Home Theater archive
Friday, April 4, 2008
FSL-F-50 Draper Flatscreen Lift
Posted: Friday, April 4, 2008
The other day my wife showed me an article in Martha Stewart Living magazine about how to hide home electronics. Fundamentally, I have issues with that since I love seeing my home electronics. We have been debating about whether or not we should have a TV in the bedroom (we do have a 22” LCD ...Read
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Raxxess iRDS-1 iPod Docking Station
Posted: Thursday, April 3, 2008
I just came across a cool way to rack your iPod (all models) and iPhone. The Raxxess iRDS in-rack iPod docking station comes in two models. The iRDS-1 which racks a single iPod and the iRDS-2 which racks a two iPods. The in-rack iPod docking station provides Firewire, and USB and audio outputs and when ...Read
Saturday, March 1, 2008
VIDEO REVIEW: Logitech Harmony One Remote Control
Posted: Saturday, March 1, 2008
The Logitech Harmony One remote is a great device for consolidating all your remotes into one. The 2.5” color touchscreen LCD adds to the coolness factor, however, being a touchscreen you lose the tactile feedback making it a bit harder to use at times. Setup was a cinch, all my devices were available in the ...Read
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Viewsonic Precision PRO8100 1080p Home Theater Projector
Posted: Tuesday, February 26, 2008
I just got a Viewsonic Precision PRO8100 in for review. This unit will only be available through custom installers and select retailers (not available online).The specs on this projector look great on paper and I will be doing a full video review of this unit. My reference point will be an ISF calibrated NEC XG ...Read
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Thought on HD DVD’s Death
Posted: Tuesday, February 19, 2008
I was a huge supporter of HD DVD from the beginning but quickly sensed that business would win over what’s good for consumers. I have a feeling both platforms participated in a little “payola” when it comes to getting studios on board, ultimately Blu-ray throwing the most cash. There is no way studios would pick ...Read
Sunday, January 27, 2008
VIDEO REVIEW: Linksys DMA 2100 Media Center Extender
Posted: Sunday, January 27, 2008
Here is my video review of the Linksys DMA 2100 Media Center Extender. The Linksys DMA 2100 does everything I expected it to do, but there are a few things I didn’t really think were that great. First, the included remote — it’s garbage. The included Linksys remote is a learning remote, you can program ...Read
Friday, January 25, 2008
TEASER: Unboxing of Linksys DMA 2100 Media Extender
Posted: Friday, January 25, 2008
Update: Video Review has been posted.The Linksys DMA 2100 Windows Media Extender has finally arrived. A full video review is coming soon, but here are my initial thoughts of the DMA 2100. The unit is small enough to put/hide behind a TV or install inside a wall (I might even try taking one apart ...Read
Monday, January 21, 2008
Bang & Olufsen BeoLab 4 / PC Speaker Review
Posted: Monday, January 21, 2008
Our friends over at eCoustics.com have a great review of Bang & Olufsen’s new BeoLab 4 PC speakers. At $999, these aren’t your typical PC speakers — they’re high-end desktop speakers and the baby of the Bang & Olufsen line. The speakers have a very nice, fabric covered pyramid look that can be ordered in ...Read
Thursday, January 10, 2008
VIDEO PREVIEW: Curtain & Screen Masking Controller
Posted: Thursday, January 10, 2008
Here is a preview of my Curtain & Screen Masking Controller. The DIOS microprocessor I mention in the video is available from www.kronosrobotics.com.“Danny Mavromatis from Mavromatic.com previews his custom curtain and screen masking controller. Using a Stewart Film Screen with horizonal masking, Danny has created a way to automate his screen masking needs.”Read
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
VIDEO REVIEW: Planet Waves Cabling System
Posted: Tuesday, December 11, 2007
If you are a musician you’ve probably heard of D’Addario & Company, Inc. They acquired the Planet Waves line in 1998 and I think it was a smart investment. Planet Waves really revolutionizes the way one terminates audio/video cables… I have a full video review, so check it out! For more information check out Planet ...Read
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
V2 Media Extenders Being Released — Finally!
