October 31, 2013 - Welcome to rAVe's annual Best of CEDIA Awards! This year's CEDIA Expo, held last month in Denver, was exciting, but was certainly dominated by an invasion of commercial AV gear. In fact, we'd estimate at least 25 percent of the products shown at this year's CEDIA Expo were Pro AV products or digital signage products. So, to be frank, it was hard to keep these award limited to only Home AV gear - but we did!

The 2013 Best of CEDIA Award Winners are:

• Best Home Cinema Projector: Digital Projection TITAN LED

• Best Home Theater Projector (Tie): Sony VPL-VW600es 4K 3LCD and BenQ Wireless Short Throw W1500

• Best New Signal Processor: SAVANT SmartLink HDBaseT Switcher

• Best New Lighting Product: LumenCache

• Best New Control System Product: Control4 Music Bridge

• Best New Indoor Speakers (Tie): FLOW's New Speaker Line and Bang & Olufsen BeoLab5 Speaker

• Best Home Theater Chair: Fortress Valenti

• Best Home Theater Control System: SAVANT $1,000 Connected Home System

• Best New Projection Screens: Stewart Filmscreen DC100

CE Pro

Best Hidden Technology Installs of 2013

October 25, 2013 by Arlen Schweiger - Maryland homeowner David Jacobs doesn't have a "home theater" but he happens to have a 96-inch projection screen, a hidden video projector and a 5.1-channel surround-sound system in his bedroom.
When Jacobs was discussing a technology upgrade to his place with Michael Wilson of Bethesda Systems, he explicitly requested not to have a traditional home theater room, per se. "He's a single guy, and he wanted to have an unbelievable master suite, so whenever we talked about doing a theater in his house, he would say he didn't want a theater," Wilson explains. "Why? He'd say, 'Every time I watch a movie, I'm in bed.'"

On the projector's receiving end, Wilson worked closely with Stewart Filmscreen to install an acoustically transparent model sized to push the limits of its nook's width. Bethesda custom-designed the screen's soffit so when the screen descended it would cover only the TV and not the cabinets underneath, as well as stick out far enough so it wasn't bumping into the four small wall-mounted shelves. Meanwhile, curtains are on a motorized Lutron drapery track so they can drop at the touch of a button on the Control4 remote and darken the room for good viewing conditions.

Electronic House

2013 Home of the Year: Seeing The Light (Print)

October 2013 by Lisa Montgomery - Steve Goldman is proud of his house. Since construction began in 2009 it's been a labor of love for the self-professed technology enthusiast. Remarkably, it's not what the home can do, but what it doesn't do that has Goldman beaming with pride. Thanks to technology, the home is one of the largest LEED Platinum rated residences in the county. It's also a Net-Zero house, which means it produces more energy than it consumes.

Digital amplifiers from Lexicon were used to reduce the electrical draw required to run the audio and video equipment that comprise this dedicated theater. Controlled from a Creston touchpanel are a video projector from DPI, a 120-inch screen masking from Stewart Filmscreen and a 9.4-channel surround-sound system consisting of Revel, JBL and Velodyne speakers and subwoofers. The LED lighting is easily controlled from the panel as well.

Business 2 Community

The 10 Most Absurd Sports Caves On Social

October 30, 2013 by Iris Vermeren - This NFL movie style cave speaks volumes with three 32-inch Sharp LCDs, a 110-inch Stewart Filmscreen fixed display, a Sharp 1080p DLP projector, plush chairs, 7.2-channel surround sound, a PlayStation 3, Lutron lighting and Crestron touchpanel control.

The garage room also includes full wet bar, comfy seats, an icemaker and two beverage centers. This may just be your go-to spot after a long day.