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5 Common Home Theater Mistakes

Jul 20

Posted by James Y. in Editorials, Home Theater | No Comments

As an AV installer I definitely see my share of configuration mistakes.  While some are blatantly obvious like a blu-ray player set to 480i, others are less so.  Here’s 5 off the top of my head:

1.  Using your TV as an audio switch

Got an older non-HDMI receiver and want to integrate it with your system?  Connecting your HDMI sources to your TV and using the optical output to your receiver should do the trick right?  Wrong.  While you’ll definitely get 5.1 Dolby Digital from over-the-air broadcasts, virtually all televisions today will not pass multi-channel audio from HDMI to optical.  That means the audio from your cable box, DVD player and game consoles will downgrade to 2 channel PCM when passed through your flat panel so keep that in mind.  It’s always best to connect each device directly to the AVR instead.

2.  Not running your AVR automatic setup properly

Today’s receivers are more advanced than ever consisting of processing power available in a full blown PC just a few years ago.  These chips are used for things like room correction algorithms that run in real time!  To get all the technology you paid for, follow the instructions that came with your device and make sure the setup microphone is placed at ear height using a tripod and NOT on the sofa seat cushion.  A little prep work goes a long way in improving sound quality.

3.  Overscan

The word “overscan” is like nails on a chalkboard for a professional calibrator.  Overscan is the ~3% zoom that many televisions apply by default to shield you from artifacts on the edges of broadcast television.  It’s a legacy problem inherent in the CRT days, however in the world of digital television overscan does nothing but rob you of information and overall picture clarity.  Bottom line: Look through your TV menu’s and find a way to turn it OFF. Unfortunately manufactures have not settled on a standard name for overscanning so read the manual carefully before pushing random buttons.

4.  Poor speaker placement

Most people seem to get the front/center/right speakers correct however the rear speakers are usually improperly placed.  For rear speakers you generally want a diffused sound so avoid aiming them directly towards your ears. In the end you want to create a sense of immersion so experiment with the placement of the front and rears to give you the biggest sound “bubble” your space allows.

5.  Booming Bass

Let’s face it we all love bass but if you’re calibrating your subwoofer using your favorite movie scenes, chances are it’s way too loud.  To avoid damaging your sub and scaring the bejeezus out of people in the next room, use test tones either the ones built into your AVR or from a disc and bust out a radio Shack meter.  Be sure the db meter is set to “slow” and “c” weighed and bring them down to the same levels as your other speakers.  Your neighbors will appreciate it.

That’s it for now folks!  Stay tuned for more in a few weeks!

Cable/Sat companies feeling the heat. Considers lower cost plans?

Jul 9

Posted by James Y. in Editorials, Home Theater | No Comments

Last weeks announcement of Hulu plus which offers prime-time television shows in 720p quality for $10 a month along with Apple’s rumored subscription iTunes deal in the works, cable and satellite companies are certainly feeling the heat.   The average subscriber pays $80 a month which is a LOT of money during a recession.  In response Time Warner CEO Glenn Britt was quoted this week as saying:

It would be a good thing if we could all figure out a way to have one or more smaller packages that would be attractive to people who can’t afford bigger ones, especially if we could do it in a way that the entertainment companies are still able to finance the product

How many times have you caught yourself saying  ”If only I can watch ________ online I would kick my cable subscription in a heartbeat”.  For me it’s sports and if Comcast offered a sports-only package for $20 a month I would be all over that.  It doesn’t make sense to pay for channels you never watch so hopefully change is coming soon. Knowing how these media companies work I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Giveaway: Spears and Munsil BD Calibration Blu-ray!

May 4

Posted by James Y. in Editorials, Home Theater | 3 Comments

We’re giving away a FREE copy of Spears and Munsil, often considered the best calibration disc on the market.   All you have to do is leave a comment below and a winner will be randomly selected on May 31st.

Update2: Congrats to Richard McCarty for winning a copy of Spears and Munsil!

Update: I’m afraid our spam filter got a little crazy and deleted several of the early entries.  My sincere apologies.  As a result, I’m extending this giveaway until the end of the month.

NOTE: US only please.

Breaking: HP Buys Palm!

Apr 28

Posted by James Y. in Editorials, Mobile | No Comments

Yep it’s official, 1.2 billion buys you a struggling mobile handset maker these days as  HP purchased Palm today for $5.70 a share.  Jon Rubenstien will remain at the company although it’s unclear what his role will be.

