theater

Multimedia cabinet or wine rack?

Now this is what we call a home theater cabinet. Furniture with built-in speakers and other media equipment is nothing new, but this ultra-limited-edition (and curiously named) "Stringless Pleasure" stereo rack--created by architect Chi-wing Lo, according to Dvice--takes the concept to an entirely new level. Why? Not only does it have high-end gear built into its shelves, but the system also has plenty of storage space for discs and other media--which we think could just as easily be used a wine rack.

Intimate seating for tete-a-tete theater

Sure, you can build your own Bat Cave or Enterprise replica to impress your buddies, but what about those times when something a little more intimate is in order? Enter the "Cuddle Couch."

It may look like un updated version of something you'd find in Austin Powers' flat, but it's not a revolving round bed. The couch is designed for the more casual home theater, according to Luxist, with cupholders built into either side and a custom glass tray that holds your snacks.

Given that pricing starts at $2,495, we were surprised to see that … Read more

Turn your Zune into a home-theater hub for $19.99

Good news for Zune owners: Buy.com has the Zune Home AV Kit for $19.99, a pretty sweet deal considering that big-box stores like Circuit City still sell it for the $99.99 list price.

The kit lets you connect your Zune (1st- and 2nd-gen models alike) to your TV or receiver, then control it from your couch via the included remote. That means you can listen to your Zune music library on your kick-ass stereo or watch videos on your big-screen TV (at a resolution of just 640x480, alas). The AC-powered Zune dock also charges your Zune, and … Read more

Shock and awe: A $6 million home theater

If your typical high-end home theater with rows of plush seats, velvet wallpaper, and popcorn machines offers Cadillac levels of performance and luxury, then Jeremy Kipnis' $6 million ultimate home theater is more like a fire-breathing Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, the fastest production Ferrari ever built.

This home theater is all about aggressively advancing the state of the art of picture and sound presentation. Yes, it's comfortable and beautiful, but its prime directive is a quest for the very best. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is overlooked. Kipnis won't settle for second best. … Read more

A flat-TV alternative to the old combo box

To the chagrin of home-entertainment aficionados, there will always be people who want all their media functions in a single box. We're not talking about a high-end convergence phenom like the $10,000 "Q," by the way, but something more like a TV/DVD/VCR combo that can be found behind the counter at Walgreens. But with TVs getting thinner all the time, the design and manufacturing may get increasingly tricky.

There is, however, an alternative. The "Razor Home Entertainment Theater" is a combo unit that can be mounted below a flat panel on the … Read more

Where Batman goes to watch Blu-ray

As more bored millionaires spend untold sums on movie-themed theaters, we're pleased to find that not all of them are based on Star Trek or Star Wars. (Just 99.9 percent.)

Yet none of these, in our humble opinion, can compare with the "Bat Cave" seen on Slippery Brick. The latest custom job by Canada's Elite Home Theater Seating provides an impressive subterranean atmosphere, from its dramatic lighting to ersatz stalactites.

As far as options are concerned, the sky's the limit (to mix a few metaphors). The bat-shadow screen cover, however, should be required.

CES 2008: Home audio wrap-up

You won't find a more institutionally conservative category in the consumer electronics space than home audio. More than any other industry segment, audio is one where technological advances tend to be lamented rather than celebrated, viewed with suspicion rather than embraced. And that's understandable: Subpar speakers are now passed off as good enough and used to listen to digital music, which is often highly compressed compared with CD or (even better) LP equivalents. And the music itself is coming from a dying recording industry, struggling to stay alive in the digital age, and often relegated to background music--fewer … Read more

CES: The anticable, no wires movement

The open assault on cables and wires was on particular display at CES. Apparently, wires clutter your life and cause you misery, or some vendors would have you think. Whether it's faster and faster Wi-Fi from Intel, streaming video from Slingbox, in-home HD distribution, Bluetooth home theater audio from Samsung at different parts of the radio spectrum, the trend is moving away from physical media and physical connections.

That said, I wondered how a leading wire cable company, Monster, would make themselves relevant in this anticable movement. Apart from having a sold-out Mary J. Blige concert, Monster has made … Read more

Polk Audio SurroundBar 360: Single-speaker virtual surround home theater

Polk Audio has officially unveiled its first single-speaker all-in-one home theater system, the SurroundBar 360. The system is comprised of just two components--a single elongated speaker (44 inches wide) designed to sit beneath your flat-panel TV, and a DVD player/amplifier head unit that houses the electronics. While the SurroundBar concept isn't new for Polk (the speaker-only 2005 version was designed to be paired with an AV receiver), the latest iteration utilizes a new active (powered) design that's said to maximize the speaker's eight drivers. In addition to the disc player and AM/FM radio, the head unit offers all of the standard DVD player outputs (including HDMI). Input capabilities fall short of HD switching, but the 360's analog composite and S-Video inputs will be upconverted via the HDMI output. A USB input is also available for digital photo playback and music players.

Watch the Polk Audio Surround Bar 360 video on CNET TV.

We had the opportunity to hear an early version of the SurroundBar 360 put through its paces by company founder Matthew Polk himself.… Read more