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paul packer

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Jan 18, 2002, 4:34:44 AM1/18/02
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Here's one to ponder---just how real is home cinema? Before it became
popular I was one of those who was always trying to play TV sound
through his stereo to get better sound. When HT came along I welcomed
it as an enlightened entertainment breakthrough. Yet now I'm not so
sure. The sound I'm hearing from most home cinemas just isn't what I
had in mind all those years ago. What I was after was increased
realism, yet what I'm hearing these days is the antithesis of realism.
I go into shops where HT is being demonstrated and the sounds I hear
are so laughably exaggerated I can't relate them to real life at all.
Not just action scenes, though God knows they're laughable enough.
Even ordinary, everyday sounsd are blown out of all proportion.
Someone slams a door and your hair blows back. Someone starts a 4
wheel drive and the floor shakes. The slightest action is cause for
sub-woofers to start rumbling like long dormant volcanoes. The other
day I walked past a shop demoing HT and paused a moment to compare the
sounds from the shop on the one side and the ordinary street sounds on
the other. Needless to say I could find no point of comparison: the
HT sounds were just overblown, fake, thumping nonsense. Whatever
happened to the notion of realism? Whaever happened to proportion, for
that matter? I don't own a HT, and frankly I won't be considering one
until the industry adopts a more adult philosophy of more than just
effect for effect's sake.

Alan Rutlidge

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Jan 18, 2002, 4:50:58 AM1/18/02
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Paul,

You are the victim of typical poorly set up showrooms. HT, if set up
properly will give you a satisfactory performance, comparable with most
smaller cinemas from an audio perspective. I agree with your observations
and hear this sort of poorly adjusted and configured HT all the time at
Harving Moron's, MegaMouth's and a number of other infinitely forgettable
retailers, who know as much about HT as they do about pop-up toasters,
microwave ovens, fridges et al.

Don't feel you are isolated in your perspective. I too was figuring how
to get better sound out of the mono b&w TV and feeding the audio through
my home built stereo amp and speakers.

Cheers,
Alan

Mr. Gimlet

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Jan 18, 2002, 5:40:54 AM1/18/02
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Joe Punter wants to hear all of those speakers and the subwoofer to make
sure he's getting value for money. It's the unfortunate coincidence of
cheap, poorly matched equipment and buyer expectations.
--
Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt
Gaius Julius Caesar


"paul packer" <pac...@terrigal.net.au> wrote in message
news:3c47e885...@news.terrigal.net.au...

Noodle

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Jan 18, 2002, 9:33:06 AM1/18/02
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Whaever happened to proportion, for
> that matter? I don't own a HT, and frankly I won't be considering one
> until the industry adopts a more adult philosophy of more than just
> effect for effect's sake.

After reading the comments posted already I just wanted to clarify
something. Are you saying that you dont like the effects as written to the
media or just dont like how it is reproduced? To try and make my question a
bit clearer, is it the sound effects added to movies you dislike or just how
HT reproduces them? I agree that many movies have totally unrealistic sound
effects added, which can be at times annoying but generally I find them
enjoyable. As for reproducting of these effects on a HT well thats all in
the setup. Some people just have no idea when it comes to setting up a HT
and then again some people will set up their HT how they like to hear it
rather than how it should sound. Some people like the thunder of the base
at every opportunity.


Trevor S

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Jan 18, 2002, 10:24:44 AM1/18/02
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"Noodle" <dont_...@spam.com> wrote in message
news:CmW18.10822$gf1....@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
<Snip>

> HT reproduces them? I agree that many movies have totally unrealistic
sound
> effects added, which can be at times annoying but generally I find them
> enjoyable. As for reproducting of these effects on a HT well thats all in
> the setup. Some people just have no idea when it comes to setting up a HT
> and then again some people will set up their HT how they like to hear it
> rather than how it should sound. Some people like the thunder of the base
> at every opportunity.

How can a person who does not have a HT (as the original poster states)
comment on how the titles are authored, if the only examples they have heard
are from incorrectly set up systems ?

Sure, poorly authored audio abounds _but_ if they were like that in the
cinema, is not the DVD simpily faithfully reproducing that ? Is that a
reflection of HT per se ?

Similar analogies can be draw with other media eg music but I am not put off
music by having to listen to the crap from the boom box of the neighbours
kid :)

Trevor S

Noodle

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Jan 18, 2002, 6:08:36 PM1/18/02
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> How can a person who does not have a HT (as the original poster states)
> comment on how the titles are authored, if the only examples they have
heard
> are from incorrectly set up systems ?

From his post it sounds like he has listened to a few, he mentions friends
and a number of shops that all sounded bad. Hence my question of whether it
was the media or the reproduction of the media he disliked.


>
> Sure, poorly authored audio abounds _but_ if they were like that in the
> cinema, is not the DVD simpily faithfully reproducing that ? Is that a
> reflection of HT per se ?
>
> Similar analogies can be draw with other media eg music but I am not put
off
> music by having to listen to the crap from the boom box of the neighbours
> kid :)
>
> Trevor S

Yep I agree


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