Home Theater IMAX Experience w/ A Robinson-Youtube


Anyone see this tutorial/educational viedeo series on Youtube? Home Theater writer Andrew Robinson has a series of Youtube videos on the subjects of home theater and IMAX Home Theater, where he discusses his opinions, experiences, and recommendations on home theater, HT theory and design, construction ideas, equipment, IMAX experience, technology, and so forth?
Looking for input on what others think of the series, the expressed opinions and suggestions vs your personal opinions, experiences, and competing advice on doing dedicated home theater?
I do find some of his recommendations interesting, but most of the time he demonstrates and suggests that all of this is, ultimately, "left up to your ideas, choices, and interpretations as what choices you make, equipment options and choices you chose for IMAX type of results"!!! Well I find issue with that, and don't agree with many of his opinions, choices, applications, suggestions, and recommendations, personally! Leads people to just do WHATEVER, and expect their dedicated home theater will be as good as anything, or "close enough" to high performance, IMO.
For example: in the IMAX series, he suggests that, since you can do an "inspired" IMAX system, you can pretty much just chose any type of loud speakers you have laying around the house, and they will work just fine!. Also, you can sit as far back and or as close as you like to the screen, and even forgoes the acoustics, from what I could tell!
Thoughts?...
avgoround
The rules are set, acoustics only work how they work, electronics only do what they were designed to do. Not everyone will perceive them the same way in different rooms or environments but they will always only work one way.Opinions are just that, without fact to dictate them they are worthless. That's the problem with this hobby, willful ignorance. Copper can only do so much but many claim they have magic that can transcend it's limitations. Silicon and magnets are barriers that even if you put a outrageous price tag on them will only do what they are supposed to do. I know quality is a factor and controls also but that is just another set of rules.
Criderfive,

I respect your opinion even though we disagree. You don't say otherwise, but it looks like you favor the objective more than the subjective when it comes to audio. But my main issue is this: For all the talk about science and facts, no one ever backs their position up with any. Objectives reference all kinds of tests and studies but they are never able to produce them. That's why I don't take their claims seriously.

"That's the problem with this hobby, willful ignorance. Copper can only do so much but many claim they have magic that can transcend it's limitations."

Can you show me one example of someone making the above claim? That shouldn't be too difficult if there are many of them out there. I just want to see one.
Zd542, I do think you and Andrew Robinson would make good "Woods mates", should you be lost in a forest! -just go with whatever. (or maybe instead of simply rebutting on my statements, perhaps you could point out some specifics of what's seen on the videos, and comment and recommend in regards to those, no?!)

Lemme make my position real clear... If your average AV enthusiast, hobbyist, or DIY simply picks the ball up and runs with it, after watching these video's, more often than not, the end user's results are going to be poor picture quality and low-fidelity sound quality! PERIOD! Overall experience will be nothing special, in fact, likely lack-luster, at best! ..good results are going to be more involved and knowledge/experience intensive, regardless.,

In case you need me to expound more on my position (no, I don't need to get you a colorimeter and sound meter out to show/tell you what the readings will be! - but guarantee everyone sitting in the theater can easily identify that things aren't so great looking or sounding, and that things could be overall much better, guaranteed!) -What is compromised pic quality, you ask? Um, the black levels are grey, the contrast is poor (with washed out color and contrast, loss of shadow detail), due to white colored ceilings and floors near the screen surface (untreated)! IMAX picture quality? Yes, you'll need 4K projections and processing (source material?), and sitting closer than 40% viewing angle, will require such! -although, yes, some could argue that some JVC,Sony,Panny 1080p's, with their tight pixel structure and processing are viewable at such close distances, perspectively. Still, every other 1080p projection tech will show easily discernible pixel structure, distracting during many instances from a projected image. But make no mistake, IMAX calls for 4K, not 1080p!
What is low fidelity sound quality? Hugh holes (main issue in bass response ) and peaks in the frequency response of the bass, improper reverb and tonality from any given seat in the room, dead/lifeless sound + poorly delineated sound stage, smeared imaging from the soundstage/loud speakers, one speaker booming in your ear on far end seating locations, phase issues, hole in the crossover frequency for mains vs sub from seating positions, lack of dynamics and impact due to improper loud speaker selections, locations, and settings, overall bombastic, uneven, bright in some spots/rolled off in others tonality, and so on.
Also, no, someone cannot simply put loud speakers "where they think they should go", and or chose "whatever equipment they have laying around"-implemented in a given space - and expect great results that will wow their friends, and stand as a reference against anything QUALITY! In fact, enthusiests and weekend warriors have been doing this sort - WITH POOR RESULTS - for years!,...and my experience is they fail miserably in any quality attempt. .. Might as well get a flat screen and a sound bar (in fact, they guy recommends one in the videos!!!) and forget about it! -er maybe some Bose. Whatever works, you know. after All, who's to say your Beats headphones and sitting 1 foot from your computer monitor isn't as good?! ...I always say, anyway. George Lucas would be impress, regardless, I'm sure.
You just made my point. Pretty much everything you listed above is subjective or a guess on what can or may go wrong. Not only that, you are getting actual facts wrong. Here's one example.

"Might as well get a flat screen and a sound bar (in fact, they guy recommends one in the videos!!!) and forget about it! -er maybe some Bose. Whatever works, you know."

I do know because every IMAX theater I've ever been in uses Bose speakers.
Zd542, you are correct we will have to agree to disagree and yes audio is very objective.Thank you for the mutual respect.The op has a valid point there are right and wrong ways to do things in the a/v world. Case in point, my father in-law has a 55" led lcd that he insists looks fantastic on the sports setting, every time I'm there I have to re calibrate his set because people are not orange and black is not grey.Now to be fair I do things wrong in my own set up. I have a 120" screen that I sit 12' away from and at times because my siting distance is to close ( the science of how our eyes perceive things at different distances dictates this)on a very busy action scene it can be distracting. I know it's wrong but I like my big screen and 95% of the time it works fine. The men at Dolby laboratory have spent decades figuring how to do surround the right way. They set parameters to follow if you want the best experience. Not to get to philosophical here but there are universal truths and this applies to a/v too. You also asked for evidence of my claim that company's sell magic and call it science, most commonly called snake oil in a/v circles. So here it is, and the site I linked has many great articles on various myths that many call truth with evidence to back it up. http://www.audioholics.com/audio-video-cables/top-ten-signs-an-audio-cable-vendor-is-selling-you-snake-oil