Recently Filed in Rear Projection

I got an email the other day from a friend I hadn’t heard from in a long time. We caught up with each other about a few things, and then he asked me: What’s the best projector out there for under $1500? Wow, that’s a good question, isn’t it? A couple of years ago the level of quality you’d be able to expect from that price was much different. Today, it’s almost amazing what consumers are getting for their money. I told him I was… View this story
Rear Projection • Video Projectors • Reviews • Home Theater • Product News

This Minnesota house is contemporary, but not over the top. So what to do about a basement home theater? Continue the theme, of course. “With three very active kids, the homeowners wanted a space that was usable for the entire family,” says Lance Anderson, president of Edina, MN-based custom electronics firm Admit One Home Cinema. They didn’t want a gigantic screen, but they did want two displays for video game playing and keeping track of their beloved Minnesota Twins baseball team. The solution: an attractive… View this story
Rear Projection • Basement • Home Theater • Cool Homes • Slideshows

Q. Is there an economical way to have a rear projection frame/mirror system for your home theater? Everything I look at costs mega-bucks. - Clay, Houston A. A rear projection frame/mirror assembly can be expensive because it’s a complex, specialized type of projection system. The mirror(s) “folds” the projected image so that it travels its full (throw) distance in a very small space. The systems are usually designed to specific, individual requirements. The systems typically employ a trapezoid-shaped first surface glass mirror and possibly even… View this story
Rear Projection • Home Theater • Ask a Pro

Pretty soon we’ll have nothing but flat-panel TVs in our houses. Even if you can get a so-called “microdisplay” in larger sizes with 1080p resolution for less money. At least, manufacturers seem to be headed that way, with Sony the most recent to take its manufacturing prowess out of the rear-projection TV business. The company said today it’s going to halt production of rear-projection TVs (RPTV) to concentrate on LCD and OLED display technologies. Sony will stop producing RPTVs at three Japanese manufacturing plants as… View this story
Displays • Flat Panel • HDTV • LCD • Microdisplay • OLED • Rear Projection • Industry • Manufacturers • Home Theater • Product News

Holy home theater screen, Batman! Da-Lite has upped the ante in video projection systems, introducing a screen size at 184 inches diagonal. So no more of those piddly 100 or 110 inch screens in your theaters, OK? This new size has a viewing area of 90 x 160 inches for your HDTV projections. We’re guessing this is where 1080p, Blu-ray and HD DVD will come in handy. The Indiana-based company says the 184-inch screen is available in its Contour, Advantage Deluxe, Advantage, Boardroom and Director… View this story
Displays • Front Projection • HDTV • Rear Projection • Video Screen • Home Theater • Product News

How do make sure a home theater room fits into your Mediterranean-style house? Well, one way is to construct an adjacent alley that houses a 500-bottle wine cooler—sipping vino while you watch movies certainly provides a taste of southern Europe. Aside from the wine bottles, though, Troy Templeton’s home theater evokes Mediterranean beauty through the work of system designer and installer Sound Components of Coral Gables, FL, and Miami-based home theater consultant Tony Abinader, whose rich color, fabric and wood scheme added the perfect finishing… View this story
Displays • DLP • Rear Projection • Video Projectors • Video Screen • Speakers • Speaker Systems • Surround Sound • Home of the Year Awards 2007 • Home Theater • Cool Homes

You’d think this sprawling, 14,000-square-foot spread on the Chesapeake Bay that contains a dance hall/nightclub, observatory, billiards room, home theater, 14 flat-panel TVs, 12 zones of audio, 14 security cameras and 145 security and safety sensors would be controlled by a heavy-duty, ultra-expensive home automation system that itself costs more than many homes. But you would be wrong. Instead, this extensive home’s many subsystems are operated by a less expensive IP (Internet Protocol)-based system, using HomeLogic software and web tablets, HAI controls, and Windows-based Media… View this story
Rear Projection • Video Projectors • Video Screen • In-Ceiling Speakers • In-Wall Speakers • Speaker Systems • Subwoofers • Surround Sound • Remote Controls • Home Control Systems • Touchpanels and Keypads • Home of the Year Awards 2007 • Home Theater • Audio • Multiroom AV • Home Control • Cool Homes

You’ve seen the commercials where they say “It’s the mirrors.” The marketing oversimplifies things a bit, but the heart of every component using Texas Instruments’ DLP (Digital Light Processing) technology is an optical semiconductor known as a Digital Micromirror Device (DMD). Mounted on hinges, up to two million microscopic mirrors tilt toward (pixel on) or away (pixel off) from the light source in coordination with a high-speed rotating color wheel. DLP technology offers a combination of high resolution and contrast for an extremely bright and… View this story
DLP • Front Projection • Rear Projection • Video Projectors • The New HD • Home Theater • Info and Answers • Slideshows

JVC has expanded its HD-ILA rear projection TV lineup with the HD-P61R2U 61-inch model and the HD-P70R2U 70-incher. Both use the company’s proprietary 3-chip D-ILA technology to help produce the highest brightness, contrast and resolution, JVC says. Both models feature 1920x1080 native resolution, as well as HDMI inputs and D65 color temperature standard. On the audio side, the TVs incorporate Waves’ MaxxBass technology to enhance performance while reducing size, power consumption and cost, the company says. The RPTVs are also equipped with a dynamic iris,… View this story
Displays • Rear Projection • Home Theater • Product News

The “Big Game” is coming Feb. 4, and now that the opponents are settled and the hype machine is chugging to life, it’s time to gear up for a day of football luxury. Over the next two weeks we’ll be cracking open our A/V playbook to help you select a television and get the most out of your gameday viewing experience. With our coaching, you’ll go from minicamp to the championship in record time. Big Game Gear Highlights The 5 A/V Products You Need for… View this story
AV Components • CRT • HDTV • LCD • Microdisplay • Plasma • Rear Projection • Video Projectors • Video Screen • Big Game Gear • Info and Answers

Shop for a TV or video display today, and you’ll probably want something big and maybe flat—as in a sexy flat-panel model. But with so many types of displays and competing technologies, what should you buy? Here’s what’s new and hot for 2007 and what can we expect to see in the next few years. Approaching from the Rear Everybody seems to love flat panels, but much of the news this year is about rear-projection sets. You read it right: rear projection—though not those huge… View this story
Displays • DLP • HDTV • LCD • Plasma • Rear Projection • SXRD • Big Game Gear • Home Theater • Info and Answers • Product News

If this were a musical, we’d sing, “1080p is the word, is the word that you heard ... 1080p is the way we are feeling.” Never mind that 1080p is not a word at all but four numbers and a letter signifying “Full HD” resolution of 1,080 lines, progressively scanned. The point is that 1080p is the big new thing. Or, in musical terms, “It’s got groove, it’s got meaning.” And it’s coming to a lot of HDTVs near you. Only you’ll still have to… View this story
Displays • CRT • DLP • HDTV • LCD • LCoS • Plasma • Rear Projection • SXRD • Video Projectors • Video Screen • Blu-ray • HD DVD • CES • Home Theater • Info and Answers