There's no question that a DVD will look great on a widescreen HDTV, especially if your player happens to be a progressive-scan model. But with razor-sharp high-definition movies regularly showing on cable, satellite, and even broadcast TV, DVD has started to lose a bit of its luster.
By now you may have read Al Griffin's review of the Sony PlayStation 3 game console featured in the January 2007 Sound & Vision. Since Sony is the major driving force behind the development of the Blu-ray Disc format, it's no real surprise that Al found the PS3 to be a stellar movie player.
It’s 11:00 on a Sunday night. Your honey just went up to bed and you can’t wait to crank up your latest Blu-ray acquisition: Jimi Plays Berkeley, a long-forgotten 1970 documentary that has been restored and remixed in 5.1 surround. Seconds after Hendrix rips into the first number, the dreaded foot stomping from above begins. The party’s over before it even starts. Last time it was a cataclysmic crescendo from Inception that did you in. Frustrated, you vow to remedy the situation and, once and for all, soundproof the family room that doubles as your home theater.
Mark Elson | Jul 11, 2002 | First Published: Jul 12, 2002 |
Inside tips from the pros can save you hundreds of dollars in speaker-wire installation costs.
When you build a home theater, one of the biggest expenses is the labor for installing the speaker wire. The greater the obstacles, the more time and expense involved. However, you can conquer the majority of wiring situations with a little know-how and ingenuity. Here's how:
Design and manufactured in Israel, the SoundSpot Music Theater 1 from Morel is as compact as it is stylish. There are two complete 5.1 systems. The SoundSpot MT consists of five 3.5-inch satellite speakers (model SP-1) and one 8-inch powered PSW8 Subwoofer that retail for $1,300.00. The reference SoundSpot MT 2 includes five 4-inch satellite speakers (model SP-2) and the same subwoofer for $1,900.00. Also, the speaker spheres and subwoofer can be purchased separately, if you want to expand your system beyond five channels. The systems are available in three beautiful finishes; black, white and metallic champagne piano finishes. Each speaker can be easily mounted on the ceiling, wall or simply set on a shelf for quick and simple installation.
This major re-do of a theater features actual props from the Star Trek Series and Movies. Recently featured on VH-1 The Fabulous Life, this home theater is out of this world.
For the price of other stand-alone Blu-ray players, it only makes sense to invest in Samsung's BD-P3600, which integrates streaming technology providing you a lot more bang for the buck. Streaming movies, TV, music and other content is without question the wave of the future,,,and the wave is only gathering up more water as a variety of new AV products are partnering with content providers.
• TGM-100 server rips and streams music and movies • 1-terabyte hard drive stores up to 145 DVDs or 1,600 CDs in uncompressed WAV format and supports up to 7 simultaneous streams with optional TGM- 100
• TGM-100 server rips and streams music and movies • 1-terabyte hard drive stores up to 145 DVDs or 1,600 CDs in uncompressed WAV format and supports up to 7 simultaneous streams with optional TGM- 100
A cinema under the sky can be an amazing home theater option. It turned out to be just the ticket for this Florida family who lives in sunny Sarasota and spends a lot of time outdoors. The backyard entertainment area with its swim-up theater is so well-engineered that, at first glance, it’s impossible to guess what went on behind the scenes to make it all happen.
Photos by Tony Cordoza You know a recording medium is going in or out of fashion when you can't find any blanks on the store shelves. Such a revelation hit me in the aisle for blank DVDs and CDs at a Best Buy here in New York City. There were shelf labels for all five recordable DVD formats - DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, and DVD-RAM - but precious few of the discs.
A little know company in Cambridge, Massachussetts could change the way we interface with our home theaters. Using advanced technology, Ambrid has reinvented remote functionality with a universal remote control that uses voice commands to fully automate any home entertainment system.