Stream a little Stream for me!

[Barry]

      I never looked at AV equipment as the goal in my media room. I don’t love projectors or speakers. They are a means to an end. And the end? I love movies and music and I need and want the best the equipment to see and hear them.
 
If I said I loved food but didn’t like love ovens or refrigerators, it would sound silly but true. Or that I loved travelling, but didn’t like airplanes or subways, that would make sense. But to many AV fans, loving the equipment comes first. And studying it and adjusting it.
 
Movies and TV productions have now changed. We used to see high quality movies only in theatres with big screens. We then watched movies, cut up, censored, panned and scanned, and with commercials on small TVs. Cable came and we saw movies, uncut, on the small screen.  Then came VCRs, DVD, Blu Rays, 4ks and large, widescreen TVs to watch mostly theatrical movies on.  And we review and discuss them here.
 
But now, “adult” themed movies are being streamed and being shown in our homes and not in theatres. (To be eligible for an Academy Award and not an Emmy many of these movies will have short runs in selected theatres)  For example, Netflix has a movies this month about Two Popes, (with Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Pryce); Marriage (with Scarlett Johannsen); And the Irishman (Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino) among others.
 
These movies often have “theatrical” movie values, good cinema, good sound etc. Sometimes not. And sometimes, they are serial, like the new Star Wares serial on Disney Plus.  Or the Dark Crystal.
 
We should start reviewing these movies here.  Is that OKAY?

[David Vaughn]

Absolutely Barry. Feel free to review anything!

[AVSCraig]

Whatever floats your boat Barry. 

[tripplej]

Always looking forward to reading about anything Barry reviews.

[TRainH2O]

I'm always a fan of your reviews, Barry. 

[AVSCraig]

      I never looked at AV equipment as the goal in my media room. I don’t love projectors or speakers. They are a means to an end. And the end? I love movies and music and I need and want the best the equipment to see and hear them.
 
If I said I loved food but didn’t like love ovens or refrigerators, it would sound silly but true. Or that I loved travelling, but didn’t like airplanes or subways, that would make sense. But to many AV fans, loving the equipment comes first. And studying it and adjusting it.
 
Movies and TV productions have now changed. We used to see high quality movies only in theatres with big screens. We then watched movies, cut up, censored, panned and scanned, and with commercials on small TVs. Cable came and we saw movies, uncut, on the small screen.  Then came VCRs, DVD, Blu Rays, 4ks and large, widescreen TVs to watch mostly theatrical movies on.  And we review and discuss them here.
 
But now, “adult” themed movies are being streamed and being shown in our homes and not in theatres. (To be eligible for an Academy Award and not an Emmy many of these movies will have short runs in selected theatres)  For example, Netflix has a movies this month about Two Popes, (with Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Pryce); Marriage (with Scarlett Johannsen); And the Irishman (Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino) among others.
 
These movies often have “theatrical” movie values, good cinema, good sound etc. Sometimes not. And sometimes, they are serial, like the new Star Wares serial on Disney Plus.  Or the Dark Crystal.
 
We should start reviewing these movies here.  Is that OKAY?

Sure - the goal is to watch content, but you can still love the equipment and the process of building a theater too. Do people that labor over building a classic car restoration, custom car, sports car or $500K Ferrari love to drive but don't love the car too ? You can do both. I think folks that don't care a whit about the equipment usually just buy a TV. It takes a whole different level of commitment and obsession to build a theater with a projector and multi channel surround sound ! 

I'll be interested to read about what you review. 

[Barry]

Hey, it's absolutely OK to love the equipment, to play with it and try to improve it. And I have built that home theatre with surround too! And I did not mean to sound like that was not important.  My goal though was always to sit down and watch a good movie!

An example.... many times I have been asked to "come over and hear my new speakers!"  Rather than saying "come over and hear 2001 A Space Odyssey on my new speakers!" Or "hear my new CD player" rather than "hear how Dave Brubeck sounds on my new system."

When I have time I will give a good story about this.

