CONTEST: Tell us your Greatest Home Theater Moment Ever - Page 4

Recently I upgraded to a smart, energy efficient, Panasonic Viera 42" ... with 3D!

And said, "What the heck, I've always wanted to try 3D photography." So I also bought a Panasonic 3D1 a point & shoot sized camera with two lenses that takes both 3D stills and high definition 3D video. Anxious to try it out (before reading instructions) I set it up on a tripod near my hummingbird feeder. It's dusk when birds mob in for a nightcap before retiring to their roosts. To supplement the dull overhead skylight I used two battery powered 126 LED lights. One I clamped a couple feet to the side and the other was placed near the camera about three feet away. Did a couple short video "takes" to test exposure then pressed the button and backed away. Soon the tiny colorful birds were back sucking up sugar syrup and fighting for a spot at one of the "flower" spigots.

The SD card from the camera went right in a slot on the TV and with the polarizer glasses on I sat down to watch my first 3D footage. The RED indicator I'd seen on the camera's LCD as it recorded was a warning I learned later in the manual. It was there to caution about shooting situations that could produce unusual effects. I learned that it thought I was shooting too close. So instead of having realistic 3D appear on my set what I had was extreme "pop-out." My chair is about seven feet from the TV. The feeder now appeared halfway between ... and the birds were buzzing around in my living room! So realistic was the effect I hesitated when reaching for the remote because I was afraid I'd scare them. AMAZING!

I haven't yet learned how to share 3D on the net, but here's a setup from one of my sessions and a couple snapshots of my TV screen to give a vague idea of results.







Action 3D in the middle of my room. YOU HAVE TO SEE IT TO BELIEVE!

Mark

Took my rig on the road and set it up for a viewing room at a convention I help out with. When everything was set up, I queued up some demo videos and let 'em play. People walking by in the hallway outside literally stopped in their tracks and wandered in, and looking out into the hallway was like watching a groundhog community with other people popping heads out of other rooms in curiosity. Exactly the effect I wanted... My Hsu Research VTF-3 MK4 rumbled a lighting fixture loose during that same demo run, that kept rattling along the entire weekend and showed up in the list of repairs from the convention center's final bill.

Funniest moment was probably showing a roommate Band of Brothers for the first time. He fell out his his chair at the start of the first major fire fight, cursing and pointing at my surround system, saying "I wasn't expecting that from this setup. It's like I'm under fire here."

Convincing my dad to switch out the old tube for a new Sony lcd, spending weeks researching with him and planning the layout, then watching him smile with satisfaction after it was all said and done.

After tweaking my 5.1 Dolby Sourround system I decided to watch X-Men United on DVD.

In one scene, while in the X-Men jet, Storm created multiple tornados in an
effort to escape the Air Force who were threatening to shoot them down.
When one of the AF jets spun wildly out of control and started hurling toward
the screen, I had this weird feeling like something entered my body, and it pushed
me back in my chair.

I said, "whoa, what the hell was that?!" Apparently the sound waves from the speakers
actually pushed me back against my chair. It was both a frightening and exciting
experience at the same time. It reminded me of that classic Maxell cassette ad.


http://youtu.be/-DP89iMe0BY
Edited by MazNJ - 8/24/12 at 3:02pm

The look on my boys faces the moment they walked into the newly built home theater for the first time and realized, dad built us a home theater and not a doll room like he had been saying he was for several months.

Most economical moment:

Getting a working Lexicon MC-1 for $150

Most self reliant moment:

Not letting my Velodyne ULD-12 die so easily because of a commonly failing accelerometer, but rather using a Sony N110 Sub Amp to power it. I had to keep the Velodyne built-in amp attached to maintain an air seal but had no means to run in the lead wire from the new amp. The solution was to detach the AC line cord from the Velodyne amp and attach it to the speaker terminals. I then cut the AC outlet plug off and ran that to the Sony amp. Connected and sealed...

