This year's Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association show, held September 7-11th in Indianapolis, featured an incredible number of new televisions, electronics, speakers and remote control systems—enough to make even a casual gadget fan drool.
More than 25,000 audio/video professionals attended this year's convention. The annual convention is where 500 companies showed their latest home-entertainment products. But I wanted to find a few ingenious products that could help builders install better, more flexible media rooms and home theaters. Here are a few of the most interesting products and concepts I came across:
- Screen Innovations' Visage line of screens can deliver a great picture, even in a bright room. Until now, using a front projector to get the big-picture experience meant that the room needed to be nearly or completely dark, but not any more. Go to www.screeninnovations.com and be sure to watch the "Visage News Video."
- Want a full surround-sound system, but don't want speaker boxes or even visible in-wall or in-ceiling speaker grills? Several companies now offer speakers that can be installed behind the sheetrock. Stealth Acoustics makes some of the best. They even have a subwoofer that can be installed beneath the drywall. Big sound and not a speaker in sight. Go to www.stealthacoustics.com and check out the video to watch an installation that was featured on HGTV's Weekend Makeovers.
- In new construction, a good plan ensures adequate video wiring for future needs. But what about existing homes? WireTracks manufactures products that can turn every piece of baseboard molding, chair rail molding, and door casing in your house into hidden wiring channels that conceal the wire and enables you to add new cabling by simply removing the trim and adding the new wire to the WireTracks channel. WireTracks also add flexibility to new construction. See
www.wiretracks.com.
- An alternative to hiding wires behind the wall or trim is to use DeCorp's Flat Wire products. They sell a variety of audio and video cables so thin that you can glue the wire on the wall. Apply a mesh cover and a special spackle, then sand and paint, and the wire is invisible. See www.decorp.com.
- Several companies showed products that hide flat-panel displays when they are not in use. Reversica Design's Gyre 6300 is a very clever mechanism that allows custom cabinet makers and furniture makers to build a bookcase that conceals a 50" plasma television. The bookshelf section looks like any other bookcase, but it easily rotates 180 degrees to reveal the television. Hardware for other sizes of flat panel displays will be available in a few months, and motorized systems will be ready next year. Watch the video, which was shot at the 2005 NexGen House, at www.reversica.com.
- If you want to reduce the amount of sound migrating from a media room or home theater to other parts of the house, check out Quiet Solution's very effective line of drywall, glues and sealants, which can be installed using traditional construction techniques. The company even has windows that can help block noise. See www.quietsolutions.com to watch a video from HGTV's I Want That.
Bob Gatton is an audio/video consultant and media room/home theater designer based in Atlanta. He is also the author of the series of articles about media rooms appearing as part of HGTVPro.com's Ultimate Sports Media Room promotion.
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