OT: Sens Lounge -The Spring before the Summer Begins Again

[Relapsing]

Figured.

Easily. 500k would be preferred. The top of the line Christie projectors are in the 100k+ cdn range just on their own. Custom build with seating and other equipment adds up quickly. Plus the cost of Kaleidescape (super rich peoples streaming/downloading solution for full uncompressed quality) can push 100k. Sky is the limit on sound as I'm sure you can imagine, given your interest in guitars and what not.

Good point. That seems to be the case. Neither do I, but I'm watching my brother go through that a little with toy after toy. Every week it's something else. Then there's the type that grew up with little, bought a modest house, retired young, and mostly hoard it until they die just to leave it to their children. The type that would return a roll of scotch tape they don't need to wal-mart despite having a 15m investment portfolio.

Hell, even just the screen to project on to can balloon in cost if you really go for broke with the right material or paint.

A 1.43 Imax screen alone is around another 100k

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Hell, even just the screen to project on to can balloon in cost if you really go for broke with the right material or paint.

A 1.43 Imax screen alone is around another 100k

For sure. Properly soundproofing to isolate it is another expense sure to add up quite a bit. The sky is the limit for home theaters really. Of course you're wading in to diminishing returns somewhat, but if you got the money to blow, why not. My modest setup now is about $30k and that was honestly pretty easy to get to. I'm happy with it, but with money to blow, boy would that be fun to get to design and pick out.

 

[Micklebot]

For sure. Properly soundproofing to isolate it is another expense sure to add up quite a bit. The sky is the limit for home theaters really. Of course you're wading in to diminishing returns somewhat, but if you got the money to blow, why not. My modest setup now is about $30k and that was honestly pretty easy to get to. I'm happy with it, but with money to blow, boy would that be fun to get to design and pick out.

If I'm being honest, I don't get the appeal of super high end home projectors anymore; TCL makes a 115 inch TV now that you don't have to worry about fan noise, treating the room for darkness, worse contrast, aligning the projector ect, and Hisense makes a 110 inch one. Granted, they'll set you back somewhere in the 30k+ range but if that's in my house maybe I don't care if we get a downtown arena or not...

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

If I'm being honest, I don't get the appeal of super high end home projectors anymore; TCL makes a 115 inch TV now that you don't have to worry about fan noise, treating the room for darkness, worse contrast, aligning the projector ect, and Hisense makes a 110 inch one. Granted, they'll set you back somewhere in the 30k+ range but if that's in my house maybe I don't care if we get a downtown arena or not...

Ya, that's a pretty common debate, so you're not the only one to have those thoughts.

Size is the easy first answer. Most custom builds like I was referencing are aiming for much larger than 110/115 inches. 110" is considered small, and especially so when you consider that's 110" 16x9 image on those TV's instead of scope, so it's more like a 95" scope image, likely with somewhat undesirable black bars above and below on most movie content that enthusiasts would typically want true black through masking. 130-150" scope screens are very popular, and if we're talking the type of money I referenced, you're going larger than that. Potentially a lot more. And when you look at the surface area charts of actual square inches gained, it can be quite the difference.

The enthusiasts also argue that a projected image has effects that are more pleasing to them than an emissive display. Personally, I do see it, but I also appreciate the benefits of the different techs out there. I bought an 85" top of the line Sony LCD mini LED this year for upstairs and I do love the bright, punchy image that performs decently enough in a non ideal room. Great for sports. I also have a couple newer OLED's in the house and they are the best in some ways, especially video games in a dark room, but they don't hold up in a bright room and motion artifacts exist. I still prefer my JVC laser projected image over both for reasons I'm not sure I can even qualify in text, but there's something there imo.

If you're buying high end projectors, especially the type I referenced, you're also probably getting it custom setup to basically eliminate fan noise and having the room treated for you is a large part of the build and appeal itself.

I think the market it makes less sense is the low end middle class, while the high end market still has a place. The range that Epson aims for even on their top end basically. The need for a custom room and darkening/light control like you say is less feasible, and if you don't do it you're getting a much worse final product. Fan noise control is more complicated and likely on a budget instead of just paying someone to do it, and do it properly along with home automation control, etc.

Sheer size is another factor referenced. A 110" TV is pretty sizable and can be a pain to work with in general.

And Blooming is still an issue on LCD's, which is what the big ones are mostly I think. I get over it, but I can see why some people just aren't going to live with that, and is especially important wrt the black bar issue I referenced above.

