Month: January 2016

Three Fun and Convenient Remote Hacks

ReplacementRemotes.com

The wonderful thing about electronics is that with a little know-how, and trial and error, you can come up with great new applications. This holds true even for common items like TV remotes. With patience and study, you can figure out all sorts of new uses for your remote, such as using it to control your garage door, or hacks to increase its effectiveness, such as a range booster.

If you’re considering tinkering with your television remote, consider these hacks:

  • Build an infrared receiver – If you have an old remote lying around that you no longer need, a cool little science experiment can turn it into an infrared receiver. Converting your remote into an infrared receiver can help you use it to control other devices in your home.
  • Extend your remote’s range – This is perhaps one of the easiest and most effective hacks for your remote control. Using just a little aluminum foil, you can significantly boost the range of your TV remote control. All you have to do is open the remote, tape down the leads from the top infrared LED with some electrical tape, and then make an aluminum foil cocoon for that LED on the opposite half of the remote for when you snap it back together.
  • Control your PC – Many people today are connecting their PCs to their HDTVs to play media stored on the PC or to access the Internet from their televisions. Having a way to control some basic PC functions like the volume would be a big help. Hacks are out there that will let you assume control of some functions with your remote.

Replacementremotes.com is a provider of new and refurbished remote control devices for a wide variety of televisions and other electronics. In addition to remotes, the company also provides TV stands, accessories, replacement product manuals, lights, and other accessories. The company also operates a repair service for remotes and other devices. To learn more, contact 1-877-671-7173.

HDTV remote

Try These HDTV Hacks for Best Picture Quality

ReplacementRemotes.com

HDTVs are the Holy Grail of picture quality, offering clearer, sharper pictures than ever seen before on television, but what if there were a way to further enhance picture quality?

HDTV remote

The good news for technophiles is that there are several things you can do with your TV remote to program your high tech television to provide even better quality pictures. Checking your components and cables also helps. When setting up your new HDTV, keep these hacks in mind:

  • Check your source settings – Even if you’re using a Blu-Ray player or HD cable box, you may not be getting HD quality picture from the source. Make sure your media player or cable box is set to output HD; usually, 1080i.
  • Adjust brightness and contrast – Your HDTV will have a wide variety of settings, brightness and contrast among them. By using your HDTV remote to tinker with the brightness and contrast of your television, you can get the settings just right, to provide the type of picture you like best.
  • Use quality components and cables – Your HDTV’s picture will only be as good as the picture provided to it by its source. Upgrade to a Blu-Ray player and also be sure that the cables connecting devices to your television are of good quality.
  • If your attempts to hack your HDTV go awry and leave you with a picture that looks like a Picasso, no worries. Just hit the factory reset option. This will restore your HDTV to its original settings, and you can try again to boost picture quality.

Replacementremotes.com is a provider of new and refurbished remote control devices for a wide variety of televisions and other electronics. In addition to remotes, the company also provides TV stands, accessories, replacement product manuals, lights, and other accessories. The company also operates a repair service for remotes and other devices. To learn more, contact 1-877-671-7173.

Remote control

Renewed 2016 TV Shows

ReplacementRemotes.com

For those of you who have been tempted to try to remove access to specific networks from your RCA remotes because your favorite show was canceled, step away from the manual. Some of your favorite shows are making a comeback in 2016, and you don’t want to miss them.

Welcome Back!

Some of the best shows are the ones that involve the average citizen showing off some skills, whether it’s because they actually have talent or because they know how to operate a video camera. That’s why shows like Dancing with the Stars, The Bachelor, and America’s Funniest Home Videos are definitely coming back in 2016.

Of course, it isn’t just contests that get people going, but the adventures of some of the most loved … and hated characters on television. You might be surprised by some of the characters you’ll see this year, like Meredith Grey. What? Yes, that’s right, Grey’s Anatomy is coming back in 2016. Along with it you can expect to see your favorite cast from Once Upon a Time, The Goldbergs, and Criminal Minds; and Big Bang Theory, Survivor, and Scorpion.

Naturally, not all your favorite shows are going to make it back, but don’t adjust your RCA remotes just yet. You never know what the new year will bring. Some shows haven’t been decided yet, like the CSI series. One version has already been canceled, but the word isn’t out yet on the Cyber version of this popular show. Keep in mind that even if you got a full list of what is and isn’t coming back, contracts change all the time. Nothing is real until you see it on the screen.

Remote control

Remote controls

Programming Tips for Remote Controls

ReplacementRemotes.com

If you’re getting ready to set aside your collection of remote controls and use the universal TV remote codes to simplify your life, you may as well take things a few steps further. You’re looking to simplify your life, so why not do it all at once, instead of forgetting to do it altogether?

Program One Device at a Time

It is completely feasible to put multiple devices on one remote, but it may be easier if you concentrate on doing everything you need to do on one device before moving to the next one. Using this method helps keeps things simple, but it also helps you avoid putting off some of the things you wanted to do with other devices, like the ones listed below.

  • Set parental controls on all devices. Let’s face it: Your kids probably know every workaround there is, so they have no problem getting to channels through a DVD player or other device that they can’t get to through the television. Make sure parental controls are set on all devices.
  • Install apps now instead of waiting until you want to use one. You can keep things simple by installing all of your apps on one device, but, at the same time, it doesn’t hurt to have a backup plan by putting them on two devices.
  • Get connected to all the things you plan to use. Those speakers that have been sitting in a box? May as well hook them up now.

Once all of your devices are programmed and set up, you won’t have to worry about kids accessing things they shouldn’t, or the whole family not getting the media experience they should. From programming your Zenith universal remote to mounting that last speaker on the stand, make this a time of media development!

Remote controls