Describe your home theater

[so sorry]

the thread about TCM and watching Lawerence of Arabia on a 13" TV got me thinking... what kind of set up do you other film geeks have at home? I've had a 42" widescreen HDTV with surround sound for about 3 years now, and I'm still amazed at how awesome DVDs play on it. What do you guys have?

[so sorry]

Why can't you edit polls??!? Fuck, that first poll option should read "REAR projection", not read projection. fuck

[WinslowLeach]

I have a Sony 36" TV, Malata DVD Player (all region), Onkyo Receiver (w/ 5.1 surround sound), Pioneer 25 +1 CD Jukebox Player, Pioneer Record Player. I've had this set up for about 6 years now. Its great for the size TV room I have.

[bluebottle]

Hey, I've got a Malata too!

You're the first person i've met (well, you know) to have one... I've never found it referenced online.

I love it... All region rules.

(and i have a 42" widescreen HD Samsung)

[Keepcoolbutcare]

27''. Surround sound from a system I've had since '98.

"Home" theater? Shoot, I haven't lived in a "home" since high school. More like a "single bedroom apartment theater" system.

[bluebottle]

I live in a third floor apartment in a house... does that count as a "home"?

[docfalken]

54" HDTV with surround sound. Rearprojection that I've had for 4 years or so now. Don't watch a lot of DVDs but I use an Xbox as the DVD player. Currently trying to hack my Xbox so I can use it as a media player for the family.

[so sorry]

It coutns as a 'home' if you've got a "home theater" in it! How the fuck did you get a 42" widescreen up to the third floor???

[so sorry]

Nice Doc! I bet those XBox games look baddass on that TV.

[docfalken]

I scared the crap out of myself while playing Doom 3 in the dark after midnight with the sound cranked way up. I was seriously thinking about calling my mommy.

[so sorry]

awesome! Scary movies scare me very easily, and the surround sound REALLY cranks up the scare-o-meter, so when i get adventurous and decide to try and watch some horror, I have to do it in the daytime! Maybe i should have said that in the PZ confessional....

[WinslowLeach]

Hey, I've got a Malata too!

You're the first person i've met (well, you know) to have one... I've never found it referenced online.

I love it... All region rules.

(and i have a 42" widescreen HD Samsung)

I actually had an APEX player for several years and that played most regions. The only problem I had was playing Region 3 DVDs, the player would play the DVDs, but you have to press a bunch of buttons first and you couldnt see the subtitles. So I bought a Malata last year (from HK FLIX) so I could watch my Asian films without any troubles. Its great.

[cinephile2000]

I play all my movies through my Mac and plug the mac into a Dolby surround reciever. I think I got it pretty good.

[Pacino86845]

My home entertainment center was made in Italy and basically looks like a 20 inch black cube with mono sound...

[Pacino86845]

It´s also really old.

[DinoDeLaurentiis]

Hehe... just a call it a the DinoTron3000, eh?

[Pacino86845]

Dino, just when I'd about had enough... you come along and make a my day!!!

EDIT: Grazie mille!

[Nordling]

I got more back from my tax refund than I expected, so I'd like to send the Zoners on a hunt for a really good deal on an HDTV, preferably DLP, in a range up to $2K.

Do my homework for me, bitches!

[TheBaxter]

before you get a DLP, make sure you're not susceptible to Rainbow Effect

i got one and had to return it because of that. unfortunately, you can't really tell unless you watch the tv in a fairly dark environment, and most stores are too bright for that.

[Lord Voldemoo]

My "home theater" is teh suk.

27" standard tv (color!), no surround sound.

My computer is falling apart but I've made the difficult decision that a nice new plasma or LCD is the next major purchase...

[Iconoclastica]

13" samsung tv/vcr combo that's 16 years old connected to the PS2 that doubles as my DVD player . . . ok, I'm proud of my studenty ghettoness

[Brocktune]

Why can't you edit polls??!? Fuck, that first poll option should read "REAR projection", not read projection. fuck

i fixed it.

punctuality.
it's what us mods are known for.

[cinephile2000]

My set has changed I now hace a 32 inch tv normal not hd, with surround sound being played through my xbox, but I don't have the back two channels plugged in because it's my dorm.

[SilentBobX]

Glad I found this thread. Since I had a few questions re: New home theater system. I'm planning on buying a new tv this upcoming holiday season(black friday), and I wanted to ask all of you fine folk some questions. Mostly:

Where did you buy your hdtv/home theater? Walfart, Best Buy, Circuit City, etc.

I read somewhere that you can buy the expensive hdmi cables cheap online. Anyone know what sites these are?

