Listen Now - mp3
RSS
Website
Today's Show:
So by now everyone knows what's in Ara's Home Theater, in fact all over Ara's house, but we get questions occasionally on what Braden is using as well. To put those questions to rest, we'll get into all the details today. You've heard bits and pieces, like the recent addition of the PS3, but here's the whole system, all at one time.
Braden's Home Theater Setup
Television: JVC HD-61FH97 HD-ILA 61" HDTV (No longer available)
Back in 2006 we went on 'Projector Quest' to find the right projector for Braden's house. The room could support a 100" screen, so why not, right? As time went on he realized that there was just too much ambient light to make it a viable option, so he dropped back to rear projection. Sure 61" is big, but now that everyone (meaning the finance committee), has had a chance to adjust to the larger screen, it looks like it could go a bit bigger. Next home theater upgrade: 70" or bigger.
Receiver: Denon AVR 3806 7.1 channel AV receiver (No longer available)
Receivers are like ice cream, they're all pretty good, but everyone has their favorite flavor. After using some other brands that shall remain nameless, Braden bought his first Denon receiver in 2001 and hasn't looked back. It's been nothing but Denon in the Russell household, including several others in other rooms of the house. The AVR 3806 has it's rough edges, especially in setup and configuration, but it sounds great and just flat out works. Not to say that there's anything wrong with other brands, Denon just happens to be Braden's favorite flavor. If you haven't tried it, you should at least give it a chance.
Speakers: Klipsch reference series (No longer available)
6 x
R-5800-C In-ceiling Loudspeakers
1 x
RC-7 Center channel speaker
1 x
RSW-12 Subwoofer
There's not much more you can say about Klipsch that hasn't been said. They're one of the biggest players in movie theater sound and they make great, bang for the buck, home theater products as well. They've been around for a long time and still do all their own design work. Many speaker companies these days just buy outsourced horns and put them into pretty packages. Klipsch is know for making very efficient speakers, so they sound good not matter what you connect them to. They'll work well with a bargain receiver, but sound amazing with a great amp. The in-ceiling choice was mostly a requirement of the aesthetics committee, but also
worked better from a practical standpoint. The room doesn't have a wall on the back or right side, so speaker placement is challenging. The horns in the speakers can be aimed, giving exactly the same effect you'd get if you mounted actual speakers to the ceiling and pointed them down. The only drawback is the noise that feeds into the rooms upstairs.
Blu-ray player: Sony PlayStation 3, 80 GB model (No longer available, 40 GB model: $399 MSRP)
Yes, the PS3 is in the home theater primarily as a Blu-ray player, but it also happens to be a great gaming platform. Who knew? As a Blu-ray player it's top notch, and now supports BD-Live for interactive Blu-ray content. The expandability and upgrade-ability are great. You can also use the PS3 to play movies, listen to music and look at picture over your home network. The interface isn't ideal, but it works in a pinch. Overall a great idea for those looking to buy into HD movies now that there's a clear winner.
DVD Player: Toshiba HD-A2 HD-DVD Player (No longer available)
Sure the PS3 could work as a standard DVD player, but the A2 does a great job at upconversion, still allows for the occasional viewing of an HD-DVD movie (like, let's say, Transformers or something like that), and integrates really well into the Home Theater using an IR-based universal remote. If you have an OPPO for DVDs, you don't need an HD-DVD player, but if you don't have an upconverting player, by all means pick up an HD-A3 for $80 bucks. It's still a no-brainer, even if you never watch an HD-DVD on it in your life.
Remote: Logitech Harmony One Advanced Universal Remote (MSRP: $249,
Buy now)
This one is pretty self explanatory. Harmony remote. Touch screen. Cool and sexy. Enough said. For more detail check out
Episode #258.
HDTV Sources: Dish ViP622 and Motorola DCH3416 (Cox Cable)
Between Dish, Cox Cable and Over the Air there's always something to watch in high definition. Sure, the bills may be excessive, but it's all about the podcast. What happens if we need to compare the quality of the Super Bowl between Cable and Satellite, what ever would we do? Ok, so maybe there's a slight addiction here, but we come to accept it, and so has the finance committee.
Other bits and pieces:
The system requires an HDMI switch to make everything work. Braden has the 5x1 switch from
Monoprice and it's perfect. Even running every component as HDMI only, there are
still way too many cables back behind the components. You have to remember that they all need power, there's a ton of speaker wires, and just about everything these days needs a network connection. That brings us to the next piece, a 5 port Ethernet switch. These are a dime a dozen, any brand works. Just make sure you get a switch and not a hub. And for all those power cables Braden uses a
Monster reference power center, but mostly for the insurance policy.
Elsewhere:
How can Braden be such a Panasonic Plasma nut and not have one in the home theater? Great question. There are a ton of other devices scattered around the house, including a Panasonic Plasma, a Samsung LCD, an XBox and an XBox360, a couple OPPO DVD players, Logitech Squeezebox digital music players, etc. But as for the home theater, that's what's there. Looking at how many things are 'no longer available,' it might be the right season for a few upgrades...
