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writequit, where do you live?
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# ? May 18, 2024 18:40 |
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Pickpocket posted:writequit, where do you live? Bawl'mer, Hon. writequit fucked around with this message at 03:20 on Oct 15, 2009 |
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writequit posted:Bawl'mer, Hon. aw snap, a local. how bout dem o's hon?
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This is my "in process" basement home theater. Yes, the speakers are too loud, too gaudy, and I like it that way. The front speakers, rear speakers, and sub towers are all made by me, the screen frame I made, and the equipment rack is scavenged from my work when we closed down an old office. I'm getting married in a few weeks so I got this done to this point so it could be "grandfathered in" to the house. None of the stuff is top of the line, most of it is things I bought used, closeout, or haggled for. I've got maybe $3500 into the whole thing (not counting labor) and besides its lack of esthetics; I would say it would rival a home theater costing many times that amount! On to the pics ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Equipment list: Outlaw 990 Processor Emotiva LPR-1 7 channel amp Panasonic PT- AE300U Projector Behringer EP1500 powering the 4x12” subs under the screen Behringer EP2500 powering the two sub towers flanking the screen OPPO 970 DVD player Samsung BD-P1500 Blu Ray Wii Runco PFP-7 Video Processor (for upscaling the Wii, LD, and VHS output to 720P) Custom HTPC running XBMC for mkv and other video ADC DSS 100 Bass processor Belkin Pure AV power conditioner I just finished the front towers this week, i always wanted to build line arrays. Not sure if I like them yet or not, I still need to tweak and break them in. (Sorry for the crappy pics, I'm not much of a photographer and the lighting down there played hell with my camera) Cold Old fucked around with this message at 20:52 on Oct 23, 2009 |
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Cold Old posted:Marty McFly's Speakers
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writequit posted:Bawl'mer, Hon. I love your house man. BTW, hello from Harford County.
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Cold Old posted:awesomeness This is indescribably amazing. Did you come up with the line array design yourself, or did you find it online? If you can, could you post a link?
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Cold Old posted:My speakers have baby speakers that are bigger than yours Its just so... Manly... (I'm pretty sure manly can also be substituted for any of the following: Awesome, unnecessary, inefficient, "hi-end", ridiculous, and 100 other words.)
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I came up with the design myself. Honestly, there isn't a whole lot of science behind them other than searching for "speaker lot" on eBay and finding deals. I ended up getting the mids and tweeters from the same guy who was selling closeout lots from speaker manufactures. The 8's in the towers and the 12's in the sub towers are Elemental Design's EHQS subs that they were closing out a year ago. I figured with the line arrays, throw enough drivers at them and its has to sound good. So far, so good. My girlie is away this weekend so I've got some metal DVD's, a case of beer, and am breaking things in and tweaking, all at extreme volume levels. So far, so good. The low end craps out a lot quicker than the line arrays, but i figure I've got 3800 watts (per Behringer's specs, I bet is is a half or two thirds of that real world) going to the subs, and only 150 watts to the towers. They are not the best subs, so I'm throwing a lot of power at low-mid range sub drivers, so I'm getting some bottoming out when I turn it up. I guess I could lower the level on the bass processor, but what the hell fun is that. Plus, I'm getting some really bad room cancellation, but it's not like a single 10" sub that I can reposition around the room to find the best positioning. I think my next move is to build some bass traps to fart around with the placement To answer the question above, its 32 tweeters (they are 4 ohm, so I wired them in series - parallel in a magical combination to make the final load 8 0hms), and 16 mids (8 ohm speakers, so the same magic as the tweets, divided by two), plus 2 8 inch woofers. I just used some stock 3 way crossovers from Parts express that matched the specs of the drivers. They are 7 feet tall. Cold Old fucked around with this message at 02:38 on Oct 24, 2009 |
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bEatmstrJ posted:Its just so... Manly... (I'm pretty sure manly can also be substituted for any of the following: Awesome, unnecessary, inefficient, "hi-end", ridiculous, and 100 other words.) Thanks, I'd use all of those descriptions except for "high end." Put is this way, ever seen a tractor pull? Some guys bring machines with a highly tuned, turbo diesel helicopter engine. And some dudes show up with a tractor with 5 Chevy 350's jury rigged together. These definitely fit into category #2, but that's what makes them fun!
