Home Theater Technologies in Central Oregon

GOING HOLLYWOOD AT HOME

Hollywood is in a unique kind of trouble. For the past six years, attendance at movies has dropped and theater revenues have fallen by two percent a year. Ironically, it really hasn’t hurt the film industry’s bottom line. Services such as Video on Demand, Pay Per View and DVD rentals have taken off during the same period. In other words, it’s not that people are watching fewer movies overall; they’re just not going to the theater to do it.

Both technology experts and movie-industry execs agree: This is the dawn of the home-theater age. With high-tech prices dropping, it’s easier than ever to assemble a superior experience in your living room minus the overpriced concessions, sticky fl oors and unwelcome cell-phone and crying-baby interruptions.

For most people, perhaps, home theater means the purchase of the largest TV and stereo their budget will allow, then spending a long and frustrating afternoon splicing it all together. Still, it’s only natural to think ... what if?

What else could a person really do with expert help, a bit of project planning, and the resources to build a serious home theater? It could be the kind of theater that makes going to the traditional multiplex seem silly, when you could be sitting at home in a comfortable seat with your own snacks nearby—the kind that
brings friends over in droves for movie nights or big games—the kind that makes people stop and gawk when they first enter the room.

Meet three residents who have put together impressive systems that speak to what is possible with home theater.

The Surround-Sound Guy

Mike Facett’s dream theater—a dedicated room, designed exclusively for the purpose—was completed early this year. Its centerpiece is a projector that casts a whopping 94-inch image; a 7.1 dedicated surround-sound system (the highest standard available for home use) is powered by a surround receiver and 11 speakers.

Facett explains how the project started. “My wife and I have always had separate TV rooms because I like some shows that she’s just not interested in, and vice-versa,” he says. “Plus, I like to be able to watch a movie with the jets screaming by in surround sound, but Debbie doesn’t like the TV so loud.

“So that’s how we came up with the home-theater idea. We wanted the big screen so people could come over for football games or the fights. From there, we just sort of handed it off to the guys at the store [Stereo Planet] and told them what we were looking for. They handled all the technical details.”

Facett’s theater also has personal-computer connectivity, for viewing digital photos and video. With a dedicated internet protocol (IP) address, the system is networked. Facett can even use it to check in with the security cameras at his business if he so desires. Talk about having it all available at the click of a button!

An Extension of Work

Todd Haaby (pronounced Hobby) is that rarest of people, a working, thriving musician with an established niche. As a classical guitarist, Haaby records in his home studio and transmits the fi les via a high-speed Internet connection, allowing him to travel much less.

Haaby’s theater is an extension of his studio. Most of his high-tech equipment, therefore, is related to audio recording and editing. Several computers help run a hard-disc recording-and-editing setup that would make any aspiring band salivate. The sophisticated audio technology doesn’t end there, though. A dedicated 7.1 surround-sound system extends into the home-theater area, along with a 50-inch plasma television.

“The sound was mostly for the studio at fi rst,” Haaby says. “It really helps when I’m recording and working with audio to hear it in as high a quality of audio as possible, so I had to have something high-end. From
there, I fi gured that if I had sound this good, I might as well enjoy it for more than just work. So I extended my home theater into the system.

“The TV just came about because I wanted a new big-screen. I don’t like to squint when I watch TV, and this one called out to me when I was shopping.”

The Multi-use Room

Chuck Thompson and his wife didn’t want to dedicate a room entirely to a theater. “We enjoy having a large screen and superior sound,” Thompson says, “but we didn’t want to set aside an entire room just for the TV.”

He was inspired to build their home-theater system when he purchased a new television set. He began eyeing high-definition TV (HDTV) when he saw the difference in picture quality while watching a basketball
game in high-defi nition at a friend’s house. “It was amazing,” he recalls. “I could make out the wood grain on the court, it was so clear. I’d been thinking about buying a new TV anyway, because ours was a bit old at that point. After that, I was hooked, so I went out hunting for one.”

Thompson settled on a 50-inch plasma TV. “I liked the plasma best because it has a great picture,” he explains, “but it’s really slim and doesn’t take up a lot of space, so the TV isn’t the biggest piece of furniture in the room.” As he had long been a fan of surround-sound, Thompson upgraded his sound package as well, with a full 7.1 surround sound system powered by seven inwall speakers and a 12-inch subwoofer to handle those big booms and bangs.

In addition to sports, Thompson and his wife are both movie afi cionados with a taste for action and suspense fi lms. “I can’t remember the last time I went to the theater,” he says. “I like this much better. It’s more comfortable; the picture and sound are just as good, and it’s way more convenient overall.”