Home Theater purpose

The whole reason I have a home theater setup is to watch movies with friends and family who also enjoy watching movies. I don't mind watching a movie late at night all by myself, but nothing beats having a few friends over (3 or 4 to bring the total number of people to 5 including myself is my ideal number I think) to eat some junk food, drink some beers/sodas, and take in a movie or two with the surround sound turned up and the HD movie on the big screen. That's the BEST thing in the world to me. We like to watch a movie we have all seen before first so we can talk and shout at the TV screen when something is about to happen and just have a good time with it. Then after that, we usually watch a movie we haven't seen before. Then we all talk about it and critique it afterwords. Every so often we throw a third movie in but rarely get through it. We do this probably twice or three times a month.

Why does everyone here have a setup? For your own personal enjoyment, or do you enjoy a room full of people with a common interest?

Spoonie G, this is a good one. I have a group of close friends that love to play Madden and NBA Live 08. One day a buddy of mine nicknamed my HT room The Terror Dome because I have the biggest screen with plenty of space and surround sound. I have NBA Live 08' for the PS3 and when you start the game you see EA Sports in HD with Gilbert Arenas (PG Wash: Wizards) dribble and dunk and a thunderous sound comes out of the sub and then you hear the crowd cheer. All my friends get excited and say Welcome To The Terror Dome. The whole game is presented in 5.1 DD, but when the friends are not over the wife and my 11 yr old daughter love to watch Lifetime Movie Network. The only time I get to watch movies is when I purchase a new disc.

good one guys. agreed.

I like to watch movies by myself, classics or personal favorites. My girl enjoys movies alot too, more than one would think, likes HD and shes more than the casual watcher... so we have that in common,

Also have a group of close friends that I repeat classics with, watch new movies.. and play some video games, but this hasnt been happening much due to, diff people moving or getting married, or working out of state. sometimes we just get toguether and go to the theater.... or have some drinks and play wii. lol

also the house full of casual watchers, which i normally dont like, and even though i feel like they see movies however the want to see them ( you know what i mean) blow em, shoot em only fans.... they end up asking me things.... and enjoy comming over. lol my fiencee likes the house full of ppl sometimes, so as long as not often. im ok.

last is with the old man. watch classics, he used to watch, no on hd. recomment some movies for hiim. or just things he might be interested in.

Oh yeah, I forgot about video games. We do that too when someone gets a new Wii or 360 game! And my living room needs a nickname too... Hmmm...

PS Kuco: Alcohol + Wii = broken stuff in the house!!! lol

[Post edited by spoonard on May 1, 2008]

I prefer the loner route as well as I am always fiddling with the picture/sound during the movie! I dont think I'm actually even enjoying the movie because of this! I'm sick man, just sick.

I need to learn how to relax, put the remotes down, and quite striving for the upmost perfection.

"Hello Dvdtown. My name is blade...and i'm a tweaker"

Quote:
I need to learn how to relax, put the remotes down, and quite striving for the upmost perfection.

"Hello Dvdtown. My name is blade...and i'm a tweaker"

OMG, Bladerunner! This is me, too. My constant tweaking drives my wife and two daughters NUTS!

Be honest...

How many others on here go through the THX Optimizer just to hear their Sub hit that kick ass low frequency?

One of the reasons I put together a home theatre for myself was to enjoy movies at home, and not in the movies, where kids will yell and scream during movies and talk on their phone whenever they get a call. It's fun, really. But I thought I could do without that fun stuff and bring the joy of movie viewing to my house.

Now that my wife and I moved to North Carolina from New Jersey, she was nice enough to grant me the huge bonus room above the two car garage, dubbed "The Hole." The Hole is where I hole myself up and watch movies late at night when the wife is in bed and I'm done with my masters work and lesson plans.

Since we're here less than a year, we haven't made many new friends, so we usually enjoy movies on the weekends if we stay in. She enjoys Audrey Hepburn classics and movies from the 50's-60's. I usually watch anything when I'm alone, mostly things I have not yet seen. This weekend I plan on renting There Will Be Blood and The Assassination of Jesse James.

Sports in HD is great and nothing can beat the Super Bowl in HD with family or friends over to enjoy!

[Post edited by italy12 on May 1, 2008]

I have a DTS 5.1 set up cd that has a really slow low frequency to high frequency sweep . I took it to my buddy's house (Marantz receiver and a 12" 90 watt rms sub) and shook his smoke detector out of the ceiling .
I had to put the remotes down and stop tweakin. It's hard but you have to or you'll never enjoy a movie!
Once you realize you can't tweak out a bad movie transfer and you can't fix film grain and artifacts you'll be able to put the remote down and enjoy the movie! Your not alone!
Oh yeah I like watching movies with family and friends!

