Lets take a look at some of the most expensive home speaker systems known to man.  Yeah, they may be expensive, but in almost every case you get what you pay for.  Premium sound comes with a premium price tag.  Maybe your home cinema budget doesn’t quite correlate with the speaker systems here, but at least you can check ‘em out and dream about someday having an awesome sound system such as the ones listed below.  Hey, it’s good to dream!

Expensive…

Sonance Kayak Speaker System

Not only is this speaker system expensive, but it’s also an extremely attractive-looking speaker unlike any other speaker on the market.  Although the Kayak is just one speaker, it puts out stereo sound with two silk tweeters and two 5.7-inch woofers.  This means you don’t need a room full of speakers to get that full, rich sound.  The unique-looking speaker can be mounted vertically or horizontally, and it will push 60 watts of power at 8 ohms.  With its steep price tag of about £1,500, you’re looking at a speaker system that will set you back over £25 per watt!  Not the cheapest speaker system in the world, but at the very least, it’ll make an awesome conversation piece! (via)

Jamo Reference R 909 Speakers

Looking for a premium home speaker system that looks as good as it sounds?  The Jamo Reference R 909 high fidelity speakers meet this criteria and then some.  These top-of-the-line loudspeakers feature two 15-inch subwoofers, a 5.5-inch midrange speaker, and a 1-inch tweeter all rolled into an attractive state-of-the-art wooden enclosure.  Each of the 50-inch tall speakers can handle up to 250 watts with no problem at all, and they’ll hit all the way down to 25 hertz.  The R 909 speaker system will not only give your home entertainment center jaw-dropping bass response and crystal clear highs, but it will also  burn a hole in your wallet with its £7,500 price tag per pair!

Wilson Audio Alexandria X-2

The audio experts at Wilson Audio set-out to create a loudspeaker that would match the quality of a live music performance, and it may have just accomplished that feat with the Alexandria X-2 speaker system.  This amazing speaker features one 15-inch subwoofer, one 13-inch subwoofer, two 6.75-inch midrange woofers, one 1-inch tweeter, and one 1-inch super tweeter!  With a sensitivity of 95 db, this system takes full advantage of every single watt of power sent through it.  The body of this over 70-inch tall speaker looks like something from the future, and each Alexandria X-2 comes with high quality custom paint job according to the customer’s needs.  The most amazing part about this speaker system is its price tag ñ A pair of Alexandria X-2 loudspeakers start at £67,500!

More Expensive…

AvantGarde Trio Classico with Bass Horns

OK, now we’re starting to get into some seriously expensive home cinema speakers.  This set of speakers from AvantGarde are among the best sounding speakers anywhere.  The Trio Classico speaker system comes in a variety of colors, and the system’s bass horns look like something from the future with its curvy, circular design.  Needless to say, the sound that this system produces is also out-of-this-world.  The Trio Classico is one of most expensive home speaker systems in the world at a cool £94,500.  Surprisingly, though, people from around the world have purchased these speakers for their home theatre setups (very very rich people, needless to say).

Magico Ultimate

These very rare home theatre speakers epitomize sound quality and performance.  Each of these state-of-the-art speakers feature a 15-inch subwoofer, along with four Japanese ALE compression drivers.  These 5-way behemoths produce some of the finest quality music possible with their 110dB efficiency throughout the entire frequency range.  Alon Wolf was the designer of the Magico Ultimates, and he spared no expense when creating this amazing speaker.  That fact is evident when you take a look at the Ultimate’s bloated price tag of about £114,500.

Marten Coltrane Supreme

As the follow-up to the award-winning Coltrane speaker system, the Coltrane Supreme exemplifies both beauty and performance.  The main loudspeakers feature four ceramic upper-bass speakers, one ceramic lower midrange speaker, the world’s first 2 diamond midrange, and one diamond tweeter.  The subwoofer employs four long-throw subs that hit as low as 16 Hz, this is base so low that you can’t hear it, but you can sure feel it!  The crystal clear highs reach frequency levels up to 100,000 HZ, which is unheard of in the home speaker industry.  The result is sound that is exceptionally clear throughout the entire frequency range and easily covers the entire audible frequency spectrum.  With the Coltrane Supreme subwoofer’s 4,000 watt peak power handling, you can expect some major bass response ñ make sure you have strong windows in your house before you crank these things up!  These awesome home theatre speakers can be used for ‘just’ £125,000!

Ridiculously Expensive!!…

Acapella Audio Arts Sphaeron

A German speaker manufacturer by the name of Acapella Audio Arts developed the Sphaeron speaker system back in the 1990s as the ultimate in horn-style speaker design in the world.  This amazing speaker system not only looks revolutionary, but performs beyond anything you’ve ever heard before.  This speaker system features an exceptional efficiency of 100dB, which means that this system takes every last watt of power and turns it into stellar sound.  With a 1,000 watt maximum capacity, these speakers can push plenty of air around a home cinema room.  The manufacturer recommends the room to be at least 50sqm in size for best performance.  These beautiful red horn-speakers will set you back about £162,500!

CAT MBX Powered Speakers

These incredible speakers designed by California Audio Technology require some serious head-room with their gigantic 12-foot tall stature, and their weight is out-of-this-world ñ 5 tons per pair!!  It takes about 1 gallon of Ferrari red paint to deck-out these amazingly beautiful speakers.  The enclosures that house the speakers are an unheard of 8-inches thick, and it’s made from a 16-ply Avonite lamination process.  These towering floor speakers feature custom-made 22-inch subwoofers, 12-inch subwoofers, 9-inch woofers, 5.5-inch midrange speakers, and 1.25-inch tweeters.  This montage of speakers is powered by 4 custom on-board amplifiers which put out some serious wattage.  With all this amazing speaker power and fine craftsmanship, it’s no surprise that these speakers come with a very premium price - £280,000 per pair to be exact.

The Infinite Wisdom Grande

Wisdom is a Nevada-based speaker manufacturer with just one thing in mind; They want to produce the best sounding, best quality loudspeakers on the market.  Their flagship speaker design is the Infinite Wisdom Grande loudspeaker, and this thing is far from your average home speaker system.  It stands 13-feet tall, weighs about 3,800 lbs., and it is capable of producing high quality sound at pressure levels of about 120 dB.  Just as a comparison, 120 dB is louder than standing near the speakers at a loud rock concert ñ now that’s loud!  This incredibly loud sound is possible because of the system’s total of 24 low frequency drivers per pair.  These extremely well-built subwoofers can handle up to 12,000 watts!  If you do somehow have enough room in your home for these monsters (like a palace or castle!), you’ll have to fork-over more than £300,000 to get a pair of these awesome home speakers.

Kharma Grand Enigma

…And the award for the most expensive home speaker system on the planet goes to…The Kharma Grand Enigma.  This Netherlands-based speaker manufacturer is serious about speaker quality and performance.  This one-of-a-kind speaker system is just that, as there’s only one of these systems on the planet.  The lucky owner of this awesome home speaker setup is a homeowner in Belgium who wanted to have the best speaker system ever made, and I think he got it.  He paid a cool $1 million USD for this setup, and that’s just for the speakers! Pics via Gizmodo.

Revealed! Ever wondered what world-wide celebrities are packing in their own home theaters?  With all the money they’re raking in each year, they have plenty of cash left over after their exotic vacations and daily spa treatments are paid for each month to completely deck-out their home cinema with top-notch home theatre equipment and some awesome added touches as well.

