Elite Home Theater Seating Blog

Has Mobile Technology Changed or Enhanced Home Theater?

October 10th, 2012

Last week we did a blog on home theater apps for your smartphone and tablets. These apps enhance your home theater experience and add a great value to it, however is there a different take on this as well? Have smartphones and tablets driven people away from home theater viewing?

We have such busy lives that we tend to do things on the fly nowadays. I know I use my iPhone more than my personal computer at home, even while I’m at home. While sitting at my desk, I can have  Netflix running on my iPhone watching a new movie while getting work done. This way I’m getting two things done at the same time. However,  all of us that work here at Elite HTS love the home theater experience and we do not compensate with using our smartphones or tablets in its place.

A recent article from Z6 Mag states that home theater will have to play catch up with mobile technology and we can understand their view. We all use mobile technology to communicate with one another and we also use it as a form of entertainment, from music to movies. However the reason home theaters have become popular over the past several years is to replicate the experience of going to a theater to watch a new release. Most people enjoy the big screen, the surround sound, and the concessions. Would this all be replaced by mobile technology? It’s hard to imagine that we will all resort to watching movies on our smartphones and tablets and not in the comfort of our home theaters.

As you’ll see in the clip below, Netflix on an iPhone can be useful for us on the go and for those of us with kids and no entertainment system in the car, having this technology is great to keep the kids entertained. Would you really be able to use this in place of the true home theater experience?

It’s true that smartphones and tablets have increased so much in popularity but I don’t think there is a concern where this will take the place of a true home theater experience. The Z6 Mag article has valid points and it made us think about it. Our conclusion is that it will not replace the home theater and it will enhance the experience. Just like we said in our Home Theater App blog from last week, smartphones and tablets enhance our home theater experience, they don’t take away from it.

We always appreciate your comments and feedback so contact through Facebook, Twitter, email or by phone.

Canadian Head Office
Unit 406, 17665 66A Ave.
Surrey, BC V3S 2A7
Tel. 604-575-8310
Fax. 604-575-8329

U.S. Head Office
1927 Boblett Street
Blaine, WA 98230
Tel. 1-800-490-1595

email: sales@elitehts.com

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Home Theater Apps

October 1st, 2012

Smart phones and tablets can make your home theater interactive. Here is a list of a few fun apps for you to try.

1) iMaster Control Pro is a full functioning remote where you can use your smart phone or tablet into control your entire home theater system
2) RedEye controls your home theater system that has an extensive online database to provide control codes for numerous devices through a WiFi signal
3) Logitech Squeezebox Controller  is an app that plays Internet radio or digital audio across a home network
4) Remote HD costs $5.00 that controls your Mac, PC, & Apple TV directly from your iPhone.
5) Plex puts your TV, video, music, & photos accessible through your smart phone. iTunes, Netflix and 200 various sources are all at the palm of your hand

6) Dijit allows you to replace all remotes you use in your house. You can even share what you are watching, listening to, or something you find interesting directly to Facebook and Twitter
7) Remote controls your Apple TV directly from your iPhone or iPad. This app is free!
8) DirectTV can be accessed via your smart phone and tablet and set to record shows even when you’re not at home
9) Home Theater Glossary won’t control your home theater but it will help you with terminology while you try to purchase your home theater system. This $3.00 app is only available on the Android system
10) i.TV is only for the iPhone or iPad. This digital TV guide will allow you access to what is available on cable, iTunes, Netflix, and Hulu

With smart phones and tablets increasing popularity, on a daily basis, using some of these apps to control your home theater system is extremely convenient. There is no need for multiple remotes that can be confusing to use. Each app we’ve listed has a direct link to download or view customer comments. Just click on the highlighted name to access each page. If you use any of these apps, we would love to hear what you think of them.

We always appreciate your comments and feedback so contact through Facebook, Twitter, email or by phone.

Canadian Head Office
Unit 406, 17665 66A Ave.
Surrey, BC V3S 2A7
Tel. 604-575-8310
Fax. 604-575-8329

U.S. Head Office
1927 Boblett Street
Blaine, WA 98230
Tel. 1-800-490-1595

email: sales@elitehts.com

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Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 710HD

September 24th, 2012

The retail price for the Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 710HD will cost $649.00. According to PC Mag, the Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 710HD was released in April 2012 and is made best for dark lighted home theaters but can be viewed in lighter conditions as well.

“If you won’t be satisfied with anything less than 1080p resolution, this is obviously the wrong projector to get. If 720p resolution will do, the Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 710HD’s balance of price, brightness, image quality, connectivity, and built-in sound system, will be hard to beat for watching a large image in a fairly bright room.” (PCMag.com 2012) 

There are a lot of projectors on the market so you have a lot of choices when purchasing one. What are the advantages of the Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 710HD? We will list the specs for you to make up your mind.

