[chadbang]

All my friends are starting to go the home theatre route and it's really getting on my nerves. It used to be "come over and watch a movie" and you go, chat, suck some beers, watch a flick and have some fun talking movies or goofing on a bad film.

Now when I go over, it's an anamorphic DVD with 5.1 stereo surround sound and a sub-woofered up the ass presentation and it's just not the same -- not as fun and intimate. Inevitably, they have the volume cranked up too loud so I can hear the toucans squawking behind me in the banyon trees or the laser blasts echoing of the body armour of a downed storm trooper.

HT has done its job transforming their homes into theatres, but it's also placed the same restrictions on me as being in a real theatre: I'm overwhelmed with a sensory barrage, I"m slowly going deaf, and I piss off the projectionist off if I talk. What the hell!

Having worked as a screenwriter, our golden rule is without a great story you've got nothing. Frankly, 5.1 digital dolby surround doesn't do a thing for me except distract me from the dialogue which is what I want to focus on. And most film soundtracks are so poor balanced, with the special effects and music being pumped up to tide you through the mundane plots that the dialogue becomes inaudible (remember Kevin Spacey doing his Joel Silver bit in "Swimming With Sharks"? "Tell that goodamn sound mixer to turn it up! Turn it up! We want to make their ears bleeeeeed!). HT turns watching a film into a mini-marathon to drop the volume before the rap score or the explosions start.

My Point: If I want an amusement ride, I'll go to Great Adventure.

Anyway, sorry of the HT rant. I'll stick to the stereo speakers on my Panasonic.They're just fine by me.


On a side note: My favourite audio quote lately comes from John Bau, who designed the Spica speakers. He said he got out of the business because "I lost interest once audio became a video accessory."

A most sobering thought, and I concur.

 

[MikeM]

I know a couple of people who have HT set-ups and most of time they don't use them. Its cool at first but then its annoying because you can't hear the phone ring, you piss off other people in the house, you can't talk and relax, etc.

I can understand how people really into movies would want a nice home set-up. If I was into movies the same way as I'm into music, I probably would be joining that crowd.

For me, a 25-36" tv and decent stereo speakers do the job quite well. I go to theatre to get the full experience.

 

[archosman]

The Reason Why It Sucks

No one reads their damn manual and properly sets up their system. I went to Rat Shack & bought the fancy digital sound meter and balanced out my system. Most theatre amps can generate a test tone or white noise to each individual channel. I went through and did all of mine & it balances out nicely. At the place I used to work at they built an audio sweetening room they never used. I brought in my laserdisc/dvd player and balanced out the room & we used to watch movies on it in our spare time. The day finally came when an audio post house here wanted to move in. The owner is pretty well known and mixes alot of the MTV and VH-1. When he came in and heard it in my theatre mode he was impressed.

 

[mojoman]

I agree that most people don't take the time to learn how to properly tune the sound system for a home theater. I've heard some pretty awful sounding systems. I like my home theater sound system and think it adds a lot to both movies and tv viewing. It doesn't have to be played very loud to contribute to the enjoyment of a movie, tv show or tv sports. I use 80% of the time when the tele is turned on. It's the damn remotes that drive me crazy!

 

[lan]

Many people mistake quantiy (volume) over quality. I agree that a properly balanced system is definitly best. Even if it were setup properly, there's still the possibility of going overboard on the volume. I'm not into super load stuff. Movies use a high dynamic range so sometimes spoken words are too soft and explosions too loud. Some people complain about this and they should set their systems to use dynamic range compression to lessen the differences.

I use my 2 channel music system for movies and it's great. SUrround sound can be nice but placement of the center and rear speakers is hard (plus I don't have the room). I also don't want to chase after the same quality as my stereo since monoblocks and a DD/DTS preamp is $$$$$$.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally posted by chadbang On a side note: My favourite audio quote lately comes from John Bau, who designed the Spica speakers. He said he got out of the business because "I lost interest once audio became a video accessory." A most sobering thought, and I concur.

Not only sobering, but depressing...

I agree as well.

 

[JMedeiros]

I prefer my home theater to going to a movie here in NY for alot of reasons.

One is volume...the NY movie theaters play soundtracks much too high for my ears. I actually had to walk out of "XXX" , a film I was enjoying till my ears felt like they were bleeding....and I now bring my Ety earplugs if I go to a movie house. At home, I control the volume and mix.