Here’s an inside look at just a few popular celebrity’s homes and what they’ve done to set their home cinema setup apart from the average home.

Ryan Seacrest’s Dream Theatre

Host of ‘American Idol’ Ryan Seacrest must really love watching movies. The screening room inside of his L.A. mansion is fit for a king. It has a 35mm film projector system which projects onto a huge projection screen right next to a comfortable fireplace. Comfort seems to be the theme in this cozy home theatre with comfy sofas and plush seating throughout. The majority of the home theatre equipment is hidden away near the back of the room, and the list of components in this system is far too long to list here! The theatre room has 4 in-wall speakers and 2 in-wall subwoofers all hidden away. The entire system is controlled via 3 Creston 5-inch touch-panels place throughout the house and guesthouse. There’s even a waterproof Creston remote control located at the pool, so that controlling the outdoor music system is quick and easy.

Donnie Wahlberg’s Minimalist Theatre

Actor Donnie Wahlberg’s minimalist home cinema in Southern California is very simple in its design and ease-of-use. The actor wanted to small, cozy place to watch movies with his family, and the relatively small garage at his home was a perfect place to make this happen. The theatre features seating for four, a 92-inch fixed projection screen, a JVC DLP projector, and Sonance 7.1 surround sound with a Velodyne HGS-15 powered subwoofer. The entire system is controlled by a 6.5-inch in-wall Elan Via! touchpanel. This theatre exemplifies simplicity and sophistication all wrapped into one awesome room.

50 Cent’s Ridiculous Pad

Rapper Curtis Jackson III, aka. 50 Cent, purchased a 48,000-square-foot home in Connecticut back in 2003, and it just happened to be the former home of boxer Mike Tyson. This gigantic home features an incredible movie theatre with plenty of room for 50’s posse to hang-out and catch a flick. Inside of his movie theatre, he has access to over 3,000 movies with the touch of a button on the touchpanel control pad. His master bedroom is even more crazy with not one, but two huge HDTV setups - I guess he needs to be able to watch TV from every angle?! Nevertheless, this spectacular 53-room pad went on the market for about $18 million in 2007, and one lucky person will get all of its spoils.

The White House’s Retro Theatre

The President of the United States has quite a nice little home theatre setup inside of the White House in the nation’s capitol. The 40+ seat theatre was created during the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration in 1942, and it was carved out of an apparently unused (or unnecessary) cloakroom. The so-called “Family Theater” at the White House received a makeover during the Reagan years when the theatre received a stadium seating upgrade. A recent renovation in 2004 redesigned much of the décor of the theatre to resemble an early 20th century movie theatre. This theatre is decked-out with Snell Acoustics speakers, which are some of the best home theatre speakers on the market.

Ann Harding’s Historic Screening Room

Here’s a little Hollywood history lesson for you. Ann Harding was a famous Hollywood actress from 1929 to 1956 appearing in more than 50 films. Back in those days, people had screening rooms rather than home theatres. This particular screening room (circa 1934) was owned by Ann Harding, and it consisted of two 35mm projectors positioned 60ft. from the screen, a 20ft. wide projection screen, and an electronic stage curtain. Each one of the 35mm projectors cost $10,000, which back in those days was a lot of money!

Jerry Rice’s Family Theatre

Former NFL football great Jerry Rice showed-off his San Francisco home’s awesome home cinema last year for all to see. From a fully stocked snack bar to a 10,000 watt sound system, this home theatre has got it all. The projector is a Vidikron Vision One which projects onto a huge 123-inch Stewart projection screen. The entire setup is controlled with an AMX 10-inch touchpanel control unit. The warm décor and comfortable CineLounger chairs add a cozy touch to this 30 x 25-foot home theatre. Jerry’s entire setup cost him approximately $200,000 – a drop in the hat to this guy’s checkbook!

Penn Jillete’s Magical Home Cinema

Penn Jillete is one half of the world-famous Penn & Teller illusion act which currently performs at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The magician has quite an odd taste when it comes to design and architecture, but it definitely fits his personality. This magic man’s quirky attitude matches the design of his colorful home cinema. This theatre consists of two rows of bright red and yellow reclining sofas, a Runco projector, 96-inch Stewart projection screen, and even a full-size stage behind the screen for playing music. This theatre is truly more of a playroom than a sophisticated home theatre – something his young daughter most definitely enjoys!

For anyone who’s into home entertainment and home theater equipment, you know that the centerpiece of a good system is the television. The people who are ready to take their home theater to the next level, or for those who’d just like to dream about it, you’ve got to take a look at this titanic list of gigantic plasma, LCD, and LED TVs. When it comes to HDTVs, bigger is better, and this list of the largest TVs in the world has got the biggest of them all. From huge HDTVs at sporting venues and stadiums, to the largest consumer big screen TVs on the planet, right here you’ll find 12 of the largest TV’s ever designed. This list is intended to make home theater enthusiasts drool in envy, and make them wonder why they ever bought that puny 50-inch plasma!

Sharp’s 108-inch LCD HDTV

Sharp unveiled their 108-inch Aquos big screen LCD at the 2007 CeBIT, and at that time it was the largest consumer HDTV in the world. It still remains one of the largest consumer LCD TVs in the world. This huge HDTV features 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, and it should be available to consumers later this year. Sharp hasn’t released details on pricing yet, but the comparable 103-inch Panasonic plasma currently on the market sells for around $100,000, so definitely expect this mammoth LCD to carry a price tag in the six figures.

Panasonic 150-inch Plasma

At the 2008 CES, Panasonic unveiled what is currently the largest plasma in the world at an incredible 150-inches. This thing stands 11-feet wide and 6-feet tall, and it will cost customers in the six figures to purchase one. Expected retail price of this awesome plasma will be somewhere around $150,000, so start saving-up now. This 1080p big screen HDTV features 4096 x 2160 resolution, and it’s supposedly energy efficient, at least as energy efficient as a plasma TV of this size can be.

Technovision Luxio LED HDTV

Did you think that Panasonic’s 150-inch behemoth was the largest consumer flat panel in the world?…Wrong! The Technovision LuxioLED flat screen is a 205-inch monster that is 15-feet wide and over 8-feet tall! This thing consists of 750,000 tiny LEDs which provide a full HD picture in 16:9 widescreen format. The Luxio sports a resolution of 1344 x 768, and an amazing contrast ratio of 10,000:1. Now the only question is whether to spend half a million dollars on a house, or splurge on the Luxio 205-inch HDTV?…Just buy a cheap house with an open 15 x 8-foot wall to mount your gigantic TV trophy. Keep in mind that this TV doesn’t have built-in speakers, so make sure to save a few bucks for a surround sound system too

Fujitsu Super Frontech Vision LD

Got an extra half a million dollars laying around? You could spend it on a house, a garage full of exotic cars, or travel the world…but why not spend it on Fujitsu’s 231-inchflat screen TV? The Super Frontech Vision LD has all the inputs of a normal television, such as DVI input, it’s just that it’s probably 5 times larger than your TV at home. The downside of this beast is that it only sports a resolution of 512 x 288 LED pixels, so you’ll have to stand about 15-feet back from the screen to be able to see the screen clearly. Its all a bit ridiculous but hey…at least you’ll be the only guy on the block who can say that he has a 231-inch TV!

