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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Blu-ray Releases on Dec. 8, 2009
12.08.2009
This week’s Blu-ray releases are all about Harry Potter, Lost, and collections from some of our favorite stars.
ABC’s hit show Lost arrives on Blu-ray in two versions today: Lost: The Complete Fifth Season and Lost: The Complete Seasons 1-5. I’ve never really gotten into this show, but these two releases are a great way for “Losties” to catch up before the start of “The Final Season,” which is coming in 2010.
For all you J. K. Rowling fans, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and Harry Potter Years 1-6 Gift Set all hit shelves today. Should be enough Quidditch to carry you over for a while.
The Governator is back in The Arnold Schwarzenegger Collection, a three-disc set that consists of Commando, Predator, and The Terminator. Not to be out done, The Ben Stiller Collection features There’s Something About Mary, Night at the Museum, and DodgeBall.
Some other noteworthy collections are The Gene Hackman Collection (The French Connection/Hoosiers/Behind Enemy Lines), The Bruce Willis Collection (The Siege/Die Hard/Hart’s War), and The Denzel Washington Collection (The Siege/Man on Fire/Out of Time).
Here are all of this week’s Blu-ray releases, courtesy of Blu-ray.com:
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Public Enemies
Lost: The Complete Fifth Season
Julie & Julia
Harry Potter Years 1-6 Gift Set
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Lost: The Complete Fifth Season Dharma Initiation Kit
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
George Michael: Live in London
UFC: Ultimate 100 Greatest Fights
Rush: R30
Pink: Funhouse Tour, Live in Australia
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
Lost: The Complete Seasons 1-5
Knut & Friends
While She Was Out
World’s Greatest Dad
The Alphabet Killer
Walled In
Cyclops
Red Mist
The Lost Treasure of the Grand Canyon
Sands of Oblivion
AC/DC: No Bull (Director’s Cut)
Coraline Gift Set
Lower Learning
Jay Johnson’s Boot Camp Fitness: Ultimate Abs
Jay Johnson’s Boot Camp Fitness: Ultimate Body Vol.
Jay Johnson’s Boot Camp Fitness: Ultimate 3×30
The Arnold Schwarzenegger Collection (Commando/Predator/The Terminator)
The Sean Connery Collection (Never Say Never Again/The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen/Entrapment)
Jay Johnson’s Boot Camp Fitness: Ultimate Cardio
Ultramarathon Man: 50 Marathons, 50 States, 50 Days
The Gene Hackman Collection (The French Connection/Hoosiers/Behind Enemy Lines)
The Bruce Willis Collection (The Siege/Die Hard/Hart’s War)
The Denzel Washington Collection (The Siege/Man on Fire/Out of Time)
The Keanu Reeves Collection (Street Kings/Point Break/Speed)
The Mark Wahlberg Collection (Max Payne/The Happening/Planet of the Apes)
The Ben Stiller Collection (There’s Something About Mary/Night at the Museum/DodgeBall)
By Steve Crowe
http://www.cepro.com/article/blu-ray_releases_on_dec._8_2009/K454
Custom Installation Services, LLC – Home Entertainment Audio and Video services in North Carolina.
Posted in Blu-ray
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Tagged a/v installers, audio advice, Best Buy, Blu-ray, Charlotte, davidson nc, Flat Panel, fort mill sc, hh gregg, home theater installers, huntersville nc, lcd, led, mooresville nc, NC, Panasonic, plasma, Samsung, Toshiba, tv mounting, visio
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8 Ways to Hide a TV
 TVs are a fact of modern life. According to Nielsen’s Television Audience Report, the average American home has 2.86 TVs.
Hopefully, yours are of the flat-panel design. They’re much less obtrusive than old-fashioned CRTs and can squeeze into just about any space.
Still, a screen is a screen — not much to look at when you’re not watching something on it.
Manufacturers have tried to jazz up that big, black rectangle with colored bezels and other ornamentation, but those are merely Band-Aid solutions. The only way you’ll be able to completely ignore your set is to put it where you can’t see it.
There are lots of ways to conceal screens, and we’ve compiled some of the most creative solutions for your consideration.
Click here for 8 Ways to Hide a TV.
by Lisa Montgomery
http://www.electronichouse.com/article/8_ways_to_hide_a_tv/
Custom Installation Services, LLC – Home Entertainment Audio and Video services in North Carolina.
Posted in Automation, Flat Panel TV's
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Tagged Amazon, Best Buy, Blu-ray, Control4, Custom Electronics Pro, Deals, Displays, Flat Panel, Furniture, HDTV, Home Automation, Home Control, Home Theater, Lg, Netflix, Panasonic, Sharp, Sony, speakers, TV Mounts
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