AV Education on RHT The High End Prewire Written by Jerry Del Colliano I recently bought a small home in the hills above Los Angeles and have taken on the project of renovating it, a process which includes two complete home theaters, high-speed Internet connectivity throughout the house, some distributed audio, lighting control, and more. The idea of this article is to show you some of what is possible in a whole-home prewire, so that when you build a new house or gut an existing property, you have a good idea of what to ask from a qualified AV installer. My project is based around renovating a home built in 1959 that is devoid of most, if not all, of the latest AV and communications protocols. Many newer homes come designed for much more technology, but only in rare cases will a house that you buy be properly prewired for everything a Revolution Home Theater reader ...

AV Education on RHT Is Convergence Finally Upon Us? Written by Jerry Del Colliano Convergence is the buzzword that the audio-video industry uses to describe the inevitable merger between PC-related devices and the Internet with home theater components and audio/video systems. There is no question that the process of convergence is now underway, but it has been a slow and sometimes painful journey so far. Some industry analysts think consumers are at a critical point with convergence, past any return to the ways that stereo and home theater systems have operated for decades. This is mostly good news for movie and music enthusiasts. Let’s take a look at some of the areas where convergence is underway and how it can positively affect you and your AV system right now.

All About Convergence: 2006 Edition By Adrienne Maxwell September 2006 What is convergence? In a world that’s growing ever more connected, perhaps the better question is, what isn’t convergence? The simplest definition I found for the word “convergence” at www.dictionary.com is: “The process of coming together or the state of having come together toward a common point.” Of course, the site goes on to provide definitions of the word’s specific meaning in mathematics, physiology, biology and even commodities trading. Try to narrow down to the word’s meaning to consumer electronics circles, and you’d still have to wade through myriad possibilities, from telecommunications companies that are merging voice, data and video services to the portable-electronics trend of housing a cell phone, camera, MP3 player and PDA in one handheld device. Okay, what if we narrow it down even further, from consumer electronics to home entertainment? You’ll soon see that even this encompasses a whole lot of stuff, but ...

The Pros and Cons of Extended Warranties By Jerry Del Colliano April 2006 Anyone who has ever purchased an electronic device or component of any kind in the last 20 years has been offered the chance to buy an extended warranty. The question still remains as pertinent today as it was years ago: are extended warranties worth it? The simple answer is: it depends. In the old days of high-end audio and stereo you made investments in analog devices (speakers, amps, preamps, turntables, tube television sets), which were either awkward to move or were likely built with expensive analog parts. Today’s home theater systems are built more like computers and have lifespans that reflect more on the disposable nature of their processors than the analog nature of high-end audio components of years gone by.

AV Education on RHT Building The Basic, Badass Home Theater Part One: Getting Prepared Written by Jerry Del Colliano Welcome to Part One of a series of articles designed to teach you the inside tricks, tips and advice needed to help you build a top performing yet entry level home theater. As much as we all want a $1,500,000 media room in our homes, most of us aren’t capable of footing the bill. This series is designed to get you thinking about all of the elements you need to make your $5,000 (and up) home theater perform like a set-up costing many, many times more than your investment. Picking and Preparing Your Room For most AV enthusiasts, it seems pretty obvious which room your theater should go in, but before you get too far into the project, take a second to think about who uses your theater and where they use it the most. If you have ...