TV & Home Theatre

  Setting up a home entertainment centre doesn’t have to be overwhelming. The first step is to find the perfect home theatre projector for your set-up. Best Buy has many projectors to choose from and you can find reviews on specific models in our Plug-in blog. This time around I’ve decided to let the ratings speak for themselves and have gathered a list of the five top projectors based on customer feedback and reviews.

Denon makes some of the best mid-range electronics on the market. I particularly like their gear because it isn’t overly pricey but yet is extremely well engineered to sound great and is built to last. I have had Denon in my home for a long time and it has proven to be excellent value. Now I am thrilled to see that they have come out with a new wireless speaker system, Denon HEOS. I recently got my hands on all three Denon wireless speakers to test them out and I loved everything about them – the look, the features, the quality, and most importantly the sound.

  A back to school essential for those going to university is a decent sound system for the dorm room. The room is small so you don’t really need a huge system and for maximum flexibility a wireless system is by far the best way to go. It avoids unnecessary wires hanging around and can give you the ease of using it in the lounge or elsewhere. There are a lot of excellent wireless systems available, in a variety of price ranges depending on your budget. In order to help short-list the myriad of choices, I am providing my top 5 picks ideal for the dorm room.

Blu-Ray players used to be just that, able to only play Blu-Ray discs. Blu-Ray players today come with a myriad of additional capabilities and Samsung’s BD-H6500 is no exception. It is fully loaded and is 4K Ultra HD ready so if you have a 4K TV or plan to get one in the future this is the ideal Blu-Ray media player. One of the great things about this player is that it will upconvert HD content to be much closer to UHD resolution. It is loaded with other features too. Although it costs a little bit more than most other Blu-Ray players, I got my hands on one and given all its features and capabilities it is a great buy.  

Monster manufactures high quality accessories that are needed for any TV & Home Theatre system. You know, cables and surge protectors that you typically just take for granted or simply buy as an after thought. They are extremely well made, but with that typically comes a higher price. You get what you pay for, but with these relatively mundane accessories is it worth spending the extra dough? You just bought a fancy new HDTV or better yet a shiny stunning 4K UHD model, so do you need high-end cables to make sure you get the best picture?   I had the opportunity to try out a couple of excellent Monster HDMI cables and a Power Surge Protector so I can give you my first-hand perspective on why you may or may not consider them for your system.

    You may be thinking it will be a little while before you can afford an upgrade to a stunning 4K UHD new technology TV. That time may be closer than you think with LG’s new 4K 55” 3D Smart TV (55UB8500). They have priced it very aggressively while keeping all the excellent features that you could want in such a TV. It is one of the lowest priced 4K TV’s on the market and comes as a WebOS powered Smart TV, an IPS panel, and passive 3D. This is probably the best value 4K TV on the market.

Heading off to college or university is an exciting time. And if you’re planning to live in a dorm room, it means stocking up on all of the gear you’ll need for the shared living space. When it comes to a display device, one wouldn’t even think of a tablet as being a full-on TV replacement. But when you consider that your home base will be such small living quarters, this becomes a real consideration. And there are advantages for each technology when it comes to both productivity and entertainment.

          Rocketfish makes accessories in a variety of areas, including home AV. Here are four particularly notable items from the line to enhance your AV setup, plus one product for helping to keep your mobile device screens squeaky clean.

  I have always been a big fan of Denon electronics, having several Denon components in my home today. I find Denon to be great value with high quality equipment that is at a reasonable price. They are now launching a new product line, HEOS, which is a wireless multi-room speaker system that is poised to compete with the likes of Sonos and Bose Soundtouch. It is great to see Denon enter this market as they are a formidable competitor that will force everyone to continue improving their products. Here is the lowdown on their new HEOS line.