Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater A few quick pics of my set-up

You've got to keep in touch about what new things you're now hearing that were previously lost.

I am an avid movie lover - but I rarely go to the theaters. I find that I have to show up 30 minutes early to get a good seat (not laced with sticky coke residue, bubble gum or other nastiness) that is reasonably in the middle of the theater. Then, then the movie starts, I have to sit through commercials - and stunt men I've never seen before tell me not to bootleg movies* (See below). Then, half the time, the print is old, dirty and poorly projected. I've also begun to notice little orange code markers on the film prints (I guess so that the film companies can track copied prints if they end up on a bootleg - they'll know where they came from). These orange code markers look like the old punch cards for computers. They only come on for one frame every now and then, and they are mostly subliminal - but if you notice them, or are thinking abotu them, they are imopssible to ignore. Very annoying. Then, half the time, the film is damaged and the sound drops off - or an A/C vent is audibly noisy. I could go on and on. Mostly, however, for my wife and I to go to a movie, we'll drop US$17. I can buy a stinking DVD for less than that on the day the movie is released on DVD, and you get extras (which I never really watch), a copy of your very own to watch over and over and over, and you can pause, rewind, all those good things.

It's just not worth getting out of the house for that. We're still young enough that we hang out at bars etc. on the weekend, so we aren't dying to get out of the house - in fact, mostly, when we want to watch movies, it is on nights that we want to stay in anyway.

Sorry about the gripes. Figured, if anything, considering present company, I'd have some like minded compatriots to agree with me...

*So, let me get this straight - we pay $8.50 to go see commercials!!!! WTF! And then, somebody tells me not to bootleg the movie. If I was going to bootleg it - I wouldn't be sittign itn he theater. Assanine, completely assanine. And infuriating.

Awesome set up.. just a few questions.. first, i always hear people on this board discussing the position of the speakers--in relation to your viewing area, distance from wall, distance apart, etc.. the speakers seem both, close together, and close to the wall.. has that made a big difference in your opinion.. second question, i see you have a wood floor. do you think that creates an echo, or create sounds that might bounce and be annoying to the ears?? i am asking cause i am contemplating setting up my HT in a garage conversion room that has had the floor re-done in clay tiles.. and am worried that i will get lots of bad sounds from this room.. any opinions??

i am fixing to take the plunge, and am looking for any/all input..

Call me crazy but i'm not seeing the pics.

and in reply to the capt..

i feel your pain 100%.. the price, the commercials, the kids crying or talking, cell phones going off, you name it. i have almost completely rebelled from the theater experience due to all those factors. factor in $10 bucks for a coke and popcorn, and it equals up to not being worth it. and what causes the most pain is that i like movies.. A LOT.. hence, why i want to build my own HT.. plus, i can get a six-pack, and a enough redenbachers to choke a goat for $10 bucks..

i can see 'em.. finding nemo is on the TV..(seems very popular)..

Crazy.

bigjohn: The fronts are actually further from the wall than they appear in the pic. They are about 2' out. My viewing area is about 8'. Obviously I can't get that much seperation betweent the front due to space constraints. To the right is a 2' high, wall to wall cobblestone hearth. To the left is a sliding glass door. So I really don't have a basis of comparison for their current placement.

As far as the hardwood floors I did notice a difference before I laid the carpet. The carpet is a wall-to-wall remnant that I had bound. After I laid that down I noticed that the sound softened up quite a bit.

Capn_Pickard: I hear ya. It has to be something spectacular for me to drag myself to the theater. And on the rare occassion that I do I have to get there about an hour early to ensure I am first in to get the seats that I want. In the last few years I have seen LOTR: TTT and ROTK, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc., and Star Wars AOTC (4 times). That is it. This year the only one I want to see so far is Dawn of the Dead and I might see The Day After Tomorrow. I'd much rather wait, in most cases, to watch at home. Sometimes I don't even know why I bother at all with the theater because I almost always end up renting whatever I see to catch anything I might have missed.

Sweet! How do you like your widescreen TV? I came very close to buying the Mitsu 48313 last month, but the wife protested - something about it being irresponsible with my oldest daughther starting college in September.

Cap'n Pickard - I don't go to the movies much either for all the reasons you stated. At least we have one multiplex with stadium seating and great, LOUD sound, for when you just can't wait for the DVD (but it still doesn't sound as good as my HT system). Two tickets, and the popcorn that's ridiculously overpriced for a reasonable size - and for 50 cents more you get trash-can size - can almost pay for two DVD's.

Am i perhaps the only person NOT using the ever patched Internet Explorer for browsing?

Probably.