Recently Filed in Home Theater

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 than 8 feet—the ceiling may not even be able to accommodate some of the products. Here’s where a soffit can really help, and possibly even… View this story
Furniture • Home Theater Accessories • Home Theater • Enhancements • Info and Answers

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 amps, Blu-ray movies, video games and gigantic TVs (sometimes multiple ones). They are places where a guy can play with his toys without worrying about… View this story
Home Theater • Cool Homes • Slideshows

I love reviewing flagship products. It’s a chance to play with some of the very best equipment this industry has to offer. Denon’s DVD-A1UDCI Universal Blu-ray Player is a dream machine that plays every existing disc format known to man, sans HD DVD. If you want a reference player that will handle all of your DVDs, Blu-rays, DVD-A and SACDs, you’ve come to the right place. But it’s not cheap to own this player. So what does $4,500 buy you over, say, a $500 Oppo… View this story
AV Components • Blu-ray • DVD Players • Reviews • Home Theater • Product News

Wal-Mart is now offering home installation services for TVs, home theaters and PCs. The big-box retailer, which expressed interest in the installation market in June 2008, has partnered with N.E.W. Customer Service Companies Inc., which has a network of 11,000 certified installers who will perform the in-home services. According to Reuters, the support service will be available in time for the holiday shopping season and is a direct challenge to Best Buy. Wal-Mart will charge $99 for basic TV installations and $129 for basic PC… View this story
Retailers • Home Theater • Product News

Game on! The American League Championship Series gets under way tonight between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. While the Angels may play a little closer to Hollywood, we’ve been fortunate enough over the last three years to see how Hollywood—and super technology—has influenced two of the Yankees. Maybe more in A.J. Burnett’s case than C.C. Sabathia’s, as you’ll see. The big lefty has a home setup more suited for watching multiple sporting events, while Burnett, to take from the… View this story
Home of the Year Awards 2009 • Home of the Year Awards 2007 • Home Theater • Cool Homes • Slideshows

You’d never know it, but this room used to have a bay window and two standard windows. What was a home office became a dedicated cinema during a four-month collaboration between local Southern California electronics installation firm Sound Decision and New York–based theater designer Acoustic Smart. “Taking it from where it was to where it is now was a complete transformation,” says Sound Decision’s Scott Rousso. Because Sound Decision also served as general contractor, Rousso researched building codes and California regulations to plan the extensive… View this story
Home Theater • Cool Homes • Slideshows

This Pennsylvania home has music and video everywhere—23 rooms’ worth of distributed audio, plus eight zones featuring video. But the homeowners didn’t want a truly dedicated theater room focused on the best of both to be closed off from the rest of the home. Good thing there was plenty of space to work around. “Once the engineers at Elite Home Technologies saw the drawing of the basement, it was immediately apparent that smack in the middle of the open floorplan, 2,500 square foot space would… View this story
Basement • Home of the Year Awards 2009 • Home Theater • Cool Homes

One of the most important decisions you can make when buying a whole-house music system, home control system, or home theater system is choosing the remote control. It’s the thing you use to communicate with all that equipment. And it better work. So what should you look for? After all, tons of universal remote controls are available. Some have a few simple features; others have a bevy of high-end amenities. We’ve compiled some feature sets of six remotes from popular custom install brands that showcase… View this story
AV Components • Remote Controls • Home Theater • Info and Answers

After the owners’ two sump pumps failed, a heavy rainfall deposited several inches of standing water throughout their finished basement. Both the carpeting and the Sheetrock were ruined, according to One Sound Choice, a custom electronics design and installation firm in Pompton Plains, N.J. The owners had contacted One Sound Choice, originally, just to restore the room. It’s only one of the company’s specialties, which also includes the design and installation of audio and video system, outdoor entertainment systems and solar systems. After discovering that… View this story
Basement • Home Theater • Cool Homes

Want to experience one of the highest performance residential-type theaters around? Maybe just to drool, but maybe, if you’ve got the dough, to consider for the future? Audio High, a top Meridian dealer in the San Francisco Bay Area, is giving people a look into their extraordinary home theater system in conjunction with Meridian Audio. The showcase will feature Meridian’s ultimate 810 Reference Video System and its super-detailed 4K resolution and processing. And if the video’s not enough to lure you in, the theater also… View this story
Dealers • Home Theater • Product News

It happens to many enthusiasts: You need a place to store the audio and video gear or other cool systems, and the best way to do it may be with some woodworking—custom woodworking. Which leads many to go Gulp, Gulp, Ka-ching! And naturally so. Custom woodworking costs money. And really good custom woodworking costs lots of money. The thing is, you don’t have to do custom woodworking throughout a whole room like this one. You can have one home entertainment cabinet built for a few… View this story
Cabinets • Home Theater Accessories • Home Theater • Enhancements • Cool Homes

We asked custom electronics (CE) pros about the blunders they encounter when DIYers or inexperienced pros can’t get their systems to work. Here are some of the rookie mistakes you should avoid: Buying the least expensive gear and finding out it doesn’t have the features you need, like discrete control codes (on and off, for example) or enough inputs and outputs. Hooking up equipment using substandard cables, connectors and adapters, leading to poor performance and, eventually, no performance. Underutilizing gear that you already have. For… View this story
How To • Home Theater • Info and Answers