Blogs

When we started HIDEit Mounts, we spent a lot of time trying to figure out who our primary customer would be. Sure, we first thought of people like us - typical American families.

We knew that outside of that, our HIDEit Mounts fulfill a pretty universal need to clean up the messy wires and general clutter that comes with having multiple gaming systems and electronic devices connected to the TV...but it didn't really dawn on us that Churches and Recreation Centers would become such a large customer for us.

One of our first large orders was from a Christian Spa & Gym. Interestingly, they ordered 5 HIDEit W Mounts but didn't even use them for a Nintendo Wii - turns out their local cable boxes were similar in size to the Wii. Ding, ding, ding - that realization led to the creation of multiple new products!

We've seen large orders from Churches and our Mounts seem to work well in medical offices, too. Businesses that have gaming systems in their conference room have purchased a HIDEit Mount.

If you know of a Church or business that could use a HIDEit Mount, please tell them about us!

One profound part of the Digital Age is the ability to be wireless. We have wireless EVERYTHING! Personally, I'm a huge fan of the Wireless Revolution with most things, but there are just some things that you don't want to muck up by making it wireless.

Case in point, the Wireless Sensor Bar for Wii. My first thought on this Wii Accessory was that it is much larger than the Wired Sensor Bar that is included with your Nintendo Wii Game System. When we are always looking for smaller, faster, and better PLUS wireless, this automically missed the "bar" for me.

After a little research, I've found that the Sensor Bar isn't a very complicated thing...some have compared it to a flashlight which helps to put it in perspective for non-techies. Basically, it's a receiver and has no mind of it's own.

Beside being wireless, another benefit of the Wireless Sensor Bar is to allow you to play your Wii from further away. There doesn't seem to be any proof that the Wireless Sensor Bar works from further way - it seems to vary - works for some, not so much for others.

The complaints about the Wireless Sensor Bar are minor, but enough to wonder why you should bother spending about $15 + S&H on an item that seems to be pretty useless. Wireless = batteries which are an added expense, a hassle to change, and are not Green. Plus, that means you have a separate power switch for your Wireless Sensor Bar to turn off and on...as mentioned in a widely read review of a Wireless Sensor Bar for Wii, this wireless bar breaks the "elegance" of being able to power your Nintendo Wii on or off by simply using the Wii Controller.

Lastly, the reason I considered the Wireless Sensor Bar was the length of the cord from the Wii to the Sensor Bar...it wasn't long enough for our setup. In came a solution that doesn't require batteries, is pretty cheap at $25, and also solves my issue of where to put my Wii. Thanks to the HIDEit W Mount, a Wii Wall Mount, I have skipped purchasing a Wireless Sensor Bar AND have a tidy game area.

VERDICT: No, Wireless is not always better.

Now that you’ve found HIDEit Mounts, how do you know if the mount you’re interested will work with your TV mount?

There are three basic types of television wall mounts: flat wall mounts, tilt wall mounts, and articulating wall mounts. I’ve used them all for different setups since the more options and movement, the higher the price.

The flat or flush wall mount provides a ledge or bracket to mount your flat screen. A flat mount doesn’t allow you to move your TV so this mount works best if your LCD or plasma is mounted in line with your typical viewing eye level. This TV mount doesn’t allow for much space between the wall and television, often times there is not even enough space to fit the HIDEit W with your Wii or HIDEit Mini with your Mac mini. With a flat wall mount, your best option is to mount your gaming system or multi-media device next to or below your flat screen TV.

The tilt mount lets you to mount your flat panel TV higher on the wall, then you can tilt it for better viewing. In my home, I’ve used this mount when hanging the TV above a fireplace or cabinet. When using a tilting wall mount, there is typically several inches between the wall and the back of your flat screen. Most of the smaller HIDEit Mounts and the appropriate device will work with a tilting mount.

The most universal mounts is the articulating mount – it can swivel, turn and tilt which makes it the perfect choice if your TV is mounted in the living room or play room but could be viewed from other rooms. This is also the best choice if you plan to mount your TV in a corner. With the wide amount of movement the articulating wall mount offers, there is usually plenty of space, even for larger units like the HIDEit 3 with your PlayStation Original.

To determine which HIDEit Mount or TV wall mount you need to complete your setup, start with the piece of equipment you are looking to mount behind the TV. Measure the width of your gaming console or electronic device, then add a few inches for the HIDEit mount and ventilation space.

HIDEit Mounts will work with any TV wall mount since they don’t have to be mounted behind your flat panel TV, but to effectively hide your gaming system or media device, some TV wall mounts definitely work better than others.

Netflix now available on the PS3!
Having recently purchased the new PS3 Slim, we were very excited when we read articles that Sony and Netflix were partnering to allow streaming of the Netflix library on the PlayStation 3. We already stream Netflix on our Mac Mini as well as the Roku Digital Video Player.

Once receiving notification from Netflix that the disks were available, we received it in 2 days! The disk came in the typical Netflix covers, the only difference is that is said do not return.

So let’s get started. All you have to do is load up the DVD like any other disk and it auto plays. First screen that comes up says to log on to your computer and activate the PS3 disk on your account. It gives a 5 or 6 digit code to enter. After doing so it says that it will take about 3 minutes to activate your PS3, but it seemed less than 30 seconds. Having experienced the vast difference in streaming Netflix between out Mac Mini and our Roku, we were excited to see the difference on the PS3.

The first screen in the User Interface that populates is your Instant Queue. The images are a bit more pixilated than the same UI on the Roku, but when the individual covers are highlighted, it is clear as a bell. The menu is far more extensive than the Roku. You can view recently added movies, television shows, as well as a number of categories: Children and Family, TV Shows, Horror, Sci – Fi, as well as others. Each category has about 60 – 100 videos to choose from instantly without having to log on to your computer and add to your queue. This is a step from the Roku UI that only seems to have your queue.

Now to watching some shows. I first tried a recent episode of Heroes (already in my queue.) It took a few moments for the HD quality to buffer, but after just a few seconds the picture was beautiful! In Checking out some of the other videos like Bob the Builder or Bridget’s Beaches reviews, the quality was the same. A little pixilated in the beginning, but then a great image. We did test Bolt to compare because we own the DVD and the quality wasn’t HD, but that is probably because it is streaming from the Starz viewing versus using the full digital file from Disney.

In summary, all in all we are impressed with being able to view Netflix through the PlayStation 3. I would say the Roku Digital Video player has a better stream, or at least no buffering time to HD Quality, but the UI options are awesome on the PS3. Thank you Sony and Netflix for making my day!