Lol sorry for the overly long post.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Ya, that's a pretty common debate, so you're not the only one to have those thoughts.

Size is the easy first answer. Most custom builds like I was referencing are aiming for much larger than 110/115 inches. 110" is considered small, and especially so when you consider that's 110" 16x9 image on those TV's instead of scope, so it's more like a 95" scope image, likely with somewhat undesirable black bars above and below on most movie content that enthusiasts would typically want true black through masking. 130-150" scope screens are very popular, and if we're talking the type of money I referenced, you're going larger than that. Potentially a lot more. And when you look at the surface area charts of actual square inches gained, it can be quite the difference.

The enthusiasts also argue that a projected image has effects that are more pleasing to them than an emissive display. Personally, I do see it, but I also appreciate the benefits of the different techs out there. I bought an 85" top of the line Sony LCD mini LED this year for upstairs and I do love the bright, punchy image that performs decently enough in a non ideal room. Great for sports. I also have a couple newer OLED's in the house and they are the best in some ways, especially video games in a dark room, but they don't hold up in a bright room and motion artifacts exist. I still prefer my JVC laser projected image over both for reasons I'm not sure I can even qualify in text, but there's something there imo.

If you're buying high end projectors, especially the type I referenced, you're also probably getting it custom setup to basically eliminate fan noise and having the room treated for you is a large part of the build and appeal itself.

I think the market it makes less sense is the low end middle class, while the high end market still has a place. The range that Epson aims for even on their top end basically. The need for a custom room and darkening/light control like you say is less feasible, and if you don't do it you're getting a much worse final product. Fan noise control is more complicated and likely on a budget instead of just paying someone to do it, and do it properly along with home automation control, etc.

Sheer size is another factor referenced. A 110" TV is pretty sizable and can be a pain to work with in general.

And Blooming is still an issue on LCD's, which is what the big ones are mostly I think. I get over it, but I can see why some people just aren't going to live with that, and is especially important wrt the black bar issue I referenced above.

Lol sorry for the overly long post.

Just wanted to say I have an OLED, and never seen any motion artifacts.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Just wanted to say I have an OLED, and never seen any motion artifacts.

I don't know if artifacts is the right term to use there, but "Motion Stutter" is an inherent issue to the sample and hold tech in OLED's. The artifacts that bother me come in if you try to combat that low frame rate stutter on these fast response time displays with motion assistance processing, which a lot of people seem to want to do, and the manufacturers turn on by default. I prefer living with the stutter as any "soap opera effect" at all is to me an image ruining artifact above all else. I use it a little on my projector for 3D movies solely to eliminate the flickering effect, which it does 100%, but I find those are sort of a different animal that I don't mind being additionally processed.

They all have their pros and cons, and some bother some more than others. Besides the much better blacks, it was LCD and its motion blur that had me hard on the plasma tv train when that was the main alternative.

 

[Relapsing]

I don't know if artifacts is the right term to use there, but "Motion Stutter" is an inherent issue to the sample and hold tech in OLED's. The artifacts that bother me come in if you try to combat that low frame rate stutter on these fast response time displays with motion assistance processing, which a lot of people seem to want to do, and the manufacturers turn on by default. I prefer living with the stutter as any "soap opera effect" at all is to me an image ruining artifact above all else. I use it a little on my projector for 3D movies solely to eliminate the flickering effect, which it does 100%, but I find those are sort of a different animal that I don't mind being additionally processed.

They all have their pros and cons, and some bother some more than others. Besides the much better blacks, it was LCD and its motion blur that had me hard on the plasma tv train when that was the main alternative.

Interpolation has bothered me to no end. It's the first thing I turn off when buying a new TV, and I've never once missed it.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Interpolation has bothered me to no end. It's the first thing I turn off when buying a new TV, and I've never once missed it.

Ya man, I don't get it, at all. There is a place for BFI, but Motion Interpolation always looks bad imo. I always turn it off at friends and families houses when they aren't looking.

60fps converted rips of older movies are getting more common and I've accidentally grabbed a couple. Same garbage effect.