Posted: Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Just found out via Chris Lanier’s Blog that Linksys will be unveiling two new v2 Media Extenders this week (tomorrow the 27th). The DMA 2100 (pictured) and the DMA 2200 which also features a DVD player — both have wireless capabilities. I’m hoping the DMA 2100 will be a smaller sized unit that you can ...Read
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Fusion Research Genesis Media Server
Posted: Thursday, July 12, 2007
If you are looking for a media server that has a graphical user interface and the Kaleidescape is to expensive for you or you don’t want to go with a Window Media Center than maybe the Fusion Research Genesis Server is the one for you. This system can deliver up to three video or audio ...Read
Cal Spa’s Ultimate Outdoor Theater
Posted: Thursday, July 12, 2007
If you are in the market for a new grill why not spluge a bit and go with the Cal Spa Ultimate Outdoor Theater? This thing has a 63-inch anti-glare, anti-fog LCD HD TV, 7.1 surround sound speaker system, four amplifiers, a built-in iPod dock, Sirius satellite-ready DVD/CD system, gaming inputs, three weather resistant recliners ...Read
Thursday, May 17, 2007
The RICA100 Media Center Remote Control With SideShow
Posted: Thursday, May 17, 2007
I just got word that Ricavision is releasing another Media Center Remote Control with Windows SideShow technologies. The RICA100 will offer a new and improved Windows SideShow firmware and a more powerful Bluetooth antenna giving you control up to 300 feet away. While I was at CES, I got to play with Ricavision’s other ...Read
Saturday, January 13, 2007
AMD/ATI TV WONDER Digital Cable Tuner
Posted: Saturday, January 13, 2007
AMD/ATI had the TV WONDER Digital Cable Tuner on display at CES. The OCUR device comes in an external version (pictured), about the size of a cable modem and an internal version for OEM use. Sony will be using the internal version in their XL3 MCE while Dell will be using the external. Both versions ...Read
Friday, January 12, 2007
Vista Sideshow - Remotes
Posted: Friday, January 12, 2007
One of the technologies I really wanted to see in person at CES was Vista Sideshow enabled devices. I spent some time playing with them and as you can see, they come in all sizes. The Ricavision Vista Media Center Remote with Sideshow Technology is my favorite. MSI also had a prototype of a ...Read
Dell Home Media Suite — Foundation System
Posted: Friday, January 12, 2007
Dell will be offering a new package soon (preorder maybe as early as next week), called the Dell Home Media Suite — Foundation System. Based on a Dell XPS 410, the system runs Vista Ultimate and includes 1tb of disk space. The best part is that they will be offering dual AMD/ATI TV WONDER Digital ...Read
Digeo Moxi Goes Retail
Posted: Friday, January 12, 2007
Digeo had a prototype of their retail DVR at CES. Aimed at competing with Tivo’s Series 3, the stand-alone Moxi HD DVR not only has your standard DVR capabilities, but gaming, information and on-demand capabilities as well. I was pretty impressed with the interface and the feature set. I can see this being something I ...Read
Friday, December 22, 2006
Ricavision Vista Media Center Remote with Sideshow Technology
Posted: Friday, December 22, 2006
Feels like I’ve become a Windows Media Center only blog lately. Heck, Microsoft seems to be the only company releasing cool shit right now. $200 HD DVD usb drive, Vista Ultimate, Extender, Cablecard support, MCML, WPF/E, Zune and now, while catching up on my blogroll, I read that our friends over at Engadget have information ...Read
PowerDVD Ultra — Supports HD DVD & BluRay
Posted: Friday, December 22, 2006
I was checking out CyberLink’s website today and noticed that they finally released their HD DVD & BluRay playback software. This was the final missing link to getting the Vista MCE box and XBOX 360 HD DVD drive to display HD content on my projector. The wait is almost over as it’s downloading right now, ...Read
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
FogScreen — Project Your Movies Onto Air
Posted: Tuesday, December 19, 2006
With 42-50” screens fast becoming the norm here in America, why not separate yourself from the Jones with a FogScreen? The FogScreen makes objects seem to appear and move in thin air — you can even walk through it! The best part about this system is that it works with all video projectors and since ...Read
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Getting Vista and the XBOX 360 HD DVD Drive To Work — Almost there!
Posted: Wednesday, December 13, 2006
This morning, I got so close to getting Vista to playback a HD DVD from the XBOX 360 HD DVD addon drive. However, after running the Cyberlink HD Advisor, it reported that I’m not ready yet. A new HDCP enabled Nvidia 7950 graphics card should be arriving today (or tomorrow) — that should make everything ...Read
Monday, December 11, 2006
UNBOXING: XBOX 360 HD DVD Drive And A First Look
Posted: Monday, December 11, 2006
The wait is finally over for me… the XBOX 360 HD DVD drive finally arrived and here is the unboxing:The box and some HD DVD moviesWhat you see when you open the box.After you pull the drive out.Everything in the box, exposed. Back Connections.The HD DVD drive.Here is the first image from the HD DVD ...Read
Tuesday, December 5, 2006
REPORT: HD DVD Takes And Early Lead Over BluRay
Posted: Tuesday, December 5, 2006
I guess I’m not the only supporter of HD DVD. Just saw this come thru the wire. AP - Cymfony Analysis of Consumer-Generated Media Reveals Resentment toward Sony; Undercuts Blu-ray Disc News Facts Cymfony, a market influence analytics company, issues a Consumer Opinion and Trends report, “A Blue Christmas for Blu-ray,” examining consumer market perception ...Read
Friday, December 1, 2006
It’s official, I’m a supporter of HD DVD!
Posted: Friday, December 1, 2006
I’ve always been an avid supporter of HD DVD, now I’m going to start supporting the cause with my money. This week I made my final decision and ordered about ten HD DVD discs and the XBOX 360 HD DVD drive (two actually… one for the Media Center and one for the 360). The reasons ...Read
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
XBOX 360 HD-DVD, Will it Work In A PC?
Posted: Wednesday, September 27, 2006
I’m in the process of building a new state-of-the-art Windows Media Center (VISTA Beta) and the only missing link is a HD-DVD drive (I’m anti-Blu-Ray). So, with the recent announcement that Microsoft will be releasing an external HD-DVD drive for the XBOX360 makes me think that I could rip the HD-DVD drive out of the ...Read
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Apple Offering Films on iTunes — Not Impressed.
