Watched Empire Strikes Back with my dad

I'm about a month away from owning a home theater projector with a 92" screen, Bose 5.1 surround system and Onkyo DTS receiver, so I'll be earning a bit of envy from people I know as well.

Fight Club or LOTR will probably be my first show, though.

Man I need a big screen T.V.............................NOW.

You guys are lucky, Star Wars on a giant T.V. and home theatre system would rule.

Billz - it sounds like you're getting a nice set up with the projector and the Onkyo, but I strongly urge you to do a little research on your choice in Bose speakers. Seriously, man. If you are going to shell out for a high end system, really consider whether it makes sense to get some speakers that are more than just hype. You don't even need to spend more than the cost of the Bose and you can get product that is far superior (e.g., check out Axiom online). Anyway, I hope you're feeling the love from this post. Good luck with the system.

On topic, if you can swing it, a nice home theater set up is a must when you first have kids (which can severely limits your in-house moving going experience). I'm starting to prefer watching movies at home. I've done that Hoth attack twice now at home and it gets better with each viewing.

Stargate (Ultimate Edition) , is phenomenal for a home theater showoff.

geez man, what do you do for a living?

Thanks for the tip. The projector and receiver, which I have researched a bit, will be my main focus right now, as I can't really afford the set of speakers that I want. I'm moving into a new house with a basement, and I've always wanted a home theater setup. I have a line on a good price for the Bose speaker set, so I'll probably start there and upgrade later. I have a small 2.1 Bose system in my apartment now, and I couldn't be more happy with its performance.

My total investment will be around $1,700. If I'm lucky.

Tombstone would be a good western for the big screen too. Other ideas for you: T2, Panic Room, The Matrix, Troy, Jaws in DTS, Hero, Azumi, Snatch, Solaris, 2001 - A Space Odyssey, Alien, Aliens, Pitch Black, Equilibrium, Jurassic Park, Starship Troopers, Saving Private Ryan(or the better Band of Brothers), etc.

PLEASE - DO NOT BUY BOSE!!! I have Axioms like Ockham, which I love. You get something infinitaly better at the same price as the discounted B-LOSE system. Try the HSU Research Ventriloquist system if you want something affordable. Bose is just a marketing scheme.

No offense meant to any Bose owners out there, but I have to second theroyle on this one. Bose is fine if user-friendliness is your primary consideration. But if you want the best possible sound QUALITY for the least amount of money, you can do better elsewhere (including the truly excellent Axioms that theroyle owns). If you want to do more research on home theater equipment (ranging from Home Theater in a Box to full-blown reference-quality 7.1 separates systems, check out www.avsforum.com. I've been a consumer electronics nut for more than 25 years, and yet I learn new things about home theater everytime I visit at AVS Forum. The people there were instrumental in helping me to choose a digital front projector and screen combo that I'm very happy with. AVSers can be a bit fanatical (but we're used to that here, aren't we?). But if you can get past the fanaticism and nitpicking, you WILL get honest opinions from hobbyists who have actual experience with the equipment they're talking about. I have several friends who jumped on the bigscreen (80-inches and up) front projection bandwagon after watching DVDs and HDTV at our place, and they all use AVS Forum to keep up to date with the latest developments.

Speaking of The Empire Strikes Back, I recently watched the Special Edition DVD and the original version (on Laserdisc) over two consecutive weekends with some friends. While the DVD obviously looked and sounded better, (the LD held up surprisingly well) most in attendance preferred the original version. The concensus was that it felt more like "a movie" than the Special Edition. At first I thought it might be a nostalgia thing, until I remembered that most of my friends are too young to have seen TESB in a theater. Or if they did, they don't have an accurate memory of the experience. They've really only ever seen the original trilogy on TV or video. This ability to experience older movies on a big screen for the first time is, for me, the single coolest thing about owning a full-blown home theater system.

Getting another job soon, which'll bring in 200+ more every two weeks, this will undoubtedly go towards a home theatre set-up, i'm waiting until the time is right though, when it happens it will be cool, it'll be seperate from a living room and more like a mini theatre.

My own little theatre is what it's all about.