 

[Golden_Jet]

I don't know if artifacts is the right term to use there, but "Motion Stutter" is an inherent issue to the sample and hold tech in OLED's. The artifacts that bother me come in if you try to combat that low frame rate stutter on these fast response time displays with motion assistance processing, which a lot of people seem to want to do, and the manufacturers turn on by default. I prefer living with the stutter as any "soap opera effect" at all is to me an image ruining artifact above all else. I use it a little on my projector for 3D movies solely to eliminate the flickering effect, which it does 100%, but I find those are sort of a different animal that I don't mind being additionally processed.

They all have their pros and cons, and some bother some more than others. Besides the much better blacks, it was LCD and its motion blur that had me hard on the plasma tv train when that was the main alternative.

Agree on the pros and cons.
I moved my plasma into the bedroom.
Also have a projector like yourself, in rec room, projected onto a Stewart screen.

 

[Relapsing]

Ya man, I don't get it, at all. There is a place for BFI, but Motion Interpolation always looks bad imo. I always turn it off at friends and families houses when they aren't looking.

60fps converted rips of older movies are getting more common and I've accidentally grabbed a couple. Same garbage effect.

Thats pretty funny. I wonder if they even realize what you've done?

Converted rips seems like a waste of everyone's time. If my TV is going to auto upscale anyways, I'd rather have control over as much as I can.

To think, that's only going to get worse as we continue to scale up in picture density. I think my eyes would bleed watching something like that in 8k.

Reminds me, I'll need to find an old crt at some point to revisit some of my older consoles. No way I'm going to suffer in a 4k TV playing super mario bros.

 

[Micklebot]

Thats pretty funny. I wonder if they even realize what you've done?

Converted rips seems like a waste of everyone's time. If my TV is going to auto upscale anyways, I'd rather have control over as much as I can.

To think, that's only going to get worse as we continue to scale up in picture density. I think my eyes would bleed watching something like that in 8k.

Reminds me, I'll need to find an old crt at some point to revisit some of my older consoles. No way I'm going to suffer in a 4k TV playing super mario bros.

Devil's advocate, but lower end av equipment and older stuff tends to have much poorer upscaling, so maybe it's a positive for people who have old gear?

My first HD tv (a 34 in widescreen crt monster) was absolutely terrible at upscaling,

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Agree on the pros and cons.
I moved my plasma into the bedroom.
Also have a projector like yourself, in rec room, projected onto a Stewart screen.

Nice! I've never seen a Stewart in person and held off buying one because I hope to move soon and maybe go bigger.
Plasmas are still great TV's, especially for hockey! I moved mine to a different room too... until my offspring smashed it lol.

Thats pretty funny. I wonder if they even realize what you've done?

Converted rips seems like a waste of everyone's time. If my TV is going to auto upscale anyways, I'd rather have control over as much as I can.

To think, that's only going to get worse as we continue to scale up in picture density. I think my eyes would bleed watching something like that in 8k.

Reminds me, I'll need to find an old crt at some point to revisit some of my older consoles. No way I'm going to suffer in a 4k TV playing super mario bros.

I've definitely had some follow up questions that range from how did you fix my tv to what did you do to my tv lol. It's a pretty jarring change if you've had it on, so if they didn't love it turned off, I urged them to try for a while first.

Agreed. They look like shit and from my understanding the software requires a lot more manual intervention than most of those rips get.

8K is going to be interesting. Or the opposite lol. I don't know if there's a path to sell the product to consumers for it to go very far. You need massive displays and to sit closer than most like just to try to notice the benefits. 4K had its issues in large part for the same reasons and the differences now are going to be even less noticeable. Then there's the sources with most source content still being 2k masters upscaled for 4k anyways. Would sure love to see sports streaming step up though. A hockey game aired in 4k120 with proper bandwidth headroom would sure be sweet. Like Mick said, forget the arena at that point.

Ya, if you're rocking old consoles, you should go crt or one of those expensive video processors meant to be the middle man. I just use a Pi3 atm with emulators. Handles everything up to PS1 pretty well and satisfies the itch. Also nice to have entire console libraries on one device.

 

[StoicSensFan]

Where am I

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Where am I

Every thread is Sens lounge now lol. Dog days of summer are on.

 

[Relapsing]

Devil's advocate, but lower end av equipment and older stuff tends to have much poorer upscaling, so maybe it's a positive for people who have old gear?

My first HD tv (a 34 in widescreen crt monster) was absolutely terrible at upscaling,

Good devil's advocate. And I also appreciate that some people just done care one way or the other.

I think I've moved a few of those monsters over the years. My back hurts just thinking about it!

