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Alex DeLarge
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Alex DeLarge's Groups
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70's Cinema
64 members
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Worst Movies of All Time!
17 members
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Kubrick Appreciation
20 members
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Unavailable Movies On Ne…
71 members
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Super Hero/Heroine Movies
36 members
Alex DeLarge's Discussions
top movies of 2008?
Replied Dec. 20, 2008
Acting Legend Paul Newman Died (R.I.P.)
Replied Sep. 27, 2008
Film Reviews
They Who Step on Tiger's Tail
Two brothers are moral prisoners to feudal authority but prove that blood is indeed thicker than sakè. Director Akira Kurosawa’s beautiful B&W cinematography is restrained by budgetary concerns, so he films mostly in medium long shot and intercuts to close up utilizing few (if any) establishing shots or transitions. The story concerns the aftermath of a bloody war, as Yoshitsune and his samurai are attempting to cross his brother Yorimoto’s territory in disguise as itinerant priests…along with one lowly porter. This nameless load-bearer, like Frodo who carries the Ring of Doom towards Orodruin, is the joking, innocent, scared, and physically weak empathetic contact to the audience because he is the Everyman surrounded by mythically fierce warriors and mighty Lord. Kurosawa divides the story into three parts: the trip to the Ataka checkpoint, the dialogue between Benkei (Yoshitsune’s most loyal cohort) and Lord Yorimoto, and the exit from the camp and the final dance. Yorimoto allows them to leave but in one final violent moment, his bodyguard tears away Yoshitsune’s disguise and Benkei strikes the “porter” over and over again for disobedience so their ruse is not discovered: a samurai who strikes his Master makes the greatest sacrifice but it’s the nameless jokester who intervene and stops Benkei’s hand…while the others watch in disbelief. Here, both rise above their own social standing and act honorably: Benkei by saving his master’s life and the grinning fool by staying the warrior’s hand. Finally, the group is delivered a gift of sakè from Yorimoto and we acknowledge the fact that he wasn’t fooled at all, but he admired the attempt and let them pass. The tiny man among giants falls into a drunken stupor and is left alone with the Lord’s robe and a meager reward…and he dances drunkenly off the screen in a vain attempt to mimic his hero. (B+)
It's a Wonderful Life
George Bailey’s life of adventure and education, a grandiose design like a steel skyscraper challenging the cosmic fabric of Einstein’s physics, is soon relegated to a prison of familial duties, regrets and a broken down home hunched in the cloistered darkness like a timid Quasimodo…but full of a love that cannot quench his desperate thirst. Director Frank Capra’s inspiring classic relies on the Christian fable of angels and afterlife but can be generally appreciated because this religious fantasy isn’t the true heart of the story. Jimmy Stewart imbues the protagonist with gut-wrenching anxiety and sacrifice, a complex man who acts morally but becomes tired of a life lived for others, a man who finally reaches a dead end and wishes for an aborted existence: George is the past tense that struggles with the future imperfect. As his life spiral beyond his control he becomes abusive and emotionally explosive, and the scenes where he screams at his wife and children is ripe with realistic suicidal tension. Through a selfless act he realizes that his meager life has touched many people and fortune is weighed in the human spirit and heart, not in the ethereal but in the love of others and how they perceive you. George Bailey’s rage against the dying of the light upon an icy bridge is one of cinema’s greatest moments, and his epiphany needs no divine intervention: Zuzu’s petals are reason enough. (A)
The Creeping Flesh
Dr. Hildern is consumed with the righteous passion to save his daughter from the clutches of insanity: Evil is a cellular malignancy that taints the blood he hopes to cure by modern science. Director Freddie Francis creates a Victorian Age horror film with an intelligent script, great acting and brands the scenarios with his interesting mise-en-scene: though a low-budget horror film with limited SPFX, he is able to unearth narrative ideas and complexities rarely found in the genre. The body of the story is told in a flashback and Francis utilizes three distinct plots: Hildern’s desire to cure Evil from the world with a newly discovered Skeletal Primate; his unadulterated love for his daughter, to protect her from the knowledge of her dead mother’s madness; and his professional conflict with his step-brother, who is submitting a peer