I "DO NOT" have an HT!?!? (1 Viewer)

[Daryl RL]

Another analogy - driving a Rolls Royce is obviously a few steps up from driving a Yugo, but either way you're driving a car.

To be as ridiculous as these Leon and Shane, it isn't sex unless you're spending the night with __________ (fill in the blanks with your favorite fantasy).

Home theater is home theater - 13" TV or 110" screen! Whether or not my setup (or yours) qualifies in their opinion - frankly, I don't give a damn.

 

[sean_pecor]

From a puritan's view, I guess if we were to have a true home theater, then we'd have to invest in:

1. A projector and a big honkin' projector screen.
2. Lots of really expensive seating.
3. Several enthusiastic but annoying extras to yell at the screen during moments of suspense.
4. A teenager to sit behind you, crunch popcorn loudly and grind his knees into the back of your chair.
5. Someone in a red vest who walks down the center aisle waving a flashlight, to ruin your suspension of disbelief.
6. A video feed device that automatically inserts footage before the movie starts of some cheesy 80's 3D animation of a nighttime city fly-through, immediately followed by some dancing popcorn.
7. A pneumatic device to swirl dust bunnies inside the projector to simulate shedding skin and hair from the projector operator.
8. One or more people to sit around you, with grating nasal voices, and laugh out loud at every joke in the movie.
9. A device that randomly adjusts the volume to barely audible or eardrum cracking levels, forcing the person with the most initiative to get up and go complain.
10. A bathroom with bright fluorescent lights that momentarily blind all who enter. Also, a bunch of guys to stand behind in line waiting to pee because, after all, you sat near the front of the theater to get that perfect 36 degree viewing angle! Waiting in line, at least your eyes will have had time enough to focus before you have to aim for the "sweet spot" of the urinal. Too bad the first guy won't have had that luxury![/list=1]
    
    Maybe I'll just stick with my RPTV and 5.1 audio system, and go on loving every minute of it
    
    Sean.

 

[Jay Mitchosky]

I agree with Shane. This discussion has taken place many times at the HTF in the past and ultimately becomes pretty heated. As the concept of home theater has expanded to the masses so has the definition been "dumbed down" (for lack of a better way of putting it). These days you have people with an old 20" TV and a VCR connected to a stereo set of speakers saying they have a home theater. That's not to say anyone here is making that claim, but I think that is the source of that poster's statement. The difficulty is defining what makes a home theater. My opinion is the minimum price of admission is a 5.1 speaker setup with the decoder/receiver to match and a reasonable sized monitor with a DVD player. AND this equipment has been calibrated to known standards for audio and video. AND there had better not be any pan & scan.

Beyond that I also agree with Shane that a home theater in the truest sense of the word involves screen sizes that only front projection can deliver, preferably in a properly controlled space. You need to involve at least 30 degrees of your field of vision, and unless you plan on sitting really close to a smaller TV this is not going to happen. I don't have this now but will one day. Until then I have a nice sound system and a quality picture, albeit too small (50" RPTV) that is in a common room of the house with the expected distractions and compromises.

 

[Daryl RL]

I'll stick with my car analogy (with the sex one I'd probably stick my foot in my mouth and offend someone)!

You've got your basic transportation and your luxury cars and everything in between. There are still a whole bunch of people out there renting VHS tapes (or even DVD's), and watching their movies on a regular old fashioned TV with the sound coming out of the TV itself. I would agree that this is not HT!

But anyone who has enhanced their experience with a surround receiver and extra speakers or a small HTIB has "joined the club" as far as I'm concerned. Everyone has to start somewhere. For some people that's all they'll ever do, and for others it will become a hobby (obsession?) requiring upgrade after upgrade.

The biggest problem I see with the position of Leon and Shane is that it implies that if you haven't spent "X" dollars to get the FPTV, 110" screen, etc. then you don't have a home theater. How many of us would that eliminate? How many hours of work and amazing rooms would that "disqualify"? What about the hours of enjoyment watching?

I guess where all this rambling is leading to is: it's a "Home Theater" if I choose to consider it one! It may not be as large, expensive, or fancy as what someone else considers to be the mythical "minimum" but it sure is the best I could afford or cost justify and build at the time. And I enjoy the hell out of it.

