What does this mean for the home theater industry?  Well, a Blu-ray Disc can hold 2 HD movies while the new Blue-Violet laser will hold over 50.  A  single disc can hold the extended versions of the “Lord of the Rings” Trilogy or all 6 of the “Star Wars” movies or entire seasons of HD TV shows like “24″ or “Lost.”   I also imagine this having quite an effect on the gaming industry.  Games have become so huge that some require 2 discs to play, like Mass Effect 2.  The next generation gaming platforms might use this technology to provide a larger and more immersive gaming experience.   

I don’t think we have to worry about another format war or Blu-ray suddenly becoming obsolete.  No announcement has been made as to when this would be commercially available, and it usually takes years before tech like this is ready for the mass market.

Waterproof  Remote

One such product is the RTI U2 universal waterproof remote (Picture on Left).  If you have an outdoor sound system, you can use this remote in conjunction with one of their wireless RF base stations to control your whole sound system. You can literally use this remote in your pool.  I remember the first time I installed one of these remotes I was so excited that it floated that after programming it I put it in the pool to see if it was true.  I came back to test my experiment and saw the remote floating in the center of the pool, far from arms reach.  After locating the net and fishing my remote out…It worked great and controlled the outdoor sound like a champ.

Outdoor Speakers

There are two main types of outdoor speakers, hanging or rock.  Hanging speakers are mostly used on the side of your house or under eaves of your porch.  These speakers are surprisingly robust and have great sound.  Rock speakers are mostly used around pools and landscaped outdoor living areas.  They look cool and sound good too.  People are attracted to these speakers because they blend into their landscape and disappear.  Both of these speaker types are usually installed with an all weather volume control that will let you control the volume of your sound without going inside to your equipment location.

Outdoor Video

Putting a flat panel TV outdoors can get a bit tricky.  The biggest hurdle is trying to prolong the life of a sensitive piece of equipment in the harsh environment of the Texas outdoors.  Often we will install a TV in  a loggia, patio or pool house that provides some shelter for the weather.  Even if the TV is protected from direct rain fall, it is still in an uncontrolled environment and that can significantly shorten its life.  Here are a couple of options to protect and increase the life of your TV.  The first is to get an all weather TV that is designed to be used outdoors.  Pantel and Sunbright have LCD TVs that are great for any outdoor situation, covered or exposed.  Their specially designed TVs are temperature controlled and ventilated.  They are also protected from dust, insects and spider webs, which are very damaging to electronics.

If your are looking for a less expensive option then try pairing an inexpensive flat panel TV with a protective cover.  The covers are designed to provide some protection from dust, insects and moisture when the TV is not in use.  Sound Ideas offer these covers in a variety of colors and sizes to fit any TV.

Hopefully this post helps stir your mind about the options that are available for outdoor entertainment.  There are a ton of things out there to choose from, and I just wanted to get you thinking and give you some basic things that we have done in the recent past.  No matter what you choose to do, the important thing is to get out there with friends and family and enjoy the outdoors!

Before

After

In their eagerness to sell you something, advertisers tend towards three approaches.  1.  They over simplify the product to highlight a single feature.  2.  They exaggerate or make overboard claims about what the product can do for you.  3.  They include too much information about the product.  Most of it being technical jargon that means nothing to the average consumer.

In the case of the Phillips TV commercial, they chose number 1.  “The TV is flat like a picture.  It can hang on the wall like a picture.  So let’s show some cool young hipsters hanging it on a wall like a picture, and then enjoy watching a flat TV hanging on a wall like a picture! Cool!  Totally Awesome!” 

I see the commercial and think there is no power on the wall for the TV.  There is no cabling for the TV.  There are no video sources in the room for the TV.  Where is the mounting bracket for the TV?  That window is going to cause some wicked glare off that TV.

The coolness of the TV being flat is lost on me because the commercial does not depict the TV in a realistic way.  Am I expected to believe that I can take the TV, hang on the wall and start watching TV?  Really?  C’mon!  Advertise the TV in a real world application and then I might say “Awesome!”

Stephen Hopkins over at CEPro.com feels that Mitchell is blaspheming and counters with the article “Ten Reasons Why 3d Will Succeed.”  He argues each of Mitchell’s points such as stating that 3-D glasses are temporary until auto-stereoscopic technologies develop, but he does not really say why  3-D will succeed.  Hopkins subtitled his article “Why 3D will find an important niche in the home theater experience” but fails to address this at all.

