experience

My Twitter, and Google+ streams are ON FIRE with the news of Spotify finally making it to the U.S. Initially by invite only (Yes, a Brotha got the hookup), and eventually public for all to enjoy. In case you don’t know, Spotify has been popular for quite some time oversees as an uber music-sharing service that lets you stream/share music…whatever music you’re into, from Spotify’s servers. According to Spotify, there are over 15 million tracks for users to listen to, and all you need is a PC or Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android, Palm, Windows Phone…or Sonos?

That’s right, If you’re a Sonos Multi-Room Music System owner in the U.S. (if not, you need them in your life right now), you can now stream Spotify music throughout your home via your current Sonos setup. You will need to sign up for the Spotify Premium Account and then sign in using your Sonos controller, your computer, or Sonos app for iOS & Android. After you add Spotify to your list of streaming services, you will be off to the races, playing ANY high-quality music you can find on Spotify.

With Sonos and Spotify, you can move away from being confined to only listening to the music sitting in your computer playing from your computer speakers, and move into streaming high-quality music from the cloud to ANY room in your house.

P.S., If you’re wondering how I got an early invite to try out Spotify, Klout Perks sent me a message stating that I have enough “klout” (get it?) to try the service (review soon to come). If you want to see how much Klout you have, hook me up and CLICK HERE

Strange, right? The Andi-One Conspin runs Android OS 2.1, but is strictly a universal remote for your HT gear. Actually, it’s not all that strange. Allow me to explain.

Being an Android device, the Andi-One can easily connect to your home WiFi connection. Even though it comes pre-programmed with 10,000 devices, it can add more without a PC connection. It can also run other Android apps including checking the weather, listening to music, sending emails or IM’s, or making VOIP calls if you are in fact connected to your home’s WiFi. Finally, being an Android device makes it much cheaper than a similarly-matched universal remote. In other words, find a current HT universal remote with all the same features as the Andi-One for $349…

I’ll wait…

While you scour Google, I will take the time to add the additional features of the Andi-One. It includes WiFi, RF and IR connectivity, so you can connect to just about all of your home equipment. No PC is required to program the remote either. By just following the on-screen prompts, the Misses, kids, or any guests can click your “Watch TV” or “Play DVD” activities without a call to your family’s IT professional (read: you). On a single charge on the supplied charging dock, the Andi-One can last up to 20 hours. Also, the dock has a built-in speaker so you can listen to music without being connected to your home setup. For the trifecta, the dock is also compatible to charge an iPhone or iPad, just in case your other gadgets are due for some power.

Check out the video for even more awesome features

The Andi-One Conspin Android-powered universal remote that’s not a phone – Not such a strange concept anymore, huh?

Not to be outdone by its Cable/Satellite provider colleagues who pretty much all offer some sort of streaming video service to various mobile devices, Time Warner customers can now download the free TWCable TV app and stream live TV right to their iPad.

There are some basic prerequisites:

- Time Warner Standard (Extended Basic) Cable service
- Road Runner Standard Internet Service
- iOS 4 on your iPad
- Wifi connectivity to your home internet service (No 3G)

Once those requirements are all met, your iPad can become an extension of your home entertainment universe. Features include flipping through the channel guide to see what’s on, and the ability to touch the content to watch instantly.

Why not just turn on the larger, louder, and better TV you probably have hanging on your wall? Good question. My guess would be that technology like streaming live TV to your mobile devices like tablets is great for not missing a second of “March Madness” goodness while copping a squat on the “Royal Throne” to handle your “business”. Another (less disturbing) advantage would be for in-your-hands Picture in Picture. I honestly can’t think of anyone (present company included) who actually uses PIP on their regular TV. Is that still an option on TVs today?

Download the TWCable TV app from the iTunes App Store.

I sat in with my main man Mario Armstrong on his tech show on XM channel 169 yesterday, and we listed our Top 3 Gadgets that we already have or want. Since some of you may not have XM, so I thought I’d do a quick recap of my Top 3 gadgets. Of course being the superstar that Mario is, manufacturers already sent him the gadgets I wanted, so all he could do was co-sign on my stuff (I’ll get there, trust me).

1. Windows Phone 7

If you don’t know by now, I am thinking about ditching my BlackBerry and moving over to “the dark-side” known as Apple. I haven’t done it yet, because I want to see if Verizon Wireless picks up a version of the iPhone 4 in January. BUT, the word on the street is that Microsoft’s new Windows Phone 7 OS (WP7) is DOPE and is on its way to quickly moving alongside iOS (Apple) and Android as the hottest mobile platforms out.