Posted: Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Why would Apple think that selling 640x480 “near DVD quality” films at DVD prices is a good business move? As we are all getting ready for HD movies and hardware to get finalized, Apple has to muddy the waters with releasing sub-par content. Amazon’s unboxed is acceptable, offering bit-rates at over 2Mb — better than ...Read
Monday, September 11, 2006
Kaleidescape releases 1U entry-level server
Posted: Monday, September 11, 2006
Kaleidescape, known for their $30,000 video server, has released another unaffordable version, this time getting a little bit closer to affordability at just under $10k. The server ships with two 250gb hard drives allowing storage for about 400 CDs or 35 DVDs. However, don’t think that dropping $10k will give you support for both CDs ...Read
Thursday, September 7, 2006
Furman Releases Remote Power Solution (PWRKIT-TL)
Posted: Thursday, September 7, 2006
If you have invested money into AC power management solutions you know how hard it is to distribute that clean power to your different devices throughout your home. Furman has finally addressed the problem with the PWRKIT-TL. This four-component kit is designed to provide that clean power to your remote display. Furman, of course recommends ...Read
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
The Grouse Theater : Construction Begins
Posted: Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Geez, it feels like I haven’t posted anything for months… my full time job has been keeping me extremely busy with a high-profile video application that we will be launching real soon (it was even top story on CNN couple weeks ago!), so I haven’t been able to post about all the new home automation/theater ...Read
Monday, January 30, 2006
Middle Atlantic Ultra-Quiet Fan Panel
Posted: Monday, January 30, 2006
One of the challenges with creating an equipment room or rack mounting your electronics is that heat builds up very quickly. Especially now more than ever, with HTPC’s being added to the racks. Previously, there were heat exhaust solutions but at the expense of making your rack sound like one in a server room — ...Read
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Impact Acoustics’ RapidRun Cabling System
Posted: Wednesday, January 18, 2006
I don’t get overly excited about cabling, I still prefer getting my cables custom made over at BlueJeanCables.com, using the same cable and terminations that broadcasters use. Unfortunately, there are times you can’t get certain premade cables to fit thru many openings. Solution, Impact Acoustics’ RapidRun Cabling System. This cable system is modular and ...Read
Friday, January 6, 2006
HOW TO: CATV/Digital Cable Distribution with Modulation
Posted: Friday, January 6, 2006
If you have ever needed to wire up more than a couple CATV jacks, you probably encountered the same problems I did while trying to distubute CATV to the 16+ jacks in my house (nooooo, I don’t have 16 TV’s in the house). My distributed setup includes Comcast Digital Cable, with my security cameras ...Read
Thursday, January 5, 2006
ATI OCUR — CableCard and HDTV Support For Windows Media Center
Posted: Thursday, January 5, 2006
Well folks… I think Windows Media Center is finally going to kick some DVR ass! When I first saw the review of ATI’s OCUR Digital Cable HDTV Tuner over at Anandtech, I went into ganster talk mode, bursting out loud… “Ooooooh, $h*t!” and “damn Gina!”, even “take that MSFT playa haters” came out. This is ...Read
Friday, December 9, 2005
STÅLRØR - Architectual A/V Rack
Posted: Friday, December 9, 2005
Now that I have a welding system and metal working tools, I want to start making furniture and lighting, like STÅLRØR — I don’t think Choppers are my thing anyway. STÅLRØR designs contemporary furniture, lighting, architectual metalwork and sculptures and by looking at their gallery, they are worth every penny for their unique and fresh ...Read
Tuesday, December 6, 2005
BlueGears - XPlosion Real-Time DTS Encoding Soundcard
Posted: Tuesday, December 6, 2005
If you are looking for a new sound card for your Media Center PC, you best wait a month or so for the new BlueGears XPlosion. What makes this card different from all the others, you ask? Well, for starters, it not only offers Dolby Digital Live (takes 5.1 channels and encodes, real-time, to Dolby ...Read
DetourDVD Collection - Motion Art For Your Flatscreen
Posted: Tuesday, December 6, 2005
You actually need to check out the DetourDVD website to really get the idea, they offer sample clips of each collection and I must say, I really dig it. Check it… invite a few stylish friends over, place the DetourDVD collections into your DVD Changer, turn on some lounge music, shake a few martini’s and ...Read
Monday, December 5, 2005
EPSON MovieMate 25 — Home Theater Projector-In-A-Box
Posted: Monday, December 5, 2005
Have you ever wondered why companies call their all-in-one surround system a “Home-Theater-In-A-Box”, when it doesn’t include the most critial part of a home theater… the projector? Well, EPSON just did the opposite with the MovieMate 25. It’s a projector, that acts like a home entertainment center. This all-in-one combo includes pretty much everything you ...Read
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
SpeakerCraft - Theater In Motion Experience
Posted: Wednesday, November 30, 2005
When I bought my whole house speakers, I went with some 6” JBL in-walls… why? Because I got them for a good deal. Plus, the main purpose of my whole house system isn’t to provide reference sound, more so to just fill the space with music — I leave the good sounding speakers for the ...Read
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Ideal-Lume 6500K Video-Display Backlights
Posted: Tuesday, November 15, 2005
If you have ever used Joe Kane’s Video Essentials DVD to calibrate your home theater display, you’ve probably wondered (me included) where to get a 6500K color temperature light to put behind your screen — for those that have never heard of this, well, get up to speed by checking out this link and this ...Read
Wednesday, November 2, 2005
Parasound’s First DVD Player - NewClassic D 200
Posted: Wednesday, November 2, 2005
I’m shocked that Parasound would release a highend “Universal” DVD player so close to the launch of the much anticipated High Definition DVD players. Maybe that’s why they are calling this the NewClassic DVD Player. Priced at $1500, this is aimed for the highend market, or for the folks that swear by Parasound AMPs and ...Read
Monday, October 24, 2005
myTV.PVR - PVR With Built-in Hardware Encoder For The Mac
Posted: Monday, October 24, 2005
UPDATE: BYOPVR has a discussion with screenshots, the interface looks like crap, but what I’m hoping for is that Apple will build in support for this device in Front Row, much like Microsoft did with the PVR cards from Hauppauge in MCE. Maybe this is the missing component Apple has needed to build a PVR/Media ...Read
Friday, October 14, 2005
Niveus 200 DVD Changer for Windows Media Center 2005, Rollup 2
Posted: Friday, October 14, 2005
Niveus announced that they will be selling a 200 disc DVD changer that will connect via firewire (I’ll bet these are Powerfile changers, rebranded or something) to any Windows Media Center 2005 with Rollup 2, which enables the “My DVDs” feature within the Windows Media Center interface. Very cool! A DVD jukebox that you can ...Read
Apple iPod Video — Terrible. F.
