We all have our fancy 1080p projectors and we debate to death the subtle differences between them even as we call them "obvious".

We all have our over-the-top sound systems with subwoofers, that if found in Iraq, would have been considered Weapons of Mass Destruction.

We all have our luxurious reclining theater seating equipped with some form of over-over-the-top rumbling mechanism.

My question is: Where do we go from here?

As critical as I would like to be, I have to think that I have this whole thing as close to nailed as I am likely ever to get it. As I think about what component should be upgraded next, I find myself questioning whether I am at a point of truly diminishing returns.

What are people's thoughts on this? What component in your whole system is the weak link? What do you intend to do about it?

For me, it is the thing that I can do very little about: source material. How I hate cable TV! Even HD material is ruined through compression.

If you are using a regular old 16:9 screen, here's one answer for an upgrade to your viewing experience and height-of-your-powers effect - it gets a unanimous "wow" among those who have forked over the dough:

http://www.carada.com/Masquerade-Masking-System.aspx

I'd personally not be able to say that I can come close yet to having it nailed. I have 25 fL on a 14' wide screen 11,000 watts of Seaton power uber EQed with the Dolby Lake but I know there is better coming.

Diminishing return is really in the eye of the beholder ,most (not forum folks) would say we all reached that a long time ago but I've never had anyone who had been in my theater before and after an upgrade who had not felt that there had been a leap in performance.

I will say however that my theater is pretty close to where I want it right now,for now.;)

Art

. . . but I know there is better coming.


What?

Lawguy
Future directions
Torus or dome screens
Higher brightness
Most importantly, improved sources! I mean 8 bit color is not so fancy. I hope Deep color and an extended gamut will be used in the future.

A dedicated room with good ansi performance, proper accoustical treatment and hardware tweaked for proper performance (both audio & pj) will do most of the improvements. A good 1.3 gain screen such as Stewrat ST130 with masking adds to the PQ and wow factor. External vidoe processing such as lumagen with dedicated primery color & gamma tweak will certainly improves things out a bit.
Motorized anamorphic lens another one. But future pj's may come with a built in lens or wider panel.

"proper accoustical treatment "

That will be my next move :D

Making the room as non reflective as possible especially the immediate areas around the screen. As has been said here many times. Once you reach the level that most the participants in this forum are at, upgrading your room is probably the single most cost effective improvement we can make. For example a $2500 Panny in a optimal room will outperform a better more expensive PJ in a bad room.

What?

If the PD M80 lives up to specs it will hammer my HT 5000 just for starters. Mark Seaton is working on a device just for mid bass impact for another.

Art

Would you allow me to modify to original question slightly, to gain the wisdom of many of you here: suppose one has a 'pretty good' room, but not the perfect, black velvet-lined batcave; to be a bit specific: no external light, black cloth on ceiling and side walls out ~ 5-6 ft, medium dark oriental rug, dark drapes over white doors, etc. This is about as far as practical in my, and probably many persons situations.

FOCUSING ONLY ON THE PJ, what would be the most important element to improve over, say, the RS1. Would it the the higher o/f of the RS2, the higher ANSI CR of a top dlp (e.g., SIM2, Marantz), more sharpness of said dlp, etc. More lumens always seems desirable, but with a 126" diag HP, 700 lumens (fully calibrated) produces 40 or more ftL, which I think is enough even for me. Which of these better qualities would be most readily negated by the less than ideal bc?

I too find myself in too many pointless conversations. :(

When the forum started years ago we could bring newbies to much higher levels of performance with helpful advice on tricks we know or products that were above and beyond the rest. This is back when we made business projectors fit our needs with mods and tweeks.

Today anyone can go pick a $5k projector and HD player and it's pretty much as good as it gets. :cool:

Source material is the limiting factor

Scope set ups are the next big thing to bring ppl to a more cinema experience. A native 2:35.1 projector would be my choice/guess. Though I realize it's a stretch for a world moving towards a 1.85:1/16x9 image.


