Latest in Home Theater, Cool Homes and Home Electronics

When Boxee was still an up-and-coming content aggregator, the company owed a good chunk of its popularity for putting a fresh face on Hulu. Hulu was just one destination offered via the Boxee interface, which provides easy access to dozens of other streaming sites. In February 2009, however, Hulu ordered Boxee (and TV.com) to cease offering Hulu content on their… View this story

The popularity of Apple’s iPad may have peaked as CEO Steve Jobs was making the much-hyped product introduction on January 27, 2010. The number of consumers interested in buying an iPad fell 50 percent after January 27, according to study by Retrevo. Between January 16 and January 20, 26 percent of surveyed consumers said they have heard of the iPad… View this story

It’s always harder to wire your home for audio/video or automation systems if the walls are already up and sealed. And the way new construction is these days, chances are your home falls under the category of “existing” and its walls aren’t open to the studs for convenient wiring runs. If you’re a multimedia hound who wants to access PC-stored… View this story

Are you still watching movies on an old TV and wishing for an upgrade? Once you’ve seen a true big screen—projector and projection screen—it’s tough to go back. This homeowner went from the small time to the big time for the transformation of this dedicated home theater room, courtesy of custom electronics pro Home Systems in Pompton Plains, N.J. The… View this story

Funnyman Vince Vaughn highlights this week’s Blu-ray releases with the arrival of Couples Retreat in high-definition. The Time Traveler’s Wife also arrives on Blu-ray in time for Valentine’s Day, featuring the stunning Rachel McAdams (for the men) who tries to build a life with “her one true love,” Henry, who is a time traveler (for the women). If you’re into… View this story

Your projector is ceiling mounted in a exterior-ventilated hush box. Your 2.35:1 curved screen is back-lit with mood-appropriate LED lighting. Your electric-recline theater seats have both heat AND massage. Your popcorn machine uses the finest extra-virgin oil and you clean it twice a day. So why in the world are you killing your home cinema suspension-of-disbelief with all of your… View this story

Let’s just say the electrician who attempted to install this whole-house Panasonic communications system really phoned it in. Fortunately for this client, he had called on his custom electronics pro to work on a different project when the installer, Joe Paciullo of ADR Media Integrators, eventually was led to this jungle of wires. “He called us to add a flat-panel… View this story

You can have your home automation system perform and combine about any task you want, provided it is comprehensive enough and you have the right team of creative custom electronics pros to program it. You also need some creativity yourself, as well as some practicality and restraint—as in, what don’t you need the system to do? So ask yourself, what… View this story

Talk about a fish out of water. This New Jersey homeowner is a Boston sports fanatic, but thanks to some creative thinking and some help from a local custom electronics firm, his nightly trips down to the basement take him into the Hub rather than the Holland Tunnel. As an equal-opportunity Boston sports nut, this homeowner and his family actually… View this story

Hate the lag time it takes to load a Blu-ray disc and get the movie fired up in your system? Or just the time it takes to thumb through your collection and actually find the movie you’re looking for? If you use an S1Digital Entertainment Server or other form of Media Center, S1Digital wants to help by centralizing your optical… View this story

I recommend a lot of low-end TVs. Either big cheap 720p plasmas or entry-level 60hz 1080p LCDs. Some with only a couple of HDMI inputs or four-digit contrast ratios.  The main reason, other than that I’m cheap, is that these smaller sets belong in rooms that might not be your primary viewing location. Whether a living room, bedroom, or kids… View this story

Want to really go for that uncluttered home theater look? Furniture maker BDI has always made nice contemporary pieces to help with your A/V designs, and the latest, the Novia 8426, gives you even more flexibility while keeping things tidy. The piece is designed to conceal your boxy subwoofer and there’s enough room for a center-channel speaker and components too.… View this story