1) 720p, this widescreen projector can project up to 120″
2) Built in speakers
3) HDMI and USB 2.0 connectivity
4) VGA port (to connect to a component video source
5) Special colour mode for gaming! This is awesome for all the gaming enthusiasts out there. Even in well lit rooms, this mode will make playing games ideal
6) 3LCD, 3 chip optical engine
7) Pixels: 1,024,000 dots (1280 x 800) x 3
8) Aspect ratio: 16:10

To view the official press release from Epson via ProjectorReviews.com, please click here.

We always appreciate your comments and feedback so contact through Facebook, Twitter, email or by phone.

Canadian Head Office
Unit 406, 17665 66A Ave.
Surrey, BC V3S 2A7
Tel. 604-575-8310
Fax. 604-575-8329

U.S. Head Office
1927 Boblett Street
Blaine, WA 98230
Tel. 1-800-490-1595

email: sales@elitehts.com

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ViewSonic Introduces Their LED-Laser Hybrid Home Theater Projector

September 17th, 2012

On September 11, 2012, Viewsonic unveiled their new LED-laser hybrid home theater projector, the PRO9000 Laser Hybrid LED lampless Home cinema projector.

The lamp-free PRO9000 enhances 50% colour range and has 100,000:1 contrast ratio combines laser and LED technology. Viewsonic states the PRO9000 has high quality, vibrant images with high definition multimedia content with full HD resolution. The viewer can enjoy Blu-ray DVD’s, games, and media players all in high definition. Now for all of us who love the environment you will be happy to hear the Pro9000 is environmentally friendly with a mercury free laser.

The PRO9000 is set to be released in October, only in Europe for now. Viewsonic is celebrating their 25th year in business and the PRO9000 shows the company remains vibrant with introducing ground breaking technology. On the day the Pro9000 was introduced, Viewsonic also introduced the VSD220, a 22″ Android-based Smart Display and the VP2770-LED, a high-resolution 27″ monitor for graphics professionals

Main Features of the PRO9000:
1) Laser LED Hybrid Technology for Superior Colour Performance
2) Full HD 1080p Delivers the Finest Picture Quality
3) 100,000:1 Ultra High Contrast Ratio for Razor-Sharp Images
4) Lamp-Free Design For over 20,000 Hours of Usage
5) HDMI Digital Connectivity

Viewsonic hit the bulls eye last week. The PRO9000 looks as if it will be a big improvement to the home theater projector industry. Retailing for  €1,599 to £1,999 (inc. VAT), we anticipate the release in North America. For a detailed description on the features of the PRO9000, please click here.

We always appreciate your comments and feedback so contact through Facebook, Twitter, email or by phone.

Canadian Head Office
Unit 406, 17665 66A Ave.
Surrey, BC V3S 2A7
Tel.  604-575-8310
Fax. 604-575-8329

U.S. Head Office
1927 Boblett Street
Blaine, WA 98230
Tel. 1-800-490-1595

email: sales@elitehts.com

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CEDIA 2012 Expo Summary

September 12th, 2012

Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association (CEDIA) is an expo based around home theater, home automation, and home electronic. The 2012 expo was held in Indianapolis, IN which ran from September 5 till 8. For those of you that follow us on Twitter, you would have seen links to articles featuring the new 4K TV’s, wireless home theater systems,  and soundbars. These were some of the many important new equipment and technology showcased at CEDIA. Here is a quick recap of the 2012 expo:

Soundars: These soundbars are equipped with features of an AV receiver with wireless sub and Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio.

4K TVs: 4K TV’s are starting to become the next big thing in home theater equipment. Recently we did a blog on the Sony 4K TV which you can view here. If you recall, the price was set approximately around $22,000.

Wireless: Wireless connections from smartphones and internet devices was popular. A wireless home theater cannot be 100% wireless because you need power but the option to have wireless connectivity to your equipment is sought after.

Automation: When technology and convenience merge, you get home automation. An example is the Sony/Control4 receiver which enables your Sony remote to control your entire home theater. Read the review from CE Pro by clicking here.

CEDIA gives you a direct look at all the new features, innovations,and equipment for home electronics. Home theater enthusiasts appreciate CEDIA because if gives you insight on what is upcoming in the world of home theater technology .CEDIA‘s YouTube page has lots of interesting videos showcasing some of the vendors as well as a look at what CEDIA is about.

We always appreciate your comments and feedback so contact us at any of the methods below.

