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Do you want to avoid a “Goofy” home theater situation?

Occasionally I’ll post information specific to the importance of hiring a custom electronics systems integrator, such as Quality Audio Video.  Today, there are literally hundreds of thousands of choices when it comes to choosing the right projector, mount, cables, screen material/size/style, processor, amplifier, surround speakers and so on.  And the all-important universal remote controller should always be on your short list.  Being able to interact with your system with ease and reliability  will make your system and will make you very happy in the end.

With the help of Goofy, Disney has put together this  short-film to help us better explain why we’re here to help you install your next system – done right and done on-time.  Enjoy!

7 Ways to Stream Live Sports

7 tips for sports nuts to cut their cable and satellite umbilical cords.

Thanks to Hulu, Netflix and other video streaming devices, many are thinking about cutting their cable and satellite cords.

But what if you’re a sports nut and you need that multigame MLB or NFL package?

Nowadays there are plenty of Web sites that stream live sporting events. With a wireless home network, those games can also be streamed from a PC to a TV.

And if you missed the big game, you can always stream the endless amount of highlights per day on YouTube.

Here are some reasons to be optimistic that live events will become as commonplace as Family Guy episodes on Hulu.

ESPN360.com

It’s impossible to watch regular ol’ ESPN or ESPN2 without seeing promotions for their robust web counterpart. With the right broadband service – check online to see if yours is compatible – you can view live games from NCAA basketball and football to soccer and cricket.

MLB.tv

Take me out to the ballgame? Nah, I’ll stay home and watch any game I want, in high-def, thank you. With a subscription to MLB.tv’s premium service, you can view just about any live game during the season, plus archived games to download in the off-season, in 720p resolution. Last year the package cost $110 for the full season, and video service included in-game DVR capability and picture-in-picture.

CBS.com

March Madness got madder in recent years as hordes of Dilberts slowed down their office networks with CBS.com’s live, on-demand NCAA men’s basketball tournament coverage. And they can click the boss button to minimize the screen in case of emergency.

NFL.com

NFL Network has shown Thursday and Saturday night games the last few years, but the channel is a premium on some cable services. Head to NFL.com and stream those games, along with in-game studio analysis. Sunday Night Football on NBC was also simulcast on the Web site last season.

NBCOlympics.com

Michael Phelps wasn’t the only one to make a big splash at the 2008 Beijing Games. NBC delivered more than 2,200 hours of live and taped video coverage to the Web for the Summer Olympics. For the recent 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, the Website added full-screen playback.

Masters.org

Praise to the Masters folks for their recent introduction of live non-stop coverage of every group that comes through Augusta National’s famed Amen Corner.

TNT.tv

The home for featured weekly NBA games on TV offers a handful of games each year streamed live, with more camera angles.

Tiger Woods Returns to Golf in 3D

Woods is making his return to the PGA Tour at The Masters on April 5-11.  Sony, Comcast, and The Masters are teaming up for two hours of 3D coverage per afternoon.

Sony’s answer to Wii: PlayStation Move

Engadget: “Where Move departs from the Wii is that while the Wii has detection of movement (with its built-in accelerometers), pointing (with the sensor bar), or even exact orientation (with that addition of MotionPlus), Move can track its controller precisely within real 3D space, instead of just relative movement based on a previous position.”

You can read more about the move controller on Sony’s website: http://us.playstation.com/ps3/accessories/scph-98060.html

Speakers the Big Box Retailers Don’t Want You to Hear!

Episode 500 Series LCR-4 Compact Speakers

“Speakers the Big Box Retailers Don’t Want You to Hear”

By Gary Altunian, About.com Guide

Anyone looking for home electronics store knows that big-box resellers dominate the retail landscape. Big box retailers have ushered in the unfortunate demise of the audio specialists – you know, the local dealer who truly consulted with customers to help meet their needs.

On a bright note, custom installers and system integrators who specialize in complex AV installations and multiroom audio systems have replaced the audio specialists. In this context, I present a review of the Episode LCR-4 speakers, available only through custom installation specialists and system integrators.

