Six Versatile Entertainment Centers
Sanus JFV60 ($540)  Filed Under: $$$ Traditional Reader Interiors 
Posted Wed Jul 21, 2010, 5:49 PM ET — By Williams
When we started to build our own high performance music room and home cinema, the idea was to have the best possible sound because we listen to a lot of concerts on SACDs and Blu-rays in full 7.1 audio. Design was also critical, as the equipment needed to be pleasing to the eye, so after many auditions, I settled for B&W 802Ds driven by Classé amps just like in Abbey Road Studios. Filed Under: Reader Interiors Traditional $$$
Posted Mon Jul 12, 2010, 7:02 PM ET — By Rob Farnes
Nearly 5 years ago, I read an article in the Lifestyles section of the Orange County Register that caught my attention. A family in an average Orange County neighborhood put in a front projector and large screen to enjoy big screen movies at their house with friends and family. They told of how wonderful it was to see movies at home this way and I wanted to explore that experience. Filed Under: Reader Interiors Casual
Posted Wed Jun 30, 2010, 8:15 PM ET — By Edward Pawlick
I have been an avid reader and subscriber to Home Theater magazine over the years, when the new issue comes in I thoroughly enjoy reading it and always refer to past issues. My favorite part of the magazine is the home installs, reading about what other people put into their homes and to what lengths they go. Crazy stuff! We purchased our home in 1997 and have done three renovations. The last renovation was forced because we had a fire in 2005 and it destroyed our basement and we had extensive smoke damage. The fire started in the basement and at the time I didn’t have a dedicated room so I shared the downstairs rec. room with our two boys so my home theater system took the worst of the fire (my Bryston Pre-amp completely melted into itself). Luckily no one got hurt and we had a hell of rebuild to do! Filed Under: Furniture $$$
Posted Wed Jun 23, 2010, 8:07 PM ET — By Debbie Stampfli
With the latest crop of home theater seating, you may never want to leave home. Usually, the first question that comes to mind when you walk into a home theater is, “Where do I sit?” No matter how clear the picture looks or how powerful the sound is, a bad chair or sofa can ruin your home theater experience. But new technology and innovative designs aren’t just for the latest consumer electronics. These fresh seating options offer style, comfort, and convenience. They provide a killer combination of looks and practicality that will make your home theater memorable—in a very good way. Filed Under: How To
Posted Wed Jun 16, 2010, 6:30 PM ET — By Darryl Wilkinson
I’ve always lived in a used house. “Existing home” is the euphemism real estate people like to use. Life is good—until you realize that there are no phone jacks close to the spots where your bed or desk should go. And why are there no Ethernet jacks in the house? And no wiring for TVs anywhere but the living room? Needless to say, you can’t find in-wall speakers, volume controls, or multiroom A/V distribution of any kind. Maybe you should have guessed from the horse and buggy parked in the garage when your real estate agent showed the house that the previous owners weren’t interested in keeping up with the more technologically advanced Joneses across the street. Now what? Since there are no phone jacks handy, you can use your cell phone to call your local home remodeler and a custom home A/V installer. Oh, wait, you’d rather not spend money remodeling a home you just spent a lot of money on acquiring? Well, guess what? You don’t have to hire professionals to remodel your home in order to bring it into the modern, digital era of home entertainment and info enrichment. Doing it yourself is entirely doable. And if you’re clever, handy with a hammer (plus a few other basic tools), and don’t get queasy at the sight of drywall dust, you can integrate a lot of today’s high-tech gear and technology into your used home and make it look and feel like it was there from the beginning. If you’re really good, you can make it look like the stuff isn’t there at all. Filed Under: Reader Interiors Theme $$$ Contemporary
Posted Thu Jun 10, 2010, 3:42 PM ET — By Howard Rodgers and Jonathan Rodgers Photography by Bill Welles
In 1970 I started a hi-fi company called Rogersound Labs. Manufacturing RSL Speakers and selling audio components for peoples’ homes was my life. I have always desired a home theater of my own, though had no vision of what it should be like. The idea struck me in 1991 when I was in Bar Harbor, Maine and saw the movie “The Rocketeer” with my oldest son at the historical Criterion Art Deco Theater. I loved the style of the theater and the film. It was reminiscent of the old Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers serials I grew up watching, awestruck by their special effects (sparklers and strings, mostly) and sleek spaceships (which had a nasty habit of backfiring during landing). I knew then that I wanted an Art Deco Retro Sci-fi theater of my own. So, when we moved to our current home in 1998, we set aside a room that would be our theater Filed Under: How To
