Podcast #679: Speaker Terminology

Ara has recently started a new hobby of building his own speakers at home. In the course of building them, talking about them and creating videos to show how he does it, we realized there quite a few speaker terms and some tech jargon we may throw around that not everyone is familiar with. Some of you may know this inside and out, for others it’ll be a refresher and for some, parts of this may be brand new, but we’ve compiled a glossary of sorts, based on some prior episodes and some new stuff, to make sure we’re all in on the conversation when talking about speakers.

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Podcast #670: DIY Speaker Project

The HT Guys are very DIY oriented and we love new projects! When some of our listeners emailed us about their DIY speakers we just had build one ourselves. Many of you told us about Parts Express, an online retailer for electronics, and how they have some nice speaker kits. For our first build we didn’t want to get too fancy so we went with one that didn’t require any assembly of the speaker cabinet but did require some soldering.

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Podcast #650: SmartThings Home Automation

We have had a running joke about the year of home automation for a few years now. Judging by how many home automation hubs that have been released in the last few months it's safe to say home automation is now mainstream. There is the Revolv (HT Guys Review Podcast #620) that can speak to Z-Wave, Insteon, and more. It goes for $299. Home Depot got into the game with their $50 Wink Home Automation Hub and connected devices. Staples has a competing $50 product called Staples Connect Home Automation Hub. With all these products you may wonder is there room for anyone else?

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Podcast #553: New Boxee, Cloud DVR and Superhero Movies

Cord cutters rejoice, the new $99 Boxee will delight and amaze you, and it is a much more normal size and shape. One unique feature of the new Boxee is cloud storage for all your saved DVR content, we're not convinced this is as good as it sounds on paper. And if Sci-fi movies aren't your thing, we close out today with a discussion of Superhero movies.

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Podcast #552: DIY Cabling, 4K TVs and Sci-Fi Movies

This episode covers a wide range of topics, from various DIY ways to hide cables in your home theater to why 4K is more important than 3D, but maybe not as important as TV manufacturers would hope.  We close out with a discussion on Sci-Fi movies and the role Science Fiction has played in shaping home theater and consumer electronics.  Ok, maybe not, but it sounds good.

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Podcast #485: Painting Your Projector Screen

For many, a true home theater is one that has a projector and screen. This type of setup can range in cost from a few thousand to tens of thousands or dollars. Most of the cost goes into the projector but a good percentage is also taken up by the screen. Ara’s Black Diamond II screen goes for about $2700 online. Today we are going to discuss a way to save as much as 95% on the cost of screen and still have a high quality experience. All you need is some specialized paint, elbow grease, and a weekend. We’re talking about painting your screen onto a wall.

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