And the architectural design for the exterior of some of these places is even more appealing to the eye, even for people removed from and completely disinterested in the world of printing. From book publishers to newspaper printers, here are some of the world’s coolest printing plants.

1. New York Times, New York

New York Times: The new building where the New York Times gets printed is right in the midst of everyday traffic in Queens, New York. This is appropriate for a newspaper printer since news is supposed to be for and about the masses. The bold colours used in the design are intended to liven up a workplace that could otherwise be seen as drab and mechanical. The design of this printing plant was the result of a collaboration between Polshek Partnership Architects and The New York Times administration. This is actually a controversial building due to the fact that some residents didn’t originally want the building and environmental concerns about its presence have been raised.

2. APM Print, Serbia

APM Print, Serbia: The APM Printing plant is an organisation that is significant in its contribution to the economy of Serbia. It is a joint venture between the country’s largest independent newspaper and the Association for Private Media. As one of the most successful businesses in the country as well as a place that provides local independent news, this printing plant isn’t just a cool building but is also an important part of an entire country’s economy.

3. R.R. Donnelley & Sons, Virginia

R.R. Donnelley & Sons, Virginia: This 300,000 square foot book publishing plant which was erected in a growing tech park area of Roanoke, Virginia. The design of the building reflects the simple, modern style of the tech park.

4. News International, England

News International, England: This new Rupert Murdoch-owned printing plant is the largest printing plant in the world so you can only imagine the huge volumes of ink cartridges they get through. It’s able to easily accommodate the printing for all four of the newspapers that fall under the News International brand and still have plenty more room for additional printing. It’s large enough to fit over twenty football stadiums inside of its walls. What’s really interesting about this is that the large size is made up mostly of machines since this is a highly-automated printing plant that requires very little in the way of human labour.

5. Amity Printing Company, China

Amity Printing Company, China: Did you know that the world’s largest printing plant for Bibles is located in China? Amity Printing Company is the only Christian publishers approved in Nanjing but that hasn’t stopped the company from expanding to putting out more Bibles than any other printing plant in the entire world.

6. FAZ, Germany

FAZ, Germany: The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung is one of the largest German newspapers and reportedly the one with the biggest circulation outside of Germany. In order to get the paper to the nearly 150 countries that it reportedly goes out to, there has to be a great printing plant behind the publication.

7. McGraw-Hill, New York

McGraw-Hill, New York: Students across America are familiar with McGraw-Hill because this is the business that prints up the bulk of the textbooks used in their classrooms. The company prints everything from elementary school math books to advanced business books. Their company headquarters are located in New York and their printing plant is big enough to accommodate their particularly massive needs.

8. Quad/Graphics Gravure Printing Plant, Wisconsin

Quad/Graphics Gravure Printing Plant, Wisconsin: This printing plant has the distinction of being the world’s largest gravure printing plant. This is a type of commercial press printing that does full-colour printing for publications including many top magazines. This company does over $2 billion per year in sales so it needed a printing plant capable of processing massive volumes of literature.

9. Montreal Gazette, Canada

Montreal Gazette, Canada: Montreal is a bilingual city with the bulk of its news printing in French. The Gazette is currently the area’s only English-language newspaper, which makes the printing press here an important one for the cultural diversity of the area. The Gazette’s plant is currently in the process of an upgrade to be more environmentally friendly.

10. Kansas City Star, Kansas

Kansas City Star: This daily newspaper is an important daily newspaper in the United States, having won eight Pulitzer prizes over the years for its journalistic work. While the newspaper isn’t the largest in the country, it’s got an impressive printing plant, which moved to a new, larger location in 2006, that people who live in the Kansas City area tend to be proud of.