Now I’m a mobile app guy, and all I find myself writing about these days are mobile apps (check out SmallBizGoMobile and AppScout for my latest reviews…PLUG!). So once I found out that the WP7 marketplace ALREADY has 1,000 apps…and the phone hasn’t officially dropped been released in the U.S. yet – My interest has peaked even more. To make matters worse, HTC (makers of the Evo on Sprint and the Droid Incredible on Verizon) & Samsung (makers of the hot new Galaxy S phones on multiple carriers) among others have signed up as the phone manufactures to house WP7. The phones I listed about are already hot with Android guts. If they can make an equally as nice WP7 device, I may have to go back to the drawing board on my next smartphone.

2. Sonos Wireless Music System

Multi-room audio - The EASY way

I also do home A/V installs and the one thing I hate is pulling cable. It’s the most important part to a system, and also the hardest ESPECIALLY if your walls are already up (Retrofit). Sonos products will enable you to use your wireless network to stream music from your iTunes library, internet radio, or just about any online music subscription service. There are a number of receivers, controllers, docks and other devices that can connect to your existing equipment, or live on their own, that enables you to create different zones, that you can control independently, similar to a fully wired-up, conventional whole-house audio system. Each zone can play a different source of music. Another cool feature is that you can control the system with one of their controllers, or download an app for your iPhone (or my iPad) that controls the system.

Sonos ain’t cheap (yes I said ain’t…this is MY BLOG!), as prices for the main components start at around $200 bucks, but I guarantee you if you contact me to wire your home and install speakers, receivers, etc. the old-school way, it’s gonna cost much more than setting up a Sonos Wireless Music System in your home – You can contact me about setting up that too…PLUG!

3. New Apple TV

We didn’t have time to touch this one on Mario’s show, but I’ve been a fan of dropping my cable subscription service for a minute. With Apple TV, I just may be able to “cut the cord”. The reason why I choose Apple TV over the new Google TV is because I already have an extensive digital music/movie library via iTunes, and I already have some Apple equipment…so I would merely be adding on to my current setup. Apple TV is only $99 bucks, compared to $300 for Logitech Revue (Powered by Google TV), and it allows me to rent iTunes movies, instantly watch Netflix movies, view my current collection, and stream content from my iPod/iPad. Plus I’ve heard that the Logitech Revue drops the frame-rate of fast-moving images, which means my sports and action-packed stuff would be choppy…which is NOT what’s hot in the streets right now.

On the flipside, Google TV does allow you to view YouTube and a myriad of additional content that Apple is too “picky” to allow, in addition to controlling your current DVR to watch recorded content…AND Google has partnered up with Sony to make TV’s with Google TV built-in (no need for an addition box); But, I really don’t need to watch that much TV anyway (or so I tell myself).

So there you have it – Those are my top 3 Gadgets I will more than likely be wishing for (and will probably get) sometime this winter/holiday season.

I just hope Mrs. Tech, A.K.A., “Chief Financial Officer” is reading this…

It’s all about content and access…

Netflix, Hulu, Sony, Google, Apple and a cast of other brands are opening up the doors for people to REALLY take a hard look at IPTV (Internet Protocol TV, or TV over internet) as their MAIN source on television entertainment. The amount of video, movies, clips and other media that can be found online right now is enough to occupy your average television watcher for a couple of hours a day…which you really shouldn’t be watching TV for a couple of hours per day anywayz…

*I digress*

The major hurdle to getting people to go online to watch TV was getting internet access to your TV. In the beginning (mid-to-late 2000′s), the ideal way was to stick a TV/DVR tuner card in your computer and/or buy an HTPC (home theater computer) and either run cables from all the way to your TV or move your computer into your living room.

Now, a great deal DVD players, TV’s and internet set-top boxes being introduced by companies like Apple and Google are now all “internet ready” with specific applications for watching online content. These gadgets are much easier to integrate into your living room – all you need is internet access. You can run an ethernet cable back to your router, or go wireless (I would suggest going wired, but if you physically can’t get to your router from your entertainment center, do what you gotta do).

3DTV on the other hand, still takes all of your components (and the content) working on the same page in order to get that “Avatar in your home” experience, which is awesome by the way (If are one of the two people who DIDN’T go see it in 3D at the movies late last year)

- DVD Player: You JUST bought a blu-ray player, now you need to go back to [insert your local big box superstore here] and buy a 3D blu-ray player.

- TV: You JUST bought a 1080p TV, now you need to go back to [insert your local big box superstore here] and buy a 1080p 3D Ready TV too!

- Audio and Cables: You better not dare go out and buy a 3D DVD player and 3D Ready TV, and buy some ol’ 200 dollar HTIB (home theater in a box) and think your setup will be complete – Don’t skimp on the audio! You also have to make sure you have the right HDMI cables (1.4 and up) – not all HDMI cables are the same. If you want your A/V receiver to handle all of your component switching, you have to make sure it can handle HDMI 1.4 pass-through.

- CONTENT: you need a 3D movie. They are coming, but there are only a couple of titles. You will have to decide whether or not all the extra cash involved in getting your crib setup for 3D is worth the handful of GOOD titles on the market right now.

