Of course, any room can be made dark at night simply by turning off the lights. But if you watch during the day in a room with windows, sliding glass doors, skylights, or other transparent/translucent openings to the outside world, you need black-out shades or other coverings to darken the room, which might or might not be practical for one reason or another.
I'm curious to know if this is a big problem among our readers. How well can you control the ambient daylight in the room you use as a home theater? I'd also love to know how you control ambient daylight. Blackout shades? A windowless room? If you have a front projector, do you use an ambient-light-rejecting screen?
Vote to see the results and leave a comment about your choice.
We all know that traditional radio and CDs are in decline. Even digital downloads are waning in popularity, giving way to music streaming options from an ever-growing roster of online services. All of which makes us wonder if on-demand music streaming is the Next Big Thing in music listening.
Cast your vote in this week’s HT Poll, and if you don’t see your favorite music service in the list below (we were shocked by how many we found) tell us about the one you like most in the Comments section.
Does video streaming play a role in how you experience TV and movies at home? If so, take part in this week's Home Theater Poll and let us know which service you use most.
How do you feel about converting existing 2D movies to 3D (assuming it's done well)? Is it worthwhile? If so, what movies would you like to see converted? Or do you think this is an abomination and all existing movies should be left alone?
Vote to see the results and leave a comment about your choice.
These days, few topics engage—or enrage—home-theater enthusiasts like 3D. This was clearly demonstrated by a recent news story on our sibling website HomeTheater.com—3DTV Boom Fails to Materialize. The story cites an online poll conducted by Vision Critical that indicates little support for the fledgling format among consumers in the US, Great Britain, and Canada.
As soon as that story was posted, a flurry of comments followed, some quite lengthy and thoughtful, which I encourage you to read. Meanwhile, I wonder if you think 3D is here to stay? After all, it has come and gone several times over the last few decades in commercial cinemas, so perhaps the current craze is nothing more than another cycle that will soon disappear. On the other hand, perhaps the Vision Critical poll was premature, and improvements in the technology and strong support from TV manufacturers and movie studios will tip the scale toward a permanent presence in the entertainment landscape.
I really look forward to reading your thoughts on this question, which is sure to stir strong sentiments on both sides of the debate. So let 'er rip!
Vote to see the results and leave a comment about your choice.
Anyone who owns a 120 or 240Hz LCD TV has seen frame interpolation at work, though they might not realize it. These TVs create new video frames and display them between the actual frames as depicted above to reduce motion blur. The problem is that this process has an unwanted side effectit makes movies look like they were shot on video, just like soap operas. Most videophiles hate this "soap-opera effect" so much, they turn it off and live with more motion blur.
If you have a 120 or 240Hz LCD TV and aren't familiar with this effect, go into the TV's picture menu and turn frame interpolation on and off while watching a movie clip with some fast motion. (In most such TVs, it's on by default.) In many cases, this control is in a submenu called something like "Advanced," but don't be scared, you can't damage anything. Also, this control often has several settings like Low, Medium, and High; try them all and look for any differences.
The frame-interpolation function goes by different names in different brands; here are the names used by the biggest manufacturers:
- LG: TruMotion
- Samsung: Auto Motion Plus
- Sony: Motionflow
- Toshiba: ClearScan
- Vizio: Smooth Motion
Those who have seen frame interpolation at work usually have a strong opinion about it, so I ask you: Do you think frame interpolation is a godsend for reducing motion blur or the devil's spawn because of the dreaded soap-opera effect?
Vote to see the results and leave a comment about your choice; I look forward to reading your thoughts on this.
I'm not talking about those awful red-and-blue glasses or cheesy 3D movies from decades ago; I mean the current state of the art, including commercial cinema and 3D TVs and Blu-ray players (which can now be bought for as little as $120, less than a pair of active glasses!). Modern 3D is big news, but is it an important technological leap or merely hype to get consumers to spend more money?
Please leave a comment after you vote.