The technically-savvy owner of this 14,000 sq. ft. estate requested (1) complete integration of all electronics, (2) unbridled user control and programmability, (3) optimum flexibility, (4) thorough and accurate status feedback of all electronics in the house, and of course (5) reliability…an integrators dream…a challenge to behold. The client’s request culminated in using 49 AMX touchpanels running off 5 Netlinx masters with 37,245 lines of code controlling 43 audio zones, 9 local systems, 13 video displays, 9 PTZ cameras with hard drive recorder, 18 Litetouch enclosures, 12 climate zones, 140 security zones and pool/spa control. This young, retired dot.com founder enjoys family life with his wife and three young children. As an avid baseball fan and car collector, his house caters to these interests with a richly detailed automobile museum in the basement and HDTV displays in virtually every room. source

A great example of integrating a home theater surround sound system into the walls of the theater, and seemingly making the speakers invisible, is a half of a million dollar home cinema in Denver, Colorado. The Genelec in-wall speakers are built into the walls of the theater, and they are surrounded by a sound-proofing material. An attractive fabric material is then placed over the speakers to give the theater a cleaner look. This is a relatively simple way to hide speakers, but it’s effective at creating a smooth-looking theater without any bulky speakers protruding from the walls or taking up space on the floor. source

A great way to conceal home theater speakers is to blend it into its background. For example, this beautiful log cabin home in Canada features surround sound speakers that are built into the stonework of the home. They’re barely visible without actually knowing that they’re there. Aside from the creative way of concealing this home’s surround sound speakers, this place even has window shades which close with the push of a button when it’s time to watch a movie, and the movie screen is revealed with the push of a button as well. Almost every electronic system (audio, heating, lighting, etc.) in this home is controlled through an Elan touch panel that is embedded in the stonework. So much for rustic log cabin living! source

If you want to have that great sound system in your home, but you also want to keep it looking elegant and discreet, you may want to check out the various realistic speaker covers on the market. These are very realistic furniture pieces which house a speaker hidden inside. The photo shows a great example of how realistic these hidden speakers actually look. There are multiple speakers in this photo including three of them on the mantle – it’s not very easy to spot them! The speakers on the mantle are disguised as the two vases, and the set of books in the middle. The line of speakers in this photo are from the Acoustic Research Home Décor line of audio products. They also have speakers disguised as lamps, wicker baskets, decorative towers, clocks, and a variety of subwoofers mounted inside of decorative trunks. source

When it comes to an outdoor living space, it’s not complete until a nice outdoor sound system is installed. Whether in a garden, poolside, patio, or any other outdoor space, a good sound system is a great addition to help bring music/home theater outside. Outdoor speakers come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors to fit just about any type of outdoor décor. You can find waterproof outdoor speakers in the shape of rocks, tree stumps, potted plants, water fountains, and various decorative statues. These types of speakers are perfect for poolside music, garden entertainment, parties, or for your outdoor home theater. These outdoor speakers are very discreet, and often times people don’t even notice that they’re actually a speaker. source

When trying to keep a wall-mounted surround sound system discreet and hidden, it’s sometimes difficult, but it is possible. This example of a bedroom home cinema shows a great way to mount a 5.1 surround sound system very discreetly into the ceiling, and still be able to achieve the optimal listening angle while watching a movie. The two front Kef loudspeakers sit flush with the angled ceiling until the home theater system is turned on. At that point, they will automatically descend from the ceiling to produce the optimal listening angle. The 42-inch plasma sits hidden inside the custom-built window sill, and the MJ Acoustics Reference 100 subwoofer is hidden in a custom-built cabinet. When not in use, this home cinema is almost completely hidden – great install! source

This 7,500-square-foot home in Illinois may just have the ultimate sound system. This house contains a total of 49 speakers, both inside and outside of the home. The total cost of this extreme speaker set-up was around $30,000! The owner’s say that there’s not one dead-spot in the house where sound can’t be heard at an optimal level. You’ll find speakers mounted in the closets, bathrooms, on the patio, and even inside the steam shower. The entire sound system consists of a variety of Elan and Sonance speakers, which are mounted either in-wall, in-ceiling, or outdoors. The owner’s commented about why they installed such an elaborate sound system in their home, “we like listening to music, sure” – well Duh! source

So how do you go about installing 24 12-inch subwoofers in a home theater room, and still be able to hide them enough so that nobody even knows they’re there?…until you crank up the volume of course. This award-winning home theater in Texas was able to accomplish this seemingly impossible task. The $3.4 million theater’s sound system consists of a total of 38 audio zones where sound is heard at optimal levels. Just to get an idea of the cost of this sound system, the least-expensive speakers used were a pair of $2,000 CAT in-wall speakers. By discreetly integrating the extensive speaker system into the existing décor, the installers were able to make the speakers disappear behind hand-made fabric screens (the photos show the speakers with the fabric screens off), and blend it in perfectly with the overall theme of the theater – turn-of-the-century Parisian opera house. source

If you are inspired to better conceal your speakers and speaker cables for your HDTV setup or audio system then its time to explore your options for vogels wall mounts, vogels brackets and speaker wall plates.