Slightly off topic.....

Again how do we capture the cinema experience? Big screen w/living room set up to big screen in a dedicated room to a projector in a dedicated room....then projector adding scope lens and screen. Those were the evolutionary leaps im my experience that have helped bring the commercial theater experience to the home.

I think from a "quality of theater experience" a dedicated room allows ppl to max. the space in both sound and video to gain the most out of the equipment and sources.

The "Next BIG Thing" for me was adding "Butt Kickers" (transducers) to my loungers. It takes watching movies to the next level.....way beyond anything a sub can do. Every shotgun blast, explosion, or anything that makes a "thud" sound gives you that jolt on your bottom. Every guest that has felt the Butt Kickers on my loungers swears it made their movie watching that much more real.

Simple things that made a big difference in the viewing experience (for me) each time:

1. Bass shakers. Adds a third dimension to the experience.

2. Scope screen (with anamorphic lens of course). Adds a more cinematic and immersiove experience.

3. Black velvet (or similar) on the walls and ceiling (previously was 18% grey). Takes the room out of the equation and not only improves the image (ANSI contrast) but by not seeing the room the movie has all your attention.

They were added in that order and now they are 'must haves' IMHO so will be fitted as a matter of course for my next dedicated room. Adding a D-Box system should further improve upon the tactile experience so that will be my next improvement.

Gary

Lawguy,

I would have to agree with rboster and say that the next big thing would be the 2.35 setup.

Even HD material is ruined through compression.

Thing is that you are never going to have uncompressed HD in your home. :D

I have a friend at a university overseas and their 1080/50p cameras take TWO HD-SDI paths in order to transfer all the bits. Storage is a royal pain as well. They are doing some serious stuff.

Does Blu-ray 1080p AVC/H.264 really look that bad?

I know that our ATSC HD standard sucks, and have been saying so for years.

Thing is that you are never going to have uncompressed HD in your home. :D


? I do with my $18 radio shack antennae. Or go buy your own camera.

Also, I need popcorn popped on a REAL kettle with coconut oil....not that microwave garbage.:D

Room treatment! Turning the room into a 100% bat cave visually enhances the HT experience, while treating the room for sound maximizes the audio experience.
What component in your whole system is the weak link? What do you intend to do about it?
The projector...I deal with it by upgrading at least once a year or less...:p

3d......

For me it is definitely the contrast ratio and black level.

I don’t want to see the screen at all in a black scene in a light controlled room. I suppose ANSI CR is ok with good DLPs, but on/off really needs to be improved way beyond anything that is available today. 1 million:1 might do it, though I’m not sure considering the eyes adaptability to darkness and our logarithmical sense of light.

hmmmm. aside from changing projectors -for me it was

1. added real screen instead of displaying on wall.
2. painted screen wall black and medium grey and black side/back walls

i guess those made the most difference. other little things also add to the experience.

I tried adding tactile transducers in the past, but I must not have them installed correctly or had faulty equipment because it just didnt do it for me..i sent them back. i just might try them again.. %#%*@%!(!_^ here i go again..i need to get off this damn forum..you people are gonna break me.

I don't think Digital projectors are there yet, each year there are huge improvements. This year one technology give great black level but not so great color, and another technology gives us great color, but not so great black level. Maybe next year we will have both.

I think the most difficult thig to do is get the room right for sound. If you have ever been in a dubbing stage you will know what I mean. It is very hard to have that kind of room treatment in a home. But we do have uncompressed 7.1 audio on HD media. That is something that I don't think movie theaters have.

Room treatment is hard to talk about because it's not a product you can buy. It's a major construction project that requires a talented studio designer.

Source material can look amazing! But it often doesn't. I think once Blu-ray becomes mainstream most titles will look great just as the early DVDs don't look very good compared to the latest ones.

~Jay

Affordable D-BOX Odyssee.

? I do with my $18 radio shack antennae. Or go buy your own camera.

