theater

Despite countless reviews and articles proclaiming plasma TVs as having better picture quality, and costing less money, LCDs continue to dominate sales charts.

So the question is, why did you, or will you, choose LCD (or LED LCD) over plasma?… Read more

The No. 1 question I get from readers is something along the lines of "What's the best speaker?" Some readers include a price range, which is a huge help, but there are a lot of factors that should be considered when selecting a speaker. Or to be more precise, a speaker system.

Speakers "play" the room, so room size and acoustics should be taken into consideration when buying speakers. The pair of 8-inch tall speakers that might sound great in a 10-by-12-foot bedroom probably won't cut it in a 25-by-40-foot living room, where you … Read more

At some point, you've probably considered hooking your computer up to your TV. Maybe you even purchased a video cable, only to realize that being hunched over your computer and tethered to the TV is far from the awesome setup you had in mind.

Hooking up your computer to your TV can be as simple or as complex as you want. A basic setup lets you stream the occasional Web video, while a more advanced rig lets you access movie and music files from computers across your home network.

But the most brag-worthy home theater PCs (HTPCs) include all … Read more

I've had a projector as my main display for more than 10 years. I don't for a second believe they're for everyone. However, I do believe that more people could enjoy projectors than currently do.

From other articles I've written on CNET, though, there's a lot of push-back and negativity with projectors, and I'd like to find out why. … Read more

Sorry this is so late, folks. I was the victim of flaky hotel Wi-Fi this morning. Anyway, this is an update of a deal I posted almost two years ago. It's been that long since I"ve seen a better one on a projector!

And projectors rock. For my money, nothing beats wall-size movies, TV shows, Xbox games, photo slideshows, and so on. I've also been known to haul a projector outside for a little backyard theater action.

Of course, a 1080p model is all but essential. Alas, most models still sell for $1,000 or more … Read more

When I dropped by the Park Avenue Audio NYC showroom, I was on a mission to find an audiophile bookshelf speaker that wouldn't break the bank. The store's selection covers a wide gamut, but the majority of speakers are $1,000-plus per pair. Then I ran across the Monitor Audio "Silver" RX1; it's a medium-size bookshelf speaker, measuring a tidy 12.3 x 7.3 x 9.4 inches. At 15 pounds, it feels surprisingly heavy for its size. It has a 1-inch ceramic-coated aluminum/magnesium-alloy dome tweeter and a 6-inch metal woofer. The speakers … Read more

Of the 750-plus channels Roku has to offer, there's one big guy missing from the pack: YouTube.

Considering its front-and-center presence on other platforms -- like Apple TV and Samsung Smart TVs -- its conspicuous absence might seem odd. But, Roku's CEO offers a logical explanation, noting that "YouTube insists on using HTML5 for its UI," and seemingly refuses to build a Roku-specific app.

YouTube's absence hurts so bad that even third-party developers have created channels almost exclusively designed to stream YouTube, only to be pulled days or weeks later.

As of this writing, there … Read more

For most people, sound bars are the best way to get better sound quality in the living room. They're simple and inexpensive, and don't have all the frustrating wires that come with a true surround-sound system. Sound bars don't sound as good as true separate speakers -- especially with music -- but if you're mostly looking for better sound with movies and TV shows, they're vastly better than your TV's built-in speakers.

So which sound bar should you buy? A good place to start is CNET's list of best sound bars. At the … Read more

Onkyo's rightfully known as the king of AV receiver value and its new 2013 line looks worthy of that reputation.

The company announced its new AV receivers this morning, with the step-up TX-NR626 and TX-NR727 models getting two big new features for 2013: built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. All of the models are also packed with HDMI connectivity, with even the entry-level TX-NR525 offering six inputs.

Here's how I'd break down the most-important features:

TX-NR525 ($500): 5.2 channels, six HDMI inputs, Audyssey MultEQ, networking, unpowered second zone TX-NR626 ($600) step-ups: 7.2 channels, built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, … Read more