Take a moment to read through the articles.  Both Mitchell and Hopkins make good arguments, but they missed a few.  Here are my top 5 reasons why 3d could go either way.

1.  Avatar looked amazing in 3-D on a giant screen. It was very realistic and totally immersive.  At times I had physical reactions like motion sickness and vertigo because of what was happening on the big screen.  I do not think the move is going to look the same or even come close to achieving the same effect on my 47″ TV.  So how big a TV do you need to have until a 3-D movie or program gives you the same feeling it did in the theater – 50″, 65″, 80″, 100″? 

2.  I already wear glasses to watch TV as do millions of people.  I hate having to put on a second pair to watch a movie in the theater.   Doing that at home just to watch TV?  No way!  If I only had to wear one pair?  Maybe. 

3.  Right now content is limited but that will change.  The bigger question is will 3-D strive to be the standard format or is it going to become a feature used for special events and movies?  Is everything I watch like the local news eventually going to be in 3-D or will only programs like the Super Bowl or the Olympics be broadcast in 3-D?  I think 3-D will be adopted more quickly if only certain programs are in 3-D.   

4.  Gamers will be among the earliest adopters and will become the biggest proponents for 3-D technology.  Gaming, even more so than movies, is all about achieving an immersive experience.  Gamers want to lose themselves in the Game and that is what 3-D does the best. 

5.  The novelty might wear off quickly.  3-D movies have come and gone for decades.  We stand at the cusp where 3-D moves from being a gimmick to a legitimate story telling tool, but for every “Avatar” there will be a dozen “Clash of the Titans.”  Home technology fads come and go – it is too early to tell if 3-D will work in the home.

Here is the before shot. This is a common problem. Notice the large CRT TV that has it’s own base that goes down to the floor. If you wanted to put a flat panel in its place, it would be impossible to find a base that would match.

Above is the after picture. We created a bottom piece that would match the existing cabinet and we mounted the flat panel to a floating false wall. Everything matched  very nicely even though the existing cabinet was a manufactured cabinet with  a weird stain. In the end the cabinet modification we did was seamless and looked like it had always been like that.

The first 15 minutes of the movie is the best sequence.  It has an incredibly wide range of audio: the soft sounds of the ocean; the creaks, cracks, and pops of a wooden ship; soft and loud conversations; and an explosive cannon battle.  This movie will give your system a workout and really show off  the dynamic range of your speakers.  Here are some of the highlights:

Chapter 2 at 2:35 – This is one of the best scenes for surround sound.   We board the HMS Surprise just before dawn, and as we travel through the belly of the ship, we hear creaking, groaning and popping all around.  We move past the sailors snoring in their hammocks, and above us we hear the men moving on the deck in preparation for the changing of the watch.  The sounds of early morning on the ship are all around us, and it feels as if we are really on board the Surprise.   

Chapter 3 at 6:20 – The officer of watch sounds the alarm and the crew beats to quarters.  This is a major transition from a soft scene with no action to the controlled chaos of the crew preparing for battle.  As the action moves left to right and behind the sounds swirl around us.

Chapter 4 at 8:54 - Captain Jack Aubrey sees flashes of light within the fog bank and yells for his crew to get down.  A fraction of a second later we hear the muffled thump of cannons being fired and then the cannon balls crash across the deck of the Surprise sending schrapnel and splinters flying.   This is another sudden transition from a calm scene filled with dialogue to loud explosions and shouting.  We are taken all over the ship from the deck to the where the cannons are being prepped down to the ship’s surgeon’s quarters.  The audio places us right in the heart of the battle. 

Chapter 4 at 11:45 – As Aubrey is rushing back onto the deck a cannon ball explodes nearby momentarily stunning him.  The audio becomes muffled as if we are hearing through his ears.  When he recovers himself and surges back to to his feet, the audio snaps back into crisp focus, and we are back in the action with Captain Jack.

Chapter 5 at 13:13 – With the ship rudderless and the sails in tatters, Aubrey decides to make a run for the fog bank.  The long boats are lowered and the crew struggles to pull the Surprise toward the fog.  The sounds of the battle recede, and the musical score swells creating a real test for all of your speakers. 

