Recently Filed in Big Game Gear

Think of it as part sports bar and part game lodge. This 35-by-22-foot southern California cabana serves up the day’s three hottest sporting events and then tucks away the evidence for a quiet evening next to the pool. Thanks to motorized lifts and shades, the TVs only make an appearance when requested and then disappear from view when the electronics power down. The centerpiece of the room is the 61-inch Runco PL-61cx plasma HDTV framed behind a VisionArt custom art canvas. A press of a… View this story
Plasma • Equipment Racks • TV Mounts • Media Room • Big Game Gear • Home Theater • Cool Homes • Slideshows

Settling in for three-plus hours of championship football—and championship advertising—requires pre-game prep. Since many of us in the EH offices specialize in such things, we’ve combined our resources to assemble a few nuggets of gametime wisdom. Got your own suggestions? Post it in the comments area below! The Big Game offers an excellent excuse to buy a new TV, but watch out for irrational exuberance. Select a screen that fits your room, your budget and your future plans. You don’t want to be paying off… View this story
Big Game Gear • Home Theater • Info and Answers

Football players rely on the right gear to win the game. Viewers need the right gear to enjoy the game. Below you’ll find the five essential A/V products for gameday viewing. If you think we missed something, post your own suggestions in the comments area. Widescreen Television: Whether you go with a flat panel or a microdisplay, make sure you choose a widescreen television (also known as ”16:9”). Old-school televisions with 4:3 aspect ratios only focus on the immediate action (usually the offensive line and… View this story
Displays • Flat Panel • Microdisplay • Surround Sound • Digital Recorders • Big Game Gear • Info and Answers

Peerless Industries, Inc. recently introduced the new HG Series Universal Flat Panel Wall Mounts that match the latest flat-panel screen finishes—high gloss piano black or high gloss silver. For the first time ever, sleek new finishes are available to create a seamless look from TV to mount. The new HG Series includes articulating plasma and LCD wall mounts to extend the stylish appearance of the flat panel all the way to the wall, boasting a clean look on any installation. The new universal mount series… View this story
TV Mounts • Big Game Gear • CES • Home Theater • Product News

Optoma has wrapped DLP projection into a nice, nifty, iPod-y looking package—and the price tag isn’t too frightening either. The Optoma HD73 features a DarkChip3 DLP DMD chipset from Texas Instruments and a 6000:1 contrast ratio with Optoma’s proprietary ImageAI technology. Together with the latest color processing technologies, such as Texas Instruments’ BrilliantColor, Optoma’s proprietary TrueVivid and Faroudja’s DCDi image optimization, the HD73 boasts higher brightness and vibrant colors. In addition to the packed color processing technologies, the HD73 also supports dual digital inputs for… View this story
DLP • Video Projectors • Big Game Gear • CES • Home Theater • Product News

It’s never too early to start planning where you’ll be watching next year’s big game—and more importantly, what you’ll be watching it on. The new Philips 42-inch high-def FlatTV features the company’s award-winning Ambilight Full Surround technology, and 1080p resolution. The Full Surround Ambilight FlatTV features illumination from all four sides of the screen, onto a built-in canvas allowing the display to be placed on a stand or hung on the darkest wall. Philips also says that they’ve conducted research to proof that Ambilight is… View this story
Flat Panel • HDTV • LCD • Big Game Gear • CES • 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

Men no longer have to plead their case for big-screen TVs—and they have the plasma display to thank for it. Most manufacturers offer several 42- and 50-inch plasma HDTVs. The 42 inchers have been more popular, but the trend is shifting toward the 50-inch models. (Virtually all 50-inch models have a 42-inch brother at a lower price.) Speaking of prices, it was only a few years ago that a 50-inch model cost $10,000 or more. Today, there are 50-inch models under $2,000 and 60-inch models… View this story
Plasma • Big Game Gear • Home Theater • Product News • Slideshows

The term “microdisplays” doesn’t refer to tiny televisions but rather to the microscopic digital technology that makes today’s new breed of rear-projection TVs possible. And those TVs are big—with screen sizes from 42 to 100 inches. Still, they’re not as big, deep and heavy as those mammoth rear-projection CRT (cathode ray tube) sets they’re replacing. Many are only 15 inches deep and less, allowing them to fit in cabinets and other places where a big TV just isn’t possible. Best of all, these microdisplays are… View this story
Displays • LCoS • Microdisplay • Rear Projection • SXRD • Big Game Gear • Home Theater • Product News • Slideshows

Come to Robert and Brenda Shaw’s home in southern Connecticut for a family gathering, and you may not spend much time in the main house. Their 20 grandchildren certainly don’t. They’re too busy with activities out in the detached barn. The Shaws’ three-level, 12,000-square-foot post-and-beam-style barn features a 20-seat home theater, a basketball court, a stage with Broadway-style lighting, a bowling alley, a golf simulator, a game room, a gym, lounge areas, an ice cream bar, a master suite, seven baths, a kitchen, and boys… View this story
Home Control • Lighting Control • Multiroom Audio • Games • Big Game Gear • Home Theater • Multiroom AV • Home Control • Enhancements • Cool Homes

Here’s our quick look at the terms and technology in today’s televisions. LCD Stands for: Liquid crystal display. What the &#!!?: It’s what you have in your flat-panel computer display. Available in: Flat-panel TVs, rear-projection sets, some front projectors. How it works: Crystals in a liquid are activated by an electrical current. What’s so good about it: Provides a bright, high-contrast image. What’s not so good: Viewing lower-resolution images can sometimes be like looking through a screen door. DLP Stands for: Digital light processing. What… View this story
Displays • CRT • DLP • HDTV • LCD • LCoS • Plasma • SED • Big Game Gear • Home Theater • Info and Answers