Home Theater

Best Buy wants to know what old, outdated technology you have in your house. The company just announced a photo contest where you can win a home theater makeover by showing them your outdated home technology. Dubbed the "Scary Technology" contest, you can enter to win by submitting your photos, along with a 140-character description to www.ScaryTechnology.com.

The contest runs until October 26, 2009, with the winner being announced on Halloween. The Grand Prize winner will receive a $3,500 Insignia Home Theater makeover including GeekSquad installation. The first runner-up will win a $1,500 Best Buy Gift Card, while the second prize winner will receive a $1,000 Best Buy gift card.

So, what are you waiting for? Grab the camera; dig out your old gear and head on over to www.ScaryTechnology.com for your chance to win! But before you go, let Poltergeist's Zelda Rubinstein tell you all about the contest in this video:

KEF cut the wires to their latest subwoofer. The new wireless HTB2SE-W is a marriage of two KEF products – the HTB2 subwoofer, and the Universal Wireless kit.

Simple to set up and easy to operate, the HTB2SE-W has CD quality sound with latest technology for real-time audio with no loss or dropouts. Using the design from the HTB2SE, the subwoofer's 250W Class-D amplifier powers a 250mm (10in.) driver which, together with an auxiliary bass radiator produces deep, excellent sounding bass. And, the subwoofer's automated signal processing means there are no buttons or dials to get in the way of enjoying great sound.

Featuring HFADPCM wireless technology, the sub can be positioned vertically or horizontally with no worries of wires getting in the way. It also features SmartBass with easy to use bass boost and phase controls. Read more

Runco just introduced its new LightStyle Series of projectors. Runco LightStyle Series includes three new projectors, the LS-3, LS-5, and LS-7, all which give you high-end video performance with prices starting at $4,995.

"For more than 20 years, Runco has led the custom installation consumer electronics industry in video technology and innovation by manufacturing the finest home theater displays for the world's most discerning and well-heeled customers. Now, our LightStyle Series completes Runco dealers' projection portfolio by offering a never-before-seen combination of Runco performance and value price," says Gerry Perkel, CEO of Runco. "This new entry-level, performance series enables Runco and our dealers to offer the most complete range of pricing and performance projector options in the industry."

Runco's LightStyle LS-3 and LS-5 will ship in November 2009 and the LS-7 will ship in early December 2009. MSRPs are as follows: LS-3 is $4,995, LS-5 is $6,995 and LS-7 is $15,495. Runco products are exclusively sold through its authorized dealer network. Read more

We told you about Bell'O's new No Tools Assembly audio video furniture not very long ago…but now you can check out a new demo video from Bell'O to see how their patent pending No Tools Assembly latch system design works.

This A/V ready-to-assemble (RTA) furniture takes just minutes to set up! Three HDTV stand models are available in wood (WAVS-326, WAVS-333 and WAVS-321) and accommodate TVs of all types, including plasma, LCD, DLP, projection and micro-display, along with related electronics and a center channel speaker.

Along with the new MovieMate 60, Epson announced the affordable Powerlite Home Cinema 705HD. Priced at $749.99, this new projector lets you enjoy movies, videogames, TV, sporting events, and even photos in 720p high definition.

The projector features 2,500 lumens of color and white light output, four pre-set color modes optimized for video, as well as HDMI connectivity and a USB 2.0 connection. Thanks to Epson's three-chip 3LCD technology and energy efficient E-TORL lamp, the Home Cinema 705HD gives you bright, movie theater-like images and video. Read more

Epson just announced the MovieMate 60, a new all-in-one home theater projector. The MovieMate 60 combines a projector, CD/DVD player, and stereo speakers into one portable unit. With the MovieMate 60 you can watch movies, TV, play video games, and even display iPod videos– all up to eight times larger than a 40-inch widescreen TV. Available in October, this baby is priced at only $699.

The MovieMate 60 features a bright, energy efficient lamp that delivers 2,000 lumens of color and white light output (60% brighter than previous models!), Dolby Digital audio, and offers easy plug 'n play connectivity, including HDMI. It has a built-in handle and cushioned carrying case. Read more

At CEDIA last week, Atlantic Technology introduced the world's first seven-channel sound bar home theater speaker system. The new FS-7.0 Surround Bar is the first loudspeaker that can reproduce all seven channels of a home theater soundtrack in a single 40-inch wide enclosure. In addition to the FS-7.0 Surround Bar, the company also introduced the SB-800, an 8-inch subwoofer designed for use with the FS-7.0.

The speaker includes three 1-inch soft dome tweeters, each of which handles the upper frequencies for one of the front LCR channels. Also on the front panel are a pair of 4x6-inch woofers, featuring dual voice coils which reproduce all three of the front soundstage channels' upper bass and midrange reproduction. The left driver reproduces the left front channel and half of the center channel, and the right driver handles the right front channel and the other half of the center channel. The LCR treble is handled by the three 1-inch tweeters. Read more

Pioneer's flagship Blu-ray Disc player, the Elite BDP-09 is the world's first Blu-ray Disc player to achieve THX certification. The BDP-09 is BD-Live Compatible and has 4GB of Internal Memory, 8 Wolfson Audio DACS, PQLS Jitter Free Audio Transmission, and 16-Bit Video Processing LSI. The BDP-09 is available now for $2200.

A perfect complement to the BDP-09, Pioneer announced that its Elite EX Series in-wall speakers have attained THX Select2 certification as well. Add to that Pioneer's top-of-the-line Elite A/V Receivers (which are the world's first and only THX Ultra2 Plus Certified receivers with Class D digital amplification) and you've got a complete THX Certified audio video system with sound and features that are hard to beat.

To find out more information on Pioneer's THX Certified audio and video products, visit www.pioneerelectronics.com.

Panasonic's new SC-BTX70 may not look like a Blu-ray home theater system with its upright stance, but it is that…and more. It includes a Blu-ray Disc player, an iPod dock, an SD memory card slot and a USB terminal, all in its front panel.

The SC-BTX70 is a 2.1 system, yet gives you virtual 7.1 channel sound using Panasonic's advanced proprietary surround technology that delivers Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD virtual 7.1-channel surround sound through the two speakers and subwoofer. The system's 96-kHz Surround Re-master function even enhances the sound quality of CDs and raises the quality of the multi-channel audio data on Blu-ray Discs and DVDs for realistic sounds.

The SC-BTX70 also has Panasonic's PHL Chroma Processor Plus and High Precision 4:4:4 for original cinema quality playback of Blu-ray discs. Also, connecting the SC-BTX70 to the Internet, you can view videos on YouTube, photos on Picasa as well as access the Amazon Video-on-Demand (VOD) online movie rental service. Internet games can also be played and Blu-ray Disc bonus content can be downloaded with the BD-Live feature.

The system will be available in September 2009 for $999.95.