Sunday, January 7, 2007

Boys With Toys

We moved into our new house about 6 months ago. It was 8 or 9 months prior to that that I took down the surround sound at the old house and started working three shifts at a second job. This weekend, I finished setting up the surround sound at the new house, connected to the 53" TV that came with the house. Suddenly, not only do I have a little more time to actually enjoy my home theater, but everything is new again. The picture is bigger, the sound is better, there are DVDs that have lain untouched in my collection.

I was literally dancing around in the basement as I tested out the connections on the Bonwit-Teller explosion at the beginning of Die Hard With a Vengeance. My wife said I reminded her of a little kid that just got a new toy.

She couldn't be more right. Sometimes I stand in front of my DVDs trying to decide what to watch. It's a particularly tough choice if it's late at night. What if I get tired and can't finish the movie? It deserves more respect than that. It will completely break the rhythm of the piece if I try to watch it in two parts. It's a sickness, really.

I have another sickness. I love extras. I love them all. I want to watch them all. Just ask my wife, who patiently cross-stitched her way through my systematic evaluation of the Alien Quadrilogy. There are two cuts of each of the four films. Plus commentarys. Plus feature-length documentaries on each one. Plus galleries.

But now I have to watch it again. It's bigger now. The space is cut off from all light sources if I want it to be. It's a true home theater. That means it's a new experience. I'll have to start all over. If you want me, I'll be hanging the black velvet curtains to muffle the noise and light reflections off the side wall. My wife will be in the corner, shaking her head.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

When you run the Pod race from Episode 1, let me know. You only have to run that scene. OH that and the gun battle from Heat.

Anonymous said...

I'd be interested to hear/see a list of films that make surround sound worth it....
A few thoughts..
Pod Race
Heat
Days of Thunder...I remember that from when you first got your system...
Fifth Element? Haven't tried it yet..
Saving Private Ryan, the opening scene

Jared said...

Actually, I got Hunt for Red October and Days of Thunder for Christmas SPECIFICALLY because it would soon be set up. Both really good. Yep, the pod race is good. I also really like the track off of Superman that they took from the 70mm mag track. It has all the music in the surrounds and dialogue and effects up front. I hope they kept that for the new box set.