Latest in Home Theater, Cool Homes and Home Electronics

For the last few product cycles, decoding of lossless audio codecs (DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD), along with video transcoding and scaling to 1080p, were the king and queen of required features in midrange AV receivers (AVRs). With this year’s release of units branded with the Dolby PLIIz and Audyssey DSX logos, Height and Wide channel processing is the… View this story

I like watching TV. Clearly, the people at ZeeVee do, too, because their ZvPro 250 and ZvBox 150 turn TV viewing into an all-you-can-watch, anywhere-you-can-watch-it-in-HD experience. Suffice it to say, I really liked my time with the ZvPro 250. I like that the ZvPro 250 turned my condo’s coaxial network into a high-definition video distribution system. ZeeVee says there’s no… View this story

When you think about it, there’s a ton of technology that can go onto the ceiling. Recessed lights, built-in speakers, video projectors and wiring are often mounted overhead. All of this can make your ceiling look like a block of Swiss cheese. And, depending on the room design—like if there’s no attic space above, or the ceiling height is lower… View this story

Everyone knows that CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps) and LED (light emitting diodes) fixtures conserve electricity. CFLs are four times more efficient and last 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs, while LEDs use less than 10 watts of electricity and have even longer lifespans. They’re both great energy-savers, no doubt. But a 4,000-square-foot green home in Raleigh, N.C., proves that it’s… View this story

Some guys love power tools. Some love cars. Some are happy with a comfy chair, a remote and something to nosh on. Then there are those who need to go above and beyond—to create a space that most men only dream about. Today, we call these spaces “man caves.” In these caves, though, the only things being fired up are… View this story

If deals like this keep coming, Black Friday is going to look darn near unimpressive. For the rest of this week, Best Buy has the Panasonic TC-P42C1 42” 720p Plasma display for a silly-low $498.99. While only a 720p display, it boasts 30,000:1 native (real) contrast ratio, 600Hz refresh rate, two HDMI inputs, and side SD card input.  If you’ve… View this story

Unless you’ve been living in a cave, where electricity usually isn’t an issue, you’ve probably heard about standby, phantom, or vampire power. (They’re all the same thing.) It’s the phenomenon that occurs when your home electronics or appliances continue to consume power—even when they’re “off.” This is caused by ghostly apparitions, pixies and blood-sucking ghouls who perpetrate this when we… View this story

The California Energy Commission (CEC) delayed a vote on setting new energy-efficiency standards for TVs in the state, planning to now address the issue at its Nov. 18 business meeting. The Commission is considering proposed sales restriction for energy-hogging TVs that will be imposed in two tiers, in January 2011 and January 2013, though the first phase of restrictions will… View this story

Home energy monitoring may be about to go mainstream. It’s made it into at least one spec home, this one constructed by Mark Johnson Custom Homes in Wilmington, N.C. It’s part of a green home that the builder intends to make LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified, meaning it has many eco-friendly and sustainable features, from the insulated… View this story

Black Friday can come weeks early if you know where to shop online. BuyDig.com has a great combo deal on the LG 42PQ30 42” 720p plasma with a Panasonic BD60K Blu-ray player with a GGI Hookup Kit for $619. If purchased separately, the price would be around $885. The 42-inch plasma features a 600hz sub-field drive, 12,000:1 contrast ratio, and… View this story

The end-of-the-year shopping season means lots of goodies on the Blu-ray front. Sadly, November’s docket of Blu-ray releases doesn’t include any movies starring Megan Fox. But there are a number of blockbusters scheduled to come out to coincide with the holiday shopping season. Going where no Blu-ray release has gone before, new Blu-ray titles include movies starring Captain Kirk and… View this story

For legendary blues guitarist BB King, the thrill isn’t gone when it comes to touring. The 83-year-old “King of the Blues” is still on the road with his famous Gibson guitar “Lucille” performing 100 concerts per year. And King gets from gig to gig on more than just a simple set of wheels. King rides in a $1.4 million, 45–foot… View this story