HP’s name was not mentioned in the rumors floating around over the past few weeks making it a big surprise, but looks like the Palo Alto giant is getting  into the mobile space in a big way.  HP’s Deep pockets should bring a much needed cash infusion to Palm and Web OS to compete.

More after the break!

5 Reasons to Wait on the iPad

Apr 5

Posted by James Y. in Editorials, Gadgets | No Comments

On Saturday afternoon I stopped by the Apple store on Bay Street in Emeryville, CA to check out the iPad.  Outside there were 2 lines. One line was for people who wanted a “demo” or needed anything else in the store.  The other line was for people “ready to buy”.  As a steady stream of customers walked out the door (most of which were carrying white bags) they were met with cheers and applause from store employees as if they were celebrities.  At this point I was intrigued.  I normally walk away in situations like this but the fact Apple had a line just to see the device I admit, made it incredibly desirable.   Make no mistake.   This is a deliberate and carefully orchestrated marketing campaign from the king of all hype machines.  Flashbacks of the Cabbage Patch doll craze during the 80′s flashed in my mind.  It didn’t matter what they were selling.  The atmosphere plus the fear of running out hits the buy switch in people’s minds.  Luckily for me the line was short and I eventually got a demo of the iPad from a kid who looked way too young to work there.  What did I think?  The product is exactly as I expected and no more.  As someone who loves gadgets I can definitely see myself using it.   However it’s not attached to something I need every day (say a phone) and therefore I consider it purely a luxury device, and for such devices I always wait.  Here’s 5 reasons why you should too:

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Theaters Raising Ticket Prices for 3D

Mar 26

Posted by James Y. in Editorials | No Comments

Would you pay almost $40 for a couple of 3D movie tickets?  AMC hopes so, as the company and several others are raising ticket prices for 3D movies by as much as 26% in some areas.  Theater attendance is strong which is impressive considering how weak the economy is right now, and quite frankly theater companies are going to raise prices until there’s a push back.  So what are you waiting for?  Vote with your dollars.

Read the article here –>

12G Panasonic Plasma Calibration Guide is Now Live!

Mar 15

Posted by James Y. in Editorials | No Comments

Our continuing series of helpful self-calibration guides carries on with the popular 12G Panasonic plasmas.  The guide is applicable to all  X, S, G and V displays and is written in a way anyone can follow.  The tutorial also includes a video in how to get into the service menu where the RGB cuts and drv’s are stored for a grayscale calibration.

See the new Guide Here –>

Is it Live? Or is it Memorex?

Feb 18

Posted by James Y. in Editorials | No Comments

If you’re wondering why the production value for prime-time television shows is so remarkable this video shows you why.  Pretty remarkable stuff!

A-Z Guide to Setting up an HDTV

Feb 8

Posted by James Y. in Editorials, Home Theater | No Comments

So you’ve entered your credit card information online and hit the “Finalize Order” button.  Your heart races as the moment is finally here. You’ve done your research, waited for the best price and the moment of purchase has finally arrived.   In a few seconds your blackberry buzzes with an order confirmation and delivery date.  Don’t pat yourself on the back just yet.  There’s more work to be done!

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Who Will Use the iPad?

Feb 1

Posted by James Y. in Editorials, Gadgets | No Comments

Now that a week has gone by since our initial disappointment of Apple’s tablet device,  and after listening to countless discussions about how Apple’s blown it, I’ve come to a few conclusions .  First there was no way Apple could have possibly lived up to expectations. In many ways the iPad has become the victim of it’s own hype.  If the tablet rumor was never officially leaked, I wonder what people’s reactions might have been. Secondly there IS a market for a device like this, although nobody knows how large it is.  I can see those utilizing home automation software on the ipod/iphone jumping to this device,  allowing them to see an entire outline of their home on a single screen.  I can see someone replacing their Amazon Kindle for a full color Apple tablet that allows them to check email and browse the web.  I can see gadget-geeks buying it simply because it looks cool.  How many of these people are willing to shell out at least $499 remains to be seen but nobody can doubt the potential in a device like this is huge. Right now people point to the lack of Adobe Flash and multitasking as huge minuses, but once those workarounds come into place like HTML 5 and H264 streaming the iPad makes for a compelling device.  It might not gain real market share until these problems get addressed along with a price drops, but neither did the ipod or iphone either.  Until then we’re going to pass on the iPad and continue to watch it’s development which should be an interesting story indeed.

