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5 Essentials for Your Home Office

Posted on by DataVision

What makes a home office workable?

In an ideal world, you have a designated space in your home in which to work. While it might be necessary for some to operate from their bedrooms or the kitchen table, we don’t advise this solution unless you have no other options. It’s better for your mental health to have at least a little separation between your home and work life.

Here are some basics:

  1. Desk
    As a general rule, the surface of your desk should stand between 28 to 30 inches above the floor and provide enough room for a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Having a comfortable, but supportive chair is good, too.
  2. Lighting
    Good lighting is important—it helps you look professional in online meetings, and it can help prevent eye strain and fatigue during a long workday. We always recommend facing your desk toward a window as a great source for natural light.
  3. Best Wi-Fi Router
    Having the best Wi-Fi router available makes good business sense because it’s essential to keep you connected—wherever you’re working from in your home. At <<placeholder for company name>>, we’re always here to help you select the best router available to help you get your job done.
  4. A Good Bluetooth or USB Headset
    If lawnmowers, outside construction workers, and barking dogs crowd your soundscape, a headset that features a noise cancelling microphone to filter out the background noise is something your co-workers will thank you for.
  5. Surge Protector
    A good power strip with a built-in surge protector is a great (and inexpensive) way to protect your equipment and your work.

With these essentials, along with a good PC or laptop, you should be in great shape to get the job done from the comfort of your home

DataVision is here to help! At DataVision, we value our role as your trusted advisor when it comes to making the most of our internet services, whether you’re using them in your home office or simply kicking back to enjoy an evening’s entertainment.

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Streaming Media – Device Comparisons

Posted on by DataVision

Get to know your streaming devices

As more and more people cut the cord to stream their favorite movies and TV shows, an increasing number of companies are jumping into the fray by manufacturing new devices and platforms for viewing the content you want to watch.

We’ve picked five of our favorite media streaming devices (in alphabetical order) to help you get an idea of what’s available. We’ve included basic information, along with a few pros and cons, to give you an idea of their distinguishing features.

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max

The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max is currently the fastest Fire TV Stick that Amazon offers—and it’s definitely the way to go if you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber. It comes with all the apps you’ll need for streaming, and features Dolby Atmos sound, Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HDR10+. It also supports Wi-Fi 6, and has great live TV integration. If you’re thinking about an Amazon Fire TV streaming device, this model is the one to get.

Pros: Fastest performance from any of the current line of Amazon Fire TV Sticks. Handy live TV integration. So many apps.

Cons: An abundance of Amazon ad content.

Apple TV 4K

If you’re in the Apple ecosystem, this is one of the fastest and most practical 4K streaming devices available. It allows you to share your tvOS on-screen content quickly and easily from most Apple computers, iPads, or iPhones. The Apple TV 4K tends to be on the pricey side, so it might not make sense for people who don’t already use Apple devices or have streaming Apple media in their libraries.

Pros: New and improved remote. HDR streaming. Multi-user support.

Cons: Relatively expensive.

Chromecast (Google TV)

If  you don’t have a favorite platform, the Google Chromecast offers a neutral gateway to all your streaming devices. Chromecast hooks directly into the HDMI port on the back of your TV, and draws its power from the USB port. It can then function as a receiver for streaming video links sent from your PC, phone, or tablet. 

Pros: Generally lower-priced than most of its competitors. Lots of available streaming services.

Cons: 4K streaming requires an upgrade to the Chromecast Ultra.

Roku Streaming Stick+

With a quad-core processor, the Roku Streaming Stick+ is one of the faster streaming sticks on the market today and it can access all of your favorite platforms, such as Netflix and Hulu, as well as many other apps in 4K UHD.

Pros: Relatively inexpensive. Fully 4K HDR capable. Large app selection. 

Cons:  Yes, it has a large selection of apps, but they’re a mixed bag in terms of quality.

TiVo Stream 4K

The TiVo Stream 4K features a sleek design, a voice-enabled remote, and an Android TV platform with access to thousands of apps. Furthermore, Chromecast is built in. The TiVo Stream 4K aggregates apps and content from a wide variety of channels, including Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, Disney Plus and HBO Max through its own app interface.

Pros: Fast 4K streaming. Supports most services and apps.

Cons: Live TV guide offering is overly weighted towards Sling TV. 

Are these the only devices you can use to stream content?

Not at all. We’re only scratched the surface with a few of the most popular ones currently on the market. There are a wide variety of devices that you can use to watch your favorite movies and TV shows—from your personal laptop or tablet to many popular video game consoles.

DataVision is here to help!

As the world speeds up, we like to keep up with it, and here at DataVision, we’re proud to provide the fastest internet and Wi-Fi available.

Have questions? We’re here and we’d love to hear from you!

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Internet vs. Wi-Fi

Posted on by DataVision

What’s the difference between Internet and Wi-Fi?

Technology can be confusing for many people. And in most casual conversations, losing the distinction between the internet and Wi-Fi doesn’t present much of a problem. But there really is a difference.

If you’ve ever paused to wonder about this, let’s take a moment to break it down:

The Internet is comprised of all the data that’s shared across a comprehensive worldwide network of computers. It might be helpful to think of the internet as a large package you order from a store or business. Inside the package are all the websites you like to visit, and all the data, such as emails, texts, and cat videos that you receive.

