AV Education on RHT The Pros and Cons of LCD TVs Written by Michael Levy Introduction I remember the first time I saw “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Of all of the wonders predicted in Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece, I was most taken by the flat screen TV displays. In one scene, the displays are like pads on the table. The LCD monitors that now come with most computers come closest to looking like them. LCD displays have quickly become the reference for personal computing, but they have not expanded in size enough to compete with plasma for home entertainment. While plasma is well ahead in this race, many think LCD displays will be first across the finish line when one format dominates. As the technology advances and LCD conquers its limitations its strengths give it greater viability.

AV Education on RHT Buying a New Home With A Good Sounding Media Room Written by Bob Hodas Introduction A number of years ago, a good friend of mine built a beautiful new house in Napa, California. He had made a bundle working for a professional audio company that had taken the industry by storm with a forward-thinking new product. I went up to visit him and was I ever impressed with his home. It was spectacular in almost every aspect. What wasn’t spectacular were the acoustics of the room in which he set up his favorite speakers. He set the system up in his vast living room, which had an Rt60 (reverb time) that rivaled my old high school gymnasium. I could see for this discerning listener that making his music playback match the grandeur of the overall home was going to take a small miracle.

AV Education on RHT The Pros and Cons of Plasma TVs Written by Michael Levy Introduction Audio/video product designers tend to be dreamers. When I was young, I would dream of a George Jetson-inspired day when you could just hang a picture on the wall and view a bright, clear, vivid moving image. Plasma TV has made that seemingly impossible dream real. Believe it or not, plasma screen technology goes back to the ‘60s. It took advancements in chip design and miniaturization through the decades to make it commercially feasible. Growing up in that era, I could daydream of the concept, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I doubted it could really make it to the walls of my home. Now, people go every day to vendors ranging from CostCo to the best custom home theater designers to get a sexy, thin plasma-beaming HDTV in their living rooms. Walking through the vast hallways of ...

RHT How To: Four Reasons Why You Need a Home Network By Bryan Dailey April 2004 If you live in a major metropolitan area, it seems like the Internet is everywhere. You can’t go into a Starbucks without seeing the signs promoting the fact that they offer a wireless Internet connection so you can sip some latte and surf the Net on your laptop. Wireless networks are popping up at airports, laundromats, and even bowling alleys nationwide. At home, you likely have an Internet connection in your den, office or maybe your bedroom, but as wireless networks become more affordable and easier to set up, you now have the ability to utilize the Internet in your home theater system in ways you might never have thought possible. This month, we look at four reasons why you should have an Internet network throughout your home.

I drive a lot. Every work day (and some weekends), I hop in my fuel-efficient Honda Civic and commute to the Century City offices of AudioRevolution.com from Long Beach on the 405 freeway which, during rush hour, often looks more like a parking lot than a freeway. With a daily round-trip commute of 60 miles a day, there is certainly no better candidate for satellite radio than yours truly. When AudioRevolution.com publisher Jerry Del Colliano had XM Satellite Radio installed in his SUV, I was very excited to have the chance to audition it on a daily basis with him as we drove to lunch at one of the greasy spoons in West Los Angeles and Beverly Hills. We determined that the technology was pretty slick and, although not quite as “CD quality” as the commercials would have you ...