The “Holden-burg” Blimp

Quite possibly the largest TV in the world, that isn’t situated safely on land, is the Holden Blimp in Australia. This 55-meter long blimp is filled with 5 million liters of helium, and is affectionately nicknamed the “Holden-burg“. This multi-million dollar flying marketing campaign features an incredible 914-inch TV screen on its side. The pixels are spaced a few inches apart, so viewing the giant screen up-close is impossible, but viewing it from the ground as it flies high overhead is like watching the tiny 19-inch TV that you already have at home except for you don’t have to feel like a loser for actually owning a 19-inch TV

Godzillatron

Known as one of the largest HDTV’s in the world, Godzillatron is the scoreboard at the University of Texasfootball stadium. There is no official name that has been given to this monstrous scoreboard, so Godzillatron seemed to be a perfect fit for the Longhorn fans here. This high definition television is an incredible 7,370-square-feet in size, which makes it the largest HDTV in the entire Western hemisphere. This huge flat screen cost nearly $8 million to install, so don’t start making plans to buy a duplicate for your backyard. This TV would make a perfect outdoor drive-in theater, though, with its crystal clear 2064 x 848 HD-resolution.

Mitsubishi Diamond Vision at Sha Tin Horse Race Course

This huge LED TV is one of the longest TVs in the world at 231-feet wide, it’s also 26-feet tall. To get a visual of how big this actually is, the life-size version of the Statue of Liberty would easily fit on-screen if she were to lay on her side. This screen is known by the Guinness Book of World Records as the World’s Longest Television. Mitsubishi didn’t just want to create the world’s longest TV, they also wanted to create one that had a crystal clear picture. This Diamond Vision screen features LED pixel technology where each pixel consists of 4 dots, making the picture incredibly clear.

Mitsubishi Aurora Vision HDTV at Tokyo Racecourse

Mitsubishi Electric has outdone themselves with this 37 x 218-feet widescreen located at the Tokyo Racecourse. This thing is so big that it had to be prefabricated off-site, and then delivered to its final destination in 35 individual pieces that were pieced together on-site. To get a good visual of how big this HDTV really is, you’d have to stack 1,550 32-inch TVs together to match the immense size of this TV. This LED HDTV can be your’s for a cool $28 million. Expensive, yes…but what do you expect an HDTV with the surface area of 3 full-size tennis courts to cost?

Fremont Street Canopy in Las Vegas

Walking through the world famous Fremont Street Experienceis, well…quite an experience. Featured here is one of the world’s largest LED TVs that is in the form of a canopy high above street level. The $17 million Viva Vision in downtown Las Vegas features 12.5 million LEDs provide high resolution video at 60 frames per second on a screen that is larger than 5 football fields stretched endzone to endzone! The entire canopy screen consists of 3.5 million pixels and 16.7 million color combinations, and it takes 10 high-tech computers to run it all. Every good high-def TV needs a good surround sound system, and this one has one of the best in the world. The audio system at the Fremont Street Experience is powered by 500,000 watts of concert-quality sound. This location has been a hotspot for concerts and shows, as well as some of the biggest New Year’s bashes in the world, since it was constructed in 2004.

Beijing High Definition LED Canopy

This one-of-a-kind LED canopy in Beijing, China is the world’s largest HDTV. It’s located in a new Chinese building development called “The Palace”. The ridiculously big screen rests about 82-feet off the ground, and it stretches about 656-feet. The total size of this incredible display is just under 65,000-square-feet! A total of seven Electrosonic MS9200P High Definition video players and VECTOR image processing are used to drive huge TV screen, and this combination of hardware allows for an HD-resolution of 1024 x 768. The LED canopy plays various shows throughout the night, and there’s even a gigantic vertical flat-screen display, attached to one end of the canopy, which displays content during the daytime. With a total of 14.5 million brightly-lit LEDs, this amazing overhead theater is enough to make just about anyone a little bit awe-struck.

Republican Party Convention

From the 2008 GOP convention, check out the size of this massive, 50 x 30ft high-definition screen. Love their politics or not, that’s a monster of a screen.

The GreenPix Project

Granted this is not a TV screen but its worthy of mention. This monstrosity, the GreenPix Project by Simone Giostra & Partners in New York and Arup in London. And you’ll be glad to know that this is a fully solar powered LED-panel wall.

There are some common mistakes that are often overlooked when installing a home cinema that can easily be corrected with just a little bit of know-how. From the planning stage, purchasing of tv cables, to the calibration of AV components, you’ll find ways to avoid the common mishaps that can essentially turn a good home theatre project into a disaster. Here is a list of 10 of the most common mistakes people make when installing a home theatre and ways to avoid these all-too-common pitfalls.

1. Bad Planning

Having a master plan before getting started with a home cinema installation is the most crucial step there is, and it’s also one of the most over-looked as well. Without a well thought-out plan, a poorly planned cinema can turn into a disaster. Problems such as buying a screen that’s too big for the room, getting the wrong cables, buying non-compatible components, or under-estimating the total cost of a home theatre project can all put an installation on hold, or even make you go broke. Before beginning a home theatre project, a detailed plan of action is the most important first step to take, and always make sure to include estimates for the total cost of all of the required components from av cables to the projector screen and everything in between.

2. Crimes of the Early Adopter

You know the sort of person I’m thinking about — you might even be like this. There are certain people in this world that just have to have the latest and greatest gadgets as soon as they hit store shelves. The problem is that this type of person buys home theatre components based on impulse, and they typically don’t think the purchase through and often buy products that aren’t compatible with their current setup. Having the newest innovations on the market isn’t always the best way to go it can get really expensive, time-consuming, and just an overall hassle to keep up with the ever-improving technology. Save time and money, and plan out a home theatre that you’re happy with and stick with it. Upgrading components can be a good idea in some cases, but a good amount of due diligence is a required to make sure that each upgrade is compatible with the current system. Bottom line…just plan a setup that you know you’ll be happy with, and enjoy it instead of modifying it every time you see a new gadget that you just gotta have for your system.

3. Skimping on Essentials

This common mistake can end up costing money down the road because of poor quality HDTV, projector or projector screens that need to be replaced within a year or two of being purchased. Skimping on the essential components may save some money initially, but it will end up costing more in the long run. The centerpiece of any home cinema is the HDTV or projection system, and thus a quality, good-sized, TV or projector is essential in a good home theatre setup no matter what the total cost of the project is. The bottom line is that a little bit of research can go a long way when trying to find the perfect components for a home theatre within various price ranges. Think of the main components of a home theatre as an investment choosing a quality HDTV, for instance, will last years longer than a cheap one, and so it will save you money when it’s all said and done.

4. Uncomfortable Seating

Who wants to sit on an uncomfortable, dirty old chair for two hours to watch a movie? Not me! Seating is often overlooked by people looking to setup their first home theatre room. Many people see seating as an added expense, or luxury, that are only really necessary in more expensive home cinemas that’s so far from the truth. A home theatre room is supposed to set a mood, or create an ambiance, which allows people to escape for a couple of hours to watch a movie, watch the big game, or play video games. Comfortable seating is an essential piece of that puzzle. So leave your old, worn-out furniture by the trash bin, and consider getting some new seating - there’s seating available in just about anyone’s price range.

