4 comments about The Savvy Guide To Home Theater.

1. The star is for the title, which remains the best thing about the book.
   
   From cornball to overblown hype, the information is far from savvy. This is a rip-off of previously published and more helpful guides.



2. I had been considering setting up my own home theater over the last year, and with HDTV, Plasma Screens, Dolby Digital Surround sound, and a slew of other items I didn't really understand, I was prepared to listen to the salesguys sell me 'Exactly what you need'.
   
   Luckily for me, my wife picked up this book. It's an easy read, but has all the content necessary to make good decisions about what to buy, where to put components, and what sort of items are really right for the room I was using.
   
   This book saved me several hundred dollars in oversold components I didn't need, and our friends all agree, it looks GREAT!
   
   If you're looking to build your own theater, or even upgrade the theater you already have, and don't want to pay an expert to do it for you, this book is for you.



3. Easy to read, simple to understand, very helpful. This book was exactly what we needed as we update our home equipment. Provided very good direction on choosing new components. Useful diagrams in planning and setting up our new equipment, too.



4. It used to be that home entertainment was so simple. You went to the store and bought a TV set, where the only choices had to do with how big a tube and how fancy a cabinet. Not any more.
   
   This book is intended to make sense out of the techno-babble that the salesman is going to give you about modern day equipment. Even the words are changing. HDTV, aspect ratio, LCD and many such terms are thrown about by the salesmen, who may have only a slight hint as to what they mean but whom will try to make you look stupid by throwing them out.
   
   This book covers the current and soon to be technologies to tell you what is important and what is not when you are putting out your hard earned money. It covers the technology in a very general way, explaining what is possible, not the gritty details of how everything works. The book is generally speaking not brand specific. It talks about the general capabilities, not specific brands and models, most of which would be discontinued before you could find one.
   
   This is a very helpful little book.

No comments about The Dictionary of New Media: The New Digital World of Video, Audio, and Print.

3 comments about Theo Kalomirakis' Private Theaters.

1. In this magnificient book Theo Kalomirakis, the front figure of extravagant home theater gives you an inside view to some of the finest home theaters in the world. The background of mr. Kalomirakis is shortly but concisely explained, as is his enthusiasm for movies and the history of the movie palaces of the golden era. His talent of bringing the dreams of his clients alive in perfect home theaters is delightfully revealed through the glorious pictures and thoughtful descriptions of the individual theatres in the book. Every chapter of the book gives you enough information satisfy your curiosity, but still leaves some details for your imagination. It seems like this book is as carefully crafted symbiose of technology and art as are mr. Kalomirakis' home theaters.

   I recommend this book highly for everyone that is aspiring to achieve the highest level of home entertainment, because the book gives you a lot of ideas. However, this book is not for technology oriented people, because the equipment used for these theatres are not in the forefront, the outlook and the atmosphere of these theatres take the leading roles.




2. I purchased this book to get ideas for our own home theater and of course the ideas in this book are way out of my price range, but the enjoyment of looking at the pictures and the editorial information was great. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves to provide enjoyable reading items for visitors or guest. I definitely think this is a coffee table book that many people will enjoy. I personally have had 4 people ask me where they could get a copy of this book.



3. Great book. Lots of ideas. Many could be translated to lower costing projects. How would one get in touch with some of the different designer aspects used, such as the soft scuplter of Lisa Leintfelds (sic)? Have tried everything I could think of. Keep up the wonderful work.

5 comments about The Home Electronics Survival Guide: The Simple Guide to Understanding, Hooking Up and Buying TVs, HDTVs, DVDs, Home Theater, Remote Controls and More!.

1. I love this book! There are several things about it that I really like. First, it is full of wonderful cartoons by the author that make the book really fun. The thing I like most, though, is that it is full of photos of actual cables, plugs, backs of tvs, etc. so when I want to really understand something, I have a visual reference. Now I don't have to go to Radio Shack and call a cable a "thingy." The biggest problem is knowing what you want to know and this book solves that problem.



2. I've spent too many years having to mash my hair back down after giving myself one electrical shock after another trying to hook stuff together. Finally--there's a practical guide to the maze of what plugs in where and in what order, and this book is not only practical but a lot of fun, too. Most instruction manuals that come with home electronics might as well be written in Sanskrit or Klingon, and the TV manual never talks to the VCR manual or the DVR manual. This book connects everything by showing us how to connect everything. It's a welcome relief, and I no longer glow in the dark.



3. Finally, a very useful book on consumer electronics written in plain English. This book covers it all - from understanding the technologies and confusing terms, to selecting the right components you need, to choosing a good salesperson, and how to connect it all together so it actually works. Even if you choose to have someone else put your system together, this book is a great resource to help guide you through all the TLAs (Three Letter Acronynms) that the industry loves to invent to confuse their customers. Get two copies of this book and give one as a gift to someone who is overwhelmed at all the confusion on the market.



4. It is a good book for beginners without electronic background.



5. Helped a little, but did not give me enough info to hook up my LCD TV. I got it hooked up by a mixture of thinking a lot and trial and error.
   
   The book does give a good basic discussion of modern TV systems. I forgot what I paid, but it's worth a few books just to get this discussion and the illustrations, but it won't get you to the Promised Land by itself!!

3 comments about Great Escapes: New Designs for Home Theaters by Theo Kalomirakis.

