Like so many web sites I see, this one also carries the following disclaimer: “please excuse the mess - I really wanted this to be more exciting but I’m not done yet.”

And so it is here.

For those of you who really care, my plans for the site in the near future are as follows:
- showcase my humble home theater;
- catalog my movies with personal reviews, and;
- inspire people to better appreciate movies in the original aspect ratio the director intended (“OAR”), instead of some butchered version where you don’t know what you’re missing.

Finally, I would like to quote Roger Ebert:

"...This is one more pathetic example of the dumbing of America--to show the films in the wrong aspect ratio to placate the stupid, instead of in the right aspect ratio to reward the knowledgeable."

Take action to ensure the continued availability of original aspect ratio widescreen DVD - sign a petition, boycott Blockbuster, write an email, send a letter, place a phonecall, talk to a retailer, thank Hollywood Video for their widescreen policies (they stock both versions when a choice is available, unlike Blockbuster).

My Home Theater

Panasonic 47” 16:9 HD RPTV; harman/kardon 5.1 DD/dts receiver, loudspeakers and 10” sub; JVC progressive scan DVD player, Sony Hi-Fi VCR, JBL universal remote.

Above is the “sweet spot” from where I view, with rear surrounds positioned above mounted on ceiling. I hope to next add bass shaker units to the couch.

Above is a close-up of the rears.  The wire is 16ga CL-2 and runs through the attic to the A/V rack.

Not a Pronto, but for a little over a hundred bucks I can’t complain.  Customization via PC made this thing work and interface like a charm - I’m tempted to buy a few more and give as presents to family and friends in the near future.

Another view of the front, taken from my couch.  The center channel speaker does not usually show the drivers but the camera’s flash made them visible - all you normaly see is a black grille.  I have recently hidden the ugly mess of wires using black flexi-tubing between the A/V stand, sub and TV.  A close-up is below.

The smaller black tube to the right is from Radio Shack and hides the sub’s power cord and AR interconnect, plus the return wires for the two rear surround speakers.

I was amused when the guy at Radio Crap said he was sorry, but these were the only tubes he had and they were “a little on the large side.” I later visited a local installer to get the larger tubing on the left, which houses: AC cord for surge protector, 3 runs of 14ga Monster Cable for the front speakers, 2 AR interconnects for audio feed from TV, 1 set of AR component video cables, 1 AR composite video cable for VCR and 2 75 Ohm coax cables for CATV.

I compromised and let function follow form with the center channel, as the copper-colored wire on the back of the set was later replaced with black cheapie wire to look less obtrusive from the kitchen.