5. Sound Issues

Whether you decide on a 5.1, 6.1, or 7.1 surround sound system for a home theater setup, there are a few simple things to consider when installing the speakers. First of all, the size of the home theatre room needs to be taken into consideration. If the room is small, in-wall, or ceiling mounted, speakers may need to be used rather than floor-standing speakers. Also, you don’t want to use ridiculously powerful floor-standing speakers in a setup where you’ll be sitting just a few feet from the speaker itself it’ll blow your ear drums out! You also need to consider how to run the wiring to all of the speakers, or if you’d be better off with a wireless set of speakers.

Lastly, speakers need to be placed in the proper locations of a home cinema in order to get the best possible performance from them. Ideally, you want the speakers to be equidistant from the seating in the theatre, but that’s rarely possible in most situations. The best solution to this is to use the distance compensation controls that are available on most receivers, which allow you to digitally adjust the distance of each in individual speaker in order to get the highest quality sound possible from the surround sound system. Also, don’t have the subwoofer levels too high or else it will drowned out a lot of the mid-bass frequencies and lower the overall sound experience. Looking at the above photo and this homemade setup, which surround sound setup would you rather have?

6. Lighting The Room

A common problem in home cinemas that feature windows is not being able to stop natural light from coming in during those matin screenings. The best way to fix this problem is to pick-up some black-out curtains for the room. These curtains will not only totally block light from getting into the theatre room, but they also help to dampen sound from being heard outside the windows. Another issue with lighting is one which people don’t often consider. Most of today’s HDTVs will produce a better looking picture when there’s some slight fill lighting in the room preferably behind the screen if possible. You can use very dimly lit lamps strategically placed around the room to produce this effect just make sure to position them in such a way that they won’t produce any kind of glare or reflection on the screen. It’s a good idea to use 6500k light bulbs for this type of application.

7. Too close or Too far from Screen

It’s of utmost importance to mount the HDTV or projection screen the proper distance from where you will actually be sitting in the theatre. Too close to the screen, and you may be able to see the individual lines or pixels. Too far from the screen, and you’ll lose your immersion in the picture. A good rule of thumb for 16:9 widescreen HDTVs is to sit approximately 1.5x-1.9x the diagonal measurement of the screen away. For instance, if you have a 42-inch diagonal HDTV, you’d want to sit at least 63-inches from the screen, or about 5.25-feet away. You should sit slightly further away if you’re dealing with a 4:3 HDTV (1.8x), and even further away for a standard TV (3x). Also keep in mind the viewing angle of the screen. Plasmas tend to have a wider viewing angle, while LCD screens can produce slightly less desirable results when viewing the screen from sharp angles. See this chart full-size for reference.

8. Cables, Wires, and Connectors

Many home theatre enthusiasts make mistakes when it comes to the type of cables that they should be using, as well as with cable management. First of all, it’s very important to use the inputs/outputs on a TV that will produce the best quality picture possible. Today, most HDTV manufacturers are using HDMI inputs to produce the best quality on-screen imagery, so make sure to use the HDMI port if there’s one available. Some people don’t know that there’s even a difference between HDMI, component video, Scart, or DVI hook-ups, and it reality there’s a huge difference in video and sound quality.

Another often overlooked aspect of creating a home theatre is cable management. Nothing looks worse than a huge helping of cable spaghetti inside of any home cinema. There’s plenty of cable management products out there that help to give the home theatre a clean and finished look. Make sure that cables and speaker wires are hidden away, but yet are easily accessible if you have to get at them. Another great tip when running cables is to keep them as short as possible, and try not to kink or bend them or else it will affect the image quality and sound performance.

9. Calibrating All of the Components

A home theatre will not function at its highest level without some sort of calibration on the part of the owner. HDTVs and surround systems/receivers are often calibrated to look/sound awesome in the store, but when you get them home and try them out, it’s a different story. The reason for this is that in order to get the best performance out of all of your AV equipment, they must be calibrated specifically for your home theatre room. This is something that can be done by yourself or a professional. Professional calibration services can get rather expensive, but it’s the best way to get the highest quality video and sound possible from your equipment. Spending a few hours calibrating the surround sound system and HDTV settings to specifically fit your home theatre room will make a world of difference in performance.

10. Not Using a Universal Remote Control

The biggest issue with not using a universal remote control in a home theatre setup is the fact that you’d need five or more remotes to operate all of the system’s components otherwise. This is a problem that not only takes up a lot of coffee table space, but it can get frustrating when you’re fumbling around in the dark trying to find the correct remote to turn on the DVD player, receiver, TV, or adjust lighting. Using a quality universal remote will help solve these problems by allowing you to control all of the components of your home theatre with just one remote.

High-end universal remotes often times will have touch-screen interfaces that will allow you to operate just about anything in the room including: closing curtains, dimming the lights, raise/lower the projection screen, and adjust just about any setting imaginable on any AV component. Universal remotes also allow the user to program macros, or a series of functions, that are accomplished with the push of one button. For instance, you could program a macros to turn on the TV, turn on the DVD player, turn on the surround sound system, and dim the lights all with the push of one button on the remote.

Its the end of August already and there’s been a whole bunch of great sporting action so far this year — the Beijing Olympics have just come to an end, there’s been the SuperBowl earlier in the year, in soccer the Euro 2008 has come and gone. Also, the FA CUP and the UEFA Champions League. Wimbledon is over and rev-heads have been enjoyed almost a full season of F1, Moto GP, Indy and Nascar. So what other opportunities do the masses have to sacrifice offerings to the gods of sport?

Premiership Football

The Barclays Premier League circus has begun again drawing unflagging attention of hundreds of millions of soccer devotees. Around 200 countries worldwide tune in to watch their team play in the world’s most lucrative league. Keep an eye out for Liverpool Cheslea, Arsenal and Man Utd.

• Official Link
• Watch Some Action
• Date: started already in August and continues until May next year.
  

NFL

Last year’s underdog in the Super Bowl, the New York Giants, look to repeat in the 2008/2009 season, but it won’t be easy. The ESPN preseason power rankings put the defending Super Bowl champs at only the 6th best team in the NFL. Sitting atop the power rankings, ESPN puts 2005 Super Bowl winner New England Patriots, while Peyton Manning’s Colts sit at number 2. The Chargers, Cowboys, and Jaguars round-out the top 5 in the power rankings. The 2006 Super Bowl Champ Pittsburgh Steelers come in at number 7 in the power rankings. Should be another exciting year of football come August!

• Official Link
• Watch Some Action
• Power Rankings
• Widget
• Date: The new season began 3rd Aug.

NBA Basketball

The NBA has been a major part of basketball becoming a worldwide sport. As North America’s premier basketball league, the NBA consists of 30 teams spread across the U.S. and Canada. The NBA took-off in the 1980s and 1990s with the dominance of players such as Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Michael Jordan. The most successful franchise in NBA history is the Boston Celtics who have won 16 championships through 2007, and have again made it to the NBA finals in 2008. In recent years, the NBA has been pretty much dominated by the San Antonio Spurs who have won 4 championships since 1999.

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• Watch some action
• Widget: NBA Widget
• Date: New season starts October

IndyCar Series

This premier series of the Indy Racing League (IRL) recently merged with the Champ Car World Series and is now bigger than ever. Making this league even more popular is rookie of the year for 2005, Danica Patrick, who drives the #7 Motorola car. She recently became the first ever woman to win an Indy car race while racing in Japan this year. 2007 was owned by Dario Franchitti of the U.K. who not only won the Indianapolis 500, but also took home the overall IndyCar Series Championship. The overall winner of 2006 was Sam Hornish Jr. of the U.S. who raced for Penske Racing.

