The HitMaster also features a 1/8 input jack for quick connection to TVs, iPods, and other sources with a 1/8″ headphone output, and comes with its own 9-foot Stereo RCA Connector. It is constructed of heavy-duty MDF, with internal bracing to eliminate buzzing effects. Designed to be durable with a protective steel-mesh grille and corner guards, and it only weighs 13 Lbs so it’s easy to take with you. Definitely check out the Polk Audio HitMaster it will be a great addition to your gaming system so you can Rock out like the star you are!!

Niles ZR4 Series 2 4 Source, 4 Zone Audio MultiZone Receiver

Although it is possible to install this in a finished house, it is much easier to install before the sheetrock is up. Assuming you will also have an Audio/Video receiver in the home as well, you will want to locate the Niles receiver in the same location nearby your CD player, satellite box, and other equipment. Since this is a 4-zone receiver, locate up to four areas around the house where you will want to install speakers and then run a pair of speaker wire and a single line of cat 5 to each room to where the keypad will be installed. From there, run speaker wire to wherever the speakers are located in the room and hook up the keypads.

You can connect three external sources to the ZR4 (CD player, DVD, satellite box, cable box, etc) in addition to the built in radio for four sources. Niles also makes an iPod dock which can be added to the system.

Here are some other highlights:

• 4 Ohm Stable Digital Amplifier
• Remote Control
• Plasma/LCD-Proof IR Sensors
• Compatible with anoptional Niles DBI-1 Doorbell Interface
• Independent bass, treble, and variable loudness controls
• You can turn on the entire house (or a preset number of zones) to listen to the same source
• You can program up to four zones so that turn-on, source selection, and turn-off work in unison.
• Designed to manage source sharing with an independent home theater system.
• Can be controlled by secondary control systems via RS-232 devices and/or discrete infrared commands

The possibilities are endless with the ZR4 as Niles makes other components that can be easily integrated into the system. One can even link 2 ZR4 units together to create an 8 zone system. Whole house audio systems can seem overwhelming, but Niles makes it easy with the ZR4 multi zone receiver.

For the vast majority of our clients, the Denon AVR2310ci fits like a glove. It is feature packed and reasonably priced. With features such as Audyssey Dynamic Volume and EQ, Auto speaker set up, multi-room/multi-source, Sirius Satellite radio ready and 5 HDMI inputs, this model combines advanced technologies and user friendly set up. For optimum video quality, the AVR-2310CI features state-of-the-art video processing via Anchor Bay VRS ABT-2010, which provides analog to digital video upconversion as well as HDMI to HDMI upconversion, outputting at up to full 1080p HD (24p/60p). It also offers several of the most coveted surround formats to get the very best audio performance from your movies and shows. Warm, detailed and accurate sound is standard for Denon. If you are looking for the best combination of features, fantastic sound and video processing, and reliability then I strongly suggest taking a very close look at the Denon AVR2310ci.

What’s in the Box?

Take a look at the new LCR Definitive Technology Mythos XTR-50! Learn more

The old tube TVs that we all grew up with (CRTs or Cathode Ray Tubes) and the old-school big-screen TVs (rear-projection TVs) are quickly becoming unfashionable, inconvenient, and obsolete. In their place have emerged two key new types of screens – LCD and Plasma.

Plasma TVs

Plasma TVs display pictures on the screen using tiny gas plasma cells. Each of these plasma cells emits light and color, which means two things. First, it means that plasma TVs do not require any sort of backlighting like LCD TVs require. And second, it means that they can produce very dark darks and very light lights. Many home theater pundits recommend plasma TVs over LCD TV for this reason; although technologies like local dimming using LED backlighting in LCD TVs has started to close this gap.

There are several issues to consider with plasma TVs. Due to the nature of the plasma in the TVs, the screens have to be made of layers of glass, which often creates problems with glare in lighted rooms in the home. They have also had problems in the past of burn-in, although this has improved significantly in past years.

Plasma TVs are an improvement over previous TV technologies, but their market share in the flat-panel TV market is falling year after year to LCD TVs as LCD panels become more common and more economical to produce in large sizes.

LCD TVs

One of the biggest differences between LCD screens and plasma screens is that LCD screens require backlighting, which has conventionally come in the form of fluorescent lighting tubes. Although manufacturers have been able to fit these tubes into tighter and tighter spaces, a recent development in the market has revolutionized backlighting – the implement of LED lights in TVs, such as the Samsung C7000 Series.

There are three key advantages to true LED backlighting in LCD TVs. The first advantage is in power consumption – since LED lights do not require nearly as much power as florescent tubes, LED-backlit TVs consume less power.

