Now and again I get to have a root around in the R&D labs of obscure Chinese factories. The sales manager is holding out a piece of kit “we are developing this for the (insert continent here) market, what do you think?” Most of the gear I see is a rework on an existing concept and you know the main difference to its uptake will rely on its price vs how heavy it feels and whether it’s available in sliver. Now and again I come across something that is actually different and this day was going to be one of those days.

About 5 years ago we were about to head off for that lunch in a foreign country (that kind of day where someone else is calling the shots and you just pray that there won’t be anything wriggly on the plate) when my man pulled out a long rectangular box with five speakers in it.

Now I’m a home theatre man through and through and where I went to school, speakers must sit around the listener in as close to a circle as possible. Time is actually spent with a measuring tape gauging the distance from the listener to each speaker and inputting this data into the receiver to calibrate the delay times – anyway back to the story…

ME: OK, what is it?
SM: It’s a sound bar.
ME: A what?
SM: A sound bar.  You sit it under the TV and it creates a 5.1 surround sound effect from the front of the room.
ME: Hahahahahahahahaha, you’re funny, good luck with that. How do you feel about burgers for lunch today?

There is no way you can make sound come from behind you when the speaker is in front and that’s that. Fast forward 5 years, and about 20 different people telling me how great sound bars are and we really must get into them, all the time I give them the same response I gave my Chinese sales manager, sometimes with the bit about the burgers, sometimes not.

Over the intervening time, LCD panels gave way to LED panels, the prices plummeted and they got thinner and thinner, but here’s the problem, so did the speakers inside them. Our audience is enjoying a 40” plus HD picture but listening to it on speakers worse than airline headphones.

Recently I was coerced into installing one of these “Bars of Sound” from Definitive Technology in a showroom in College Hill in Auckland. After tightening the last screw I sat back with a smug air to watch the device fall flat on its face.

First the left and right channels came up very nicely, a clear sound, much more bottom end and mid range than from the LCD which was to be expected, what wasn’t expected was the “sound stage” somehow the sound appeared to be wider than the sound bar itself.

Next I added in the centre channel, the dialogue intelligibility came way up, I could hear every syllable the news reader uttered. This fools toy was sounding pretty good now but finally it was time to connect the two “rear” channels, this was where the marketing hype would be revealed for the rubbish it was.

I put on a Kings of Leon Blu-ray, and bugger me, the audience applause sounded like it came from the side and back of the room. It turns out that by using clever placement of the drivers and the full depth of the bar to pack a lot of speaker into a little space that a well made sound bar can mimic the effects of a properly constructed theatre without all the hardware and cabling.

If you want to improve the sound on that sexy slim screen, or you’re renting and can’t cut holes in the wall or perhaps you’re trying to create a budget video conferencing system in a boardroom using skype then these are well worth looking into.

I was wrong, I take it all back, Sound Bars do have a place in the AV world after all. It must be nearly lunchtime, perhaps a burger…

If you’re looking for a sound bar, or wondering what your options are for audio, give the friendly experts at Automation Associates a call on 09 377 3778.

DIY Smart homes are cool. Apps can simplify your life but controlling your lights & music opens you up to hacking.  Here’s how to protect yourself.

The “Internet of Things” underlies the DIY smart-home industry and it is estimated there will be 24 billion IoT devices by 2020.

These developments allow you to change the way you carry out everyday tasks, but be aware that with these developments come risks as the increase in connected devices gives hackers and cyber criminals more entry points.

If you are at all concerned about your security and privacy (and you should be) then here are a few things to consider when purchasing a new connected device:

Check the security of the device AND the security of the software applications and network connections that link to that device.  Make sure you’re confident of each of your IoT device’s security against hackers.  A team of researchers at Microsoft and the University of Michigan recently found a plethora of holes in the security of Samsung’s SmartThings smart home platform, and the methods were far from complex.

Theft of your information – the amount of data IoT devices generate every day is staggering and creates more entry points for hackers and leaves your sensitive information vulnerable.

Have you created an unwanted public profile?  – By agreeing to the terms of service on your device have you allowed companies to collect data on you?

Can your device be used for eavesdropping?

Connected plug and play devices that work without configuration pose the greatest risk as you have less influence on the security of the installation.  The largest Distributed Denial of Service attack in 2016 was caused by a botnet that made use of webcams, camcorders, baby monitors and other insecure internet connected devices.  You know, the cool, easy to install stuff you can see on your phone!

Some simple steps to improve your security:

The easier it is to configure, the easier it is for someone else to get in.

Making it more difficult to get in makes it less attractive to people trying to get in.

Educate yourself about networking and security.

Ask about security when considering a new device.

Make sure your network is secure with a good firewall.

Check which devices are allowed to connect to the Internet.

Isolate IoT devices on a separate VLAN.

Be cautions of ‘smart’ features such as cameras of voice enabled controls and turn it off if you don’t need it.

Change the passwords from the default.

Only use remote access features when you need them, and only if you know how they are secured and if that meets your required levels of security.

Use VPNs to secure and encrypt access.

When in doubt, ask an expert.

For wireless devices:

Turn off WDS: This one button connect is easy entry for everyone.

Turn off SSID broadcast – if they can’t see it, it’s harder to find.

Change the SSIDs: Standard SSIDs give away the vendor/type.

Activate Wireless encryption.

Turn off standard guest networks: They are easy entry and not just for your guests.

What Now

The alternative to this is to have a professional integrator organise this for you.  They are trained in network security and steer clear of products that are insecure, and DMZ those that are risky.  If you are considering any IoT devices or home technology and want to know if a box you’re about to buy is secure just give us a call and we’ll look it up for you.  If you already have this equipment on your home network and would like it checked click here or give us a call on 09 377 3778 any time – we are here to help!