Good choice Darth_Chocula. A dedicated home theater space opens up a lot of options regarding screen size and display technologies. For the time being, anything over 70-inches will require a front projector, so a dedicated room will make it easier to accomodate the stricter ambient lighting requirements. Having set up several home theaters for friends, I also find that it's easier to put together a no-compromise sound system since you won't have to worry about how speaker placement and aesthetics interferes with the room's other uses. You're getting into this hobby (obsession?) at a very good time. Sony just announced an improved LCD-based front projection display technology that should significantly improve picture quality over exisiting low/mid-priced projectors. PJs with the new Sony panels should be appearing over the next year or so. I was planning on upgrading my projector this year, but now I'm waiting to see what Sony's come up with. If you want to get started on your system, you could begin with the audio side since the technology is more mature and less likely to change in the near term.

Oh God, you guys are making me jealous! What a time to be a penniless student! My dad's 42 inch Phillips plasma screen and 5.1 setup is pretty awesome, and ESB naturally rocks on it, but now I don't feel like boasting...

trust me say no to Bose thier drivers are mad out of paper, visist a real audio store near you not some Best Buy, Bose marketing store and do some serious listening, and the guys at this place will normally seem like saint compared to high schoolers hawking stuuf at Best Buy

I am in college and normally broke but audio is important to me more than picture hence my Pioneer Elite 33 The certified reciever reciever(refurbished), B&W 601S3 on B&W's own sand filled stands, B&WCC6 center (all demo models) and PSB quasi di polar surrounds, with a B&W PV1 subwoofer. If you know where to look you can get a killer system at a great price.

hopefully this summer a Barco 801 graphics will be in my arsenal and all those duped into DLP and LCD will cry at 95plus scan rate, and proper black levels

Watch "Raiders" and "Superman: The Movie" for truely awesome display of any of your systems. ANY of the Star Wars flicks are louder than any movie deserves to be, but its sooo great.

Sharpel007 makes a good point about used audio equipment as a viable option to save money. If you're careful about inspecting and trying out the equipment before you buy, it's a good way to save lots of money. Especially with stuff like receivers, amps and preamp/processors. You have to try really hard to damage that stuff (well, most people do). Used speakers require a bit more attention before buying. Like Sharpel007, I started with CRT front projectors years ago, but the newest batch of digital PJs (LCOS, DLP and the upcoming Sony LCD) have leveled the playing field quite a bit. And contrary to Sharpel007's implication, I don't think that most knowledgeable LCD and DLP owners are "duped" at all. Choosing these technologies has more to do with practicality and cost than a belief that they're superior to CRT. Because I've been at this so long, I know dozens of people who are into front projection, and none of them genuinely believes that CRT PJs are inferior to digital projectors picture-wise. In fact, most of us who have been into front projection for more than 4 or 5 years started out with CRT projectors. Even now, a properly set up CRT front projector can beat most digital projectors out there in creating a film-like picture. But CRT's limited light output (which restricts maximum screen size), bulk, difficulty in installation and set-up and need for ongoing convergence and geometry adjustment make it impractical for all but the most fanatical (or rich) hobbyists. Here in Japan where houses and apartments are smaller than the U.S., it's an especially hard sell, especially if you have a family.

The problem I have is right now my room is really small, so small I only have a bed, one shelf, one three tiered shelf for my T.V. and whatnot and a dresser...

But we have a spare room now with a ruined bedframe that a cat is ossupying right now, and it can't be used for T.V. because sadly it's a doorless doorway next to the living room with the T.V. and my dad who sadly not that occupied with film......at all. So what I plan to do is remove the P.C. desk I have in my room, and the futon bed I have cause it's uncormfortable and instead of the bed have a sofa I can sleep/sit on, and have it face the three tiered shelf which will have my T.V. and my stuff [which in time would be replaced by a big t.v. with a side shelf that could hold my stuff.

So far for my cost effective surround sound bedoroom

1 Good receiver from A&B Sound, I will go for something cheap but good, as long as it's got DTS, they hade some for $100-$200

For speakers

$99.99 Quest Quick 3 piece [Center and L/R Speakers] Speaker pack [Heard good things]
$99.99 Quest Subwoofer [Also hear good things]
$59.99 Quest Bookshelf speakers [For rear channels, also good comments]
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$259.97 + 14% Tax = $296

$296 for 5.1 seems cheap for me, and the equipment sounds nice although feel free to look it up and tell me i'm doomed or whatever, still haven't calculated how much wires will be, but whatever the speaker stuff isn't for a while, I'm just working out which components i'm going to buy right now, first up is buying a new player, a regionless player that won't skip a lot on layer changes/chapter changes, the n comes the home theatre, then the T.V.