April 14 - For the ultimate home theater experience, aficionados have long known that a big screen front projection setup is the only way to go. But for a long time, that meant a hefty investment in a big, heavy, bulky CRT-based projector, requiring professional installation and a dedicated room where ambient room lighting could be minimized if not eliminated outright to maximize viewing contrast.

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September 14 - Many people want a killer home theater system with a huge screen but either can’t afford it or don’t want to deal with the hassles of picking out and installing a bunch of A/V gear. Epson is out to change all that with its Ensemble HD Home Cinema System.

The Ensemble is a stealth system with everything you need—including a 1080p Epson PowerLite projector that shines gorgeous images on a 100-inch screen.

What’s stealth about the system? When you first walk in to an Ensemble-equipped room you won’t feel like you’re walking into a “home theater” because everything is neatly tucked away.

Pick up the remote control, hit one button, and the system comes alive: The gloss-black control center on the coffee table lights up, while the screen descends from a long slender structure near the top of the front wall.

Next thing you know, you’re watching a movie.

The left-, center-, and right-channel speakers are hidden in the screen housing behind a long perforated grille.

Equally clever is where Epson put the rear surround speakers: they’re built into the sides of the ceiling cradle that supports the projector—and, yes, they can be detached if you’re inner geek insists that they be spread farther apart.

Apart from the control center, which houses a DVD player, AM/FM tuner, and full complement of A/V connections—including two HDMI inputs—the only other thing you might spot is the subwoofer in the corner of the room.

The 14 x 16 x 18-inch sub houses power for the entire system (340 watts in all) and is loaded with controls so you can get the bass just right.

In case you’re wondering, the audio side of the system was custom-engineered by Atlantic Technology and it shines just as big as the picture.

Now expected to hit stores in January (it had been November), Ensemble HD will be offered in two versions: one with the 1080p projector for $6999 and one with a 720p projector for $4999.

Best of all, Epson says the system can be installed in less than a day, which includes running all necessary cables.

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