The Year in Review
Most popular and most controversial stories, as well as Neat-O stories from 2009.
12.11.2009 — Is anyone sad that 2009 is coming to an end?
After seeing the economy tank, housing market collapse, product margins fall, and too many companies fold, 2010 can not come soon enough.
But before we can look ahead, let’s take a look back at the year that was. We’ve already rounded up the Top Products of 2009, and now we’ve compiled:
The Most Popular Stories of 2009
10 Most Controversial Stories of 2009
10 Most Popular Photo Galleries of 2009
A Year of Neat-O Installations
If you like controversy, 2009 was the year for you.
The custom electronics industry was ripe with scandal. There were lawsuits pitting industry bigwigs against one another, debates of integration companies’ ethics, and speculation that company owners are too old to be effective.
It might have been a difficult year, but it certainly wasn’t boring.
Below are our stories looking back on 2009. Enjoy. Here’s to a better 2010.
By CE Pro Editors
http://www.cepro.com/article/the_year_in_review/
Custom Installation Services, LLC – Home Entertainment Audio and Video services in North Carolina.
Posted in News
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Tagged a v, advice, audio, av, Charlotte, Concord, contractor, Cornelious, custom home builder, Davidson, Denver, Fort Mill, Home Theater, Indian Trail, installers, Kannapolis, Lake Lure, Lake Norman, Lake Wylie, low voltage, Matthews, Mint Hill, Mooresville, Mountain Island Lake, NC, SC, Sherrils Ford, Waxhaw
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10 Holiday Gifts for Tech Lovers
 You won’t find a $78 Blu-ray player on this HTSA-approved electronics gift list.
CE pros don’t generally experience the holiday shopping bump that retailers do.
They can’t compete with Walmart and its $78 Blu-ray player deals. Nor should they try to, according to the Home Theater Specialists of America (HTSA).
The 59-member buying group wants CE pros to carve out their own holiday shopping niche and it has issued an electronics holiday shopping list for “the tech obsessed.”
You won’t find any $78 deals. Prices begin at $300 and go up very, very high, but at least they’re HTSA-approved.
Of course, the buying group’s list isn’t completely objective. Each product comes from an HTSA vendor partner. But, with 42 vendor partners, it’s a wide field. But we’ve narrowed it down to our 10 favorite.
Click here for 10 Holiday Gifts for Tech Lovers.
By Tom LeBlanc
http://www.cepro.com/article/10_holiday_gifts_for_tech_lovers/
Custom Installation Services, LLC – Home Entertainment Audio and Video services in North Carolina.
Posted in Uncategorized
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Tagged audio, audio advice, Best Buy, Blu-ray, Charlotte, Custom home builders, Davidson, diy electronics, dv wise, HDTV, Hickory, home audio consultation and design, home entertainment systems, i-phone, i-pod, innovative systems, Lg, Marantz, Matthews, Mint Hill, Mooresville, multiroom audio, NC, new construction, Onkyo, panamax, Panasonic, retrofit, Sharp, Speakercraft, surround receiver, surround sound, Waxhaw, wii, xbox
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13 Classic Rookie DIY Mistakes to Avoid
 If you’re just getting started or planning your home theater and AV projects, here are some pointers from our custom electronics pros friends.
We asked custom electronics (CE) pros about the blunders they encounter when DIYers or inexperienced pros can’t get their systems to work.
Here are some of the rookie mistakes you should avoid:
Buying the least expensive gear and finding out it doesn’t have the features you need, like discrete control codes (on and off, for example) or enough inputs and outputs.
Hooking up equipment using substandard cables, connectors and adapters, leading to poor performance and, eventually, no performance.
Underutilizing gear that you already have. For example, connecting the DVD player using composite cable when it has component or HDMI outputs, and not setting the TV to the maximum resolution.
Never realizing you could be watching HD channels you’re paying for: “You mean Channel 4 is standard but 404 is HD?! I never knew!”
Compromising setups that you learn to live with, like having to leave a cabinet door open, or moving cables from one device to another.
Forgetting to install Ethernet jacks at the A/V locations.
Skimping on power protection.
Mounting video devices in poor locations: displays too high and projectors not centered correctly when there’s no lens shift available.
Failing to wire distributed audio speaker locations for stereo.
Forgetting to put power where it’s needed: racks, TVs, projectors, powered seats.
Trying to use “rules of thumb” for speaker locations in unusual rooms, such as those with missing walls or angled seating.
Wiring low-voltage cabling parallel with the electrical, often done in retrofit situations when the installer or DIYer simply uses the same holes used by the electrical wires.
Inadequate ventilation for equipment, resulting in burned-out gear (and calls to the manufacturer for their “faulty” products).
by EH Staff
http://www.electronichouse.com/article/13_classic_rookie_diy_mistakes_to_avoid
Custom Installation Services, LLC – Home Entertainment Audio and Video services in North Carolina.
Posted in Home Theater
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Tagged a/v locations, audio, audio advice, Best Buy, ce pros, Charlotte, cool house, equipment ventilation, ethernet jacks, freemans, h h gregg, HD channels, HDTV, home audio consultation and design, Home Automation, innovative systems, lens shift, low voltage cabling, lutron, Marantz, monster cable, mounting video, powered seats, s3-av, Samsung, Sony, sound systems, Speakercraft, surround sound, tributaries cable, whole house audio, wii, zobo
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