Featured Reviews & Articles

Many readers of our website know that we're avid fans of getting your flat panel TV off the furniture and onto the wall. In fact we've written several different articles about this in the past. But what may not be so obvious, because we haven't yet made a big enough stink about it, is that we also love to make those flat panels seem almost "magical". How do you do that? By hiding the source components and equipment that make them work and send them their signal. Now, you may not want to do this with truly high-end gear and if you take lots of pride in your assortment of amps, pre-processors, flagship Blu-ray players and other equipment, but, if you're like most people, that doesn't describe you. If you're like most people, you've got a mainstream AV receiver and some source components that get the job done, but don't rise to the level of "glamorous" or "high-end".

While many of us would love to spend the majority of our day locked in our man-caves or home theaters listening to music on our big audio rigs, the reality is that we don't. In fact, most of our time at home is spent in the kitchen, bedroom, bathroom or family room. This being the case, whole house audio should be a part of your home if it is not already. And it shouldn't be an afterthought. Many newer homes, especially in tract-housing developments, come with pre-installed systems, but many times these consist of cheap speakers with paper cones that have been installed by the alarm guy who "specializes in home audio."

There are home theaters that focus on luxury, some that focus on high-end equipment, and others that are themed. This latest, from Electronic House's "Cool Homes" section, is all about golf. And that's not a description of the home or the theater itself, mind you. It's just that, while some people have to load up the car and drive to get their golf on, John and Pamela Blakely just look right outside. This is because they live inside the well-regarded Grey Oaks Country Club in Naples, Fla. Surprisingly, however, the couple’s favorite hobby does not involve shooting 18 holes or even carrying bags for the other homeowners. Instead, the two have been fixing up houses since the mid-1990s. And when we say fixing up houses - we mean fixing up BIG houses.

It seems these days everything requires an Internet connection - at least for anything having to do with home theater. So what do you do if you don't have your house wired for Internet? What if you want to stream movies and your wireless connection can't quite cut it? Well the HomePlug Powerline Alliance got together a ton of companies and created a standard for networking over powerlines. You can use your home's existing electrical system - the regular power outlets you have all over the place - and transmit networked audio, video and data. And it's not expensive to do. Devices like Netgear's Powerline AV500 Kit are set to revolutionize the way we connect our homes and our gear. You should check it out, because our testing shows that it beats wireless hands-down - it just may forever change the way you look at networking.

There’s a lot you can do with a home control system. They are so smart and powerful that if you wanted to automate the dog you probably could. Not quite, but there’s no limit—other than your budget—to the amazing setups possible when you’ve got the right system, the right professional installing it and a really creative mind. The Elan g! system programmed by AudioVideo Specialists for a 10,000-square-foot suburban Chicago home epitomizes the extent of a well-executed home control plan. The g! system accomplishes these and other feats by seamlessly integrating a variety of electronic systems under one main control processor. Tied together in this home are a whole-house audio and video system, lighting, heating and cooling, security, surveillance cameras, motorized window treatments, irrigation and pool and spa controls.

Say you're an avid sports fan and you want the biggest and loudest theater possible. Check. Home system design and installation company Audio Video Interiors (AVI) of Middleburg Heights, Ohio, will tune up a rockin' JBL Synthesis speaker system that will make you feel every bone-crunching gridiron hit. Say you want the best HD video possible, with superwide CinemaScope capability and the ability to produce an image that will pop even when the room lights are on? Check. AVI will mount Digital Projection's monster Titan Reference 1080p projector with an anamorphic lens to produce those superwide pictures. On the other end of the room will be a 14-foot-wide Stewart Filmscreen CineCurve display to show those CinemaScope movies in all their glory. Say you want a multi-screen theater, but don't want to compromise on the size of a big screen...

Electronic House has an article about a pretty cool home theater located in the Cayman Islands. The theater room was built from teh ground up and includes 19 custom-designed theater seats and bar stools in the main seating area and a dozen more in an elegantly styled balcony behind the back row of chairs. Suggested by the homeowners, the balcony was a first for many of the contractors who designed, configured, installed and programmed this one-of-a-kind home cinema. We've seen a lot of rooms, but never one with a real balcony - kudos to the designers and the thought process that went into it. Mobile Technology, an Alpharetta, Ga.–based firm, was hired to program the Crestron system that runs all of the equipment inside the theater and in the main house.

Hopefully, you've read some of our others articles on mounting flat panel displays on the wall. In either case, most faithful readers know that around here, we're very passionate about yanking people out of the 80's, ditching their built-ins and wall units and putting their televisions up on the wall, nice and tidy. But what about corner locations? Not as easy, right? Perhaps, but there are some simple tricks and tips you can employ to make sure you have a successful time of placing your flat panel on the wall, even if it means positioning it in a corner-mounted location. Once again we teamed up with MonoPrice to locate and implement a solution.

As many of you know, we are proud advocates for getting that flat panel off of your furniture and onto the wall. In our opinion, what's the point of having lightweight, flat televisions if you're not going to put them up on the wall. Suspending in the middle of a vast open space unlike anything previously possible with CRT-style TVs? I mean seriously, if I see one more person trying to jam that new 42-inch flat panel TV into their stupid 1980's-era wall unit I'm going to start knocking heads around. It's electronics sacrilege.... there should be a law... or something.