Posted: Friday, October 14, 2005
I really don’t understand why Apple has this cult following. Do all Apple products ship with a subliminal message that I’m immume to? I don’t want to piss off the Apple fanatics, but what is it that draws you to their products. I’d love to hear from you all. This week everyone is talking about ...Read
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Plasma TV “Fireplaces”
Posted: Thursday, October 13, 2005
I don’t know if I should love this product or hate it… at first, I thought it was a real fireplace (six styles to choose from), but it’s actually an electric ‘Flame Effect’ fire. The makers, Picture House, claim their “award wining products” give the illusion of a fire with a moving flame as well ...Read
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Windows Vista Media Center
Posted: Thursday, September 15, 2005
Here are a few screen grabs of MCE on Vista… Enjoy. P.S. Microsoft is kicking ass in this space!! Especially with the XBOX360 support… think about it, all you’ll need is a 42” display and an XBOX360 connected to it and you will have access to all your content… now that’s simple elegance![via Chris ...Read
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Olive - Musica To My Ears
Posted: Wednesday, September 14, 2005
I still use my good ol’ Turtle Beach Audiotron as a source for my whole house audio system (12 zones), but I’m always keeping an eye out for something new since Turtle Beach discontinued the Audiotron over a year ago. The Olive Musica might be the replacement device for some. This $1100 device doesn’t really ...Read
Wednesday, September 7, 2005
Reversica Gyre 6300
Posted: Wednesday, September 7, 2005
Do you have a living space that also functions as an entertainment room and/or your wife doesn’t want to see that pricey flat panel HD display? My first response would be, you best set the lady straight… you paid $5,000 for that display, you better see it everyday. Now, if that’s not an option… ...Read
Rotel RMB-1077 — 7 Channel, Ultra Compact 700W Amp
Posted: Wednesday, September 7, 2005
Power Amps can take up valuable rack space very quickly… if you need more power but have limited space then the new Rotel RMB-1077 power amp may be your only solution. This amp boasts a super-slim, rack-mountable design that is just over 2-inches tall while delivering no less than 700 watts—seven fully independent channels of ...Read
InFocus ScreenPlay 777 - 3-Chip Projector
Posted: Wednesday, September 7, 2005
If you are in the market for a 3-Chip DLP Projector you might want to check out the InFocus ScreenPlay 777. They just updated the model and dropped the price to $14,999. The projector has earned great reviews and features the new high contrast .8” 720p DarkChip3 by Texas Instruments and Faroudja DCDi video processing. ...Read
Monday, August 29, 2005
Media Center PC Sales Skyrocket
Posted: Monday, August 29, 2005
Current Analysis — Sales of Media Center PCs have skyrocketed since July 9, according to a recent study by Current Analysis. For the week ending August 20, 2005, Media Center PCs accounted for 43% of all desktop personal computers sold in the U.S. retail market, based on data from a sampling of U.S. retailers. ...Read
Friday, August 26, 2005
Da-Lite Releases Acoustical Imager Screen
Posted: Friday, August 26, 2005
If you have been looking for an economical fixed frame screen and a 5.1 surround speaker system you might want to check out Da-Lites Acoustical Imager package. The package includes integrated the left, center and right front speakers into the frame of the screen and also includes a ten-inch 150-watt JBL subwoofer with two table ...Read
Thursday, July 21, 2005
JVC DLA-HX2E D-ILA Projector
Posted: Thursday, July 21, 2005
I’m still not ready to upgrade my NEC XG CRT Projector, honestly, what out there is better in my price range? Sure, an Electrohome Marquee 9500LC (about $10,500 used) or Sony G90 ($24,999 new) are, in my opinion, the two best CRT projectors out there… they’re just out of my price range. Those two beasts ...Read
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
New Pioneer Elite AV Receivers Announced: VSX-74TXVi / VSX-72TXV
Posted: Wednesday, July 13, 2005
I’ve been really happy with Pioneer’s flagship VSX-59TXi receiver, love it so much that I even took the time to update the DACs with reference Burr-Brown ones. So when I read the Pioneer announced they are updating their Elite line I wanted to see how the replacement compared with my good ol’ 59TXi. Well, I ...Read
Monday, June 27, 2005
WMV HD DVD Players
Posted: Monday, June 27, 2005
Why more movie studios haven’t jumped aboard and released WMVHD discs is something I’ll never understand. Toshiba’s HD-DVD is going to be using the VC1 codec and word has it, the player will be using Windows CE. So, if movie studios release WMVHD discs now, we can legally buy HD content today. I did some ...Read
Friday, May 6, 2005
Sony’s Black Screen In Hilton Hotels?