What brand works for you? I've read that off-brands work for HDTV just as well as big name famous brands. Like Akai, or Polaroid. Or is this wrong?

Thanks for any input, it is greatly appreciated.

Mahalo

[St. Alphonzo]

I ended up buying my Sharp LCD HDTV from Costco of all places.

My rationale: unlike the Best Buys, Circuit Cities, etc, if I got the thing home and just plain didn't like it... they'd take it back, no questions asked (and no "restocking fee" either)! I ended up quite liking the tv, but it was comforting to know that I could have just gotten rid of it if I needed to!

[Seppuku]

I have a laptop. Anything bigger and my boat will begin to sink.

[Zarles]

I read somewhere that you can buy the expensive hdmi cables cheap online. Anyone know what sites these are?

eBay. I got one for five bucks once, and that was with shipping. In stores, they're 60 and up. NEVER buy them retail. As far as brand names on them, I don't pay attention. Unless you really want to get anal about it, just buy the ones you can afford.

My 'theater' is my room, and I've got a 32" Magnavox HDTV with a Sony stereo receiver, two Jensen speakers, and an RCA upward-converting DVD player. Like I said, it's all in my room, so I don't need too much power. Suits me fine.

[Maui]

[Zarles]

And Maui wins the thread!

[Fried Gold]

I read somewhere that you can buy the expensive hdmi cables cheap online. Anyone know what sites these are?

What brand works for you? I've read that off-brands work for HDTV just as well as big name famous brands. Like Akai, or Polaroid. Or is this wrong?

I'm not sure if you're talking about cables, or HD TVs...or both, so:

Cables - Unless you're having to run more than 2 metres of cables from the sources to your TV, you don't really have to worry about the quality of the cable. If you do want some kind of brand names to look for - QED or Ixos would be recommended. But just go for one that's affordable for you- the full-on audiophile approach tends not to give that much return for your money and just gets uneccesarily picky.

HD tellys - Cheap models - fine for HD pictures, dodgy for SD pictures. If you're only going to have HD pictures going into it, cheaper brands will be okay.

CRTs still outperformance a lot of the LCD/Plasma screens when it comes to SD video.

[St. Alphonzo]

For whatever reason, when I run an HDMI cable from DVD to my TV, the only option I have to watch a film is in stretch-mode (which can be annoying as hell if you're watching a pan-and-scan DVD or a DVD of a TV show). I've tried every combination in the setup menus that I can think of. Anyone else have this problem? Or better yet, a solution?

[Fried Gold]

For whatever reason, when I run an HDMI cable from DVD to my TV, the only option I have to watch a film is in stretch-mode (which can be annoying as hell if you're watching a pan-and-scan DVD or a DVD of a TV show). I've tried every combination in the setup menus that I can think of. Anyone else have this problem? Or better yet, a solution?

I assume you don't have the problem when using a scart or other cable?

[St. Alphonzo]

For whatever reason, when I run an HDMI cable from DVD to my TV, the only option I have to watch a film is in stretch-mode (which can be annoying as hell if you're watching a pan-and-scan DVD or a DVD of a TV show). I've tried every combination in the setup menus that I can think of. Anyone else have this problem? Or better yet, a solution?

I assume you don't have the problem when using a scart or other cable?

Nope. Just HDMI. I've tried calling the help lines for the TV and the DVD... they both pointed the finger at each other.

[Fried Gold]

For whatever reason, when I run an HDMI cable from DVD to my TV, the only option I have to watch a film is in stretch-mode (which can be annoying as hell if you're watching a pan-and-scan DVD or a DVD of a TV show). I've tried every combination in the setup menus that I can think of. Anyone else have this problem? Or better yet, a solution?

I assume you don't have the problem when using a scart or other cable?

Nope. Just HDMI. I've tried calling the help lines for the TV and the DVD... they both pointed the finger at each other.

It could be that the TV doesn't automatically switch when using HDMI. Have you tried changing the aspect ratio on the TV when using the DVD player?

[St. Alphonzo]

For whatever reason, when I run an HDMI cable from DVD to my TV, the only option I have to watch a film is in stretch-mode (which can be annoying as hell if you're watching a pan-and-scan DVD or a DVD of a TV show). I've tried every combination in the setup menus that I can think of. Anyone else have this problem? Or better yet, a solution?

I assume you don't have the problem when using a scart or other cable?

Nope. Just HDMI. I've tried calling the help lines for the TV and the DVD... they both pointed the finger at each other.

It could be that the TV doesn't automatically switch when using HDMI. Have you tried changing the aspect ratio on the TV when using the DVD player?