Most gamers have to make do with a drab setup comprising couch and standard plasma TV. There’s nothing wrong with that but on the other hand, take a look at nine of these ultimate games rooms below. These are some of the most elaborate and expensive, home gaming setups and video arcades ever. Playing PS3 or Xbox 360 at any one of these awesome gaming rooms would be like immersing yourself right into the game, rather than just playing it. You can literally feel like you’re in the cockpit, on the battlefield, or surrounded by zombies at any of these ridiculous game rooms.

“The Greatest Show On Earth”


What do millionaires do with all that money?…invest it?…travel?…give it away to charity? Well Jeremy Kipnis decided that he would build a home theater which he calls “the greatest show on earth” – and oh yeah…It only cost him a cool $6 million to build it. This amazing home theater features one of the largest screens ever installed in a home (18-feet wide), and also one of the greatest sound systems on the planet. The sound system consists of 16 subwoofers, 8 tower speakers, 10 tweeters, and 3 center channel speakers, all of which are powered by a group of 35 amps. It’s hard to even imagine what this theater would sound like during a movie or while playing video games. Speaking of video games, this in-home movie theater does include a Playstation 3, and it’s no doubt one of the most engaging video game experiences that any gamer could ever want. source

Three-Screen Theater


Are you kidding me!? This theater is ridiculous. Not only does it have a huge 109-inch Stewart Filmscreen with Runco VX-4000d DLP projector, but on each side of this screen are 2 more 50-inch NEC plasmas. What does this mean? Well…you can watch a movie, the big game, and play Xbox 360 all at the same time – talk about multitasking. The Xbox 360 is mounted right in the center console between two of the 11 comfortable recliners in the room, so you don’t even have to get up to change games. To add to the comfort of your gaming experience at this awesome media room, there is also a full wet-bar at the back of the room, so you can make yourself a drink to sip-on while you play. If you get tired of playing Xbox (why would you?), you can go shoot some pool at the adjacent game room or play on one of the arcade-style games. It’s a rough life! source

Dee Brown’s Game Room


Dee Brown is a former pro basketball player who played with the Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors, and the Orlando Magic. He has created what he calls “the ultimate game room” inside of his Orlando, Florida home. This game room is 1,000-square-feet in size, and it features not only multiple console video game systems, but also a nice collection of arcade games. Dee is able to easily switch between playing his Xbox, Playstation, or Nintendo consoles since they are all connected to a 4-port switch hidden beneath the sofa. There’s a 61-inch plasma for surfing the web, watching a movie, or for playing video games. This room also has 2 other smaller TVs, surround sound with 2 subwooofers, and an AMX touch-panel to control everything. A row of arcade-style games lines one of the walls of the game room, and are connected to the Internet, so Dee is able to get updates and see other people’s records from around the world for each particular game. He can even download various games to play in his arcade, and he has well-over 2,500 of them including classics like Asteroids, Centipede, and Donkey Kong Jr. source

Jerry Rice’s Home Theater




San Francisco 49er’s ex-wide receiver great Jerry Rice, and his 3 kids, play their video games in this awesome home theater custom built inside of his 20,000-square-foot home. Playing video games in this 30 by 25-foot, $200,000 home theater is about as good as it gets. The screen is an incredible 123-inches, and the 10,000 watt sound system is supposedly better than THX quality. The entire system is controlled by a 10-inch AMX touch-panel screen, which controls lighting, temperature, audio, video, and video games – it also controls the 80 hidden speakers placed throughout the entire house. What’s great about this game room is that it even has a snack bar for when you get hungry, which includes popcorn, drinks, and tons of candy. source