Most embarrassing moment:

Being too young to realize that 0dB didn't mean zero volume but actually meant FULL OUTPUT POWER to the speakers in the local stereo store! I woke everyone up that night! LOL

Most fulfilling moment:

When I finally buy my own house, set up my complete surround sound home theater, and blast that thing as loud as I want, and as late as I want! Until then it's like owning a Ferrari and only driving the speed limit!

When I finally got the last piece of hardware i was waiting for which was the oppo 93, plugged it in and started watching blurays with the family and everyone said wow!!!

I've been a home theater fan since I heard and saw a big screen demo at a Toys For Adults show in my home state of Ohio back in the late 80s. It was running off of a VHS machine hooked up to a projector running Dolby Surround at the time.

Since then I've saved, begged and borrowed over time to eventually get the home theater setup that made me proud.

The story begins with AVS Forum of course, I was in the front projector threads perusing through the latest and greatest to see what was hot and which PJs everyone was talking about. I had about $1500 saved for a projector then so i was antsy to get one, get it setup and get the ball rolling. The PJ was the last piece in my personal puzzle that I wanted for the complete HT experience. My other equipment consisted of a Polk Audio LSi setup (7.1 channels), Onkyo receiver, SVS cylinder sub and a set of red velour reclining theater chairs.

The Optoma HD70 was being talked about as one of the newest $1,000 720p DLP PJs and the buzz was hot, I just happened to see a thread that Best Buy was closing the models out to make way for the next gen Optomas. i was estactic, Pricing was @ $599 which was almost half off! I checked Best Buy online and found they had one (1) in stock at a Best Buy that was about 25 miles away. Keep in mind I live in LA and I was leaving close to rush hour and I had another part time job I had to get to within two hours. I rush out, fight traffic get to the Best Buy just to be told they didn't have it! So disappointed, I had the clerk looking for close to 45 minutes for it because they're PJs were in such disarray. I was then told another Best Buy had it that was another 20 miles from where I was at, called that store, asked if they had it 'in-stock' and was told yes. Rushed out, into rush hour traffic again in LA no doubt, only to be let down again. Now it's close to 6pm PST and I already called my 2nd job to tell them I would be late.

So I had the last Best Buy check again to see if any stores had that model in stock, one additional store did, another 25 miles from where I was at. Get to the store, get greeted and treated great and lo an behold they had the PJ in stock!! Woo hoo!

I take off work the next day and head down about 50 miles south to Elite Screens HQ to purchase a great 100" 1.0 gain fixed frame PJ screen. I get all the parts together, spend the day Saturday installing the PJ, the screen and getting everything setup and calibrated properly.

I had company over on Sat night and we all sat down at watched War of the Worlds on Blu-Ray. The energy, the excitement and the compliments I got after the movie was over was well worth all my troubles the two days prior and I knew I had struck HT gold!

I've upgraded PJs and other components since then and people are still awed by my theater setup, especially given that it's in a one bedroom apt!!!

My moment to shine, still living it to this day!

Thanks AVS! :-D

Buying and installing my first HDTV - the mighty Sony XBR-960. After it was completely hooked up, I turned it on and tuned the cable box to a random HD premium movie channel. They were broadcasting some chick flick, "Little Black Book". Not my usual viewing material, but the image was so crisp and the colors so vibrant with the picture popping off the screen, I sat there mesmerized for the duration with my wife before getting down to business with the calibration disc.

Many years (and a few newer TV's) later, watching HD +/- 3D is so commonplace that I hardly ever give it a second thought.

The XBR-960 soldiers on, by the way. It still sits proudly on its stand, with a wall-mounted Panasonic 3D plasma wall mounted just above it. The cognoscenti still smile when they see it.

