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Home Theater

home entertainment

First Listen: Panasonic SC-BT100 Blu-ray Home Theater in a Box Is Boomy, Not Hissy

Panasonic's SC-BT100 Blu-ray home-theater in a box made a sly appearance back at CES, but today we got up all in its face. The Blu-ray soul is basically Panny's BD-30 player (with the added mojo of the BD-50's Chroma processor). Rear speakers are wireless and produce virtual 7.1 sound, though you can add on two more for true 7.1. Supposedly the subwoofer is magically designed to reduce hissing with quiet rumblings—we certainly didn't notice any in the demo, but we heard smooth, cheesy jazz and the 18-wheeler/F-18 scene from Justin Long's fake Die Hard movie, so it was hard to gauge its effectiveness on the front. The sound certainly wasn't bad though—it'll go for $999 in late spring. Closeups and fact sheet below. More »

home theater

Homes With Hidden Home-Theater Tech Dazzle Us With Luxury, Expense

The folks over at Electronic House have been running a Homes of the Year feature, and they've turned up a bunch of luxury homes with amazing entertainment systems that are cunningly disguised in the design. The array includes an entire old-style velvet and starry-ceiling home theater with an entrance door concealed behind a mirror; a luxury bathroom with his-and-hers vanities with concealed mirror LCD TVs and a temperature-controlled wine cellar with glass walls and adjustable color lighting system. Check out a selection of photos of these luxury installations in the gallery. More »

home entertainment

The 10 Worst HDTV Ripoffs Explained

If you are planning on picking up an HDTV in the near future, HD Guru's list of the 10 worst HDTV ripoffs for 2008 is required reading—pure and simple. Chances are, many consumers have already heard about the issue with HDMI cables—which is probably one of the biggest scams of all time (right up there with Q-Ray ionized bracelets and the Ionic Breeze). Other scams, like the one involving contrast ratio specifications are also making their way into the public consciousness. More »

question of the day

Question of the Day: How Big is Your TV?

If you are among those fortunate enough to come home to a big, beautiful TV every night—don't take it for granted. The beginnings of our obsession with large televisions were, in a word, humble. If this were the '50s you would be walking to work naked in the snow only to unwind at night in front of a puny 16- or 17-inch TV (at best) with a crappy picture and only a few channels—and you would have loved it. The folks at Electronic House have put together a history of our obsession with big TVs, and that got me thinking—how big is your TV? More »

home entertainment

LCD vs. DLP: Projectors Face Off For Your Hard Earned Cash

If you have money to burn on a home theater projector, but you are on the fence about the virtues of buying an LCD over a DLP, the guys over at PaNLoaD have thrown in their two cents. Obviously there are advantages and disadvantages to both technologies, but in the end, the nod went to DLPs for a number of reasons: DLPs tend to be smaller and lighter, have better contrast and suffer less from pixelation issues. For a full breakdown of the LCD vs. DLP verdict, hit the following link. [PaNLoaD via AboutProjectors]

apple tv

Apple TV Firmware 2.0.2 Released, Nobody Knows What It Does

Apple issued v2.0.2 update for Apple TV today, but nobody is quite sure what it does except add a Genre sort button to the movies sections and a Flickr update that lets you see galleries of favorite photos tagged by your friends. Jason O'Grady of The Apple Core said the download took 9 minutes over a cable connection, so it seems like the update is sizable. Anyone else notice anything new? [The Apple Core]

question of the day

Question of the Day: How Many Remotes Do You Have?

There is no question that having a bunch of separate remotes is downright annoying, but it seems to be the norm in most households. In fact, I would be willing to bet that the vast majority of Americans have at least 2 or 3 remotes lying on their coffee table at this very moment. But let's open this question up a bit and expand it to the entire house. Not including game controllers, how many remotes to you have in your home? More »

question of the day

Do You Have a Home Theater System? Was It Professionally Installed?

After hearing about Kevin Rose cheaping out on a home theater system, I started wondering what percentage of average folk have a setup in their own home. Then I remembered research that suggested as many as 50% of home theater buyers don't set up their rear surround speakers. So the question here is two-fold: do you have a home theater system and if so, was it professionally installed? More »

home entertainment

Kevin Rose Sets Up Lame Home Theater System (Verdict: BURIED!)