Canadian Head Office
Unit 406, 17665 66A Ave.
Surrey, BC V3S 2A7
Tel.  604-575-8310
Fax. 604-575-8329

U.S. Head Office
1927 Boblett Street
Blaine, WA 98230
Tel. 1-800-490-1595

email: sales@elitehts.com

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Pioneer Elite Blu-ray Player

September 10th, 2012

Pioneer Electronics unveiled their new Elite BDP-62FD Blu-ray Disc Player which comes equipped with duel HDMI outputs, high-resolution file format playback, & the iControlAV2012 app control. The file format compatibilities are: DivX, MPEG-4, Flash Video , WMV , AVI, JPEG , FLAC , MP3 ,WMA , & LPCM. Retailing at $399, the Elite BDP-62FD Blu-ray Disc Player will be available in September 2012 and a welcomed addition to the home theater experience.

The exciting aspects of this Blu-ray player is its ability to play various file formats, eliminating the use of other devices. Since it can support Flash, you can watch streaming content from numerous websites. FLAC are high quality audio files which can also be played on the Elite BDP-62FD Blu-ray Disc Player. The iControlAV2012 app enables the user to use their smartphone to control their Blu-ray player. The iControlAV2012 app is your remote control via a wireless connection and the duel HDMI outputs allow you to send your content to two different places, (TV, computer monitor, projector, etc.)

 

If you own a smartphone you can push content from your phone directly through a wireless network or an Ethernet connection. Netflix, YouTube, and Pandora can be accessed through your smartphone and pushed through the Elite BDP-62FD Blu-ray Disc Player. Marvell’s Qdeo technology offers high quality video processing that gives you a superior image than standard Blu-ray players. For detailed information on exactly what the Elite BDP-62FD Blu-ray Disc Player is capable of doing, please watch the clip above.

We always appreciate your comments and feedback so contact us at any of the methods below.

Canadian Head Office
Unit 406, 17665 66A Ave.
Surrey, BC V3S 2A7
Tel.  604-575-8310
Fax. 604-575-8329

U.S. Head Office
1927 Boblett Street
Blaine, WA 98230
Tel. 1-800-490-1595

email: sales@elitehts.com

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The New Sony 4K TV

September 5th, 2012

Sony has unveiled their newest creation, The XBR-84X900 4K TV. With 3840 X 2160 pixels, this is four times the amount of current HDTV’s with 1920 X 1080 pixels. Our July 9th blog showcased the Sony 4K Projector and now, three months later, the 84″ screen TV has been introduced. Currently the price has not been unveiled however with LG stating their new 4K TV will retail for $22,000, Sony may have the same price for their new XBR-84X900 4K TV.

According to PC World, the 4K TV from Sony will be available in an 84″ screen because it’s the optimal size for its higher resolution. PC World also states the demonstration of 1080p content side by side with 4K had minimal distinguishable differences. The clip below discusses the XBR-84X900 (courtesy of SGNK by Sony).

4K TV’s are being introduced to the market however there isn’t enough content to make it worthwhile. Blu-ray DVD’s are not 4K and broadcasters will have to upgrade their production to be able to broadcast in 4K. With the introduction of these TV’s, we can speculate that other corresponding companies will follow. Broadcasters &  Blu-ray DVD’s may start converting to the new 4K technology. Movies are filmed and shown in 4K within movie theaters so the conversion to Blu-ray could be less complicated than what TV broadcasters will have to do.

Let’s not forget to mention the price tag again. The equivalent 4K TV by LG retails for $22,000. Will everyday regular people want to spend that much on a TV? This may be for the prestigious consumer that only want luxury items. For now just knowing this new technology is starting to enter the market is exciting and gives us something to look forward to.

We always appreciate your comments and feedback. What are your thoughts on the new 4K TV?

Canadian Head Office
Unit 406, 17665 66A Ave.
Surrey, BC V3S 2A7
Tel.  604-575-8310
Fax. 604-575-8329

U.S. Head Office
1927 Boblett Street
Blaine, WA 98230
Tel. 1-800-490-1595

email: sales@elitehts.com

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Are Home Theaters Driving People Away From Stadiums?

August 27th, 2012

A recent article in the Longview, Texas News Journal, entitled “Home Theaters Rivaling Stadiums”, stated technology has given the consumer greater opportunity to own big screen TV’s since the price has dropped so much over the past few years. With LCD, LED, and Plasma TV’s as well as state of the art sound systems, the need to go to a busy stadium isn’t necessary.  With TV stations all in HD, the quality is just as good at home than it is in the stadium itself.

The article mentions the seating in an arena or stadium, comfort is usually not thought of. In a home theater environment, seat selection can be customized to your liking which makes the home environment ideal for sports viewing. Dependent on the size of your home theater room, you can have the layout that best suits your needs. Having friends and family over to watch a big game can be shared with the exact number of people you want around. If you all cheer for the same team, the intimate setting can make for exciting times. Instead of 20,000 to 70,000 people screaming and chanting, you have close friends and family all cheering for the  same team.