Yep, tried that as well... with HDMI, I get no option to change it. I'm guessing it's probably just the TV...

[bastard_robo]

I have a prehistoric 22 inch TV in my room (its an RCA, one of the first with A/V input) My DVD player and VCR to run my cable.

[Fried Gold]

For whatever reason, when I run an HDMI cable from DVD to my TV, the only option I have to watch a film is in stretch-mode (which can be annoying as hell if you're watching a pan-and-scan DVD or a DVD of a TV show). I've tried every combination in the setup menus that I can think of. Anyone else have this problem? Or better yet, a solution?

I assume you don't have the problem when using a scart or other cable?

Nope. Just HDMI. I've tried calling the help lines for the TV and the DVD... they both pointed the finger at each other.

It could be that the TV doesn't automatically switch when using HDMI. Have you tried changing the aspect ratio on the TV when using the DVD player?

Yep, tried that as well... with HDMI, I get no option to change it. I'm guessing it's probably just the TV...

From what I know, the lack of support for aspect ratio signalling support with HDMI is quite widespread. The format hasn't been able to develop far enough for the TVs now being produced.

-> It's not really a problem with either the DVD player or the TV. It's more a calibration thing because of the HDMI.

Have a look on avforums.com and you'll probably find something relating to your model.

[St. Alphonzo]

Thanks FG!

[stereosforgeeks]

50" Sony SXRD (rear projection lcd) HDTV.
5.1 Receiver (needs an upgrade)

[Wolfpack]

Err.... an Xbox and a 13" TV.

[Fatsquatch]

I have a little 19" HDTV that I use for gaming and PC use, but for films I use a Dell DLP projector thrown onto a 92-inch Panoview Greywolf screen. I'm still using DVD and Laserdisc media, but will probably make the jump to either HD DVD and/or BluRay soon.

Well, if I don't redo my sound system first. I'm okay with my speakers and sub, but I'm still using a Dolby Prologic receiver that I've had since '95 or so. I'm REALLY way behind in that area...

[havocSchultz]

Hey!!!

Me too!!!

[Maui]

Hey!!!

Me too!!!

We Canadians have to stick together, even when it comes to TVs, eh?

[Zarles]

Spongebob's eyes look like bunny ears on Jason's head.

Heh. Bunny ears on a TV. Funny.

[havocSchultz]

Hey!!!

Me too!!!

We Canadians have to stick together, even when it comes to TVs, eh?

Damn straight...

Must've been a two-for-one sale...

[Doc Holliday]

Currently have a 42" Thomson widescreen TV and hooked up to that I have a Sony DVD player with surround sound. I reckon I'll upgrade to one of those wafer-thin TV's and HD in around 12 months time - too many other things demand that money at the moment

[thebostonlocksmith]

I am currently in the possesion of a large sony television, the screen is massive but it's one of those massive boxy things that take up half the room... Also have the corresponding DVD player that came with it, that is also massive and probably one of the prototype models...

Although it is wired through our brilliant stereo which is apparently really good... I can't remember what it's called though....

All needs a serious revamp though... which looks like it costs silly money at the moment...

[SilentBobX]

I ended up buying my Sharp LCD HDTV from Costco of all places.

My rationale: unlike the Best Buys, Circuit Cities, etc, if I got the thing home and just plain didn't like it... they'd take it back, no questions asked (and no "restocking fee" either)! I ended up quite liking the tv, but it was comforting to know that I could have just gotten rid of it if I needed to!

St. Alphonzo, and Zarles, thanks. Much obliged.

I'm currently eyeing a 37 in. Vizio LCD HDTV at Walfart. I'm also hoping the price will go down soon, because I've seen it happen on others. Plus, my tv is over 10 yrs old and I know its time is coming to put it out to pasture.

Also, another question. What's this about the SD signal going to digital in Feb 2009? Or do I have this misconstrued in some way.

Again, thanks to all your input and help.

Mahalo

[unikrunk]

All my stuff is from the bleeding edge of technology...6 years ago.

36' Sony Wega flat screen (not panel, this thing is huge)

Sony 5.1 surround

Sony 5 disk DVD / CD player / AMFM stereo / with pre-amp - I think it is called the Sony home theater system, seriously.

My old style Xbox

The best for last: 1975 Panasonic turntable and cassette recorder with wood inlays- I plugged my new head phones into this, through on a mint original pressing of Led Zeppelin 3, and one joint later I am in '75. Analogue really is better. So rich a sound...

[so sorry]

whatever you do SilentBob, please check out cnet.com for their review of the model you're looking at (I'm not saying there's anything wrong with your model, I'm jsut saying that cnet.com does a bang-up job of reviewing products).