Nice! I've never seen a Stewart in person and held off buying one because I hope to move soon and maybe go bigger.
Plasmas are still great TV's, especially for hockey! I moved mine to a different room too... until my offspring smashed it lol.

I've definitely had some follow up questions that range from how did you fix my tv to what did you do to my tv lol. It's a pretty jarring change if you've had it on, so if they didn't love it turned off, I urged them to try for a while first.

Agreed. They look like shit and from my understanding the software requires a lot more manual intervention than most of those rips get.

8K is going to be interesting. Or the opposite lol. I don't know if there's a path to sell the product to consumers for it to go very far. You need massive displays and to sit closer than most like just to try to notice the benefits. 4K had its issues in large part for the same reasons and the differences now are going to be even less noticeable. Then there's the sources with most source content still being 2k masters upscaled for 4k anyways. Would sure love to see sports streaming step up though. A hockey game aired in 4k120 with proper bandwidth headroom would sure be sweet. Like Mick said, forget the arena at that point.

Ya, if you're rocking old consoles, you should go crt or one of those expensive video processors meant to be the middle man. I just use a Pi3 atm with emulators. Handles everything up to PS1 pretty well and satisfies the itch. Also nice to have entire console libraries on one device.

My understanding too is that upscaling still requires some artistry, for lack of a better term. You'll never get best results by hitting render and walking away.

Watched a video recently on the opposite problem - downscaling cinema releases for different aspect ratios. How things used to just arbitrarily be cut off without the directors input and you'd lose wide swaths of visual information.

The problem I see with 8k is a problem I see now with large 4k tvs. Some people just do not have the necessary space between their couch and the TV to be able to take in all the available image. I watched dune 2 in Imax, and the maniacs I was with booked seats all of 4 rows up. Which may be fine for some, and it's certainly immersive, but I hate scanning the screen. I'm always missing something, but at least DV framed things correctly for that release format.

The other issue is pure bandwidth. Even with bells push for fiber everywhere, how many of us are still accessing the internet through coax?

If I could watch a hockey game at that quality and rate, ya, I'd never go to a game again. Give me a source with audio feed options and it gets even better. I think the biggest miss for the NHL right now is not being able to really access the plethora of mics available in a broadcast. I want to hear skates cut into ice, players chirp each other, and coaches unloading on refs. Would instantly improve the at home experience imo.

I tend to watch now through the SN or TSN apps on my TV and quality can be.... Suspect at times.

I'll check out those intermediary devices. As much as I love me some good old emulation (I remember eagerly awaiting ps1 emulation), much like an audiophile, there's something about the non digitized quality that is a pure nostalgia bomb. Can't really sit on the floor in front of the TV anymore, but I'll gladly recline in my lounger instead.

 

[Relapsing]

Every thread is Sens lounge now lol. Dog days of summer are on.

We're really in the lounge now

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

My understanding too is that upscaling still requires some artistry, for lack of a better term. You'll never get best results by hitting render and walking away.

Watched a video recently on the opposite problem - downscaling cinema releases for different aspect ratios. How things used to just arbitrarily be cut off without the directors input and you'd lose wide swaths of visual information.

The problem I see with 8k is a problem I see now with large 4k tvs. Some people just do not have the necessary space between their couch and the TV to be able to take in all the available image. I watched dune 2 in Imax, and the maniacs I was with booked seats all of 4 rows up. Which may be fine for some, and it's certainly immersive, but I hate scanning the screen. I'm always missing something, but at least DV framed things correctly for that release format.

The other issue is pure bandwidth. Even with bells push for fiber everywhere, how many of us are still accessing the internet through coax?

If I could watch a hockey game at that quality and rate, ya, I'd never go to a game again. Give me a source with audio feed options and it gets even better. I think the biggest miss for the NHL right now is not being able to really access the plethora of mics available in a broadcast. I want to hear skates cut into ice, players chirp each other, and coaches unloading on refs. Would instantly improve the at home experience imo.

I tend to watch now through the SN or TSN apps on my TV and quality can be.... Suspect at times.

I'll check out those intermediary devices. As much as I love me some good old emulation (I remember eagerly awaiting ps1 emulation), much like an audiophile, there's something about the non digitized quality that is a pure nostalgia bomb. Can't really sit on the floor in front of the TV anymore, but I'll gladly recline in my lounger instead.

