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
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
Universal Remote Control Updates CCP Software
 11.20.2009 — Universal Remote Control (URC) has released the latest Live Update for its Complete Control Program (CCP), which it also formally introduced.
The CCP software allows authorized dealers to program all URC remotes with just this one program.
Here are the features added via the Live Update:
Web browsing for the MX-6000 two-way color touch screen
Eleven models have been added to the IP-controllable Audio/Video devices for Volume Pop-Up.
CCP’s IR database has been updated to include new Marantz and Onkyo receivers.
More than 300 models have been added to CCP’s RS-232 serial database
User Guides have been added to the CCP Help section for the AVR two-way modules and the Web browser.
The update also adds two-way modules for the MX-5000 and the MX-6000 that support IP-controlled A/V receivers from Denon, Integra, Onkyo, B&K and Yamaha. Some of these include AM/FM/HD tuner modules that display frequencies, station names, HD metadata, presets and favorite stations, and XM and Sirius modules that display all song, artist and title metadata.
The CCP software is written to be intuitive for users and employs concepts in which remotes are programmed room by room with the ability to “undo,” “redo,” “mirror” and “copy” various functions across remote product platforms.
Older programs can also be opened in CCP and other features are automatically loaded with URC’s Live Update feature.
By Robert Archer
http://www.cepro.com/article/universal_remote_control_update_ccp_software/K356
Custom Installation Services, LLC – Home Entertainment Audio and Video services in North Carolina.
Posted in Automation
|
Tagged audio/video, B&K, Charlotte, Denon, HD Radio, Integra, IP controllable, Marantz, Mooresville, MX-3000, MX-6000, NC, Onkyo, programming, remotes, RF, RF remotes, RS-232, Universal Remote Control, URC, web browsing, Yamaha
|
|
|
|