reviewed paper challenging Hildern for a prestigious award…one that Hildern wants for himself. The obvious problem with the plot contrivance is the explanation that mental illness is inherently Evil, but if considered in the context of the Victorian Age this ignorance was believed true by many scientists. Hildern experiments on a monkey then, impatient with fear, uses the serum extracted from the skeleton’s blood (the skeleton is rejuvenated when it is exposed to water) to inject into his daughter so she never succumbs to madness. The rubbery skeleton is the essence of pure Evil and once totally reanimated, stalks the streets of London: in one novel scene, its ghastly shadow looms like a giant upon Hildern’s home, homage to Murnau’s stark imagery from NOSFERATU. Finally, the road to Hell is traversed and we discover the awful unicellular truth: like father like daughter. (B)
The Most Beautiful
The indomitable spirit of Japanese culture is mirrored in the humble women of an optics factory: where one woman may die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. Akira Kurosawa’s second film is wartime propaganda, a manipulative composition that utilizes cinema as political dramaturgy; it demands the authority of a documentary but subtly conceals a fictional structure, using wonderful actresses and filming in controlled environments where movement and lighting can be completely controlled. Though Kurosawa does not extol the Emperor’s divinity, he imbues the story with the need for physical sacrifice while not surrendering individuality: a theme that would become commonplace in his oeuvre. The Matriarchal structure of the film empowers this group of women but more importantly, shows that their leader Watanabe is of equal value to the elder men who command the factory: her credo of “keep on trying and do your best” is not a hollow motto…but an intrinsic value that will be tested and overcome at great expense. Kurosawa uses Riefenstahl inspired close-ups to show teamwork and camaraderie during the volleyball games, skewed angles and smiling faces, but always focuses his own optics upon the lovely and bold women, portraying them as human beings and not brainwashed subjugates. There is no coincidence in the use of a seemingly minor optics factory as the setting for the story: it both reminds the viewer of the camera’s lens but also as a metaphor for the eyes of Japan; eyes that must be perfectly focused upon the enemy to ensure victory. THE MOST BEAUTIFUL is Watanabe, who works past the point of human endurance so that her minor error does not jeopardize one soldier’s life: she lives by the very creed she preaches. (B-)
Sanshiro Sugata
Sanshiro blooms like a lotus flower in moonlight, drowning his ego, baptized and reborn in cold harsh waters: he no longer fears to live. Akira Kurosawa’s directorial debut is no novice creation: it a masterpiece of mis-en-scene and tight framing, of beautiful tracking shots, wonderful transitions and sublime characterization. Kurosawa is not concerned with the physical techniques of the contentious martial arts forms, jujitsu versus judo; he instead focuses upon the human elements that devise this compound structure. Kurosawa uses the metaphor of Sanshiro’s discarded sandals to represent his growth: the wooden clogs floating in mud puddles, lost in the gutters and chewed on by stray dogs, but always intact. These images also help to visualize the passage of time. But the student soon becomes enamored with himself and poisoned with pride, and makes a leap of faith into the darkness. Screaming that he is not afraid to die…his judo master answers, “then die”. Kurosawa also uses stairs as an analogy when he meets a Sayo, caught in between the risers that reach skyward and stumble downwards, as he searches for his true self amid chaos. He proves his technique in judo but must face his nemesis, his dark mystic reflection, a man who is not evil but seeks vengeance for an act that was Just: this man can not understand that his own soul is empty of compassion. The final fight to the death, jujitsu against judo, is a blowing arid wind through tall grass, and our protagonist acts only according to his discipline. Though victorious, he is imbued with sadness…while love becomes a mote in Sayo’s eye. (B+)
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I thought it would be enlightening to discuss our favorite WAR FILMS and why they are interesting and important. War is a terrible thing but seems to be the one constant in our human nature.
I thought it would be enlightening to discuss our favorite WAR FILMS and why they are interesting and important. War is a terrible thing but seems to be the one constant in our human nature.
I thought it would be enlightening to discuss our favorite WAR FILMS and why they are interesting and important. War is a terrible thing but seems to be the one constant in our human nature.