All that to say this: Both IPTV and 3DTV will be commonplace in your home by this time next year, so you should start looking into cutting those cable/satellite TV cords, and start investing into other TV entertainment alternatives. Right now, IPTV, although not as spectacular as 3DTV, is in my opinion the quickest and easiest way to give your family more options in the living room on a Saturday movie night.

The race to eliminate your cable company AND a giant desktop computer media center from your living room just got interesting now that Google has plans to release Google TV later this year, Apple announcing its new smaller, slicker, and cheaper Apple TV a couple of weeks ago, and Boxee FINALLY releasing its new The Boxee Box by D-Link to preorders via Amazon.

All three are set-top boxes that plug into the internet to stream online content from MANY providers (Hulu, YouTube, Netflix, Amazon, Block Buster, Vimeo, etc.), in addition to streaming your current collection of movies, videos, music and pictures all to your TV. So if you have free subscriptions with any of the above services (or pay a monthly or per show fee) you will be able to get your online content in your living room without huddling around your laptop, or figuring out how to hook your computer up to your TV. But all of them have their little differences that should make you rub your chin and contemplate which one is the best option if you’re like me and REALLY want to cut my cable cord!

Google TV has the power of Google behind it, so you can believe searching for ANY online media will be its claim to fame. Additionally, Google is currently working with big name brands like Sony, Logitech, and Intel, to give you a set-top box to add to your current home theater OR cram Google TV into a shiny-new Flat screen TV purchase this holiday season.

Apple TV has been out for a while and didn’t do as well as Apple would’ve liked, so they made it smaller, cheaper, and gave it more sources to search for content. Since most of us have an iTunes library, with Apple TV, any movies, music, podcasts or any other iTunes content you already own can be fed to Apple TV. Additionally, Apple is also releasing AirPlay to ANY device equipped with AirPlay can stream your iTunes content. Receivers, Speakers, iPods, iPads, etc., you can stream music from your iPod Touch to the boom box in the kitchen, as long as it is AirPlay compatible.

Finally Boxee has been using their free downloadable software to give users the ability to search their current media library to deliver content to your TV if you do have a media center or laptop hooked up to your TV. Boxee pretty much scour the web and finds whatever content it can get its hands on and organizes it very nicely to make browsing content easy. It also can search your current media library as well (including iTunes). With the addition of their Boxee Box, the need to have a computer hooked up to your TV to use Boxee will be eliminated, and thus puts Boxee right in the middle of the IPTV war.

I personally am going to wait until each one of these boxes are out and what kind of content can you REALLY get before I decide which way to go. But you better believe, with these brands coming out with some seemingly solid options to cable/satellite TV, the ‘Tech family’ may just be switching totally to IPTV sometime early next year.

What about you? If getting tons of content from the web and your hard drive is a simple as buying a little set top box and hooking it up to the internet – Will you make the switch and drop cable/satellite?

…AND streams live or recorded video to your iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad. Designed specifically for Apple fanboys products, The Elgato Eye TV HD set-top box attaches to your Cable/Satellite DVR and wirelessly bridges your Apple devices to control your DVR and stream live content.

At $200 bucks for the box and $5 bucks for the mobile app, it ain’t cheap; but since when have Apple aficionados really considered cost in their love of all things Apple? To compensate for the cost, the Eye TV HD box is crafted with the same minimalistic, but complex design as your current Apple gadgets lineup, so it looks at home alongside other Apple components.

With the Eye TV HD hooked up, you can now use your Mac desktops and laptops to schedule and view recorded and live content, and use your Apple mobile devices to watch your content ANYWHERE. Of course, you have to be mindful of the fact that if you are not on WiFi, and trying to use 3G (will not throw in another AT&T sucks comment here) to view your live or recoded content, you will have some lag to get used to.

But, if you’re willing to grin and bear it, you can most certainly use your Apple mobile devices to zone out and catch up on your recorded or live content while at work.

I was trying to ignore “Glee” last night (Mrs. Tech is getting hooked), when I looked up and saw some QR Code right at the end of a commercial about a new television show on Fox.

So I rewind and pause my DVR so I could first snap a pic of the code with my smartphone, then use my QR code reader that’s secretly built into my BlackBerry Messenger App, to scan the code.

The code takes you to a mobile site of the new show “Lone Star” where you can find out more information about the show, look at pics and even videos, all from your smartphone, provided you have a QR Code reader app on your smartphone – which if you don’t, click here for more info. If you do have one and you’re itching to try it out, scan the image in this article.

That’s just one of the ways you can use QR Codes to attract folks who are more likely to whip out their smartphones to browse the web rather than wait for their desktop/laptop to boot up.

I have been talking about mobile barcode technology to death. It’s just nice to see it actually in the wild for a change.

…as you were