Thearticle, “Home Theaters Rivaling Stadiums” made mention of how important draft beer is for many beer drinkers.  At one time you could only purchase draft beer in bars or events such as concerts, sporting events, or in restaurants. Nowadays, the home owner can purchase a home keg refrigerator so you can pour your own draft beer in the comfort of your own home. If this isn’t of importance to you than a home keg is not needed at all. If you’re not a big drinker you probably don’t like being around all those in the stadiums that do. You can be free of the drinking environment in your own home.

An important cost not mentioned was the price of tickets. Going to an NFL or NHL game can cost you  a lot of money. According to Ticketmaster, a Seattle Seahawks game ranges from $65.00 to $425.00 . Let’s not forget to mention travel expenses and the travel time. Fuel prices are at a high everywhere.

To view the Longview, Texas News Journal article, please click the here. With the new NFL season starting in the next few weeks, we may be able to see if this article is accurate. Will attendance be down at these games or will people still attend like they have in previous years? It really depends on your situation. If you like the crowd and the environment or if you prefer the commentators on TV and the intimacy you can only have in your home. Watching sporting events in the home is a positive environment that brings people together as well.

Your feedback is always appreciated so let us know what you think is the ideal sporting environment. We would love to hear it.

Canadian Head Office
Unit 406, 17665 66A Ave.
Surrey, BC V3S 2A7
Tel.  604-575-8310
Fax. 604-575-8329

U.S. Head Office
1927 Boblett Street
Blaine, WA 98230
Tel. 1-800-490-1595

email: sales@elitehts.com

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Gamers & Hockey Fans: NHL 13 Demo is Out Today

August 21st, 2012

As the popularity of gaming increases, more people are dedicating their home theater rooms to full gaming rooms or a hybrid of gaming and theater into one entertainment room. Our blog on June 18th, “Is Your Home Theater Room A Dedicated Gaming Room” discussed that very subject. In light of the popularity of gaming, we thought it would be great to mention that EA Sports has released a demo of NHL 13 for both Xbox and PS3 today.

New features to NHL 13 include True Performance Skating, EA Sports Hockey I.Q., Free Skate, create your ultimate fantasy team with Hockey Ultimate Team, and Hockey Moments Live, (where you can watch scenes from past games). This version allows the goalies to sprawl, dive, and move at a quicker pace then previous years. The clip below demonstrates the new feature, True Performance Skating. NHL 13 uses real-world physics to replicate the momentum a player uses when he starts to skate.

The demo features the Stanley Cup champions, the LA Kings and the team they beat, the New  Jersey Devils. Download the demo here and let us know what you think. With so many dedicated home theater game rooms being built, we can imagine the fun you and your friends will have playing NHL 13. The comments left by fellow gamers on the NHL 13 Facebook Page is relatively positive, fans like the new graphics and changes.

NHL 13 and a special Stanley Cup Collector’s Edition are set to be released on September 11, 2012 and can be pre-ordered here.

Give us your feedback on this or any other home theater related experience. We would love to hear it.

Canadian Head Office
Unit 406, 17665 66A Ave.
Surrey, BC V3S 2A7
Tel.  604-575-8310
Fax. 604-575-8329

U.S. Head Office
1927 Boblett Street
Blaine, WA 98230
Tel. 1-800-490-1595

email: sales@elitehts.com

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Yamaha YHT-697 Home Theater in a Box

August 13th, 2012

Yamaha has introduced their new high end YHT-697 home theater in a box. The YHT-697 comes with an Ethernet port for internet radio, networked music, or for accessing your AirPlay catalog. 

The “home theater in a box” features a 5.1 channel receiver with a front panel USB port for direct connectivity for the iPhone, iPad, iPod, and USB drives. There are compatible apps for iOS, Android, and Kindle Fire and also comes equipped with HDMI 4K and 3D video pass through. The speaker package consists of styled glossy black tower speakers, compact surround, & center speakers with a 100W multi-range subwoofer. With AirPlay you can wirelessly stream from iTunes as well.

This system offers an advanced multi language on screen display in both HD and 3D video signals. Even data from song titles through iPhone, iPad, iPod, and USB drives can be shown on the receiver’s on screen display. The YHT-697BL offers a full complement of HD Audio format decoding, including Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby Digital Plus and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio. CINEMA DSP 3D with 17 DSP programs enables users to adjust the experience to your personal preferences.

The Yamaha YHT-697 is available for MSRP $649.95. To view the official press release, please click here. Give us your feedback on this or any other home theater related experience. We would love to hear it.

Canadian Head Office
Unit 406, 17665 66A Ave.
Surrey, BC V3S 2A7
Tel.  604-575-8310
Fax. 604-575-8329

U.S. Head Office
1927 Boblett Street
Blaine, WA 98230
Tel. 1-800-490-1595

email: sales@elitehts.com

 

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