• Official Link
• Watch some IndyCar action
• Widget: IndyCar news widget
• Date: Season ends Sep 7th

Ryder Cup 2008

The 2008 Ryder Cup will be held at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky this year. The captains of the 37th biannual Ryder Cup Matches will be Paul Azinger for the U.S. and Nick Faldo for the European team. This year’s Ryder Cup will feature an alternate ball format, which is unlike to past three tournaments which have used a best ball format. The European team has dominated the U.S. for the past three Ryder Cups. The U.S. hasn’t won the Ryder Cup since 1999 where they won by the closest possible margin possible, 13.5 to 14.5.

• Official Link
• Watch some action of past Ryder Cup Heroes
• Date: Sep 16th - 21st

Major League Baseball

America’s past-time has been around since 1869 and continues to be the most popular sport in North America each summer. The grueling 162-game season leads up to one of the biggest best-of-7 series in the world, the World Series. The biggest rivalry in the game right now is definitely the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, although the Yankees are by far the most successful franchise in MLB history. They’ve won an astounding 26 World Series titles, with the next closest team being the St. Louis Cardinals with only 10 world championships. The Red Sox have bragging rights right now, though, as they won their 7th world title in 2007.

• Official Link
• Watch some action
• Widget: MLB Widget
• Date: Season ends Sep 28th

Moto GP

The Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix’s premier class of motorcycle racing, the Moto GP, has changed dramatically in recent years, most noticeable, the maximum engine displacement capacity has been reduced to 800cc. The 2008 race calendar will consist of 18 rounds in 16 different countries, including a race at the world-famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Aussie Casey Stoner is coming off his 2007 Moto GP championship for the Ducati Marlboro team. Stoner succeeded American Nicky Hayden who won the world championship back in 2006.

• Official Link
• Watch some action
• Date: Season ends 26th Oct

Formula 1

The F1 racing league is the largest open-wheeled racing organization in the world, and it’s becoming more popular as it slowly expands out of Europe to other countries such as India, China, and Singapore. In 2008, 9 out of the 18 races will have been held outside of Europe. The most successful driver in F1 history is Michael Schumacher who has won 7 world championships. The winner of the 2007 Driver’s Championship was Kimi Raikkonen of Finland who drives for the Ferrari team, and he was followed close by in the points by Lewis Hamilton (U.K.) and Fernando Alonso (Spain) who rounded out the top three of 2007. Still to come this season are races in Belgium, Italy, Singapore, Japan, China and Brazil at the end.

• Official Link
• Watch some action
• Widget: F1 Widget
• Date: Season ends 2nd Nov

Red Bull World Series

The Red Bull Air Race World Series features the world’s best pilots in a motor sports competition based on speed, precision and skill. Using the fastest, most agile and lightweight racing planes, pilots navigate a low-level aerial race track made up of air-filled pylons, reaching speeds of 370 kph while withstanding forces of up to 10 Gs. The official site also has a handy broadcast page to help you find the right channel to watch it on.

• Official link
• Watch some action
• Date: Season ends 2nd Nov

Nascar

NASCAR is the largest sanctioning body of stock cars in the U.S., and the largest series sanctioned by NASCAR is the Sprint Cup. The driver of the #48 car, Jimmie Johnson, is the one to beat in 2008. Johnson is the two-time defending NASCAR Sprint Cup champion in 2006 and 2007. He also won the Super Bowl of racing, the Daytona 500, back in 2006. Ryan Newman was the winner of the 50th running of the Daytona 500 for 2008, and he took home over $1.5 million for his win.

• Official Link
• Watch Nascar wrecks
• Widget: Nascar News widget
• Date: Season ends after the Ford 400 on 16th Nov

MMA Fighting

The popularity of Mixed martial arts (MMA) has spread like wildfire recently. Two of the largest MMA organizations in the world are the UFC and PRIDE Fighting Championship. The UFC introduced MMA to popular culture in 1993, but it hasn’t gained mainstream popularity until recent years. Today, MMA is fast becoming more popular than boxing, at least in terms of pay-per-view sales. Some of the most influential MMA champions include: Randy “The Natural” Couture, Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell, George “Rush” St. Pierre, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Anderson “Spider” Silva, Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva, and Takanori Gomi just to name a few.

• Official Link
• Watch some action
• Date: Fighting ends with the Final Conflict 22th Nov

Major League Soccer

MLS continues to gain popularity in the U.S., thanks large in part to David Beckham’s migration across ‘the Pond’ to play for the L.A. Galaxy in 2007. Another driving force in the popularity of the MLS was the introduction of 14-year-old soccer phenom Freddy Adu in a D.C. United uniform back in 2004. The MLS currently consists of 14 teams who each play 30 games per season. The MLS expects to expand to 16 teams in 2010 and 18 teams by 2012. The most dominate team in MLS history has been D.C. United with a total of 4 championships. Currently, though, the Houston Dynamo’s have won back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007.

• Official Link
• Watch some action
• Date: Season ends Nov 23rd

World Rally Championship

The WRC currently consists of 15 drivers and 6 teams, and this popular rallying series has been around since 1973. Each of the approximately 300 horsepower, souped-up rally cars race across pavement, dirt, snow, and ice and cover hundreds of miles over several days of racing. Right now the king of WRC is Sebastien Loeb of France, who has won the the WRC championship from 2004 through 2007 in his Citroen Xsara and C4 rally cars. He’s also the all-time win leader in the WRC currently with 40 wins.

• Official Link
• Watch some action
• Date: Last Rally on Dec 7th

Billabong Pipeline Masters 2008

The most prestigious surfing event on the ASP World Tour. You’ll find excellent roundup coverage of the event on Surfline. Check your HD provider for times. Alternatively, watch it live and streaming for free on Billabong’s official site.

• Official Link
• Watch some action
• Date: Dec 8th - 20th

When you go the cinema next, take a moment to think about where you like to sit and how comfortable the seating is. Personally, I’m a front and middle type of guy; close enough to see all the details of the picture but not so close that I strain my neck to comfortably view. So when it comes to home theater stuff, you should have no problem snagging the best seats in the house - its your house and you own the seats and you get to decide who seats where, right? Ideally you’ll want to set up for ‘movie night’ and plop down in a comfortable, soft, supple seat, something with a smooth exterior well positioned to watch the film or the big game — you get the idea!

Stylish Modern American Leather Recliners

When I think of American leather furniture it conjures up images of traditional sofa and recliner frames with a very mainstream look. High end manufacturer, American Leather, have made a modern and contemporary line of seats with an almost Italian look.

Ekornes Stressless Home Theater Seats

Hand made in Norway, the Ekornes Stressless line is hands down the best value in living room theater seating. The internal frame is the secret to the comfort and function. The articulating headrest moves forward as the recliner moves back allowing for a perfect viewing and reading position. In the same motion a lower lumber positions itself creating excellent back support. All this happens with a simple push back, no clunky levers, gadgets to pull or position.

Le Grande Recliner

Sitting in this recliner feels like sliding into the cockpit of a luxury sports car. The design of these luxurious home theater seats make them feel as if they’re hugging your body. The Le Grande recliner is made by Cinema Tech, and they know how to create high-end home theater seating. This model has an all steel frame, pneumatic mechanism, motorized reclining action, high back option, extended footrest (for taller people), and many more options as well. These chairs are also available in an ultra-cool leather pattern that makes them look as if they were pulled straight from a luxury sports car. The price tag also has that kind of luxury look to it, the kind of price tag with a 5 followed by three zero’s!

