http://www.ecoustics.com/latest/articles Latest articles, updated every five minutes http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/guide/149 So you’ve already got the perfect design in mind and picked out one or two essential pieces of audiovisual hardware? Congratulations: The goal of enjoying a great home theater is almost in sight. Following are just a few crucial tips that can help you make the most of your new system, cut down on clutter, effectively complement central components and minimize the hassle of any upgrades going forward.Calibrate Your DisplayWe can’t stress it enough, setting up your home theater and not tweaking your video display is l...Read | Permalink | Linking Blogs Thu, 06 Nov 2008 03:00:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/feature/73 Sony recently hosted their annual line show in Las Vegas to showcase their new 2007 product lines. The company, struggling to keep top tier market share as it battles the likes of Apple and Microsoft in various vertical CE spaces, had some flair going as they unveiled new televisions, home A/V equipment, digital cameras, digital voice recorders, personal audio systems and more. This collection of new products is of course designed to capture your dollar and hopefully continue to brighten the somewhat diminished Sony consumer electronics star. The Energy Link: Sony Does Portable USB PowerOne of the more interesting offerings from Sony interestingly enough was one of their smallest announced... Mon, 12 Mar 2007 02:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/125063 The scoop on Apple's Mac Mini and iPod Hi-Fi Dock, plus other goodies like a $3000 CD Player. Wed, 22 Mar 2006 03:00:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/10538/ Question: I have a Fisher Studio 24 compact disc player and when I put a disc in and push play it says searching ,but then says M-error. What does that mean? What can I do? -submitted by debbie4000 Answer: There's nothing like cryptic error messages to only make matters worse when your device doesn't work. Not only do you need to figure out why it's not working, but you need to take your best guess at what an "M-Error" is. "M-Error" is short for mechanical error. This kind of error is common to devices like CD Players, DVD players, and VCRs. Basically, it can happen to anything with a mechanical system that loads and ejects media. Mechanical errors can be any number of things. In some cases a gear is stuck, in others a part has jammed. Sometimes, a CD is positioned wrong or has fallen off of the carousel, causing the platter to not turn. One way or another, something mechanical is inhibiting the operation of the unit. Without being able to look inside and see what's causing it, that's about the best diagnosis someone can give. I'd be willing to bet there is a busted gear underneath ... Thu, 03 Feb 2005 20:58:57 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/10303/ A surround sound system can be one of the biggest upgrades to your home video and audio experience, but can also be very challenging to setup properly. Specifically, in order to get the most enjoyable audio experience from your home theater, your speakers should be placed in the room appropriately. Most home theater systems are usually comprised of six to eight speakers. In most cases, one of these speakers is a subwoofer ('sub' for short), which is a dedicated speaker for producing low frequency effects. A subwoofer is usually a large box that sits on the floor somewhere in the listening space. Many choose to put it in a corner, others behind a chair, and some put it next to their sofa (so they can "feel" the bass). Although it can be placed anywhere in the listening space, there are some guidelines to consider when choosing the best location of a subwoofer. Examining The Room All rooms have different acoustic characteristics, which means that there is no "rule of thumb" for proper sub placement. Since bass frequencies below 80hz are considered to be omni-directional (meaning that bass below 80hz should sound as if it is coming from everywhere), room shape ... Tue, 14 Dec 2004 10:13:18 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/10276/ There are many different types of surround sound systems - 5.1, 6.1, &7.1 configurations as well as other products that only use one or two speakers. So many configurations make it difficult to determine the right number of speakers a surround sound system should have to give you a rewarding surround experience.The Facts about Surround SoundThere are many products that claim surround sound performance out of one or two speakers. Though some of these systems do a reasonable job of fooling listeners, do not consider any of them as surround sound systems. In order to be a surround sound system, you need to have sound coming from behind or the side of the listener. Single or two speaker systems can use certain techniques to simulate the surround experience, but the results can vary widely based on certain factors, such as room shape and acoustics. For this reason, these systems are often referred to as simulated surround systems. It can be compared to simulated driving in an arcade machine versus hopping into a real car and driving on the expressway. The simulated experience just isn't the same as the real thing.The remaining options are actual surround sound systems, consisting of ... Tue, 14 Dec 2004 10:13:17 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/10268/ If you have analog home videos, either VHS tapes or analog camcorder tapes (Hi-8, etc.), to convert into DVDs and you don't own or intend to own a digital camcorder in the near future, this article will assist you with that process. To view other options to convert analog tapes to DVDs, read How To Convert Your VHS and Analog Camcorder Tapes to DVD first. What You Need In order to convert your analog tapes, you need to have the following: A VCR or an analog camcorder An external video capture device such as the Pinnacle Systems' Dazzle Digital Video Creator or Adaptec's VideOh! DVD A computer with suggested minimum requirements: Pentium 4 or equivalent, 512M memory, an open USB 2.0 connection, 20GB disk space (you will eat it up fast, especially if you convert at a high resolution) Video editing software - Windows XP comes with Windows Movie Maker, newer Mac's come with iMovie. Also, the video capture device should come bundled with editing software. A DVD burner Blank DVD media The Process At a high level, the process consists of playing the analog (VHS, Hi-8, etc.) tape through the VCR or analog camcorder, converting it ... Tue, 14 Dec 2004 10:13:17 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/10264/ One of the challenges when designing a home theater system is determining the location of the home theater components, such as a DVD player and stereo receiver. It is often incorrectly assumed that these components must be out in the open in a direct line of sight with the remote control in order to control them. Because of this, many people stack home theater components on top of a television, or place them in a stand or side cabinet in plain view. However, not only can this exposure take away from the decor of the room, it can also allow for easy access by small children who just love to push buttons and break things. Using an infrared (IR) repeater system enables you to keep home theater components out of plain view, while still allowing for the control of them with the original remote controls. The basic principal of how an IR repeater system works is to expose a tiny device (called an IR receiver) in the line of sight of the remote controls being used and then the receiver broadcasts the signal it receives to the appropriate component(s) via other small devices called IR emitters. Thus, only one small ... Tue, 14 Dec 2004 10:13:17 -0500