On Mon, Nov 07, 2005 at 07:23:43PM -0700, Grant Shipley wrote: > On 11/7/05, Brandon Beattie <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I'm somewhat a videophile, it's often annoying for me to go to a theater > > and see a movie there (I see every frame because my eyes have been > > trained to notice the flaws). I still enjoy my lower quality home > > theater with 1024x576 images because it's functional though, and I use > > it for more than just DVD's. But, if I were considering building a PC > > vs using a DVD player, I'd get the DVD player. > > I think youve talked me out of it. :) I am currently using a Momitsu > 880 dvd player that supports custom reslution that I have mapped to my > projectors native resolution (848x480). > > At any rate, you mentioned low quality home theater and I am > interested to see what you consider low quality. :) I spent about > 10-15k on mine which I consider "low quality" compared to some I have > seen.
Low quality HT is a sub $500 screen, sub $3000 projector, sub $800 audio system. In my experience this is mid-range for a HT. Once you double or tripple these prices you're starting to get into higher end, and a HT costing over $20k for audio video (Nothing to do with room acoustics, seating, etc). I would put a HTPC into the quality area of low end mid-range HT. A HTPC is really about functionality, and quality comes second. > At any rate, I took some quick photos the other day if anyone is > interested. http://www.grantshipley.com/gallery/ht -- And before > anyone asks --- NO THE WALLS ARE NOT PINK. If you don't plan on doing PVR in that room, I'd stick to the DVD player, and get (what I'd consider) 15% better quality. You can always later add a HTPC if you want functionality. If the projector is 848x480 then I'm guessing it's not using DVI, so doing a switchbox, if you choose to do a HTPC is a good choice and not too expensive (For component, svga, or vga). Then you can choose at any time, quality or functionality -- and maybe this is a good choice for you. If you were in SLC I'd gladly show you the differences between what a well setup HTPC looks like vs a good DVD player, and you'll be surprised (But only if you compare side by side). There's always the other choice of "ignorance is bliss". video is one area where if you know what you're missing, it stands out like a sore thumb and makes even normal things irritating. :) One other thing to remember is audio can make an image look sharper. There have been studies done where they take a low quality video and high quality sound then have people compare it to high end video and low end sound. 85%+ of people are influenced by the sound enough to make them perceive the low quality video was better. :) For the size of room that you have, I'd suggest putting in sound dampening material. Odd shaped soft surface objects will help absorb sound and make the room sound larger and let the sound create the environment, making it more enjoyable viewing experience. --Brandon /* PLUG: http://plug.org, #utah on irc.freenode.net Unsubscribe: http://plug.org/mailman/options/plug Don't fear the penguin. */
