Recently Filed in Home Theater

One of the easiest ways to Beat Black Friday is to look for package deals. Having a 50” plasma hanging on the wall is great, but seeing is only half the battle. You need a little sound to round out the experience. But if you’re shopping for a 720p plasma around Black Friday, something tells me you don’t have a multi-thousand-dollar budget for audio.  Luckily, Best Buy currently (until midnight Saturday) has a tidy little package consisting of the PN50B450 50” 720p plasma and HT-Z320… View this story
AV Components • DVD Players • Displays • Flat Panel • HDTV • Plasma • Speakers • Deals • Home Theater • Product News

Home theater designer Donny Hackett has always wanted to visit Paris but had never gone. So he decided to bring Paris here. More specifically, to Tennessee and the attic of Jason Crist’s suburban Nashville home. A walk upstairs brings Crist to the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the Notre Dame cathedral—and a screen that could take up a wall in the Louvre. All of the attractions, including the whopping 154-inch screen, were custom built by Hackett, whose previous themed theaters have included nods to… View this story
Themed Theaters • Home Theater • Cool Homes • Slideshows

You’ve probably seen them twinkling away on the ceilings of restaurants and amusement parks attractions, but fiber-optic starfields are gaining popularity as a decorative element in homes, too. “We seem them being used in nurseries, living rooms and dining rooms, but primarily in home theaters,” says Cyr Ryan, owner and president of Fiber Optic Systems Inc. (FOSI) Star Ceilings. Star ceilings can be installed onto almost any type of ceiling, but are usually more economical to install if there is open attic space above them.… View this story
Home Theater Accessories • Home Theater • Enhancements • Product News

You might think that equipment racks, by themselves, are no better than the shelves of your wooden entertainment system. Why would you spend more than $500 for a place to store your Blu-ray player, receiver, etc.? Equipment racks do actually provide significant value. Ventilated shelves and integrated power protection can keep your equipment running properly. This will save you both time and money. Racks can also add a neat appearance to any room when they’re recessed into walls and cabinets. But perhaps the biggest value… View this story
AV Components • Furniture • Equipment Racks • Home Theater • Info and Answers • Slideshows

It’s easy to get excited about home theater. Go on the AVS Forum. There certainly is a lot to get your creative juices flowing and your mouth salivating. While seeing the big, beautiful, comfortable rooms might get many to jump into a project, Steve Caesare wanted to take his sweet time. “I’m genuinely a do-it-yourselfer type of guy. My dad was that way and I grew up that way,” he says. “I’ve always grown up looking at a project with the thought that if at… View this story
DIY Home Theaters • Home Theater • Cool Homes • Slideshows

Feeling overwhelmed this holiday season? Too many gifts to buy. Too little time. We feel your pain and are here to help. We’ve compiled The Holiday Gift Guide 2009 - a comprehensive list of goodies for the upcoming season. Got someone who wants a Blu-ray player? Check out these 10 bargain Blu-ray players. We’ve got you covered on movies, too, including the best holiday movies that are available in high-def. Got someone on your list always in front of the TV? Wow them one of… View this story
Holiday Gift Guide • Home Theater • Info and Answers • Product News • Slideshows

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