MojoLists

 What is home theater? The definition is “the use of electronics to recreate the movie going experience in ones home.” I take this definition pretty seriously, I have many viewing areas in my home including three bedrooms and the living room. All have a DVD player or Blu-Ray and are used for watching movies but I only have one room I consider a home theater. All of my systems have a receiver and multiple channels although not always 5.1 or better. My main system is the only one I consider a home theater and not because it is a dedicated room, which is not, specified in the definition.

 The reason I consider only one system a home theater is because it is the only one I have made the effort to push the viewing experience as close to going out to the movies as possible, minus the gum and soda on the floor. I have carefully replicated the sound, picture and feel of the movie going experience in that one room.

That’s not to say I haven’t calibrated all of my televisions, dialed in the audio of each sound system and made every effort to maximize the experience. I simply have not gone to the lengths I consider necessary to make each room a home theater.

I have run into many people, friends and family who come to me for advice on setting up their home theater. I consider their budget and their priority in creating the system in their home. Like so many however, the advice is wasted or forgotten. They are likely to take my advice and get a great television and DVD or Blu-Ray player but that is where they stop.

I always provide a list of options, well within the budget that includes a receiver, speakers and subwoofer in various sizes that can fit any decor. This allows them to walk in and make purchases without spending a lot of time dealing with sales people or lingering over making the decision. I am all for listening to a system and making up your own mind, that however doesn’t really matter to most people who just want to get a decent system within their budget and for these people, the complete not enthusiast, they really don’t have much of an opinion on the sound system.

Just to prove the point, in almost all cases these people forgo my advice and my offer to make it simple by setting it all up for them. I get a call a week or two later to come over and check out their completed system. I know what to expect after so many of these visits and I bring along my standard equipment. Anyone who knows me well enough to call me up to check out their new system knows me well enough to expect me to put the finishing touches on things.

Here is where things get a little hairy as 9 out of 10 times I find a home theater in a box set up so that all 5 channels are sitting haphazardly on the cabinet below the television. The exception is when the surrounds have made it to the back of the room but very different distances from the sitting area. Nothing is ever calibrated, the system was simply plugged in.

I am not being a snob, I understand fully that the majority of people want to watch a nice picture and be able to hear the dialog, anything beyond that is a bonus for them. This is fine and I happily assist in making the most of what they have within the limits they impose. Is this a home theater? No it is not, it is an entertainment system and in no way resembles a home theater.

The first thing I do is check all of the connection on the television. I remove the coax running from the Hi-Def sat or cable box and replace it with an appropriate HDMI or component cable. Make sure all of the other connections are maximized and start making the correct audio connections.

 I always take a few minutes to explain how 5.1/7.1 works and how we can make that work in their house. This usually ends up with me disconnecting the surround speakers and disabling them in the receiver. This is not home theater but it is what makes them happy and that works for me.

Finally I pull out my calibration discs and analog sound level meter and get to work, making the absolute most out of what they have. They are happy and I am happy and for my final act I program their universal remote, hopefully one I suggested like the Harmony 550 which is both inexpensive and works well for most small set ups.

I am not a saint and I do have an elitist streak when it comes to an actual home theater. A television, source and speaker system capable of recreating as closely as possible, the movie going experience is not what most people want or strive for so when I am told about someone’s home theater, I smile and nod knowing the odds of them having a home theater is low, very low which gives me a warm elitist glow in my belly. What would I ever do if everyone did have an actual home theater, I might have to get into something like space flight where an actual space craft is much less subjective.

Home theater in a box is OK if it is set up properly.

No surround, not a home theater.

Non-HD television… You bet as long as it is 36” or larger, this is also dependant on the room. A 36” television watched fro 17’ away doesn’t work.

Subwoofer is required unless bass shakers have been installed, both are better.

Connecting an HDTV to HD sources with the wrong cables… Definitely not a home theater and close to unforgivable even for non-enthusiasts.

"DVD is going away soon" has suddenly become a hot topic on many enthusiast forums. While the question makes a lot of sense from people who have invested a considerable amount into collecting DVDs and buying top-notch players, there is nothing to worry about in my opinion, at least not yet.

Many make the argument that Blu-Ray will be a short-lived format that is brought down by downloadable movies. I will concede that downloadable movies will become more popular in the years to follow however for the vast majority of the public, it is not a convenient option as long as video quality and bandwidth problems exist.

