San Antonio Express-News article: "Hidden Theaters"

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SAN ANTONIOEXPRESS-NEWS
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WENDI POOLElSRClALTOTHE EXPRESS-NEWS
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A 7-bv-5-foot xreen drom from the ceiling.
pot rack over the stove. m e kitchen o m to a
plush living nxnn with a couch, redhers and fire
place. TO the left, the dining area's sprawling glass
table catches the afternoon sun from the many
floor.len@h windows, h n h g a view of the western horizon.
"I know this is what you want to see," Roberts
says with the push of a button on a m o t e c o n t d
On the oppsite wall facing the living rwm
much and kitchen, a 7.by-5foot screen drops from a
slit in the ceiling, along with three spaker-3 that
dlt forward Just above the much, a pmjector drops
between two sp&ers housed in the ceiling. The
summdsound system's sub&
- along with
the hometheater receim, a DVD player, VCR, satellite box, and 300disc CD changer - lie hidden in
cabiiets that 6WlE the fmce.
Welcome to the home theater thafs as much
about home as it is about theater.
"Ithink of it as a very wise use of space without
the clutter of a big-srreenTV sitting on the flw"
says Roberts, an amount sales manager for an ele
vator c o m m
Most di&&ng
home-theater consumers want
the bells and whistles of surround sound and highd a t i o n video. But not if it means an otdmsive
bjgemm TV surrounded by @mL
'floor wskem
making it look like Stonehenge.
'gnEeule more attached to theit R n n i f O b an$
pair&@? and want that to be the center of attention (jmmJulanelechnic~,~' Zoltan "Oli"Gw
lyas, owner of I m m i n~R m s W W
Gdyas, whose tnn!pany set up ha ha me
cometohim&ar&
theater so its not Wm.
single item that stands out and calls attention to it.
th"aS-
-
SelE.
&&as noteathat when it errmes to hidden home
~ ~ ~ p r o j ~ ~ P 0 p U l a r ~ p a c e ~ ~
h u s e their screens are flat'and W to stav,
.%bile the projector
i..etncts into the ceiling
more than if you instaled a room stmight out ofan
elednmies store.
Front projectors are usually more expensive than
dunkiw bip-shen rearrearprojection
TVs. Most
hometheater speakers are comparably pnoed,
whether they are in-wall, onwall or standing, Gulyassays. Conceahgtheminthewalladdstothe
tab.
Roberts spent about $35,WO on his home theater,
though he admits he could have gotten it done for
8n a multimne
SATURDAY, JLINE 12,2M)4