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$3500... really... That's awesome. So here's the deal, you can't just post that without some sort of description. I see some Outlaw, Behringer and Emotiva. Let's get some details. And what made me giggle... was that poor little center on the floor. Knife to a gunfight...
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That poo poo just makes me want to go "arf arf arf" a la Tim Allen. ![]()
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Acc-Risk posted:$3500... really... That's awesome. So here's the deal, you can't just post that without some sort of description. I see some Outlaw, Behringer and Emotiva. Let's get some details. I can't argue with you on the center. Its a Jamo that I got a few years ago but that thing kicks like a mule. Next Spring I think I'll build a center that is the same size as the cabinets under the screen, with 8 tweets, 4 mids, and two 8's. I've got all of the drivers leftover from the tower project. In the mean time, the little one holds its own! Here's what I paid for everything: Screen and Projector - $500 from a buddy that moved into a new house and had to convert the existing Home Theater into and office. Outlaw 990 Processor -$450 shipped from eBay (used) Emotiva LPR-1 7 channel amp - $550 B stock from Emotiva Behringer EP1500 - $250 eBay Behringer EP2500 - $300 used from eBay OPPO 970 DVD player - $200 new from Oppo Samsung BD-P1500 Blu Ray - $75 from eBay, dented on back Wii - Free, its my fiance's Runco PFP-7 Video Processor (for upscaling the Wii, LD, and VHS output to 720P) - $150 used from eBay. Video Processors do not hold their value! HTPC - Free, got it from a coworker because it didn't boot. Reseated the SATA cable to the Hard Drive and it was fine. Offered it back but he had already bought another, told me to keep it ADC DSS 100 Bass processor - $50 from eBay Belkin Pure AV power conditioner - $50 from eBay, listed as one of the outlets not working, everything works 100% Add in $150 or so in cabling (from Monoprice), and that gives me about $2750 in the stack, leaving $750 or so for the speakers. Since the speakers are DIY and none of the drivers are very exotic, the only other costs are wood and finishing. That sounds about right. The 12" subs are from Elemental Designs when they closed out the EHQS line, got them for $12.50 each, and the 8"s for $5.00 apiece
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Cold Old posted:I came up with the design myself. Honestly, there isn't a whole lot of science behind them other than searching for "speaker lot" on eBay and finding deals. I ended up getting the mids and tweeters from the same guy who was selling closeout lots from speaker manufactures. Edit: ^^^^ Hurrrrrr, I missed this. Good call on building something new out for the center. Is that little 12" thing sitting on the floor between the subs the only center channel? I've always found that the most important piece of HT has been a center channel at the same size/dynamics as the L and R. It seems to me that you might want to build a center that has some of the same components as your L & R towers. Doesn't that center sound tinny and miserable compared to the other 6 channels? Also, the rest is just outrageous. I love it.
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Go 'Cocks, Cold Old. I live in Lexington, SC myself. Is that a floor to ceiling cat scratcher in one of those pictures?
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First home for wife, infant, and me. Media room in the basement. On the whole, the guy who flipped the house did solid work. Nevertheless, he managed to do some irritating poo poo. Most notable is the off-centered, recessed lighting he installed, which the pics don't reveal. I got fed up sitting under them and am in the process of removing the cans and patching the ceiling. The burlap on the wall to the right is covering shelves like those on the left, except packed with mineral wool. This bookshelf/bass trap also functions as a hidden door to a room I'll eventually take advantage of by using the shelves on the left as a rack. ![]() Dig my cable management. What you're seeing just above the floor trim used to be a brass bed that I hack-sawed. The tubes are "connected" by copper couplings, and rest on brass coat-hangers. Surrounds "mounted" on CRT television mounts hack-sawed to size. Epik Dynasty, looming like a loving monster. ![]() ![]() Edit: Gear Monitor Audio GR20/10/LCR HSU MBM Epik Dynasty Panasonic G10 50inch Marantz SACD/DVD-A/CD changer Pioneer BD50 something or other Pioneer SC-25 5 Remotes, 6 if you count the Harmony I have laying around which does everything, just not very well. PS3 Optical Inch fucked around with this message at 18:02 on Nov 4, 2009 |
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My set-up is ghetto as hell, and that's why I love it. I'm saving up to get a decent 5.1 or maybe a 7.1, but as of right now, I'm using an old abused surround sound DVD player from '03 and everything is in stereo right now![]() Here's the two subs under my desk ![]() The black speakers are under my bed for now ![]() SO I have a question. Until I get a decent receiver with a digital/hdmi connection, I'm stuck on stereo composite inputs because that's all the dvd player has. Since it's 5.1 and has free slots open, I would like to be able to use the two black speakers as well. Is there any way in tinkering around through windows to get the extra two speakers playing stereo as well, or will that not work?