Posted: Friday, May 6, 2005
Hotel Online has a “Special Report”, oh boy!, on the newly-designed Hilton Technology Room. Besides all the standard Hilton amenities (no Paris Hilton jokes here), they have the bed positioned at a 45-degree angle to the room, tons of granite, and dramatic lighting, there’s talk about a 16x9 format, 70-inch “advanced front projection screen”. Isn’t ...Read
Tuesday, April 5, 2005
Krell Introduces The Evolution Series
Posted: Tuesday, April 5, 2005
It’s been a while since I’ve seen any new ultra-high-end stereo components, but Krell Industries just changed that with the newly introduced Evolution Series. Here’s the deal… the Evolution Series consists of the Evolution One, which is a Class A, 450-watt monaural amplifier and the Evolution Two, which is a Class A monaural preamplifier. ...Read
Tuesday, February 8, 2005
Samsung’s Media Center 2005
Posted: Tuesday, February 8, 2005
I guess I’m not the only one that thinks Windows Media Center 2005 is worthy of replacing your old TiVo. Samsung is hoping you do to! I think Samsung is the first consumer electronics company (besides Sony, since they make computers) that is entering the Windows Media Center market. Now don’t get too excited yet, ...Read
Monday, January 24, 2005
My Movies 1.1 Update For MCE 2005
Posted: Monday, January 24, 2005
I was checking out Chris Lanier’s Blog and notcied there is a new update to My Movies. The key new features include: - the importing of DVD Profiler content - supports multiple files, if you create a .m3u or .wpl playlist file - all covers are now converted to thumbnails - “online” icons are put ...Read
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Onkyo’s “Future Proof” Flagship Receiver
Posted: Wednesday, January 19, 2005
I love my Pioneer VSX-59TXi, I even went thru the hassle of upgrading all the DACs in it, but this Onkyo TX-NR1000 looks pretty sweet. It has all the input and outputs you’d expect from a flagship unit. The unit is THX Ultra 2 certified and plays back the major encoding formats like THX ...Read
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Industrial Diamonds, A Man’s Best Friend
Posted: Thursday, January 13, 2005
My dad is a general contractor, so I been around tools all my life, however, there is one tool I’m really fond of — the diamond blade. It can be used to cut solid stone like butter. In a grinding form, it can be used to grid and polish hard materials to a mirror ...Read
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
TEATRO D1 - The Super Media Center 2005 PC
Posted: Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Unbelievable! This is one sexy Windows Media Center PC. The TEATRO D1 is like any finely crafted Italian product. It sports a built-in 7” 1280x720 VGA touchscreen, dual layer DVD burner and 500gb of HD space. You can record two shows at once (also has a FM tuner). The TEATRO D1 has integrated Wi-Fi, ...Read
TweakMCE for Media Center 2005
Posted: Wednesday, December 22, 2004
If you’re a tweaker like me, then you’ll love Microsoft’s release of TweakMCE. It gives you some much sought after tweaking abilities for Windows Media Center. Here are a few things it lets you change: General * Disable autorun of Interactual content * Change the DVD notification timeout TV * Change the skip back interval ...Read
Mini Media Center 2005 PC
Posted: Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Over that last few weeks at work I’ve been annoying my co-workers with how great my Windows MCE 2005 machine is. Almost all of them respond back with, “But I don’t want to plug a computer to my TV”. You can tell I work with people that don’t really know much about the electronics already ...Read
Monday, December 13, 2004
WMV HD Already Available In Germany
Posted: Monday, December 13, 2004
How jacked up is this? We are buying HD televisions and Media Center PC’s here in the US, yet we don’t have any DVD based HD movies. Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are in the works, but WMV HD has been around for a while now and we only have T2 and a bunch of IMAX movies ...Read
Friday, December 10, 2004
Help Me Get A TiVo iPOD
Posted: Friday, December 10, 2004
Just when I thought I was ready to drop TiVo, they pull me back in… this time, however, it’s not for their technology, but, for their happy little mascot. So all I’m asking from you guys this Christmas (besides a 42” plasma, D-Box System, or anything else you guys want to send to me) is ...Read
Wednesday, December 1, 2004
Wooden Media Center PC
Posted: Wednesday, December 1, 2004
If you haven’t heard of One & Co before, you’ve probably seen or owned some of the products they designed. One & Co is an industrial design studio which helps companies combine business & creativity, art & science, intelligence & beauty. They helped design products for K2, Nike, Palm, Timex, Dell and now they are ...Read
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Move Over TiVo… Hello MCE 2005!
Posted: Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Well folks, the time has come to retire my beloved and trusty Phillips Series I TiVo as my primary PVR. It’s sad, I know… especially since I bet I’m something like subscriber 1000… I clearly remember my friends and co-workers making fun of me when I bought and hacked my TiVo. They didn’t understand ...Read
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Filmscreen Masking Controller
Posted: Thursday, November 18, 2004
If you are really into home theater, then you’ve heard of Stewart Filmscreens. Now, even if you haven’t heard of them, you’ve seen their products before… they provided the huge center stage screens at both the Democratic and Republican conventions and even screens at the Academy Awards shows. In the home theater market they are ...Read
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
MAME on MCE 2005
Posted: Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Windows Media Center 2005 has earned all my respect. I tried the previous versions and it didn’t even deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as TiVo. It’s funny how things change… I’m getting ready to demote my standalone TiVo and start using my newly built MCE 2005 box as my primary PVR/Entertainment machine. ...Read
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
REVIEW: Crowson Tech TES-100
