On a similar note, I was particularly disappointed in Boxee's iPhone app. Rather than, say, giving you some sort of search interface, it just gives you the same buttons that you get from the stock Apple IR remote control.

Even Apple's Remote app doesn't really do half of what you can do on an AppleTV.

Thanks for all the insight about network music players. I'll have to read this thread a few times to get it all.

Ok, back to talking about remotes, Nexi and maiden names.

Not exactly "networked," but have you guys seen the latest from Klipsch?

IMO, it's absurdly priced but a very neat idea. The main problem I have is that I don't know how much I'd like that LED light. Oh, and did I mention they're expensive?

Its a neat idea but should have stayed as some designers concept fantasy. It'll sound terrible and not give you very good illumination. Also as you said, it is ludicrously expensive for just 1 bulb which still requires the base station.

I don't expect it to last long before breaking either from the heat given off by the electronics and LED together with the enclosure that these bulbs are generally fitted in.

Relevant quotes for this are "eventually pays for itself" as you save money on bulb changes, energy, and installation costs." and "LightSpeakers are for background music and not intended to replace home theater speakers,".

DUDE. That could totally solve my current Surround Speaker problem.

(I'm in a new rental house and I can't run wires for the surrounds the way I'd really like to. However, there are recessed light fixtures exactly where I'd want my surround speakers to be.)

Pricey, though.

DUDE! I finally came across a solution for my similar problem. Have you seen the RocketFish?

My current setup has my home theater set up against the bottom of a staircase. So to the left is the bottom of the stairs, our front entry/doorway, and a set of door-height windows. To the right is an open pathway to our kitchen. The room is very long. The flooring is wood laminate on top of a concrete slab. The only option is to go overhead, and I just didn't have the money to spend on that.

The RocketFish has some drawbacks (can't control volume from the receiver, occasional buzzing can be heard when very close, and it's more always-on electronics), but from the very first surround sound content my wife and I watched on it, I knew it was worth these minor issues. It was so painful losing those rear speakers. I'll never go back!

Oh, and naturally, I ordered the used ones for $69 instead of the $110+.

Rocketfish thing is nifty, and would definitely work for certain layouts, but it still requires wires from the receiver to the speakers, and power to the receiver. And a place to mount the speakers. The Klipsch system would solve all of those things in one fell swoop for me, without any mounting or wires at all. Still... Pricey...

True, though it also requires a specific setup where the lights have to be in satisfactory locations for rear speakers. But you're correct, it all depends on your setup. I just put the receiver under my couch and plugged it into the outlet behind it. The wires just run from behind the couch, behind furniture to the speakers which sit on shelves. All in all it works really well.

We installed rear ceiling speakers as part of a series of general upgrades we were making to our house. I got pretty good ones (BG Radia PD-6Ci's), and frankly, they don't add very much. Every once in a while, I'll notice the surround sound (good example: there's a trippy scene in the Doors movie, where the camera is circling around and the sound is as well), but otherwise, the front three are carrying most of the load. Also, there's a real directionality problem. You really notice when the sound is suddenly "up" instead of forward.

If I was going to do it over, I'd look at getting dipolar speakers, a few of which are available as in-ceiling versions. Allegedly these diffuse the sound better so you have less of the directionality issue. Unclear whether this really works.

Hmm, sorry to hear it didn't add anything for you. I'll agree that it's infrequent that real directional sound effects are heard, but it's really great for music and general noise (like the crowd during sporting events).

My rear speakers are bookshelf speakers. One sits atop a 6' tall DVD case, and the other on a 2.5' cabinet. This could create some problems, particularly with the shorter one being heard more, but it actually works very well.

Maybe you need to turn up the volume on yours? Try a different surround mode?

Oh, the speakers do work. I let my amp's auto-room-correction contraption set the volume levels and such, so it's "correct".

In my old place, I had full-sized rear speakers on stands, at ear level, and that worked much better (or, more transparently). It's just odd to suddenly have sound coming from above.