Oh! Gizmo

By Andrew Liszewski

Until HDTV manufacturers start including a lot more than just 2 or 3 HDMI ports on the back of their sets, there will unfortunately be the need for external HDMI hubs and switchers. Thankfully though it looks like both the size and design of these devices has vastly improved. Akihabara News has dug up some info on a new compact HMDI hub code named ‘Medusa’ that not only looks pretty slick, but will also be reasonably priced. The specs include:

-HDMI Spec 1.3
-Compliant HDCP Rev 1.2 Spec
-Wide Frequency Range : 25MHz – 225MHz
-Supports 12-bit deep color up to 1080p
-CEC support
-HDMI 3 out port

Unfortunately that’s pretty much all the info available on the Medusa right now, but apparently GeekStuff4U will begin carrying the device within a month.

[ Akihabara News - Medusa HDMI Hub, When Small is Beautiful ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I really don’t know what to say here. While I’ve recently seen quite a few uniquely themed home theaters making the rounds, they can’t be compared to what Jeremy Kipnis gets to enjoy every night. Over the years he’s worked as a music engineer, producer and even started his own classical music label, but it was a lifelong love for movies and video that inspired him to put together this home theater that I’m sure most audiophiles and technophiles would consider a masterpiece. Audio Video Interiors recently had the opportunity to check it out in person, and were kind enough to provide a partial list of the equipment that went into its construction:

Picture Elements:
Sony SRX-S110 Professional Video Projector (4,096-by-2,160)
Stewart 18-by-10-foot Snowmatte 1.0 Gain Laboratory-Grade Motion Picture Screen

Players and Sources:
Sony BDP-S1 Blu-ray Player
Sony PlayStation 3 Gaming Console
Toshiba HD-XA1 HD DVD Player
JVC HMDH-5U D-VHS Recorder
SATA Drive (72 HDTV Hours Total)
Mark Levinson N° 51 DVD/CD Media Player
Pioneer HLD-X0 Hi-Vision HDTV MUSE Laserdisc Player

Surround Processing and Decoding:
Theta Digital Generation VIII 32-bit 8x Oversampling Dual Processors (13)

Amplification:
Mark Levinson N° 33h Amplifiers (2)
McIntosh MC-2102 Amplifiers (30)
Crown Macro Reference Gold Amplifiers (3)

Speakers:
Snell 1800 THX Music & Cinema Reference Subwoofers (16)
Snell THX Music & Cinema Reference Towers (8)
MuRata ES103A Super Tweeters (10)
Snell THX Music & Cinema Reference LCR-2800 Center-Channel Speakers (3)

While Kipnis actually has hopes of selling the home theater to the likes of Lucas, Spielberg or other well-to-do film aficionados, I’m sure he’ll be content knowing that he’s made millions of home theater enthusiasts insanely jealous. For a complete rundown of all the gear used in the Kipnis Studio Standard - Cinema Beta theater, make sure to check out his considerably less-awesome website.

[ The Greatest Show on Earth! ] VIA [ Crave ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I for one couldn’t care less about the miles of cable running around my apartment. Perhaps if I was conducting tours on a daily basis I might be inclined to do something about it, but they just don’t bother me. But if you can’t imagine the shame of someone seeing an exposed cable in your home, Wiretracks provides a clever system for running and hiding those cables behind decorative baseboards or crown molding.

The real ’secret’ of Wiretracks is that the pieces of molding or baseboard can be snapped on or off, making it very easy to run a new cable across the room. Installation also looks fairly easy since any screws or nails you use to fasten the system to the wall are hidden once the panels are attached.

Wiretracks can be purchased from the company’s online store and the prices vary depending on if you’re retrofitting existing construction, or starting from scratch. For example, 5ft. of the baseboard Wiretracks for existing construction runs $15.99, while 5ft. for new construction runs $23.99.

[ Wiretracks ] VIA [ Toolmonger ]

By Luke Anderson

I can honestly say that I’ve never really considered tossing away my mouse in favor of a touchpad. Rather, I carry a travel mouse in my laptop bag in order to cut down on the amount of time I’m forced to navigate using my finger. However, there are situations that not having a mouse can be rather beneficial. The most common use is an HTPC in your living room. No one wants to mess with a mouse when they’re sitting on the couch.

If you’re looking for a good way to get the best-of-both-worlds, this wireless keyboard is probably one of the best designs out there. It’s quite simple, and looks rather like the bottom half of a laptop. The keys look as though they’d be decent for moderate amounts of typing, but then again you probably won’t be composing letters on your big-screen TV. Unfortunately there is no word on pricing or availability.

VIA [ Crave ]

By Andrew Liszewski

For serious home theater enthusiasts who are seriously lacking in space comes the AN-ACD2 from Sharp. Designed to be used with a 37 inch or 42 inch Sharp Aquos display (I’m sure a 32 inch would work just as well) the stand includes built in speakers and a sub woofer that when combined produce 150W of audio enjoyment. There are also two bays for adding your hi-def DVD player of choice, or a gaming console if you prefer not to dive into that mess just yet.