Just Another Apple Tablet Prediction

Jan 25

Posted by James Y. in Editorials, Gadgets | No Comments

With Apple’s much rumored “tablet” announcement just 2 days away online hype is at a feverish pitch.   So high in fact, there’s a good chance that whatever is unveiled on Wednesday will be a huge disappointment.  What’s interesting to me is everyones so focused on the hardware side, they could be missing the real story which is content deals.  There’s no doubt Apple’s tablet WILL be a beautiful piece of hardware but without good content it’s about as useful as a screen door on a submarine.  So what kind of  deals can we expect? For one expect magazine and newspaper subscriptions to jump on board making full use a gorgeous OLED display. For movies and television content you have to remember Steve Jobs is closely tied with Disney and Netflix’s recent fallout with the Micky Mouse company is suspicious timing.  A subscription based all-you-can-eat service would be killer and could potentially make this tablet (and the Apple TV) compelling.  Bottom line is Jobs wants this tablet to do for video what the ipod did for music.   Whether or not this device will succeed will depend largely on the content and whether or not Apple has the clout to give people what they want.

Our Predictions for Wed:

Tablet:

9-11″ OLED screen, built in camera, multi-touch display with new gestures, WIFI, possibly include Intel’s new Wireless Display Technology. $599 price.  New Apps and Groundbreaking content deals.

iphone 4.0:

Updated gestures found in the tablet added in OS4.  Background apps finally a reality but limited to a handful at a time.   Verizon Announcement.

Macbook

Minor update including I5 CPU’s

ipod Touch:

Camera

Netflix Map Shows What Your Neighbors are Watching

Jan 22

Posted by James Y. in Editorials | No Comments

Want to see the top 10 Netflix rentals in your area? Check out this cool interactive map that tells you just that.  Are you a conformist or a rebel?

See the Map Here –>

Comcast A28 Update Coming Jan 28 in Bay Area?

Jan 22

Posted by James Y. in Editorials | No Comments

We already reported that Comcast is planning a major update to it’s DVR software which includes the ability for batch deletes and online scheduling.  I noticed this message last night on my DVR here in Berkeley.  One has to wonder if Jan 28 is THE day.  Stay Tuned.

Confessions of an A/V Salesman

Jan 15

Posted by admin in Editorials | No Comments


In another life I worked at a now defunct specialty retail electronics store in the Bay Area. Often times I would sell what’s called “loss leaders”; advertised televisions that were sold at or even below cost.  The idea was to get you in the store for a potential up-sell, or tack on expensive cables and extended warranties. That means at checkout I would make more money from the $79 cable than I would from a $799 TV.  If you’re bought any kind of consumer electronics at a brick and mortar store, no doubt you’ve been given the same sales pitch about how expensive cables are mandatory for the best picture or sound.  Do yourself a favor and save your hard earned cash.   This is a highly controversial topic but the fact remains, nobody’s been able to prove that a $79 HDMI cable will outperform a $4 one, and the digital age has leveled the playing field tremendously.  What really bugs me are the “high speed” cables marketed for 120HZ sets, when in fact anything 1.3 spec is considered high speed.


Don’t get me wrong, I don’t suggest you cable your entire system with twist ties, but cables sold from Monoprice and Blue Jeans cable are very good AND inexpensive.  Should you pay more? Thats up to you.  Think of cables as shoelaces. Some people who spend a lot on a pair of shoes like to dress them up with nice laces.  Sure they’re well made and look nice, but in the end they keep your shoe on the foot.  Cables are the same way. They’re functional pieces but some like to “dress up” their expensive systems with well made cables and I say more power to them.  I say put that money elsewhere, but in the end it’s all about how it makes YOU feel.

Like It Or Not 3D Will Be Successful

Jan 14

Posted by James Y. in Editorials, Home Theater | No Comments


CES 2010 is over and as we expected 3DTV was all the rage, that is according to TV manufacturers. What about you? Everyone I spoke with seems to have a strong opinion of 3D one way or another. Many hate the fact the technology relies on “goofy” glasses and complain of headaches or nausea.  Those who love 3D think its a natural progression, just as we went from Black and White–>Color–>HDTV.  Like it or not 3DTV will succeed and here’s why.

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