I am going to kill myself (PC -> HD TV trouble)

[Sky]

Satan's tail. I said it. Unless you think HDCP is a good idea. How is audio and video in one cable convenient? You still need two cables unless you listen to sound through your tv, and if you can afford an hdtv, you should also have surround. If you don't have surround, you don't need the new codecs because stereo is all you've got.

Read again what I said about analog connections, because your advice about taking back the digital cable is bad advice.

[SnakeCharmer]

I'm more confused than I was when I asked the question...

[Nija]

Wouldn't it be better to run a dedicated audio cable (i.e. digital optical) instead of both audio/video in one? 

HDMI to receiver

Receiver to speakers

Done.

[SnakeCharmer]

Unfortunately, my receiver doesn't have HDMI input - I don't think - it's about 6-7 years old. 

Right now, the set up is:
DVD video to TV via HDMI
DVD audio to receiver via digital optical
Cable box video to TV via HDMI
Cable box audio to receiver via digital optical

It took FOREVER to set up the audio/video signals correctly, but it sounds good.

:shrug:

[Sky]

That sounds right.

[stray]

Sky, I told him to just take back the hdmi cable because it isn't working out for him, and new the DVI is. Don't get all hung up because I said "DVI/VGA" and then start rambling about the disadvantages of analog, as if I meant only VGA. I was just telling him to go with an alternative. You know -- get something that works. Duh.

[Polysorbate80]

and if you can afford an hdtv, you should also have surround

I will commit heresy by saying I find surround/5.1/et all to be largely pointless.

Do they sound better than the cans on my TV?  Yup.

Do they sound enough better to justify the hassles?  Not for me.

(I could further blaspheme by declaring my disdain for the home theatre concept in general, but I don't want to make anyone's head explode)

[schild]

I use Stereo for everything.

[Prospero]

I'm all for the home theater thing, but the amount of effort it seems to take to set one up and use it isn't worth it to me. I can build a new computer in the time that it takes to setup a modern home theater, and said computer won't require three remotes when I want to turn it on. It seems to me the receiver should be the equivalent of a PC, with the TV as a monitor, and all the various inputs the equivalents of USB devices. Don't make me guess which input my Wii is on, just list the freaking inputs that have interesting data on them. TV shouldn't be this hard. Thank God everything seems to be moving to HDMI.

[SnakeCharmer]

I use Stereo for everything.

Color me surprised.  I figured you would have had your gaming room house completely rigged.

[Sky]

Run cable around the corners, plug in speakers. What the hell are you people talking about, hassles? Sheesh.

And it's zarking frood.

But hey, don't listen to me. A few years ago I was the odd guy gaming on my hdtv and that was overkill. You guys just didn't realize it's overkill of AWESOME.

[SnakeCharmer]

I'm all for the home theater thing, but the amount of effort it seems to take to set one up and use it isn't worth it to me. I can build a new computer in the time that it takes to setup a modern home theater, and said computer won't require three remotes when I want to turn it on. It seems to me the receiver should be the equivalent of a PC, with the TV as a monitor, and all the various inputs the equivalents of USB devices. Don't make me guess which input my Wii is on, just list the freaking inputs that have interesting data on them. TV shouldn't be this hard. Thank God everything seems to be moving to HDMI.

It's not alot of effort, considering the return.

It took me three weeks to install the wall speakers in my house for my home theater; just so I could have everything just right.  That was.....7 years ago? I think.  7 years of enjoyment is a pretty good return on that investment of effort.

Get a fish tape and it makes things much much easier.

[murdoc]

and if you can afford an hdtv, you should also have surround

I will commit heresy by saying I find surround/5.1/et all to be largely pointless.

Do they sound better than the cans on my TV?  Yup.

Do they sound enough better to justify the hassles?  Not for me.

(I could further blaspheme by declaring my disdain for the home theatre concept in general, but I don't want to make anyone's head explode)

You must not watch many DVDs. I have a 7.1 setup now, and I don't even have a next gen HD-DVD/BR player yet. Sounds is just as important, if not more, as the HDTV imo.

