OH HAI!
I've been meaning to update the theater blog for quite some time now, it's just gotten so ridiculously busy around here over the past 9 months that I haven't had the opportunity. We get major releases on the CPU, GPU and SSD fronts now, and it seems like anytime I go down the path of doing a new SSD review it takes months to complete it (actually what I find myself in the middle of right now).
So let's see, where are we at with the Home Theater. It's still about 90% complete, the last 10% is mostly polish.
1) I've tied off all of the cables and organized the rack in a reasonable manner, although I think I may just ditch the rack and build shelves into the cutout I put in the room.
2) I still need to acoustically treat and seal the entry doors, I lose a lot of sound through there and they also tend to rattle during certain scenes
3) The front speakers are now entirely covered, I just need to trim out the base of the front wall where it meets the floor to make it totally seamless.
4) The projector bulb now has around 600 hours on it, things are definitely dimmer than before. The overboosted colors on the JVC RS2 continue to annoy me, but watching good source content reveals a very film/CRT-like image. I haven't had the chance to watch Quantum of Solace in its entirety in the theater but the first 10 minutes look and sound great.
5) I tried ASUS's new Xonar HDAV1 card and while it delivered as promised, my HTPC has been significantly less stable since the card has gone in. I even tried disabling the card in device manager and the machine still BSODs at least once during a movie. I may replace everything in there with Ion or the mini-ITX Zotac 9300 board to see how those hold up.
6) It continues to be easier to rip my own Blu-rays and play them than it is to watch an encrypted disc. PowerDVD is still horrible. Sign me up for the first service that provides unencrypted direct-download HD movie content. It's ridiculous that it's easier to watch a ripped movie than it is to watch the actual disc in a HTPC. I keep the PlayStation 3 around for that.
7) I tried the PS3 Media Server and wasn't happy with it when it came to streaming all of my content initially, I may give it another go in the coming months.
8) I *really* want the new Star Trek movie on Blu-ray.
9) The theater, overall, has worked out very well. There's a lot I would've done differently but most of it can be tweaked out at this point. I've had all seats filled and usually the room ends up with 2 - 6 people in it for most movies. I'm happy with the screen size and seat layout. New comers who want the MASSIVE SCREEN experience get in the first row and leave happy. HT enthusiasts who want a good viewing experience take the middle two seats in the back and are content.
10) I much prefer watching movies in my HT than going to the actual theater, the sound and picture are properly calibrated, the seats are more comfortable and the convenience factor is huge. What I'd really like are direct download releases of movies when they come out in theaters. Instead of paying $20 for two people to go to the theater to watch a movie I'd gladly pay that to the studio to get a HD copy of the movie the day it's released.
I've been having this debate with a few friends lately, I'm wondering what happens to the actual theater business as LCD panel prices drop over time. I'm wondering if theaters will eventually go the way of arcades, but obviously the comparison isn't totally valid since there are other benefits to going out to the movies that weren't there for arcades.
If you guys have more specific questions fire-away and I'll try to answer them. Perhaps I'll go downstairs and take some photos to update the blog with later today 🙂
Take care,
Anand
