LATEST ADDITIONS

Tower Speaker Reviews
Snell Acoustics Signature Series C7 speaker
Daniel Kumin  |  Mar 16, 2009
Continue Reading »
Custom Installation Equipment Reviews
Disappearing Act - In-Wall Speakers
Debbie Stampfli  |  Mar 16, 2009

It’s the great debate of home theater enthusiasts: Should you compromise your room’s uncluttered design in order to accommodate a bigger speaker system? Whether you’re a minimalist with a taste for high-quality sound or a home theater fanatic who doesn’t have room for an ordinary speaker system, it’s time to consider in-walls. These nearly invisible speakers can give you outstanding sound without taking up space, and they show off your room’s design in an unobtrusive way. If you’ve never thought about in-walls, it may be time for a change of heart.

Continue Reading »
Audio Video News
Sci-fi to Become Syfy . . . srsly, gys?
SV Staff  |  Mar 16, 2009
The term "jump the shark" is used to describe when a television series (or any other form of entertainment) outlives its welcome, usually through a single stunt or event that signals to any fans that it has lost everything that once made it...
Continue Reading »
Audio Video News
Onkyo announces new budget-priced HTiBs
SV Staff  |  Mar 16, 2009
Onkyo has introduced two new home-theaters-in-a-box, budget-priced for consumers looking to get a full-featured surround sound system for less than $600. The HT-S5200 features a 1200-watt 7.1-channel receiver (at 130 watts per channel) with...
Continue Reading »
Custom Installation Equipment ReviewsCustom Installation How-ToHome Movie Theaters
First New Product from Meridan/Sooloos
Kim Wilson  |  Mar 16, 2009

Meridian announced delivery of the first new design with Sooloos, the recently acquired manufacturer of server-based home entertainment systems widely acknowledged as one of the most sophisticated systems available. The new Control 10 integrates Meridian’s proprietary connectivity with Sooloos' award-winning touchscreen, an extremely user-friendly media-access solution.

Continue Reading »
Audio Video News
The IMAX Experience: Watchmen, Part 2
SV Staff  |  Mar 16, 2009
[Note: This follow-up story has spoilers.] Last week, I watched Watchmen at an inexpensive cineplex in North Jersey. Great movie, faithful adaptation, substandard equipment. Hey, the tickets were $6.50, and around here that's a bargain. ...
Continue Reading »
Panasonic Premiere TH-65VX100U Plasma HD Monitor
Thomas J. Norton  |  Mar 16, 2009
Price: $9,995 At A Glance: Superb resolution • Near reference-quality blacks • No tuners or speakers • HDMI is version 1.2a, not 1.3

Custom Home Theater

I watched a lot of television when I was growing up. But I was also a passionate reader. OK, more often than not, I was reading a RadioShack catalog or the latest issue of the now-defunct Audio or High Fidelity. But sitting at least a dozen feet away from my parents’ 21-inch console television, with all the room lights on, it was easy to divide my attention between the book—er, magazine—and the latest episode of Gunsmoke.

Continue Reading »
Ask S&V
Separates, Wall Color, HTIB
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 16, 2009
The Perennial Question
Would it be better with a thin budget to buy an AVR rather than separates? I was thinking about getting Denon's flagship AVR-5308CI receiver, but there are separates from Integra, Anthem, Marantz, and Denon that all seem to have similar features but are somewhat lower in price. What would be a good solution?
Continue Reading »
AV GlossaryOther Tech
HDMI 101
Joshua Zyber  |  Mar 16, 2009
How important is HDMI 1.3 anyway?

The HDMI standard was developed with noble intentions. Most people in the home theater hobby know the hazards of cable clutter. When you have a lot of equipment connected this way and that by separate audio and video cables, you wind up with a tangled mess of wires behind your equipment rack or entertainment center. The problem is compounded by component video (three cables just for picture) and multichannel analog audio (six to eight more cables!). Now factor in a DVR, a couple of DVD players, a Blu-ray player, a video processor, and an A/V receiver all interconnected in one theater room. If you want to add or remove any piece of equipment, you’ll have to squat behind the rack with a flashlight and trying to trace each cable from end to end. Which unit did this blue one come from? If I plug that red cable into here, will I get my picture back, or will my speakers start blaring obnoxious noises?

Continue Reading »
Audio Video News
ZillionTV to Make Downloads More Affordable
Mark Fleischmann  |  Mar 16, 2009
Do consumers need another selection in the set-top box download category? ZillionTV is gambling that the answer is yes for those who are looking to save a buck in this dodgy economy.
Continue Reading »

Pages

X