An electronics storage area is often the last “room” people think about when adding systems to their homes. Granted, it’s an easy spot to forget with visions of bright, beautiful, big screens dancing in your head. However, don’t let equipment storage go by the wayside. It’s crucial that you create a special space for all the processors, amplifiers, and other components that’ll give your home the brainpower and horsepower it… View this story
Equipment Racks • Home Theater • Info and Answers • Slideshows

Have an energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) that needs recycling? Home improvement retail giant The Home Depot has launched a free in-store CFL recycling program at all of its U.S. locations.  CFLs contain a small amount of mercury, a hazardous substance, so they should not be disposed of in your trash. However, CFLs are many times more efficient than traditional incandescent bulbs. According to the EPA’s Energy Star program, if… View this story
Green Technology • Retailers • Info and Answers

I remember the first time I experienced stereo sound while watching a movie at home. My parents had just purchased a stereo from Sears. I wasn’t older than 13 but I distinctly remember hooking up our Hi-Fi VCR to the new stereo and marveling at the sound of the jets moving from one side of the room to the other in “Top Gun.” We’ve come a long way since then.… View this story
Surround Sound • Movies and Music • Audio • Info and Answers

You may have heard that you can save energy by plugging your electronics into a surge suppressor and switching the surge strip off when you’re not using your gear. This stops vampire or standby power from being consumed by your electronics when they’re not “on.” There are now smart surge suppressors that shut the power completely off to your electronics, and even those with remote controls, as detailed in our… View this story
Surge Protectors • Green Technology • Home Theater • Home Control • Info and Answers

Shopping for a new in-dash car stereo and want some sweet sounding music? Satellite radio is an option, but if “free” sounds better, you should consider HD Radio. HD Radio allows any AM or FM station to broadcast their programming (and for FM, up to 2 alternate channels), in a pristine digital format. AM HD sounds as good as regular FM, and FM HD is CD-quality. HD Radio was years… View this story
HD Radio • Automotive • Enhancements • Info and Answers

I hear it all the time: “I have a basement or garage filled with old electronics, and I don’t know what to do with them.” Bring them to an electronic recycler, or course. So how do you find one near you? There are some web sites that provide e-cycling listings, such as the CEA’s mygreenelectronics.com. Now the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA’) is on board with its E-cycling Central, with a… View this story
Green Technology • Info and Answers

Surge suppressors can save the world. Really, they can. Those mundane power strips we use for our computers and our home entertainment systems can help us stave off the effects of global warming. How exactly? Do they suddenly have carbon dioxide and methane scrubbers in them? Can they sequester carbon within their tiny circuits? Can they recover your paycheck at the gas pump? No, no and no. But surge suppressors… View this story
Surge Protectors • Green Technology • Enhancements • Info and Answers

General attitudes toward speaker aesthetics can generally be broken down into two categories: those who don’t mind (or actually desire) seeing their speakers and having them be seen, and those who would just as soon stick a toilet in the middle of their living room and sully their décor with a floorstanding loudspeaker array. The latter group has been the target demographic of in-wall speaker manufacturers for years. But even… View this story
Speakers • In-Wall Speakers • Audio • Info and Answers • Slideshows

At least one of the CE executives I’ve talked with concerning their newest television introductions both for 2008 and 2009 referred to their new products as “Not Your Dad’s Oldsmobile.” Well some of these devices are your dad’s Oldsmobile…a car that was discontinued a few years ago after a nearly 75 years of greatness because the companies added too many unneeded features…. That’s the same feeling I got from the… View this story
Displays • Multiroom Audio • Multiroom Video • Internet • Web Services • Networking • Info and Answers

As ludicrous as it seems, today’s HDTVs still share something in common with those bulky old cathode tube-style TVs of yesteryear - they’re placed on stands or cabinets. But regardless of where the TV sits, it would be ideal to only see it, when it’s on. Leaving aside aesthetic considerations, the mechanics for hiding a TV are attainable by just about anyone - requiring just a lift mechanism, a cabinet… View this story
Displays • Furniture and Mounts • Home Theater • Info and Answers