CinemaScope Theater




Stepping in to this home theater in Anniston, Alabama is almost like stepping into an actual movie theater, and in many ways, the technology used here is as good as a movie theater’s. This 28 by 35-foot theater/game room features an awesome 13-foot wide screen that is just slightly curved in order to provide the most accurate picture possible. This theater will play DVDs and games in CinemaScope format, which is the ultra-wide format that the large movie theaters use – it’s even wider than the widest plasmas and LCDs out there. What this means is that there are no more annoying black bars on the screen during movies. When he’s not watching a movie in his incredible home theater, William Wesson (the owner) likes to play his Xbox here, and what an experience it is. He describes it best by saying, “you really feel like you’re in there. A couple of fighter pilot games are awesome. In “Ghost Recon,” you’re actually out in the field, and you have the 360-degree field of sound, and you can hear and feel people approaching from behind you in the game.” source

Waterfall Home Theater


Inside of this 9,000-square-foot home in Danville, Pennsylvania, an amazing home theater will provide you with one of the best gaming experiences of your life. This media room was inspired by the homeowner’s award-winning backyard waterfalls and water garden. They decided to give this room a feeling of “the outdoors”, and they created one of the most unique home theaters in the United States. This theater has just about every feature that you can imagine, and on-top of being an incredible room to watch a movie, it also has dedicated hook-ups for their Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. This 16 by 26-foot media room features 3-tiers of seating, plus a unique 3-bench rounded seating area in the rear of the theater. Playing video games on the 95 by 54-inch screen, along with the $17,000 Runco VX-1000ci projector and 7.1 surround sound system, would be the experience of a lifetime for any true gamer out there. source

Luna City Arcade


This backyard arcade has to be one of the best game rooms in the world. This incredible game room was created by Peter Hirschberg, and it’s located in Linden, Virginia. He constructed a 2-story building for the arcade that’ about 2400-square-feet in size – bigger than many houses! Right now, Luna City Arcade houses over 60 arcade-style machines, along with some awesome video game memorabilia, and sweet lighting. Despite Luna City Arcade looking like a public arcade, it’s not, so don’t just show-up there and expect to play. Peter does host “game days” every few months, though, where people can come and play in the arcade – there’s even a dollar bill change machine, so you don’t have to bring a pocket full of quarters. If you’re unfortunate enough to not be able to check this place out in person, you can at least drool over the pictures. source

Gamer’s Paradise


This guy’s set-up would make any true gamer proud. This fully-equipped gaming station features a huge 58-inch Panasonic 1080p plasma TV, and just about every gaming console you can think of from the original Nintendo to the Wii. What good would this game room be without a good surround sound system? This one has got it with a Klipsch 5.1 surround, powered by a Harmon Kardon receiver. He’s even got 4 Guitar Hero axes that are ready to rock whenever you are, as well as the Rock Band drumset and mic (not shown). The only problem with this game room is being able to actually put down the controller at some point, which should be difficult considering there’s no shortage of gaming pleasure here. source

Backyard Arcade


If you’re looking for the ultimate game room, this one created by Barry Evans may just be it. He constructed a huge climate-controlled building in his own backyard that would put some professional video arcades to shame. This awesome game “room” features hundreds of video game consoles, tens of thousands of games, and tons of video game collectibles. Barry estimates his video game collection to be worth over $500,000. Just goes to show you that it pays to be a video game geek.

If you are inspired to improve your home gaming setup, you don’t need to spend as much as some of the above to get the results you want. Explore your options for tv cables, projector screens and vogels wall mounts for your existing flat screen TV.

Green, green, green, everything is becoming environmentally-friendly these days – cars, homes, and even our entire lifestyles. But do you actually know how much energy your HDTV is using?…The answer may be a surprise to many people. That shiny LCD or Plasma actually uses power whether they are turned on or off, and that power consumption can add-up to big bucks over long periods of time – not to mention have negative effects on the environment. Lets dig deeper into the issues surrounding power guzzling HDTVs, and also take a look at how much power the most popular LCD and plasma HDTVs actually use so that we can gain a better understanding about the great differences in power consumption among similarly sized HDTVs.