Posted: Wednesday, October 13, 2004
Lets face it, there hasn’t really been that much change in the audio arena for home theater in a while. Going from 5.1 to 7.1 was nice, but nothing to get too excited about. There are little things you can do to make your home theater experience better, like upgrade your screen, calibrate your displays ...Read
CinemaNow Premieres High-Definition Movie Downloads
Posted: Wednesday, October 13, 2004
Finally, someone is getting the idea… I’m getting sick of companies offering sub-DVD quality movies for download at standard DVD rental rates… what’s the point? At least give me a reason to want to to mess with a computer… and HD content will be that reason. Maybe the announcement from CinemaNow about the premiere of ...Read
Monday, September 13, 2004
Plextor Introduces PVR with MPEG-4 and DivX Hardware Compression
Posted: Monday, September 13, 2004
As much as I love my TiVo, it’s getting to the point where it’s really not that necessary to keep them around. I prefered my TiVo over my Windows Media Center, but now with the anticipated release of Windows Media Center 2005 and the ability to record HDTV. It’s going to be hard keeping the ...Read
Thursday, September 2, 2004
ADA’s New Flagship A/V Receiver (with XM Radio)
Posted: Thursday, September 2, 2004
It’s not everyday I jump out of my seat yelling, “Holy Crap”, after seeing a new product. This just happend… check out ADA’s new HTR-2400 Home & Theater A/V Receiver. The HTR-2400, which officially begins shipping this August, combines an eight-zone ADA multi-room system with a ninth zone ADA home theater system. Amazingly, the ...Read
Amino IPTV PVR
Posted: Thursday, September 2, 2004
Amino Communications will debut a very small IPTV (Internet Protocol television) set-top box with integral Personal Video Recorder at IBC in Amsterdam on 10th September. The AmiNET500 is the latest addition to Amino’s range of small, low-cost, high performance set-top boxes and contains an 80Gbyte hard disk drive which is capable of storing around 40 ...Read
Friday, August 27, 2004
Is DVD Done? Why Blu-ray or HD-DVD Will Soon Change The World
Posted: Friday, August 27, 2004
AudioRevolution has a great article about why the DVD is done. I totally agree that DVD quality will no longer be sought after, heck, if I’m spending $5k on a display, I want the best possible source. I have a video processor, and sure it can clean up a 480i/480p DVD nicely, people usually can’t ...Read
NAD L 53 Integrated DVD/Receiver
Posted: Friday, August 27, 2004
NAD will announce their newest lifestyle product, the L 53 DVD/Receiver, a simplified approach to home entertainment during the CEDIA Expo 2004 in Indianapolis. The L 53 is all about the music, first and foremost, with an integrated 50 (x 2) watt, full -disclosure rated, amplifier. Despite its physical size, NAD believes the L 53 ...Read
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
US Patent Describing Sony Black Screen Technology?
Posted: Tuesday, August 24, 2004
A few weeks back, Gizmodo posted this photo of Sony’s black screen technology. This screen somehow absorbs ambient light… anyways, grid1010 over at the AVS Forum found Patent #6,769,774 which describes the technology that closely matches what Sony is doing. The interesting thing to note is that the Patent is assigned to IBM. ABSTRACT: A ...Read
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Meet ‘TELLY MC1200’, A Home Media Server
Posted: Wednesday, August 11, 2004
I have to give props to Interact-TV for choosing such a catchy name for their new media server. Telly. The name reminds me of a fellow Greek, the late Telly Savalas, which played Kojak. You know that New York Detective known for his shiny bald head. Anyways, the Telly takes off where the other DVRs ...Read
Friday, July 30, 2004
Sharp Expands AQUOS Line With HDTV LCDs
Posted: Friday, July 30, 2004
Sharp has expanded their AQUOS line to include true, full High Definition televisions. Now the two models to note are the GD4U which yields resolutions of 1366x768 resolution and the GD6U which offers a full 1080p @ 1920x1080. Both offer built-in CableCARD for “plug and play” capability, this is an example of the new ...Read
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
Marantz VP-12S3 High-Definition DLP Projector
Posted: Tuesday, July 27, 2004
You guys know I’m a CRT projector guy… but I thought I’d pass on a great review by Thomas Garcia over at Revolution Home Theater on the Marantz VP-12S3 High-Definition DLP Projector. This stunning projector retails for about $13k, so by just judging based on the price, I’d expect it to perform outstanding. If you ...Read
Digital Cable-Ready TVs Are Here
Posted: Tuesday, July 27, 2004
So the wait is over, this month digital cable-ready TVs hit the shelves. The new models will accept a credit card-sized circuit card that lets them receive digital television signals from a cable provider without the need for an expensive and bulky set-top box. All you will need to buy is the TV, then contact ...Read
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Denon’s New Flagship A/V Receiver, AVR-5805
Posted: Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Update: I forgot to mention that this is the worlds first 10.1 channel receiver… what does that mean? I really don’t know yet… since there isn’t 10.1 encoded media, but it has more channels than your friends ghetto 7.1 channel receiver. At first, I thought the photo was distorted, but this freakin’ receiver is ...Read
Lexicon’s New Flagship A/V Receiver, the RV-8
Posted: Wednesday, July 21, 2004
I still think the Pioneer VSX-59TXi is the best valued A/V Receiver around… but you just can’t help but want the new RV-8 by Lexicon. There are two things I wanted back in 1997 but couldn’t afford, the Pioneer Elite CLD-97 Laserdisc Player (I recently bought one off ebay for a steal) and a ...Read
Monday, July 19, 2004
Expect Lower Priced Plasma Displays
Posted: Monday, July 19, 2004
People ask me all the time, “Danny, is it time to buy a plasma display?”. My answer always is, if you need a big and thin display and front projection is out of the picture, then yes. Otherwise, wait until the prices drop. Once they hit $2000, then I will start hanging them on all ...Read
Thursday, July 15, 2004
Shake, Rattle, and Roll… Part IV.