As any good tech aficionado, Kevin Rose has put together his new home theater system all by himself. Unlike a good rich tech aficionado, however, Kevin Rose has set up quite a humble setup, spending just around $9,040 on it. Honestly, given his worth, I was expecting a Sony Death Star projector and a full Kaleidescape rack. Instead, we got this suburbia setup, complete with setup videos:

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home theater

Pirates of the Caribbean Themed Theater: Set Sail For Some Movie Booty

Needless to say, if you have the cash to drop on a Pirates of the Caribbean themed home theater, getting booty probably isn't your problem—financially or sexually. For owners Paul and Emily Konold, the motivation wasn't to impress or even to pay homage to the movie franchise, it was all about recreating the fun they experienced on the original ride at Disneyland. More »

home entertiainment

How to Hook Up Your Surround Sound With Flat Speaker Cable

Earlier this month we were horrified to learn that as many as 50% of home theater buyers are not hooking up their rear surround speakers. For the vast majority of these DIYers, the main culprits were aesthetic issues and/or a lack of knowledge about how to install the speakers properly. One of the easiest ways to get the job done involves using 4-strand flat speaker cable because it doesn't involve tearing holes in the wall, and one strip will drive both surround speakers. But where do you get it and how do you install it? More »

home entertainment

13 Spring Cleaning Tips for Your Home Theater

Step 1: Get a maid.

This may be your first instinct when it comes to cleaning anything in your home, but it is not an option that is available to everyone. When it comes home theater gear, this is probably a good thing because cleaning it improperly can do damage—and I'll be dammed if I'm trusting anyone else with my precious gadgets. Fortunately, Sound and Vision has come up with 13 tips for TVs, speakers, media players, and connectors to help you get the job done safely. Hit the link for the full list. [Sound and Vision]


3d

Mark Cuban To Resurrect Movie Theaters, NBA and 3D At Same Time

Mark Cuban thinks he can save the dying business of movie theaters, which are steadily losing out to home entertainment options as televisions get bigger and video games and pay-per-view choices get better. His plan? Enlist the help of two even more archaic forms of entertainment, the NBA and 3D glasses. More »

home theater

InFocus IN83 DLP Plays Slightly Bigger Than Its Older Sibling

InFocus's new IN83 DLP projector may look the same as the previous IN82 model but it does pack some slight upgrades. Displaying full 1080p HD, the IN83 features the latest DarkChip4 DLP chipset and HDMI 1.3. The IN83 specs appear to be just a step above the IN82, and this slight upgrade wouldn't be complete without a price increase. So here's what's new about the IN83.

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home entertainment

Experts Say That as Many as 50% of Home Theater Buyers Don't Set Up Their Rear Surround Speakers

Apparently, home theater systems around the world are falling short of greatness because their owners are failing to hook up their rear speakers (properly at least). Not surprisingly, the main culprits are that many customers who purchase home theater gear and attempt to hook it up themselves either have no idea what they are doing, or aesthetic issues like exposed cords force them into an meaningless existence bereft of sweet surround sound. More »

home theater

Rotating Home Theater Makes Our Couch Look Like Garbage

While we enjoyed the Batman home theater and the Star Trek home theater, neither system was really practical for—we'll just say it—normal people. But this rotating home theater with a rotating floor is both amazing and the sort of setup that our wives could get behind...pending we had the necessary endless piles of money. More »

av receivers

Yamaha's 63 Series Home Theater Receivers iPod- and Bluetooth-Compatible

Yamaha has brought out its 63 Series, five receivers for Home Theater setups ranging in price from the $229 RX-V363 to the RX-V863, which costs just under a grand. All of them (the other three are the RX-V463, the RX-V563 and the RX-V663) are iPod- and Bluetooth-compatible, and some of them have on-screen menu display, subwoofer inputs and Yamaha's YPAO automatic speaker setup. Full specs and prices are below the gallery.
More »

home entertainment

Deduct A/V Gear From Your Taxes? Whaaaaaaawesome!

Sound and Vision has done their homework and finagled five tips that will help you get Uncle Sam to pony up for your home theater gear. Now, I'm no expert on these matters, but the advice seems to be viable—although making it happen is going to require a bit of work on your part. More »