Unique Wiring Solutions, Inc | AV Blog

As low profile as it gets…

Paul B — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:29:40 +0000

The Omnimount, the company’s new low profile TV bracket, has indeed the lowest profile of all on-wall mounting solutions available today, its profile being a mere 1″. It fits most: 13” – 42” flat panel TVs and supports up to: 40 lbs (18.1 kg) in drywall and 80 lbs (36.3 kg) in a single-stud or concrete. Overall a solid solution if we want to reduce the distance from the wall to a minimum.

Few things to remember, though: take the thickness of the cables into consideration, and make sure the electrical outlet is recessed enough to allow for the TV to sit so close to the wall – if you are attempting the installation yourself, of course.

YouTube going 1080p

Paul B — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 02:06:43 +0000

YouTube’s Co-founder Steve Chen announced the release of new 1080p player last week at the NewTeeVee Live conference in San Francisco. It should be available within the next few days, my guess is before the end of November. The idea for the player’s 1080p capability sprung from the increased production of “connected TV displays”. The only questionable aspects are bandwidth capability. Lower bandwidths may cause loading lags and pixelation of the content. So before you decide on the new plasma or LCD, make sure to consider the YouTube capable TV. Also, many BluRay players are already YouTube ready.

Home Control: Win a $5,000 Prize Package from Control4, by Arlen Schweiger – Electronic House Product News

Paul B — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 03:25:32 +0000

Control4 has teamed with Electronic House to present the “What Do You Want to Control?” sweepstakes with a home control prize package for the winning entry.

EH. You have a chance to win a control bundle from control4, click on the link below to read the rest of this story.

via Home Control: Win a $5,000 Prize Package from Control4, by Arlen Schweiger – Electronic House Product News.

Home Theater: Anatomy of 6 Remote Controls, by Steven Castle – Electronic House Info and Answers

Paul B — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 03:18:16 +0000

Very cool article by Steven Castle of Electronic House, explaining the features and their importance when choosing a universal remote control. Enjoy.

One of the most important decisions you can make when buying a whole-house music system, home control system, or home theater system is choosing the remote control. It’s the thing you use to communicate with all that equipment. And it better work…

via Home Theater: Anatomy of 6 Remote Controls, by Steven Castle – Electronic House Info and Answers.

Optoma Announces New HD8600 Home Theater Projector

Paul B — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 03:09:51 +0000

At CEDIA, Optoma showed their new 3-chip DLP 1080p home theater projector, the HD8600. Designed specifically for custom installation, the HD8600 has ISFccc Day and Night modes, three options for lenses, accented lens placement and full lens-shift.

It also has an Auto235 mode that automatically positions Optoma’s optional anamorphic lens/sled kit to move the lens into place without user intervention for enhanced 2.35:1 content viewing. The projector features a 50,000:1 contrast ratio, and a brightness of 1600 ANSI lumens and the list price for it is $7499.99.For more information, please go to http://www.optomausa.com/

via rAVe HomeAV Edition — Volume 6, Issue 19 — October 6, 2009.

Save before the football season begins!

Paul B — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:17:50 +0000

Until September 30th you can get flat panel TV of any size installed for just $165! That is an additional $30 saving over an already low installation price. To take an advantage of this deal call now (630) 830 8777.

Ultimate Tailgating Trailer – Now At Your Local Sam’s!

Paul B — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 17:08:02 +0000

If you absolutely need to impress your buddies this football season, this “Brat-Shack” will turn heads whether you are in a Soldier Field parking lot or in your own driveway.

Were you looking for an ultimate “Man-Cave” on wheels? Sam’s Club could be your last stop. Tailgating Innovations 7.5′ x 12′ Big Cook features a 52″ Sony Bravia LCD HDTV, an additional 19″ Sharp LCD HDTV, 5.1 Sony Home Theater System/DVD Combo, slide out 1000 sq in event propane grill. bathroom and sink, 2.7 cu ft refrigerator, 1/2 Barrel Keg Cooler. Rear and side doors allow easy access, and interior cabinets provide organized storage. The trailer also features electrical outlets w/ 30 amp breaker box & 25′ shore cord, internal E-tracks for secure hauling, internal lighting, smooth aluminum exterior and aluminum wheels w/ spare tire and wheel.

How much does it cost? A mere $35,000 (shipping included).

via Sam’s Club.

Sony Walkman X: Superior Hardware, Inferior Software

Paul B — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 04:21:15 +0000

College is the perfect time to experiment with strange new things. Why not start with a portable media player that isn’t made by Apple?

On the surface, the most unsexily monikered NWZ-X1051 is everything we’d expect from Sony’s next-gen Walkman. It covers the obvious bases (music), sprinkles in some goodies (video playback), and caps it all off with a bright 3-inch OLED touchscreen (fancy!).
As a music powerhouse, the X1051 definitely makes the grade. In addition to supporting the standard file types, Sony threw in both FM radio and internet radio chops, courtesy of Slacker. Although these are great additions in their own right, they made for awesome additions to the X1051’s MP3 chops. Tired of listening to your English Lit lecture? Pop on some tunes. Sick of your selection? Try the radio. No luck there? Then fire up your own personalized radio station via Slacker. With all these options at our disposal there was rarely a moment where we weren’t bumping tunes.
Sony took a similar multi-tiered approach to the video. Not only did the X1051 play back our H.264, MPEG-4 and WMV video files, but it also has YouTube access baked in (Wi-Fi permitting). Though the quality of web video was a bit herky-jerky, it was definitely on par with other mobile devices we’ve used. Otherwise, locally stored video clips ran smoothly and looked great on the 432 x 240 screen.

Unfortunately, the biggest hitch was the web browser. Smallish icons and hyperlinks made navigating with the touchscreen a chore, and for some reason the proprietary browser would slap some funky formatting on the occasional (cough, Wired.com). This was a bit of a downer given the otherwise well-appointed X1051, but ultimately a small price to pay given all the included goodies and the iPod-taunting price point.

Slick, simple interface. Awesome looking (and very responsive)touchscreen. Rich, natural audio from included earbuds. Tweakable digital noise canceling and EQ options let you dial in audio bliss. Music + video + internet = never having to pay attention in class ever again.
TIRED Integrated browser is shoddy with a hastily assembled feel. No App store. Proprietary charging port. How can we sleep through lectures with no voice recorder?!
* Style: Combo, Touchscreen , WiFi enabled
* Storage: Flash
* Capacity: 15.1 GB to 30 GB
* Screen Size: 2.51 in to 4.0 in
* Manufacturer: Sony
* Price: $300 (16-GB Version)
Release Date: August 19, 2009
via Wired.com Product Reviews.

Motorized TV Mounting Solutions

Paul B — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:43:27 +0000

Possibilities are endless when it comes to motorizing and/or concealment of your flat panel.

Below are a few examples what you can do to make all your friends jaws hit that hardwood floor of yours.

Sony PS3 Slim for $299

Paul B — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:02:34 +0000

Sony PlayStation 3 to be released September 1st at an attractive price point ($299.99).

New PS3 is just around a corner, with its release date scheduled for September 1st. New model retains all features of of the older PS3. Per Sony, it is 36 percent lighter, 33 percent smaller and it comes with a 120 gigabyte hard drive.

Great news to those who want the PS3 but don’t care about its new look: the older PS3 model now retails for a mere $100.

In addition, PS3 has become a most price-efficient Bluray player out there. At a $100 price range there no question this gaming system has become a solid competition to all stand-alone Bluray disk players, which start at roughly $199 and up.

Via www.electronichouse.com