Why you should buy real Media Furniture

Dedicated audio video home theater furniture is definitely the way to go. Whether you are about to buy a TV stand, a media center shelving system or a media cabinet. I know this. But when a small, locally owned furniture store was having a blow-out sale, I saw a lovely mission style cabinet. Made of Oak and 1/3 the price. I had some friends help bring it in. Getting a heavy oak piece upstairs is a struggle, but that was the easy part!

I offer my day from hell below, but here’s the brief: Buy furniture built for AV home theater
1) The backs usually can be removed and replaced by sliding into place or with removable screws. 2) There are often built in cable management to hold the cables neatly and shelves with holes to run cables. 3) A good one will have a small light on the back that can be turned on to illuminate the connections on the backs of your components. 4) It will have an internal fan to keep components (particularly an AV receiver) running cooler by circulating air, thereby giving it a longer life. 5) The cabinets will give room to move the components around, and maybe even a larger area dedicated to a large center speaker.

WHAT I SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT The picture below is from Salamander Designs. Note that they can come with special accessories, like fans, removable backs, TV mounts, etc.

The one I bought was deceiving. It came with a piece of speaker cover material that could replace one of the glass doors (so you could put the center channel speaker inside and hear it)…that seemed like they knew a little about what they were doing. And it seemed like the cabinets were 17 inches wide.

If you’re not convinced of the value of media furniture (it can run well over $1,000 or $2,000), read on…

First, there was only one set of holes in each of the cabinet sections. The holes were toward the top. And the shelves had no hole through them. So how was I to plug in the component below the shelf? My neighbors (and saviors) rescued me with a hole saw. We could drill another hole in the back. But then, one component is an AV receiver. All of the cables were not going to fit through one hole. He drilled 3 in that plywood back. And another component was a a/v power conditioner power center (it cleans up any noise on my audio and gives me more detail in my video), that has something like 12 outlets on the back. I needed some extra holes for that one too. It was plywood, and easy enough to drill a hole through.

Then came the real nightmare…I had measured a couple of times to be sure that the cabinets were more than 17 inches wide (the typical width of an AV component –from satellite boxes to DVD players to AV receivers). It was 18 inches.

So, I try to put in the AV receiver in the center. I have to tilt it because the lip for the door makes it narrower than 17 inches. And it won’t go down. It’s VERY heavy. It’s wedged. Let the obscenities fly! Turns out the center cabinet is just a tad narrower. I put it in one of the side cabinets and after maneuvering that back-breaking receiver, it CLUNKED down into place (can’t be good for it). When I tried with the power stabilizer (a 75 pound device) I was afraid that it would break my hand or foot when it dropped. The only hope…remove the plywood back.

Here’s where the problem comes in and my advice:Buy media furniture with easily removable backs! It will not only help you to hook things up, it’s also possible if you need to slide in a component from the back because the door in front is too narrow. Removing the plywood back was the biggest nightmare…It was stapled on! My neighbors, who again came to save me, counted 178 staples on just one cabinet section. It took chisels, a crow bar, wire cutters and a hammer to get that thing off!

Luckily the component slid right in from the back.

After much contortion, crawling, labeling, etc. My home theater looks nice. It could look just as nice with a cabinet by Salmander, Bell-O or BDI. But it would be a piece of furniture that was much better suited to the purpose.

Note–It took me a week to post this. Since then, I’ve had to make some additions and changes to my hookup. Oh how I long for removable backs. (It would save MY back from breaking!)

More on Why to Use Quality HDMI Cables

I keep harping on why to use quality HDMI cables. It’s because there is so much information on the web to the contrary and very little of it talks about real life experience. Working on consumer education with Monster Cable, and watching the testing, I am never disappointed at the verified quality of the cables. And quality is important to me. Again, if I’m spending money for better quality in a TV, I want it to perform at its best.
HDMI cable failed one day!
So, the HDTV LCD in my bedroom didn’t have near the quality of the other HDTVs in my house (yes, I have a few…I need them for testing). Then one day I turned it on and there was this weird solarizing effect. I didn’t touch it and it just appeared one day. A friend of mine had pictures like these too and I wondered if they were real. Well, they are. The cable just failed. Now I had to crawl around and replace it, and luckily I had a Monster cable to hook up. Night and day difference. So, that’s what the HD picture is supposed to look like! Using the cheap cable, I hadn’t even noticed that the TV could look better. Test all you want, it’s how the cable performs over time in my home that counts! And this is the second time that I’ve had a cheap cable fail (the other was installed by the Satellite company and it stopped working completely after less than a year).

