HD Deals: Samsung Monitors

Need an early Christmas present for three relatives or just love using multiple computer screens for Web browsing, then we found the perfect deal for you. Buy 3 Samsung 2494SW 24-Inch Monitors & Get 1 for FREE. More HD and gadget deals* after the jump.

Creating An Egyptian Home Theater

 

The main feature of the Nile theater is its unique “curtain” — actually two sculpted, automatic sliding doors. The doors are cast out of fiberglass and veneered with actual bronze particles that give them a very realistic metallic look. The two sculptures that flank the stage are also cast out of fiberglass.

Thematic theaters are tricky. Since it’s so easy to turn the room into a big cliché, I try to avoid “thematic” design like the plague. If a client asks me for a Chinese theater, my fear is that the theater might turn out like a Chinese restaurant. If the order is for an Indian design, my mind goes to a tacky Bollywood set. And Egyptian brings to mind the Luxor in Vegas. There’s no escape from the threat of bad taste, but such requests keep coming with regular frequency.

Boston Acoustics subwoofers go wireless

'tis the season for wireless, it seems. Now Boston Acoustics is getting on the cord-cutting bandwagon with three new wireless subwoofers.

The CPS 8Wi, CPS 10Wi, and CPS 12Wi are the newest members of the company's Classic series. They're respectively 200-/8-, 300/10-, and 400/12-watt/inch subwoofers with built-in wireless receivers. Each subwoofer is designed to work with the company's WT 50 wireless transmitter, which boasts a range of up to 50 feet.

PS3 slim goes to 250 GB on November 3 for $349

We're not entirely sure why Sony didn't make this info official back when they released the 120 GB version, but it hardly matters now. From the release, it looks like more storage space will be the only thing that extra $50 gets you. We're OK with that. Though, if changing the hard drive in the PS3 slim is as simple a task as it was with the old chubby model, you might be better off waiting for a killer deal on a notebook drive and doing it by yourself. After all, that HD video sure does take up a lot of space and streaming it over WiFi can make you want to pull out your hair.

HD Deals: Home Theater System With iPod Dock

Check out this deal we found on a ONKYO 7.1-Ch Home Theater System with iPod Dock for $399.99. More HD and gadget deals* after the jump.

Rotten Tomatoes hits Vudu's movie library

The Internet means never having to settle on a single source for reviews (except of course for home theater equipment and the audiophile and videophile qualities of home video releases, in which case Sound & Vision is the only source you need). If you haven't already heard of it, Rotten Tomatoes is a movie reviews aggregation site that takes a whole bunch of different sites and publications' reviews, and averages them to determine if a movie is "fresh" or "rotten."

According to Engadget HD, streaming movie service Vudu is adding Rotten Tomatoes scores and quotes from reviews to its interface. It doesn't seem to offer full reviews, but it does give each movie's "Tomatometer" score, and offers individual rotten/fresh ratings and quotes from top reviews. It's a pretty handy feature to use before you decide to actually sink your cash on downloading or streaming a film from Vudu's library.

— Will Greenwald

HD Deals: HDMI Cables

If you are in the market for some high res HDMI cables, we found this deal that you can't miss. More HD and gadget deals* after the jump.

Speakers Are A Lot Like Dinosaurs

No doubt about it — speakers have come a long way, and continue to get even better. The range of speaker options is staggering: You can choose anything from diminutive satellites to mighty towers, skinny soundbars to rotund subwoofers. If you can’t find the speaker that exactly fits your needs, tastes, and budget, then you just haven’t looked hard enough. But — and I take a deep breath here — speakers are a lot like dinosaurs.

HD Deals: Halloween Blu-ray Discs

Get in the Halloween spirit with this deal on some new horror flicks on Blu-ray. More HD and gadget deals* after the jump.

The Best Demo Material To Test Your Speakers

A system is only as good as the recording or movie that’s played through it. Here is some suggested demo material:

CDS

 

Eric Clapton Unplugged (Reprise)

A clear, wideband, detailed, all-around superb recording featuring mainly acoustic instruments, so you can quickly get a good handle on whether your speakers sound “right” — or otherwise.