Customer ServiceeRegister
The Gadgetress ~ TV, mobile and Internet: Covering technology's monthly bill

Archive for the 'Santa Ana' Tag

« Previous Entries

AT&T on a roll, improves cell reception in 5 more cities

January 21st, 2010, 3:24 pm by

AT&T WirelessAnother slew of cell sites are up and running in Orange County that improve iPhone and 3G cell reception for AT&T customers. The new sites, which come one week after 6 others in O.C. were turned on, mean better wireless coverage in those areas. So speak up with a comment below if you notice a difference.

The new sites are near these intersections:

  • Dana Point: Near the intersection of Camino Del Avion and Golden Lantern St.
  • Santa Ana: Near the intersection of S. Grand Ave. and McFadden Ave.
  • Orange: Near the 55 Freeway and E. Katella Ave.
  • Huntington Beach: Near the intersection of Bolsa Chica Street and Heil Ave.
  • Anaheim: Near the intersection of Van Buren St. and La Palma Ave.
They are among 20 new sites announced today. Other cities getting better reception include Los Angeles, Glendale, Woodland Hills, Encino, Covina, Rialto, Cherry Valley, Beaumont, Montclair, Paso Robles, Ontario, and Rancho Cucamonga

All of AT&T’s 3G cell sites have been upgraded to HSPA 7.2 software, which means faster mobile Internet if you have an HSPA device. Think 7.2 mbps!

This isn’t the next generation 4G service being tested by Verizon and Sprint in other parts of the country. This is High Speed Packet Access 7.2, sometimes called Turbo 3G. AT&T’s plans to begin testing 4G (using Long Term Evolution technology, or LTE) next year and will offer 4G service in 2011.

HSPA requires a software upgrade. This is supported by souped-up cell sites, which are being linked by fiber-optic cables for to improve speeds. But each site must be activated so it’s an ongoing project. Orange County and Los Angeles was picked as one of six markets that will get the faster Internet speeds first. AT&T won’t what chunk of our area can already use the faster speeds but the company confirmed that activation has begun  in Orange County. AT&T expects the majority of mobile traffic will utilize the new technology by the end of the year.

Earlier on AT&T and HSPA:

Recent mobile news:

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • • • • • • • | 41 Comments »

AT&T improves iPhone 3G coverage in 6 O.C. spots

January 14th, 2010, 3:05 pm by

AT&T WirelessLocal iPhone users rejoice: AT&T has added 26 more 3G cell sites in the area, including six in Orange County.

The cell sites should improve wireless coverage for 3G phone users indoors and out.  In Orange County, the new sites are near these intersections:

  • Anaheim: Near the intersection of Stage Coach Road and Nohl Ranch Road
  • Anaheim: Near the intersection of W. Lincoln Ave. and N. Gilbert St.
  • Anaheim: Near the intersection of Gene Autry Way and State College Blvd.
  • Placentia: Near the intersection of S. Fee Ana Street and Orangethorpe Ave.
  • Santa Ana: Near the intersection of Newport Blvd. and Rockhurst Ave.
  • Garden Grove: Near the intersection of Garden Grove Blvd. and Magnolia St.

Does this affect you? Comment below and tell AT&T if these areas are really better, or tell them what intersection to hit next.

Nationwide, AT&T has been upgrading cell sites everywhere to get ready for even faster Internet, called High-Speed Packet Access or HSPA 7.2. The faster speeds are scheduled to begin later this year and next year.

Other Southern California cities included in the batch of new 3G cell sites include the following: Los Angeles, Ontario, Glendale, Santa Fe Springs, Calabasas, Northridge, Corona, Rialto, Redlands, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Bakersfield and Oxnard.

More on cell coverage in Orange County:

Posted in: Cell phones • iPhone • • • • • • • • • | 49 Comments »

SRS Labs gadget to soften TV commercials now available

January 7th, 2010, 9:10 am by

Just in time for the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, SRS Labs in Santa Ana begins selling that handy little gadget that plugs into a TV to soften the volume of TV commercials.

This is a technology I’ve covered in the past (see “SRS Labs’ gadget could end annoyingly loud TV commercials“).

SRS Labs’ TruVolume takes all audible signals, ignores the extreme lows and highs and focuses on the middle range volumes. Loud bursts in this middle range are typically TV commercials. Its technology can distinguish between talking levels of the announcer to the sudden crowd cheers in the game to the obnoxiously loud TV commercial. SRS offers a more detailed explanation about what’s really happening in its “Leveling the Volume” white paper, a PDF file.

There are two available directly from the company’s Web site: The RCA version for older TVs is $49.99 while the HDMI version is $99.99. The HDMI version won a CES Innovations award. Here is the new HDMI version, complete with the new “My Volume” logo:

SRS Labs MyVolume levels the sound of loud TV commercials
Consumer Electronics Show 2010 with The GadgetressFor more CES 2010 coverage, visit the Gadgetress CES page at gadgetress.freedomblogging.com/ces2010.
Most recent headlines:

Posted in: Gadgets • Video & TV • • • • • • • • | 6 Comments »

Psssst: Digital cable TV is cheaper than analog cable

December 17th, 2009, 9:22 am by

Time Warner Cable signHere’s a little known fact about cable TV service from Time Warner Cable: Digital cable is cheaper than analog.

In Orange County, Time Warner’s digital cable package includes 200 channels, on-demand video and one special tier of channels (movies, variety, sports, etc.) for $50.95. This is the published rate, not a special promotion. You will need to rent a digital cable box for $6/month.