Wi-Fi is just one of the many ways you can receive that package you ordered. If, like most people, you receive the internet wirelessly on your laptop, tablet, or cell phone—Wi-Fi is usually the way it’s delivered. In short, Wi-Fi is a wireless access point for your wireless device to connect to the internet via a radio signal. Often the Wi-Fi you use is a part of your own private home network, although you may encounter Wi-Fi access almost anywhere, such as hotels and coffee shops.

Is it possible to get the internet without Wi-Fi?

If you use a strictly wired connection, such as ethernet, network cable, or landline, that links your computer to the internet, you’ll still have access to the internet (the package you ordered), and Wi-Fi won’t play a significant role. In this situation, the device you’re using is usually meant to stay in a specific location fairly near the access line.

DataVision is here to help!

As the world speeds up, we like to keep up with it, and here at DataVision, we’re proud to provide the fastest internet and Wi-Fi available.

Have questions? We’re here and we’d love to hear from you!

Contact Us

What IS Streaming?

Posted on by DataVision

There was a time when, if you wanted to watch a movie or television program on your TV, you’d turn it on, wait for the picture tube to warm up, and then you’d be able to watch what was available. You were also limited by the power of your antenna, the strength of the signal that was being transmitted, and the very small number of channels available. This meant that frequently people were only able to see fuzzy black and white images of programs they didn’t really want to watch.

With the rise of the VCR in the 1980s, people were delighted to find they had a choice about what they wanted to watch and when. Video rental stores, both large and small, opened up where you could rent your favorite movies. Video tapes were eventually displaced by DVDs, and then Blu ray discs—and physical media is now on the decline as streaming has taken hold.

How does streaming work?

Simply put, streaming today means sending and receiving packets of data in a continuous flow over the internet, rather than the public airwaves. These packets of data contain the digital information that represents the media content you’re watching, listening to, or playing.

Nowadays, people are able to stream what they want whenever they want—movies, TV shows, concerts, music and video games—on a variety of devices, such as their phones, tablets, PCs, laptops, and Smart TVs.

As long as you have a reliable broadband connection, the device you’re using can play the content smoothly without interruption. If you’ve ever watched videos on Netflix or YouTube, or listened to music on Spotify, you’ve already been streaming. And if you’ve ever spent too much time waiting for a movie or video to stop buffering, you’ve felt the effects of having internet service that wasn’t serving you the bandwidth you required. Want to know more about streaming and whether or not you have the broadband speed you need? We’re here and we’d love to hear from you!

At DataVision, we’re happy to help you determine which speed is right for you. Contact the friendly, hometown staff at https://datavision-internet.com/contact-us/ with your questions. We’d love to hear from you.

Get the Broadband Speed You Need

Posted on by DataVision

When first ordering broadband service, most people are excited about the speed boost they’re going to experience.  They dream about spending less time waiting on downloads, video buffering, or dealing with unexpectedly being disconnected from the internet.

But, for some people, that excitement turns to frustration when they discover they’re still experiencing lagging or buffering issues—the very things they wanted to get away from!

What’s up with that?!

Understanding bandwidth

The important thing to remember is that, while fiber bandwidth is not shared among neighbors—it is shared within your home.

To make that a little more clear, let’s use a 25Mbps plan as an example. If you’ve got a family that’s using five different internet-connected devices in your home at the same time, and the bandwidth required to operate those devices averages out to 5Mbps each—you’ve just maxed out your internet plan. Connecting even one more device will hinder your internet experience on all your devices. You may experience lag and buffering, or the device may disconnect from the internet.

In this case, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with your internet speed. Your plan promises 25Mbps delivered to your home, and that’s what you receive. It just gets used up quickly by the devices you use.

What you need is a faster plan that offers greater bandwidth.

Adding it up

How fast should your internet be? That depends on three key factors: the number of devices you have in your home, their bandwidth requirements, and the number of these connected devices that use the internet simultaneously.

It’s worth noting that the average home currently has 25 internet-connected devices, including phones, laptops, tablets, and smart devices, such as Smart TVs and smart speakers, like Amazon Echo.

Here’s a quick guide to how much each of your devices might be using:

FeatureDevices/AppsBandwidth
Streaming VideoNetflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Apple+, YouTube TV, Sling, FuboLow-Def: 1.5 Mbps Standard: 3 Mbps HD (1080p): 5 Mbps 4K: 25 Mbps
Streaming MusicSpotify, PandoraHD: 2 Mbps
Online GamesXbox, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch2 – 10 Mbps
Video CallsSkype, Zoom, GoTo Meeting, FacebookStandard: .5 Mbps HD: 1.5 Mbps
Large DownloadsHD movies, Music, Video Games, Photos, Documents, TorrentsSlow: .5 Mbps Fast: 50 Mbps
Email, Browsing, Social MediaGmail, Google, Facebook, ShapChat, TikTok.5 – 5 Mbps

When you consider the number of your internet-connected household devices—and how and when they’re used—you can make the smart choice about whether you have the bandwidth speed you need.

At DataVision, we’re happy to help you determine which speed is right for you. Contact the friendly, hometown staff at https://datavision-internet.com/contact-us/ with your questions. We’d love to hear from you.