We have had our new Bose system hooked up for about two months. One major complaint is the lack of a headphone jack. I have never heard of a stereo system without a headphone jack. We were updating all of our components and purchased a new Sony DVD Recorder/VHS and a new DirecTV DVR with Tivo. We were trying to pair down our equipment. Turns out, none of these components have a headphone jack. All of these newer components are being produced without headphone jacks, which left us in quite a pickle. Fortunately, we found a company called “Ramsey Electronics” which provides a headphone amplifier with audio cables to allow us to hook our headphones through the Ramsey unit and then into the Bose unit. It set us back $80.

Next, we had the dilemma with the remote. The Tivo remote won’t work with Bose, though it did work with my 12 year old Pioneer sound system. Then, I spent another $100 on a decent learning remote that could control all of my components, but I’d rather use the Tivo remote.

As irritating as that was, the most irritating thing about the Bose unit is that the audio/video plugs do not stay plugged in. They are all kind of “loose.” We bought new, expensive A/V cables, thinking that would solve the problem. We’ve tried everything to remedy this problem, including pushing the unit up against the back wall of our entertainment center in order to keep the plugs from falling out. I can’t tell you how disheartening it is to be in the middle of a movie with a $1300 Bose sound system and just have the sound go OUT because one of the plugs fell out of its socket. It’s not a tension issue, either. It’s poor manufacturing.

Even more flawed is the DVD disc tray. First, there is NO eject button on the remote, then when you press the eject button on the unit, it will just say “Opening…” Nothing happens! Then, when you press it again, it just says “Closing…” Nothing happens. My husband had to “teach” me that if you push the eject button in rapid succession, you can sometimes get it to open. That’s just swell for a $1300 investment. I have a DVD player in the guest room that I paid $29.99 for and it opens and closes its disc tray, no problem. Go figure. Fortunately, for us, we have the Sony DVD Recorder/Player and use it when the Bose is being “temperamental.” We’ve only been able to successfully watch 3 DVDs using the Bose because the tray won’t open.

Also, it sounds NOTHING like it does in the store. I don’t know if they have some special demo disc or what, but our 12 year old Pioneer system had far superior sound. We’ve never owned a Bose unit before and thought we were stepping up to purchase this one. I think we stepped way down. Also, how can a company that manufactures headphones-not make any units with a headphone jack? That makes no sense, at all. To inform me in the literature that I will “lose sound quality” by plugging my Bose headphones into a “non-Bose” component must be some sort of joke. The Bose units don’t have a headphone jack, what else am I supposed to plug them into?

I am confused about this. I’ve always been told that Bose is the leader in sound components, but this headphone issue is just a lack of good common sense and the shotty manufacturing of the plugs and disc tray have caused me an enormous amount of stress and regret.

Save yourself money, time, regret, and stress by finding a different system. This one will only test your sanity in regards to the $1300 you spent on this piece of junk!
Rating: 1 / 5

Meedio is by far the most flexible Home Theater software on the market. With over 200 plugins you can do anything you can imagine, and if you happen to imagine something there isn’t a plugin for, you can easily write one yourself with minimal programming skills.

Meedio unchains you from the blue Microsoft Media Center theme and allows you to download dozens of new themes or create one yourself. You can have a one of a kind living room experience rather than being confined to one look.

Meedio also doesn’t contain you to what types of video or music files you can play, or how those files are organized. Using a powerful database engine you can create custom views to organize your media in any manner you desire.

Don’t take my word on Meedio, try it out yourself. I am sure you will come to love this peice of software as much as I do. Meedio has revolutionized my home theater and it will do the same for you. I have never had anyone over who’s mouth wasn’t on the ground when they saw everything Meedio does for me.
Rating: 5 / 5

Info from the product’s web site:

control your media

Like most people you’ve probably built up a nice collection of CDs and music downloads. You’ve taken more digital photos than you can keep track of. And you may even have stored your home videos and other movies in digital format. You’re faced with the problem of keeping track of all of those files in a single place so you can actually find and enjoy them.

Meedio Essentials starts with powerful tools that quickly and easily create a single library of your digital media. Through intelligent Import Plugins it can even automatically categorize your files no matter where they are stored. Meedio Essentials supports a variety of third-party Import Plugins.

Whether you prefer to view by genre, by artist, or any other category in the Media Library, Meedio Essentials makes it easy to find exactly what you want, when you want it, using only your TV and remote control or touchscreen. You can even customize multi-level views, create new categories, and choose how items are displayed on-screen. And if you can’t find what you’re looking for you can even search for it using Meedio Essentials’ on-screen interface.

Meedio Essentials comes complete with integrated media players so you won’t have to worry about buying, installing, and configuring other applications. Or, you can use almost any other third-party media player.

Works with all major music and video formats (if you can play it, Meedio can organize it).

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Rating: 5 / 5