It should be available next month in Japan at least, for about $866.

[ Sharp presents the Aquos audio AN-ACD2! ] VIA [ Bornrich ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Unless you’re desperate to relive your youth, I find it hard to believe that anyone would opt for this $330 set of freestanding drive-in movie speakers, instead of a similarly priced, crappy all-in-one home theater kit.

Unfortunately the website is a bit vague when it comes to details, besides boasting about the ‘free standing’ nature of the speakers, so I’m not sure if they’ve actually been salvaged from a real drive-in movie theater, or are just reproductions with an artificial ‘aged’ finish. Probably the latter since if they were salvaged they’d no doubt include a ‘letter of authenticity’ and an even higher price tag. Either way, I’m sure they sound just as awful as real drive-in movie speakers did.

But based on sitcoms and classic movies I’ve seen, it didn’t seem like drive-in movie theaters were ever really about the movies to begin with, so maybe these could be handy for recreating a certain type of atmosphere with your significant other. Know whatahmean, know whatahmean, nudge nudge, know whatahmean, say no more?

You can find them at Home Cinema Accessories of all places.

[ Authentic Drive-In Movie Speakers ] VIA [ Nerd Approved ]

By Shane McGlaun

I am the first to admit that I don’t get audiophiles. The sort of guy willing to drop thousands on a CD player when you can get one that works perfectly for $50 is just beyond my understanding.

Klipsch on the other hand knows the audiophile market and knows how to pry the hard earned cash from wealthy audiophiles. Their latest addition to their high-end speaker line up is sure to have audiophile with large bank accounts lining up to buy.

The new Klipsch Palladium Floorstander speakers carry a price tag of $15,000 per pair. Klipsch used specially engineered drivers for the P-39F Palladium speakers that use a 3.5-way Tapered Array design along with a horn-loaded tweeter assembly and three high-output woofers. Really though, are these things worth $15,000? Maybe if they came with installation by topless Victoria Secret models that also cleaned my house and cooked me a steak they would be worth it. Nah, they still wouldn’t be worth 15k even then.

VIA [ Klipsch ]

by Shane McGlaun

The R2-D2 Home Theater System isn’t completely new to the market, but this updated version from Hammacher is. R2 now sports a DLP projector in his little droid noggin that has a 1024 x 768 resolution and 1500:1 contrast ratio.

R2 can throw an image 80” in size from up to 16.5 feet away. If you feel like watching a movie on the ceiling, the projector can rotate 65 degrees making that possible. One of the arm housings has a DVD/CD player and R2’s vents hide an iPod dock, which I’m sure Luke always felt R2 was missing.

The iPod dock will fit most iPod’s including the iPod Video and allows you to play your videos back through the projector and hear the sound through the twin 20mm speakers built-in. Next to the docking station are a memory card reader and a USB port. Connections on the back allow you to hook up headphones, speakers and your game system as well. The only thing R2 lacks now is HD output and a price that geeks into Star Wars can afford. At $2799.95 I don’t see many Star Wars fans scrambling for their wallets. The Millennium Falcon statue holds the remote that controls R2-D2’s functions.

VIA [ Hammacher ]

by Shane McGlaun

There are a lot of people out there who want to own a home theater system but don’t want to have to run wires all around their rooms. Polk Audio has introduced a new SurroundBar model to their line up that packs Polk’s patented SDA tech inside to simulate real surround sound from one single speaker.

The new SurroundBar50 is 51” wide and sized to match up to 50” plasma and LCD HDTV sets. The new SurroundBar also adds SDA (Stereo Dimensional Array) technology to the left and right front channels to enhance sound further.

The SurroundBar50 contains inside the single 51” W x 4.5” H x 5.1” D extruded aluminum enclosure nine mid/bass drivers with Neodymium magnets, three dome tweeters and a four-PC board crossover. A bracket is supplied to hang the SurroundBar50 above or below your TV. The MSRP for the SurroundBar50 is $1099.95 and it will be available in October.

[ Press Release (Subscription Required) ] VIA [ Polk Audio ]

By Andrew Liszewski

You just dropped a bundle on that new Plasma or LCD TV so why limit its use to only the living room? The PlasmaRiser provides a safe and easy way to transport your new TV all over the house allowing you to enjoy it everywhere from the kitchen to the bedroom.

Besides the 4 industrial style locking wheels that allow your TV to be easily rolled (as opposed to carried) the PlasmaRiser is also capable of raising or lowering your TV into its protective shell. That way during transport you don’t have to be worried about something damaging the delicate screen. And once you’ve got the PlasmaRiser repositioned just plug the unit in and at the push of a button your TV rises back up again. There’s even an impressive selection of optional extras including an infra-red remote or even voice control, internal flat screen speakers, LED illumination and a weatherproof transportation cover.

The PlasmaRiser is available in either a black or white lacquered finish (or in a custom order corporate color scheme) for about $2,500.

[ PlasmaRiser ] VIA [ Freshome ]