Celebrate Valentine’s Day with Home Theatre in a Box (ARA) – Trying to plan the perfect evening for Valentine’s Day? Reservations are impossible to get, and prices are high. Why brave the elements and fight traffic to sit in a crowded, stuffy restaurant or theatre? A much better idea would be to prepare an intimate dinner for two and enjoy a movie in your own home theatre. The DVD player has been one of the most popular new products of the last year. Following closely in its footsteps is another innovative product: the Home Theatre in a Box or HTIB. According to the Consumer Electronics Association, HTIB is fast becoming a craze, with sales reaching $794 million in 2001 alone. So what is HTIB? “A box filled with everything a consumer would need to create a movie-theatre experience in their home,” says Tom Hannaher, audio expert at Cambridge SoundWorks. Home Theatre in a Box packages usually include a DVD player, five matching speakers for surround sound, a powered subwoofer, and accompanying wires for hook-up. “These components, when attached to the TV, create a home theatre system that delivers ‘movie-theater’ sound quality. With more consumers looking to their homes as their entertainment havens, HTIB is catching on just like the DVD player," says Hannaher. For consumers shopping for an HTIB system, Hannaher offers the following advice: * Buy a system that is matched to the room’s size and acoustics; smaller, less powerful systems are going to get lost in a big room with high ceilings. * Make sure that the speakers are acoustically matched. HTIB systems are outfitted with five speakers -- all of which should be closely matched in size and performance. For instance, huge left and right speakers with a tiny centre speaker are apt to sound “off,” especially when the action pans across the soundstage (as in a jet taking off -- the sound goes from right to centre to left, and should sound consistent all the way across). * Not all HTIB systems are equal. Look for high performance HTIB systems that are outfitted with top of the line speakers and components. An example of the type of features consumers should look for are found in the Cambridge SoundWorks product called MegaTheater 505. It includes the Cambridge SoundWorks AVS500 DVD/tuner console. This all-in-one console plays DVDs, music CDs, has an AM/FM tuner, and also provides inputs and outputs for a VCR and cable box, enabling the user to replace the traditional stack of separate components with one unit. This is matched with five high performance Newton Series MC50 speakers and a high performance subwoofer to create the accurate bass found in many movie and music soundtracks. Also included are all the wires required for hook-up. For more information, go to www.hifi.com. * Positioning of the speakers in an HTIB system is important. Where you place them in a room depends mostly on furniture layout, walls, windows, etc. The ideal placement would be to place the left and right main speakers at about ear level off to either side of a television that measures 27 inches or more. Place the centre speaker directly on top of the TV and the rear speakers on the side walls, above the listener's head and directly across the room from one another. A powered subwoofer performs at its best when it is placed on the floor in a corner or against a wall. The subwoofer does not have to take up valuable floor space; behind or under a piece of furniture is just fine, provided it isn't placed in an enclosed cabinet. * A DVD player is essential to HTIB. DVD provides superior picture quality, offering crystal-clear images with incredible realism. If a TV has S-video or component video inputs, the quality is even better. Higher quality units, like the MegaTheater 505, are equipped with progressive scan outputs, which provide the clearest, sharpest pictures possible on the new generation of High Definition (HDTV) and Enhanced Definition (EDTV) TVs. Practically all DVDs are encoded with Dolby Digital surround sound, providing consumers with a “movie theatre” experience in the comfort of their own living rooms. * Buy from a company that has a fairly liberal return policy. The only way to truly test out an audio system is in a living environment. The system will sound different in your living room as compared to the showroom. For more information on Home Theatre in a Box or audio products, consumers can visit Cambridge SoundWorks at www.hifi.com or call (800) FOR-HIFI to speak with an audio expert. Courtesy of ARA Content

Featured Articles Installing Steam Bath Part One   Here is all you wanted to know about Installing Steam Bath Part One Do you love steam baths? Feel that you can't survive without them? If you are one of those who live for steam, consider getting a steam bath installed in your home. Tips on Hardwood Floors   This article provides tips on hardwood floors while decorating your house. Using hardwood floors for interior design and for home decorating, based on furniture of the eighteenth century may be discussed from different points of view. To the latter part of the eighteenth century the English furniture of which time has been discussed on the site belong the quaint little "urn stands" which were made to hold the urn with boiling water, while the tea pot was placed on the little slide which is drawn out from underneath the table top. Decorate Cottage Style Homes   Here is all you wanted to know about Decorate Cottage Style Homes Rustic country decor and how to decorate cottage style homes are extensions of American country style decorating. In addition, traditions are borrowed from French, English and some Swedish country looks. Rustic country decor can be defined as coarse, charmingly simple, unfussy, unfinished and yet with endearing qualities. Rustic country decorating includes the use of natural woods, aged surfaces, rough finishes and simple lines. Cottage style homes are comfortable, modest, quaint homes that can be made of thick stone or log wood. Led Lights   Here is an article about led lights and it’s usage in your house. Among the most versatile and cool lights, the light-emitting diode or LED lights are new, tough, and seem to last forever. But it’s also becoming more common for LED lights, with their clear, long-lasting illumination, to be used in special fixtures for lighting rather than decoration. Turn viewers into buyers   Here are some tips on how to make your house stand out from other and sell fast. Home sellers who wish to market their property in development neighborhoods face tough challenges. Most home searchers only spend three to four minutes looking at the average home. Turn heads with your enticing home.