Archive for the ‘HT Gear’ Category

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01-18-2012

15
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Building an HTPC, Part 3

Building an HTPC, Part 3

As we last left off on the HTPC discussion, I described the various parts needed to build a sturdy machine. After putting everything together, I must say that I’m very pleased with how my HTPC turned out and how beautiful it looks alongside the rest of my home theater setup. The next step is configuration and installation of the programs needed for video and audio playback, followed by the software that will customize the look of my new media center. This is arguably the best and most fun aspect of the entire process.
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01-12-2012

12
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507 Hours

507 Hours

No, I’m not pitching a movie sequel where James Franco gets his other arm trapped behind a rock (though that might be hilarious). The number above reflects how long the lamp in my JVC projector lasted before crapping out on me this week: 507 hours. Considering that it was rated with a 3,000-hour lifespan, this is really frustrating.
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01-05-2012

18
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Building an HTPC, Part 2

Building an HTPC, Part 2

As described in Part 1 of this article, after much internal debate and heavy reading on the subject, I decided to build my own HTPC and customize it to my preferences. With the help of a very much appreciated buying guide written by Assassin HTPC Custom Entertainment, I determined the parts needed to create this new, fancy addition to my home theater setup. For anyone interested in such equipment, I highly encourage using the invaluable guide and visiting Assassin’s blog for further assistance. It’s well worth the effort when you end up with an awesome machine that stores all your media and provides quick access to your Blu-rays, music and photos.
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12-30-2011

16
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Weekend Roundtable: New Year’s Wishes for 2012

Weekend Roundtable: New Year’s Wishes for 2012

As we bid adieu to 2011, let’s use this final Roundtable of the year to look ahead and make our home theater wishes for 2012. Are you planning to upgrade your HT equipment? Are there specific movies that you hope will finally come to Blu-ray this year? Perhaps you’re waiting for some company to release a new gadget that will solve a nagging problem you have? We’ll tell you what we’re hoping for if you’ll do the same.
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12-29-2011

4
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The Christmas Gift That’ll Keep on Giving

The Christmas Gift That’ll Keep on Giving

After several years of proudly owning some great Klipsch speakers from the company’s Reference Series line, I thought it time to make an upgrade. The decision was partly due to noticing my center channel not coming in as clearly or full as the other two front channels. I first picked up on this sometime last year, soon after the summer was over. I made the necessary sound adjustments to keep everything level and sounding good. Nonetheless, I took it as a sign to start shopping around for a replacement in the near future. After a year of saving my pennies and mulling over what I wanted to do, the wife gave me the go-ahead to swap the entire front soundstage with a trio of even better quality speakers.
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12-07-2011

6
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HDMI Handshaking Woes

HDMI Handshaking Woes

The introduction of HDMI greatly simplified a lot of connectivity issues for home theater users. By combining the transmission of high-definition video and high-resolution audio all into just one cable per component, HDMI cuts down greatly on the cable clutter behind our equipment racks. This is a very welcome development. Unfortunately, at the same time, the technology is no longer as simple as just passing the signal from one end of the cable to the other. HDMI requires that the source and the destination “handshake” with one another before any signal can be sent. As I was reminded recently, that process doesn’t always go smoothly.
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12-01-2011

14
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I’m the Bomb… The DTS Bomb!

I’m the Bomb… The DTS Bomb!

I can hardly think of anything more disruptive to the home theater experience than settling in to watch a movie, allowing yourself to get engrossed in the wonderful video and audio of a top-notch Blu-ray disc, and then suddenly leaping out of your seat when all the speakers in your room shriek with electronic distortion at maximum volume. That’s exactly what happens during the so-called “DTS Bomb,” and I got hit with one pretty hard recently.
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11-30-2011

2
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Building an HTPC, Part 1

Building an HTPC, Part 1

During this last summer, I came to the conclusion that I need a better system for managing my movie collection. Yet I need to do something without bringing in more furniture, because the room’s looking a bit crowded. This is one of the challenges of the home theater hobby, arranging and designing an HT room without the clutter and mess, be it the physical media or the hundreds of cables hidden from view. After some reading (and also finally accepting that we’re living in a digital age), I decided to simplify everything with an HTPC (home theater personal computer).
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11-09-2011

40
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Mid-Week Poll: How Many Speakers Do You Use in Your Home Theater?

Mid-Week Poll: How Many Speakers Do You Use in Your Home Theater?

Let’s discuss audio in this week’s poll. Do you have surround sound in your home theater, or are you an old-school two-channel stereo listener? Are you still stuck with the TV’s built-in speakers, or do you have a tricked-out multi-channel system with speakers in every nook and cranny of the room?
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10-20-2011

13
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No Easy Fix for 3D Crosstalk

No Easy Fix for 3D Crosstalk

One of the more obvious downsides to the current generation of 3D home theater is an artifact known as crosstalk (or “ghosting”), in which picture information meant for one eye intrudes into the other eye’s view. This results in a ghostly double-image around objects in the frame. It can be incredibly distracting when it happens. After a recent bout of terrible crosstalk on a couple of Blu-ray 3D discs, I thought that I might have figured out a potential way to reduce or eliminate the artifact. Alas, I found no easy cure for this 3D malady.
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