A recent study by the research giant, Nielsen, states that roughly 15.5 million out of 112.8 million TV households in the United States are equipped with HDTVs – many of which have multiple HDTV sets. Research has also showed that about 1out of 3 homes are not actually taking advantage of HD programming. This means that people are buying these power-hungry big-screen HDTVs, and they’re not even using them to take advantage of the ultra-clear HD picture. Why buy a power-guzzling plasma HDTV when you’re not even going to watch HD-programming on it?…It doesn’t make sense.

As a general rule, the bigger the TV, the more power it will use. So when you step-up to that big-screen HDTV, you need to make sure that it’s not going to send your electric bill through the roof. On average, a 42-inch LCD HDTV will cost about $75 per year to operate, while the real power guzzlers are the bigger TVs which can cost as much as $225 per year or more. There are some big-screen HDTVs, though, that are more efficient than others, so it’s a good idea to research them before buying. Most TVs don’t carry the “Energy Star” label on them like most other appliances, so it can be difficult to find the “greenest” TV possible without doing some due diligence first. Some TVs that are supposedly Energy Star compliant are not all that “green” in reality, so you have to look beyond that label.

When talking about power guzzling TVs, the worst offenders have to be the big-screen plasmas. A recent article at Smarthouse.com even called plasma screens “ Public Enemy No. 1”. A report by Deloitte Technology, a media and telecommunications leader, claims that the average plasma TV generates about 400 kg of carbon dioxide annually – not very “green” at all! Plasma TV’s tend to consume much more power than LCD’s or rear-projection TVs. Here’s a quick comparison chart that shows the average power consumption of three types of TVs as well as other electronics:

• Plasma TV – 350 watts
• Rear-Projection TV – 211 watts
• LCD TV – 222 watts
• Playstation 3 – 197 watts
• Nintendo Wii- 19 watts
• source

As you can see the Playstation 3/Plasma hook-up guzzles the most power. If you take a look at some of the biggest plasmas available right now, it’s amazing to see how much power they actually use – even when they’re turned off. But LCD TVs can be just as power-hungry in some cases. The Sharp 65-inch LC-65D90U LCD, for example, uses an amazing 583 watts while turned on, and it uses 76 watts even while it’s turned off. This adds-up to well-over $200 per year on your electric bill – but I guess if you can afford a TV that big in the first place, the cost of electricity to operate it won’t be that big of a problem. That being said, it’s still an environmental issue even if the issue isn’t cost.

Now that you’re a little more up-to-speed about HDTV power consumption, let’s take a look at the 5 most popular plasma HDTVs, as well as the 5 most popular LCD’s, and compare the power consumption of each. Then, we’ll take a look at some of the top-rated budget 42-inch HDTVs, and also provide you with some easy tips on how to conserve power with your TV. So without further adieu, here are the top 5 most popular LCDs and plasmas (according to Amazon.com), and their power consumption.

Top 5 Plasma HDTVs

	1. Samsung FPT5084 50″ 1080p Plasma HDTV ($1800) This 50-inch 1080p plasma is the best-selling plasma at Amazon.com. Although this HDTV is considered Energy Star compliant, it still uses a relatively high amount of power. At the default settings, this Samsung uses about 412 watts while turned on, and it uses about 369 watts while on “power save” mode. Overall, this power consumption is rather high for a screen of this size.
	2. Panasonic TH-42PZ700U 42″ 1080p Plasma HDTV ($1400) Although this Panasonic is smaller than the Samsung FPT5084, it’s definitely more of a power guzzler. This HDTV uses about 464 watts of power while turned on, which averages out to about $141 per year. Not very “green” at all.
	3. Samsung HPT5064 50″ 720p Plasma HDTV ($1350) This 50-inch plasma is the third most popular plasma HDTV at Amazon.com, and for it’s size, it’s pretty efficient. This Samsung uses about 321 watts of power when turned on, and in “power save” mode, it only uses about 288 watts. As far as 50-inch plasmas go, this one is can be considered as “green”, although it still consumes a lot more power than smaller models.
	4. Panasonic TH-50PZ77U 50″ 1080p Plasma HDTV ($2000) Although this plasma has great resolution and an awesome picture, it’s definitely considered a power guzzler. This HDTV is considered Energy Star compliant, and yet it burns 693 watts of power when turned on. This plasma is a bad choice for any “green” buyers out there.
	5. Samsung HPT5054 50″ 720p Plasma HDTV ($1250) This 50-inch Samsung HDTV is rated at about 390 watts of power usage. While this may be efficient enough to qualify for the Energy Star seal-of-approval, there are plenty of other energy-efficient alternatives out there.

