Blog Archives

A better HDMI matrix for whole-house video distribution

A few months back, I wrote about my whole-house media distribution system based on an HDMI matrix in my basement. The problem I found with that matrix is that the HDMI output signal went through an additional conversion process to

Posted by Matt Chiste
February 19

Installing in-wall speakers

We’ve already covered installing ceiling speakers in these pages, so I won’t go into great detail on the process of physically installing in-wall speakers – it’s a virtually identical process to installing them in the ceiling. However, if you’re installing

Posted by Matt Chiste
February 11

Intellihome is now easier to install and runs on Raspberry Pi

Last year, I introduced Intellihome, and a lot of you reached out to take a look at the progress so far. My control panel has been running Intellihome all this time, providing Insteon control features and slide show pictures, but

Posted by Matt Chiste
November 3

HDMI Matrix connects multiple sources to multiple displays

As discussed recently, I relocated my media center for a cleaner look in the living room. But it wasn’t just the living room that benefited from this relocation; I actually have 3 TVs and one projector in the house, and

Posted by Matt Chiste
October 4

Logitech Harmony Ultimate: a fantastic remote

I had an old Logitech Harmony One Universal Remote for years and absolutely loved it until it met an untimely end (don’t ask!). In 2013 Logitech decided to sell the Harmony line (doing an about-face shortly after), and ultimately discontinued

Posted by Matt Chiste
September 30

Relocate your media center for a cleaner look

It dawned on me about a year ago that now that I had the ability to run ethernet between floors, send HDMI signals long distances, install ceiling speakers, and cleanly connect everything together, the media center taking up space in

Posted by Matt Chiste
September 6

Amazon Echo: Alexa Skills Kit is awesome for home control

I’ve been playing around with the Amazon Echo (buy it today to save $50!), and its ability to integrate into my Insteon-based home automation system. I’ve been using the Alexa Skills Kit integrated with my custom software IntelliHome, and it’s

Posted by Matt Chiste
July 15
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