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Cold Old posted:Incredible setup I'm building something similar right now in my basement. The room dimensions are 24'x24' and it's an old storage room. I've built the projection screen, which is 1/2" drywall bolted to the concrete (after applying several coats of water sealant) in three vertical panels (7'x 4') each. There are 96 screws holding them in place because I have a terrible habit of overbuilding things. There are 2 coats of primer paint, 2 coats of white base paint, and 4 coats of some silver paint from Home Depot (I forget the name right off). I bordered the screen 6" on the sides and 8" on the top and bottom with several coats of matte black paint, which has worked perfectly. I've set it up for a 16:9 aspect ratio. The screen itself is around 12.5'x6' viewable. The seating is 16' back, which is the THX recommended distance for a 146" screen (36* viewing angle). Currently I have an InFocus SP5000 projector (only 720p), although the power supply shorted and nuked it a few weeks ago so I'll be upgrading. I'm using an Onkyo TX-SR607 to power a few sets of Polk RTi 30 bookshelfs. The media itself is provided by an HTPC with a blu-ray drive. I stole Cold Old's speakers and dropped them into my room and made a little render to see how everything fits, I'm in desperate need of a new sound setup, and I've built towers for other people, it won't be an issue once I get a hold of some drivers! ![]() I'll take some actual pictures of progress when I get back home. I have some questions for you more experienced people. Right now I have concrete floors and walls, sans the door wall. What should I do for flooring, and what color is best for the walls in a viewing room? I'd love to keep my current receiver for processing and my simple video switching needs, but it will not be able to drive what I want speaker-wise sufficiently. It doesn't have preamp outputs, so are there any good amps that would take my speaker outputs and amplify them similar to some sub setups? I'm considering tiered seating in this room, at least for two rows of couches or something. Do I need to worry about resonance inside whatever I build the tiers out of? Thanks a ton goons, I'd love to turn this into an amazing place.
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FalseNegative posted:Right now I have concrete floors and walls, sans the door wall. What should I do for flooring, and what color is best for the walls in a viewing room? Pretty much every home theater I've been in has been a deep red
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Dark anything works. You want some color in the room, but for the paint to be dark enough that it goes black with the lights down. I use a dark red that is a bit more earthy, like terra-cotta but not nearly as orange. With that much concrete you might want something with some pile to deal with echo. It seems like with such an empty room you will want something to absorb sound. Sound traps would probably be a decent idea too.
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![]() my setup from my dorm last year. moved into a bigger space this year with a desktop added to the mix, don't think i have any pictures of the current setup. more spread out in general, and dropped the cathode tubes. only in this space for a few months so not getting too settled until i get in with my brother in december where i'll be for at least a year.
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Cool setup you got there xerox, that looks really nice compared to the dorm I lived in.
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zerox147o posted:
Looks classy.
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Some things have changed since I last posted: Equipment list:
The whole shebang: ![]() B&K ST-260 for the center channel. This amp is unbelievable. Although not designed to be a center ch amp, it functions superbly as one. Also pictured is a Pioneer Elite SC-05, the entry level model of the SC series. I bought this mainly for the surround processors and the preamps. The SC07 and SC09 models have bigger amps but the same surround chips. It is really an incredible receiver that is able to work wonders with my weird room. ![]() Adcom GFA-555 II powering the front L/R. Sounds great with the Dahlquists. ![]() Adcom GFA-545 II driving the rear surrounds. Also pictured is a Marantz DR700 CDR which has an amazing transport. ![]() Dahlquist DQ-28, a high end "time correct" loudspeaker. They sound phenomenal paired with the Adcom. On the downside they aren't that great for rock/metal. That's cool though as I'm looking to buy a pair of Klipsch for that. ![]() Xbox and G4 Cube. Cube works, but it's there for decoration only. I'll probaby move it at some point coz it's kind of awkward there. ![]() I'll edit post with more pics in a few... Stares At Floor fucked around with this message at 06:25 on Nov 26, 2009 |
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Stares At Floor posted:Pictures Wow that stuff is really close together! Does your equipment get very hot?
