Wires and cables and remotes, oh my....
Sep. 6th, 2004 09:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
drscottWhile Mike was busy down at Sam's, I went over to help ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
excessor wire up his new Home-Theater-in-a-Box. These things combine your stereo system with your TV, relegating the TV to monitor status. Since his stereo was pretty pitiful it was actually a big upgrade for him. The many wiring diagrams in the manual weren't applicable because his existing TV system is complicated by the presence of a cable box and separate Tivo DVR [which reminds me to mention the much preferable Directv/Tivo combo boxes if you're considering new TV service.] The industry is a mess now because the component model [separate boxes for each function] has become impossibly complex and there are a dozen different types of cable and interfaces. Centralized control is difficult since each manufacturer uses a different control protocol and hardware standard. Even the huge remote for his new receiver will require programming to control the TV and DVD components, and the "modedness" of these combo remotes makes them difficult for most people to use. Meanwhile, stores like Circuit City take advantage of this complexity by selling you wildly-overpriced cables -- you shop carefully for the best price on a system, but when you ask the man what else you'll need, the store will push you to Monster cables, which have a huge markup, and give you little choice. It is much like buying car accessories at the dealer -- having just spent a large amount on the car, the $200 mats don't seem like much even though they could be purchased elsewhere for $30. And these add-on items account for half the profits of the whole sales operation.
It took me about ten minutes to get everything wired up, and then we chased down some audio problems which turned out to be loose speaker wires -- seven speakers make for an awful lot of analog connections to go wrong. Finally all seemed to be working well, so we adjourned to the cheap-but-delicious Indian restaurant in a nearby strip mall, where I stuffed myself with the intriguingly-named Chicken 65.
excessor wire up his new Home-Theater-in-a-Box. These things combine your stereo system with your TV, relegating the TV to monitor status. Since his stereo was pretty pitiful it was actually a big upgrade for him. The many wiring diagrams in the manual weren't applicable because his existing TV system is complicated by the presence of a cable box and separate Tivo DVR [which reminds me to mention the much preferable Directv/Tivo combo boxes if you're considering new TV service.] The industry is a mess now because the component model [separate boxes for each function] has become impossibly complex and there are a dozen different types of cable and interfaces. Centralized control is difficult since each manufacturer uses a different control protocol and hardware standard. Even the huge remote for his new receiver will require programming to control the TV and DVD components, and the "modedness" of these combo remotes makes them difficult for most people to use. Meanwhile, stores like Circuit City take advantage of this complexity by selling you wildly-overpriced cables -- you shop carefully for the best price on a system, but when you ask the man what else you'll need, the store will push you to Monster cables, which have a huge markup, and give you little choice. It is much like buying car accessories at the dealer -- having just spent a large amount on the car, the $200 mats don't seem like much even though they could be purchased elsewhere for $30. And these add-on items account for half the profits of the whole sales operation.It took me about ten minutes to get everything wired up, and then we chased down some audio problems which turned out to be loose speaker wires -- seven speakers make for an awful lot of analog connections to go wrong. Finally all seemed to be working well, so we adjourned to the cheap-but-delicious Indian restaurant in a nearby strip mall, where I stuffed myself with the intriguingly-named Chicken 65.
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Wired
Date: 2004-09-06 07:39 pm (UTC)On wires (and sorry for the babble that follows), I generally agree with you, wires don't make a lot of difference unless you have an exceptionally revealing system. But I have had first hand experience that proved that wires DO make a difference (in this case it was my stereo - I've been an addict of high end stereo since I was 15). My current system is a nicely downsized apartment system that is surprisingly revealing. When I bought it, I went for medium priced wires that took a few weeks to arrive. In the meantime, my buddy who owns the store, loaned me a pair of megabuck wires. When I finally had to make the switch the loss in 'sweetness' and clarity was shocking. Luckily for me, the ear rarely remembers such detail. Besides, I'd rather buy food than megabuck wires!
Re: Wired
Date: 2004-09-06 07:54 pm (UTC)And besides, we're talking about a consumer-level surround sound system, where audio quality has already been compromised for price.