Home Theater

Tell me if the following scenario sounds familiar. A client asks you to design an amazing home theater or media room. You dutifully draw...

If you were to vote on a piece of home theater equipment that has evolved more than any other, the AV controller would have...

As an acoustic design firm, we often face challenges related to heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system designs for screening rooms. Some of...

Back when the HD format war was raging, I wrote a few columns about the technical pitfalls that you might encounter when configuring early-generation...

As a change of pace this month, I thought it might be nice to have an object lesson of sorts. Lately, it seems like...

In recent years, there has been an explosion in the number of A/V receiver and controller products that include automatic speaker setup and equalization...

In my last column, I talked about the history of multi-channel sound in the home, including Surround EX, DTS-ES, and various listening modes that...

Once upon time, I wandered into the showroom of a custom installer. A salesperson caught me giving their dedicated screening room the once-over, so...

Um, what’s diffusion, and why do I need it?” the client asks. Slowly, I take a breath, count to 10, and consider my options....

Every once in a while a technology shows up that grabs my attention. This happened most recently with a new application of laser technology....

Weve all had them: the projects that slowly but surely creep out of scope and end up making both you and the client unhappy....

In the beginning there was cinema. It was 35mm film, shot and projected in a 1.37 aspect ratio, and accompanied by optical mono sound...

As I write this, its been almost a year to the day that I first got my hands on an HD DVD player. I...

A Look at Trends and Innovations Driving the Power Management and Conditioning Market

I call it the disposable projector ploy. Two years ago, one of my employees bought a very nice 1280×720 video projector. Last year, he...

Playing in Our Space Part II: A Look at Nintendos Newest Game System

You may believe that the rooms you design sound very good, but unless you consider all of the technical variables for your system, you...

Last month, I began a series on delivering a high-quality home theater experience through custom installation. In that first installment, I talked about how...

Why Scale Matters When Acoustically Treating Theaters and Listening Rooms

If youve been around custom home theater long, youve probably heard someone say that you should be in the business of delivering a home...

Multi-Purpose Media Rooms Require Creative Solutions To Ambient Sound and Lighting Challenges

I have a tradition every year at CEDIA EXPO. At some point during the show, I find a quiet corner (an increasingly difficult task)...

Creating an Effective Design Proposal Means Asking the Right Questions First

An Overview of Some of the Latest Video Mounts and Home Theater Seating Products

Well, folks, Ive just returned from CEDIA EXPO 2006, and as usual, there was no end of classes to teach, friends to meet, and...

Time really does fly when youre having fun. It seems like only a couple of days ago that I was excitedly discussing the initial...

Why the Dynamics of a Listening Room Can Significantly Impact Speaker Sound Quality

As custom installers, many of the things that you typically put in a home theater are obsolete almost before you install them. Your client...

Realizing Cabling and Infrastructure Needs for the Video Content Distribution Revolution

I see it all the time: award-winning home theaters with front-projection video systems and light-colored wall surfaces. It really bugs because the client is...

Where Display Technology is Going And How To Get Your Clients There

The Big Three in Game Consoles Raise the Stakes at E3

There can be no doubt about it. The high-definition frontier has arrived: HD DVD is here, and Blu-Ray Disc is just around the corner....

There is endless controversy over in-wall speakers. Are they good? Are they bad? Are they a compromise? The answers to these questions arent altogether...

New Innovations in Video Display Technologies Are Poised to Change How Your Clients View Television.