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It's barely noticeable in the pictures but the backs of those cabinets are open. Heat is a real concern of mine and I've been monitoring this setup closely for awhile and it seems to be ok. Although I live in a apt. complex so I can't really crank it for extended periods of time. When I get a house next year I'll probably have to add a fan or two. Adcoms are notorious for running hot. Stares At Floor fucked around with this message at 06:27 on Nov 26, 2009 |
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Stares At Floor posted:my old (11+ years if she was still alive) Pio Elite died a year ago from a heat stroke, I assume, with less breathing room. I replaced it with a 94TXH a couple years ago, and these are amazing receivers, nice to see someone else getting as much joy as I do out of theirs. I can't wait till I can amp my speakers, I think you just gave me a goal for next summer. Did you ever run it without the amps? if so did you notice any difference in the ICE amps? Yalc fucked around with this message at 07:15 on Nov 27, 2009 |
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Yalc posted:my old (11+ years if she was still alive) Pio Elite died a year ago from a heat stroke, I assume, with less breathing room. I replaced it with a 94TXH a couple years ago, and these are amazing receivers, nice to see someone else getting as much joy as I do out of theirs. I can't wait till I can amp my speakers, I think you just gave me a goal for next summer. At one point I had the center channel driven by the Pioneer and it sounded fine. However once I switched to the B&K the difference was immediate. That isn't fair though as B&K is in a different class than the Pio. Additionally, I ran the center and the rears for a time off the Pio and I didn't hear anything obviously wrong, although I didn't do any real critical listening. I can mention that even at relatively high settings for extended periods of time, the Pio didn't get very hot while you could cook an egg on the Adcom. Very efficient, those class D amps!
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I've been meaning to post pictures of my setup in here for a while but I really want to get something to help clean up wires in my rack first. I recently added a 4th TV to my house and the wiring is so confusing that I decided to make a diagram. Everything in the bottom half of the diagram is in the basement. The A/V rack is in a closet under the stairs so it's out of view. A few reasons for this: * I hate the sound of spinning hard drives in the DVRs- especially in the bedroom. * I don't want to pay additional monthly fees to DirecTV for more receivers. * I like having equipment hidden away out of sight Overview of how it works: * The projector in the basement can view any source (except the Wii). * The living room TV can view everything but the 2nd DirecTV receiver. * The 4x2 HDMI switch will show any of its 4 input sources simultaneously on 2 outputs if you want. Anything going into it can be to both outputs simultaneously or just one at a time. * The other two upstairs TV's can only see what's on the 2nd DirecTV receiver. * IR signals are relayed with the inexpensive X10 Powermid IR-> RF transmitters. * A Sony RM-VL600 remote in each room. They're about $25 each and incredibly powerful. Initially I thought I would have a lot of issues since the HDMI cabling is so long and split all over the place, especially where the coupler is in place. However, everything works perfectly- I love HDMI. All of the wiring and switches came from Monoprice. I also thought I would have a problem with the Xbox 360 controllers (wireless) but they work great through the floor. I wish I would have given it a second more of thought and instead of the 1:2 splitter gotten a 1:4 so that all TV's in the house could be on DirecTV #2 for something such as a Super Bowl party. This can always be added later though. ![]()
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I re-did the wiring in my rack from the above diagram and took a few pictures. The rack is a wall mount type and isn't intended to pivot, but I unscrewed a few screws one one side and it pivots quite nicely. The bottom shelf is made out of wood in a nice ghetto fashion but it works fine. Also my Popcorn Hour is almost comically mounted- I really hate AV equipment that is tiny like that. Ideally I will have a shelf for each item in the rack and no longer have the DirecTV DVR's stacked, although heat has not been an issue for them. The last pic is currently unused A/V stuff, as well as the IR transmitter that receives from all locations in the house. At some point in the future I will get this UPS which will make the power wires look a lot nicer and double as a shelf. I'll take some pictures of the actual viewing areas soon. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
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I see that a lot of people have 2+ DirecTV HR series boxes, is there any reasoning behind this? It seems common enough. e: read your flowchart of which components were connected to what and that makes more sense in my head now.
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Having multiple DVRs is the only way to watch different shows on different TV's. Even though they have two tuners, they have no way to output things on tuner 1 to different outputs than tuner 2. Some models of Dish Network's DVRs can do this, but not DirecTV.