100%. It's a hot topic right now in the UHD Blu-ray world because of the AI upscaling being used on some releases, even big releases, but it's really not up to task and arguably makes the final product worse. Star Wars 4k's is a criminal example of over processing and LOTR 4k gets dragged for the same. Now imagine guys doing that with a lot less resources and horsepower than the studios have at their disposal. But worse than that might be directors like James Cameron that wants to degrain and smear everything anyways lol. The real beauty imo lies in releases, many from Sony, like "A League of Their Own" where they're older movies poured through frame by frame with the intent to release an image that hasn't been overly manipulated to look modern. 5/5 stars imo.

Ya the aspect ratio stuff is interesting. There's so much more caught on film than we get to see and it's really up to them what we end up getting. Sometimes other versions make it out like ZS and his Justice League, or a lot of Open Matte versions online enthusiasts pursue. Titanic is kind of cool in that it's 2.40:1 on all releases, but the 3D was done specifically with 1.78:1 in mind as the final presentation and gives a more engrossing 3D image. I don't mind whatever they give me but hate the changing within the same movie as it sucks with my manual masking.

Agreed. It's an issue. I figure I'd need a 150" image and sit like 7 feet from it for it to be worth 8k. I just don't even really want that tbh and think the seating distance requirements for 4ks benefits is the sweet spot, but that's still too close for many.

Bandwidth is definitely an issue. The bit rate most people are getting on their "4K" is lower than standard blu-rays. Encoding has improved drastically, but still, it's a huge factor. That's why I went Plex/NAS with 166TB's of storage and ripped every damn disc I own, thousands of them, in full uncompressed quality. Not everyone wants to go that route, but it is imo awesome. I'm at about 4100 movies on it now and gobs of other content from shows to docs to concerts to stand up. And a whole pile of crap for the kid.

Would be huge. One day I think it'll get there. There is a lot of pressure right now on sports broadcasting to level up and you're starting to see small bits of it working its way through. Again though, that bandwidth issue is a potential bottleneck.

I do too. They're okay but can be clunky and not the best picture. They're nice for on the go or if I'm still at my desk though. I actually find unofficial means often gives me the better image in comparison and had to go to them a few times when the official ones wouldn't work, so not the best impression, especially considering the cost.

You do you man. Whatever gets the juices flowing for you. I just find for me that every time I chase those magic nostalgia dragons, it's just not the same satisfaction, so I've veered less towards recreating identically, or grinding on things that aren't fun anymore, to more just fitting in the odd nostalgic things I do still enjoy, just more conveniently like with emulation or digital media.

We're really in the lounge now

Lol, well I gotta commend @Micklebot for moving them and not deleting them. I worked hard on my overly long inapplicable posts.

 

[mysens]

Hell, even just the screen to project on to can balloon in cost if you really go for broke with the right material or paint.

A 1.43 Imax screen alone is around another 100k

Wow. Talk about a depreciating asset. I suppose people spend their money the way they see fit. Car or home theater

 

[Relapsing]

100%. It's a hot topic right now in the UHD Blu-ray world because of the AI upscaling being used on some releases, even big releases, but it's really not up to task and arguably makes the final product worse. Star Wars 4k's is a criminal example of over processing and LOTR 4k gets dragged for the same. Now imagine guys doing that with a lot less resources and horsepower than the studios have at their disposal. But worse than that might be directors like James Cameron that wants to degrain and smear everything anyways lol. The real beauty imo lies in releases, many from Sony, like "A League of Their Own" where they're older movies poured through frame by frame with the intent to release an image that hasn't been overly manipulated to look modern. 5/5 stars imo.

Ya the aspect ratio stuff is interesting. There's so much more caught on film than we get to see and it's really up to them what we end up getting. Sometimes other versions make it out like ZS and his Justice League, or a lot of Open Matte versions online enthusiasts pursue. Titanic is kind of cool in that it's 2.40:1 on all releases, but the 3D was done specifically with 1.78:1 in mind as the final presentation and gives a more engrossing 3D image. I don't mind whatever they give me but hate the changing within the same movie as it sucks with my manual masking.

Agreed. It's an issue. I figure I'd need a 150" image and sit like 7 feet from it for it to be worth 8k. I just don't even really want that tbh and think the seating distance requirements for 4ks benefits is the sweet spot, but that's still too close for many.

