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Bass Management Basics – Settings Made Simple

Is your bass management set up properly on your processor? If you wish to optimize the bass performance of your home theater, read this article. Learn how to configure speaker size, crossovers, delay and more in this basic guide to bass management.

When trying to get the most performance out of your home theater, few things are more important than proper display calibration. It has come to our attention that many of you utilizing an HDMI connection might have your black levels incorrectly set. Why the sudden confusion? Options have changed with the introduction of HDMI 1.3 and its tag-along partners: Deep Color and the new xvYCC color space. Read on.

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Tech Article: 2009 Home of the Year is all Hollywood
by Arlen Schweiger — last modified June 01, 2009 08:56

Electronic House's 2009 Home of the Year sits among the Hollywood Hills, where the stars shine as brightly inside the homes as they do in the night sky. We’re familiar with some of the A-list technologies here—CinemaScope theater, 7.1-channel surround-sound, intricate TV concealment, extensive automation—but we don’t often see them shine together in such a spectacular location, with equally stunning results. This home can't settle for anything less than red-carpet treatment.

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Tech Article: Terminator Home Theater
by Clint DeBoer — last modified May 21, 2009 04:45

When Mortensen first thought about creating his own home theater, he wasn’t working as a Christmas elf; he was a respiratory therapist, specializing in acute cardio-pulmonary support and trauma. A noble profession is no match for the home theater bug, however. Soon Mortensen found himself designing a nice room with a built-in CRT TV, A/V cabinets and a hidden door for access to A/V components. As the project progressed, so did Mortensen’s plan.

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Tech Article: Renovated Loft Home Theater
by Arlen Schweiger — last modified May 01, 2009 04:29

In this Cleveland-area loft, the more people, the bigger the party. And what a party it is: Along with the usual nightclub suspects, like a bar, billiards table and blaring music, the loft has a TV around every turn and two theater areas. Yup, this 1,800-square-foot space packs ’em in and packs a punch. The loft truly wows visitors upon entering, especially because the exterior landing area is so unassuming. While the ground level probably will not change much, there’s a good chance the interior craziness will migrate to the rooftop.

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Tech Article: Solar Panels Power Home Theater
by Clint DeBoer — last modified April 21, 2009 04:56

The “Guiltless Green Home Theater,” which has a 100-inch screen and 5.1 channels of surround sound, uses energy collected from four roof-mounted solar panels. The 175-watt Sharp solar panels collect up to 700 watts per hour during the day, which the HTSA says provides about 22,000 watts per week, enough for 19 hours of off-the-grid home entertainment per week. (The figures are based on an average of 4.5 hours of sunlight per day in the Northeast and the theater’s 1,150-watt-per-hour draw, at full capacity.)

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Tech Article: Apple Computers Provide Whole Home Control
by Clint DeBoer — last modified April 21, 2009 04:44

Stunning is about the only way to describe this 6,500-square-foot home overlooking Portland, Ore. Its three stories combine contemporary elements with swirling soffits, magnificent rock walls and plenty of state-of-the-art elements—from a new kind of home control system to high-res media systems to hidden speakers and Euro styling. Did we mention that the views are stunning as well?

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Tech Article: Purple Haze DIY Home Theater
by Rachel Cericola — last modified February 24, 2009 02:04

‘Scuse us while we kiss this DIY guy. After all, Don Kellogg deserves the accolades. Even though he spent most of his days working around the globe, Don still managed to sneak in the time to create this purple haze - the perfect mix of color and cool home theater. "My high school colors were purple and white (black as well), and it’s my wife favorite color," Don says. His second choice was red. However, Don says many theaters follow that color palette, and he wanted to try something new. "Anyone that knows me knows I’m a little different, so I felt it was a good fit."

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Tech Article: Crestron Home Theater and Dance Lounge
by Steven Castle — last modified November 20, 2008 06:14

There's a "game room" with four plasma and LCD TVs and a video gaming array that allows for side-by-side play on separate screens. There's a "dance lounge" with fiber optic lights, a professional sound system and dueling drop-down plasmas. And that’s just scratching the surface in this 40,000-square-foot home brimming with technology.

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Tech Article: Eli Manning's Automated Condo
by Tom LeBlanc — last modified October 29, 2008 06:52

In Eli Manning’s day job as quarterback for the Super Bowl champion New York Giants, control is an elusive thing. Being at home is a much more accommodating experience for the Super Bowl MVP. He and wife Abby have complete control over all their home electronics systems—the motorized shades, the lighting schemes, the multiroom audio, even the stealth motorized pillar that unveils the top-shelf bar selections—at the press of a button.

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Tech Article: A Tale of 5 Installs Part 5 - Almost Easy
by Clint DeBoer — last modified October 08, 2008 22:57

We conclude our five part series with "Mitchell" who is married with a teenage son. Mitchell never actually pursued surround sound in his home but enjoys playing the Nintendo Wii and watching movies. We had access to an older, but high powered, Denon AVR3300 AV receiver (which has on-screen display, Dolby Digital and DTS) and were fortunate enough to be able to install a new Mod 4 system from Orb Audio.

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Tech Article: A Tale of 5 Installs Part 4 - A Basement? In Florida?
by Clint DeBoer — last modified October 06, 2008 08:40

This installation is truly unique. I found a basement in Florida. I know, I know, typically they are referred to as "swimming pools" but this one was actually a basement. And it was under a concrete slab of sorts. Don't ask, but it was cool to run into a totally new situation and stretch my troubleshooting skills to their limits. This job entailed integrating a new 5.1 audio system from Aperion Audio (using their new 4B speakers and Bravus 8D subwoofer) into a one-of-a-kind Florida room. The bar was set high, so I grabbed "Tim" the homeowner and inquired about the best way to place the speakers and design the system.

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Bass Management Basics – Settings Made Simple

HDMI Enhanced Black Levels, xvYCC and RGB

Recent Home Wiring & Custom Installation Articles

Home Wiring & Custom Installation