Chapter 5 at 14:46 – They make it into the fog bank, and the sounds from the pursuing ship fade away.  The fog envelopes the ship, and the audio becomes muted.  The music dies down; conversation and sounds become  muffled.  It is as if the fog shrouds not only our eyes but also our ears.

If you really want to show off your system or just see what it can do, I highly recommend the first 15 minutes of this movie.

Over the past year I have worked with many clients to modify their cabinets. The story is usually the same and it goes something like this. “Ten years ago we had this beautiful cabinet custom made for this specific big screen tube television. Now we want to update to a new flat panel HDTV, but our cabinet was not made for a flat panel. What can we do?” Sometimes the solution to the problem is simple and other times it is not. The above picture is an example of a simple problem. So let’s walk through the solution.

Before any installation takes place we need to come to the job site and take measurements so that we can find what fits just right. Sometimes we will even borrow an existing cabinet door to match paint or stain color. All the preliminary work is done and now it’s the day of installation. First we need to get that beast of a tv out of it’s hole. Next we put up a “false backing” that will match the existing cabinet. Third, we run the necessary cables and set the mount in position. At this point we also install custom trim work, caulk and do touch up painting. We really have an attention to detail at this stage.

The fourth step is to prep the flat panel for the bracket. During this step we align the position so that the gap around the flat panel is even all around the edges. Next, we hook up all cables to flat panel and mount it to the bracket. It is important during this step to work with “kid gloves” because the new HDMI cables are very sensitive to bends and it is easy to scratch or damage the surrounding cabinets while mounting a flat panel. We want everything to look beautiful, so we take great caution mounting any tv.  Finally, we train the client on their new set up and answer any questions they might have. We really work had to make this whole process as painless as possible. The goal is to do the modification in such a way that it looks like it has always been apart of the cabinet.

Now that you have a general idea of the process I will be posting some before and after images from future cabinet modifications. If you have more questions, or you would like me to come to your house to look at your cabinet, just email David and I will get back to you asap.

1. Problem: “I can see a picture but do not hear anything” or “I can hear the game but can’t see it.”

Solution: Your TV or Surround Receiver is on the wrong input. Check the source input on your TV and your surround receiver. The inputs need to be on the same source. If you have sound and no picture then slowly cycle through the inputs on your TV until the picture appears. If you have a picture but no audio, do the same with your surround receiver.

2. Problem: “My satellite receiver is stuck on one channel.”

Solution: Your satellite receiver is frozen and needs to be reset.
Some Sat boxes have a reset button on the front. If yours does not, unplug it from the wall outlet for about a minute then plug it back in. This can be applied to any device even your DVD player or surround receiver. If a source is not working properly, always unplug it first and reset it.

3. Problem: “My surround speakers are not working.”

Solution: You are watching a program that does not have surround sound or your receiver is not in the proper surround format. Not everything you watch will have a surround sound mix. DVDs heavy on dialogue and low on action will not have a lot of sound coming out of the rear speakers. The same is true of analog TV channels. HDTV broadcasts will usually tell you if the audio is in Dolby Digital 5.1.

If you still think there is a problem, listen to an action DVD that you know has a lot of surround effects or play a CD in 5 channel stereo. The best way to check all your speakers is to use the Test Tone feature built into your receiver, but only do this if you are comfortable with using the receiver’s menu system. Also listen for crackling, a hum, or any kind of distortion as this could indicate interference or a damaged speaker.

4. Problem: “My universal remote won’t work my system.”

Solution: The batteries are dead or the IR emitters have fallen off the front of the components. Always check the batteries first. If you have a rechargeable remote, check the charge. Remember even rechargeable batteries can go bad. If you have an IR or RF system, check the IR emitters attached to the front of your components. If they have fallen off, your remote cannot talk to the component.

5. Problem: “I think the projection lamp in my TV is out.”

Solution: Check the indicator light on the front of the TV or the top of the projector. Most rear projection TVs like Mitsubishi and front projectors have a lamp indicator LED that will flash when the lamp is burned out. Even if your TV or projector is working you should check the hours on the lamp. If the lamp is at or over 1000 hours then it is time to get a new one. Most projection lamps are estimated to last 1000 – 2000 hours, but only have a warranty of 6 months. The actual life of a lamp can vary depending on its environment, how often it is used, the pictures it displays, and the brightness settings of the projector. I strongly recommend that if your lamp is at 1000 hours or over 6 months old, you should get a new lamp and use the old one as an emergency back up.