Home Entertainment isn't just about LCDs, Plasmas and HDTV's. It's about a whole lot more. Here are a few things off the beaten path and back again that caught our eye.

Chief Manufacturing

Installers and do it yourselfers will love the fact that Chief mounts are designed to make most flat panel installations a one man job.

The fastest install on a 42 inch plasma mount (Chief model PLPU) is claimed to be 1 minute and 20 seconds done by a trained professional of course. The record install was was timed after a stud finder was used to locate studs and with everything already taken out of the boxes. Even well prepped, 1:20 for a plasma mount install is still very impressive.

A common trait of manh of their positional mounts are the use of oversized arms for the swing part so wires are more hidden and much neater than simply zap strapping wires along the arm. This often defeats the clean look of a professional installation so Chief gives you a place to put them.

Besides fixed mounts, Chief also has a large variety of motorized mounts from plasma to front projector, allowing these devices to move without your intervention. Chief's CM1W18 automated swing arm mount, that can hold up to 170 pounds, was very impressive and any noise was tough to hear, making it almost silent.

Most people think that TV's belong only indoors. Not Chief! They even make a weatherproof casing and mount for large size LCD or plasmas for outdoor use! With a sticker price of around $3000, it will cost more than most TV's that will mount inside it. Another Interesting feature of this unit is that the case can be locked so theft is minimized.

Warranties for Chief mounts are 10 years while parts with cylinders and hydraulics are covered for 5 years. While I don’t know all the retail prices of their products, the impression I got is that they will likely be price at a premium. However, that doesn’t stop Bentleys or Rolexes from being sold.