Michael E. Flynn owns one of the hottest entertainment systems around.
How hot is it? After two cable boxes failed from the heat his electronics gear emitted, the Newport Beach lawyer stationed a 3-foot-tall oscillating fan in front of his stereo cabinet to keep his gadgets from suffering heat stroke.
"We blew it all day long and all night long for four years," said Flynn, who ultimately hired an audio-video specialist to craft a customized ventilation system.
Flynn's fan was a low-tech solution to a high-tech problem that's vexing many consumers: The coolest electronic gear is often scorching.
Game consoles, digital video recorders, cable boxes and other gadgets in the living room are throwing off tremendous amounts of heat as manufacturers seeking more power cram them with circuitry, experts say.
As a result, home entertainment enthusiasts are reporting a variety of symptoms -- rising room temperatures, malfunctioning gadgets, even warped wood and peeling paint in stereo cabinets.
The heat intensifies when consumers stack the devices in enclosed racks, choking off air circulation.
It's a growing problem for manufacturers, too. Some experts believe that overheating is a contributor to the wave of Xbox 360 malfunctions that last month prompted Microsoft Corp. to set aside more than $1 billion for repairs and extended warranties. Analysts estimate that as many as 25% of the consoles are faulty.
Microsoft won't say how many are failing or what causes the "red rings of death" that signify a system crash. But design consultants and electronics repairmen say the powerful console's wide temperature swings -- from the supercharged heat of game play to overnight cool -- is causing the solder to crack, fracturing the tiny electrical connections that allow energy to flow between the circuits. Eventually, one or more of the 1,700 components or 500 million transistors overheat and fail.
The desire for more powerful home electronics gear is fueling the rise of heat-spewing gadgets.
The Xbox 360 consumes three times the power that its predecessor does, while Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 console guzzles eight times as much energy as the PS2, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group.
A top-of-the-line cable television box that displays and records high-definition video can consume more energy in a year than a microwave oven or standard 32-inch TV.