[AVSCraig]

Hey, it's absolutely OK to love the equipment, to play with it and try to improve it. And I have built that home theatre with surround too! And I did not mean to sound like that was not important.  My goal though was always to sit down and watch a good movie!

An example.... many times I have been asked to "come over and hear my new speakers!"  Rather than saying "come over and hear 2001 A Space Odyssey on my new speakers!" Or "hear my new CD player" rather than "hear how Dave Brubeck sounds on my new system."

When I have time I will give a good story about this.

I agree - this Sat. night night I want to hear, see and feel " Hacksaw Ridge " on Pearl Harbor Day with my two new additional subwoofers and new additional bass traps. It is all about the movie. And with friends that love movies and who have never seen it ! 

[Barry]

 Craig,

This is really a true and too long story on why I like this site, and the site where I recently  came from with David, JJJ, Ralph, Tracy and a few others. And I love the concept that we can discuss and agree or disagree and have fun with it.
 
A decade ago I was new to these sorts of sites on the internet, but wanted to get involved with an AV site so that I could upgrade my system properly.  That would be going from CDs to SACDS, DVD to Blu-Rays and to DTS Master Sound. I joined a site that in retrospect, only cared about equipment, not the discs or movies. They had arranged a meeting, about 35 miles from me, where a group of about 20, who knew each other only by posting, would meet at a store that had a half million dollar set-up.
 
We meet early afternoon at the store and “almost” listened to music for the next three hours. Honest to gosh, on the two expensive speakers, we NEVER heard more than one minute a selection, played on a cd player. They talked over it and changed the disc, generally every 30 seconds. There was no SACD played.
When the owner put on “Legends of Jazz: Showcase” on his DVD player he actually said that with these great speakers you don’t need a blu ray for better sound. (I had the blu-ray disc with DTS Master and it looked and sounded better).  He also said with good speakers you only needed two, not three for the best sound and placement. (He was wrong again.)
He did play a vinyl record, no joke, and it was just Flamingo dancing. No  music, just the tapping of shoes.
 
Here is the surprise: The half million dollar speakers, with amps built in, sounded terrible. There was a rasp in the midrange that got worse when someone sang or an instrument played in that range. The upper range was fine, but there was distortion lower down. The 20 audiophiles mostly talked over it and didn’t listen, I sat and listened.  They didn’t like that I was not taking part in their discussion, that I was listening to the music.
Here is the hard part: And this never happened to be before. The group listened to the price tag and not to the speakers.  When I told them my opinion, they agreed with my individual points, but said that the speakers were terrific. They insisted that the system had to good because it costs so much and that I knew nothing about audio. “Didn’t you heart the distortion, the rasp?” Yes, they replied but that was not important. The equipment was. And they became very, very rude to me, as if I did not know what I was talking about and they did. Very insulting.
Their goal was never to listen to music, but, apparently to have the best, or most expensive, equipment. My goal was to set up a system to give me the best sound and picture.  I want to feel like I was at the concert or at the recording studio. When I went back to the site I noticed they ignored or put down people, often gently, for not being up to speed on their components.
 

[AVSCraig]

Well, I'm currently buying and installing the least sexy / cool home theater component I can think of - bass traps and acoustic diffusers. Ultimately if it isn't all for providing the best picture and sound presentation of great movies - new and old, what's the point? I totally agree with you on that. When friends say " this is the best picture and sound I've ever seen and heard in a home theater ", it's only related to whatever movie we just watched. As it should be. It's all about the movie !  

[tripplej]

I agree 100% with Barry. To me, equipment is just a means to an end, which is the best sound and picture that I can afford to have.

[AVSMike]

My speakers are big and ugly. My front three are DIY and about 6' tall. But they are hidden behind an AT screen and black grill cloth below the screen. But sound wise, they are very good. While others buy bass shakers, I build more large subs. When ever I am asked if I have bass shakers, they feel the seats moving, I say yes, they are called 18" subs. My theater room will never win any prize for looks with the lights on, due to all of the black velvet, but it performs very well with the lights off. I am definitely about the performance of the system. The equipment is just how I get there.