OTHER TECH

7.EVERYTHING IN PLACE Decide where your new gear is going to go before you start bringing it home. Since electronics aren't really finicky - they just want a relatively cool, dry, decently ventilated place away from dust - you could just pile everything on the floor beneath the TV. And, you could spend the rest of your life sleeping on the couch.

When looking for a cabinet, entertainment center, rack, or whatever, keep four things in mind:

1) Since practically every A/V component is 17 inches wide, the cabinet interior should be at least 20 inches wide so you can get your hands on either side of a piece of gear. 2) Many, many wires go to and from the receiver, so the more depth you have to work with, the better. Shoot for at least 20 inches. 3) It's usually okay to stack components, but A/V receivers, satellite receivers, and some of the new cable boxes can get very warm and shouldn't have any gear placed on top of them. 4) If you want to have everything out of sight behind closed doors but you're worried about not being able to use your remote control - relax! For a couple hundred bucks, you can set up a simple infrared (IR) repeater system that will give your remote Superman-like X-ray vision. (For step-by-step instructions on installing an IR repeater system, see my "Custom Installer" column from April, 2004.)