E-mail from my editor: "Hey Bass, good job last week on tech gifts. Whaddya you say you do this newsletter on home theaters, or media centers, or maybe those big, new plasma TVs?"
Let me interpret this for you. My editor's received his year-end bonus and he's going shopping to buy some gee-whiz electronics for the holidays. My bonus this year, besides the usual gift basket with a cheese log and a bottle of white Zinfandel, is being his lackey and doing his research.
So peer over my shoulder and I'll show you the articles I'm passing along to my boss.
It's a Digital World
I'll be the first to admit that when it comes to, say, plasma TVs, I'm digitally behind the times.
Sure I can talk the talk: I know just enough to fool my wife, definitely my editor, and even a few of you. But if you read between the newsletter lines, you'll quickly pick up on my deficiencies. For example, I own an analog TV, a decades-old CD player, and--cover your ears--a standard remote control.
The truth is that I still have some resistance to upgrading the equipment in my living room. Part of it's about money. [Note to editor: This is something that could be easily resolved with a raise, even a small one.] But I also wonder if I really want to spend time learning about yet another new technology and then spend hours behind the TV futzing with cables and connectors.
Even so, I'm still intrigued with the technology and always hungry to read about it. One spot that I've been looking at is Digital World; I didn't know about this new PC World publication until the online version appeared on the Web site one day. [Note to editor: I'll have to start paying more attention to those interoffice memos.]
I also keep an eye on "PC World's Complete Guide To Digital Entertainment."
Dig This: Can you beat my 9.65 seconds? No doubt plenty of you can, and you'll spend an hour on Popoint trying, too. You click on all 15 numbers as fast as you can. It seems simple, but it isn't--trust me.
Let's Start Digging Digital
Home theater systems come in many flavors. Kenwood has one for under $600 that comes with seven speakers, a 6.1 receiver, and a DVD player. Installation and matching components isn't a hassle because everything you need is included in the package--neat. See "Audio to Play By" for a review.
For less money and less glitz (you saw the picture of the Kenwood, right?), look at the Niro 400. For about $450, you get some decent speakers, though Kalpana Ettenson said the setup's surround sound fell a little short.
BTW, Kalpana and I are on the same page. In her review, she writes, "Some might consider it heresy, but I, on the other hand, am perfectly content listening to a CD on the Sony boom box I bought back in 1997. Don't get me wrong--I love our surround-sound setup--I just don't have the patience to sit down with all the manuals and wires and inputs in an attempt to decipher the hookup." Lovely.
If it's an integrated audio system you're after, we have a guide for you. "How to Buy an Integrated Home Theater Audio System" gives you details on speakers, amplifiers, and control centers, as well as the necessary specs to understand surround-sound decoding.
Plasma, Rear Projection, Oh My
My editor wanted to know about big-screen TVs. Can do: Sean Captain, our plasma LCD and HDTV expert, takes you on a tour of eight models in "Screen Tests." Want even more big-screen TVs? Check out Living Large With Good Shows From Plasma and Rear-Protection DLP TVs."
For a listing of home theaters, go to "Home Theater Sets: Convenient, Feature Rich."
Overall, shopping for a home theater isn't difficult. Here are two articles to get you cooking. The first is "How to Buy a Home Theater System," which gives you the whole picture, breaking it down into easy-to-digest components. Next up is Michael Gowan's comprehensive "Home Entertainment Your Way," a smart article with links to more info on each of Michael's recommendations.
But you might just be looking for something to enhance your computer room, say a 17-inch, or even a 24-inch, wide-screen monitor. Some of these have HDTV capability, and prices start at a reasonable $650 and go up to $2240 for the Samsung SyncMaster 243T, an Editor's Pick. First check the chart, then read "Wide Screens Open for Business" for details.
Weird Science: I heard that if you take certain plasma TV models to your mountaintop hideaway, they might not work. Not all monitors are happy at altitudes of over 7000 feet. Before you buy, check with a local dealer who sells in that altitude.
Free Music--Maybe
It's unrelated to plasma TVs, but I found a short piece on the Digital World site about something I talked briefly about last week: sharing music. First read "Legal and the Quasi-Legal File Sharing," then take a quick look at the Digital World story--"Go Abroad for Cheap Tunes?"--to find out about 15-cent downloads. Finally, read David Lake's blog entry, "Is Illegal File Sharing Declining?" The responses about the legality of file sharing are also worth a look.
Lately I've been playing with Mercora, a free music broadcasting program that makes your music available so others can listen to it. No one on the network can download your music files, but they can chat with you. Using it is straightforward: Mark a folder on your PC as shared and any .mp3, .wma, or .wav file in it becomes available for broadcast. For instance, I spent the morning writing this newsletter while listening to Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, and the Bill Evans Trio, from a collection broadcast from Japan. There are over 50 categories of music available.
Mercora's downside? There are a few. The service is new, so there are a limited number of users logged on, which means few people broadcasting the music I like to hear. Another annoyance is that many people broadcast their entire collection, which means that someone may start out with jazz (my kind of music) and move off to country music. Finally, too often I'll see selections definitely not jazz--Brittney Spears, Iron Maiden, and selections from "My Fair Lady"--sneaking into the category. But don't get me wrong, Mercora is still worth a look. I'm often there broadcasting traditional jazz.
Dig This: Many of you've noticed that I occasionally throw Yiddish words into the newsletter. I worry you don't understand what I'm saying. So here's a short, and IMHO hilarious, tutorial. (One caveat: this site may not perform properly on dial-up connections.) Once you've listened and picked up some of the jargon, test your Yiddish skills at the Bubby Gram site.
In addition to writing PC World's Home Office column, Steve Bass is the author of "PC Annoyances." Sign up to have Steve Bass's Home Office Newsletter e-mailed to you each week. Comments or questions? Send Steve e-mail.
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