I thought it would be enlightening to discuss our favorite WAR FILMS and why they are interesting and important. War is a terrible thing but seems to be the one constant in our human nature.
Profile Information
- Relationship Status:
- Married
- Are you a Netflix member?
- I Netflix therefore I am.
- Are you a Netflix employee?
- a) No.
- What is your (apx) "Reviewer Rank" Number?
- 240
- What is your (Anonymous) Friends Link? (the code on the right side of Invite Friends)
- http://www.netflix.com/BeMyFriend/P8Gd7agVO4I9rCdSvlJP
- What is your Outward Profile page URL (find yourself on one of your friend's lists, and click back to see yourself)
- http://www.netflix.com/StrangerProfile?prid=174455419&lnkctr=yo...
- A Small Set Of My Favorite Movies
- CITY LIGHTS (Chaplin), CITIZEN KANE (Welles), THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (Frankenheimer), BLADE RUNNER (Scott), 12 ANGRY MEN (Lumet), VERTIGO (Hitchcock), A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (Kubrick), THE CONFORMIST (Bertolucci), THE THIRD MAN (Reed), THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (Wise), 400 BLOWS (Truffaut) and a hundred more I'm too tired to type. I also enjoy thought provocking films by Kim Ki-duk and Michael Haneke.
- What I Snack on in Movie Theaters
- I watch movies in my home theatre and enjoy coffee with a film.
- About Me:
- I work for the the local District Attorney's Office as a Counselor, Investigator, and Victim's Rights Advocate under the Stop Violence Against Woman Act. I have been promoted to the Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Unit in 2005 and enjoy helping people and upholding the Rule of Law. I have seen many many terrible things; I never watch "true crime" shows on TV.
KOROVA AWARDS 2003-2008
2008
01. THE FALL (Tarsem Singh, UK)
02. IN BRUGES (Martin McDonagh, UK)
03. CHOP SHOP (Ramin Bahrani, USA)
04. 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 2 DAYS (Cristian Mungiu, Romania)
05. BREATH (Kim Ki-duk, South Korea)
06. FLIGHT OF THE RED BALLON (Hou Hsiao-Hsien, France)
07. FUNNY GAMES (Michael Haneke, UK)
08. THE EDGE OF HEAVEN (Faith Akin, Germany/Turkey)
09. MAD DETECTIVE (Johnnie To & Wai Ka-fai, Hong Kong)
10. PARANOID PARK (Gus Van Sant, USA)
2007
01. THERE WILL BE BLOOD (Paul Thomas Anderson, USA)
02. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (Joel & Ethan Coen, USA)
03. EASTERN PROMISES (David Cronenberg, UK)
04. WAITRESS (Adrienne Shelly, USA)
05. ONCE (John Carney, Ireland)
06. GRINDHOUSE: PLANET TERROR (Robert Rodriguez, USA)
07. THE HOST (Bong Joon-ho, South Korea)
08. PAPRIKA (Satoshi Kon, Japan)
09. THE BOSS OF IT ALL (Lars von Trier, Denmark)
10. TIME (Kim Ki-duk, South Korea)
2006
01. UNITED 93 (Paul Greengrass, USA)
02. MANDERLAY (Lars von Trier, Denmark)
03. BATTLE IN HEAVEN (Carlos Reygadas, Mexico)
04. L'ENFANT (Jean Pierre-Dardenne & Luc Dardenne, France)
05. THREE TIMES (Hou Hsiao-hsien, Taiwan)
06. SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE (Park Chan-wook, South Korea)
07. DUCK SEASON (Fernando Eimbcke, Mexico)
08. THE DEATH OF MR. LAZARESCU (Cristi Puiu, Romania)
09. CAVITE (Neill Dela Llana & Ian Gamazon, Philippines)
10. THE PROPOSITION (John Hillcoat, Australia)
2005
01. 2046 (Wong Kar-wai, Hong Kong)
02. A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (David Cronenberg, USA)
03. OLD BOY (Park Chan-wook, South Korea)
04. BIN-JIP/3-IRON (Kim Ki-Duk, South Korea)
05. KONTROLL (Nimrod Antal, Hungary)
06. VOZVRASHCHENIYE/THE RETURN (Andrei Zvyaginstev, Russia)
07. OR (MONS TRESOR) (Keren Yedeya, Israel)
08. LAST DAYS (Gus Van Sant, USA)
09. LA NINA SANTA/THE HOLY GIRL (Lucrecia Martel, Argentina)
10. DARE MO SHIRANAI/NOBODY KNOWS (Hirokazu Koreeda, Japan)
