After almost a year I've updated my HT Website (1 Viewer)

[RAF]

Time sure flies when you're having fun. It's been almost a year since I updated my web site, including my HT site. During that time I'm made a whole bunch of additions to the HT and these are now reflected in a greatly expanded edition.

All the old information is still there, but I've updated all the links and have added information on new items, including a new section on the installation of my Dish Network and HDTV.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

 

[Dean Cooper]

I like the new format; your site is truly inspiring. The only thing that I did notice amiss is the thumbnail to the sub/poster frame, it doesn't match the picture it’s linked to.
Now where am I going to get the coin for one of those projectors...
Dean

 

[Jon_B]

Awesome RAF. Cool new signs, the trio of Marantz MA700 monoblocks, HDTV Dish, and the reputable rp-91 dvd player. And let's not forget that your home theater was featured in the Wall Street Journal. A good year indeed for you.
As always, thanks for sharing.
Jon

 

[Cees Alons]

Great job, RAF.

I'll spend some time there in the near future, now I'm planning my own HT!

Cees

 

[William_L]

I have to admit, I LOVE looking at your site. Everytime I need to show someone what I want to do in my basement, I direct them to look at your HT (Of course I have it bookmarked)
I'm hoping that I can scrape together the extra $$ and grab me one of those Sony projectors. I initally was going to get a RPTV, but it wasn't hard to change my mind
I know that my HT will NEVER look like that, but hey, I can still dream
Bill

 

[Darren H]

I love that picture of your three grandchildren in their little director's chairs, their attention absolutely fixed on the movie. Great stuff. Some day.

 

[NathanP]

Very nice Mr. Fowkes.

Yours was actually one of the first home theaters that I had ever seen, since then I've been striving to build one that good!

Nathan

 

[NathanP]

BTW,

Where did you get them signs?

I have a couple of frames like that, and if I found a place where I can download/print some copies of them, I would be very happy!

Nathan

 

[Kurt B]

Excellent site. I've used some of your ideas as inspiration for my HT currently underway.
Wonder if my wife would freak if I said we need to build a new house just for a great HT environment
~Kurt

 

[Neil Joseph]

RAF, can you send me your VW10HT when you are ready to make the next upgrade?

Thanks

 

[Michael Caicedo]

Absolutely great. Looking at the large disc collection makes me wonder how its organized? Alpha? Genre? Dewey Decimal?

 

[Jens Raethel]

Your new site is wonderful!

Allways a great source for inspiration!

 

[EarlR]

Robert

Great site and H/T. I love the little directors chairs for the grandchildren.

Earl

 

[RAF]

The only thing that I did notice amiss is the thumbnail to the sub/poster frame, it doesn't match the picture it’s linked to.

Dean,
Corrected.
Thanks for the heads up on this one. With so many images to arrange I'm sure one or two links got crossed, but I'm now set up to take care of anything that is brought to my attention. If you see anything else obvious let me know.

 

[RAF]

Where did you get them signs?

Nathan
They used to be available from Showoff Displays (link on my web site where the pictures of the signs are.) I've been told that they are no longer part of the Showoff Displays catalog, but you might e-mail them to find out what's available.

 

[RAF]

can you send me your VW10HT when you are ready to make the next upgrade?

Neil,
The line forms on the right.

Seriously, I had originally thought that I would use the VW10HT for about 5 years or so before I'd be ready for an "upgrade". However, about 2 years into the process of owning the VW10HT I'm beginning to realize that this projector has much more life in it that I imagined it would. The addition of an HDTV signal has shown it to be fully capable with today's and tomorrow's TV offerings. And the bulb is performing well for a lot longer than I thought it would.
The recent introduction of the VW11HT by Sony is an evolutionary, rather than a revolutionary product. In other words, I see no need to rush out and switch from a 10HT to an 11HT. (However, if buying for the first time I'd probably get an 11HT - unless I could find a great price on a 10HT, now that it is a "discontinued" model.)
In other words, don't hold your breath.

 

[RAF]

Looking at the large disc collection makes me wonder how its organized? Alpha? Genre? Dewey Decimal?

Michael,
Good question.
Actually, my collection is generally arranged by date of acquisition. Any other way would be quite unmanageable since I'd be spending a lot of my time constantly rearranging the shelves. As I get new titles I add a small numerical label (the little white label you can see on the spine of the DVD cases) and add the title to the end of the shelves. I then use DVD Profiler (entering the information via the bar code reader) to track the location of everything. It works like a charm and makes everything readily accessable without a lot of searching.
The only time I make an exception is when I'm acquiring a related collection (like the complete Star Trek or Twilight Zone collections among several others. - You can see some of these in the pictures of the shelves.) In those cases where the volumes are released over a long period of time I'll usually renumber the discs that I move around. No big deal, actually. I just provide a new label (they peel off nicely), and edit DVD Profiler to reflect any numerical rearrangement.
There is a side benefit to all this that works better than I thought it would. I can generally tell approximately when I purchased a particular title and it's relatively instinctive to go to the section of the shelves that represents that time period.
The question of how to arrange your discs has been discussed here many times before. My method works fine for me, but others might prefer their own system. As a collection grows in size, it's my feeling that my method offers far more advantages than disadvantages, especially with a program like DVD Profiler to do the categorization (if that's a word) for you. However, to each his/her own. I'm just offering a "been there, done that" perspective.

 

[RAF]

Your new site is wonderful!
Always a great source for inspiration!

Jens,
As, of course, is your wonderful HT.

 

[Scott-C]

Well, I just went to RAF's HT site for about the 10th time and re-read parts of it. RAF, as always, your HT is a benchmark for the rest of us HT fans!

 

[RAF]

Thanks for the kind words, Scott. I've added a whole new section showing how I installed my Dish satellite system outdoors.

Look for more "surprises" over the next few months.