Who is completely satisfied with their home theater?

I've been pretty much satisfied. I believe that once you reach a certain level that you just settle in and use the SOB instead of looking for the next thing that may or may not end up as an upgrade.Honestly there aren't really many upgrade paths anyway.

I am looking at several significant changes but enjoying my room without much feeling of if I only had that going on.



Art

Well no doubt the 14' wide scope screen is a joy.


You have a PM

Art

I am completely satisfied, my biggest improvement was implimenting a dual screen setup with my DPI Titan ILS lens. While the Stewart Directors choice set-up would have been more ideal, the cost/benefit of that vs dual screens was a 5 to 1 factor.

DPI came through last year with a free in the field upgrade to triple flash 3D, I was also able to upgrade my Lumagen Radiance to 3D.

The final pieces to the puzzle came this year with Theta's upgrade to HDMI, and a fantastic audio calibration by Adam Pelz.

So I Have:

3D 12' 1.78 Screen
2D 12' 1.78 Screen
3D 14' 2.35 Screen
2D 14' 2.35 Screen

All set with seperate memories for 2D calibration vs 3D calibration vs 12' 1.78 vs 14' 2.35......


Come to think of it my only original pieces of equipment that have not been replaced or upgraded is my AMX Phast Landmark System that controls all the equipment. I would however like to get some 2 way feedback as the CB3HD has no On Screen Display

I'm completely satisfied with my system after a couple of martinis, but it's still a never-ending process.

Satisfied until we get 4K sources, LED or Laser projection and then the fun starts all over again

What about a D-Box Motion System?, lol

Geez, you must get motion sickness extremely easily as D-Box was designed to never induce such a feeling.

What clip did you watch during your demo?

Well, years ago they had the Odyssee (sic) system, and I think their current models are perhaps the best representation of the technology. I would suggest that you give the system another try.

There are some people who get motion sick easily. I have had 3 people get such reactions on my system but I have shown it to a tremendous number of people over the last 8 1/2 years. Of course, I also keep my system set at full intensity.

The system is capable of setting motion effects and vibration effects seperately if somebody gets motion sickness easily. It effectively turns down the intensity of effects below 5Hz which is more motion based and less vibration based.

Good Thread. I was more or less thinking the same thing the other day. While not in the same ballpark as some of the theaters in this part of the forum, I don't know that there is anything that I want to do to the theater right now. I just recalibrated the projector and ran ARC again on the Anthem pre-amp....and am finally to the point where I can turn the theater on, and enjoy a movie without checking to see if the latest/greatets upgrade is working correctly, or needs some sort of tweaking. Honestly, It is a nice place to be (literally)


The last major upgrade was going to an SMX AT screen with thier masking panels. Speakers are 5-6 year old Paradigm Studio's... Velodyne Sub, Anthem D2 pre, JVC RS-20 projector, SMX AT Screen, Oppo Blu-Ray, RTI remotes. I considered 3D, or upgrading my Anthem pre-amp...but the D2 handles Blu-Rays fine...can't see spending a few grand just to bistream. I looked at an automated masking system, but the SMX system works fine, and again can't see dropping a few grand on one at this point. I think that will have to wait until theater 2.0...and with 3 kids in Catholic school starting next year, theater 2.0 is looking like it is a long way off. Glad I can enjoy my current setup. Pehaps like Jeff, I'll pop for a new bulb

Anyone care to guess what the next "gotta have" is going to be??

I am satisfied for what my theater is, although there is always an itch to upgrade something. I finally got around to redoing the entry hall and have been totally satisfied there so I went and redid the equipment room to match. I still need to finish the bathroom so it matches with the changes elsewhere.

My only want right now is to upgrade my projector but I have been holding off as long as I can given how projectors keep getting better and/or cheaper so waiting is going to make sense financially.

I was totally satisfied for many years on the theater to the point that I skipped the DTS-MA upgrade on my pre-pro but I am guessing I need to update the electronics a little now as well.

You weren't the only one. I tried it last year at Cedia and still don't really care for it. I also tried it at Peter's place about two years ago. I guess if you like it then you love it.

I absolutely concur. I feel that it definitely adds something to my theatre and sets it apart from other home theatres I (or my guests) have experienced in the past.

Always a good topic.

Not that I swim with the Big Boys here but...I'm a long time audiophile and av geek so I certainly know "The Curse" whispered of in this thread.

I was so incredibly picky about pulling off what seemed like an impossible project in my HT room that I just about drove myself insane. I almost hated my room before it was finished, simply out of the sheer drudgery and aggravation it put into my life (anything that can go wrong did).

But now that I've been living with it for 1 1/2 years I'm beyond satisfied. Ecstatic. All that pickiness worked for me in the end as the room just feels "perfect" for me in every way.