Posted Thu Jun 3, 2010, 4:04 PM ET — By Mark Elson
One of the myths about lighting control systems is that you can only install them if you’re building a new house, where the walls aren’t built yet, or if you’re performing a major remodel, where all of the walls are torn down. This myth perpetuates on the assumption that you need to run lots of wire while the framing is exposed. It’s true that once the drywall is up, pulling wire becomes prohibitively expensive because of the labor required. But I’m here to bust the myth that you can’t have fun with your lighting in a finished home. In the case of lighting dimming control, you can enjoy many of the features you’d find in a whole-house wired system, without the wire and the accompanying labor expense. I’ll show you what’s possible in lighting for existing homes and offer an overview of products from several key wireless lighting brands. You can accomplish the miracle of wireless lighting control via radio frequency (RF), a technology that uses specific, dedicated frequencies upon which the command signals travel. Unlike infrared (IR) signals, which your garden-variety handheld TV remote control uses, RF signals don’t have to be pointed; they can travel through walls and are generally stable. All of the wireless lighting systems I’ll discuss here are RF, and there are some new platforms within this technology. Filed Under: Pro Interiors Contemporary $$$
Posted Thu May 27, 2010, 3:50 PM ET — By Kim Wilson Photography by Brent Bingham
Anyone can have a room full of gear that is overflowing with the latest technology, however, how does it integrate into the décor, and more importantly how does it integrate with the humans in the room? Even the most tech savvy can become flustered trying to get all their AV gear to work together. However, add in a host of sub-systems like security, HVAC, telephone, home network and multi-zone audio/video, integration becomes absolutely critical. Filed Under: Equipment How To $$
Posted Mon May 10, 2010, 3:12 PM ET — By Mark Elson
Once when we were watching a DVD in the media room, my wife missed a scene because she was nodding off. But usually it’s me who does the nodding. I search for the remote control, and I can never find it when I need it. Forget about the whole remote, I’ll just settle for the right button. I fish around. There, that must be it. My fingers traverse the button terrain to find the Pause or Rewind button in the dark purely by feel. Because I’m holding the darned thing upside down, I accidentally hit the Open/Close button, which stops the movie cold and slides open the disc tray. Ah, the joys of not missing a minute of a movie! Does this sound familiar? If so, you need to read further. Juggling remote controls is one of the top three buzz-kills in the field of home electronics. And we can do something about it. The can-do spirit is in the air. Here, I’ll sift through the world of remote controls and share with you some prominent models that feature the absolute best characteristics in the category. Filed Under: Furniture Contemporary
Posted Mon May 3, 2010, 3:08 PM ET — By Debbie Stampfli
Home theater devotees tend to be homebodies at heart. After all, for the quality of the experience, movies look best in dark, windowless rooms with no sunlight. But, for an alternative theater experience, take your movies outside. There are a number of weatherproof options that will entice even the most devout indoor movie lover, with speakers, flat panels, and enclosures that withstand heat, water, and whatever else you can throw at them. Maybe going outside isn’t as scary as you thought. Filed Under: Equipment $$ How To
Posted Mon Apr 26, 2010, 3:05 PM ET — By Darryl Wilkinson
I’ve often thought it would be nice to have music in multiple rooms of the house; but, as I’ve alluded, my home is not custom install friendly. I decided that a wireless multiroom system would definitely be the best bet. Sonos, a company that focuses exclusively on wireless multiroom audio, has a system that’s designed to do just thatŃand moreŃin up to 32 independent zones without breaking the bank or tearing down any walls. After I read the endearing tag line, “Wireless that works like magic,” I thought, what better time or place could there be to check out Sonos’ latest system incarnation? So I asked Sonos to send out its Bundle 150 two-zone package ($999 ) plus a ZoneBridge and let the fun begin. Filed Under: How To
Posted Mon Apr 19, 2010, 0:00 AM ET — By Mark Elson
It’s no surprise that consumer electronics have become increasingly dependent upon professional installation. Consider the following categories: satellite antennae, A/V distribution systems, projectors and screens, wholehouse control, lighting and dimming systems, content-sharing DVR networks, and of course wall-mounting and wire-pulling for flat-panel TVs. Want to talk about remote access to media servers and CCTV cameras via Ethernet? A system’s operation is programming intensive and depends on physical installation, which requires construction expertise. There’s so much going on behind your walls and in your attic. I wouldn’t want to take responsibility for all of it at my house, and I know my wife wouldn’t want me to, either. I bang up my walls enough, schlepping a retractable ladder from the garage up three flights of stairs to the master bedroom just to change a 9-volt smoke alarm battery. Drill holes in my walls? Me? Are you kidding? In this article, I’ll help you find your closest local professional installers and provide an easy method to help you make the right selection. Filed Under: Furniture
