By
December 02, 2020
A New Zealand summer is never dull. Friends and family are constantly dropping in for play dates, barbeques or drinks. That means home entertainment needs to extend throughout the house - all the way from the kitchen to the living room and out to the deck when the sun is shining.
To make this work, you’ll need a lightning-fast internet connection with enough range to connect devices even if you’re using them outside by the pool or the barbeque. Here are a few tips to help you make that set up achievable.
Make sure your broadband is well set up to entertain your guests this summer. Find out what broadband options are available at your home via our Broadband Checker here.
Nifty home entertainment gadgets
The bare minimum for summer home entertainment is a high-quality Bluetooth Speaker. With one of these on hand, all you need to set the mood for an impromptu gathering is a smartphone, a summery playlist and a capable Wi-Fi connection. Since they’re fully portable you can take them with you wherever the night ends up, and they’re much cheaper than installing a full outdoor speaker system.
Here are a few of our favourites:
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Sonos Move
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UE Boom
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JBL Charge
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Bose Home
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Google Home
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Alexa.
If you’re really keen to create a surround sound, buy more than one UE Boom and connect them all together to create an outdoor surround system.
Another gadget that’ll make entertaining easier is a Wi-Fi thermometer. These are ideal for cooking larger cuts of meat that require an exact temperature to cook through and remain tender. Simply jab the device into your meat, connect your smartphone to the thermometer via Wi-Fi, set the ideal temperature and you’ll get notifications when the BBQ is getting too hot or when the meat is ready.
Optimise indoor-outdoor areas with fibre broadband
If you want to improve your summer with smart home entertainment and useful gadgets then you’re going to need a reliable, fast Wi-Fi connection.
Fibre is the best home broadband technology that Chorus has to offer. It doesn’t slow down when there are lots of people on the network like ADSL and VDSL tend to, plus it’s way faster. In fact, fibre can download at up to 200+ mbps, compared to 10-30 mbps for ADSL and VDSL connections (to give you an idea of how fast that is, you’d be able to download an HD movie in about 180 seconds).
This will allow you to keep the kids entertained with Netflix, YouTube or Disney+ in HD while you entertain guests outdoors. Just make sure you pick a large or unlimited plan if you plan to use a lot of data! Otherwise, you risk going over your data cap and paying the big bucks.
Set up outdoor WiFi extenders
Once you’re a certain distance away from your Wi-Fi modem you’ll start to lose signal and your internet will slow right down. This is the last thing you want to worry about when you’re trying to listen to Fat Freddy’s while you man the barbeque!
Installing a Wi-Fi extender is an easy solution to ensure you’re never out of range. These can be purchased for between $40 and $500, but unless your backyard is massive, you won’t need anything fancy. Install it right and you’ll be able to play music, read eBooks and share selfies from the poolside.
To make the most of summer, your home entertainment needs to work all the way from your backyard to your front deck and beyond. With the right gadgets, a super-fast Wi-Fi connection and a range extender that shouldn’t be a problem. If you’re keen to upgrade your home entertainment this summer the first step should be your Wi-Fi - jump on our easy to use broadband checker here to get started.