Top 5 LCD HDTVs

	1. Sony Bravia KDL-40V3000 40″ 1080p LCD HDTV ($1500) This Sony is the best-selling LCD at Amazon.com, and it’s also a good choice for “green buyers”. This 40-inch LCD consumes only about 260 watts of power when on.
	2. Samsung LNT4665F 46″ 1080p LCD HDTV ($1850) This 46-inch Samsung LCD is a good all-around choice for “greenies”. This HDTV only consumes about 247 watts when powered on, and only about 109 watts in “power save” mode – not bad. That works out to about $76 and $34 respectively.
	3. Samsung LNT4661F 46″ 1080p LCD HDTV ($1500) Like the other best-selling LCDs here, this Samsung is also very efficient when it comes to power usage. This particular model uses about 245 watts when turned on, and about 111 watts in “power save” mode. These are both very “green” numbers for a 46-inch HDTV.
	4. Samsung LNT4061F 40″ 1080p LCD HDTV ($1200) Again, this LCD is relatively efficient when it comes to operational power consumption. This 40-inch Samsung uses about 245 watts while powered-on – about the same as the aforementioned 46-inch Samsung. The 46-inch model is a bit more efficient, because it does have a larger screen, so it could be considered to be a tad bit “greener”.
	5. Sony Bravia XBR KDL-52XBR4 52-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV ($3000) Rounding-out the top 5 best-selling LCD HDTVs is the biggest and most expensive model. This Sony may be big, but it’s still pretty efficient. This big-screen HDTV uses about 320 watts of power when turned on, and about half of that amount when the “power save” feature is used. While this figure is a little higher than the other LCDs, it’s still much lower than the plasma TVs.

So the obvious conclusion we can draw from the data is that LCD TVs consume much less power than plasmas. This doesn’t necessarily mean that LCDs are the better choice, because there is so much more that has to be considered when forking-over all that money for a new big-screen: resolution, response time, sound, size, etc. It is safe to say, though, that LCDs are much more efficient than plasmas, in terms of power consumption, which in turn makes them the “greener” choice.

Despite plasmas being inferior to LCDs when it comes to power consumption, plasmas tend to be slightly less-expensive than LCDs with similar features, although the gap is quickly narrowing. So if you’re on a budget, there are some good choices out there for both plasmas and LCDs. If you’re looking for your first HDTV, you may want to take a look at 42-inch models, which are not too big, not too small, and not too expensive.

One of the best manufacturers of HDTVs for under $1,500 is Panasonic. For the past few years, Panasonic has released some of the best budget plasmas on the market. Some of these top-rated 42-inch plasmas include the following models: TH-42PZ700U, TH-42PHD8UK, TH-42PX77U, TH-42PX60U, and TH-42PX50U. All five of these models are under $1,500, and they all produce excellent picture quality, good response times, and solid contrast ratios. They are, however, plasma TVs, so they do tend to suck-down a lot of electricity.

If you’re looking for a “greener” HDTV, than you have to look at getting an LCD. LCD screens have the advantage of being much more visible in brightly-lit areas. Plasmas on the other hand are better for dark rooms, such as a media room or theater room with no windows. LCDs, as we’ve already figured out, are sometimes twice as energy efficient than plasma HDTVs. Some good 42-inch budget LCDs would include the Philips 42PF9830A and the 42PFL7432D – both of which are extremely energy efficient (consumes only about 200 watts of power) and are under $1,500. Other good 42-inch LCD choices include the Vizio GV42L and GV47LF – again, both are under $1,500 and exceptionally efficient. Lastly, Philips unveiled their new Eco TV at this year’s CES, and this thing is so eco-friendly that it basically sips power. The company says that this 42-inch LCD HDTV contains technology which allows it to run while only consuming 75 watts of power, or only about $50 of electricity per year. The Philips 42PFL5603D is available in March, 2008 at a MRSP of $1399.