Posted Tue Apr 13, 2010, 7:24 PM ET — By Debbie Stampfli
Acoustic treatments don’t need to be bland to make your sound stand out. In the past, acoustic panels were primarily utilitarian. They could absorb and diffuse sound, but they did little to reinforce your room’s style. Thankfully, times have changed. Now companies offer practical acoustic panels in stylish and up-to-date colors and fabrics; some even incorporate patterns and lighting. Since you’re no longer doomed to using big black rectangles, it’s time to add a splash of color or design to your walls and ceilings with the latest acoustic panels. Acoustic treatments don’t need to be eyesores in your beautiful home theater. Filed Under: Traditional Pro Interiors $$$
Posted Tue Apr 6, 2010, 5:16 PM ET — By Steve Derrico
I am an avid reader of Home Theater Magazine and have been for over 10 Years. I have been in the industry for 10 Years and within the last year started my own custom installation company in the Chicagoland area, Monarch AV Design & Automation. In 2009, we had the great opportunity to change an ordinary "blah" basement into a rustic and old-world getaway for the homeowner to enjoy a Pearl Jam concert, a game of pool, or just to enjoy a movie with the kids. Working with interior designer and general contractor, Phillip Sassano, we helped design a space that would be both visually stunning and meet the high expectations of the homeowner for musical and theater performance. Filed Under: Theme $$$ Pro Interiors
Posted Tue Mar 30, 2010, 4:39 PM ET — By Tom Spina
When movie prop collector (and long-time Tom Spina Designs client) Wesley Cannon told us his dream of having rooms in his home themed like an actual cave, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a more literal stab at the phrase "Man Cave." The result is a pair of richly themed and incredibly unique rooms in his new North Carolina home. Filed Under: Reader Interiors Theme $$$ Contemporary
Posted Tue Mar 23, 2010, 12:20 PM ET — By Rick McCool Photography: John Mirro
Some people purchase a home for the large kitchen, we purchased our home because it had enough space for a dedicated theater. The space we used was one of the two oversized two-car garages. I wanted the design to create a total environment for enjoying a theater experience, from approaching the theater to exiting it. Therefore, I put a lot of effort into the design and construction of the entry. My idea was to make the theater entrance on a “street” with the theater being just one of the street’s businesses. As you enter the street, (rue de theatre), the theater is on the left, the Felicita Restaurant is on the right, and the street appears to go on forever. After dismissing painting the murals, I decided vinyl murals were the way to go. Everyone who has visited the “Rue de Theatre” has been impressed with the visual experience. Filed Under: Reader Interiors Contemporary $$
Posted Fri Mar 19, 2010, 12:02 PM ET — By Matt Gambino
My wife Cindy and I purchased our new home in Raleigh, NC in January 2009 with an eye toward converting the large bonus room over the garage into a home theater. We wanted a space that could be used primarily to watch movies but could also serve as a place for relaxing and listening to music. Further, we wanted a space that was different from the rest of the house that would look and feel like a dedicated theater. Filed Under: Theme Traditional Pro Interiors
Posted Mon Mar 8, 2010, 1:30 PM ET — By Kim Wilson
When we get excited about a dedicated home theater, it's rarely the equipment that has us salivating. It's almost always about the unique interior design. We are enthralled by the designer's decorative statement, whether it is a themed theater that transports us to one of our favorite movies or a more traditional approach that model's contemporary multiplexes. 3D Squared Inc has combined the importance of interior design with acoustic paneling because it's no longer good enough to have a great looking theater, it must sound good, as well. Filed Under: Reader Interiors Theme Traditional $$
Posted Fri Mar 5, 2010, 3:53 PM ET — By Carmine Gallo
Long before I met my wife I dreamed of having my own home theater, many ideas have come and gone since then, but I always knew that I wanted a dedicated theater in a classic style. I finally came one step closer to my dream in 1999 when my wife and I bought a new home in the suburbs, although it would be years before I would actually start my project. I began researching and collecting items from the past, and in 2006 I finally got the nod from my financial advisor (that would be my wife) though there was one caveat ... I was put on a very strict budget. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Older Posts >
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