A couple of years ago I visited the Sonos headquarters in Santa Barbara, CA, for a sneak peek at the company’s new PlayBar, a networked soundbar speaker that can be part of a wireless whole-house audio system. It’s very cool product, and you can read more about it here and in my PLAYBAR review. While […]
Get the Guidetheater room
5 Easy Ways to Hide Speaker Wire
If you’re adding a surround-sound system to a family room, or even transforming a basement into a home theater, you’re not always going to have perfect conditions for hiding wires. When you’re connecting your receiver to two or four surround speakers, or maybe front LCR speakers, on the other side of the room depending on […]
Get the GuideThe Best Home Theaters for Football Parties
The best football parties are held in the best home theaters. These football fans combined two great passions in their favorite rooms.
Serious football fans will want to watch their favorite teams play in the most impressive room they can. What gets a sport fanatic excited : more than watching their team win? Watching that win on a 120-inch or bigger home theater screen in a room custom decorated with awesome sports memorabilia. The best home theaters […]
Get the GuideCommon Compromises in Home Theater Design, Ideas and Products
Designing a home theater is a hobby based more on guidelines than rules. Go ahead and break them; it's your house.
I won’t say I’m a snob about home theater design or equipment, but I’ve probably been heard to make a comment about friends’speaker systems or a poorly set-up TV now and then. That said, designing a home theater is a hobby based more on guidelines than rules. Often those guidelines are bent to accommodate things […]
Get the GuideRoom with a View
Selecting a video projector and screen is easy if you know what kind of viewing environment you’re trying to create and in which room you plan to install the gear. For example, if you’ll be adding the equipment to a dark, dedicated theater, just about anything will work well. However, a completely neutral screen like […]
Get the GuideThe Perfect Video Projector Match
Getting the optimal performance from a projector requires matching it to what you want to watch, the room environment, and the screen. Each projector technology has its drawbacks, but by using the right screen with it, you can minimize those flaws and make your viewing experience more enjoyable. Gain The first screen feature to be […]
Get the GuideHome Theater Subwoofer Puts Boom in This Room
Chad Hunter built this homage to audio after his encounter with a very special home theater subwoofer.
Get the GuideBuying Guide: 10 Video Projectors Between $1,000 and $4,000
Between $1,000 and $4,000 there are many LCD, LCoS, and DLP projectors available. In this price range you will find models with both horizontal and vertical lens shift, making placement of the projector much easier than placing a lower-priced projector that has no lens shift. DLP models will still be single-chip versions, but will use […]
Get the GuideBuying Guide: Types of Video Projectors
Video projectors use one of three main technologies: DLP, LCD, or Liquid-Crystal on Silicon (LCoS). Each technology offers its own distinct advantages and disadvantages. Depending on the type of content you want your projector to display, and the setup of your room, one of them might make more sense than the others. DLP (Digital Light […]
Get the GuideDedication Theater
If you walked into a theater room and saw a marquee that read, “Greg Williams Theater,” you’d think that Greg was a pretty lucky guy. Well, he was. That’s because he had a friend like Ed Zarick. Ed dedicated his theater room to his childhood friend and cousin, who passed away about 15 years ago. […]
Get the Guide