Most customers are unaware of the laws governing the installation of home theaters.  In the state of california
anyone can work on a home theater if the work including materials does not exceed $500.  if it does the people installing need to be licensed. the contractors could face jail time and up to $8000 in fines

If the install requires the moving of an electrical receptical to be placed behind the tv screen, it must be done by a certified electrician or an electrical contractor c-10.  If it is not and a fire insues, and your house burns down your insurance company will refuse to pay the claim.  Hiring a licensed contractor is a small price to pay for peace of mind.  In addtion licensed c-10 contractors are bonded and insured.

dont be foolish

sparky bob

Dear  Client

Normally blue ray players come with only one disk playing ability.  I have not seen a double.  If I am hearing you right I believe yoou want to drive two different locations with two different formats.  to my knowledge it dosent exist.  Even the players that have a combo dvd/vcr player can only operate one at a time.  If I run into something like what you are looking for I will post it for you

sparky bob

Many people will try to buy TV mounts without giving thought to the type of TV you are mounting. 

When mounting TV's, one of the most important criteria to be considered is the weight and the size of the tv.

For tv"s up to around 24" and 40 lbs it is ok to buy an articulating mount that connects to the wall using one
stud.  If you go above 24" and 40 lbs the one stud mount tends to creak and loosen up as the articulating mount is flexed back and forth.

Larger Articulating mounts for larger tv's must allow for mounting to 4 points.  Two on each stud.  This stabilizes the larger tv''s and prevents damage by dropping to the floor.  This especially occurs with mounts of the SIMPLICITY BRAND from COSTCO.

TAKE HEED AND BE CAREFUL

 

Sparky Bob

Best  buy and the rest of the retailers never want to explain properly about buying a 5x1, 7x1 or other tuner becasue you would never buy a system from them.

the facts:

A  5x1 home theater tuner means that you can hook up 5 (8 ohm) speakers to the system and nothing more unles they have a connec tor on the back of the unit that allows for an external amplifier to be attached.

A 7x1 means the same but allows for seven speakers.

If you want to use your system for both home theater and a music and sound system for your house, you need to buy a am/ fm tuner
that has:
       1.  two zones that operate independently
        2. an amplifier pre out that allows the unit to be hooked up to an external amplier.
        3. an amplifier that has enough wattage (power) to run all the speakers you have in the house for music and sound.
        4. volume controls that allow for matching the speakers to the tuner or amplifier.

If you presently have a home theater system in place, and the unit shuts down when you turn the volume up, your unit has self protect and is shutting down to protect itself .

so as you can see it takes a professional to install a real home theater system and music and sound system, or you have to do a lot of reading and need to learn a little electronics

sparky bob

For all you people buying dvd's with netflix and pandora, be appraised of the fact that they are not selling you all you need to get onto your network.  Costco and the other retailers are not telling you that the great price on the new samsung and other brand blue ray dvd's,  that offer netflix are not including a lan adapter which you have to buy at a retailer like best buy for at least another $80.

I consider this devious marketing

sparky bob

This weerk i had several calls to install systems that people had bought on ebay or craigs list.  I felt a sense of duty to tell
people to be aware of what you are buying before you hand the cash to seller.

Even though the back of many high priced audio video receivers is quite impressive and at one time were very expensive, you can many times purchase new equipment for a third of the cost and have ten times more equipment.

many old machines are setup for AV and not component and not hdmi which gives you true digital processing.  In addition there is no guarantee that the old equipment will even work

buyer beware or at lease know what you are buying.  If you dont know, ask a professional

sparking bob

Many homeowners use cameras that bring the picture of their cameras to each tv by use of an rf modulator.  this is an electronic machine that changes the video signal of the surveillance camera into a broadcast that can be seen on one of channels of your cable tv.

the only problem now is that the cable companies are trying to monopolize all of the channels, thus leaving no channels for home owners to broadcast any cameras on to unused channels.

the way to get around the trickery of the cable companies is to use Notch filters. 

Bob

It used to be true that laying a plasma tv at an angle greater than 20% from straight up could damage the set.  This is no longer true and many times I will lay the Plasma down, just like I do a LCD or LED to install the back mount.  The Newer plasmas are not sensitive to being laid on their fronts.

sincerely

Sparky Bob

Samsung has finally taken Dvd players to the next level.  Their model 3600 Wifi Netflix unit utilizes you home network to transmit
streaming movies to your TV via you Samsung Wifi DVD.

You can choose from over 1200 movie titles and your computer, via the network, sends them to you Samsung, ready to be
streaamed to your TV at the touch of a button

Have installed quite a few and I am in love with this unit.

Sparky Bob



soooo coool

Just like Car companies try to confuse you with all the different models they sell, TV manufacturers do the same.

You have noticed all the different prices associated with all the confusing information about each TV.

The important thing to remember is that the HZ rating is how fast the electrons are traveling across the screen of the tv.  The amount of cycles per second. 

The best buy in a lcd TV will find you purchasing one that has at least 120 Hz and a resolution of 1080p.  The naked eye cannot tell the difference between the more expensive 240 Hz and the 120.  Dont buy the old 60 HZ TV's

sparky Bob