This is an older article which was originally published in the Register-News.

If you haven’t already purchased a new-ish flat panel television, chances are that you will soon. The good news is that up to 40 inches are relatively cheap at around $300 for an inexpensive set. Larger models up to 55 inches can be had for about $600. These are prices for average sets, not high-end models.

When you do go shopping for your first flat panel or your replacement there are several choices available that might be confusing to you. I’m going to try to explain in simple terms what some of the differences are and what matters in my opinion.

To begin, all LED televisions are LCD. LED refers to the lights that make the screen bright. In older or cheaper sets the lights are fluorescent like the bulbs in your house or office. LED lights tend to last longer and can be mounted behind a screen rather than just along the edges.

The LEDs can be located along the edges like the fluorescent bulbs or behind the screen since they are so small. If the LEDs are behind the screen they can be lit and dimmed according to how bright or dark a part of the screen is at any time. If you are looking to buy a nicer television then an LED would be the preferred way to go.

Any LCD television is better suited to a bright room. They have more vivid colors and get brighter than a plasma television. Unfortunately, LCD does suffer from pixelation (squares) when fast moving action is happening as in sports or in dark, foggy scenes.

The other option available is a plasma set. Plasma seems to be getting phased out by the manufacturers. You can still find sets at bigger stores in bigger sizes like 40 inches plus. Plasma does not suffer from the pixelation from fast movement and has better response to dark scenes. Plasma does not get as bright as LCD and is better for dark rooms or dedicated theaters such in a finished basement since it has a glass front.

Whatever whiz-bang features the box lists or the salesperson tries to impress you with, these are the basics. Checking online will get you reviews from other folks and professionals. If you are looking to score a deal on closeouts or floor models, be sure to check big box stores in the late fall or near the end of the year. New models are released in the fall for the holidays so November through January are the best times to score a deal.

More deal tips coming soon. Have questions or comments? Tweet me @DanVoyles or email using askageek@register-news.com.

This is an old article which was originally printed in the Register-News.

As you may know, our family cut the cable cord this year and moved to getting all of our shows online. We use Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Prime, and a few other video services to get the few shows that we watch regularly along with the occasional movie.

There was some whining in the beginning (by me) however we have all adjusted to watching shows shortly after they air rather than on ‘Premiere Night’. This is very much like how we were watching shows on the DVR before cutting cable.

Before cutting the cord, we had a Logitech Revue with Google TV. This worked very well for light Internet surfing and watching Netflix. Unfortunately it was old, slow, and did not support all of the ‘channels’ we wanted to have available.

Being the geek that I am I began searching around all of the sites and reviews I could find for recommendations about the best streaming box. There were many hours of reading about features, channels, speed, and connectivity. At the end of it all, we decided to buy a Roku.

Roku devices are available at Radio Shack, Wal-Mart, and online. For me this meant driving up the street and buying a Roku 2. Less than a week after my purchase Roku released version 3 and so I returned my 2 model and picked up the 3 from Amazon.

The Roku 3 ($99) has a new interface combined with faster internals. What this means to you is that it is very fast and easy to use. Shortly after I signed in and placed all of my channels my wife and children were blissfully flipping around between Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu for entertainment.

Over the past months our Roku 3 has only hiccupped once which resulted in having to pull the plug and restart. This only took a few minutes and the Roku has been just fine with our hours of television watching otherwise. There is no buffering with a solid connection to the wireless network and the quality is full HD for shows with that option.

Roku 3 has an earbud jack in the remote (new) so that if you want to watch late night TV without waking the house you only need to use the included earbuds and bring your own popcorn. This feature comes in very handy when I decide to watch Breaking Bad again late night.

Overall the Roku 3 is a quality hockey puck which works very well to add streaming to your modern ‘dumb’ TV. If you need hard specifics, head to Roku.com for connection options and pricing details.

Have tips, tricks, or questions? Find me on Twitter @DanVoyles or email using askageek@register-news.com.

