Movie Software make HT a Waste of Resources?

I see I left off the point about variety of movies. Of course there are good even excellent movies being put out. But it is rare that the best have the biggest budgets to support the 7.1 or whatever HT technology that would justify needing that level of expense on the hardware side. Several actors, I believe Robert Redford is among them, have complained about the limited door for creative ideas to get into Hollywood and more seems to be fashioned more with around safe formulas. Art and creativity go hand in hand. Engineering and formulas likewise go hand in hand. I argue most movies are engineered and more today than before. And those movies that are not engineered are not as likely to be equipped with the HT technology to exploit capabilities of HT equipment. I heard it once said of many things in life: Great ideas come when you are hungry not when you are fat and happy!

Once more into the breach.

Do you appreciate music more with a high end 2CH rig? I'd guess. Could you still appreciate music even if you didn't have a high end 2CH rig? I hope so. Do you listen to nothing but optimally recorded 2CH taking full advantage of spatial potential and dynamic range? God I hope not. Do I appreciate HT more with a high end HT rig? Sure. Do I have to have a high end rig to appreciate HT? No. Do all movies I see take full advantage of 5CH capabilities? No. Where's the difference?

Look, I did re-read the whole thread. Take your statement:

"birds of a feather flock together and tend not to challenge each other about alternative views. I would rather raise challenging questions about the validity of purchases to the very ones doing the purchases."

If you didn't intend to say A'gon readers are the problem, at least you can see how this could be misinterpreted?

As far as my citation of Classe, its not hand picked or purposefully cited for some nefarious reason. It was just an interesting and glaring difference. I'd hoped to avoid the kind of accusations you raised by sticking to the same company and year--Classe made both the CP-45 and the SST-1. In the 10 min. I wasted in the blue book, it wasn't the only company I looked at--checked ARC, Krell, and some others. Perfect apples to apples comparisons are pretty hard to come by, but at least I tried and didn't selectively edit bad results out--I even said I found HT gear was lower as percentage value by a couple of points or so. But, the difference is not "disposable technology" for HT versus "value long term investment" for 2CH. "Clear evidence" you say, and a "wide range of gear and value." What evidence? What range?

"Upset"? Hardly. At this point "bored" is more like it. It could have been an interesting thread. I'd like to hear what people would have to say about whether the prevalence of HT will change the way movies are made. Maybe 5CH equipment for moviemakers will become less expensive due to volume demand, techniques for 5CH will become better, and there will be more software out there that takes real advantage of the possibilities.

Much better dialog here! Thanks! Now regarding if I appreciate music on hi-end rig yep on the car radio yep, anywhere is fine. My choice of hi-end 2 channels has had no affect on the companies of boom boxes. My argument is that constantly changing the field of play by the big corps in HT does affect other companies and dramatically. The connection then becomes clear between tactics of globalization of anything. HT is limiting our options also by greating the idea in younger people's mine that sound from all directions is equal to good sound. To me anyway, that is the message from the TV ad and magazine ads. Discrete channels in SACD or whatever multichannel if it stays static and recordings are made well not just a lot of them could be real exciting but not if it becomes a monopoly. Regarding the birds and feathers stuff: A certain percentage of people will be in the feathers given the big audience of HT but I do not think it is a very big percentage on audiogon (and I am not saying this to win votes). But of those in the feathers I was wondering if they ever thought about the interconnectiveness of choices made today and possible conseqeunces.

I do think it is interesting to know if 5 or 50 channel HT will change the way movies are made and if it would be for the better. I believe HT as currently constructed in terms of the hardware and movies allowed to made to exploit it is greatly limiting our choices, perverting what is good sound to an audience that may never have an alternative viewpoint, is a great example of how large corps can limit the flow of money to a smaller sphere of players and the manufacturers of that equipment will hardly be worried about fair labor practices such as the likes of Audio Research need to adhere to. I am very dismayed that Americans not only fail to see the connection between issues but go out their way to avoid educating themselves. Nothing amplified this more than the rush to learn about the "outside" world than did 911. Quite a sorry state that monsters must be the motivating force and not the joy of being aware and, hence, alive.

An important screening technique, Eds, to find the dramatic dropoff in value in HT processors that I did mention above. Check out the value of any of them once a new Format becomes the defacto standard that the old model does not have and can not be upgraded to. Regarding waste: Interestingly Free Speech Radio News (www.fsrn.com) reported today that electronics waste that is not wanted in the US is being exported in massive quantities to China where small children tear out wires, chips, heavy metals and other toxics and spread the parts around the country side and often burn the waste causing toxic emissions. In one area, that has been tested, the concentration of burnt waste by the roadside has leaked into the groundwater. The concentrations are so high, that even under China standards, bottled water has to be brought in to supply the local village.

Why are more than 50% of the posts on this thread by you, Nanderson? In fact, every time someone responds you have a couple of follow-ups that espouse the same positions. Anti-Bush, anti-corporate anything, anti-Hollywood, anti-Enron ( which is understandable), anti-SUV. Oh, I almost forgot, anti-home theater. Would the world truly be a better place if Americans rode bicycles into work (presumeably work would be somewhere other than an evil Fortune 500 company), watched only independent films recorded in glorious, full-range mono? Maybe we should carry our little red books into work as well! It's a good thing you don't have anything against color film - most film purists would tell you color was an evil marketing scheme by Technicolor and later crammed down our throats by Kodak when all REAL art was filmed in black and white! Let's not even talk about that evil gimmick called television which threatened to turn people into zombies - after all, only rich and powerful people/organizations/companies could afford to put their messages on television and radio. Surely this means everyone who sits in front of a TV becomes a mere corporate stooge, ready to march to the orders being broadcast by their corporate masters! And if I recall, it was those evil Republicans in the Eisenhower administration who concocted that plot to put fluoride in our water supply. Or was that the Soviets? So long ago, I don't remember. It hurts my brain too much to think. Guess it's time to chase my Zoloft with another beer. Gotta go, "Funniest Commercials You've Never Seen" is coming on soon and I can't miss it. I laugh right along with the laugh track but I find I can't help myself. God deliver us from this foresaken land! Cheers!