2004
01. DOGVILLE (Lars von Trier, Denmark)
02. OPEN WATER (Chris Kentis, USA)
03. NAPOLEON DYNAMITE (Jared Hess, USA)
04. BEFORE SUNSET (Richard Linklater, USA)
05. KILL BILL VOLUME 2 (Quentin Tarantino, USA)
06. FAHRENHEIT 911 (Michael Moore, USA)
07. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (Michael Gondry, USA)
08. YING XIONG/HERO (Yimou Zhang, China)
09. SHAUN OF THE DEAD (Edgar Wright, UK )
10. THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD (Guy Maddin, Canada)
2003
01. ELEPHANT (Gus van Zant, USA)
02. LOST IN TRANSLATION (Sofia Coppola, USA)
03. 21 GRAMS ( Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, USA)
04. SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER...and SPRING (Kim Ki-Duk, South Korea)
05. AMERICAN SPLENDOR (Shari Springer Bergman, USA )
06. CIDADE DE DEUS/CITY OF GOD (Fernando Meirelles, Brazil)
07. LE TEMPS DU LOUP/TIME OF THE WOLF (Michael Haneke, France)
08. KILL BILL VOLUME 1 (Quentin Tarintino, USA)
09. LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (Peter Jackson, USA)
10. THE STATION AGENT (Thomas McCarthy, USA)
The Technology of the Korova Theatre
So what infernal devices make up the Korova Theatre? I'm glad you asked. If you are going to follow any of my recommendations based on PQ (image quality) or SQ (sound quality) then you need to know what equipment I use. Makes sense, dunnit? I have upgraded my theatre over the past few years because I believe it's important to watch a film in the particular way that the director envisioned: OAR (Original Aspect Ratio) only in my house! DVD has become the standard format replacing VHS in the past ten years. VHS was plagued by poor image and sound quality, almost every release was pan & scan, and a tape contained no extra content. They were also a bitch to rewind constantly which would wear out the tape. DVD came along with superior PQ and new 5.1 remaster audio for surround sound setups, and boat-loads of extras. But things change. Blu-Ray (BD) has won the war of competing High-Definition formats. These discs contain 1080p video remasters and new amazing PCM lossless soundtracks that are truly unbelievable!
COMING SOON!
JVC DLA-RS10 High-Definition Projector and 106 inch Draper M1300 White Screen with 1.1 gain. I am currently building a dedicated Theatre Room that will be acoustically treated with optimal light management control. The RS10 will be ceiling mounted and the screen permanently fixed to the wall. The room dimensions are 12 feet wide x 17 feet long and will seat eight people comfortably. All cables (speaker wires, HDMI, Subwoofer) are custom made from Blue Jeans Cables.
01. Mitsubishi 55413 CRT High-Definition Television. This is the centerpiece of the Korova. It is a lovely 1080i rear-projection unit with outstanding film-like PQ that can't be matched by fixed pixel displays (IMHO). This set has been professionally modified by Craig Rounds. He has twice done a complete calibration including the 2% overscan and which just takes the PQ to a whole new level. He has also calibrated the set to be compatible with all of the other components listed below.
02. Lumagen HDQ Video Processor. All of my componants pass through the processor via HDMI so I have one cable to my reciever and only one to the TV. Check out the Lumagen HDQ specs.
03. Denon 2930CI DVD Player. This player has been modified to be region free and has a standard 16 meg PAL converter. I believe this to be the finest region-free player under a thousand bucks! This is connected to the Lumagen through HDMI at 480i (yes, this Denon allows a pure 480i signal to be output!) and is then upscaled through the Lumagen to 1080i. The layer change in this machine is seemless too.