 

[Brian Keith]

I am currently building a house w/ a dedicated room for my home theater. and while it will have front projection and a screen, thats because it's what I want. I dont feel you can tell someone that their setup isnt a home theater just because it doesnt fit your personal definition of a home theater. just my $.02

 

[sean_pecor]

I think this online community thrives because, overall, the welcoming and inclusion of ALL home theater enthusiasts is palpable. Frankly, if your TV is a 32" 16:9 direct view or a 110" front projection system, I'd like to think that we can all enjoy talking home theater.

Let's leave the pissing contests to the folks who troll avsforum.com

In my humble opinion, if this home theater community ONLY invited those with 92+ inch screens and 5.1 audio then it would be a ghost town with very few resources and reviews.

Sean.

 

[Andrew Pezzo]

Home Theater, lets break down this phrase:

Home - easy enough, a place where you live

Theater - A building adapted to present dramas, motion pictures, plays, or other performances (from the Websters Dictionary)

Since a home is technically a building and people watch motion pictures at home via DVD, VHS, Laser disc, Cable, etc any setup could essentially be called a HT. This whole argument for having a projector being a must is utter nonsense. If everyone had unlimited budgets and ample space they probably would have front projectors. However the real world is not like this. People do have money and space limitations. I agree to certain extent that 5.1 sound is a must but even still that might be out of reach for some.

I love my HT, which consists of a 36 inch direct view TV and speakers for 5.1 (Def Tech BP2006TL's, CLR2300, Energy C-1's). I would love to get a RPTV but I am live in a small apartment and am trying to save for my wedding. I have no problems calling my setup a HT because I think the experience is much better (and comfortable) than going to the local cinema. To me, sound comes first, then picture size.

I had to get in on this discussion. I am tried of people who think they are better cause they have more money invested in their equipment. Everyone does there best with what they have, which seems to be the general consensus thankfully.

 

[BrianAe]

I agree with Brian's post. To me it's about the sound. While viewing the image on a nice TV versus a big screen is different from actually going to the theater, it is the high quality sound that defines the experience. If you've ever had to watch a movie at a real theater with shitty sound then you know what I mean.

 

[Lynn Johnson]

I don't have much to say, other than this is the LAMEST thread I've EVER read on HTF since I've been a member. I don't understand why people have to ruin the experience of HT by saying "I've got one, but you don't" type of thing. I'm not trying to pick fights here, but when you KNOW an opinion(and yes, what makes up a home theater is opinion) is going to piss off the general populous, just shut your mouth. I personally don't care whether someone says I have a home theater or not, but people do put in a lot of time, effort, and money into their setups, and for people to downplay this work at that person's expense is immature. I really hope I never read another thread this dumb again.

 

[NathanH]

I don't even have my HT finished yet and I already love it and would nearly claim I have one since it is real to me

Haven't seen one pic or heard one *BOOM* - just been loving the experience of dreaming and building...

 

[GeorgeS]

[HT vs watching TV]

Since this is totally subjective there can obviously be no "real" definition.

That said, if I was to offer an opinion (subject to the standard disclaimers on what those are worth), I personally have two criteria -

If the sound "blows you away", your guests are amazed and you're still suprised and entertained yourself - you have HT sound.

If you are drawn into the film visually and wrapped up in the imagery, whether its by awesome scale or intricate detail (projected vs direct view), you have a home theater display.

but then I've been to "theaters" that didn't have either of those things...


Ultimately, its sight and sound and if you come away entertained in the end, that's pretty much all there is to it - whatever the technical specs.

 

[David Materazzi]

I have a 60" widescreen, 650 watt surround sound,dvd player,vcr,Direct TV Dolby Digital satellite receiver, Playstation 2, cd audio 200 cd jukebox and people make me feel at times thats not an home theater. They say well you don't have the fancy seats, retractable screen with the curtains,posters, signs, lights,popcorn machine and etc.
Sure, many of us can't afford all of that stuff or just don't have the room for them. I think all the equipment that I have is pretty good. Many will say different. Home theater to me is what you make of it. If you like posters, hang them. If you like fancy chairs, get them. I think people should buy what they want or can afford. No one should ever be put down for the equipment they own. Many people are just starting out and they are slowly adding things to their home theater. I, myself, is slowly changing things as I go. In fact I moved things around yesterday. I am in the process of building a bridge for my 2 equipment towers that will be over my 60" widescreen. Designing it my way is the best thing. It's unique and to your own liking.
Another thing is that there are many people out there with great looking home theaters. Too bad the movie theaters that you pay all that money to go to don't look like ours.