Much better with a Monster HDMI
Lately I’ve been thinking about cables like car tires. When I go to buy new tires, the salesperson goes on about radials and tread patterns and lots of stuff that I don’t care much about. It’s when I hear the word “performance” that I listen. I have a decent car and live in the mountains so I want good handling. I’m not going to buy the cheapest tires, I want ones that will last, be backed by a reputable manufacturer and allow my car to handle to the best of its ability. And I know I wouldn’t buy the cheapest tires if I were to have a high performance car. The difference between cables and tires is that the price difference on quality tires is several HUNDRED dollars. The price difference for quality cables is at most a hundred dollars, and more likely only $50.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to rip my system apart to replace a cable that has stopped working, or worse, not realize that the quality has diminished and just complain that my TV isn’t looking so good.

I’m going to get it right the first time. And Monster has the Cable For Life, HDMI cable where I know I’ll never have to spend another dime for an HDMI cable if I get new equipment. Learn more about HDMI at the Monster HDMI learning Center .

Quality Cables Make a Difference-Why I believe Monster HDMI is worth it

Having worked first in film production, and spending 10 years in selling, training, reviewing, and consumer education in home theater, I am what most would call somewhat of a videophile. I love a good picture, that is crisp, detailed, and has realistic color. And I have grown to love audio that brings the musicians or the action into my room. Once high definition TV came on the scene, the picture and today’s higher definition TVs thrilled me and high def disc players are even more true-to-life, more detailed.

In the years on the sales floor selling home theater, I learned about Monster Cable and did my own blind tests (and continue to do so today). Often, I could see actual differences—better contrast, richer color, more details, less interference and artifacts—when I upgraded my cables and even when I couldn’t pinpoint it, I noticed a “feel” of more realism.

I have heard that digital cables are all the same, but have seen for myself and since learned by interviewing the engineers and inventors of HDMI, this is not at all true, particularly with advanced high definition TVs and sources. There is a lot of information being transferred over cables with higher definition video and uncompressed audio. Steps must be taken to ensure that all of the signal arrives at the right time without digital packets of information being dropped, or interference altering the packets and creating artifacts, digital snow, or other picture degradations. This is much more apparent on today’s big screen TVs.

A quality cable that has been tested to be sure that all of the signal arrives at the right time is essential to get all of the performance possible from the components and TV. First, being sure that signal is not lost via poor soldering of the connectors to the wires. And being sure that the cable does not lose signal or gain interference by having a well-insulated cable. And finally, choosing the cable that is speed tested to get me the best performance for the gear that I am connecting. If I am connecting a satellite or cable box with 1080i, compressed video, it’s appropriate that I buy a less expensive standard speed, quality HDMI cable. If, however, I want the best from my Blu-ray Disc player (that I may have spent $1000 for plus $30 per movie) I am going to want to get an ultimate high-speed, quality HDMI cable. And I’m even happier if I buy a “Cable for Life” so I don’t have to purchase another cable in a couple of years because technology has advanced. These are the quality features available on Monster Cables speed rated HDMI cables.

If I’ve spent thousands of dollars on a high definition TV and high def player, and I’m spending money each month for high definition programming, I don’t think skimping on cables for a one time, extra $50 to $100 is a wise decision. I bought a 1080p, FULL HD TV because I want that improved picture quality. A few more dollars to make sure that I get all that I paid for is worth it to me.

Barb Gonzalez
The Simple Tech Guru

Note: Because of my passion for home theater quality, I have decided to work with Monster Cable on consumer education. We are working together to simplify buying, hooking up and setting up home theaters through a book, Home Theater Made Simple, web education and the monstercommunity forum. Look for my blog and tips at www.monstercommunity.com.

The Future of Plasma TV–Project Kuro– Video as Poetry

Project Kuro was my pick for the most awe-inspiring video innovation at this year’s CES. Pioneer came out with their new line of plasma TVs that were completely re-engineered this past year called “Kuro.” At CES 2008, they unveiled their future concept plasma in a screening room. (Showing off what their technology can do, sort of like a concept car.) It’s so flat (thinner than an iPhone) that it practically disappears when you try to take a picture from the side. Still it’s style is commonplace among the LCDs that were shown and it’s form is the least of its impressive traits.

Pioneer demo’d the new prototype called “Project Kuro” in a small black screening room. In pitch-black darkness, they pulled back the curtains, and showed scenes on 3 screens. One on the left wall, one on the right and another in front of us, but to the left. I thought it odd that it wasn’t centered in front of us. They showed us beautiful video of cinematographers and other filmmakers talking about the importance of picture quality. Then it faded out. A white ring on a black background appeared on the screens. Then I noticed that there was another twirling ring to the right of the front TV. But it was just a twisting, twirling ring. It seemed to float in space. As the two rings danced in front of me, the one on the TV to the left and the one in space, my brain made the connection… There was another TV to the right of the one we had been watching. You could hear everyone in the room GASP!