04. Toshiba HD-XA1 High Definition DVD Player. I have the latest firmware installed and the HD image quality is outstanding. I have compared HD discs to their DVD counterparts and the contrast is shocking: I did not realize how much information (re: quality) was missing on DVD due to the limitations of the format. The Toshiba is connected via HDMI to the Lumagen then passed through my Yamaha so it can decode all the high resolution PCM audio: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 is an epiphany. The Toshiba upscales better than the Denon surprisingly enough!
05. Playstation 3 Blu-ray DVD Player. I have the PS3 connected via HDMI to the Lumagen and then passed through the Yamaha. Lossless PCM is outstanding! BTW: I don't use the PS3 for video games and have discovered the usefullness of the optional remote. My only complaint is that it's not the best for upconverting DVD.
06. ONKYO TS-SR606 7.1 Home Theatre Reciever. This mid-priced Onkyo reciever is one hell of a bargain! It decodes all of the new lossless audio codes such as DolbyTrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby Digital Plus, et al. It has a video Pass-Through mode that allows the signal to be passed unfiltered without clipping black/white levels and also passes 1080p 24/fps unmolested. With my external scaler, this reciever is useless for upscaling and I would not recommend it if that is your primary need. The 606 has 4 HDMI inputs which is very helpful so no switcher is needed (which can sometimes be problematic). The 90 watts per channel powers my 7.1 setup with accuracy and headroom while delivering a nice punch when needed. The Audyssey setup works quite well but a little tweaking is necessary. The only drawback is that this reciever has no Phono Input, but that is easily fixed. (See below).
07. Music Hall-PA 1.2 Phono Preamp (MM & MC). A very nice little preamp that allows a hookup through an unused Onkyo Stereo (red/white) input. Delivers a very smooth and warm sound, better than any built-in preamp in most recievers!
08. Audio-Technica AT-PL120 Turntable. Vinyl is not dead! I replaced the standard cartridge with an Audio-Technica 440MLa and the difference was astounding. Welcome to the warm and lush vibes of true vinyl sound.
09. Polk RTi10 Tower Front Speakers; Polk CSi5 Center Channel, Polk FXi5 Rear Side Surrounds; Polk RTi8 Tower Rear Surrounds: (7.1). These speakers are voice matched and sound great! I have these speakers bi-wired for optimal performance. I have the Onkyo speaker setting adjusted to Full for the Front Speakers while my Sub handles the LFE. All other speakers are set to Small with a 50-60hz crossover.
10. 12" Polk PSW505 300 Watt Powered Subwoofer. This powered subwoofer can shake the room. I have the crossover frequency set to 80hz and the speaker setting (on reciever) to FULL, but not DOUBLE BASS! I want my front speakers faithfully reproducing all the high and mid-range sounds and let this unit handle everything below the crossover. I have this floating on a Auralex SubDude isoaltion platform and the bass is less punchy and much more focused. What a great tweak for under $50!
2008
01. THE FALL (Tarsem Singh, UK)
02. IN BRUGES (Martin McDonagh, UK)
03. CHOP SHOP (Ramin Bahrani, USA)
04. 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 2 DAYS (Cristian Mungiu, Romania)
05. BREATH (Kim Ki-duk, South Korea)
06. FLIGHT OF THE RED BALLON (Hou Hsiao-Hsien, France)
07. FUNNY GAMES (Michael Haneke, UK)
08. THE EDGE OF HEAVEN (Faith Akin, Germany/Turkey)
09. MAD DETECTIVE (Johnnie To & Wai Ka-fai, Hong Kong)
10. PARANOID PARK (Gus Van Sant, USA)
2007
01. THERE WILL BE BLOOD (Paul Thomas Anderson, USA)
02. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (Joel & Ethan Coen, USA)
03. EASTERN PROMISES (David Cronenberg, UK)
04. WAITRESS (Adrienne Shelly, USA)
05. ONCE (John Carney, Ireland)