Overview

SnapAV, a custom installation specialist located in Charlotte, NC, founded Episode in 2005 to serve the growing custom installation market. Episode offers a broad line of bookshelf and architectural speakers that are available exclusively through AV installers and custom integrators. You won’t find Episode products in big-box stores and you probably won’t find a speaker system with as much value as the Episode LCR-4.

Design & Features

The Episode LCR-4 is a two-way compact speaker with two 4.5″ polypropylene injection cones with high temp voice coils and a 1″ Titanium dome tweeter housed in a compact, stylish enclosure with a black or white glass-like finish. The high quality fit and finish of the enclosures is noticeable immediately.

The LCR-4 speakers are bass reflex design with two ports on the back of the enclosures and gold-plated 5-way binding post speaker connectors. Each speaker comes with wall-mounting brackets that place the speaker about ¾” off the wall when installed. They are well suited for use as a speaker system to accompany a flat panel television and can be installed vertically or horizontally.

Testing & Performance

I tested five of the Episode LCR-4 speakers in my system along with an Episode 12″ in-room subwoofer. Episode offers an in-wall subwoofer, which will appear in a separate review.

Although it may be considered a steep challenge for compact-sized speakers, I placed the Episodes flanking a 96″ video screen rather than a flat panel television. The left and right channel front speakers were placed next to the screen and the center channel speaker just below the screen.

The LCR-4 speakers have a small footprint but a surprisingly big sound as I heard in the soundtrack from The Wrestler (2008, Blu-ray, Wild Bunch Pictures). The body slams, head crunches and other unpleasant activities seen in professional wrestling sounded all too real, making it difficult not to wince when watching these guys, which I suppose is part of the appeal of the ‘sport’. The speakers easily handled the dynamic range and dialog sounded very intelligible.

Diana Krall’s breathy rendition of “How Insensitive” (Verve Records), a more genteel stereo music sound test revealed excellent vocal detail with very good center imaging. Jennifer Warnes “Bird on a Wire” (Porch Light, LLC) begins with deep, robust drums and percussion showing that the satellites blended seamlessly with the subwoofer.

The sound qualities of the Episode LCR-4s were similar whether placed in a vertical or horizontal position and overall the timbre of the Episode speaker system sounded very neutral with music and speech.

Conclusions

Priced at $249 each the Episode LCR-4 speakers are an excellent value, especially as a complement to a flat panel television or even a video projection screen. They’re good enough that your local big-box retailer would probably prefer you didn’t know about them. They sound good with music sources, but their real strength is movie and television sound. Build quality, fit and finish and style is impressive and they can be easily wall-mounted to flank the screen with the included mounting hardware.

Specifications

• Woofer: Two 4½” Polypropylene Injection Cones with high temperature voice coils
• Tweeter: 1″ Titanium Dome, Neodymium magnets, ferro-fluid cooled voice coil
• Recommended Power: 90 Watts RMS, 225W Peak
• Nominal Impedance: 8 ohms
• Frequency Response (-6dB): 70 Hz – 23 kHz
• Sensitivity: 90 dB
• Finishes: High Gloss Black or White
• Crossover Frequency: 2.3 kHz
• Connector Type: Gold Plated Binding Post Terminals
• Weight: 9.2 lbs.
• Dimensions (W x H x D): 5.1″, 13.8″, 6.0″
• Price: $249 each

Quality Audio Video
Denver, CO 80111
www.GoQAV.com

Oppo adds a cheaper Blu-ray player to its lineup with the $289 BDP-80

The BDP-80 is a full-featured universal Blu-ray Disc™ player that supports BD Profile 2.0 (BD-Live and BonusView), DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, Super Audio CD (SACD), HDCD, CD and other popular media formats such as AVCHD, MKV video files, digital photos and music. Sharing the same decoder and similarly optimized firmware as OPPO’s award-winning BDP-83, the BDP-80 features fast disc load times, quick response to user operations, and robust audio and video controls. In contrast to the BDP-83, which utilizes an onboard VRS by Anchor Bay video processor, the BDP-80 design has been optimized for use as a digital audio/video transport, emphasizing the accuracy of its digital audio/video outputs. At the same time, the BDP-80 is versatile enough to be used as a stand-alone universal Blu-ray player, thanks to its full array of output connections and audio/video decoding capabilities.