Sanyo Zero Gravity Massage Chair

Imagine coming home from a long day at work and a stressful commute and seating down into the ultimate massaging chair to relax away all the stress from the day. Also, it positions itself perfectly for TV and movie watching. The Sanyo Zero Gravity Massage Chair has a massaging feature that you just can’t go past. It features 9 different massage settings including rolling, reflexology, kneading, calf massage, compression, and on and on. It also has 4 fully automatic programs that ’sense’ where your body is the most tense, and it concentrates the massage on those parts of your body. This is truly a cleverly crafted massage chair, using skin response technology (the same technology used by polygraph machines but for a different outcome). And for a cool $5,000 lets hope it works! Because for this kind of money you can either have the best massage of your life, or at least the best chair that you’ve ever owned!

Elite Custom Home Theater Seating

The same company who worked their magic to create the Bat Cave themed home cinema also produce a pretty slick range of custom home theater chairs — and they may just be the best of the best. The high-end models feature motorized incline, slide-out cupholders, slide-out Creston touch-panels, adjustable headrests, and the option for a Cowson TES 100 tactile effects system (enhances the sound experience). Elite also uses a revolutionary material called silk leather, which has the durability of leather, and it’s soft as silk.

La-Z-Boy Oasis Recliner

This is the ultimate recliner for sports fans out there. While La-Z-Boy has discontinued this chair (why?…I don’t know), it’s still available in the United Kingdom for the princely sum of £900. Aside from being one of the most comfortable recliners that you’ll ever sit in, the Oasis has a built-in cooler in the armrest that will fit up to a 6-pack of beer. In the other armrest, there’s a built-in telephone with caller ID. On top of those features, this chair has a built-in 10-motor massage and heating system to help relax away the tension of a close game. Watching your favorite sports team or movie in this chair is quite an experience. What more could you want in a chair?…You don’t have to get up to get a beer…You don’t have to get up to order a pizza…You can get a full-body massage…And you can take a nap when it’s all said and done.

The Transport Perceptual Pod

The most off-the-wall piece of living room furniture! As a matter of fact it’s not even a type of chair, it’s actually a bed. The Transport is its name and it was designed by Alberto Frias. Climb inside of this 6-foot (optional 8-foot) pod you’ll find 4-inch micros speakers along with a 240-watt subwoofer. The bed is actually a temperature-controlled waterbed, which adds to the whole perceptual theme of the Transport. The transport is meant to put users into sort of a trance-like state with the crystal clear sound, comfortable waterbed, and LED lighting, all working to send the senses into a state of bliss. It also functions equally as well for movie watching. However, the Transport pod won’t put your wallet in a state of bliss with prices starting at around $10,000.

Human Touch Robotic Massage Recliner

New from Relax the Back, automation at its best. The HT-5320 Human Touch Robotic Massage Recliner provides the latest in full body massage to soothe muscles from head to toe for people of any size. This remarkable reclining massage chair is loaded with features including arm and thigh massage sleeves that stows conveniently when not in use. There’s also a relaxing seat air massage, plus a backrest pad and head pillow to allow perfectly positioned comfort. For the ultimate in stress relief, the Human Touch Robotic Massage Recliner offers a choice of 3 automatic massage programs. Available in Black and Chocolate Brown leather from Relax the Back for $2999

Cinema Tech Valentino

What will $5,000 buy you when it comes to home theater seating? Well…You can pick-up one of these awesome Valentino recliners. The high-end Valentino chair features the finest leather in the world, all-steel chassis, pneumatic lifting system, revolving glass table, high back for added comfort, and so much more. If you fill your home theater up with a set of these home theater chairs, don’t expect your guests to ever want to leave! These chairs are not only amazingly comfortable, but they also have steel frames which greatly extends the life of the chair.

The Ultimate Theater Seat

If you’re looking for the ultimate home theater seating out there, why not take a look at a chair that is called The Ultimate Theater Seat. This chair lives up to its name, with its 10-gauge steel construction, motorized reclining mechanism, and its tactile sound transducer technology, this chair is the ultimate in comfort and functionality. The tactile sound technology in this chair works to enhance the sound inside the theater by allowing the viewer to actually feel the sound better. These chairs were designed by world-renowned theater seating designer Charlie Beyrodt, so you can be assured of their integrity, comfort, and build quality. Each one of these high-end chairs sells for approximately $2,000.

Have you ever heard the Mario theme song played on an 11-string bass guitar?  …or the Star Wars soundtrack played on a huge Wurlitzer organ? Probably not. Here’s a collection of 15 of the most unique renditions of popular video game and movie theme songs.

Legend of Zelda Theme Song

This video shows an interesting rendition of the Legend of Zelda theme song using an electric guitar, keyboard, and a set of drums…And, oh yeah…One guy plays all three of them at the same time! Such is Zelda’s cult following that it has performed on a variety of other unusual instruments, just watch it played on the theremin, a homemade organ and an Ocarina. One guy even made a cover using Mario Paint Composer!

Star Wars

Ken Cowan, plays a deafening version of the Throne Room and Credits from Star Wars Episode IV on a Wurlitzer organ at the Sanfilippo Victorian Palace. The Turku Philharmonic Orchestra also play an excellent classical version of the Star Wars theme. And there’s also a pretty funny attempt of the Star Wars theme on bagpipes.

Super Mario Bros Theme Music

Mario has enjoyed a literal flood of covers over the years, not least of them being Greg Patillo’s flute beatbox version. Now, here’s a newer version of the Mario theme song using a remote control car plus hundreds of glass bottles to create sweet, sweet music!

Mario has also been played on a host of other instruments from clarinets to theremins. Here is Mario on a customized 11-string bass guitar. This guy is extremely skilled at playing this instrument.

The Mortal Kombat Theme Song

Summoned to fight to the death, it was a wildly popular video game with a follow up movie in 1995. Now, here’s the weirdest version of the Mortal Kombat theme song created using the Mario Paint Composer. You’ll probably want to be backed into a corner and punched in the head after hearing this:

Awesome Pipe Organ Medley

The pipe organ is an unusual instrument for video game themes and move soundtracks to be sure.  But as you watch this clip you’ll see that Dennis, the organist in ninja garb, does a fine job of playing a medley of Super Mario Bros, Tetris, Zelda, Star Wars theme and finally the US National Anthem.

Pink Panther Theme Song

Accuse me of stereotyping but you can immediately tell the style in which Jack Black’s cousin is going play the Pink Panther theme song. Alternatively, for a cover straight from the smooth jazz channel check out the Samba Rock cover by Kita Steuer.

Inspector Gadget theme

This special arrangement of the Inspector Gadget theme song is played on an acoustic guitar.

The Simpsons Theme Song

Already popular version of The Simpsons theme song is insulting to those of us who struggle to play just one guitar. Incredible accuracy and at a blistering fast pace.

Pirates of the Caribbean Theme

Many people have heard the Pirates of the Caribbean theme song played on a piano, but have you ever heard it played with one hand on a piano? This guy can play the entire theme song one-handed, and he even dresses the part to add to the effect. The costume needs some work

The Godfather Theme Song

This schmuck tackles the theme song of one of the most popular films of all-time on an accordion. And he nails it - maybe because if he messed it up he would get whacked!