[SnakeCharmer]

Agreed.

Movies really come to life with a good surround sound.

[stray]

I'd say that games benefit even moreso.

[Polysorbate80]

I pretty much only watch DVDs, actually.  Very little OTA or cable.

If I want the "theatre experience", I go to a theatre.

At home, I do *not* want that; my desires and expectations are entirely different. I don't want to sit in the "man-cave" and watch movies in the dark, trying to suspend my disbelief.  Much of the time I'm not even really "watching" the movie any more, I'm skipping around to the points that interest me...with "The Matrix", I'm down to viewing maybe 10% of the actual film.  King Kong?  Fuck everything but monkey vs. dino.  You get the idea.

I want a well-lit room, video in the dark bothers the hell out my eyes.  I want a room free of cable clutter; my house was built in 1927 and is a pain to add in-wall wiring to, and cables strung all over look like hell (for the record I work in a video production facility, and if I could replace every set of stereo audio/composite/s-video/component/whatever cables with single cables, I'd do it in a heartbeat, but the equipment won't support it.)

I want to not piss off a wife who doesn't want to deal with another box instead of just turning on the TV and watching the picture (although with HDMI handshaking between the devices, that might not be an issue).  I want to not present more "toys" for my four-year-old to mess with.

Stereo sound isn't mana from heaven.  But it's all I need and want for my video-watching tastes--I'm not trying to "bring it to life", I just want to hear the damn thing.  Except on those occasions when I turn off the sound altogether and just watch the subtitles  

[SnakeCharmer]

I hate movie theaters.  I hate spending ~$30 to have people yammering on celphones or hearing them ring whilst I'm trying to watch a flick.  I hate people getting up in front of me.  I hate that some freak with an abnormally large head is going to sit right in front of me, theater seating be damned.  I hate my feet sticking to the floor.  Or sitting in some nasty mess left by the nasty motherfucker that sat there before me.  I hate paying ~$3 for a candy bar I can buy for 75 cents. 

I love my man cave (in progress).  I love being able to pause it and go take a hudge if need be.  I love being able to buy the damn movie for less than I would spend at the theater.  I love being able to watch the movie in my boxers.  Or commando if I damn well feel like it.  If I want to fall asleep in my recliner, I can do so.  And noone is going to wake me up and tell me to leave.  I love not having to worry if my wife is cold.  Or if I am too hot. 

In short, movie theaters SUCK, I hate them with a passion, and the investment I have made and will make in my own little home theater is well worth it.  I swear, the older I get, the more agoraphobic I become.  Or rather, the more and more I really start to hate people/the general public.

[Polysorbate80]

The people are a large part of the reason i go see some movies in theaters.  I like going to see movies with zombies or explosions or exploding zombies or what-have-you with a crapload of people.  I don't care if they're talking or cheering or whatever--as often as not, it's me and my buddies joking to each other during the show (we keep it low).  Cellphones have never been a problem.

Maybe you have shitty theatres, but around here they're always pretty clean, and except for the Lord of the Rings movies I haven't been to a movie in years where I couldn't find plenty of seats that didn't bug me.

I don't see everything there due to the cost (and having a small child)--the wife and I will see a preview and look at each other and just say "no" or "rental" for the stuff we can't be bothered to shell out theatre prices for.

The stuff you like about seeing a movie at home?  I got no issue with that, it's all good--except I don't feel any urge to make it anything more than a show on the TV.  Your opinion is different, that's fine, we just don't feel the same way about it.

Maybe it's just mechanic syndrome--y'know, how the mechanic can't be bothered to fix his own car, or the plumber has an unfixed leak in his house.  I get tired of wiring events up for audio.  We usually even wind up with the freakin' audience applause separated out into the individual channels.

[stray]

I like movie theaters. I like the experience. It's no either/or situation to me though. One can have both. They both exist.