Um, no. MPEG2 = compression, even if it's not cranked up as high as DTV, cable or other sources. I've seen local OTA broadcasts pixelate on sports plenty of times.

Back to the topic, for me, not being able to get to a 'scope setup at the moment, or bat-cave... the single biggest thing that improves my HT experience is having some good friends over to share it with. Or, on the other side, having the house to myself and being able to crank it up a little too loud. :D

Um, no. MPEG2 = compression, even if it's not cranked up as high as DTV, cable or other sources. I've seen local OTA broadcasts pixelate on sports plenty of times.

Back to the topic, for me, not being able to get to a 'scope setup at the moment, or bat-cave... the single biggest thing that improves my HT experience is having some good friends over to share it with. Or, on the other side, having the house to myself and being able to crank it up a little too loud. :D

You forgot beer and Grey Goose...

Butt kickers were nice upgrade
Kettle corn popper was nice too

I am looking for 3D now but before that I need 2.35 setup. I have to do some re-modeling to fit it so WAF is holding me back.

What about the motorized HT chairs that move to the action in the movie! I first tried them out at a high end AV store 3 or 4 years ago, and I have to say I was impressed. It was like being in a ride at Disneyland. We watched the Star Wars chapter where Luke was flying in to drop the bomb into the Death Star, and WOW, you really felt like you were flying in his rocket. Pretty cool, but probably not for everybody, as some might get "air sick" in their own HT room. (Popcorn barf is the worst! :D) Anyone remember what these are called, and the company that makes them? I think these were priced at around $10k a chair at that time.

The biggest thing for me is actually the opposite of what all of you are suggesting. The simple, but difficult task of letting go of obsessions of flat bass response, quality of the ADR, surround effects, LFE, grain, black level, upgraditis, and on and on, is my key to being transported to another time and place for 2 hours. I think back about my fondest movie memories and none of them involve A/V performance. As a kid, I played my VHS copies of Jaws, Aliens, and Top Gun a billion times. These days, a quiet night in with my sweety and good movie, is all it takes, even on a 32" tv and no sound system.

Ironically, when I pay no cares to technical details is when I enjoy movies the most. Examples include: going out to a theater cuz it's not my system so I don't care, and watching in my living room: a 50" 4:3 tv with no external sound system.

In my dedicated HT, the AV geek in me comes out. I can't help it.

Ironically, when I pay no cares to technical details is when I enjoy movies the most. Examples include: going out to a theater cuz it's not my system so I don't care, and watching in my living room: a 50" 4:3 tv with no external sound system.

In my dedicated HT, the AV geek in me comes out. I can't help it.

I second that! I tend to watch the picture, not the movie in my own setup. Just wonder whether I can relax if I get a really good projector? Right now though, the poor black level performance bugs the heck out of me in every single dark scene. I'm watching greys, not movies...

Single Biggest Thing to Improve HT Experience?
We all have our fancy 1080p projectors and we debate to death the subtle differences between them even as we call them "obvious".

We all have our over-the-top sound systems with subwoofers, that if found in Iraq, would have been considered Weapons of Mass Destruction.

We all have our luxurious reclining theater seating equipped with some form of over-over-the-top rumbling mechanism.

My question is: Where do we go from here?
Now that we have these things I would say that ease of use will be the next big thing (some people might have this already).

I can imagine a situation when I would walk the stairs up to my HT and while walking up everything in the theater started up. When I got to my seat there would be a projected picture in my screen and a voice asking me for a choice on what movie to play. Ht would of course shut down automatically when I left.

I think upgraded power cords are highly underrated. I am pretty happy where I am at now (after adding the Denon 3800 BDCI and DirecTV PRO this week)... I am content enough these days with pic Q that for the first time I am going without a VP... Seriously, it is getting much harder to justify them. I will try the new gefen PRO with the Realta chip coming but that would only be for my DirecTV and DTHEATER sources... Other than that after adding the Carada Masquerade a couple months ago with the VW200 I do not know where to go from there... A hiatus seems nice... :)

I second that! I tend to watch the picture, not the movie in my own setup. Just wonder whether I can relax if I get a really good projector? Right now though, the poor black level performance bugs the heck out of me in every single dark scene. I'm watching greys, not movies...

