#010 The Soundbar That Works With Alexa, Sonos Beam Review

#010 The Soundbar That Works With Alexa, Sonos Beam Review

The Sonos Beam is a smart Sonos soundbar designed to provide beautiful sound when connected to your TV, but it also doubles as a music system to play streaming music though the speaker. One of the best features of the Sonos Beam is that it has Alexa built in so you can directly talk to your Sonos Beam with Alexa commands. When you use Alexa commands you can control your music, control connected light switches or connected smart plugs when using your voice.

Podcast Review of the Sonos Beam soundbar

  • Features of the Sonos Beam soundbar.

  • How Alexa works with the Sonos Beam

  • How to setup the Sonos Beam for your home

  • Comparison of the Sonos Beam vs Sonos Playbar

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#009 Smart Homes For Grandma

#009 Smart Homes For Grandma

I’ve been getting a lot of questions from friends, family and listeners about using smart home technology for their elderly parents or grandparents to help make things a little easier as they age.

The biggest concern people seem to have about implementing smart home technology for their grandparents is that it will be complicated to use or that it won’t work as intended. The reality is that if you choose the right devices and keep the system simple it can be easy for your grandparent to use and make their life and yours a little easier.

In this smart home podcast episode we focus on simple technologies that are easy to use for elderly people to help them stay independent, prevent falls and stay safe.

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#008 Ring Security System Review, Smart Home Security That Won't Break The Bank.

#008 Ring Security System Review, Smart Home Security That Won't Break The Bank.

In this episode we review the Ring Smart Home Security System. I’ve tested some of the most popular smart home security systems on the market and I finally got around to testing the Ring Security System. I was originally skeptical of the Ring Security System because I didn’t think it would be as capable as some of the more expensive smart home security systems. However I was pleasantly surprised by the Ring Security System after I installed it.

In fact the Ring Security System preformed so well that I decided to replace my current security system and stick with the Ring Security System because of it’s low cost and no contract approach to home security.

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#007 Lifedoor The Smart Door That Can Save Your Life

#007  Lifedoor The Smart Door That Can Save Your Life

In this episode we interview the co-founder of lifedoor.io Joel Sellinger. Joel has an amazing story and is a fireman who has dedicated his life to serving others and has created a smart home product that can help save lives.

Lifedoor is a smart device that allows your door to close in automatically in the event of a fire. This significantly increases the safety of your home to help contain a fire and give you and your family more time to escape or wait for the fire department to arrive. Visit our smart home website and forum at onehoursmarthome.com

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#006 Smart Home Lighting: How to install smart lighting and control your lights with voice using Amazon Alexa.

#006 Smart Home Lighting: How to install smart lighting and control your lights with voice using Amazon Alexa.

In this episode we discuss how to install smart home lighting and how to control your smart home lighting with voice. You can install smart home wifi light switches that work with your existing home wiring and allow you to control your smart home with voice or using your phone from anywhere in the world.  Smart home lighting and smart home light switches are a dramatic upgrade you can make to your home to increase the functionality and value of your home. 

"Smart lighting can be simple and easy, smart plugs that work are a good place to start and then you can expand your smart lighting system with your needs. The great thing about smart plugs is that you don't need to do any wiring, you just plug them in and they are ready to work for you" -James Both

https://www.onehoursmarthome.com/

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#005 Smart Doorbells-Why They Are Better Than Security Cameras, Nest Hello Smart Doorbell Review

#005 Smart Doorbells-Why They Are Better Than Security Cameras, Nest Hello Smart Doorbell Review

Nest Hello Smart Video Doorbell Review:

"A smart video doorbell is going to provide more value to you than a traditional security camera, you can see a persons face clearly, and the blue circle around the doorbell lets people know they are being recorded, it's a true crime deterrent" -James Both

In this episode we review the new nest hello smart video doorbell, provide you with tips tricks and hacks for the nest hello doorbell. We discuss how the placement of a smart video doorbell is more effective at identifying a persons face than traditional security cameras. 

There are multiple smart doorbells on the market, ring and nest are the dominate players in the market and I have tested and used both on my home. I personally use the nest hello doorbell for several reasons. 

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#004 - Don't take Alexa through security, Bond Smart Home interview with CEO Zohar Shinar

#004 - Don't take Alexa through security, Bond Smart Home interview with CEO Zohar Shinar

#004-Don't take Alexa through security, Bond Smart Home interview with CEO Zohar Shinar - In this episode. In this episode we are excited to have an amazing guest on the Podcast, the Inventor and  CEO of Bond Smart Home, Zohar Shinar. Zohar talks about what inspired him to create the Bond Smart Home, electronic warfare and what happens when you take an Amazon Alexa through security. Zohar is a visionary in the field of home automation and customer service. He provides nuggets of wisdom for any entrepreneur, smart home company founder or someone looking to provide world class service to their customers. Zohar has grit, he trekked a ceiling fan across the country to get in front of the smart home sales team at Home Depot to demonstrate their product, and guess what that tactic worked. With Zohar’s background in electronic warfare he’s not just a one dimensional guy, there are things I know he can’t even talk about because they are issues of national security, he’s the real deal and the interview with him was a treat. So please enjoy the podcast, and if you want to by a Bond Smart Home controller and support Zohar you can get it on Amazon or you can learn more about Bond on their website at https://bondhome.io/
 www.onehoursmarthome.com


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How Do Smart Homes Work? Explaining Wifi, Z-Wave, Zigbee & Bluetooth: #003

How Do Smart Homes Work? Explaining Wifi, Z-Wave, Zigbee & Bluetooth: #003

How do smart homes work? Explaining WiFi, Z-Wave, Zigbee & Bluetooth- Podcast Episode 003: In this episode we cover the technology and protocols that make smart homes work. We talk about each smart home protocol (Wifi, Z-Wave, Zigbee, Bluetooth)  the applications of each and how they work with smart home devices. If you want to learn the differences between these popular smart home protocols this is a great start so you can know what to look for when buying smart home devices so you can ensure they work in your home. We also cover the advantages and disadvantages of each smart home protocol and what the best smart home protocol is for your particular use case. Your smart home can be a combination of all of these protocols but you should understand how they work so you can make the right choices. www.onehoursmarthome.com


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Control Your Smart Home With Voice: #002

Control Your Smart Home With Voice: #002

Control Your Smart Home With Voice: Podcast Episode #002-In this episode we teach you how to control your smart home with voice, and what you can do with voice control in your home. We review how you can control your lights, outlets, music and calendar with a voice assistant. We discuss the popular voice assistants on the market and what voice assistants we recommend. We interact with smart voice assistants in this episode so you can see just how they work and what they are capable of. We also have a surprise guest for this episode that will discuss with us the fields of smart home voice control and smart home artificial intelligence. You will just have to listen to find out who it is.  Subscribe to our email list for the latest smart home info, tips and tricks www.onehoursmarthome.com

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How To Start Your Smart Home: #001

How To Start Your Smart Home: #001

How To Start Your Smart Home-Episode 001: If you don’t know where to start with a smart home this episode is for you, or if you have a few smart home devices already and want to add more smart devices to your home we review the 4 best devices to start with. In this episode we share  the four pillars of designing your smart home system and the four most useful devices when starting out your smart home system. We want to to empower you to start your smart home journey. All of the devices we discuss in this episode are devices we have personally installed, tested and use in our home on a daily basis to make  life easier. It’s easy to get caught in the home automation trap thinking that you have to pay thousands to automate your home when in reality you can start automating your smart home for under $60. Subscribe to our podcast for future smart home episodes or join our email list at www.onehoursmarthome.com


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