So, what about those of you who have already emptied their wallets for one those 50-inch plasmas and had no idea that they were so power-hungry. Well, there are some simple tips that you can use to significantly reduce the energy use of any TV. These tips may be a little obvious in some cases, but you’d be surprised how effective they are at reducing energy costs – sometimes as much as 50%:

1. Turn off the TV when you’re not watching it (Duh!)
2. Turn off your TV’s quick-start option (if your TV is equipped with one)
3. If you have an LCD, dim the backlight a bit
4. Turn on your TV’s power-saver mode (if equipped)
5. Adjust the factory settings of the TV to dim the brightness a bit
6. Don’t watch so much TV!

New HDTV Technology…

HDTVs are here to stay and while many of them are energy efficient, some of them still are not. With even more new advancements in HDTV technology set to release in 2008, it will become even more confusing when shopping for a new TV. Sony recently released the world’s first OLED (organic light-emitting diode) HDTV. This new technology features vastly improved contrast ratio, wider viewing angles, and better color reproduction over plasma and LCD TVs. The Sony XEL-1 OLED TV only has an 11-inch screen, so this technology has a long way to go before it can compete with the much larger plasmas and LCDs, but it definitely looks promising. The one downfall of the first OLED HDTV is that it is definitely a power guzzler. While it only uses between 22 and 24 watts during operation, it’s only an 11-inch screen! This comes out to about 0.44-0.46 watts per-square-inch of screen, which is much higher than an efficient LCD which is typically around 0.10-0.15 watts per-square-inch. So there are some issues associated with the power usage in the first-ever OLED HDTV, but this technology is still in its early stages so only time will tell if it ever overtakes plasma or LCD technology in terms of popularity.

Another emerging HDTV technology was unveiled at the 2008 CES. Mitsubishi had on display their 65-inch LazrTV, which as the name implies, uses laser technology to produce images on the screen. Mitsubishi claims that this full-HDTV will cost less than plasma/LCD, require 25% less power, have a 50,000 hour life-span, and never lose picture quality over the life of the TV like plasma and LCD TVs do. LazrTV will be available by the end of 2008. If this technology can live-up to all of its hype, “laser TVs” could very easily become the most popular type of HDTV in the near future. The future of HDTV technology looks bright, but it’s up to the consumers to make sure that this future is “green”. So make sure that you take into consideration power consumption next time you go to purchase a TV, so that you don’t end-up with an energy-wasting power guzzler.

We hope you are inspired to improve the carbon footprint of your HDTV setup or at least help steer your choice in the right direction. Also, explore your overall TV setup with options for tv cables, hdtv connection panels and vogels wall mounts for your existing HDTV.

Home theaters are becoming more and more popular and affordable – especially if you can do-it-yourself. But, did you know that home theaters aren’t limited to the inside of your house anymore? Some uber-cool (and somewhat wealthy) people have remodeled their backyards into their own outdoor home theater. These backyard cinemas make for a great venue in which to enjoy a movie or watch the football under the stars. The most luxurious outdoor home theaters are nostalgic reminders of the drive-in theaters of old. These amazing home theaters are the best of the best, and they are innovative solutions for the movie-buffs out there who want to enjoy nature to its fullest by bringing their home entertainment space from the inside, to the outside. Reality check – If you’re like most people then all you can only afford is a cheap plasma in a cabana! However, if you are not like me and you have a pile of cash, here’s what you can do:

The Dive-In Theater – Maui, Hawaii

The upscale Hawaiian-style outdoor theater system at this 14,000-square-foot Maui hideaway is certainly its main attraction. The maker of this customized set-up, Engineered Environments, had to take into consideration the high amount of rainfall, humidity, and windy conditions, which Maui is known for, when they designed this outdoor home theater. The 20ft screen is mounted to an automated lift system beneath a teak bench located poolside. When not in use, the TV screen is hidden in a concrete vault where humidity and rainfall cannot effect it. The pool area is also littered with strategically placed outdoor speakers, which provide a nice 7.1 surround sound effect. There’s even an installed weather station which records wind speeds to make sure that it’s safe for the TV to be used, without it being damaged. Can you imagine how cool it’d be floating in the pool or lounging poolside watching the game or a movie?