When The MotherShip Connection was released on DVD

Honestly, i never spent a lot of money and always got what i could afford and what i couldn't, mostly lowend gear, but that never was a concern, i've a had a slow progression but very great moments in home theater history. First was when i got my first dvd player and hook it up to a old magnavox crt (wooden cabinet), then next slow built up a 5.1 audio setup, while never having much money every small purchase of a lowend component was heaven, added a simple 5.1 receiver added small MISMATCHED speakers, and small sub, always thinking how much better it could be, but that always went away when i turned on my favorite scifi and action films and blasted and turned up the sub and just enjoyed great films closer to how they were supposed to be enjoyed, but always with my dad cause he always bought the gear and worked very hard to get what little we had.

Having lost my dad recently i still crave those moments when i can just put on a great film and enjoy it with great company. Those are my greatest moments.

I still yet to upgrade to projector setup, i would still consider a 720p just cause its good on the price for what ya get.

My greatest Home Theater moment ever was after I moved to a new state and bought my new house I had my basement remodel started to build in my new theater (my old one was in my living room in my previous house) with one goal in mind... To have it completed before my horde of friends were coming to Colorado to visit. The day the first person arrived the rest of the basement was finished but the theater was still short by quite a bit. All day the contractor worked on the room bringing in my new custom sound panels, framing them (it's scifi themed so it looks like they are windows aboard a star destroyer which my contractor was up all night completing the frames), mounting the projector, programming my Control 4 system and lighting, etc. Short story they finished half an hour before everyone arrived (there were a few tweaks that needed to be made the next week but overall it was awesome). Of course we christened it by watching Star Wars (theatrical DVD of course no special edition ;-)

best experience was when i bought my first surround system at bestbuy,,,had a hell of a hard time driving screws in the walls before my wife got home,,i couldnt put one of the speakers up so i left it on my wifes wall unit,,,and when i fired up transformers for the first time on surround i left it bass to high and the room was shaking,,,had my father come upstairs first time to complain W.O.W....Bought a Denon receiver Boston accoustics speakers and sub very g happy hooked up my 55 inch Samsung UN55EH6000FXZA.....nice...

In 3000 words...

It is often said that "the journey" to a goal or destination can be more satisfying than the end result,
and while in the world of home theater that is likely arguable -- I definitely believe the "journey" greatly enhances the "end" enjoyment.

Short prologue: growing up, I had exactly four things I "really, really" wanted later in life,
And right after the "home" itself, has always been a "quality" home theater system.

Back in 1998, a new neighbor had a pair of bipolar Energy (Audissey) speakers; it was the first time I had heard anything beyond "entry" level speakers in a home,
and it was also the first time I had ever heard of the Energy brand (then still Canada-based).
My mind was blown at the possibilities of what could be "had in the home".

Fast forward 13 years.
Many speakers came and went, and I'm on my second projector; the screen has stayed consistent since 2000, and my original 1994 speakers kept me in check until 2008, when I gifted them to a friend who had just moved into a home of his own.
But I still "really, really" wanted those original Audissey speakers that got me on "the path".
Not ironically, I also wanted their flagship model, which had powered subs -- and of course had been out of production for over a decade, and are hardly ever seen on the used market.
(note: they're quite similar to modern-day Definitive Tech "Super Towers", actually)

At one point two years earlier I had finally tracked down a pair on craigslist; I excitedly drove a few hours to audition a pair in San Diego (from LA), finally thinking my search was over --
only to find that one of the powered subs didn't work.
I continued to wait.

Then, in the winter of 2011, I find a listing for a pair of the same Energy Audissey APS 5+2's up in San Francisco -- mind you, a long way from (now) Orange County.
But, OCD gets its way -- and during my winter break from teaching...the road-trip began.

Three days of stops, visits, and miles later...I was up in SF to audition that pair of speakers.
Excitedly, I listened, and then checked the drivers.
A tweeter was crushed...
...and so was I!!!
But this time around, I had a "semi" contingency plan coming in: a pair of lower-end Energy speakers from the same time period, that used the same tweeter, at home that I could swap one out from -- if needed.
I was able to adjust the price with the seller, BARELY fit the speakers into my car (that would have been an awful setback!)...
...and drove back down to Southern California -- straight shot, too excited to stop, aside for gas to keep the car moving.

