Making television easy again. By Phillip Swann
Q. I’ve been thinking about giving my parents some Blu-ray discs for Christmas. But I’m worried about the discs not being able to play when they try to use them. Is there a quick fix I can show them if they have a problem with the discs? — Ted, Seattle. Ted, Blu-ray discs normally work
Q. I love watching Netflix and Hulu on my new Smart TV, but I’ve noticed that I sometimes lose my WiFi connection. I didn’t notice this when I used to watch Netflix on my Roku player. Is there a reason why my Smart TV would lose the WiFi connection? Can this be fixed? — Brenda,
Q. I love watching Blu-ray movies. The picture is just awesome! But sometimes when I put in the disc, a message on screen says ‘disc can not play,’ or ‘no disc” or ‘disc error.’ Is there anything I can do to eliminate this? — Ellie, Boise, Idaho. For starters, make sure the disc is compatible
Q. I would like to watch more Blu-ray movies, but I can’t seem to rent them anywhere. There’s no Blockbuster, or anything! So I’ve been thinking about Redbox. But how does Redbox work? How do you get the discs from them? — Chi Chi, Marina Del Rey, California. The Redbox kiosk looks basically like a
Q. I love watching Blu-ray movies. The picture is just awesome! But sometimes when I put in the disc, a message on screen says ‘no disc” or ‘disc error.’ Is there anything I can do to eliminate this? — Ellie, Boise, Idaho. For starters, make sure the disc is compatible with your player. Some older
Q. I like renting discs from Redbox, but it irks me that they don’t have 4K Blu-rays. It’s impossible to rent 4K discs so it would be great if Redbox would. Any chance of that? — Ed, San Francisco. See an update on this story. Ed, I have some good news and some bad news.
Redbox, the kiosk disc rental service, will add 32 new DVD and Blu-ray movies in April, the company has announced. The new titles will include Phantom Thread, the critically-acclaimed drama about a fashion designer (Daniel-Day-Lewis) who becomes obsessed with a young waitress. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood), the film
Q. I keep seeing ads on TV and at my local Best Buy for Smart TVs. What exactly is a Smart TV and how do I connect it if I buy one? — Sara A., Laredo, Texas. Smart TV is a term used for a television or set-top box that can connect to your home
Q. I know this may sound dumb, but I recently moved and I need to reconnect my TV to my basic equipment — my satellite DVR and my Roku player — and I don’t have a clue how to do it. I always get confused over what cable goes where and so forth. Help me,
Q. I have been thinking of building a Home Theater in my Man Cave, but I was wondering if I should get a projector with a big wall screen or just a big-screen TV. I hear a projector doesn’t offer as good a picture as a regular TV because the picture is not as sharp.
Q. I love all the new technology available to us today as TV viewers. I have a Smart Blu-ray player, a Roku, a Smart TV in another room and a DIRECTV Genie HD DVR. But one thing kills me. It seems like I have to re-set the boxes and even the TV itself quite often.
Q. I love the way Blu-ray movies look. The picture is so much better than streaming or even my DIRECTV. But it’s expensive to buy movies. I’m thinking of Redbox for rentals, but I’m not sure how it works and where I can find one of those kiosks in my area. Can you help? —