The return of the living room console
Let's face it: no matter how much you spend, home theater gear is pretty ugly. That's why the stuff used to be built into fine furniture in the '50s and '60s. And now that is happening again.
The "Theatre" system hides the A/V rig inside.
(Credit: Holland Electro)The "Theatre" system is part of a collection designed by Marcel Wanders for HE of the Netherlands. It's a low-slung, modern wooden side table with all the home theater stuff built into it and barely visible. The specs are fairly modest at just 25 watts of audio output, but they're probably just being honest, unlike the labeling on some "600 watt" home theater systems you'll find in the big box stores. The integrated DVD player handles all the usual formats plus DivX. The pebble-shaped things are the surround speakers.
"Theatre" goes for 299 euros, so once again I am reminded that Europeans have the opportunity to buy inexpensive home products with some style while we in the U.S. are mostly inundated with all the silver plastic that Sony, Matsushita, and the rest can get China to make out of our recycled water bottles.
Brian Cooley is an editor at large who keeps his fingers on the pulse of consumers' attitudes toward tech. His specialty is CNET Car Tech videos, but, frankly, most people have seen him on the TVs at Costco (or in one of his '60s Fords or Fiats). 
I hate silver, I hate silver, I hate silver! I don't want even a tinge of it on my home theater gear! Black. Black is cool. Black goes in virtually every living room. Silver only looks at home in modern furniture settings, which most living rooms aren't. I want my black. I had a silver TV years age and I HATED it. Said I'd never do that again. Good TV--but stinker, lousy looking in my all oak and maple wood furniture living room. Good furniture. Really nice stuff. No TV/home theater system compares to it.
What happened to the real stereo/TV consoles of yesteryear? Not plastic, but beautiful pieces of furniture. My parent's system was all pecan and they sold if for MORE than they bought it for, after using it for 20 years, because the buyer was smart enough to recognize the systems today suck in appearance.
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mark d.