I can't say my home theater is the greatest on earth. In fact, it's not even close to what some of you out there have.
But, 9 sets of speakers later, 2 projectors, 4 receivers, and many years [and miles!] later...
...I fired up the projector, turned on the receiver, dimmed the lights...and pressed play on the first blu-ray with what, for me, had been an 18-year journey since my first "vhs + TV + speaker" movie experience.
I remain content.

My greatest home theater moment was undoubtedly very recently when I built my very first home theater. One moment in particular sticks out in my mind........

Some background:

In January of this year, my wife (of 3 years) and I purchased our first home together. I was ECSTATIC that I was able to find one with a fully finished basement in our price range. LOTS of things needed to be fixed, replaced, and worked on but after 6 months of blood, sweat, and tears I have finally started to get things in order. Ofcourse the theater was put on the backburner but its finally nearing its completion.

The story goes:

I made a rough sketch and layout of the way I wanted the theater to look. I measured, planned, drew, and then prepared myself with materials, tools, etc. Having never done anything of the sort myself (framing, hanging doors, dry-walling etc) I consulted a local "handyman" that I THOUGHT I could trust in efforts to conserve costs. After spending about an hour looking at, planning, and discussing the job with him on premises he was ready to do the job. It was at that point in time that I had my 'AHA' moment. I said to my self, "Nate, you can do this yourself." I politely excused the gentleman from his responsibilities and although it did take me alot longer to do, I did the work 100% myself. For me, the feeling I get when I sit down and enjoy my theater and know that my own hands built every last bit of it, is worth its weight in gold. It gives me a felling of satisfaction unlike anything I have ever been able to accomplish in my life. Its by far not the greatest theater in the world. Its not perfect and it definitely has its small issues but it gives me the greatest feeling knowing that I CAN accomplish what I set my mind to.

Hope you enjoy the pics... sorry for the horrible PQ.













Full picture link -
http://s694.photobucket.com/albums/vv306/itsneight/Home%20Theater/
Edited by ten8yp - 8/25/12 at 2:07am

The frist time I saw the Movie "The Rock" in 1080 high def. on my 42" Sharp LCD through my entry level Onkyo DTS/Dolby True.....was my frist and best treat of the hi-def/Lossless audio. I will also be Crossing my fingers for the projector too

Giving up my Hockey Season tix and buying my first Sharp 42" LCD...it was well worth it to see sports in HD

Small backstory.......when my wife and I moved from Florida to Ma, 6 yrs ago my wife asked what I wanted in a house.....

" A finished basement I can call mine". Wish granted!! At that point in time I bought a Sony 50" RPG with a Yamaha HTIAB.

This year during a dinner my wife said "it's time to upgrade the theater"; let's budget $3K, do your research (which I always do) and make it happen"

One of the many reasons I love my wife.

So after 2 months of research, 1000's of product feeds/reviews/comments I went with

Epson 8350
Carada 96"
Onkyo 609
Polk 60's front, Polk CS2 center
Recycled 4 of my Yamaha satellite speakers
Sony & Yamaha subs

After everything was placed, connected etc, I fired up Transformers,a 7.1 movie. This was heaven.......My wife and kids ran down after hearing the subs fire......I could not hear him but was able to mouth read my 5 yr old son saying "AWESOME"......this was my defining moment for me. For my wife it was Hugo.

2 months later I continue to still get a rise when friends come over completely mesmorized or when my daughter has sleepovers and the next morning when these kids are picked up only tell their parents "Dakota has a movie theater in their house". Some reply with "oh they have a big tv",or "what size do you have".....I generally reply with follow me and the rest speaks for itself....

Built my 1st projector (720P) from some plans I got from the internet (lumen labs) years ago, I had a friend over to show it off. We watched the first Transformer when it came out, when the movie was over I ask him what he thought and he said "NOT THIS!" lol, and we both started to laugh.