For video, the BDP-80 features an HDMI 1.3 port that supports 1080p Full HD, 1080p 24Hz, Deep Color and Source Direct modes. Component video, S-Video and Composite video connections are also available for legacy analog displays. In addition to its faithful reproduction of high-definition pictures on Blu-ray Discs, the player can up-convert DVD from standard definition up to 1080p to maximize DVD picture quality. Its “Source Direct” output mode makes the BDP-80 incredibly well suited as a digital transport to feed into an external video processor, a high-end A/V receiver or display device with built-in video processing. Unique features such as subtitle shift and vertical stretch zoom mode makes the player an ideal source component for home theaters with 2.35:1 CIH (Constant Image Height) displays.

For audio, the BDP-80 supports internal decoding and bitstream output of the latest sound formats including Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master audio. The BDP-80 also features a configurable 7.1-channel analog output that can be set as 7.1-channel, 5.1-channel, or stereo. When playing SACD, the BDP-80 can output DSD (Direct Stream Digital) over HDMI in its native format or convert it into high-resolution PCM. For compatibility with many legacy A/V receivers and DACs, the BDP-80 also provides an optical and coaxial digital audio output.

The initial setup of the BDP-80 is a breeze with its Easy Setup Wizard and well-written manual. Setup menus on the player can be accessed without interruption to disc playback. The front and back USB 2.0 ports enable easy access to music, photo and video files. The BDP-80 comes standard with 1GB of internal storage built-in so that no additional memory card or flash drive is needed to use BD-Live and BonusView features. Featuring a brushed metallic front panel and dimmable display, the BDP-80 fits nicely in any home theater environment, ranging from simple to high-end.

Quality Audio Video
Denver, CO 80111
www.GoQAV.com

Get the best sound possible, at home.

Your audio system was not designed for your room. It does not know your room’s size, where the walls and furniture are and which materials are absorbing and reflecting sound.  One of the tools in our sound calibration arsenal is the Audyssey MultEQ system.  Audyssey equipment helps our team to measure and remove the distortion caused by room acoustics, delivering the best possible sound for everyone in your listening room.

Every seat is now the best seat in the house
Until now, world class sound was limited to the best theaters.  Now, with QAV sound calibration services you can hear accurate, enveloping, and distortion-free sound everywhere in your listening room.  At the heart of our system is a patented method for measuring an audio system in multiple positions throughout a home theater, a movie theater, a recording studio, or a car.  Capturing information in the time domain and combining that information in a patented new way enables us to evaluate not only the frequency response, but reflections in the audio path that effect time of arrival and cause distortion.

With this information, we can equalize an audio system resulting in improved soundstage, accurate tonal balance, deeper and more defined bass, and overall improved imaging.  Your audio systems can now reach their true potential because the problems caused by acoustical distortion from the room, speaker placement, and the enclosure are removed.

To inquire about audio calibration services in your home, contact QAV today.

Quality Audio Video
Denver, CO 80111
www.GoQAV.com

HDMI 1.4 spec to add support for 3-D content

The HDMI Licensing consortium is scheduled to meet in January to add support for 3-D content to its upcoming HDMI 1.4 standard. HDMI 1.4, according to this report, creates protocols for several technologies related to 3-D, and devices using the new spec are expected to be on display at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in January.

Quality Audio Video
Denver, CO 80111
www.GoQAV.com

Bass Monaco/Copenhagen Hybrid Coming Soon

Want to inquire about this product?  Contact us, Quality Audio Video is your local Bass Industries seating expert.

Quality Audio Video
Denver, CO 80111
www.GoQAV.com