Second, LED backlighting reduces the amount of space required within the TV, thus allowing manufacturers to produce extremely slim sets. Some sets, such as the LED-backlit LG 55LE9500, are less than an inch thick. This is a remarkable upgrade even from flat-panel TVs several years ago.

The third advantage of true LED backlighting is the ability to increase the contrast ratio through local dimming, like the LG 47LE8500. Since the LCD panel is illuminated by a series of LED lights instead of large florescent tubes, the lights can be dynamically turned off to create darker darks.

One thing to keep in mind is that some companies, such as Samsung, produce edge-lit LED backlighting instead of true LED backlighting. This means that instead of having LEDs directly behind the LCD screen, they install LEDs around the edge of the screen which shine on a screen that goes across the back of the panel, diffusing the light forward. This does reduce the number of lights required, but it also eliminates the ability to locally dim lighting to produce darker darks.

The first component is a 3D TV set. Many manufacturers are making 3D TVs this year. Samsung alone has five (5) LCD TVs and two (2) Plasma TVs that are 3D ready. By themselves, these TVs are normal flat panel TVs. You can plug them in like any other TV and watch cable, satellite, or blu-ray. Combining the TV with a 3D source, however, will transform the set into a 3D screen.

Logically, the second essential to getting 3D in the home is the source. Currently, the only available 3D source is blu-ray, but that will likely change in the future. Recently, Comcast Cable even broadcasted the Masters Golf tournament in 3D . Samsung’s released its BD-C6900 3D blu-ray model this year. It’s important to note that the blu-ray DVD player does not turn a DVD movie into 3D–you must purchase a 3D blu-ray disc. Having connected the 3D blu-ray player and inserted the disc, the hardest part is complete.

The last item you will need is the 3D glasses. These glasses are not your old-style cardboard style from the past. The lenses are battery operated active LCD shutters that open and close quickly to give the 3D effect. There is an infrared sensor on the glasses that communicate with the 3D TV to stay in sync. The Samsung glasses sell for around $150 each and every person watching the movie will need a pair of glasses. Otherwise, the picture will appear distorted and un-watchable. Once you have all 3 elements combined, customers are able to enjoy great 3D right in their living rooms.

It’s also worth noting that 3D blu-ray content requires 50% more bandwidth than regular blu-ray data, so finding a cable that can handle the information load is also vital.  We recommend the AudioQuest 1.4 compatible cables such as the new AudioQuest Cinnamon line. 

Also, as a side note, 3D compatible DLP rear projection TV sets have been on the market for years from Mitsubishi and Samsung. These TV sets are not fully 3D ready, but with the additional purchase of an emitter box and 3D blu-ray player, 3D TV is still obtainable. Companies like Nvidia and Aspen Media manufacturer emitter boxes, but these will only hook up to TV sets with the proper 3D connections on the rear of the set. Although there is limited 3D content on the market right now, 3D TV channels are in the works and additional 3D blu-ray movies will be released soon. 3D has officially arrived .

We featured Monsters vs. Aliens in 3D when we first displayed the TV. The picture and the 3D effect were very impressive. Then I watched the Masters in 3D and I went from being impressed to being WOWED!

I witnessed the most storied tournament in golf history as I was there. In person I have never seen Tiger play golf but 3D made it closer than ever. It was like looking out a window on the 9^th hole watching the pros hit the ball like I could only dream of doing.

I would like to invite everybody down to Huppins, our downtown Spokane, WA retail store, to view 3D, to check it out and be WOWED!

Mike Reynolds
Huppin’s Retail Store Manager

The first question I had was “Can Blu-ray movies be ripped to this hard drive?”  Unfortunately, the answer is no.  At 250 gigabytes, it wouldn’t hold very many HD movies anyway.  The purpose of the hard drive is for consumers to store pictures, personal movies,  music, and downloaded VuDu movies.  It is meant to be more of a multi-purpose box, not just a Blu-ray player.  It has built-in 802.11n WiFi connectivity, but oddly enough consumers cannot transfer their music of photos via the wireless connection.  You can use the RJ45 Ethernet port or the USB connection instead.

Another exciting addition on this player is the inclusion of Gracenote’s MusicID-Stream™ .  If you are playing back any movie, TV show, or any other media through the Blu-ray and hears an unknown song, you simply push a button on the remote and Gracenote’s MusicID-Stream™ will instantly provide artist, genre, and album cover art for the unknown song.  This same technology also allows the you to easily archive the music they rip to the hard drive. I believe this will be a big winner.