Competing Hobbies: Home Theater vs WW

[Chris Padilla]

I kinda don't view HT as a hobby...at least for me. It's an accomodation and a great alternative to the crowds and expense of going to the movie theatre, especially with the convenience of NetFLIX. But I can understand how it could be a strong avocation for anyone who is a dedicated film buff!

The good news is that you really don't have to invest gazzillions of dollars to have an enjoyable system. Even a low- to mid-range surround/DVD combo system combined with a reasonably priced display will provide a whole lot of enjoyment. My setup is that way, quite frankly. I even used AMEX points for the audio/DVD portion!

Yeah, what Jim said. I have a modest HT set-up (HTIB--home theater in a box) and it works very nicely for us. I even mounted the rear surrounds in the ceiling just aft of the main veiwing couch and I'm always looking behind me because I hear something (usually late at night) then realize it is the surround sound!

My wife and I also live and die by Netflix...we are thoroughly hookd on Alias and are slowly going through all the X-Files but do mix in a movie here and there. The Sopranos Fifth season is available but I can no longer watch that around the little chatterbox as she is also an excellent listen/repeater-box....

[Vaughn McMillan]

I moved into my current house last fall, and still haven't really gotten my home theatre stuff fully set up. (I have the front and center speakers hooked up -- and the subwoofer -- but the rear speakers are still in a box in the storage shed.) Since this move was a merging of my household and my fiancee's household, we're still dealing with the "20 pounds of stuff in a 10-pound box" syndrome.

One byproduct of the move, however, is that I now have space for a workshop, so I've been putting in a lot more time there than in front of the TV. I don't watch a lot of movies, but I'm fully hooked on the DirecTV/TiVo combination. Currently, my TiVo has a lot of shows recorded that I simply haven't made the time to watch, and when I do watch them, I tend to do it in my office/studio instead of the living room where the HT stuff is. (I've got a wireless feed from the entertainment center in the living room into one of the computers in my office, so I can watch TV on one monitor while working on two others.)

I smoke cigarettes (it's pretty much my only remaining unhealthy habit), and like to smoke when I watch TV. SWMBO lets me smoke in my office/studio and in my shop, but not in the living room. Sooner or later I'll get the rest of the surround sound stuff hooked up in the living room, and use the improved sound as an excuse to coerce myself into not smoking while I watch the tube.

- Vaughn

[Tim Morton]

I'm also a HT addict with "Monitor Audio" fronts and centers with B&W rear and a DIY subwoofer....and FYI...DIY is having a HT night going on right now. (is that enough abbrev.?)

[JayStPeter]

WOW I found this thread and feel like I am at home. I was a home theater installer for years and another member here (Jay St Peter) camps out at hometheatertalk.com too. A link Jay provide lead me here. ...

I'm pretty sure I found Badger Pond from someone on HTT.

Anyway, I got into woodworking by building a few sets of speakers. It led to a router and a tablesaw ... next thing you know, my home theater hasn't had any upgrades in a while but my shop has.
My shop has some decent audio equipment in it also. When surround took over the world, I decommisioned a pretty decent Luxman receiver that now resides in my shop. My first homemade set of speakers is attached. For some music, they sound better than my B&W mains. Not bad for <$100 in parts for the pair. I keep planning on building a new set of speakers for my living room/home theater.

Jay

[Bill Arnold]

We've had a 'home theater' in some form for 13 years, I guess. Starting with a good audio system fed from a 27" TV. About seven years ago we bought a 50" projection TV because it fit the 'entertainment alcove' in our new house. We recently replaced the TV with an HDTV projection set. Having said all that, we watch relativley little TV overall. The major networks would go broke if they depended on viewers like us! TV is definitely NOT a hobby!!!

I spend most of my time either in my shop area building something or on the computer designing future projects. When it's time for a break from building a project, many times I'll just sit in the shop and contemplate the next steps. It's difficult to say whether woodworking is a hobby, avocation or whatever -- it's what I enjoy doing the most. When I have an opportunity, I enjoy photography -- it satisfies a different type of creative urge, I suppose.

[Jim Becker]

we watch relativley little TV overall. The major networks would go broke if they depended on viewers like us!

Here, here! "We resemble that remark". Other than waking up to local news and GMA, the tube is rarely on for anything outside of movies from NetFLIX, some high-def programing that is interesting and a bit of HGTV and Food Network from time to time. (The exception being when the 'rents are visiting and its "all westerns, all the time"... )

[Jerry Olexa]

I agree. NetFlix is Great and changes your viewing habits! You see specifically what you want when you want it w no time pressure. Nirvanna...

[Jim Becker]

I do have to admit that with the aquisition of a video camera (with all the dang accessories that make the camera look cheap... ) as well as editing software, I suspect I'll be spending a little time at the computer learning how to be a famous movie producer. Ya, right... But I don't think it will become a second hobby, per se.

[Rob Russell]

About 6 years ago I put a surround sound system into our family room. It's based on B&W matrix speakers (my wife calls the little bubble tweeters "the doobers on top") and Sunfire electronics with a Sunfire subwoofer. Our rears are also in the ceiling over the couch, mostly because it was the only way the "interior decorator" would let me have rear speakers.