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![]() ![]() ![]() Samsung LN32B360 32" LCD Onkyo TX-SR607 receiver Polk RM6750 5.1 Speakers Harmony One Xbox 360 Comcast HD/DVR HTPC Yes it's pretty cluttered and I need to dust (and pick a new color) but this is a lot of firsts for me: first nice TV, first receiver, first set of non-computer speakers. I'm incredibly happy with it ![]()
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Finally took some pictures of viewing areas to go along with the AV rack and flowchart above. Living Room- since moving most of the AV stuff downstairs I can't figure out to put on the stand, hence the baskets. (Onkyo TX-SR705, Samsung HL61A750 LED DLP, Polk Audio RM Series II 5.1): ![]() ![]() 4 season porch. Weird mixture of a room that's still being worked on. The TV, pub table and chairs are new so this room has been used more lately: ![]() ![]() Basement. I should probably paint the ceiling not-white at some point, but it will be a pain in the rear end so it probably won't happen any time soon. Downstairs projector (Optoma HD70): ![]() ![]() Screen (Monoprice 108"): ![]() ![]() ![]() Aliens 1 sheet: ![]() Star wars poster signed by David Prowse (Vader), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) and Jeremy Bulloch (Real Boba Fett) when there was a "behind the masks" signing thing. Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker were originally supposed to be there but they were off filming the Phantom Menace ![]() ![]()
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falz posted:Finally took some pictures of viewing areas to go along with the AV rack and flowchart above. you ever think of color matching the screen casing to the wall?
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Fatty_McLumpkin posted:you ever think of color matching the screen casing to the wall?
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Cold Old posted:I came up with the design myself. Honestly, there isn't a whole lot of science behind them other than searching for "speaker lot" on eBay and finding deals. I ended up getting the mids and tweeters from the same guy who was selling closeout lots from speaker manufactures. di...did you not calculate the array..at a..all? did you just buy 40+ drivers and put them in a cabinet? haha holy poo poo you are insane
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Finally upgraded my system. It was a long time coming. My living room went from this: ![]() to this: ![]() The old Viewsonic 26" LCD TV and $25 Logitech computer speakers from 2004 are now in my bedroom, while my living room has a proper 40" Toshiba LCD. Makes me all happy inside.
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After 8 Months of being unemployed last year I landed a job in September. That meant that by November/December I could finally get a nicer AV setup. Most of this is what I found on sale. But now my living room is presentable. All said and done I am pretty satisfied for spending around $1750 on new components. Including about $80 worth of cables from monoprice. Sony Bravia 46" LCD HDTV KDL46S5100 $799 BestBuy Pre-Black Friday Sale. Toshiba HD-DVD Player HD-A2 $99 Walmart Black Friday 2 years ago Magnavox Blue Ray Player NB500 $78 Walmart Black Friday Special this year Onkyo Receiver TX-SR607 $360 Newegg Special Jamo 5 Speaker surround sound E660 towers and S60 center $380 total from WWStereo still on sale JBL 10" Sub (not in picture) JBL GSUB10 Got it from Ebay years ago. Still sounds good. Cable Box/DVR Pace TDC787X, Its nice that it switches output between 720P and 1080i depending on channel. XBOX XBOX360 Halo Edition (I know ugly color but it was a gift) I also am running the Linksys PLK300 Powerline to extend internet to the xbox, hd-dvd player etc. ![]()
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# ? May 18, 2024 18:40 |
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Here's my HT, pieced together over a number of years. I started with an Epson Homelite 10 projector and a homebrew 100" screen. Tweeter Brothers K05B50s (discontinued) in front, and Mirage AVS-200 in back (small but lovely for rears and easy to wall mount). 8" Yamha Sub. Denon AVR-1803 receiver.![]() Here's 2001 on DVD ![]() Some time later I picked up some Polk Audio RM8000Ts for the front because they were a great deal on woot. I upgraded the center speaker to the matching Polk RM302 unit a week later. I love having nice full sized speakers compared to bookshelf ones, way more efficiency. ![]() Picked up a 32" Samsung 720p along the way... ![]() Then my projector died ![]() ![]() To go with my new ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Other crap: Sony PS3 (using Medialink on my mac to serve movies) Nintendo Wii JVC SVHS VCR, dusty Fios HD box
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