Basic analog cable, which is $55.50 to $58 per month depending on what city you live in, offers much less. That number shrunk this week as Time Warner moved some of these analog channels (ABC Family, The Weather Channel, TruTV) to digital to make room for more digital services for the majority of its customers. Time Warner has said that 80 percent of its Southern California customers are digital subscribers. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • | 48 Comments »

SRS Labs heads to D.C. to tell politicos sound legislation unnecessary

November 17th, 2009, 5:26 am by

SRS Labs giving away HDTVs, speakers.The folks at Santa Ana’s sound-technology company SRS Labs have discovered a way to soften loud commercials and plan to offer a device to consumers in upcoming months.  It works — I’ve experienced it at the company’s offices.

Now they’re hoping to have a chat with Congresswoman Anna G. Eshoo, D-Atherton, who is behind legislation to prevent loud TV ads.  The Commercial Advertisment Loudness Mitigation Act, or CALM, was approved by another subcommittee last month.

“We hope to effectively communicate that audio fluctuation issues are better handled at the end of the chain (i.e. TV sets and/or Set-Top boxes, AV receivers and similar devices) where all variables can be taken into account,” said SRS spokesman Michael Bingham, who heads to Washington with company chief technology officer Alan Kraemer to talk to Eshoo.

SRS’s TruVolume technology is built into some TVs. They somehow have figured out the difference between TV commercial audio and audio from movies and TV shows. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • | 33 Comments »

AT&T improves wireless service in 5 O.C. cities

October 29th, 2009, 2:10 pm by

AT&TJust learned that AT&T added five new cell sites throughout Orange County. All 3G, of course. That should mean better Internet and voice reception with all those iPhones out there (does it? Share your experience in comments).

The upgrade is part of AT&T’s goal to add 200 cell sites and upgrade 320 others to 3G this year just in California.

The new locations are near these intersections:

  1. Aliso Viejo: Near the intersection of Aliso Creek Road and Pacific Park Drive
  2. San Juan Capistrano: Near the intersection of Stonehill Drive and Camino Capistrano
  3. Santa Ana: Near the intersection of S. Main Street and E. Edinger Ave.
  4. Buena Park: Near the intersection of Western Ave. and La Palma Ave.
  5. Garden Grove: Near the intersection of Brookhurst St. and W. Chapman Ave.

More on cellular reception:

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • • • • • • | 21 Comments »

Contest: Win an HDTV, speakers that soften loud TV commercials

October 22nd, 2009, 4:47 pm by

SRS Labs giving away HDTVs, speakers.If you’ve been wanting to get your hands on a gadget that softens overly loud commercials, now’s your chance to get one for free — just tell your annoyingly loud TV commercial story in 500 words or less.

The contest is sponsored by Santa Ana-based SRS Labs, which I wrote about earlier this month. Its TruVolume technology has popped up in a few TVs and sound systems. It automatically lowers the volume of TV commercials. Read about my experience and watch the video at “SRS Labs’ gadget could end annoyingly loud TV commercials.”

YouTube Preview Image

For long-time readers, you may remember that I used to offer a round-up of contests that awarded geeky prizes. This is definitely one of them. Plus, since it takes some effort, there could be few entries. Hmm… should I bring this feature back?

Ian Hamilton, who writes for the Irvine Business blog has the  contest scoop in his recent post, “Hate loud commercials? Write a story about it and win.” The prize is Vizio’s new sound bar, a $199 $350 speaker with TruVolume built in. SRS has three of them up for grabs.

For even less time and effort, you could win a Samsung HDTV with TruVolume. Just watch a silly commercial and vote at www.srslabs.com/truvolume. SRS is giving away a 22-inch, 32-inch and 40-inch Samsung HDTV to the lucky voters.

Good luck!

Posted in: Audio • Video & TV • • • • • • • | 2 Comments »

SRS Labs’ gadget could end annoyingly loud TV commercials

October 5th, 2009, 4:26 pm by

UPDATE 10/23: Added TVs/speaker systems that include TruVolume. See below in bold.
———————————————————

Santa Ana-based SRS Labs wants to make some noise about its latest gadget: A device that steadies the volume of annoyingly loud TV commercials. (See lots of pictures below.)

The company, which has quietly licensed its sound technologies for years to electronics makers,  plans to launch a half-million dollar marketing campaign for TruVolume, a technology that knows when an overly loud TV commercial is about to air and lowers its volume to match the show being watched.

Coincidentally, legislation working its way into Congress this week would force advertisers to keep volume to a minimum. The Commercial Advertising Loudness Mitigation Act, or CALM, would prevent commercials from being broadcast louder than their accompanying TV program. SRS believes its technology could fix this.

TruVolume prototype from SRS Labs with HDMI input to help HDTVs add the volume-leveling technology..During a visit to its Santa Ana office last week, I heard what it was all about. Steve Roney Jr., product marketing manager for SRS Home Entertainment Division, played a TV clip from the recent U.S. Open with an IBM commercial. He played it on a Vizio TV, which has TruVolume built in.

With TruVolume off, the volume of the TV commercial was significantly louder. With TruVolume on, I barely noticed the volume change.

I recorded the experience with my point-and-shoot camera and put it on video for readers to judge. (SRS also offers a demo on its site.) Since SRS didn’t have sound meter, I added one from my video-editing program to show the volume changes during the commercial. You can see an obvious jump in volume when the loud TV commercial plays:

YouTube Preview Image

Yes, yes, you’ve probably heard about volume levelers before. There’s Dolby Volume in Toshiba TVs, Sony TVs offer “SteadySound,” to name a few.

But here’s why SRS says its TruVolume is different. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • • • | Comments Off

« Previous Entries
SEO Powered by Platinum SEO from Techblissonline