It isn’t enough to just have the latest and greatest home theater equipment. You must take good care of it in order to pull out the best performance, and have an overall functionally and aesthetically appealing room. In addition to maintenance and AV tweaking, you’ll need to keep your gear clean if you want the top-performance possible.

You’ve got to understand proper AV equipment care in order to preserve the life of your devices. You can’t just go in there with a rag and some cleaner and swipe away the grime – you could end up irreparably damaging the surface, the finish, or even the inner mechanisms of your device. So, if you’re proud of how well all of your equipment shows off your flat screen TV frame, you’ll want to keep it clean to keep it looking and performing at its best.

There are some basic cleaning rules for all, or at least most, AV equipment. Be absolutely sure that the device is in “off” (not just standby) mode before tackling the dust. If you can, unplug it to be doubly sure. Furniture polish or wax is meant for furniture – not for your gear. Keep it for the mahogany coffee table and the traditional wood flat screen TV frame, and never use it on electronics. When you do pick a cleaner, don’t spray it straight onto the device. Spray it onto a cloth to protect your delicate home theater components. And finally, after reading this article, go check out the user’s manual for your equipment. If you don’t have a hardcopy, many manuals can be found online. There is usually a section on care and cleaning, and it’s best to follow the manufacturer’s guidelines when it comes to the delicate operation that is cleaning your home theater.

So now on to the specifics. We’ll begin with tips on cleaning your plasma or LCD HDTV, as this is usually the central unit of a home theater. Before you begin, keep in mind that you can keep your flat screen TV frame mounted, or you can remove it with a few easy snaps. An LCD TV screen will be damaged by common household chemicals like Windex, so purchase a cleaner specifically designed to be gentle on screens. The cloth that you use should be soft and either dry or nearly dry – most LCD screens get damaged by moisture and too much rubbing, so treat this delicately. If you must use a cleaner for that stubborn dirt, try a small amount of water first.

Your TV might not be the dustiest thing in your home theater. In fact, the nature of Blu-Ray players, DVD players and gaming consoles make them highly susceptible to dust and dirt collection. The fans that are used for ventilation often make dust settle on the back, around the cables, and when you’re doing your general sweep of the room with a duster, you will often miss those areas around the buttons and underneath the devices.

In order to do a thorough job of cleaning these devices, you should pair your regular cleaning with something a bit more rigorous. Try using that same soft, dry cloth that you used for your TV. You’ll want to start with the device that is on top of the stack and move downward, because dust will likely fall from the top down. On the chassis, keep the dusting motion designed to dust away from the vent holes to preserve the delicate inner workings. When you move to the front panel, you might want to use a soft paintbrush, as this will get you precision without being so rough as to knock around your settings. For the inside of your device, keep an optical lens cleaner disc handy. These are versatile little discs that spin and use small brushes or holes to pull away the dust and dirt.

Cleaning your home theater properly will not only make it look great and highlight your modern flat screen TV frame, but it will also prolong the life of your components. The tips above are all great to follow, but just to reiterate an important point – because not all devices are created equal, check out the cleaning section of the manufacturer’s manual before diving in to your home theater dusting day.

A home theater should reflect a part of you: your creativity, love of movies, music obsession, inner interior decorator. Whatever part of yourself you want reflected in your home theater, the Traditional TV Frame from HD Envy can be incorporated as a finishing touch. By framing your flat screen TV in this simple and elegant frame, you will create a unique look that can be customized to highlight your entire room.

The Traditional TV Frame is constructed from solid wood and stained in your choice of eleven sophisticated and tasteful colors. By using only top-quality wood and industry guidelines in its construction, this flat panel TV frame will be a durable addition to your home theater that is able to easily mount to any make or model HDTV.

Because you get to choose the stain, ranging from brushed aluminum to colonial maple to Sedona red and many more, you can have the TV frame blend in or stand out from your décor and be as vivid or as subdued as you like. This TV wall frame looks best when coupled with more traditional décor, as it will reflect the timeless beauty of its surroundings.

The Traditional TV Frame is the most popular frame from HD Envy. It uses simple but detailed lines and superior construction, and has quickly become a favorite for those who invest time and energy into making their home theaters look top-notch. The detailed black lacquer on the inside grooves increases this frame’s appeal, as it draws the eye to the TV and surrounds it with a firm but subtle outline. And the satin gloss finish is enough to keep the eye lingering on the beauty of the TV frame itself.

HD Envy constructs all of its frames with care. Each flat panel TV frame from HD Envy is backed by years of construction and design experience. The Traditional TV Frame itself is the flagship model, the pride of HD Envy and the frame that can change your home theater from ho-hum to dazzling in a matter of minutes.

You can order the Traditional TV Frame in sizes ranging from 30-inches to 60-inches directly from HD Envy’s website, or you can purchase the frame at select Best Buy locations.

Wall-mounting flat-panel HDTVs is all the rage these days, as more and more consumers realize the benefits of having their TVs flush against their wall. The space that is saved, both on the wall and the floor, by not having a massive, clunky entertainment center is a breath of fresh air to anyone who has, or is considering, a wall-mounted TV.

However, even if you have the sleekest and slimmest flat screen TV wall frame on the market, you are going to have some other considerations before you can sit back and enjoy the stunning action scenes in Spiderman 3 – where are you going to put all that stuff that was sitting on your entertainment center? Those DVDs and game discs, consoles and Blu-Ray players, amps and cable boxes… where does it go now that your TV is floating free from the bulky (but admittedly useful) entertainment center?

All that space you’ve just freed up on your wall and floor shouldn’t have to be filled up again in order to store your home theater accessories. There has to be a better way, but what is it?
The first and more obvious option is to install shelves for all of your storage needs. On the market today are some extremely modern-looking and heavy-duty shelves, so whether your concerns are style or functionality, you’ll be able to find what you’re looking for. These shelves can hold everything from your DVD collection to your amp and cable box, so don’t overlook the simple answer when on the hunt for home theater storage.

Smaller racks are also an option. Racks come in a variety of sizes, so in order to minimize their appearance but still benefit from their functionality, you could look into 19-inch or smaller. Racks can hold a variety of electronic modules and can take care of much of your audio and video needs, while remaining relatively discrete in a corner or unobtrusive spot in your room.
The floor space that you’ll save by installing a flat screen TV wall frame or other device can also be used for storage purposes. You can purchase a low-sitting cabinet to sit discretely under the TV itself, or you can use the space for speakers and other A/V enhancements. You can even use the floor space to play Twister between commercials!

The space you’ll save by wall mounting your flat panel TV can be used in a nearly infinite number of ways, limited only by your imagination and your home theater needs. If you are of the minimalist set, you can leave it entirely blank, hide the wires behind your TV and within the television frame, and hook up your cable box and other necessities at the back of the room. Or you can decorate it with pictures and curios. It is up to you.

Lauren Dugan is a contributing author to HD Envy. HD Envy is a quality manufacturer of flat screen TV wall frame solutions. By incorporating a flat screen TV wall frame into your home theater, you will save space and upgrade your style to meet the needs of a modern home. The flat screen TV wall frame products at HD Envy are produced with only the highest-grade material and are fully customizable, to ensure that you get the most out of your home theater.