[Post edited by Ironbull on May 1, 2008]

Quote:
Once you realize you can't tweak out a bad movie transfer and you can't fix film grain and artifacts you'll be able to put the remote down and enjoy the movie! Your not alone!
Oh yeah I like watching movies with family and friends!

I'm with that! I can watch movies in HD or SD upconverted. Either way is fine with me. HD isn't a neccessity for me, it's just nice to have! Video quality is also a plus to have, but again, it's not 100% of the movie watching experience for me though. I just like to get together with people and watch movies and have a good time. But I can sure appreciate an HD 1080p picture and some nice 5.1/6.1/7.1 surround sound that rumbles the house!

And high def. dvd's only made it worse!!! When I throw on a standard(even a good one) I suddenly feel very ill and grab the ol drugs!!!(remotes) I give it a little boost here and take a little back there...watch the damn scene I am trying to fix...feel satisfied for a momment(I GOT IT)...and then what happens??? Another damn scene comes on that needs more tweaking!

"I don't think i am enjoying my home theater at all...help me."

[Post edited by bladerunner1 on May 1, 2008]

Yea Bladerunner, you tweak entirely tooo much.

Blade
Trust me here. I've been through it! This is what you have to do and understand.
1. Do the DVE or Avia setup (audio and video)!
2. Leave it at that for at least 5 movies.
3. Resist the urge to tweak NO MATTER WHAT!
4. You will start to notice one scene looks amazing and the next scene looks bad!
IT IS NOT YOUR GEAR, YOU CAN'T FIX IT, IT IS THE TRANSFER, IT IS COMPRESSION ARTIFACTS!
Thats it! leave it!
Trust me I am a recovering tweaker!
You will be fine!

Quote:
I prefer the loner route as well as I am always fiddling with the picture/sound during the movie! I dont think I'm actually even enjoying the movie because of this! I'm sick man, just sick.

I need to learn how to relax, put the remotes down, and quite striving for the upmost perfection.

"Hello Dvdtown. My name is blade...and i'm a tweaker"

I tweak entirely too much, too. With me it is more sound than picture, but I'm always adjusting for the optimal experience. Movies are not all mastered the same, so sometimes the dialogue track is hard to hear when the surround effects are at a good level, and if you turn it up to hear dialogue, then I'm waking up my wife and daughter. As for picture, I have an HD projector, and it allows me to store some preferred settings, so I have one for daytime (because, though the room is blacked out for the most part, a bit of light makes it down the stairs during the day), and others for different things. I find one setting works better for TV on DVD, while another works well for older films. One works great for very dark movies, while another is great for HD. Anyway, I just pick one, maybe make a slight adjustment here and there, and then enjoy. If anything sounds off with the sound though, I can't focus.

I bought my projector and 120" screen because I love movies. After my wife goes to bed, I throw on a movie almost every night. I went with the projector because I wanted the experience of going to the movies every night, since we don't get out as much since our daughter was born. I love it. My wife likes movies, and enjoys watching one of her faves on the big screen from time to time, but isn't obsessive like me. We also have monthly movie nights, where about 12 people come over (it's a big room), and have a great time. I always send out an evite with a theme, and people pick from a list which ones they want to see, and the most votes wins. We show 2 or 3 each time. It's a blast. Before one movie night is over, people are always asking when the next one will be, and what the theme is. Next to my family, my home theatre is my pride and joy.

My wife says i'm nuts, and that everything looks/sounds great. I believe her. But I still feel the damn urge. Infact, I almost tweak out when I am unable to tweak while watching a movie with the family. Is it because I have so much invested in this gear, and maybe I should have spent that money on a new puppy or a nice vacation? Is it guilt? sigh'.)

I will watch five movies without touching a remote...(i can still adjust the volume though right? )

interplanetaryspy,

I have these modes too. I have a very nice system. I can say these things. But I don't REALIZE them. If I were to have "movie night" like you, I don't think it would be very pretty.

Guest:"Oh, let's watch this (pointing to a great movie with a crappy presentation).
Me"Ah....nah...let's not. This movie (holding up a copy of I know who killed me on blu-ray) is much much better!"

Blade
Invite friends over and enjoy your gear(no tweaking)! Adjust audio yes! Sometimes My Paradigm PDR8 sub
clips really hard and I need to turn down the Main volume(All other levels are calibrated) because of some soundtracks. The tree through the window in The Mist made it clip for example so I lowered The Main Volume 1 or 2 notches.
Just remember your expensive gear is doing what it is supposed to! Your friends won't notice, they will be having too much fun!

[Post edited by Ironbull on May 1, 2008]

nevermind.

[Post edited by bladerunner1 on May 1, 2008]