This is an old article that was originally published in the Register-News.

If you aren’t aware, cutting the cord refers to not subscribing to satellite or cable television. Usually people who cut their cord keep the Internet, so the term isn’t exactly correct. Some time back I wrote about different options for ‘cutting the cord’ like watching television on the Internet, using Netflix or Amazon, and (gasp) getting an antenna.

Using all of these different services was something to write about and many people are actually going through the process every day. Our family had never seriously considered removing cable though because the bill stayed at about $100 each month including Internet and we put it into our entertainment budget.

Recently our cable company decided to move to a one size fits all billing model that does not allow for budget packages and instead puts emphasis on bundles with TV, Internet, and phone service. My wife and I each have cellular phones and only watch a few shows regularly so the 30% increase last month was enough to push us into cutting cable completely.

Make no mistake – we kept our fast Internet connection. The television and DVR subscription were canceled immediately though. We already subscribe to Netflix and have Amazon Prime (some free movies). Now we have added Hulu Plus and plan to use Redbox more.

Hulu Plus ($8) is the only cost addition since we already had Netflix ($8) and Amazon Prime ($40/year student). So our monthly cost is a net savings of $77 per month. It sounds great at first but there are other expenses to be sure you know about.

First, you need a box to watch Internet services with on your TV. Our Blu-ray player does most of the services, but I wanted something with more choices. My research led me to Roku ($99) which can stream all services above plus HBOGo, Epix, MLB.tv, and other channels. My total cost thanks to OneSaleADay.com and already owning a Google TV was $165. I managed to snag one of the top-end Rokus for $65.

Also, there is the cost of an antenna to receive over the air programming. I have a long-range model saved on Amazon and plan to buy it soon at a cost of about $75. Plus, we watch several shows on AMC and SyFy which are not available except to buy through Amazon, iTunes, or Google Play. Those will run us $30 each season per show for a season pass (the whole season).

Grand total with antenna, Rokus, and season passes we will spend about $360 and save $770. That means at the end of this year we will have a net savings of $310 unless I also get a MLB.tv package to stream to the Roku (and anywhere else). That will cost me $130 more.

Next year we will save about $700 with all one-time costs out of the way. That’s not a whole lot, but it is money better in our pocket than the cable company’s coffers. Next time I’ll update you on how our house does getting digital signal with an antenna.

Have you cut the cable? Do you know of any online television or movie outlets I missed? Let me know on Twitter @DanVoyles or email me using AskAGeek@register-news.com

Every day I am asked by someone where they can get the cheapest something. One day it is a tablet, the next a computer, and sometimes a phone. Instead of rattling off a website or store name I usually confuse the person by asking them ‘What are you going to do with it?’

That response usually gets me a puzzled look and they have to think for a few minutes to give me an answer. I don’t ask the question to buy me some time or confuse the person. I ask because everyone has a different expectation of what a device should do and how easy it needs to be for their learning curve.

Some people can use a super-cheap no-name tablet and it is fine for them if Angry Birds will work properly. Others may want email, word processing, games, movies, video editing and more. These different needs point to very different directions in price and brand of device that I will suggest for each person.

No matter what product I suggest for someone I will almost always offer an added piece of advice – buy discounted. Yes, it seems to be common sense to some of you reading this but not everyone is willing to pay less for the same product. These people assume that because they paid full retail for technology it is somehow better. In most cases they only waste money for imagined status.

Computer chips, transistors, resistors and other parts are mass-manufactured. Some are of higher quality, but they are all produced in quantity. This is how everyone can have a smartphone without paying a lot of money. When you pay full retail for something you are only giving more money to a company that paid the same price for chips in your device and the one selling online for $50 less. That doesn’t make good sense.

My first stop of sites to check for discounts is http://TechBargains.com . They are a ‘super’ deal site. This means that they find deals from hundreds of websites across the Internet and post them all for you to read and use in one place. Don’t think that TechBargains only has technology. They also have great deals on clothes, shoes, and services that might save you money as well. Through the TechBargain website I have spent less on my new laptop, solid state drives for our laptops, shoes, and even flashlights.

