NEWS
08/2026
A previous customer called and wanted to know if I could do some work outside of town. After getting the particulars I agreed to do the system. He wanted to take a flat screen TV that was sitting on a bookcase and mount it on a pullout bracket to angle it into the room more. Also add rear in-wall speakers. I had lots of questions. I enlisted the help of my partner Jim and he visited the customer to scope out what involvement would be needed. The system is located in his great room and the bookcase is to the right of the fireplace.
I was a bit concerned that the center of the bookcase would present an issue with mounting a bracket. Jim investigated the rear wall and found lots of ductwork in the wall cavities along with electrical for light switches.
After much discussion back and forth I decided that we would mount the TV and take a another look at getting rear in-wall speakers installed. Its tough to know what might be possible when the customers home is several hours away.
So the bracket was ordered and a day/time was setup to mount the TV. Oh, by the way a soundbar was to be mounted to the bottom of the TV so the sound would be coming from the TV location and not the bookshelf location.
Below is a pic of the final setup.
Fortunately the bookcase had no center section as it was designed to have a flat screen TV mounted on its back wall. Although the bookcase is seemingly a stand alone unit, it is attached to the building wall and the back wall of the bookcase was 3/4″ wood and supported the TV mount very well. The surround receiver is in the cabinet and all wires are not visible. Audio hookup is using eARC technology as the customer streams content thru the TV. All that is required is the TV remote to operate the system. Using eARC allows the TV remote to turn the TV on and off, the surround receiver to turn on & off and adjust the volume of the system.
After installing the TV, soundbar and the electronics Jim and I dug deeper into whether the rear speakers were doable or not. And after much measuring and discussion decided it was feasible to do in-walls provided they were of a certain width to accommodate the stud space. I came up with a speaker option and will be going back to install those.
07/2026
Home theater upgrade:
I had a customer reach out to me on updating his 15 year old theater room. The existing set up used a front screen projection system and seating that was not conducive to the experience.
The customer was interested in a major update. Room decor, seating, equipment location and technology.
In discussing various options they settled on a 100″ LG flat screen, upgrading the front 3 speakers and adding 4 ATMOS speakers in the ceiling. Also, the equipment location was moved to accommodate changes in seating. Updating the surround receiver and adding a 4K Apple TV as well as a 4K Blu-ray player, all controlled with a universal remote. One very cool feature is the shelf for the center speaker. The customer found a shelf unit that has no visible mounting bracket.
State of the video streaming industry, 6-2026:
While researching current Spectrum 4K content for a customer, the following is what I found.
Currently, Spectrum in SE Wisconsin does not provide 4K content through the cable box. The current infrastructure, firmware/software, cannot handle the increased data throughput required for 4K video.
With the current rollout of fiber (fiber optics) based internet, that may change the game in the coming years. Spectrum is pushing their new fiber based internet service right now. AT&T has had fiber for a couple of years.
For the last several years, Spectrum has offered the XUMO box as it has newer technology to be able to “stream” 4K content. And with new accounts, is installing the XUMO box in place of the Standard Cable box. Although you can still request a standard cable box.
I have also found that current AT&T Uverse boxes are also capable of providing 4K content.
On each of these systems I viewed the FIFA World Cup games in 4K and they looked stunning! I believe the broadcast industry will continue to provide more 4K content in the coming years.
Here are the different ways to currently receive 4K content:
> Apple TV 4K streaming box, lets you stream 4K content from several sources including NetFlix, Spectrum, Disney+, HBO etc. 4K content based on source programming.
> XUMO streaming box, same as Apple TV 4K. Enables you to stream 4K content from various platforms/apps.
> Apps in a “SMART” TV, fine for a stand alone TV, not so much for a surround sound system.
BTW, I have noticed that Amazon Prime is now offering more 4K content than before.
Paramount has great looking content and new releases are mostly ATMOS
Disney + continues to provide great 4K w/ATMOS in most of its streaming
Caveat’s
Nether Apple TV or Xumo can record. However, it can stream most episodes.
The cable box can record, for playback at another time, only in HD (2K).
Xumo box is free with Spectrum and has the ability to screen share from your iPhone.
Apple TV is $150
You do need a 4K TV as well as a compatible 4K surround receiver and compatible HDMI cables for home theater systems.
05/2026
New A/V system and Home Theater:
This customer bought a house and was looking to update the A/V in two rooms. One off the kitchen and another in the basement that is more of a home theater setup. The customer is very into quality audio and video. As this was a finished, move in ready house, much work needed to be done to install rear and ATMOS speakers in the ceiling as well as a in-wall center speaker in the family room system.
Pics coming soon as I am still in the installation phase.
05/2026
Summer 2026 is here its freak’in HOT. So while I stay inside where it’s cool I thought I would work on my blog.
On January 1, 2026 I retired from working at Audio Emporium. I had been there for 29 years and 6 months. I enjoyed a nice career servicing and installing residential audio and video systems. In my semi retirement time I continue to service many customers of Audio Emporium as well as new customers. The only marketing I do is word of mouth. I remain just busy enough.
2018
Here is a very nice audio/video system I did years ago. Bryston, Marantz and McIntosh electronics with active cross over. Bluesound Icon music streaming. Bryston Model T speakers with GoldenEar center, rear and subwoofer.
