A big part of what makes my home theater "special" is that it's, well, mine! I get the feeling that many of us who use this forum aren't the types who are simply going to pull out the checkbook and have someone else come in and do it all for them. Anyone who is into home theater as a hobby is going to put a fair amount of their own effort and creativity into their systems to make them unique.
In my case, I've built my system slowly over time choosing components with an eye towards being as "future-proof" as possible instead of buying everything whole-hog at the beginning. It's amazing to me how many people will go out and buy a packaged system with many compromises just to get everything all at once. Or, those who replace a piece of gear before utilizing it to it's full capacity. For example, I'd venture to say many people never take advantage of the pre-outs on their receivers as an upgrade path. It's too tempting to instead replace it with a more powerful one or to get the very latest surround processing flavor-of-the-month.
When I consider buying a new piece of gear, I try to emphasize connectivity and "how it fits in this system to do the job" over brand name. I developed this attitude as a result of my experience working as a system design consultant/salesman at a high-end custom (independent) home theater company in the Bay Area a few years back (2000-2001). I was only with the company for a little over a year full-time, but learned a TON from the experience. No, I wasn't fired, we parted ways amicably because my previous career path in financial services lured me back - sometimes I regret that move! Anyway, I digress..
I actually enjoy watching most, er, "films" at home more than at the movies. I like the privacy, the quiet, and the control I have at home over the theater environment (No kids yet as of this writing!) I agree with movie critics when they say that some films simply "work" better on the smaller screen. My video monitor is a Sony 34" widescreen direct-view HDTV CRT, soon to be ISF'd by an experienced tech. It still has a terrific picture as-is using only Video Essentials to adjust it though. And that size simply works great in my room, for my tastes (Quality vs/Quantity at the price point).
For speakers, I have the Hales Revelation Two's and a Revelation Center up front and they are simply fantastic.
Oops, dinner's ready. To be continued...
In my case, I've built my system slowly over time choosing components with an eye towards being as "future-proof" as possible instead of buying everything whole-hog at the beginning. It's amazing to me how many people will go out and buy a packaged system with many compromises just to get everything all at once. Or, those who replace a piece of gear before utilizing it to it's full capacity. For example, I'd venture to say many people never take advantage of the pre-outs on their receivers as an upgrade path. It's too tempting to instead replace it with a more powerful one or to get the very latest surround processing flavor-of-the-month.
When I consider buying a new piece of gear, I try to emphasize connectivity and "how it fits in this system to do the job" over brand name. I developed this attitude as a result of my experience working as a system design consultant/salesman at a high-end custom (independent) home theater company in the Bay Area a few years back (2000-2001). I was only with the company for a little over a year full-time, but learned a TON from the experience. No, I wasn't fired, we parted ways amicably because my previous career path in financial services lured me back - sometimes I regret that move! Anyway, I digress..
I actually enjoy watching most, er, "films" at home more than at the movies. I like the privacy, the quiet, and the control I have at home over the theater environment (No kids yet as of this writing!) I agree with movie critics when they say that some films simply "work" better on the smaller screen. My video monitor is a Sony 34" widescreen direct-view HDTV CRT, soon to be ISF'd by an experienced tech. It still has a terrific picture as-is using only Video Essentials to adjust it though. And that size simply works great in my room, for my tastes (Quality vs/Quantity at the price point).
For speakers, I have the Hales Revelation Two's and a Revelation Center up front and they are simply fantastic.
Oops, dinner's ready. To be continued...