I third that! I am a firm believer in "set it and forget it", but sometimes it's hard to do. There is hope, as I am actually very pleased with my audio setup, and though I am still tempted at times by better equipment, I (for the moment) don't want to mess with it. Drexler, I too am looking for better blacks, and have a Sony VW40 arriving shortly, let's hope it does the trick on the video side for me.

We all enjoy different aspects of our HT hobby, but I think many of us would be better off by relaxing on the equipment and remembering, it's all about enjoying the movies with friends and family! The best thing I did in my HT room in 2007 was buying a reclining loveseat so my wife and I can snuggle (when appropriate ;) ) while watching movies. In 2008 I am resolving to put more effort into researching, finding and watching REALLY good movies, and less on the equipment.

I third that! I am a firm believer in "set it and forget it", but sometimes it's hard to do. There is hope, as I am actually very pleased with my audio setup, and though I am still tempted at times by better equipment, I (for the moment) don't want to mess with it. Drexler, I too am looking for better blacks, and have a Sony VW40 arriving shortly, let's hope it does the trick on the video side for me.

We all enjoy different aspects of our HT hobby, but I think many of us would be better off by relaxing on the equipment and remembering, it's all about enjoying the movies with friends and family! The best thing I did in my HT room in 2007 was buying a reclining loveseat so my wife and I can snuggle (when appropriate ;) ) while watching movies. In 2008 I am resolving to put more effort into researching, finding and watching REALLY good movies, and less on the equipment.

I'm quite content with my audio setup as well. It sounds good and I can't play that loud anyway since I'm living in a flat and don't want the neighbours coming knocking on my door.

I hope the VW40 will do it for you. What are you upgrading from?

I have myself a BenQ W9000 and have only owned it for four months, or about 150 h on the lamp. However, I am already seriously considering an upgrade due to the poor black level performance. ANSI CR is good in bright scenes, but dark ones look like crap. TV series generally looks marvellous, but most movies have a lot of dark scenes which degrades the viewing experience.

I have to wait until I have the money though and I can't really justify spending more than 3, maximum 4 K euros, which might be enough for the VW60 or HD1 (=RS1) in a couple of months. However, I'm not sure I will be happy with those either and the RS2 which looked better, is far to expensive... I have to wait and see whats comes on the horizon... :(

By the way, reading these forums doesn't help against the upgrade devil. You might want to log of after your purchase if you really want to enjoy the movies ;)

I second that! I tend to watch the picture, not the movie in my own setup. Just wonder whether I can relax if I get a really good projector? Right now though, the poor black level performance bugs the heck out of me in every single dark scene. I'm watching greys, not movies...

I don't know the black levels of your PJ but it may well be better than the average commercial movie theater.

Yet you've probably been watching "greys not movies" in movie theaters for years, and I bet like most of us it hasn't been detracting from the movie.

It's only when you get into all this high-performance home theater stuff that
the black level obsession kicks in - whereas movie-house "black levels" have
for most of our lives been perfectly fine and a non-distraction.

The whole black level thing really points out a general problem with front projection, and especially once you throw ANSI contrast performance into the
mix. It's just bloody difficult in the real world, in the average home, to realise the performance capable by the new projectors, because any ambient light or reflective surfaces compromise the performance.

Whereas with a flat panel with good black level performance, like the new Pioneer plasmas, it's far easier to realise the full potential of the screen.
It's insane how much work I'm having to do to ready my room to get some of the performance out of my new projector, vs how easy it was with my plasma. But once you're bitten by the Big Screen experience it's hard to go back.

As it happens I found my plasma was bringing out the video-geek in me when watching it. I had a hard time thinking about the movie rather than the picture. Projected images seem to draw me into the movie experience more.

