CarltonBale.com

Home theater has been a major hobby of mine since the early 1990s when I hooked my first stereo VCR up to a 2-channel receiver. In college, my roommate start his co-op job and purchased at 20″ TV — my experience was as complete, or so I thought. A couple of years later, Dolby Pro-Logic receivers became available, and I upgraded to 5.1 sound. The addition of a DVD player shortly after they were introduced made a significant impact on sound and picture quality. My next phase was acquiring one of the first 720p 16:9 projectors to be released, which replicated the big theater experience for the first time. The next major revolution was add HD capabilities with a TiVo HD Satellite receiver. Next came the addition of a Blu-ray player and a 1080p projector. I can’t wait to see what further improvements will come my way and fight my resistance to upgrades. . .

My Home Theater Photo Gallery:

I’ve created a home theater construction photo album showing my current (version 2.0) and my previous (version 1.0) home theaters in various states of progress. The album includes a brief description of each picture, so you can get an idea of how everything was designed and constructed. Here a some pictures of the completed project:

My Movie Collection:

I use My Movies Collection Management to catalog my movie collection and I have it published and viewable online.

Home Theater Personal Computer (HTPC):

I currently use a combination of Windows 7 Media Center and the  to browse and play my movie collection from any HTPC. I currently use Windows 7 Media Center and the Media Browser plugin and sometimes the MyMovies plugin to browse and play my movie collection.  I use Windows Home Server to store all of my movie backups; Slysoft AnyDVD HD is used in the backup process. MyMovies Collection Management for Windows Home Server is used to provide the movie descriptions, cover art, actor profiles, etc., for all of my DVD and Blu-ray backups.HTPC History: I’ve been a Home Theater Person Computer (HTPC) enthusiast since about 2000, when I borrowed a VGA projector to display movies on the wall but found the lack of a line-doubler intolerable. So I used PowerDVD to play the movie and purchased a high-end (for the time) sound card to output Dobly Digital audio. I later tried XLobby v2 (by Steven Hanna) as a movie browser interface, in hopes of replicating the $40,000 Kaleidescape system I’d seen demoed at the CEDIA home theater trade show. I also tried TheaterTek DVD player software. When Media Center Edition of Windows XP was released, it became my primary platform.

My Current Home Theater Equipment:

Preamp / Processor: The Anthem Statement D2v is a fantastic high-end preamp / processor.  It has a some of the best audio capabilities available, a built-in high-definition video processor, and some of the best factory support available.  I purchased my D2v directly from Anthem as an upgrade from a D2 I purchased on Audiogon.

Amplifier: The  Sherbourn 7/2100A does everything I need an amp to do: deliver lots of clean, undistorted power. Pure audiophiles say that the amplifier makes a huge difference in sound quality, but it’s my opinion that it has the least effect of any component in a system. This amp delivers 7-channels at a max of 300 watts each, which is way more than my home theater requires. It accepts balanced inputs (XLR connectors) from my Anthem pre-amp and turns on and off automatically. Nothing more, nothing less, and all I need, and maybe then some. I purchased mine from Steve at SoundVideo.com.

Projector: The JVC D-ILA projectors offer the blackest blacks. I wouldn’t consider any other projector for home theater. The optics are very sharp, THX mode give a great out-of-box initial calibration setting, it operates quietly, has more than enough inputs, and is by far the best projector I’ve ever owned. I purchased my JVC D-ILA HD750 new off of eBay. The projector mount I use is a Chief RPM-223 Elite, with a CMA-006 and CMA-115 ceiling mount and extension pole. It offers a perfect fit, fine adjustment for pitch/tilt/rotation, and a lock for additional security. I purchased the mount components from ProjectorCenter.com and AValive.com

List of my Old Equipment:

• Room Treatment: 50 custom-made 2′x4′ audio panels; Ownens Corning SelectSound Black Acoustic fiberglass panels, 45-degree beveled MDF 2″ frame, Guilford of Maine (GoM) fabric covering (Style: Spinel 3582, Color: 021 Obsidian)
  • The fiberglass acoustic panel room treatment was by far the single largest contributor to audio quality.
  • 60% room coverage; 2 layers installed on the front wall and corners
• Projector: JVC HD730 1080P projector w/Stewart Firehawk 123″ diagonal screen and Chief micro-adjust projector mount
• Custom Home Theater Personal Computer
  • Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit
  • Media Browser Plug-in
  • Arcsoft TotalMedia Theatre Blu-ray player
  • VMCPlayit client for Windows Media Center
  • HAI Home Control plug-in for Windows Media Center
  • Intelliremote remote control software
  • LogMeIn remote desktop client
  • Xenarc touchscreen installed in Atech Fabrication rack-mount case
  • Griffin Technology scroll/select wheel
  • nVidia 9400-based chipset for HDMI video and 7.1 channel LPCM HD Audio, Gigabit Ethernet
  • Lite-On Blu-ray drive
  • TiVo HD TV tuners: not directly controlled by Windows Media Center so no live TV; web-based recording scheduling; automated script downloads recorded shows from TiVo HD, runs commercial-skip, and stores files on the Windows Home Server shared folder for playback in Media Center
• TiVo HD
  • 1 TB internal drive upgrade
  • Over-the-air antenna HD content
  • Netflix WatchNow, Amazon VOD
• Anthem Statement D2 Preamp Processor with Room Correction, HD video switching and processing
• Sherbourn 72100A 7-channel amplifier
• Panamax Max 5300 surge protector
• Velodyne HGS15 subwoofer
• PolkAudio front speakers RT16 (x2), CS350-LS (all hidden behind floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall frames with speaker grill cloth covering)
• Sonance Cinema Ultra II SUR (x4) side and rear surround speakers (in-wall, hidden behind fabric panels)
• 9 Bass Industries Executive-series home theater chairs; motorized recline, Mustang Brown color
• 8 Aura bass shakers; Sony 4-channel receiver for amplification
• Middle Atlantic Equipment rack and custom rack shelf for TiVo HD, retractable light