Gadgets thread

I acquired an Apple Tv box over the weekend. Really nice little gadget. Easy to set up and great connectivity with the iPad. Great way to watch the RTE player and similar catch up services on the Telly.

How would I connect the laptop to the tv for sound and picture? I have a HD cable that fits the laptop and tv but nothing happening.

Try right clicking somewhere on the desktop background when you have the cable connected.

Anyone have the KODI smart android TV box? Few lads at work have them and swear by them. You get a load of channels for nothing, US ones and all. Seems to be some sort of dodgy box you can buy online.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KODI-XBMC-Smart-Android-TV-Box-Quad-Core-Fully-Loaded-5G-M8-Wireless-Keyboard-/191135514715

I don’t have one but I’m not convinced by them anyway.

They aren’t a reliable replacement for live tv, well for live sports anyway. They’re good for watching movies etc but I don’t know they’re any upgrade over just downloading torrents.

Aye, have one of them bai’s alright. Only a few weeks now, but he’s going grand.

As Rocko said grand job for movies and shows. Live sport can be a bit trickier hunting down a reliable stream. I have found it to be the most hassle-free way to watch the gah here, by streaming RTE (No messing around with RTE player/VPNs).

So not a straightforward replacement for TV, but I’m looking at further add-ons to improve my XBMC experience and will report back in due course.

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Anyone have one of these Andriod boxes you can recommend for streaming sports?
I still can’t get Modbro to stream reliably over Chromecast.

I’m using sportsebooks and streaming from my phone or iPad to Apple TV. Works a treat. Have the odd delay but I generally find it to be very reliable. I imagine you could do the same with a chromecast.

Anyone have a Nest thermostat?

What about these open boxes lads are advertising on donedeal and the likes…sky boxes with movies/sports all free…surely there’s a danger of them being scrambled by a signal change or something?

Lad I bought one of those Garmin vivoactive GPS watches.anyone of ye own one?if so what do ye think of it?

Thanks in advance…

One of the lads at work has downloaded kodi onto his phone and streams through that to his smart tv, he swears by it.

This is what I’m thinking of getting

http://openelec.tv/

Bought myself an Amazon Echo recently.

I’m making it a mandatory purchase for anyone on the TFK admin team and for my nearest and dearest.

Controlling lights etc and asking trivia and weather related questions is a wonderful bonus.

Using it for shopping lists is fantastic modern convenience.

But the Spotify integration is the #gamechanger. Being able to control all my music using my voice (and I have a beautiful voice) is blissful.

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Controlling lights? Do you have Nest also? Can you please specify the total cost of investment?

Is this bigger than the teabag squeezing device?

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This is the future. You’d want your head examined to be delaying in this.

I have a Nest en route. My lamps have Philips Hue bulbs and I have the Hue bridge. It’s a smashing setup. "Alexa, turn on downstairs lights to 40%. " And she’s so obliging.

The lights are dear but you just need a starter pack and you add over time. Can just do Belkin switches sswitches either but the Hue bulbs are superb.

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I’ve managed to miss this. Saw a few tweets about but no idea what it does. What the craic with it?

What kind of lights are these? I’m assuming they are connected to a controller that is in turn connected to wifi. How many lights per controller? Was there much wiring to be done?

:rollseyes:

That’s quite the match for your avatar.

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