Posted: Thursday, July 15, 2004
Our friends over at Crowson’s Tech, are sending out a TES 100 unit for me to test and review. I’ve only heard good things about their technology, which makes it triple exciting (geez, I’m getting giddy). Anyways, I just wanted to give you all a heads up on the great news and I hope to ...Read
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
300 Hour TiVo…
Posted: Tuesday, July 13, 2004
I own a 120 hour TiVo and people make fun of me… imagine what kind of ridicule you’ll get for owning a 300 hour TiVo. Humax, in partnership with TiVo, today announced the first TiVo Series2 DVR with 300-hours of recording capacity. That will give you a little over 12 1/2 days of continuous bed ...Read
Tuesday, July 6, 2004
Samsung’s 80” Plasma Display
Posted: Tuesday, July 6, 2004
Samsung first announced this mammoth plasma display back in January. Back then they called it “the world’s biggest plasma”, and I think that still holds true 7 months later. Well, it’s not out yet, but Agilent Technologies today announced that its miniature optocouplers have been incorporated into the 80” plasma display (FYI, optocouplers isolate sensitive ...Read
Monday, July 5, 2004
Media Center Plasma TV
Posted: Monday, July 5, 2004
That’s right, if you can’t bring the Media Center into the living room, then just buy a plasma display with it built in. That’s what Vivadi, a start-up company based in Swindon UK, has done… they designed and developed a fully integrated 46” Plasma TV that includes a Media Center PC with DVD recorder, PVR ...Read
Thursday, July 1, 2004
65-inch Gen II Liquid-Crystal-On-Silicon (LCoS) HDTVs
Posted: Thursday, July 1, 2004
I’m still a CRT front projection guy, I haven’t seen any digital technology that can surpass the contrast and black levels CRT guns produce. However, I have seen a few DLP projectors that I’d recommend to someone that doesn’t want to deal with the converging of CRT guns or the bulkiness. A new company called ...Read
Monday, June 28, 2004
New Velodyne VRP Line of Subwoofers
Posted: Monday, June 28, 2004
My first subwoofer was a Velodyne, the VA-1012. I’ve always liked that sub, it was affortable and powerful. That was in 1995, now they have released the powerful and affortable VRP Series, which consists of the VRP-1000 with a 10” forward firing driver and the VRP-1200 with a 12” forward firing driver. Both are finished ...Read
Monday, June 21, 2004
HP Releases MCE With Integrated Storage Bay
Posted: Monday, June 21, 2004
I’ve got a Windows Media Center and a TiVo, it’s like having two kids… loving them both the same, but you know one of them hasn’t shown all their potential. That’s how I feel about Microsoft’s MCE PC’s. I think that will all change with the next update to their Media Center OS. So, what ...Read
Thursday, June 17, 2004
±0 == Simple Elegance
Posted: Thursday, June 17, 2004
I wish there were more companies that offered products like ±0, their clean and simple designs make the products they sell stand out from almost every other device out there. When you see their products, you know they thought about every little detail. And that’s always refreshing to see, especially these days, where it’s all ...Read
Thursday, June 10, 2004
Don’t Fall For It!
Posted: Thursday, June 10, 2004
Gizmodo posted about the $744 Power cable a couple days ago… It took me a while to find this good article that New York Times wrote a few years ago about about High-End Speaker wire. It doesn’t matter if it’s a power cable or interconnects… it’s all electricity. Read up and see exactly why it’s ...Read
Wednesday, June 9, 2004
Sony Releases Networking Devices
Posted: Wednesday, June 9, 2004
It seems like most of the cool new products are meant for commercial uses… Sony has released a couple new network devices that allow you to monitor, control and even send content to displays across a standard IP network. The new EBS-N100 network box (pictured) is designed to provide network status and control of Sony ...Read
Sony’s New 60,000 Hour Panel Life Plasma Display
Posted: Wednesday, June 9, 2004
Sony’s new displays are taylored for the corporate customer, but if you are a serious television or movie watcher it may make sense to invest in these new panels because they are rated to deliver up tp 60,000 hours (based on the panels half-life). The Sony’s new PFM-42X1 display features a 42-inch XGA 1024 x ...Read
Tuesday, June 8, 2004
HD Windows Media Players Coming Soon?
Posted: Tuesday, June 8, 2004
Microsoft and STMicroelectronics have teamed up to bring us High-Definition Windows Media 9 Content on leading set-top box and DVD hardware platforms. Today announced that the two companies are working together to develop a series of new integrated circuit components for manufacturers of consumer electronics products. These components will extend the reach of high-quality, secure ...Read
Monday, June 7, 2004
Color iPod? No, the SONOS Media Controller
Posted: Monday, June 7, 2004
At first look I thought it was Apple’s approach to a portable media player. But it’s actual made by a company that I have never heard of, Sonos. Consider this the first and only digital music system that lets you affordably play all your digital music, all over your house and control it all from ...Read
Thursday, June 3, 2004
Sony Unveils New “4K” Digital Cinema Projector
Posted: Thursday, June 3, 2004
This projector isn’t really ready for your home theater, unless you have a full size 100 person theater in your house, but Sony is taking the lead in the rapidly emerging digital cinema market with the introduction of two new “4K” projectors that offer unprecedented features such as a 4096 x 2160 pixel resolution and ...Read
Shake, Rattle, and Roll… Part III.
