LATEST CONSUMER ELECTRONICS NEWS
Made in Canada! Part 1 of 3
When one thinks of consumer electronics products, one country generally comes to mind: Japan. Home to industry giants such as Sony, Pioneer, Panasonic and Sharp, chances are you have several A/V devices from a Japanese manufacturer [...]
Made in Canada! Part 2 of 3
Part one of our survey of Canadian manufacturers covered Anthem, Axiom Audio, Bryston, Classé Audio, Gutwire, Magnum Dynalab, Paradigm, Totem and SimAudio. There's at least twenty left to cover. Part two will concentrate on speaker manufacturers. [...]
Made in Canada! Part 3 of 3
The third and final part of our survey of Canadian manufacturers covers some truly remarkable companies, some marching to the beat of a very different drummer. Let's take a look at them in alphabetical order. Aurum [...]
Blu-ray Wins HD Disc Format War: Should You be Picking up a Blu-ray Player?
In February 2008, after an 18 month high definition disc format war, a clear winner had finally emerged. Following a series of unfavourable announcements for Toshiba early in 2008, the company decided to pull the plug [...]
The Home Theatre Experience: An Introduction
Home theatre has come a long way since the days of hooking up a Dolby Surround processor to your stereo receiver and HiFi VCR. Maybe you were such an enthusiast in the late 80s that you [...]
An Introduction to Turntables
You think vinyl went the way of the Dodo? Think again. Sure, piles of disco records were melted down at Comiskey Park in 1979, but a lot survived. Vinyl culture has been kept alive by audiophiles, [...]
HDMI: All Versions Explained
Why the need for a new connector? HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface), the highly touted but much maligned next generation audio/video connection has been around since late 2002. It is the evolution of the Digital Video [...]
A/V Furniture (Racks, TV Stands, Speaker Stands, Media Storage)
Every television needs a stand just like every DVD collection needs a storage solution. It may seem mundane choosing furniture compared to choosing new television or other components for your home theater, but there seem to [...]
3D TVs, Blu-ray 3D Players and 3D Glasses
3D has already made a big splash over the past year. With movies such as Avatar (which made $2.7B at the box office worldwide), Alice in Wonderland and Clash of the Titans taking viewers from the [...]
Blu-ray/DVD Players
The acronym DVD seems so ingrained into our lexicon today that it's hard to imagine a time, only 12 years ago, when DVDs didn't exist. Rarely has a consumer product gained such widespread acceptance in such [...]
DVD Recorders
The VCR is on its last legs. VHS beat BETA but, analog video tape is no match for digital 1s and 0s. The prices for DVD recorders have reached a point where a DVD recorder is [...]
Projector Screens
In most home theatre applications, a permanent screen solution is used. Manual pull-and-release screens will protect the screen from being damaged by crayon-toting children, pets, and over-refreshed guests. This type of solution will allow the screen [...]
Video Game Consoles: Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3 (and how to connect them properly)
I may not have any real-life combat training but if aliens ever attack our planet, I'll be more than happy to fight them; just hand me the latest blaster rifle. After all, I've saved the world [...]
Speaker Buyer Guide (2-channel and Home Theatre)
Speakers are the windows to our sonic landscapes. Choosing speakers is the most personal decision that you'll have to make when putting together a stereo or a multi-channel home theatre system. Every speaker has different sound [...]
Surround Sound Component Buyer’s Guide (A/V Receivers, Speakers, HTIBs)
What separates great home theatre sound from mediocre sound is the right balance between all the audio components. Matching a $2000 A/V receiver with a $500 multi-channel speaker system simply doesn't make sense. The receiver's performance [...]
Outdoor Speakers (Choosing and Installing)
Now that the wintery weather is behind us, it’s time to get outside. And like many Canadians this summer, you’ll probably be soaking in the sun on your patio in the city or at the cottage. [...]
2010 CES – A Quick Look At the Latest Audio Video Gear
Every year, while New Years resolutions are still being attempted and you've finally read through the manual and figured out how to use all the functions on your new electronics, along comes the Consumer Electronics Show [...]
Paradigm Electronics and Anthem Electronics
Some of us build home theatres in order to recreate the movie theatre experience at home. Some of us do it for bragging rights. Then there are enthusiasts who constantly upgrade their components in the attempt [...]