06. GRINDHOUSE: PLANET TERROR (Robert Rodriguez, USA)
07. THE HOST (Bong Joon-ho, South Korea)
08. PAPRIKA (Satoshi Kon, Japan)
09. THE BOSS OF IT ALL (Lars von Trier, Denmark)
10. TIME (Kim Ki-duk, South Korea)
2006
01. UNITED 93 (Paul Greengrass, USA)
02. MANDERLAY (Lars von Trier, Denmark)
03. BATTLE IN HEAVEN (Carlos Reygadas, Mexico)
04. L'ENFANT (Jean Pierre-Dardenne & Luc Dardenne, France)
05. THREE TIMES (Hou Hsiao-hsien, Taiwan)
06. SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE (Park Chan-wook, South Korea)
07. DUCK SEASON (Fernando Eimbcke, Mexico)
08. THE DEATH OF MR. LAZARESCU (Cristi Puiu, Romania)
09. CAVITE (Neill Dela Llana & Ian Gamazon, Philippines)
10. THE PROPOSITION (John Hillcoat, Australia)
2005
01. 2046 (Wong Kar-wai, Hong Kong)
02. A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (David Cronenberg, USA)
03. OLD BOY (Park Chan-wook, South Korea)
04. BIN-JIP/3-IRON (Kim Ki-Duk, South Korea)
05. KONTROLL (Nimrod Antal, Hungary)
06. VOZVRASHCHENIYE/THE RETURN (Andrei Zvyaginstev, Russia)
07. OR (MONS TRESOR) (Keren Yedeya, Israel)
08. LAST DAYS (Gus Van Sant, USA)
09. LA NINA SANTA/THE HOLY GIRL (Lucrecia Martel, Argentina)
10. DARE MO SHIRANAI/NOBODY KNOWS (Hirokazu Koreeda, Japan)
2004
01. DOGVILLE (Lars von Trier, Denmark)
02. OPEN WATER (Chris Kentis, USA)
03. NAPOLEON DYNAMITE (Jared Hess, USA)
04. BEFORE SUNSET (Richard Linklater, USA)
05. KILL BILL VOLUME 2 (Quentin Tarantino, USA)
06. FAHRENHEIT 911 (Michael Moore, USA)
07. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (Michael Gondry, USA)
08. YING XIONG/HERO (Yimou Zhang, China)
09. SHAUN OF THE DEAD (Edgar Wright, UK )
10. THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD (Guy Maddin, Canada)
2003
01. ELEPHANT (Gus van Zant, USA)
02. LOST IN TRANSLATION (Sofia Coppola, USA)
03. 21 GRAMS ( Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, USA)
04. SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER...and SPRING (Kim Ki-Duk, South Korea)
05. AMERICAN SPLENDOR (Shari Springer Bergman, USA )
06. CIDADE DE DEUS/CITY OF GOD (Fernando Meirelles, Brazil)
07. LE TEMPS DU LOUP/TIME OF THE WOLF (Michael Haneke, France)
08. KILL BILL VOLUME 1 (Quentin Tarintino, USA)
09. LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (Peter Jackson, USA)
10. THE STATION AGENT (Thomas McCarthy, USA)
The Technology of the Korova Theatre
So what infernal devices make up the Korova Theatre? I'm glad you asked. If you are going to follow any of my recommendations based on PQ (image quality) or SQ (sound quality) then you need to know what equipment I use. Makes sense, dunnit? I have upgraded my theatre over the past few years because I believe it's important to watch a film in the particular way that the director envisioned: OAR (Original Aspect Ratio) only in my house! DVD has become the standard format replacing VHS in the past ten years. VHS was plagued by poor image and sound quality, almost every release was pan & scan, and a tape contained no extra content. They were also a bitch to rewind constantly which would wear out the tape. DVD came along with superior PQ and new 5.1 remaster audio for surround sound setups, and boat-loads of extras. But things change. Blu-Ray (BD) has won the war of competing High-Definition formats. These discs contain 1080p video remasters and new amazing PCM lossless soundtracks that are truly unbelievable!
COMING SOON!
JVC DLA-RS10 High-Definition Projector and 106 inch Draper M1300 White Screen with 1.1 gain. I am currently building a dedicated Theatre Room that will be acoustically treated with optimal light management control. The RS10 will be ceiling mounted and the screen permanently fixed to the wall. The room dimensions are 12 feet wide x 17 feet long and will seat eight people comfortably. All cables (speaker wires, HDMI, Subwoofer) are custom made from Blue Jeans Cables.
