T3's gadget Guru solves your home cinema and smart domestic woes - T3

I need to turn my lounge into a house cinema however don't want pitch darkness. What's the smartest wise lighting fixtures i will get?

The proper home cinephile seeks darkness in its purest form for his black velvet dungeon room (it's the most effective way to journey traditional films like Sharknado and Police Academy 6: metropolis beneath Siege). however gadget Guru takes your aspect – most folks feel greater comfortable with a little gentle when staring at the television tube. What you want, sir, is anything referred to as Ambilight. sure, that's the halo of mild you get around Philips tv sets, that alterations shade in sync with the on-reveal action.

The Philips 55PUS8601 (£1,seven-hundred) initiatives colored mild swimming pools on all sides, luring your eyes, somewhat like puzzled moths, in opposition t the UHD screen itself. And the slightly psychedelic impact is ampliï¬ ed a bit in the event you add a number of Philips Hue smart bulbs around the lounge (presuming the television's within the lounge). They, too, may also be proficient to bounce in sync with your television tube monitor, effortlessly by means of deciding on Ambilight in the companion app. The effect is to make the movie the centre of consideration while subtly illuminating the room – and, simply as importantly, impressing your guests.

can i use my iPhone to handle the water fountain in my backyard?

Evelyn, it's your lucky day. Assuming the water characteristic in query makes use of an electrical pump and not gravity – or, certainly, witchcraft – it can be brought on-line with the addition of a Belkin WeMo change (yours for round £40). simply plug this gadget into a effortless wall socket that's inside latitude of your Wi-Fi network, and plug the water pump into that. in case you download the accompanying app, it'll aid you to get your change online after which allow you to turn the energy on and off from any place on the earth (relatively much). Or why now not use the IFTTT app to have the fountain come on each time you boil your sensible kettle? Cool, huh.

I have a Sonos system, but I'm a vinyl man. How can i drag my record player on-line, kicking and streaming?

What you need, my plastic-loving pal, is a phono stage. The Sonos amp is already appropriate with turntables with in-built pre-amps, but for anything else with a moving magnet (mm), or a moving coil (mc), you'll need to ï¬ rst raise that quiet analogue sign. The Cambridge Audio Azur 651P (£100) works with each kinds of turntable, while the less-expensive professional-Ject Phono container (£forty) is decent for relocating magnets. The option is a new record participant like the coming-quickly Sony PS-HX500 (£four hundred), which could convert your vinyl into digital hello-Res Audio ï¬les.

I actually have a Parrot Flower energy to take me back to the fact to water one pot, however what concerning the leisure?

so that you most effective perform a role when an electronic machine tells you to? good enough, I have simply the issue. Meet mother (£250), a hub that pools statistics from wise sensors known as action Cookies, which attach to non-smart contraptions like a watering can. on every occasion any of those issues exchange, or flow, a sign is sent to mom and interpreted inside the app. If a activities, like watering your pots, adjustments, you'll get a mild reminder to accomplish that. And when mother tells you do something, you do it.

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