NevoSL -More than an Universal Remote

Not many are familiar with this great remote as none of the boxed stores carry it and is exclusively available only through specialized home automation installers.

While my Home Theater was getting ready, I considered several remotes from Harmony to Universal MX300 to even the very expensive Phillips Pronto Models. I ruled out all of them as I wanted a remote that feels like a remote and looks incredibly cool. Then, I visited the Mecca of Remotes - Remote Central and soon discovered Nevo^SL. First I fell for the looks. Then, I started information gathering about this remote and soon decided that it's the remote for me. It's Wi-Fi capable with touch screen operation and button controls. I first tried to work with a local dealer but the price was insanely high. Almost $1.5K which included customizing the remote and programming all equipment in my theater.

The price definitely scared me but didn't let me rule out the remote as I decided to risk warranty and get from ebay. I paid less than $400 and I also purchased NevoLink for less than $100 which is needed for my setup as my equipment is located in the back of the theater. Nevo^SL can transmit the remote commands on WiFi to home network. NevoLink picks up those signals and fires IR to the equipment it's located near. If you know to setup wireless network on your laptop, you sure can figure this.

The remote setup and customization is a breeze and addictive. It has got unlimited potential for creative customization with the Nevo Studio that comes with it. Make sure you update it to the latest version. You can do this from the software menu.

If you are ever in the market for a perfect remote, take a serious look at this one. It's sure to exceed your expectations. If you have a Media center, you can customize the remote to show up images of your media collection and play them remotely.

If you already happen to have this remote please let me know how you like it.

Did you know Sony PS3 won several product of the year awards?

I got my son Surya PS3 as the gift for an exceptional report he got from his school principal. To be frank, I had my good reasons to buy it for him. I was looking forward to watching Casino Royal Blu-Ray on it in my newly finished Home Theater. Little did I know about the capabilities of this gaming machine (as I thought!). Within days of owning it, I realised I have a very powerful media center in it. It's built-in Wi-Fi means less cable to be able to connect to internet and Playstation store for several hundered free downloads of movie trailers and games. All in High Definition. Here is where Verizon FIOS rocks! With it's incredible download speeds I am able to get HD trailers downloaded in few minutes.

The bluetooth remote is another asset for me as my PS3 is located behind the sitting area. Then, I can almost insert any format flash memories to view digital pictures and save them on it.

Finally, what a blu-ray player it has! Movies start at lighting speed if you experienced Toshiba's HD-DVD players which take forever to load menu. With it's HDMI 1.3, it is all set for a very long time as it supports enough bandwidth to handel any lossless audio that exists now while outputting full 1080P.

If you are in the market for a media PC or a movie player take a serious look at this piece of marvelous engineering!

Should I Blu-Ray or HD-DVD?

I didn't ask myself this question before I grabbed a HD-DVD Player when it was on sale at Best Buy. I had to confess I jumped early on HD-DVD player because I was trying to 'lighten' my wallet of a few Best Buy giftcards I had in there. Also, couldn't pass on all the FREE HD-DVD 'crap'(hey! they are free!) movies that are thrown with it through mail-in-rebates. I mailed the rebate in late Jan and still waiting to receive them :-(

Soon after I hooked it to my TV, I noticed there are hardly any 'new' movies in HD-DVD format. While browsing Amazon I decided to check how the other side of HD from Blu-Ray looks and noticed Casino Royale was written all over it. That's the movie I skipped in theaters to watch it in my Home Theater. So, ended up owning PS3 as it's the cheapest way to do Blu-Ray and not to mention that it's an incredible game machine AND (not over yet), a media center. I'll more blog about it more in another post as it a machine that deserves it's own space.

If you are shopping for an HiDef disk player, take time to browse their catalogs at Amazon and decide on the one you think has most movies that interest you. If you can afford grab both. Sony's Columbia Pictures, Disney, Liongate, Fox exclusively support Blu-Ray while Universal HD-DVD exclusive while Warner and Paramount are neutral.

One of my life's dream is fullfilled!

I had one life long dream eluding me for years. I waited this long to get it right and then live with it for most of my life. Wondering what it could be? Well, I am enjoying it immensely with my friends and family now for over 2 months. A Home Theater!

A lot of time went into researching on how to put it together the best way possible with as little budget as possible without the expense of a professional. How do one go about doing such a project? Well, look no further than Avsforum's Dedicated Theater Design forum. Call it the Encyclopedia or for anything audio or video. I checked lot of galleries of forum members to get inspired. Finally, I got it done in a style of my own with some inspiration from several theaters I saw at AVS Forum. All commercial theaters have 2.35:1 screen and I believe so should the Home Theaters.

My theater gear:
Lutron Grafix Eye Dimmer control
12' wide 2.35:1 Da-Lite Cinema Contour High Power screen
Panasonic PT-AX100U 720p LCD Projector
Arcam FMJ | P7 7-channel Amplifier
Outlaw Audio Model 990 Preamp/Processor
Sony PS3 as Blu-Ray Player and Game and Entertainment Center - Undisputed King of my Theater
Toshiba HD-A2 HD-DVD Player
Belkin PureAV PF60 Surge Protector
NevoSL WiFi Universal Remote
Natuzzi Theater Chairs