Elite Home Theater Seating Blog

Home Theater PC’s (HTPC)

January 3rd, 2013

Steiger Dynamics offer gamers a new home theater PC experience. For many years, home theater PC’s have been less than exciting and frequently ignored. In a recent interview with Gaming IllustratedSteiger Dynamics CTO Martin Gossner sheds some light on the improvements of HTPC’s. Here are some excerpts of that interview:

“Gaming Illustrated: The concept of an HTPC (Home Theater Personal Computer) has always been a dumbed-down version of your main PC. You’ve challenged that concept with your line of HTPCs. How do you plan on changing the consumer dynamic to make them expect more from an HTPC and the higher price tag that goes along with it?”

“Martin Gossner: Home Theater PCs are typically characterized by features like silent operation, a form factor tailored to living room furniture, and a sleek looking chassis that allows a seamless integration into a home theater setup. Meeting these criteria traditionally came with a compromise in processing performance, gaming capability, and storage capacity. Our systems break with that tradition and are the first and only on the market to incorporate high-performance state-of-the-art hardware, while meeting all of the traditional HTPC characteristics. The key to this is our sophisticated chassis design, the sole use of liquid cooling solutions, and the consistent implementation of highly efficient components. Another crucial enabler is the increasing spread of TVs with a screen size of 55 inches and above, allowing for the full-fledged use of Windows from the couch. Connected to such a TV, the LEET completely replaces your desktop PC and at the same time integrates home server, TV, Blu-ray playback, and gaming functionalities. This lets you get rid of multiple devices in your household, making the LEET extremely efficient and the center of your digital life. Especially the gaming experience is elevated to a completely new level. The bigger and better picture and the precise surround sound make it incredibly real. And playing from the sofa with your friends is much more social and comfortable than using a desktop setup. We strongly believe that high-end PC Gaming is conquering the living room – and the LEET is paving the way.”

“Gaming Illustrated: What are some great home theater tips you can give our gamers that represent some common mistakes that degrade the overall experience of watching movies or playing games in the living room / man cave?”

“Martin Gossner: First, the picture: For lag free gaming in the living room it is essential to decrease the TV’s input lag to its minimum. Therefore, make sure to deactivate picture processing of your TV by enabling Game Mode in your TV settings.”

“Second, the sound: proper calibration of the surround sound system makes a huge difference. It lets you locate sounds more precisely, giving you competitive advantage especially in multiplayer games.”

“Third, the control: Whereas most wireless mice and keyboards work well with short distance desktop setups, many of them struggle with random hangs or lags in long distance living room environments.”

The full interview will give you insight on HTPC and what Steiger Dynamics has in store for us. Click here to read the entire interview from Gaming Illustrated and judge for yourself if you would prefer the HTPC. For many years HTPC’s have lagged excitement but just maybe, Steiger Dynamics may be able to change that perception.

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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



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



The Sony PlayStation 3

July 16th, 2012

Home theaters come equipped with high quality equipment and while technology changes rapidly, Blu-ray players are still important.  The sound and picture quality is far superior than a standard DVD player and miles ahead of the quality streamed online.The Sony PlayStation 3 can have added benefits to your home theater because it has multiple uses.

The Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3) can be used as a gaming device, plays Blu-ray DVD’s, CD’s, & standard DVD’s, online streaming from Netflix, and it can be used to play video games online. Having so many purposes than just a standard Blu-ray player, the PS3 can be a great addition to your home theater. The 320 GB PS3 retails for $299.

 

Features: 

  • The PS3 can play all Blu-ray DVD’s as well as regular DVD’s/CD’s, and DivX playback
  • The 320 GB hard-drive gives you the option of storing lots of your favourite songs which can be put in playlists and played at any time
  • All games come in high definition, free online gaming services, and hardcore gamers love playing online
  • Download games and movies directly from the PlayStation Network
  • Digital camera connectivity allows you to upload pictures directly to the hard drive
  • Built in Wi-Fi enables you to connect to your network and to the internet 
  • Internet browser
  • Video Chat
  • Bluetooth
  • Controllers

The PS3 is a multi-purpose entertainment system that adds value to a home theater. Not only can you play video games, you don’t need to purchase a Blu-ray DVD player.  The online options make the PS3 even more attractive than  it already is.