Podcast #1053: UST Projectors - Mistakes with Soundbars - Smartthings and Matter

This week LG Debuts a new 4K UST Laser Projector and we discuss five mistakes everyone makes with Sonos Soundbars. Finally, Samsung begins integrating it's SmartThings home automation platform with Matter capable devices. We also read your emails and the week's news.

News:

• Hey Sonos! Company Debuts Entry-Level Soundbar, Voice Control For Music, And New Roam Colors
• Google TV app to add casting as Android TV ecosystem grows to 110M monthly active device
• Disney+ beats estimates with 7.9M new subscribers in Q1
• Samsung SmartThings begins testing Matter devices on its platform
• Roku and Element partner for their first outdoor TV

LG Debuts New 4K UST Laser Projector

LG Electronics is expanding its premium CineBeam 4K laser projector lineup with the new Ultra Short Throw (UST) laser projector (model HU915QE), the follow up to the HU715Q released earlier this year. LG's latest flagship home cinema solution can produce sharp 90-inch images when placed 2.2 inches (5.6 centimeters) from the wall, or 120 inches at a distance of 7.2 inches (18.3 centimeters).

The HU915QE plays movies and streaming content in 4K HDR, using HDR Dynamic Tone Mapping to analyze and adjust image brightness every single frame.

With LG's webOS smart platform onboard, the HU915QE lets users watch all their favorite shows from streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, YouTube, and Apple TV without an additional device. They can also wirelessly stream content via Screen Mirroring, Apple AirPlay2, and Bluetooth. On top of that, its built-in 2.2 Channel, 40-watt speaker system enhances the viewing experience with strong, rich audio. Users can also connect up to two LG Bluetooth speakers at once.

LG CineBeam 4K laser projector (model HU915QE) with the latest UST technology will be available in the first half of 2022. No pricing available but Value Electronics is advertising it for $6000 to $6500..

5 mistakes everyone makes with Sonos soundbars

Got a Sonos Beam or Arc? Don't make these classic mistakes Full article here…

• Mistake 1: ignoring Trueplay room calibration
• Mistake 2: leaving the TV's sound output in PCM
• Mistake 3: not trying the speech enhancement feature
• Mistake 4: not playing with the 'Loudness' feature
• Mistake 5: missing the new height adjustment feature

HOW SAMSUNG'S SMARTTHINGS IS THINKING ABOUT MATTER AND THE FUTURE OF THE SMART HOME

The smart home is about to change. Soon, you won't have to choose a smart light bulb or door lock just because it works with your smart speaker. Instead, you'll be able to buy a smart device, bring it home, and it will work with any voice assistant or app you choose. At least, that's the promise behind Matter, a new standard created by Samsung, Google, Apple, and Amazon. Most importantly, you won't be locked into the platform you chose. If you decide you want to switch to SmartThings from Google Home, or go with Amazon Alexa over Apple HomeKit, any Matter-enabled devices can come with you. Full article here…

• Founded 10 years ago on Kickstarter, SmartThings is one of the only standalone consumer smart home hubs from the early days of the DIY smart home boom that's still alive and kicking.
• The SmartThings hub is one of the few consumer-level devices with multiple radios in it, including Wi-Fi, Zigbee, and Z-Wave, allowing it to control a much wider range of smart home devices.
• It also works with cloud-to-cloud software services and is one of the most compatible smart home platforms. There's voice assistant support, too, for both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant as well as Samsung's Bixby.
• It was acquired by Samsung in 2014. Since the acquisition, Samsung has moved away from manufacturing any SmartThings hardware, offloading both the standalone hub and many of the sensors to device maker Aeotec. The company has said it's focusing all efforts on the SmartThings app and supporting Samsung's connected products through software.
• The following are questions to Mark Benson, the newly appointed Head of SmartThings US, Samsung's home automation arm
• What is the future for the SmartThings hub with Matter on the horizon? The standalone SmartThings V3 Hub and the Aeotec SmartThings Hub will be updated to support Matter when it launches in the fall. SmartThings is getting integrated more deeply across the Samsung portfolio, with SmartThings Hub software built into select 2022 Samsung Smart TVs, Smart Monitors, and Family Hub refrigerators. These devices will also allow users to connect a wide variety of existing smart home devices, as they will be updated to get Matter as a controller support, as the new standard becomes available. We also plan to support Matter as a controller on our SmartThings Hub V2. This will enable our existing users to connect and control Matter devices.
• Will the built-in hubs have any low-power wireless radios, as the standalone hubs do? What about Thread? Low-power wireless protocols are a crucial part of the Matter standard and will definitely come to the Samsung SmartThings products with built-in hub functionality. More details to come later on actual implementation of Thread technology, but Thread's really important to us. Communication with Zigbee devices will be possible through the SmartThings Dongle, allowing connectivity to a wide range of smart home devices.
• You say Samsung is integrating Matter as a controller — does this mean that Samsung's connected devices (washing machines, robot vacuums, TVs, etc.) will not be exposed to other Matter controllers (such as Amazon Alexa or Apple HomeKit)? This year, we will focus our efforts on bringing Matter as a controller to multiple surfaces across the Samsung portfolio. This means most 2022 Samsung Smart TVs, Smart Monitors, and Family Hub refrigerators. SmartThings Hubs will not act as a Matter bridge, so non-Matter devices will not be bridged or exposed to other Matter controllers. That said, Matter-enabled SmartThings hubs will continue to support existing devices and protocols (e.g. Zigbee, Z-Wave) to provide SmartThings customers with flexible connectivity options.

Where do you see Matter taking SmartThings? With connectivity becoming more standardized, where SmartThings competes in the future will be different. The user experience is the competitive space that will differentiate platforms and companies — things around use cases in the home, cooking, taking care of your pets, managing energy usage, setting the lighting just right, and locking the doors at night. Having those things just work and be simple and easy to understand so that users can control their homes and manage their homes well is why we're excited about Matter.