But it seems the projector guys here are at least as anal or more than over in the flat panel forum. It remains to be seen if, once I actually have my projection set-up, I'll escape such a fate. :)

Bulbs that don't dim or wear out for the life of the projector and panels that do not degrade.

Single biggest improvement, would be to forget that you've ever seen or heard of these forums. Frequent use and/or abuse could lead to acute AVS, i.e. ANXIETY VIDEO SYNDROME.

We all have our fancy 1080p ..................

My question is: Where do we go from here?

As critical as I would like to be, I have to think that I have this whole thing as close to nailed as I am likely ever to get it. As I think about what component should be upgraded next, I find myself questioning whether I am at a point of truly diminishing returns.



When you're at that point, the single most cost effective tweak is a $25 dollar bottle of wine.

There is consensus on this from my high end 2-channel friends, and I belive it applies to HT as well.

Finding a single magic bullet in the home theater arena is impossible. These things are custom systems and everyone's situation is different. The following are items I would focus on.

1. Bright enough images
2. Proper screen size
3. Accurate sound at as many seating locations as possible
4. Accurate colors
5. Few image artifacts
6. No buzzes or rattles on loud sounds
7. Comfortable viewing environment
8. No light intrusion
9. Great black levels
10. Excellent resolution
11. Reference sound level reproduction capability
12. Great source quality
13. Great acoustic environment (quite, good RT60...)
14. Minimum light reflections
15. Ease of use

My big thing is being able to take advantage simply of all the equipment I have in my rack on the rest of my TV's. I have about about eight sources and 4 TV's each with different setups. Would love a push button component that would allow me to customize each tv for each source component.So the next time I wanted to watch that source on that TV, it was optimally set. I know they make matrix switches but because each setup in my house is different it is never push button.

I don't know the black levels of your PJ but it may well be better than the average commercial movie theater.

Yet you've probably been watching "greys not movies" in movie theaters for years, and I bet like most of us it hasn't been detracting from the movie.

It's only when you get into all this high-performance home theater stuff that
the black level obsession kicks in - whereas movie-house "black levels" have
for most of our lives been perfectly fine and a non-distraction.

The whole black level thing really points out a general problem with front projection, and especially once you throw ANSI contrast performance into the
mix. It's just bloody difficult in the real world, in the average home, to realise the performance capable by the new projectors, because any ambient light or reflective surfaces compromise the performance.

Whereas with a flat panel with good black level performance, like the new Pioneer plasmas, it's far easier to realise the full potential of the screen.
It's insane how much work I'm having to do to ready my room to get some of the performance out of my new projector, vs how easy it was with my plasma. But once you're bitten by the Big Screen experience it's hard to go back.

As it happens I found my plasma was bringing out the video-geek in me when watching it. I had a hard time thinking about the movie rather than the picture. Projected images seem to draw me into the movie experience more.

But it seems the projector guys here are at least as anal or more than over in the flat panel forum. It remains to be seen if, once I actually have my projection set-up, I'll escape such a fate. :)

I haven't actually been to the cinema for some time and never since I bought my PJ. Why would I spend all this money on my HT and then go and watch the best movies at the cinema? :p It would be interesting to go just to compare the PQ though, now when I know the capabilities and limitations of HT-PJ.

I actually believe commercial PJ have better blacks than mine, but perhaps the better HT-PJ like RS2 could rival them? Though, I have to say that my DLP seem to have more “POP” in brighter scenes.

I also have to admit that even in scenes where the PQ is excellent I sometimes still tend to look at the picture more than the movie, just because it looks so good :o

Nevertheless, I don’t get why it should be so difficult to get high contrast? Take a normal PJ and put an additional LCD panel in the ligh path after the RGB colors has been combined. Lets say you have 3 000 :1 native CR out of the PJ and you put an extra panel with an additional 3 000 :1 CR, then you have 9 million :1 in native contrast!!! :eek: Even though the light output will be diminished by perhaps 50% there should still be a lot of PJ out there that are more than bright enough to cope with it.