01. Mitsubishi 55413 CRT High-Definition Television. This is the centerpiece of the Korova. It is a lovely 1080i rear-projection unit with outstanding film-like PQ that can't be matched by fixed pixel displays (IMHO). This set has been professionally modified by Craig Rounds. He has twice done a complete calibration including the 2% overscan and which just takes the PQ to a whole new level. He has also calibrated the set to be compatible with all of the other components listed below.
02. Lumagen HDQ Video Processor. All of my componants pass through the processor via HDMI so I have one cable to my reciever and only one to the TV. Check out the Lumagen HDQ specs.
03. Denon 2930CI DVD Player. This player has been modified to be region free and has a standard 16 meg PAL converter. I believe this to be the finest region-free player under a thousand bucks! This is connected to the Lumagen through HDMI at 480i (yes, this Denon allows a pure 480i signal to be output!) and is then upscaled through the Lumagen to 1080i. The layer change in this machine is seemless too.
04. Toshiba HD-XA1 High Definition DVD Player. I have the latest firmware installed and the HD image quality is outstanding. I have compared HD discs to their DVD counterparts and the contrast is shocking: I did not realize how much information (re: quality) was missing on DVD due to the limitations of the format. The Toshiba is connected via HDMI to the Lumagen then passed through my Yamaha so it can decode all the high resolution PCM audio: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 is an epiphany. The Toshiba upscales better than the Denon surprisingly enough!
05. Playstation 3 Blu-ray DVD Player. I have the PS3 connected via HDMI to the Lumagen and then passed through the Yamaha. Lossless PCM is outstanding! BTW: I don't use the PS3 for video games and have discovered the usefullness of the optional remote. My only complaint is that it's not the best for upconverting DVD.
06. ONKYO TS-SR606 7.1 Home Theatre Reciever. This mid-priced Onkyo reciever is one hell of a bargain! It decodes all of the new lossless audio codes such as DolbyTrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby Digital Plus, et al. It has a video Pass-Through mode that allows the signal to be passed unfiltered without clipping black/white levels and also passes 1080p 24/fps unmolested. With my external scaler, this reciever is useless for upscaling and I would not recommend it if that is your primary need. The 606 has 4 HDMI inputs which is very helpful so no switcher is needed (which can sometimes be problematic). The 90 watts per channel powers my 7.1 setup with accuracy and headroom while delivering a nice punch when needed. The Audyssey setup works quite well but a little tweaking is necessary. The only drawback is that this reciever has no Phono Input, but that is easily fixed. (See below).
07. Music Hall-PA 1.2 Phono Preamp (MM & MC). A very nice little preamp that allows a hookup through an unused Onkyo Stereo (red/white) input. Delivers a very smooth and warm sound, better than any built-in preamp in most recievers!
08. Audio-Technica AT-PL120 Turntable. Vinyl is not dead! I replaced the standard cartridge with an Audio-Technica 440MLa and the difference was astounding. Welcome to the warm and lush vibes of true vinyl sound.
09. Polk RTi10 Tower Front Speakers; Polk CSi5 Center Channel, Polk FXi5 Rear Side Surrounds; Polk RTi8 Tower Rear Surrounds: (7.1). These speakers are voice matched and sound great! I have these speakers bi-wired for optimal performance. I have the Onkyo speaker setting adjusted to Full for the Front Speakers while my Sub handles the LFE. All other speakers are set to Small with a 50-60hz crossover.
10. 12" Polk PSW505 300 Watt Powered Subwoofer. This powered subwoofer can shake the room. I have the crossover frequency set to 80hz and the speaker setting (on reciever) to FULL, but not DOUBLE BASS! I want my front speakers faithfully reproducing all the high and mid-range sounds and let this unit handle everything below the crossover. I have this floating on a Auralex SubDude isoaltion platform and the bass is less punchy and much more focused. What a great tweak for under $50!
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Thanks for the add Alex! See you around the boards:)Let me know if you have a friend spot open up! I'd like to match up.
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