NO WAY! Wait a minute. This floating ring was the demonstration of the new Project Kuro TV. The black in the picture that surrounded the object disappeared into the darkness. The TV emitted NO LIGHT from the black pixels so only the colors appeared before our eyes, making the object appear to float in space. Next came a floating, velvet red rose, fish swimming in the blackness in front of me, and other flowers. Try as I might, though I couldn’t have been more than 8 feet from this TV, I could not see the bezel (frame) of the TV nor any of the black screen. And the Blu Ray Disc footage was just as stunning–3 dimensional.

This black was like velvet, smooth, seamless. Watching the Project Kuro, I got tears in my eyes–as I do when looking at any thing of beauty. Other reporters described the hair standing up on their neck. This was not just a good picture…it was poetry.

In case you wonder how this is possible…it is all about self-emitting plasma cells. That is, rather than a cell creating the color “black,” when the cell gets the information to be black, it lets out no light at all. And in total darkness, those black plasma cells slip into the background. “>Here are the best pictures I could find that illustrates the difference between the current Kuro and Project Kuro.

I can’t stop reliving the awe of the Project Kuro and can’t wait until it is available. Another thought strikes me however. I think of people who discuss using inexpensive HDMI cables to save money. When I get a TV like this, I can’t imagine trying to save $50 or so and risk not getting all of that amazing picture (after all the picture has to come from a source). And it’ll be good to pair it up with the best Blu-ray Disc player I’ll be able to find at the time!

Luckily as time passes, I am able to go back to watching my Panasonic Plasma and enjoying its beauty for now.

150 Inch Plasma - Now that’s bigger! News from CES Keynote

Just got out of the the CES 2008 keynote address where Panasonic chairman Toshishiro
Sakamo talked about their newest and future technologies. I was so awestruck by the 150 inch plasma flat panel that I had to upload a picture. Pansonic sold 3,000 103 inch TVs in 2007. More than anyone expected.

While this 150 inch plasma will begin as a commercial panel. With 2k by 4k resolution (that’s 2,000 by 4,000 pixels or 4 times the resolution of current high definition– this is a common digital cinema format). So basically, it’s a huge tv that looks beyone amazing. Mind blowing.
Check out the 150 inch plasma picture
Would you ever want this in your home…well, I’m sure there are those who will. True home cinema that is 11 feet wide. (or like nine 50 inch plasmas side-by-side). The technology that makes quality big screen plasmas available are only certain to trickle down to better technology in smaller screens.

Ah, the search for bigger is better. I’m pretty sure that it’s a bit too big for my 14 x 20 living room!

Will write later with more innovations from CES 2008. And on wednesday jan 10, I’ll write about the simple technologies I’m seeing. Lots of people call things simple but are they?

CES made simple

Tomorrow I’m off to CES, the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. I’m excited to see what new gadgets and features will be coming onto the shelves of stores this year. I always look with an eye to those companies who are designing products that are easier to use or for those who are beginning to explain their products in a way that anyone can understand. I will also be looking at the new DTV converter boxes so I can give you comparisons and a lowdown.

My new book “Home Theater Made Simple” (coming out later this year) is in collaboration with Monster Cable and I am working with Monster to help educate consumers about home theater. So there will be lots of news from the Monster camp.

The big event at CES this year is Monster’s retailer awards with a special concert by Mary J Blige . This Queen of R&B makes great dance music. Actually something I can enjoy listening to. If you want to see some videos of her (she’s a remarkable artist and seems very grounded) go to: Mary J Blige’s videos

Do you need a DTV converter box? Time to get a coupon.

Do you need a DTV converter box? My mother’s friend is not great with electronics, but darned if she didn’t learn to program her VCRs. In fact, she has two VCRs. She connects both VCRs and both TVs to a rooftop antenna, being the practical, frugal gal she is. Often, she uses both VCR’s at the same time to record TV shows on two different channels. She may even watch a third program on her TV too. And if she has a friend over, they may be watching a fourth program on the TV in the other room. For my mother’s friend, she will need a total of 4DTV converter boxes. One for each TV or component that uses an antenna and changes channels. (If she had cable or satellite TV, she would not however have the problem and it may be time to recommend a couple of cable boxes with built-in DVRs). She will only be able to request two $40 coupons to purchase converter boxes. The other two boxes, she’ll have to pay full retail for.

Here’s what’s going on…

You may be seeing commercials about the DTV transition in 2009. To take the sting out of your having to buy a device so your analog equipment will continue to receive TV broadcasts over antenna after the transition on Feb 17, 2009, the government is issuing $40 coupons (up to 2 per household) that you can redeem when purchasing a DTV converter box at your local electronics retailer. DTV converter box coupons are now available by request at the government’s website. You may have to wait to receive them, but you want to get your request in. Okay, what does this mean? And do YOU need a coupon, or two, or how many conveter boxes do you need.