Single Biggest Thing to Improve HT Experience?

Finding a girlfriend now wife that enjoys my home theater as much as I do..;)

I'm quite content with my audio setup as well. It sounds good and I can't play that loud anyway since I'm living in a flat and don't want the neighbours coming knocking on my door.

I hope the VW40 will do it for you. What are you upgrading from?

I have myself a BenQ W9000 and have only owned it for four months, or about 150 h on the lamp. However, I am already seriously considering an upgrade due to the poor black level performance. ANSI CR is good in bright scenes, but dark ones look like crap. TV series generally looks marvellous, but most movies have a lot of dark scenes which degrades the viewing experience.

I have to wait until I have the money though and I can't really justify spending more than 3, maximum 4 K euros, which might be enough for the VW60 or HD1 (=RS1) in a couple of months. However, I'm not sure I will be happy with those either and the RS2 which looked better, is far to expensive... I have to wait and see whats comes on the horizon... :(

By the way, reading these forums doesn't help against the upgrade devil. You might want to log of after your purchase if you really want to enjoy the movies ;)

Drexler, I am upgrading from a Panasonic 900, so I hope to see a significant difference in not just black levels, but resolution and sharpness as well. You might research the differences between the VW40 and the VW60, as the VW40 is $1,000 less, and some calibrators and installers I respect say the difference between them is minimal.

Single Biggest Thing to Improve HT Experience?


Great movies.

I would echo what R Harkness said in post #2- a good masking system.

I found that a good 8" wide or greater black velvet mask separates the screen image from the room and heightens the illusion of looking "through" the screen instead of looking at an image "on" the screen. That made a big difference in my theater.

jtv

I am content enough these days with pic Q that for the first time I am going without a VP...
:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek: !!!!!!

This surprised me greatly... though in a roundabout way also encourages me. I've been wondering since the 200 does the stretch for CIH whether there'd be an ongoing justification for the scaler in the system. I suspect it might come down to whether or not calibration by input is desired.

The single biggest thing I want to improve my own setup...TIME!!!! I have no spare time so I can't even use it! :)

Sure there are some good valid points to keep a VP but at what cost? If the new gefen PRO with realta can get the job done for DirecTV and DTHEATER then I see no reason to spend 2 to 3 grand on a VP. HD DVD with a HD805 or A35 and Blu ray with a Denon 3800 which has the realta chip for superior SD dvd playback should ultimately pass through a VP anyway at 1080p/24. That is why for me it is getting harder and harder to justify one... Now with the new gefen Pro with a msrp of 699 that is a different story.... :)

I haven't actually been to the cinema for some time and never since I bought my PJ. Why would I spend all this money on my HT and then go and watch the best movies at the cinema? :p It would be interesting to go just to compare the PQ though, now when I know the capabilities and limitations of HT-PJ.

I actually believe commercial PJ have better blacks than mine, but perhaps the better HT-PJ like RS2 could rival them? Though, I have to say that my DLP seem to have more “POP” in brighter scenes.

I also have to admit that even in scenes where the PQ is excellent I sometimes still tend to look at the picture more than the movie, just because it looks so good :o

Nevertheless, I don’t get why it should be so difficult to get high contrast? Take a normal PJ and put an additional LCD panel in the ligh path after the RGB colors has been combined. Lets say you have 3 000 :1 native CR out of the PJ and you put an extra panel with an additional 3 000 :1 CR, then you have 9 million :1 in native contrast!!! :eek: Even though the light output will be diminished by perhaps 50% there should still be a lot of PJ out there that are more than bright enough to cope with it.


The last movie I went to see in a theater was The Departed. Three things that I noticed right off the bat were:

1. Screen was HUGE
2. Picture was nowhere near the quality of my home theater.
3. My home theater couldn't compete with the sound of the real one.