It's is funny when you tell people that you built a HD 720p projecter and that you have a 120 inch diagnal screen that you made out of countertop material that looks amazing. They give you the look and say reeeaaalllyyy, and then you have them over and they are just wow'ed by the picture .

Mysticmann

Well the greatest thing i remember is when i first got a 5.1 system. It was a Sony HTIB $600 at the time hooked it up to my dvd player pioneer at the time it did dts and we watched Dinosaur in dts and were blown away.

After downsizing, (Moving and age ) building the complete Theater on my own (except for the electrician to move wires) The theater is 12 by 30 ft with a 110 inch Vue tech accoustic screen, and with 7 speakers in front and three surround speakers.

Having built the riser for six chairs , and completed the painting to have the neighbors come over and be amazed with both the picture and sound. They got together and requested to see the new Starwars bluray, each saturday and after that it has been a bond with the neighborhood, and turning a modern neighborhood into the old fashion , every one talks to each other and helps each other, My moment turned into a great gift...

just a 26 inch sharp lcd. Was very exciting as I just got a ps3 for my birthday. And got to experience hd, anything. For the first time. After 'x' amount of chores done.

Hooking up my first samsung hdtv lcd to my htpc via windows home server and streaming my library of movie's from my couch with a wireless keybaord trackball (IO Gear) combo. Ahh. the beauty!

When I had my Sony VW95 professionally calibrated and then I noticed the Full capabilities of the 95!! That was the AH Hah moment!!

When hooking up my Samsung 46d7000 to my denon 3808 with Paradigm monitor 11 speakers and watching the dark night, seeing every detail of gotham city and hearing the batmobile it literally blown me off the bench.

My greatest home theater moment was 4 years ago when I had friends and family over to grill and play games. After it got dark, we set up the large screen, DVD player and surround sound outside and watched Transformers on the large screen.

Greatest moment in my Home Theater history has to be my getting rid of cable and learning how to stream everything in HD. It took a few months of tinkering, but I've finally mastered it.

Well...., as the saying goes, "What you're deprived of as a child, you can't get enough of as an adult", or something along those lines. As for me, I was reaised in a home without a television set, until I was nearly 10 years old!! That's right, you heard correctly! I can remember when my father finally bought a small 13-inch color t.v., and a vcr, at a local appliance store, that's no longer in business. It was in June of '87. Obviously, I was excited. This created a love of movies within me, at a very early age. So, this leads me to my greatest home theater moment ever, in November of '02.

I finally had the financial means to purchase a big screen t.v., and I finally purchased one in September of '02. After the purchase, it actually stayed in a friend's garage for about 3 weeks, because I didn't have the room for it initially, and then by the time I got it into my house, I couldn't put it in the room I wanted it to be in. Finally, a few weeks later, I was able to put it into the room that I wanted to set it up in. On a Sunday afternoon in November, my best friend came over to help me move it from the living room downstairs, to the upstairs. However, it couldn't go up the steps inside the house, so we had to take the t.v. apart, and this was way before flat panel t.v.'s came along, so you know that this Mitsubishi 65'' inch CRT televsion was BIG! This meant taking it outside the house, up a set of deck stairs, and back into the house, on the second floor. The big problem was that the steps had ice and snow on them from a winter storm a day or two before, making it very diffucult to move a 300 pound t.v. set. Needless to say, we were very careful. We were successful though, and the inagaural movie that was watched with the full set-up (including surround sound) was 'Reign of Fire' with Christian Bale. I hadn't watched that movie in the theater, but it sure felt like I had, watching it on my big screen Mitsubishi!!

About 4 years ago, I purchased an MFW-15 to replace an SVS 10-39 cylinder sub. Afeter setting it up, I popped in Ratatouille to watch with the kids. I knew nothing about the movie. Anyway, when the lighting and thunder struck near the beginning of the movie, the whole house shook pretty hard. My wife came running down to the basement and saw me there with a big grin on my face, and then I started giggling like a child. She said, "You know the whole house was shaking." I just kept giggling. She realized any rational conversation was not going to happen at that point, so she returned upstairs.