If you are looking for cables, don’t buy those expensive brands. Digital cables (HDMI, etc.) operate or they don’t. The signal gets there or it doesn’t. Buying a more expensive cable only spends your money. The only possible reason I can see for using expensive digital cables is that they might withstand bending and twisting a little better – might. Otherwise, go to http://monoprice.com and pick up whatever cables you need. Their choices are inexpensive, but not cheap quality.

If you have to buy Apple products, be sure to keep an eye on their clearance and outlet store. The link for it is at the bottom left when you are shopping on their site. When you buy refurbished from Apple you get the same warranty as new, but for hundreds of dollars less than you can buy anywhere else.

Finally, don’t forget to check your local store discount and clearance tables. I was very lucky and bought my wife’s Dell XPS (high-end) laptop for $450 when it normally retails for $1,200. Granted this great of a deal is the exception and not the rule, but if you are patient you can find good deals by looking around at different locations.

Do you have a place or way to find great deals? Email me at askageek@register-news.com or find me on Twitter @DanVoyles.

Often I get stumped for things that are technology related. I read technology news daily, I work with information systems daily. Still there are common pieces of our lives that we use without thinking which are advanced and help us in some way. I realized that the new thermostat at our house is electronic with circuits and chips and fits this category.

We had a digital thermostat for years that an Affordable local company installed for us. This heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) controller provided us with a clear view of the current temperature and the temperature we desired. It’s strange to call a thermostat a control system, but it is an accurate description.

Our digital HVAC controller served us well. It was easy to use with up and down arrows, heat/cool and auto/on switches. Being the geek that I am, I kept thinking there has to be a better and more advanced way to control our system. This began my searching across the Internet and talking to friends about how to make our HVAC better.

My search led me to one conclusion – programmable thermostats save money – set the time and day of week with different schedules and have the heat or air conditioning maintain different temperatures. For example during the night you don’t need as much heat since you are sleeping under covers. Also, you do not need to keep your house as cool while you are at work during the summer.

One day I was perusing the clearance aisle of a department store and I saw a programmable thermostat by Honeywell for $30. I did not think it could be programmable because it was priced so low, but I picked it up and read the packaging. Sure enough, this controller is programmable with up to 4 different settings/times and is made by a reputable company.

I bought my new HVAC controller and headed home with plans of grand savings on our energy bills. Having never installed a thermostat before I read over the instructions carefully and realized that installation is quite easy. Pay attention to the colored wires and you should be able to accomplish this task in 40 minutes or so from opening the package to programming your new thermostat. Sometimes we are at home during the ‘leave’ scheduled time for holidays and other reasons so we turn the heat up a few degrees, but otherwise the preset temperatures keep us plenty warm and cool. You can even turn it off so that you use no energy on a nice spring day.

In our first full month of being upgraded, we have saved $30. That doesn’t sound like much, but it paid for the thermostat and it will now save us money for the rest of its life span. To give you an idea, $30 is a 15% savings off our average power bill.

Some of you may be thinking ‘there is no way my old thermostat wiring can work with a new fancy thing like this’ and you might be right. Standard wiring hasn’t changed much over the years. If you have doubts, have a professional install the new controller. If your savings are like mine, it should pay for itself in a couple of months since they run $100 average.

If you want to go very high tech, you could purchase a Nest (http://nest.com) learning thermostat ($200 at Lowes.com). I am trying to convince my wife to get one. It ‘learns’ what temperatures you like to keep, when you are at home, awake, etc. and then programs itself to be as efficient as possible. It can also be set from your phone, tablet, or laptop. There are two versions available – first and second generation. If you have special needs such as a heat pump, dehumidifier, etc. then the second generation is probably for you.

Do you have experiences with HVAC controllers? Let me know at askageek@register-news.com or on Twitter @DanVoyles.