<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/headshot150.mf.jpg" WIDTH=150 HEIGHT=180 HSPACE=6 VSPACE=4 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>This column had to be submitted just <I>before</I> I left home for CEDIA so predictions are all I have to offer you here. Based on the feeding frenzy of calls and emails coming my way in the months leading up to the convention from manufacturers and PR flaks alike, this year's Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association's annual EXPO is going to be a frantic carnival of a convention.
Our Editor's Choice awards began as an annual event back in the January 1999 issue of the <I>Stereophile Guide to Home Theater</I>, <I>Ultimate A</I>'s predecessor.
Starved for new music? For talk (left, right, or center)? Sports? Comedy? Weather and traffic? Satellite radio delivers all these and more by the dozen. Yamaha is among the first A/V receiver makers to bring satellite radio home, via a new XM-ready line that includes the RX-V657 model here.
What time-shifting was to the VCR generation, place-shifting is becoming to the home-network-enabled. Extending personal entertainment to every room in your home is the mission of SkipJam, a company whose main product is the iMedia Center, a box you can attach to multiple A/V components including your cable or satellite receiver, home theater receiver, DVD player, and TV.
When we last visited director Barry Sonnenfeld (February/March 2004), he was a man without a home theater. Having sold his house in Amagansett, New York, and not yet ready to move to Telluride, Colorado, he had to watch DVDs in the screening room at his East Hampton, New York, offices.
The second day of the DisplaySearch HDTV Conference 2005, held on August 24 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, began with a session on the current state—and future—of the HDTV market. The presentations from DisplaySearch, Samsung, and Panasonic were heavy on statistics. I won't report them in eye-glazing detail here, but a few will inevitably be scattered throughout this report.
I hate it when members of my family blame me when anything goes wrong with our home theater system. As if I'm some sort of geeky gear guy, they heap abuse upon me if the DVD player hiccups because of the greasy, fingerprint-smeared disc they carelessly slid in it. No sound from the satellite receiver? No picture on the TV? The remote control isn't working? They call me. (And why does it always seem to inconveniently happen when I'm resting regally on my porcelain throne?)
Chris Chiarella | Aug 30, 2005 | First Published: Aug 31, 2005
In a nasty world, Sonos makes wholehouse music distribution friendly.
Not to sound cynical, but, at this stage of the distributed audio game, "me too" products don't cut it anymore. What we want is something new, something different, something better. Luckily for Sonos, that's what their Digital Music System delivers. Much of the allure in these gray and silver boxes lies in the freedom they promise. It's not just a question of wired or wireless—although wireless is an option here, sort of, and it's mighty desirable. This system is also independent from the computer, so that you can connect it to a PC, a Mac, or even Linux—or directly to a network storage drive for even greater flexibility.
Kevin Hunt | Aug 30, 2005 | First Published: Aug 31, 2005
Energy takes the plunge: It's a new lifestyle.
At about the same time the Spice Girls hit number three on the Billboard charts with "Say You'll Be There" in 1997, Energy Speaker Systems was striking gold of their own with a set of tiny home theater speakers called Take 5.