If you get your programming by antenna for any component in your home (you don’t have cable or satellite), and it’s not an HDTV or a new DVD recorder (2007), you will probably need a converter box.

Let’s be more clear. If you use an antenna –rooftop or rabbit ears– and you change channels on a device– whether it’s changing channels on a TV or a VCR or a DVD-recorder–you will need a converter box for EACH device on which you change channels.

You see, a component or TV uses a tuner to change the channels. The analog TV broadcasts we’ve been watching all these years use the NTSC analog broadcast standard. The components use analog tuners receiving those channels to tune in to (or change) different channels.

But now everything is becoming digital. The TV broadcasts will be sent digitally, received by your antenna and it will need an ATSC digitaltuner that can convert the signals to be shown on your analog TV (or digital TV without a built in tuner–like a monitor or an older model “HDTV ready” TV).

I’ll keep writing about it. If you have questions, check out the gov website, post a question or click on “ask the guru” on my home-electronics survival website.

They stole my book Title–Beware

I do a lot of work with Home Theater and home electronics and know a fair amount about the web, but what do you do when someone steals your book title as the name of their blog? I’m looking into it, but while I do…

Please be aware that if you have not linked to this blog via my www.home-electronics-survival.com or www.easier.tv, then you are probably being sold something and that they have no relationship to me. It’s also suspect because you cannot make comments on this site.

It’s important to me that you know that the information I give you is researched, correct and not simply a sales pitch (though it may be filtered through my experienced opinion at times).

My new book, “Home Theater Made Simple” will be coming out in time for the holidays. Check back or on my website for more details and dates.

DTV transition:Does it affect YOU?

More on the DTV transition. Does it affect you? Look around your home at every component, every TV, VCR, DVR, etc. Where does the TV broadcast come from? Does it come from cable TV? Satellite? Or is any device connected to an antenna? If you use an antenna for any device, and it is a traditional analog device (that is, it’s not an HDTV or new HD device with a built in “ATSC” tuner)–if you change the channels on that device (i.e. you’re not using a cable box)…then you will be affected. For the rest of us cable and satellite users, you’ll hardly notice the February 17th 2009 date, other than your picture might be marginally better.

When they turn off the analog broadcasts, it will be replaced by digital broadcasts. An analog tuner can only pick up analog broadcasts, so a traditional analog TV, VCR, etc. needs an “ATSC” tuner that can pick up the digital signals and convert them to analog for the TV or device to use and display.

In January of 2008, you will start noticing more information about this. The government is planning a huge snail mail and media campaign. You will be notified that coupons will be available to substantially reduce the cost of digital TV converter boxes. IF YOU HAVE ANY TVs OR OTHER TRADITIONAL DEVICES THAT ARE HOOKED UP TO AN ANTENNA–YOU WILL WANT TO GET A VOUCHER AS SOON AS THEY COME OUT. There will be a second wave of coupons (or vouchers) available later, but there will be limitations on getting the second wave of coupons.

Another thing about the coupons…you may request them, yet not receive them for some time. This is because the coupons will only be good for 90 days from receipt in the mail, then they’ll expire and you’ll have to try for the second wave or pay full price for the converter box. So, pay attention and get one when they come out. To find out more check out the dtv transition links to the right of this or check out this great Associated Press video

Also, I want to comment on Bob’s comment. He is absolutely correct. In the early days talking about the digital transition the channels were broadcast on the UHF channels and there has been a change so that your local channel 7 will remain at the channel 7 VHF frequency. So, thanks Bob.

I haven’t had a chance to get on and write as I have been doing a lot of industry writing and I am updating my book “The Home Electronics Survival Guide.” The new book will be more about Home Theater and should be easier to read as I’ve learned a lot from my readers in the past year or so.

Heading toward dtv (digital TV) transition

Well, February 17, 2009 is the last day of analog TV broadcasts. There’s lots of information, buzz and rumor going around and I will be posting blogs to keep you up to date. I will be writing a series of blogs to make you familiar with the transition. Read ahead and if it doesn’t all sink in because of the jargon…know that I will cover each term later (like bandwidth, broadcast standard, digital and analog, frequency, tuners and more)or you can look them up here
First, what does the digital tv transition mean?
Since the early days of TV broadcasts a standard was created called NTSC so all broadcasters would send a signal that all TVs would be able to receive and show the programs.
With the invention of HDTV, and computers making it possible to send TV programming digitally (like the way the internet comes to your computer), digital television became possible.
The advantages were that you could get a much better picture and full digital surround sound that puts you in the middle of the sound. Another advantage was that there wouldn’t be interference from one channel to the next.
After the digital transition all local TV stations will send their programs digitally on the ATSC bandwidths (think frequency like tuning into a radio station– the ATSC bandwidth is on the UHF channel bandwidth like those TV channels above 13.)
Next up…Why should YOU care?