Bandwidth is definitely an issue. The bit rate most people are getting on their "4K" is lower than standard blu-rays. Encoding has improved drastically, but still, it's a huge factor. That's why I went Plex/NAS with 166TB's of storage and ripped every damn disc I own, thousands of them, in full uncompressed quality. Not everyone wants to go that route, but it is imo awesome. I'm at about 4100 movies on it now and gobs of other content from shows to docs to concerts to stand up. And a whole pile of crap for the kid.

Would be huge. One day I think it'll get there. There is a lot of pressure right now on sports broadcasting to level up and you're starting to see small bits of it working its way through. Again though, that bandwidth issue is a potential bottleneck.

I do too. They're okay but can be clunky and not the best picture. They're nice for on the go or if I'm still at my desk though. I actually find unofficial means often gives me the better image in comparison and had to go to them a few times when the official ones wouldn't work, so not the best impression, especially considering the cost.

You do you man. Whatever gets the juices flowing for you. I just find for me that every time I chase those magic nostalgia dragons, it's just not the same satisfaction, so I've veered less towards recreating identically, or grinding on things that aren't fun anymore, to more just fitting in the odd nostalgic things I do still enjoy, just more conveniently like with emulation or digital media.


Lol, well I gotta commend @Micklebot for moving them and not deleting them. I worked hard on my overly long inapplicable posts.

@Micklebot is the goat for moving it all lock, stock and barrel. Thanks champ!

I do expect the AI processing to eventually catch up, probably sooner than later, but this is also kind of a hot topic in artistic circles. Somewhat analogous to the democratization of photography with the advent of the digital point and shoot cameras, AI art tools have and will open up a lot for the layman, but will likely never replace the artistic vision of true artists. The artists I know using AI use it as a tool to bring their vision to life, VS letting the tool direct their art. My limited experience with tools like Leonardo confirms that. Anyways, all that is to say, without someone guiding the process, AI upscaling will still require an artistic mind to make certain choices along the way.

That is one hell of a collection! I used Plex for years but fell out of it for various reasons - mostly the rise of streaming services, a lack of interest in chasing down good quality rips, and more of my free time spent gaming.

I suspect my desire for better picture quality for hockey games is directly correlated to the performance of this team. The better they play, the less time I'll spend posting here from my phone!

My recent nostalgia bomb is watching the original xmen cartoons in between episodes of xmen 97. The nostalgia is still there, but the jump in animation quality is jarring, to say the least.

Wow. Talk about a depreciating asset. I suppose people spend their money the way they see fit. Car or home theater

Excellent callback jab. 10/10.

The cost of that Uru is more money than I would need to outfit my small furniture business with top of the line tools and would increase my productivity so much it blows my mind a little. That Imax screen would get me a multi head cnc sized for full sheet goods with room left over. Even one of those high end projectors would net me two top of the line auto feeding panel saws. That's an investment that would let any woodworking business hire more workers and take on more jobs. And net the person investing that kind of money a better ROI than a lambo ever would.

To put it another, perhaps more relatable way, the cost of one Uru is equivalent to 100 months of the average rent for a 2 bedroom apartment in Ottawa. I fully admit, I will always scoff at someone who thinks spending that kind of money on a car is a good decision, and while I also cannot imagine spending that kind of money on a home theatre system, at least there's a semblance of using it to enjoy artistic endeavors. Not to mention there being a big difference in discussing how much money you can spend on a home theatre system VS saying the sens should cater to the wealthy and make sure there's enough parking for the rich to drive their luxury cars to a game because they're so hung up on their displays of wealth they won't consider attending any other way.

 

[Micklebot]

Wow. Talk about a depreciating asset. I suppose people spend their money the way they see fit. Car or home theater

I imagine a home theater setup might be a selling point for your house, but probably not enough to offset the full cost if you're spending 100k and over.

Edit: google suggests about a 65% return on the investment in increased value on the home, apparently that's about 8 yrs of Lambo depreciation, after which home cinema wins.

 

[StoicSensFan]

The insurance and maintenance costs on a home theater are probably lower than a Lambo. I dunno though

 

[M4TR1X]

Every thread is Sens lounge now lol. Dog days of summer are on.

Then I've made great timing for a grand return to this website.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

@Micklebot is the goat for moving it all lock, stock and barrel. Thanks champ!