With the rise of iTunes, Netflix, and other online sources of streaming and downloadable audio/video content, many now predict that physical media such as CD, DVD, and Blu-ray will soon go the way of the dinosaurs. According to a recent story in the Los Angeles Times, sales of CDs and DVDs are down 57 and 33 percent, respectively, over the last four years, but Blu-ray disc sales have grown by almost 19,000 percent in the same time frame. Still, there are those who see Blu-ray as the last physical medium in the face of the online onslaught.
Others believe that physical media will never disappear altogether, in part because it's human nature to collect physical objects, and the sense of ownership is greater when you have something to hold in your hands. Additional factors in this argument include physical media's permanencethere's no chance of losing the data in a hard-disk crashand generally superior sound and picture quality.
Which side of this argument are you on? Do you believe that the end of physical media is upon us, or will it survive the rise of online distribution, perhaps with the development of a future technology such as holographic crystals with terabytes of capacity? Or will it become a niche market as vinyl LPs are today?
Vote to see the results and leave a comment about your choice. Is your vote a real prediction or wishful thinking?
This typically gets you relatively close to the display's best performance, but to get even closer, you must calibrate the display's grayscale and color gamut if the necessary controls are available in the menu system. You can hire a professional to perform the calibration at a cost of several hundred dollars, or you can do it yourself if you have the required equipment, software, and training, which can cost thousands of dollars. But for those of us who want to wring every last drop of performance from our displays, it's money well spent.
Have you had your display's grayscale and color gamut fully calibrated? If so, did you hire a pro to do it, or did you do it yourself? If not, why not?
Vote to see the results and leave a comment about your choice.
But I don't really know, so I'm asking youis your flat-panel TV wall-mounted? If so, is it close to seated eye height, or do you have it mounted highersay, above the fireplace? Did you do it yourself, or did you hire someone to do it? How did you hide the cables? Let us know in the comments.
Vote to see the results and leave a comment about your choice.
How about you? Have you installed a voltage regulator, surge suppressor (other than a cheap power strip), lightning rod, uninterruptible power supply (UPS), or other power protection? What have you done in this regard and whyor why not?
Note: This poll question is not about power optimizationI'll ask about that next week.
Vote to see the results and leave a comment about your choice.
- Samsung spotlighted 85-, 95- and 110-inch 4K Ultra HDTVs in open tripod-like frames and said the 85-inch model will hit stores in March/April. Also see this report.
- LG showcased the 84-inch 4K Ultra HD TV that went on sale in late 2012 and revealed plans for 55- and 65-inch screen sizes later this year. OLED was also front and center in the form of a 55-inch set the company plans to deliver in March for $12,000; LG also demonstrated a curved OLED panel that’s said to deliver a more accurate image. Also see this report.
- Panasonic and Sony teamed up to produce OLED panels using a new printing technology. Both companies showed the only 4K OLED panels at the show.
- Sony announced plans to expand its 4K Ultra HD line this spring with 55- and 65-inch screen sizes that will join the 84-inch model announced last year and showed a 4K Ultra HD video player.
- Value-leader Vizio highlighted a 70-inch 4K Ultra HDTV that will be joined by 55- and 65-inch sets later in the year.
- Toshiba showed 58-, 65-, and 84-inch 4K Ultra HD TVs; all feature the proprietary Cevo upscaling engine and are slated for release this summer.
- Sharp unveiled two 4K Ultra HD TVs, featuring a proprietary ICC processor that is said to add depth to upconverted 1080p content; the sets are due out in later this year.
- Chinese TV maker Hisense announced five Ultra HD TVs with screen sizes ranging from 50 to 110 inches but didn’t reveal when the sets will be available or how much they will cost.
Last November, I asked if you prefer an A/V receiver or separate components, but now I'm asking which you actually use in your main system. Select the item below that most closely reflects your system, and then please leave a comment with the make(s) and model(s) of your A/V electronics and why you chose them.
Vote to see the results and leave a comment about your choice.
Now it's your turn to tell us what you found most exciting from CEDIA, whether you were there in person or followed our posts from the show. For this poll, I've listed a few of our favorite items, but of course, there was far more to pique the interest of any home-theater buff, so if your fave isn't here, click on "Other" and let us know what it is in the comments.
Vote to see the results and leave a comment about your choice.
Vote to see the results and leave a comment about your choice.
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