Close

Member Login

Invalid username or password.
Incorrect Login. Please try again.

Not a member?

Sign up and join a community that's passionate about exploring the world of entertainment & technology.

John Sciacca

The Custom Installer: Look, Ma — No Wires

In a wireless world, who needs an installer?

Every time a new technology emerges, it seems like pundits can't wait to declare everything that preceded it obsolete. A classic example is the U.S. Postal Service. How many times have you heard that faxes and e-mails are going to replace the good old mailman? But six days a week - through rain, sleet, snow, and dead of night - the mailman still completes his appointed rounds.

» Read More

The Custom Installer: A Custom Life

People have been making New Year's resolutions since calendars were first invented. "I'm going to alphabetize my CD collection." "I'll use the Soloflex as more than a clothes hanger." And the biggie - "I'm going to get a job that I really enjoy."

» Read More

The Custom Installer: We've Got Answers

The 5 questions every installer hears

For the past 8 years, I've been installing home-entertainment systems at Custom Theater and Audio in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, and for the past 5 years, I've been writing about custom installation for Sound & Vision.

» Read More

Step By Step: How to Mount a Flat-Panel TV

Is getting a flat-panel set out of the box and onto the wall something you can do yourself, or do you need to hire a pro? Assuming you don't want to run any wires inside the wall, mounting a flat-panel is probably a "6" on the difficulty scale. So if you think you're up to the challenge, read on!

» Read More

Samsung SL10D10 DirecTV/LCD Combo

Flip if you love satellite
The Short Form $499 / 2 x 10.6 W x 9.5 IN (LCD closed) / 5 lbs / samsung.com / 800-726-7864
» Read More

Marantz DaVed Power-Line Audio System

Marantz introduced its DAvED (Digital Audio via Electrical Distribution) system at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, and I was immediately wowed by the concept of sending audio over a house's electrical wiring. So I jumped at the chance to play with a pre-production sample.

» Read More

Step By Step: How to Program a Universal Remote

Whether you want to consolidate your various remotes or just need to replace one, there are many reasons to have a universal remote. But if you haven't gotten one because the programming seemed too daunting, think again!

STEP 1: CHOOSE THE RIGHT REMOTE "You get what you pay for" definitely holds true with universal remotes. Cheap models offer basic features such as channel-changing and play-stop-skip controls but usually can't handle full system control.

» Read More

Pioneer Inno XM2go Portable Satellite Radio

Movie sequels are rarely as good as the originals. Fortunately, just the opposite is true with consumer electronics, where Gen 2 is almost always a good thing, loaded with extra features and tweaked for better performance. In the case of the new Pioneer Inno XM2go portable satellite radio, it's a great thing.

» Read More

Polk Audio LC265i-IP In-Wall IP Speaker System

You can't rush a good thing, and some things just aren't ready until they're ready. With electronics, coming to market too early usually means a product that's lacking in features, full of bugs, and short on performance.

» Read More

NetStreams DigiLinX Audio System

With few exceptions, multiroom audio systems still distribute music the same way they did 20 years ago: Central stacks of source components and amplifiers route signals to speakers around the home over hundreds of feet of speaker cabling. But this approach has its drawbacks. Resistance, capacitance and inductance build up over long wires, adding up to signal losses and compromised performance.

» Read More