Superman Theme Song

You don’t usually get to hear the theme to Superman while you’re in church, but at this church in New York City, the organist plays an awesome rendition of the popular theme song and gets a standing ovation at the end by the congregation.

Lord of the Rings Theme

This instrument of choice is the pennywhistle (aka tinwhistle), and he takes on the theme to the Lord of the Rings. Very cool, and unique version. The great Sir James Galway plays it beautifully on flute in this video.

Pulp Fiction Theme

This version of the Pulp Fiction theme song is being played with a Ud guitar, which is a type of guitar from the Middle East.

Family Guy theme song

This cover of the Family Guy theme song is played with an electric guitar, and it puts a pretty cool twist on the popular song.

The Halo Theme Song

This guy’s instrument of choice is the marimba, which is a type of percussion instrument. This version of the Halo theme song is dead-on in terms of accuracy, and the marimba is a very cool sounding instrument.

It’s no secret that the trend in HDTV design for 2008 and beyond involves creating larger, wider screens while at the same time making them slimmer than ever before. Here’s the next generation in HDTV’s and from the looks of it, the future of the flat screen is definitely looking fit and slim.

Flat-screen HDTV’s use a variety of different technologies to create that ultra-clear picture. Of course, the two biggest technologies right now are plasma and LCD with LCD becoming increasingly more popular because of its lower power consumption properties. These types of flat-screen TVs have become slimmer and slimmer each year, and they’ll continue to do so. Five years ago it was hard to imagine a big-screen TV that was less than a few inches thick, but it has become a reality.

Sharp 52-inch LCD Prototype

Sharp is a leader in LCD technology, and their new 52-inch prototype HDTV is a great example of their innovative design and engineering. This prototype LCD TV is incredibly only 1.14-inches thick at its thickest point! Not only is it ultra-thin, but this Sharp LCD features an amazing 100,000:1 contrast ratio — much better than your TV’s minuscule 400:1! It’s also supposedly very energy efficient, consuming about 140 kWh per year, which makes it extremely eco-friendly. This awesome flat-screen is scheduled for a 2010 release.

Samsung 40-inch LCD

Samsung introduced one of the thinnest TVs in the world at the FPD International Conference in Japan back in 2007. This amazing flat-screen is only 1 centimeter thick! The LED backlight used in this LCD is extremely energy efficient using only about 90 watts to operate. This ultra-slim LCD TV is based on the design of a flat panel computer monitor, just on a much larger scale. This cool TV is currently not available to consumers, but that should change soon as other manufacturers begin releasing comparably slim TVs to the ever-changing HDTV market.

Sharp AQUOS X-Series HDTVs

Sharp recently released their X-series of ultra-slim HDTV’s to the Japanese market. These incredible flat-screens come in 37″, 42″, and 46″ screen sizes, and they are amazingly only about 1.35-inches thick. These high-end HDTV’s feature 1080p resolution with contrast ratios of 15,000:1. They also have 3-way 8 speaker systems integrated into each one of these skinny panels. It’s amazing how they managed to fit a speaker system into the slim stature of these screens. The 37″, 42″, and 46″ X-Series HDTV’s are expected to retail for about $3,319, $4,077, and $4,551 respectively (based on Japanese retail prices).

Panasonic Ultra-Thin Plasma

These super thin Panasonic Plasma’s are less than 1-inch thick, and they consume about 50% less energy than current models. When Panasonic unveiled these slim beauties they were a big hit. These super slim HDTV’s look more like 50-inch pieces of wall art when mounted because of their thin stature and low profile. You can expect to see these ultra-thin Panasonic plasmas in stores sometime in 2010.

Pioneer’s Ultra-Thin ‘Advanced Design’ Plasma

Pioneer unveiled what they believe the future of HDTV has in store with their amazingly slim ‘Advanced Design’ plasma. This plasma is only about 9 millimeters thick, and it weighs only about 40 pounds and about half as much as current plasmas. This HDTV is so skinny that it would almost look like a poster hanging on your wall. This innovative plasma is part of Pioneer’s ‘Project KURO’, which is a commitment of the company to produce the best entertainment experience possible to the consumer. This feathery-light plasma is only a prototype right now, but it’s expected to be in stores sometime within the next 5 years.

Sony XEL-1 OLED TV

This very eco-friendly flat panel OLED TV uses far less energy than any LCD or plasma TV currently on the market. The reason that this TV is so energy-efficient is because OLED technology doesn’t require a backlight, and thus less power. The other side-effect of not needing a backlight is that the screen can be much slimmer, and that’s very much the case here. The XEL-1 is only 3 millimeters thick! The screen of this small TV is only 11-inches diagonally, but Sony already has plans to produce larger OLED TVs in the very near future. This Sony is also rather expensive for its size at about $2,500. The main reason for the rather steep price tag is because this particular OLED TV is the very first of its kind to go into production. Most TV manufacturers believe that OLED will likely replace LCD and Plasma technology in the future, so expect prices for this new technology to slowly drop as more OLED TVs are released. This amazing TV sports a mind-blowing 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio! It also has quicker response times and better color reproduction than LCDs or plasmas, so expect to see a lot more in terms of OLED in the near future.

Samsung OLED TVs

Samsung has also jumped on the OLED bandwagon with 14″ and 31″ models on available, and they say that they have other sizes available as well. These paper-thin TVs can handle fast moving images better than any LCD or plasma, and the color reproduction is unmatched by any current technology. Samsung expects to release these OLED flat-screens to consumers within the next year, and pricing should be somewhat similar to equivalently-sized LCD’s and plasmas.

LG 42LGX Super-Slim LCD

This extremely thin flat-screen from LG should be available for purchase very soon, and this thing should be a hot seller. One of the greatest features of this LCD is its 1.7-inch thick screen. This puts it as one of the thinnest LCD’s in the world. The 42LGX’s skinny body isn’t its only asset, it also features 120 Hz technology which effectively doubles the response time of this TV over most other LCD’s on the market. This feature greatly speeds up the performance of the TV and eliminates the ghosting effect that most slower (60 Hz) LCD’s are famous for.

Hitachi Wooo UT Series LCDs

Hitachi has already released some of these slim LCD’s to consumers in Japan, with more to come. The 42-inch model is set to release in a few months time in December, 2008. The full-HDTV features a body that’s only 35 millimeters thick! The Wooo UT series of LCD TVs also consists of a 37-inch and 32-inch model which are already in stores — both are the same 3.5 centimeter thickness. The 42-inch model is expected to retail for just over $4,000, a small price to pay for such a skimpy (in a good way!) HDTV.

Mitsubishi LaserVue TV

Mitsubishi got people excited earlier this year at CES with the unveiling of the world’s first true laser TV. This TV uses laser technology to produce a picture with better color reproduction and screen clarity than both LCDs and plasmas of today. The LaserVue TV, as Mitsubishi calls it, isn’t the thinnest HDTV in the world, but it’s not clunky by any means. The LaserVue TV pictured here is a gigantic 65-inch prototype model that was under 10-inches thick — not bad for such a large television. Smaller LaserVue TVs will be much thinner. Experts say that laser TV technology has the potential to produce much thinner TVs than today’s plasma and LCD HDTV’s. Laser technology in HDTV design has a bright future, and should be one of the driving forces to replace the plasmas and LCDs of today. The first ever LaserVue TV is expected to be released near the end of 2008, and according to Mitsubishi, its price tag will be very competitive to other similarly-sized flat-screen TVs.

