Home Movie Theaters

My wife and I own a Queen Ann Victorian home built in 1886 in the Silk Stocking district of Mankato, Minnesota. It’s a large home with each room decorated in period furnishings which isn’t conducive to a large screen TV and visible speakers. This made it hard to watch movies and Monday Night Football, so Doug convinced Candy to build a media room in the basement.

VUDU Inc., has unveiled HDX, a high definition video format that delivers full HD 1080p material using the company's existing set-top box. Content is delivered over the Internet and optimized for 40 inch and larger HDTVs. According to VUDU, the HDX content is the highest quality available from any Internet, broadcast, cable, or satellite on-demand service. HDX movies are available to all VUDU customers and will be rented for the same price as standard HD titles.

When it was time for this homeowner to have their third home fitted with electronics they returned to Audio Video Design (AVD) of Newton, MA. After going through the design process two other times, they had a very clear vision of what they desired. Quality installation was, of course, the top priority. However, they wanted the most cost effective, state-of-the-art solutions but not necessarily the most cutting edge products.

Integrating 21st-century home electronics into the architecture of a newly built 18th-century-style Italian villa would, at first glance, appear impossible. After all, about the only thing technological in the 1700s was the nutcracker. Add to this the advanced needs of a tech-savvy young couple who are inspired by the past but make their careers within the computer and video-gaming fields, and you have seemingly irresolvable conflicts. This property's sheer size further magnified the task at hand. It's a three-level, 12,000-square-foot home situated on 2.3 acres in the hills of Southern California. Enter Sound Solutions of Culver City, California, premier systems integrators with a 29-year history and a reception area full of national awards, including  Crestron's first annual Biggest, Baddest Home Award and the CEA Mark of Excellence Award, both given for this project.