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Written by Sumit Chawla
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Monday, 04 January 2010 00:00 |
I caught the HTPC bug sometime back and went about building one after receiving component recommendations from Sandy Bird, one of our Senior Editors. The installation went smoothly. Then, one day I encountered an issue I had not seen before. Switching the source input from the HTPC to some other source, such as my DVR, and then back to the HTPC would sometimes give a small 800x600 window centered on the display. The output was no longer 1080p, the resolution I started out with.
Tags: Cables | HDMI |
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Written by John E. Johnson, Jr.
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Monday, 28 December 2009 00:00 |
For those of us who need to get a high definition program that is stored or being broadcast from a satellite or cable receiver in one room to an HDTV in another room that may be at the other end of the house, simply using a long HDMI cable won't work due to signal loss. However, several manufacturers are now producing HDMI extenders that use Cat 5 (or Cat 6 if you like) cable. Some that I took a look at but chose not to review needed two Cat 5 cables, so I waited. Now, Centronics offers an extender that requires only one Cat 5 cable and will send 1080p up to 100 feet from the source to your HDTV. You plug a short HDMI cable from your satellite box into the Centronics transmitter and another short HDMI cable into the receiver and HDTV at the other end. Custom installers take note: You will want to have a couple of these in your van when you start on a project.
Tags: Accessories | Connectors | HDMI |
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Written by Chris Heinonen
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Thursday, 17 December 2009 00:00 |
Two years ago, there wasn't a single device in my home theater that required an internet connection. Speed ahead to today, however, and my home theater now needs more internet connections than the rest of my household. Two BD Live Blu-ray Players, a DLNA Receiver, a PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Tivo HD, and a plasma with Internet Widgets all want to be online for either content downloads, media streaming, firmware upgrades, or more, and many of these require a lot of bandwidth to work well. Monster Cable's PowerNet 200 and 300 packages allow you to connect your music and video server to your hi-fi system in another part of the house by using the household AC wiring.
Tags: Cables | Connectors |
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Written by John E. Johnson, Jr.
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Thursday, 03 December 2009 00:00 |
For those of us who use A/V equipment with HDMI jacks, we all have experienced issues with the cable being forced to bend at stressful angles to go to the next piece of equipment in the signal path. NextGen has solved this difficulty with the Twister, which is an HDMI jack and plug, connected together using a 3600 ball joint.
Tags: Accessories | HDMI |
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Written by Chris Groppi
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Thursday, 26 November 2009 00:00 |
2009 is a good time to be a headphone fan. The supply of high-end headphones is exploding. At the head of the pack is the new Sennheiser HD-800. This is a cost-no-object assault on the state of the art in headphone listening. They are more than twice as expensive as Sennheiser’s previous top of the line, the HD-650.
Tags: Headphones |
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Written by Jason V. Serinus
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Monday, 02 November 2009 00:00 |
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 The PS Audio Power Plant Premier (PPP), the company’s latest version of the Power Plant P300 that company head Paul McGowan first introduced in 1997, is a true power regenerator. The PPP takes "dirty" and variable AC power from the wall socket, converts it to DC voltage, and then regenerates a new AC sine wave signal at 120 volts. It also serves as a surge protector and all-around power distribution system.
Tags: Power Conditioners | Power Regenerator |
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Written by Chris Heinonen
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Wednesday, 26 August 2009 00:00 |
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 Recently, I have started to put more of a focus on using headphones in my office instead of speakers. I enjoy listening to music while working, but my cubicle neighbors don't necessarily appreciate the same type of music that I prefer. When a pair of Ultrasone Pro 900 headphones became available for review, I obtained them to see how they would work in my setup and how they compare to my current reference headphones, the AKG K701's.
Tags: Headphones |
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Written by Rick Schmidt
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Monday, 03 August 2009 00:00 |
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 The pro-audio company Benchmark has a firm foothold in the audiophile world with their digital to analog converter/headphone amp the DAC1 and DAC1 USB. These have been universally well reviewed, including here at Secrets, and I’ve been able to listen to them myself, and I concur with the positive reports.
Tags: ADC | ADC1 | analog | Benchmark | recording | USB | Vinyl |
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Written by Chris Eberle
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Wednesday, 22 July 2009 00:00 |
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 I love products that solve irritating problems simply and inexpensively. The Next Generation Home Products Remote Extender is one such product. With a five-minute installation you can eliminate the need to point your remote control at your gear. You can also control components in closets or even in other rooms. The best part is any remote that accepts AA or AAA batteries can be converted in seconds.
Tags: Blackberry | Extender | Remote Controls |
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Written by Chris Eberle
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Monday, 13 July 2009 00:00 |
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 If you want to get the most accurate picture from your television or projector you need to calibrate it. The question then becomes – do you hire a professional or do it yourself? It is now quite feasible to do your own calibration with tools that don’t cost much more than a pro calibrator’s fee. The product that is squarely at the forefront of this market is CalMAN from SpectraCal. CalMAN is a package that can be used by anyone interested in display calibration from the hobbyist to the professional.
Tags: Calibration | Projectors | Video Calibration |
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