Latest in Home Theater, Cool Homes and Home Electronics

Q. I’m in the military and move every 3 years. I would like to have a whole-house audio system that is relatively easy to take with me when I move. Any suggestions? - Justin, VA There are a number of wireless based systems for whole house audio. One of the best is Sonos which can stream music you have stored… View this story

Rate increases, HD-Lite, outages – there are plenty of reasons why subscribers get fed up with their HD service providers. What are the alternatives? Switch to another provider? That’s one solution, but it could simply bring its own set of problems unique to that service. There’s always Over-the-Air (OTA) HDTV. Just like your mom and dad (and grandma and grandpa)… View this story

Believe it or not, there once was a day when quarters meant something and studyhall was spent at a suspiciously convenient gas station turned arcade. Suffice it to say, today’s platforms - the Wii, XBox, even the PS3 - have got nothing on that old school gaming… and I’m not talking about Grand Theft Auto III. If you can identify… View this story

Got a bath renovation on your mind? Believe it or not, you can make your bathroom green—or at least greener than it’s been. Start with the easy stuff like energy conservation. Lighting control systems and occupancy sensors can help you save on electricity. Even installing an inexpensive dimmer switch can allow you to keep a very dim light on at… View this story

“Who’s a greenhorn? What’s a greenhorn?”—Homer Simpson While that answer may be obvious, there are plenty of Homer Simpsons out there when it comes to selecting and setting up a TV. Media Decor just announced a series of online tutorials to take some of the common misconceptions out of how to choose, install and conceal a flat panel. “Media Decor… View this story

No matter what type of color scheme you’ve got going on in your house, On-Q/Legrand’s got you covered with its new wall plates and devices. No more worrying that off-white just won’t fit in with that shade of green or magenta in your bedroom. On-Q’s new Studio Collection features “global art and living influences,” according to On-Q, and the result… View this story

Summer’s coming up quickly, spring is now in full bloom, and like Red said in The Shawshank Redemption, May sure is a fine month to be working outdoors. So wouldn’t you like to be listening to all of your favorite tunes while you’re gardening, lounging or just catching some rays? Monitor Audio’s Climate 10 outdoor loudspeaker will have you cranking… View this story

You have to take marketing claims with a grain of salt. However, research firm DisplaySearch took Sony’s recent claims to their lab. The XEL-1 has been drawing rave reviews for its awesome picture, and long-life span. However, DisplaySearch put their claims to the test, and got some interesting results. After running two units for 1,000 hours, they came to the… View this story

You get it. Storing your music collection onto a hard drive is better than spinning discs on a traditional CD player. First off, you’ll be able to organize your library by genre, artist or alphabetically, making songs easy to locate. Besides that, you’ll be able to keep all your tunes on the hard drive of one machine, which means you… View this story

Six years in development, the Tivoli Audio NetWorks Radio is ready for prime time. The company demoed the compact Internet radio this week at a press conference in New York. What you get: Access to thousands of free radio stations—including local stations you have trouble receiving over-the-air; playback of mp3 and WMA files stored on a PC via a WiFi… View this story

When it comes to computer-based control, Mac users are a tad limited. Now Perceptive Automation wants to add options for Mac fans, with its latest software. Just announced, Indigo 3.0 is a major update, allowing Mac users to remotely access almost any aspect of their home control. That means you can turn lights on and off while you’re on vacation,… View this story

Odds have it you’d like a big(ger) TV for that man room. It’s probably just as likely you haven’t won the Powerball lately, and there’s the problem. Solution? Well, a lot of you (us) are contemplating swapping those LCDs and plasmas for the latest generation of front projectors like today’s deal, the Sanyo PLV-Z2000. This stylish “iMac-ian” projector gives you… View this story