Sony’s Flexible TV Screens

If you’re wondering what the thinnest TV screen in the world is, look no further than Sony’s flexible, paper-thin TV screens. The first prototype TV screen was a 2.5-inch OLED display that was an astounding 0.3millimeters thick!…That’s not a typo…these 0.01-inch flexible flat-screens are by far the thinnest TV screens in the world. Of course a 2.5-inch screen isn’t very practical for TV viewing, but further development will make-way for larger applications. Sony hopes to use these bendable screens for applications such as being able to wrap a TV screen around a pole, or even to use it on clothing.

From time to time a new clip surfaces on the net of some journalist losing control, not showing the decorum or professional courtesy expected of them. We’ve segmented these clips into those outbursts of anger and frustration so well exemplified by Bill O’Reilly, meltdowns when a show collapses due to someone’s ineptness and finally, the kind of blunders and accidents that make you wince, cringe and laugh.

Be prepared for these infamous clips of unscripted madness!

Outbursts

John Sweeney’s Scientology Investigation Meltdown

I had nearly forgotten about John Sweeney’s spectacular meltdown.

Early 90’s Bill O’Reilly Teleprompter Rage

Bill O’Reilly losing his cool on “Inside Edition” back in the early 90’s over a Teleprompter error.

Bill O’Reilly and Geraldo Rivera Showdown

We all know Billy boy has a short fuse and a terrible anger. Here’s Bill getting wound up about America’s immigration woes.

CNBC’s Money Guy Jim Cramer Goes Nuts

US financial commentator Jim Cramer melts down under the pressure and frustration in the market back in 2007. He fizzles out saying, “Unfortunately, I know too many people and I’m too darn old!”

Nasty Anchor vs News Reporter Exchange

These two ‘media professionals’ don’t lose any love for each other with a nasty back and forth exchange live on air.

News Reporter Goes On A Chase

Somewhere downtown in an American city a lone news reporter is just trying to her job. Meantime, some idiot repeatedly interrupts her. Finally she cracks.

Women’s Basketball Team Coach Snaps

Coach Kevin Borseth explodes in a press conference after the Michigan Wolverines Women’s Basketball Team loses because of lack of offensive rebounds.

British X-Factor Contestant Throws A Tantrum

Some wanna-be’s just struggle to accept the criticism of the judging panel. This girl being no exception.

Contestant Reacts Badly To Being Told She Is Rubbish

Mummy’s little girl all grown up. Meet Rachel from Wales. In the words of Simon Cowell, she was “the worst of 2007, a horror, rude, untalented, deluded and cocky.” Just watch her terrible outburst.

Kanye West Backstage Whinge

Surrounded by his homeboys here is Kanye West kicking up a stink backstage at the 2007 MTV VMA’s because he lost out 2 years in a row. A whole lot of whining but nobody listening.

Meltdowns

French President Nicolas Sarkozy Interview Walkout

Disgusted by the pesky ‘60 Minutes’ reporter asking personal questions, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has had a gut full and rightly walks out!

BBC News 24 Interviews The Wrong Guy

BBC News 24 thought they were interviewing Guy Kewney from NewsWireless for a story on a Apple Corps v. Apple Computer court case when in fact they were interviewing Guy Goma, a business studies graduate from the Congo who was sitting in the BBC reception area!

Cat Attacks Reporter Live On Air

It was always bound to happen. News reporter, Cathleen Cockrane gets mauled by an angry kitty live on air for Fox8 News. As the clip ends, scratched and embarrassed, the poor woman begins to cry. I felt sorry for her.

News Anchors Laugh Uncontrollably

News anchors are supposed to remain professional and objective, or so you would think. These two clowns start laughing at the misfortune of the runway model in the clip and find it hard to stop.

Aussie No Story Rescued by Sports Anchor

The main anchor for the prime time evening news on Seven News, Adelaide came a flamin’ barry-crocker when their big ape story wouldn’t play. So, at the last moment producers decided to cross to the sports desk. However, the sports anchor wasn’t there. An awkward moment rescued in the end.

Drunken Hoons Attack News Reporter

Another clip from Australia, as Sky Sports reporter Ben Davis became the news when attacked by drunken Brisbane Bronco fans.

Bill Clinton Laughing With Boris Yeltsin

Boris Yeltsin makes a wisecrack about a reporter’s characterisation of their summit calling the reporter a “disaster”. This sends Clinton into a fit of laughter.

Truants Snowball Sky News Reporter

Heavy snow in this Welsh valley meant children unfortunately couldn’t get into school. This Sky News reporter is surrounded by kids armed with snowballs and the inevitable happens.

Iranian Anchor’s Mobile Phone Rings

This Iranian news anchor fumbles his lines, in Persian, and is left feeling slightly ruffled when his mobile phone rings in the middle of his broadcast. It was probably his wife calling him.

Swedish Gameshow Hostess Spews Live On Air

Swedish hostess Eva Nazemson accidentally vomits in the middle of one of those trashy late night live game shows on Swedish national television. The girl throws up and quickly comes back: it’s live television so anything can happen, including projectile vomiting! After cleaning herself up off screen she makes her return and proceed to discuss her period problems of all things.

Blunders

Japanese News Reporter Falls 5 Stories

This Japanese TV reporter more than lived up to a national stereotype of addiction to gadgets when she demonstrates an emergency escape device live on TV, but the device fails. Despite falling about 5 stories she was fortunate enough to only break her hip! Lucky for her that they were also testing a hot new gadget below: the padded mat.

QVC Presenter Gets Stabbed Playing With Sword

Has this guy got any sense? And do those swords have any value? Apparently neither do!

Dangerous Road Safety Vantage Point

Two cars collide at the very intersection that the TV reporter was out reporting on. The crash could have easily taken out the reporter and camera man.

Another QVC Demonstration Goes Wrong

While demonstrating a so called “Telescopic Ladder” (available right now only for you at a low introductory price of just $219.96) live on QVC, Chris slips and hits his head quite hard. Sales probably took a bit of battering.

Tech TV Breaks One-of-a-Kind

The older gentleman is explaining how unique his device is, when in a moment, it slips out of his nervous hands, falls and smashes on the floor. I just loved the way Chris Pirillo reacted.

Welcome to Winter in New York

Lucky for CBS NY News Reporter Lou Young, he didn’t break a hip when he falls during a live snow update.

Knife Throwing Act Causes Shock and Horror

Fame at all costs? As the father-daughter act progresses the man gets more and more nervous resulting in 3 knives missing their target! Simon Cowell, looking on in horror, puts an end to it before the girl is killed!

Somebody Teach This Guy How to Ride a Scooter

Producers of the cool Polish TV show called “Europa da sia lubia” were expecting a better entry onto the stage by Spanish/Polish celeb Conrado Moreno, when he ploughs through the set completely out of control on his scooter.

Weather Reporter Gets PWNED by a Sled

In this setup segment this reporter does a full flip in the air after getting hit by a sled. It was a fun idea but wasn’t supposed to air like this.

News Reporter Chooses To Get Tasered

Okay, so this wasn’t a blunder insofar that it was a staged taser demo. All the same, this is a very brave news reporter!