1. Whether your interest is home theater, or movie palaces from the 1920's and 30's, Great Escapes is sensational!
   Once I opened it, I couldn't put it down and trust me with 204 pages loaded with 140 color photos of breathtaking architectural eye candy, this book will demand your focus.
   Kalomirakis brings the elegance of yesteryears movie palaces home with the help of writers Steve Castle, Dean Koontz and photographer Phillip Ennis.
   You can truly see Kalomirakis' love for the big screen in the architectural details he adorns his private cinemas with. No details are spared in Kalomirakis' work from neon marquees and ticket booths welcoming visitors to his theaters to opulent lobbies adorned with domed mural ceilings and snack bars and timeless columns.
   A few times while reading this book, I had to remind myself that the featured theaters I was viewing were in someone's personal residence.
   I have to say my personal favorite theater in this book was created for author Dean Koontz called "The Moonlight." Koontz also has an introduction in the book.
   Even though most of the theaters in this book take up more square footage than the average persons home. And even though theaters designed by Kalomirakis are beyond the financial means of most people, this book can serve as inspiration for those that want to bring home the silver screen on a lesser budget and do it in style.
   Theo Kalomirakis' newest book Great Escapes definitely brings home the look of the movie palaces of yesterday.



2. This is a book to die for. The photography is amazing, the architecture out of this world and what Theo Kalomirakis does for his lucky clients will blow you away. I am already wearing out my copy and I only have had it for two days.



3. Lavishly illustrated with one hundred gorgeous color photographs by Phillip Ennis, Great Escapes: New Designs For Home Theaters By Theo Kalomirakis by Steven Castle presents extravagant designs for "media rooms" in private homes. These are specialized entertainment oriented rooms set aside to take full advantage of surround sound, acoustics, and visual appeal to bring forth the same quality experience as visiting a theater. Great Escapes showcases the work of interior designer Theo Kalomirakis as it artfully presents his work in creating home theaters of celebrities such as Dean Koontz, Eddie Murphy, Roger Ebert, and others in this unique source of enduring ideas.

No comments about Key Concepts in Drama and Performance (Palgrave Key Concepts).

1 comments about The Ultimate Interior Designer.

1. Works with a plan in mind, a scheme which is carried through beginning with a scale drawing, and then maneuvering the pieces and elements around to achieve the style and effect desired.

   Proceeds to discussion of color and lighting and window effects, then to a room-by-room decorating helps and aids. This is particualarly helpful, as focuses attention on area(s) where one is. Even addresses those odd areas as corridors and landings and ends with a nice section on the various period styles.

4 comments about Home Theater Master Guide: From Start to Finish.

1. First of all... let me say that spending $30 on a 80 page book... i expected a little more insight and information that i can't already find by searching the internet... the author builds himself up as an expert in home theater design... and he may very well be... but it doesn't show in this book... the only informative section in the entire book is on room acoustics and speaker placement... which spans about 5 pages... it felt like i was reading a "101" type book and suddenly when i got to speaker placement it turned into a 5 page master's course... i wish the rest of the book could have been written with such detail... my final complaint on this book is the lack of editing if there was any at all other than spell check on microsoft word... There are plenty of grammatical errors throughout the book that could have been spotted by a high school freshman... In conclusion, I am very disapointed with this purchase... paying so much for so little and being annoyed by unedited writing is not worth your time...



2. Anyone can bill themselves as being "an expert" without much proof to back up the claim. This book could have been written by anyone who has ever bought a HTIB or hung out at a Best Buy store. Lacking in detail, references, new to market technologies, sources for each level of equipment, pricing averages, etc. etc. etc. It appears as though this is a self-published book with very little meat. NOT a good or even decent source.



3. Having been involved with home theaters for many years, I must say that the author obviously has a lot of experience based on his discussions of acoustics and room design. While other reviewers appear to be looking for more, I feel that this text covers it all - from room design to programming remotes to speakers placement and troubleshooting electronic "gremlins" in your system. I very good book for anyone looking to take their home theater to the next level of performance.



4. I purchased this from Barnes & Noble sight unseen. After receiving it I was very disappointed.

1 comments about Full Spectrum Warrior (Prima's Official Strategy Guide).

1. I bought this book thinking it would apply to the PC version. It is only somewhat helpful. Some of the Chapters are different on the XBox. It should be more obvious when you order the book that it is an Xbox Guide. After reading the book and playing the game, however, I decided that it was of some help, particularly as the game became more difficult the second and third time through. I am updating my rating accordingly to three stars.

4 comments about Build Your Own Home Theater (Second Edition).

1. Disappointed that there was only 1-2 pages on Front projector Theaters and 1-2 pages on rear projection theaters.



2. This book is very basic and is well outdated by at least 3-4 years. no mention of dvd or dts!! according to the author thx is the breaking revolution??? I purchased the book in hopes of finding a few tips on the design and building of an actual home theater ($15,000 - $25,000). what i got was a boring explanation of dolby pro logic and stereo sound. if you are designing a $1500 system with a $300 dolby surround sound receiver this is the book for you!!!!

   if not keep looking!!!!!!!!!!!




3. The book is well written and the material covered logically organized. However, advances in technology makes this more of a history text than the current "how-to" book that I was looking for. You would never buy this book in a store because you would flip through a few pages and find out that Wolenik talks about DVD in the "future tense". I would buy an updated version -- even for a rank beginner this one is not worth much. OK pictures!



4. This book is all about the systems and equipment, how they work or not together. It does not go into decor of said equipment. No themes or anything like that, just the tecnical mumbo jumbo. It seems to focus on higher end equipment as well and does not give each manufacturer of stereo/audio equipment equal reviews or ratings. Some are just brushed over, barely mentioned. It is a good starter book, but definetly does not cover all aspects of a home theater design.