You've got your new large-screen HDTV set up, and you have plenty of your favorite DVDs waiting to be viewed. Now all you need is the right sound. When you sit down to watch a movie -- or live music concert -- in your own home theater, you want to feel as though you're in a real movie theater. The audio is just as important as the picture quality, which means you should take great care in shopping for the right receiver and speaker pieces. As you shop for audio components for your home theater, first check out "HDTV – A beginner's guide." Then, consider the following points:

The AV receiver
Most average home theater users don’t need to buy separate tuners and amplifiers for the different channels. The easiest and perhaps most cost-effective way to get several pieces all in one package is to go with an audio/video receiver, which lets you plug in most, if not all, of the pieces in your system, including your television.  read more »

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Sonos Improvements Announced
New equipment ebbs and flows into a reviewer’s hands with such frequency that I have rarely purchased any such products—always expecting that a better device is just around the corner. The whole-house wireless music system developed by Sonos is one of those rare exceptions; after testing the product I actually bought a system with my own hard-earned money. I can truthfully tell you that when it comes to distributed audio throughout the house, Sonos is the best.

For those of you unfamiliar with Sonos, it is a simple, yet sophisticated and relatively inexpensive family of products designed to wirelessly broadcast your music throughout your home. It is so simple and easy to use that the complete installation of a Sonos system can be finished in less than an hour. Using an elegant, iPod-like wireless remote you have complete control over the music you want to hear and the rooms in which it will be played.  read more »

Incorporating home theater systems into an existing space can be tricky for many consumers. With technology constantly updating and design elements always changing, it can be difficult to purchase the right home theater for an existing room.

As the “LG Techorator,” Doug Wilson is helping consumers understand how to integrate design and technology in their homes. “Techorating” is the concept of combining technology and interior design so that a “techorated” room works together as one, unified space.

According to Doug, individuals often don’t take sound into consideration when upgrading a room with new technology. When consumers invest money in a home theater system, they should ensure they are getting a great sound experience.  read more »

Looking for something different to watch tonight? Instead of heading to the video store, consider downloading a movie. It's a great way to get instant gratification if you want to watch a movie right away, especially while traveling.

In order to download the movies, you just choose a movie from a site, download it and play it in a movie player. Some content providers even allow viewing of movies on multiple computers. You can also watch downloaded movies on computers or on TVs if they are properly configured. Making downloadable movies work on TVs requires a digital media adapter (made by Netgear or D-Link), an Xbox, or a receiver like an AT&T Homezone or TiVo (where you can download movies through your provider to the receiver).  read more »