Blu-Ray and downloads aside, DVD is king in the public eye at the moment. The movies are readily available at a fraction of the cost of Blu-Ray discs and players are available for well under $100. At this price point, the general public will continue to go the DVD route.

The difference between DVD and VHS was much more dramatic than DVD to Blu-Ray is. Few people had large collections of VHS tapes and the difference in quality between VHS and DVD was immense. Many home theater enthusiasts have skipped Blu-Ray altogether as they do not see enough of a difference between Blu and upscaled DVD. I am not of this opinion as I see a huge difference on many movies but like all media, it is dependant upon the source material and the quality of the transfer.

The current rule in my house is that big action movies get picked up on Blu-Ray for the HD sound quality as do classics for their video quality. Upscaling is good enough for many other movies, especially movies that are likely to be played in one of the bedrooms or even the living room where HD audio isn’t an option. I still like to have flexibility in where I watch but I never watch the latest war movie outside my main theater.

Until the general public is convinced to calibrate their televisions so they can easily see the difference between DVD and Blu-Ray they will not buy unless the price comes down to DVD levels, which it won’t, at least in the near future. Besides, what is the chance that the public will suddenly decide to turn their TV setting down from eye melting bright, not much in my opinion.

Downloading movies seems like a great option and years down the road it may be true, but renting downloads doesn’t satisfy the collection bug of so many who want the physical package on their shelf. The big chance downloads have at the moment is that most people really don’t care about picture quality at this point but the need to run wires and set up special servers will hold this format back for at least a few more years.

DVDs are not an endangered species by a long shot and much like VHS, the manufacturers will continue to put out players and media as long as there is a public willing to buy or rent. I for one will continue collecting for years if not decades yet to come.

Refurbished is a word every budget-minded hobbyist should know. Over the last 15 years I have purchased at least 50 items considered refurbs. I have never had a problem, not one, with any of the refurbished equipment I have purchased.

Refurbished items are more than simply factory rebuilds and fall into several categories that we will discuss along with their relative merits and weakness.

First off, why should anyone consider a refurbished product? To save money, get more for your money and overall being able to put that little piece of magical equipment in your house sooner. Refurbs are a great buy for many items but others are best avoided depending on the type of refurb it is.

Recertified: An item that has been returned, most often to the manufacturer for repair. These refurbished products generally made it into someone’s home where it failed to operate properly. It could be that it had a failed part such as a hard drive or the firmware wasn’t correctly installed. Recertified products are a great buy because they go through much more rigorous testing than the original units and carry a warranty, often the same as buying off the shelf.

Open Box: These are the marked down items you see when browsing, most often, the local Best Buy or other brick and mortar. They often went home with someone who decided they didn’t want it for whatever reason and returned it. Look out for missing parts such as cables and manuals. The nice thing about buying an open box item is that you can return it easily if it fails to work. Open box televisions are generally the best buy in this category but make sure it wasn’t a demo unit.

Floor Models/Demos: Products that fall under this group should have a serious savings involved, like 30% or better. If it is an item that uses power like a television, it has likely been on for 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, in full burn mode for months. This is not a good buy, I also avoid receivers, computers and other items that the public have had a chance to dismantle. Non-power items or items that come from a high end dealer where they have seen light use are a better buy and worth considering.

Damaged: This is likely a unit that has a few scratches, dents or other cosmetic flaw. If the unit will reside in a hidden area such as a cabinet or there is a scratch on the back side where nobody will ever see it this is not a bad buy. It is really up to the buyer to determine if a damaged unit will work for them based on the amount of savings involved.

Previous Generation: Big savings on last years model can be a great deal as long as it has a feature set that works with your system. Many of last years products may not have a key feature, for instance HDMI receivers are new to the market. You may not see a need for HDMI in your system but it does future proof your investment. Research the missing feature, many of which will have no impact to you at all.

Factory Seconds: Very small scratches or dings that make selling an item at full price impossible. The cosmetic damage is far less than the damaged category so the savings may be less. These are a great buy if the savings are right.

Buying refurbished products from a respected dealer is important to ensure you are able to get help if there is a problem. I have found many bargains at Fry’s, Best Buy and Amazon but my favorite shop is Ecost where I have received great service and the pricing is right.