Posted: Thursday, June 3, 2004
So Crowson Technology, the guys that create the TES-100 (read my previous post) contacted me to tell me that they don’t use “embedded” transducers like I thought. Opps… Here’s what they said, “Our transducers are true actuators with excursion in the vertical plane. They are designed to sit between your furniture’s feet and the ...Read
Tuesday, June 1, 2004
Hitachi Releases New HD Home Theater Projector
Posted: Tuesday, June 1, 2004
Hitachi introduced the PJTX100 UltraVision 16:9 LCD front projector today, which utilizes a new high-definition three-panel LCD light engine. The new projector works well in darker home theater environments as well as living rooms with brighter ambient lighting. It’s designed for 30” to 300” screen sizes with a brightness of 1,200 ANSI lumens, 1200:1 contrast ...Read
Sampo 30” HDTV LCD Panel
Posted: Tuesday, June 1, 2004
Sampo is releasing a 30” HDTV LCD Display sometime in the next couple months that features a 1280x768 native resolution panel with 500:1 contrast ratio, Faroudja Genesis Display Perfection image processing circuitry, a NTSC tuner, built in 3D Y/C Digital Comb Filter, Picture-in-Picture, stereo 10W speakers, and all the standard in’s and out’s you’ll need ...Read
Thursday, May 27, 2004
McIntosh MX135 A/V Control Center
Posted: Thursday, May 27, 2004
Some people love the looks, others hate them… I’ve always loved McIntosh Labs products. The company has been around for over 54 years and they introduced their latest A/V Control Center this month. The MX135 is their fourth-generation dual zone, preamp/processor taking home theater processing to a new level. Five sets of component video inputs, ...Read
Shake, Rattle, and Roll… Part II.
Posted: Thursday, May 27, 2004
A few months back I got a chance to demo the Odyssee by D-Box (Click here to read that entry). It looks like they aren’t the only company wanting to be the first to revolutionize the home theater market by adding tactile feedback to the mix. Quente Cafe has a press release from Crowson, a ...Read
Pinnacle Showcenter PVR
Posted: Thursday, May 27, 2004
The Pinnacle ShowCenter is a digital media receiver that connects to wireless and wired home local area networks and enables streaming of multimedia files from any PC on the network to a television or home entertainment system connected to ShowCenter. Using the ShowCenter remote control, you can easily find and play your digital audio, video ...Read
Monday, May 24, 2004
LG 37” LCD Shipping Next Month
Posted: Monday, May 24, 2004
Plasma TV prices aren’t dropping as fast as I was hoping for, but maybe with some competition from similar sized LCD screens we’ll start seeing lower prices. LG.Philips has begun volume production and shipment of its latest TFT-LCD panel for TV applications-the LC370W01 (pictured), a 37-inch wide display. In addition, the company expects to begin ...Read
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Pioneer’s Dual Tuner HD-DVR
Posted: Wednesday, May 19, 2004
I was snooping around on Pioneer Electronics Broadband website and found out that they have a High Definition DVR, it’s called the Voyager 4000 HD-DVR. I’m surprised I didn’t hear about this device earlier… I think this website is aimed at cable providers and not the end user. The reason why I think this is ...Read
Digital Cable Ready Plasma Televisions
Posted: Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Pioneer Electronics is offering two new digital cable-ready plasma televisions. The 43” diagonal PDP-4345HD and 50” diagonal PDP-5045HD widescreen plasma televisions are the newest in Pioneer’s line of PureVision HDTVs. Beginning with these televisions, Pioneer also utilized its expertise in the cable industry to create cable-ready televisions with a unique on-screen user interface known as ...Read
One-Touch VHS to DVD Copying
Posted: Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Today, both Toshiba (pictured) and Pioneer announced that they will be offering a simple way to archive your old VHS tapes to DVD. The Toshiba D-VR3 will be available in July and combines Toshiba’s high quality DVD recorder that uses DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, and DVD-R technologies with VHS 4 head Hi-Fi capability. Pioneer’s DVR-RT500 is a ...Read
55” & 42” LCD Panels
Posted: Wednesday, May 19, 2004
That’s right, Plasma technology won’t be the only 42”+ thin displays on the market. In a few days LG.Philips LCD will showcase its latest TFT-LCD panels for desktop monitors, notebook PCs, LCD TVs, portrait displays, rear-seat automotive entertainment and mobile phone applications during SID 2004 here in Seattle, Wa. The sampling of LCD’s demonstrations includes: ...Read
Friday, May 14, 2004
Speakerless Speaker?
Posted: Friday, May 14, 2004
Stuff like this always amaze me, someone actually spent years trying to figure out how they could turn almost any surface into a speaker. Why? Probably because the guys wife didn’t like the speakers in their family room. Well, it’s done… we have it… Now for the first time you can design your space the ...Read
Three Chip DLP Projector
Posted: Friday, May 14, 2004
I presently own a 8” NEC CRT Projector and have seen a number of DLP and LCD projectors, none of which have the same black levels and contrast of my beloved CRT projector. I don’t expect this to be the issue much longer and the InFocus ScreenPlay777 is a step in the right direction. This ...Read
Transmit DVD-Quality Video Wirelessly
Posted: Friday, May 14, 2004
I always love seeing new technology that is both economical and easy to install. When I read about The Rockford Corp.’s Omnifi DMS2, I see this potential. I still prefer the the latest technology trend of using the coaxial cable already in your house to transmit to your other rooms, but sometime this isn’t an ...Read
Tuesday, May 11, 2004
GoVideo Introduces Networked DVD Player Streaming Rhapsody Music Service
Posted: Tuesday, May 11, 2004
If you are an owner of the GoVideo D2730 Networked DVD Player, or are planning on getting the D2740 model scheduled for introduction this summer, you will now be able to view your personal Rhapsody library on your TV screen and enjoy your favorite music and Internet radio stations on any stereo or home ...Read
Monday, May 10, 2004
Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Goes International
Posted: Monday, May 10, 2004
Microsoft announced that it’s working with OEMs and device manufacturers to offer Media Center PCs later this year to five new countries: Australia, Austria, Italy, the Netherlands and Switzerland. MSFT is really trying to be the standard in your theater/living room. I do feel that MCE 2004 is one of the best DVRs, mostly because ...