Outdoor Poolside Cinema – Florida

This awesome outdoor home theater was designed and installed by Crown Audio in Orlando, Florida. The screen itself is 300-inches diagonally, and it is set on a motorized track to raise or lower it accordingly. The entire system uses 8 large speakers concealed as rocks, placed in strategic locations around the pool, and a full rack of amps to power them. The whole neighborhood will know when you’re watching a movie at this place!

The Drive-In Theater – Hollywood Hills, California

Living in the Hollywood Hills is already the epitome of luxury, but when you add a full-size movie theater to the backyard of your residence – you’re taking luxury to the next level. This 5,800-square-foot glass home was designed by Hagy Belzberg, and it features this enormous outdoor movie-screen mounted on the side-wall of the guest house. This beautiful backyard home theater is easily one of the best of its kind.

Golf Clubhouse 11ft Reversible Screen – North Carolina

This outdoor home theater at the “Cliffs at Walnut Cove” golf community in North Carolina uses a reversible screen which can be viewed while you’re working on your putting skills, or while you relax in the comfortable back porch. This cool home theater innovation ensures that you don’t miss one moment of the big game. This outdoor/indoor home theater consists of a 11 ft. by 7 ft. HDTV with reversible display, indoor surround sound, and outdoor weatherproof speakers for surround sound.

Aussie Outdoor Cinema – Victoria, Australia

A company called Yellowstone Landscaping in Australia came-up with this next outdoor home cinema design, and it’s a beauty. Outdoor Design & Living magazine agrees, as they featured this design in 2006, and for good reason. This very comfortable and cozy outdoor living space features a large projector screen and a PE7700 BenQ home theater projector as its centerpiece. A gazebo was built around this outdoor theater in order to protect it from the elements. Sweet design!

Elegant Outdoor Theater

This beautiful house has definitely taken home entertainment to the next level with this awesome poolside home theater. This smooth installation features full surround sound for watching movies, and there are also speakers wired throughout the house for when you want to listen to your favorite tunes from any room. You can watch your favorite movie while relaxing in the pool, or while lounging poolside, on the gigantic motorized screen that works alongside with the ceiling mounted projector to provide you with the ultimate home theater experience.

Double Plasma Setup – Reno, Nevada

This awesome $4.2 million home in Reno, Nevada features mountain views and 2 home theaters – one inside and one outside. The outdoor home theater is built for comfort, and it features 2 large-screen plasmas built into the brick wall. Full surround sound and a full outdoor kitchen makes this outdoor theater one that will surely get a lot of use. There’s also a built-in gas fireplace for those chilly winter nights in Reno.

Cal Spas Hot Tub + Home Cinema

Cal Spas has taken outdoor living to a whole new level with their ultimate outdoor home theater. This fully-equipped outdoor living area is like having a living room and a kitchen in your backyard. This incredible outdoor set-up includes a 63-inch LCD flat panel HDTV, surround sound, integrated DVD/CD player, iPod docking station, Sirius satellite radio, hookups for gaming consoles, 5-burner BBQ grill, wet bar, weatherproof recliners, and 2 fire pits – all of which is weatherproof.

Inflated High End Theater

A more high-end version of the inflatable outdoor home theater inflates in about 5 minutes with its own built-in fan. This gigantic screen is 16 ft. by 13 ft. in size, and it includes a DVD player, high-output DLP projector, dual 15-inch speakers with stands, microphone, and all of the required cables. It’s basically like having an outdoor home theater in a box, but this “little kit” will set-you-back about $10,000. Set-up this outdoor theater in your backyard, and you’ll be the most popular house on the block.

The Blow up Budget Screen

Alright, for those people on a tight budget but still want to enjoy watching a movie poolside or under the stars, you can opt for this inflatable TV-screens. This particular model will come in both an 8 ft. and a 12 ft. version at a cost of $799 and $999 respectively. You can connect your surround sound system to the weatherproof widescreen to complete your inexpensive outdoor home theater set-up. These screens will work with any type of projector.

If you are inspired to hook up a new home theater setup at your place, you’ll need to explore your options for projector screens and tv cables.