I do expect the AI processing to eventually catch up, probably sooner than later, but this is also kind of a hot topic in artistic circles. Somewhat analogous to the democratization of photography with the advent of the digital point and shoot cameras, AI art tools have and will open up a lot for the layman, but will likely never replace the artistic vision of true artists. The artists I know using AI use it as a tool to bring their vision to life, VS letting the tool direct their art. My limited experience with tools like Leonardo confirms that. Anyways, all that is to say, without someone guiding the process, AI upscaling will still require an artistic mind to make certain choices along the way.

That is one hell of a collection! I used Plex for years but fell out of it for various reasons - mostly the rise of streaming services, a lack of interest in chasing down good quality rips, and more of my free time spent gaming.

I suspect my desire for better picture quality for hockey games is directly correlated to the performance of this team. The better they play, the less time I'll spend posting here from my phone!

My recent nostalgia bomb is watching the original xmen cartoons in between episodes of xmen 97. The nostalgia is still there, but the jump in animation quality is jarring, to say the least.

You make great points. There is room for both, and the true artist will use it sparingly, but will for the value it can provide. It's always hard to expect any broad brush to paint something perfectly. Of course that will vary across industries, but in video restoration, the humans seem to have the upper hand indisputably, until James Cameron or Peter Jackson walk in the room at least and their love for DNR.

Ya, it probably leans in to my OCD and digital hoarding tendencies more than anything, but it is awesome for preservation.

I never watched much of those old X-Men cartoons because I grew up without a TV out in the boonies, but I've heard good things. I've been on a major 80's movie kick lately. So many forgotten gems out there. Feels almost infinitely so when I pour over actors' imdb filmographies.

I imagine a home theater setup might be a selling point for your house, but probably not enough to offset the full cost if you're spending 100k and over.

Edit: google suggests about a 65% return on the investment in increased value on the home, apparently that's about 8 yrs of Lambo depreciation, after which home cinema wins.

A lot of folk seem to sell their projectors and level up regularly. I don't know about Canada, but in the EU and US, there is a lot of value to be had from selling a used projector. That said, It'll be interesting to see where that goes with laser based taking over and limited lifespans without expensive laser replacements, as opposed to bulb based that can be brought to almost a brand new state with a new bulb. That was a big selling point of buying used that's basically gone now.

Then I've made great timing for a grand return to this website.

Who the heck wants to discuss our crappy team anyways right

 

[Relapsing]

You make great points. There is room for both, and the true artist will use it sparingly. Of course that will vary across industries, but in video restoration, the humans seem to have the upper hand indisputably.

Thankfully, it should be a long while before AI has the upper hand on a human touch in any endeavor. In the meantime, we'll be inundated with more badly generated AI flotsam than we are now.

I've been using ChatGPT a lot lately to help me estimate project times. It's been a useful tool so far, even if I have to spend a fair amount of time training it. An interesting side benefit is that it errs more on the side of caution than I do with time estimates, so that's just a better hourly rate for old Relapsing.

Ya, it probably leans in to my OCD and digital hoarding tendencies more than anything, but it is awesome for preservation.

Preservation is another interesting conversation in and of itself. We're going to keep seeing less and less physical media releases as time goes on. More of our access being gated by the companies we pay for it. Older technology being harder to integrate and use with modern tech. Good on you for preserving things for yourself and your kids!

I never watched much of those old X-Men cartoons because I grew up without a TV out in the boonies, but I've heard good things. I've been on a major 80's movie kick lately. So many forgotten gems out there. Feels almost infinitely so when I pour over actors' imdb filmographies.

The 90's are all the rage these days, so you're only a decade behind the youths. I have a deep love for 80's and early 90's movies. So many seminal entries, and the well is deep with hidden gems and absolute classics. One of my low-key favs is For Love or Money starring Michael J Fox... but I'm a sucker for anything he starred in.

A lot of folk seem to sell their projectors and level up regularly. I don't know about Canada, but in the EU and US, there is a lot of value to be had from selling a used projector. That said, It'll be interesting to see where that goes with laser based taking over and limited lifespans without expensive laser replacements, as opposed to bulb based that can be brought to almost a brand new state with a new bulb. That was a big selling point of buying used that's basically gone now.

A few years ago, a good friend ended up working on an installation that needed a high res projector... I'm 95% sure it was a IMAX level Barco, and he brought it home for 'testing'... i.e playing video games. HOLY SHIT. Even on a not-very-flat wall with regular old interior grade paint, it was incredible.

 

[StoicSensFan]

What movies are we watching first on our quarter million dollar home theater system?

I'd want Stop Making Sense in the highest quality possible, then either T2 or Heat