Mom Wants More TV Options
Sun Jun 18, 2006 5:12PM EDT
See Comments (41)
Gina's problem: her family only has one TV. She likes to watch her shows in bed, but her husband likes to relax in the bedroom reading and enjoying the silence. Can you see the conflict here?
On top of the bedroom time-share issues, Gina also wants to watch TV in multiple places through the house. With two kids, she spends a lot of time doing chores in the kitchen. She'd love a little entertainment while washing dishes or cooking, but their only TV is in the living room.
Jon Chase, one of Hook Me Up's technology experts heads out to tackle Gina's TV troubles. Jon's a tech journalist, problem solver and fellow TV addict, so he understands Gina's pain.
Jon has a bevy of cool gear for this family. He starts in the living room—unveiling a Panasonic HDTV. This is a 42-inch plasma screen, and it looks gorgeous in the room. Jon takes the old living room TV upstairs to the bedroom and hooks it up to an existing cable outlet. This plasma pops out of their entertainment center. Their living room is not exposed to much natural light, so plasma is a great choice for the TV's technology.
Plasma TVs tend to look a little better in darker settings. If the room was flooded with light and Gina's family watched most of their TV in the daytime, a brighter LCD might have been a better call. When the family sees the new TV, their expressions say it all—they love it!
To offer Gina more viewing options, Jon hooks a Sony LocationFree TV up to one of the cable boxes. It is basically a 12-inch LCD screen that doubles as a wireless TV. Sony says the TV has a 100-foot wireless range, but in real-world tests with walls and multiple stories, the range is more like 50 feet. For Gina's house that distance is not a problem. The TV gets a signal in the kitchen, the kids' rooms, even in the backyard.
Most importantly, the wireless TV gets a strong signal in the bedroom. Jon has a brilliant solution for the "she likes to watch TV/he likes to read" marriage dilemma. Our esteemed technician attaches a pair of Bose Triport headphones to the LocationFree TV. While her husband reads in bed, Gina can snuggle up to him with her headphones and TV.
The LocationFree TV is much more than a wireless monitor, but it's still unclear if it will live up to its potential as an Internet browser and place-shifting device. More on that in my next blog post.
Comments on Mom Wants More TV Options
Post a Comment
Join in the discussion. Here you'll see the comments in the order they were posted.
-
2 Posted by mong_0 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:25PM EDT Report Abuse
This is the problem with Today's society. The boob tube (as I call it) has become more important to people's lives than anything else. This is one of the reaons why I discontinued all cable/broadcast TV in my house. The TV is nothing more than a monitor wich which I can watch what I want, when I want and the best part, there are NO commercials!1 Jon in Pa
-
3 Posted by kittymom8 on Mon Jun 19, 2006 11:23AM EDT Report Abuse
It's nice and all. But NOT in a vehicle. In the back seat so kiddies can watch a little bit of tv when on long trip is great. TV's have been in every room in homes for years. But yes, spending QUAILTY FAMILY TIME in front of the boobtube is garbage. Fresh air, parks, beaches, lakes, hikes and just enjoying nature is 100% better than watching blah on TV.And besides it will just make some already wealthy company wealthier and your children dimmer.
-
4 Posted by williambreeden@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:46PM EDT Report Abuse
Great. Another distraction while driving. Ladies, PLEASE put down the cell phone, turn off the TV, and pay attention to the ROAD while driving. That is the best thing you can do for your kids. Thanks.
-
5 Posted by someguy200190210 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:32PM EDT Report Abuse
My first reaction when I saw the photo with the article was also that she should have her eyes on the road, not on the TV. TVs don't belong in a moving vehicle. When I was a kid, we didn't have any TVs or video games when we were in the car - we had to make do playing games like 'punchbug' or looking at the scenery. Kids today... spoiled rotten! :)
-
6 Posted by microsloth on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:19PM EDT Report Abuse
I don't have anywhere near the amount of money required to put a TV in a car, let alone a car big enough to put a TV in. Somehow, though, it sounds like my life is at least a million times more enjoyable and stress-free than the author's. I have a 13" television that sits atop a desk that I found on a curb down the street from where I live. I love it; only when there's anything good on PBS, that is. Adding one more techno-crap gadget to one's life doesn't make life one bit more enjoyable: it only makes life one bit more overwhelming and soulless. ... And they say that homosexuals and liberal social politics are destroying the American family structure. It's these things - the produce of our "Great American Ingenuity" - that are doing it better and quicker than anything else ever could. This is just absolutely ridiculous. I'm going to raise my future children in a barn, and I'll bet my soul that they'll turn out far better-adjusted than your suburban hellspawn ever will. Blecccch.
-
7 Posted by dani_newell on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:35PM EDT Report Abuse
and people wonder why we are the fattest country...i must agree with everyone else on this one...tv in the car? ok maybe for the kids to watch in the backseat, but to completely turn yourself around not paying any attention to the road....come on America, has anyone any dignity anymore? are we really as pathetic as we make ourselves seem...
-
8 Posted by ccna09 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:20PM EDT Report Abuse
"She'd love a little entertainment while washing dishes or cooking" Seriously, my two boys help with all the family meal prep work and all the cleanup work, we make it fun and rewarding. Talk about entertainment! This just shows how important a good education is. How about a class on how to create a tight knit family structure! (Manditory yearly class for all parents ;-) I've seen it time and time again. Parents who decide to watch TV when the children are at home soon demand "personal time" so they can "watch this one show in peace". As a result they "shooo" the children away when they should be helping the children with homework, or creative skills, or playing family games together.
-
9 Posted by ddlasher@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:39PM EDT Report Abuse
Just what we need!! NOT! How much TV does 'Gina' need? When was the last time she read a book?! We don't need more opportunities to watch TV and I don't need to have my family injured or killed by some moron watching Jerry Springer at 70 mph on the freeway! It's bad enough we have everyone catching up w/ the Joneses with multiple monitors/DVDs IN THE SAME SUV!! Yes...we ARE as pathetic as this seems-worse yet, we have reporters PROMOTING this concept!! GO READ A BOOK!
-
10 Posted by addisonbeach on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:45PM EDT Report Abuse
There should be an exam before one has children. People that do not pass certain levels of responsibility, intelligence, and community involvement should not be allowed to bring children into this world. Entertainment is a background noise.
1 Posted by domo11o on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:46PM EDT Report Abuse
Hey great article. I have a sony PSP that has a location free tv in also. I love it!