Two is no talking idiots spoiling the film for me.

Three...I can watch part of a film....stop it and come back to it later. Or repeat a scene at will.

Four...Now that I have added Dolby Headphone to my home setup, I can enjoy even more control over the sound and watch movies till 2 am if I want without disturbing my cat or the neighbors.

Five...I have a good buddy who also enjoys film as much as I do and he visits a couple times monthly for a social movie viewing. I let my guest determine the volume level that is comfortable for them.

Six...I can afford to go to my home theater (living room) every night...and I do.

John

 

[Wodgy]

Amen, Chadbang! I completely agree.

Another thing that bugs me is when the gang suggests "let's go rent a movie" and someone says "I've got a big DVD collection, let's watch one of those." 9 times out of 10 no one wants to watch something from his collection (and would much rather rent a new release that no one in the group has seen) but the guy with the DVD collection complains "come on, I've collected all these movies" as if to impose a guilt trip on the group. Hey, if you want to collect movies, fine, just don't try to lay it on us for not wanting to watch them.

Expensive home theatre setups puzzle me. A few of my friends think HT impresses women, but I've never had a girlfriend who's been even remotely interested in that kind of thing. More than two speakers spells "total geek" and seems to be a major turnoff for most women.

 

[screwdriver]

for me a hometheater is having a dedicated sounproofed room with good acoustics solely for this purpose and you can also have a music system with it .
you have to learn how to tweak everything well.

 

[kelly]

I like my home theater to be at a volume equivalent to real life. That is: someone talking sounds like they're in the same room with me while someone shooting a gun sounds like they're really shooting a gun. That's too loud for a lot of people but not nearly as loud as people trying to show off.

Here are a few suggestions, chad:

1. Everyone gets new toy syndrome. If he just got a new component, give it a little time and he'll probably stop acting so self important about it.

2. If you don't like the "rules" of the house, invite people over to your house some of the time.

3. Not everyone enjoys movie watching socially. If you're more in it for the social aspects than your friends are, see if you're all interested in some other hobby. Home theater systems tend to be awesome for group video games and sports, for example, and there's nothing wrong with a good old card game.

 

[lan]

Quote:

Originally posted by Wodgy Hey, if you want to collect movies, fine, just don't try to lay it on us for not wanting to watch them. Expensive home theatre setups puzzle me. A few of my friends think HT impresses women, but I've never had a girlfriend who's been even remotely interested in that kind of thing. More than two speakers spells "total geek" and seems to be a major turnoff for most women.

I've never heard of somebody pushing their collection that much. Besides, how many times can you watch the same movies? If that's enough to know the words in the movie, that's totally geek!

More than 2 speakers isn't that bad unless they are not "normal" looking. People usually ask me what's up with my upside down lightbulbs (tubes)

 

[archosman]

I will say this... most home theatre systems suck in terms of standard 2 channel stereo playback. Those little speakers sound great for movies but they don't hold a candle to a real stereo setup.

 

[Zanth]

I think its all fine and good. I like the 5.1 or 6.1 idea. I do believe it can easily get out of hand...$$$$-wise and I would much prefer to pump the cash into headphones/2 channel. I sold a Totem 5.1 surround system so I could fund my schooling and some headphone purchases and I downgraded my 5.1 to a top of the line commercial system which is max 100W to each channel..PLENTY loud for my humble apartment.

Does it sound good for music? It's listenable...that's about it...but hten I have my headphone rig for critical listening.

In the end I feel it is all about needs, wants and desires. If one is not into music...then why bother with a 2 channel system? If one is REALLy into movies, the wife will approve, the kids can enjoy the system and it can be a family outting, an outting with friends, comfort in one's own home from the obnoxious teens etc etc...well then go for it!

It's the folks who have a MEGA 5.1 system and then 2x 2 channel systems as well. Of course, I think they are nuts....and well, I'm jealous

As for 2 channel going away...there will always be the subculture but sadly this is the future...5.1 sacd, dvd-a...its going to push the pack. The options will eventually be mp3/lossless form of digital files...or sacd2/dvd-a. We better prepare ourselves.

 

[archosman]

Could be worse... we could still have the 8track...

 

[TimSchirmer]

I'll always have my vinyl