Since LOML is a librarian, we have pretty ready to DVD's which is what we mostly watch. There are some commercial shows we enjoy, but the TC is certainly not the mind-magnet that it is for some.

[Kurt Voss]

Now I know I've landed on a great forum - HT is one of my longstanding hobbies. Probably like a lot of you, I had the first Dolby capable TV and receivers, had surround sound before most people new it existed and have tried to keep up with each new advance in technology. The trouble is that as time has gone by, I've picked up more hobbies and time and $$ have to get spread thinner. My other hobbies include home automation (using a Stargate/Homeseer based system with the home's HVAC, security, AV systems, phones, sprinklers, and lighting integrated), computers - (these are a "necessity" for home automation, MP3 distribution and network based security cams - yes honey I really do need 5 PC's), tinkering with a hot rod Dodge diesel pick-up and of course wood-working. So, what I end up doing is kind of rotating through these things as the whim of interest leads me.

The current HT is in the same building that houses the shop. It is basically the second floor of a 60'x40' building minus 10' on one end devoted to storage. I have a Sanyo HDTV projector combined with a 144" Dalite screen. Audio is mostly Pioneer and Sony and Infinity, but looking to upgrade to a Yamaha RXZ9 receiver and Definitive speakers - just have to practice delayed gratificaiton for a while longer. BTW, I agree Netflix is great and really a money saver - now we just buy movies we know we're going to want to see again!

[Bob Borzelleri]

I'm not sure what part of HT qualifies a a hobby. Maybe the build up and tweaking does, but sitting and watching and listening is a bit too passive for me to call a hobby. I might well get an argument from the guy who taught music appreciation back in my undergraduate days, but it seems to me that a hobby is something that you touch.

Having said that, Part of the changes of the past 15 months (retirement, new house, new shop, new motorcycle, etc.) have included setting up a "media" room. Much of the equipment has been around for anywhere from one to twenty five years. The sound processor is a Rotel as is the DVD player. Amps are B&K, NHT and a nice little Onyko that sends audio to the rest of the house. Speakers are Energy 22 RefConns for the front and Pro 22s for the rear. The sub is an NHT. I haven't gotten around to setting up the rear center channels yet. CD player is an Adcom and the projector is Sanyo with a 110" screen throw. The screen is white paint on the imperfect smooth wall.

When the shop gets finished, the next project will be a set of cabinets to frame the high end screen (perhaps I will splurge for a new coat of paint).


Maybe the notion of constantly adding to the setup is the part that makes it a hobby. If that is the case, I'd like to get to a point where HT moves from hobby to an appliance.

...Bob

By the way, my builder (who also lives down the hill from me) built a HT in one of the houses he showed us before we signed on for him to build our house. That owner had about $250K in the setup. Now that our place is up and running and after me, my wife and our builder sitting through parts of the same film in both settings, when the lights go down, it's near impossible to distinguish any difference (although his seats are more comfortable).

[Tim Morton]

I'm not sure what part of HT qualifies a a hobby. Maybe the build up and tweaking does, but sitting and watching and listening is a bit too passive for me to call a hobby. I might well get an argument from the guy who taught music appreciation back in my undergraduate days, but it seems to me that a hobby is something that you touch.

Having said that, Part of the changes of the past 15 months (retirement, new house, new shop, new motorcycle, etc.) have included setting up a "media" room. Much of the equipment has been around for anywhere from one to twenty five years. The sound processor is a Rotel as is the DVD player. Amps are B&K, NHT and a nice little Onyko that sends audio to the rest of the house. Speakers are Energy 22 RefConns for the front and Pro 22s for the rear. The sub is an NHT. I haven't gotten around to setting up the rear center channels yet. CD player is an Adcom and the projector is Sanyo with a 110" screen throw. The screen is white paint on the imperfect smooth wall.

When the shop gets finished, the next project will be a set of cabinets to frame the high end screen (perhaps I will splurge for a new coat of paint).


Maybe the notion of constantly adding to the setup is the part that makes it a hobby. If that is the case, I'd like to get to a point where HT moves from hobby to an appliance.

...Bob

By the way, my builder (who also lives down the hill from me) built a HT in one of the houses he showed us before we signed on for him to build our house. That owner had about $250K in the setup. Now that our place is up and running and after me, my wife and our builder sitting through parts of the same film in both settings, when the lights go down, it's near impossible to distinguish any difference (although his seats are more comfortable).

Sounds like a real nice set-up you have there,,I have owned B&K amps as well as adcom seperates over the years,,been real happy with them. As for saying that it is not a hobby I would have to dissagree somewhat...although maybe once you get your room set-up and are in the sitting back and enjoying it mode it may turn from a hobby into an "interest"...but since few true HT hobbiests are ever "done" it may continue to be a hobby for most of us...

[Timo Christ]

My other hobby is ultra-fi building (in other words, i build speakers and amplifiers beyond what is available in stores), so this has lead to a pretty nice audio system. The last set of speakers i built (full range horn system..) brought me deeper into woodworking as well. I wanted to make them look nice and put hundreds of hours into them.
At the moment i am more focused on furniture building, but i also have speaker projects scheduled. For me, watching movies isn't the hobby it used to be. I still have a projector and enjoy watching a movie from time to time.
Sitting in front of the computer is a major time killer. I have to cut down forum time for more shop time!