With those said, I was quite pleased with my home theater given the limitations of such.


My next thing will be either 2.35 or a Carada masking system.

A while back my wife (an abid movie buff) told me she no longer liked to watch movies with me in our new dedicated theater because I am always messing with the sound or picture.

I disagreed and told her to point out when I am doing it as to make it easier for me to stop. Well, in the week following she pointed out no less than about 30 times when she was bothered by my tinkering. I conceeded the point.

Before this, I would not let anybody into the theater until I had screened some of the flick and got everything working at what I considered peek performance for my system.

So after I conceeded her point, I just started fire'n up the projector and running the movie without eve checking anything. Well I will be darned if this didn't also greatly enhance my own enjoyment as well.

Ok, so there has to be a balance. A friend came over and nailed me. I was zoomed when I should not have been, he picked right up on it and I did not even notice. I was so embarrassed as for a minute or two I argues otherwise. So you can also go to much the other way I suppose.


For the most part, I have stopped tweeking and even more often than not, let the default audio track play on any given title and I must say I seem happier with my theater experience overall these days.

Thanks for reading. :)

A while back my wife (an abid movie buff) told me she no longer liked to watch movies with me in our new dedicated theater because I am always messing with the sound or picture.

I disagreed and told her to point out when I am doing it as to make it easier for me to stop. Well, in the week following she pointed out no less than about 30 times when she was bothered by my tinkering. I conceeded the point.

Before this, I would not let anybody into the theater until I had screened some of the flick and got everything working at what I considered peek performance for my system.

So after I conceeded her point, I just started fire'n up the projector and running the movie without eve checking anything. Well I will be darned if this didn't also greatly enhance my own enjoyment as well.

Ok, so there has to be a balance. A friend came over and nailed me. I was zoomed when I should not have been, he picked right up on it and I did not even notice. I was so embarrassed as for a minute or two I argues otherwise. So you can also go to much the other way I suppose.


For the most part, I have stopped tweeking and even more often than not, let the default audio track play on any given title and I must say I seem happier with my theater experience overall these days.

Thanks for reading. :)

I'm learning from you and other posts, good reading and sharing, to summarize.

Be obsessive during the build/set-up phase of your HT.
Totally geek out, do your homework, do your DIY stuff, have experts do it, re-do it 2/3/4+ times. Calibrate, check, re-calibrate, etc.

Then, once built and "launched", accept it's limitations and just enjoy it for what it is. At least try to.:rolleyes:

I'm learning from you and other posts, good reading and sharing, to summarize.

Be obsessive during the build/set-up phase of your HT.
Totally geek out, do your homework, do your DIY stuff, have experts do it, re-do it 2/3/4+ times. Calibrate, check, re-calibrate, etc.

Then, once built and "launched", accept it's limitations and just enjoy it for what it is. At least try to.:rolleyes:

well, i only except the limitations when the wife is around. so, i have been up very late the last two weeks ;).

later.

Sure, we should definitely enjoy the movies we watch. But when not watching a movie, tinkering with our toys is also part of the fun, no? :p We spend hours on end reading and writing in forums, reading reviews on upcoming PJ, dreaming of updates and tweaking our gadgets. Why? Because we enjoy it! I believe at least many of those falling into the “tech geek” category do, and I think being a member of this forum would be enough to qualify according to most people. ;)

To just have someone design the HT-room, choose the best PJ in the budget, set it up, calibrate it and that’s that, would take a way a lot of the fun.

I think HT-tinkering is comparable to someone loving carpentry and fixing the house/cabin/garage or the guy loving to do mechanic work on the motorcycle. For instance, I know a guy who is constantly looking for something to fix in his house. Why? Because he enjoys the work and watching the progress! Me? I don’t fix things in the house that ain’t broken, but then again I don’t read home improvement forums either… :D Well, I do fix the HT-room, but I think that falls into a different category.

But for the sake of domestic peace, don't let the tinker-man out when watching with the missis ;)