Equipment-wise I've shed many excess speakers (I'm a speaker-whore) so now I'm down to my main Hales Transcendence line for HT duties, a pair of MBL 121 monitors for some fun 2 channel, and sometimes some Waveform (Canadian egg-shaped midrange, for any old schoolers here) monitors. Tube system drives the 2 channel stuff.

I've been enjoying playing my library in surround in the HT so much that my 2 channel stuff has been sitting a bit neglected recently.

I'm incredibly happy still with my JVC RS20 projector. It still puts out one of the best images I've seen and it's features are a perfect fit for my home theater, especially remote controlled Aperture and Lens zoom/shift/focus features, which work flawlessly for my Variable Image Size set up, using 4 way masking.

Like many, I agonized about screen choice and ended up with the Stewart ST-130...around 124" wide and 62" tall available screen space (rest is covered by side masking).

I found that realising the possible image performance of my projector/screen came somewhat gradually, as I added more room reflection killing treatments. I finally got around to killing back wall reflections last week, so the room is virtually a "bat cave" when watching movies. The image is jaw dropping (for me) and it finally feels like I can let go my "what ifs"...since I've done the last possible steps and found the rewards gratifying.

I'm not in a position to buy a new projector yet and not dying for 3D at the moment, so I feel fortunate to be so satisfied with the RS20 projector.

Like thebland, for me the big "keeper" in the entire system is my 4 way masking system. It has such a great effect on the image quality and over all presentation I couldn't live without it now.

BTW, I'd like to ask thebland: What advantages do you expect to get in switching from the RTI to the iPad iRule app?

I have the RTI system and it feels indispensable in terms of it's programming power and how it has been able to command my system (especially complicated screen size change macros). I also like having buttons on the T2C remote. So why are you switching? Seduced by that shiny new big iPad screen?

(I just picked up an iPad 2 recently. Lots of fun. I'm using it, and my iPhone, to control Apple TV, iTunes streaming to my home theater, etc).

My "theater" is an open family room with ambient light issues

The video set-up is a SIM2 C3X-E and a Dalite High Contrast Cinevision (gray screen that is not as effective as the Firehawk at ambient light rejection, but is better for off-angle viewing and might be a bit better at keeping colors true). I'd like to upgrade to 1080p, and if possible improve the 'lights up' look of the picture without compromising the 'lights down' quality. I'm using black out blinds where I can, but I don't think darkening the walls and ceiling is going to fly with the spouse. If anyone has a suggestion for a screen that might improve the ambient light performance without restricting the viewing area as severely as the Firehawk I'd love to hear about it.

I'm pretty happy with the audio set-up; it's a Meridian 568, Pass Labs X series amps, Von Schweikert speakers, and a Velodyn sub. If I could get 85%-90% of the way there with in-walls I would consider it. I don't know if that's possible yet, but I'd be interested in knowing if it is.

Jeff:

The XP-8 is -- I thought -- 2-way compliant...the issue is likely the version of the T-4 that you have in that the older RF version [which I have] is not 2-way capable but the newer Zigbee version is 2-way capable...

XP-8 is two way: you are correct the T4's that Jeff & I have are 433mhz one way. I have several K4 in wall touch panels that are 2 way and they work nicely

RTI has already released their virtual panel which is part of the work toward release of the the iPad app: they claim the app is complete waiting for Apple to approve it

still it seems like it is taking forever...

That's how I feel. The Lumis is great, can't complain about my audio.

Unless if I could get a 100 foot wide scope screen and high brightness Laser projector, no... no I won't be completely be satisfied.

I would imagine that's why a company like Phillips dropped the Pronto line.

I was reading just the other day that researchers at Harvard University and MIT developed a handheld scanner that can detect potential cancer cells and diagnose them with an iPhone app. Amazing!

Well to start, I think Jeff probably likes Itai. I do to. It is kind of neat to talk with the owner of a business that is very passionate about his product especially in the early stages. It is also nice to have quick access to the owner and developers to get questions answered promptly.

I had dinner with Itai, Steve Crabb (a Irule developer) and Mark Seaton (another person who is really passionate about his business) at Cedia. I asked what was different from Irule and Crestron. The answer was that Crestron is great, but do you really need that much horsepower. The Irule should be able to do everything you need at a fraction of the cost and complexity.

On the app approval time, my friend got his approved in less than a week. His app is a new game from someone with no track record with Apple and a new business. I am not an Apple fanboy by any stretch. It sounds like it is on the developers end.

No arguement from me as I have and use such functionality throughout the day and every day through my Crestron system which while a PITA to get "just right" is great once there...

Satisfied except for the light loss and color change of the projector bulb over time. LED can't come fast enough for me.

I satisfied with my theatre. I agree with mhafner bring on LED.