Do it Yourself Audio/Video guide
Do you recognize YOUR living room? The landscape in your family’s favorite room has changed dramatically the past few years as the Internet (as a main source of media content) begins to take over from your old favorite, the traditional cable model.
With these changes come dynamic new equipment options and possibilities. In this post IOGEAR is your fearless guide to help navigate this new media landscape and take advantage of the exciting changes in home entertainment.
HDTV
The TV remains the centerpiece of most entertainment centers in the home. Today, most homes enjoy the power of an HDTV, with newer models now equipped with Internet connectivity, effectively creating a web TV. Most recently, 3D enabled HDTV’s have joined the mix, promising a more vibrant (and dimensional!) future ahead.
The following resources will help you navigate the various options and discover the right choice for your particular needs:
Audio Systems
For fussy audiophiles, the sound quality built into most HDTVs is not enough to satisfy discerning ears. Those looking for a better quality sound experience may find the need to augment their system with full home theater capabilities.
Before you begin your search, it’s important to spend some time determining what’s important to you, based on how you will be using your system. For example, is full surround sound a priority? Do you want to be able to easily play music from your radio or iPod? Will you need headphones if thumping bass is an issue for the neighbors downstairs?
The following resources will help guide you to system suited to your lifestyle:
- About.com’s Home Theater guide
- Home theater system guide by ConsumerReports.org
- How to buy the right headphones from PCMag.com
PC Media Centers
For those who want to combine their computing experience with a little quality couch time, there are many options available to turn your PC into a full featured media center. While many newer HDTV’s have integrated Internet on TV abilities, they are usually limited to certain content sources. A quick solution is to include your PC as a media player – not only will this give you the full PC to TV computing experience on your HDTV, the IOGEAR Wireless Audio / Video Kit will allow you to cut the cord and work wirelessly!
These resources are a great start when looking for the best fit PC media center option for you:
- How to build an HD media center for under $1000 by EngadgetHD
- Using Apple TV with Boxee to create a easy-to-use media center by LifeHacker.com
Single/Multi Purpose Media Devices
From video game consoles to DVD and/or Blu-Ray players, there are a bewildering variety of add-on options for your home entertainment center. It’s important to consider your entertainment needs before making your selections, since some devices, such as the Xbox or Playstation 3 perform several functions (e.g. gaming, Netflix streaming and DVD or Blu-ray playback).
Here are some resources to help you decide how to extend your home entertainment center:
- Choosing between an Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 or Nintendo Wii
- Stand alone home media player comparison: Vudu, Roku and Boxee
- Recommended Blu-ray & DVD players from ConsumerReports.org
Bringing It All Together
Feel like you’re stuck in a cable nightmare? Today’s devices often come with cheap, low-quality cables, or cables designed to frustrate you by being short or easily broken. The good news is, you don’t need to spend a fortune to get the quality you need. The better news is, there’s no longer any need to even leave the comfort of your couch to switch between one device and the next. Cutting-edge technology provides solutions for that problem and keeps you couch-side in comfort!
These links will help you navigate today’s A/V connectivity options:
- Cnet’s quick guide to HDMI and HDMI cables
- Audio/Video Cables and Connectors explained by eCoustics.com
- Wireless resources by IOGEAR
Your Solutions and Experiences
Have you begun a high-tech upgrade of your living room, or are you hanging on to old technologies? What’s missing for you to be able to truly integrate the Internet experience into the living room? Please take some time and share your thoughts here on the blog, on Twitter or FaceBook.
Don’t forget to participate in this month’s Twitter contest where a USB Laptop KVM Switch is up for grabs. Entering to win is as simple as following us on Twitter!
The only thing I can say is, the demo room you have in your promo>> http://www.iogear.com/blog/2010/03/17/do-it-yourself-audio-video-av-guide/?elq=463b51fdf9284b85bfa962924bdb06c8
is a good start for an ECHO chamber – long flat walls, ceilings, NO curtains, and a hardwood floor. This looks like a sound engineers nightmare. I KNOW >> it’s just a picture.
Thanks for the wireless references and keep the news coming – I am a confirmed IOGEAR customer, you have stuff that just keeps on working. As weird as it sounds, good quality stuff – like yours – is hard to find. Thanks again.
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Comment by Paul Robinson — March 31, 2010 @ 3:41 am
You don’t have to have a whole lot to start using a PC as an entertainment system. A simple system can be inexpensive. All that’s really needed is a PC with a DVD-ROM drive (recording optional) and a HDMI or DVI output (with HDMI adapter cable). Of course an HDTV is needed also. I’d add a good wireless keyboard, RF instead of IR though. With RF you don’t have to be in line-of-sight with the computer. Wireless is optional though. No special software is needed for a simple system. Windows comes with a DVD player, so does Linux. I prefer using Linux, but to each his own. Make sure there is an optical or coaxial digital sound output on the sound card, you’ll want that for later if you decide to get an A/V receiver. Make sure it’s a quiet and well cooled PC! I can hear the fan on mine when nothing is playing, but can’t over normal TV or music sounds. I just used a desktop case, not a special (and much more expensive) home theater case.
That’s really all you need to start with! The computer replaces your DVD player, and you can connect to the Internet to play YouTube and other videos, surf the web, etc. Add some game controllers and it becomes a game system also. Don’t forget that you can play MP3s for a sound system as well. This base system can be added to to support DVR and other functions, but it’s functional as is.
You don’t need an audio/video receiver even to get surround sound. If the computer has surround many speaker systems have an amp built into the subwoofer that will take line inputs from the PC sound card. The only drawback to that is the subwoofer needs to be relatively close to the PC and you won’t get surround from the TV. That can be accomplished by connecting the TV output to the sound card input, but I’d get an A/V receiver if you want surround from the TV.
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Comment by Frank — March 31, 2010 @ 12:16 pm