I’m going to list a few things here, things I’d like you to try for yourself at home if you can. Some of these things are watching specific parts in a movie; some are listening for particular sounds in movies or music.
Play along, let’s see if you hear what I hear, let’s see if you see what I see. If you do, great! If you don’t, let’s find out how we can get you there.
1) Put in the “Lord of The Rings: Fellowship of The Ring”. It’s the first of the trilogy, and one of my favorite movies. Don't like Lord of the Rings? Call me, and we'll find one of your favorite movies to try this with.
In the first couple of minutes there is an epic battle between the races of middle earth. And not to spoil the movie or anything, but Sauron, the main “bad guy” is killed in the first couple of minutes.
When he is struck down, a shockwave radiates across the battlefield, and a devilish sound permeates the viewer. I can’t explain this sound, it’s akin to a low-flying plane, or an oncoming freight train.
This low pitched sound wave should evoke an emotion in you, it should be powerful and have a definitive and profound effect signalling the falling of a terrifying foe.
If you’re not floored by this sound effect, you’re not experiencing the movie as it was meant… and we should talk.
2) Watch any NFL football game. In every game, the camera will at some point fall on the coach, who, without fail, will be holding a piece of paper in front of his mouth as he instructs the quarterback via radio on what play to run.
Look at that piece of paper… can you see words? Can you READ them?
If you’re saying to yourself, “words? I thought that was just a piece of white cardboard.” You’re not watching in high definition… and we should talk.
3) Look at the back of your DVD player and your cable or satellite receiver and tell me what you see.
If you see an HDMI cable, good for you... HDMI is a great video cable; however it sometimes doesn’t transmit the best audio. If you want to know if it can get any better, give me a call.
If you see (3) cables and they are red, green and blue… great! That is also a good video cable, although in some ways it’s not quite as good as HDMI. They don’t transmit sound at all, so we would still want to make sure you’re getting the most out of your audio. If you are curious to see how it can be made better, give me a call.
If you see a strange plug, which almost looks like the plug on the end of an older computer keyboard or mouse; that is what we call an S-video cable. It is not high definition, and it can be so much better, let’s talk.
If you see a little yellow cable (usually accompanied by a white and a red one for sound… this is one of the most basic and barebones A/V connections there is. It’s not your fault, don’t worry… even Blu-ray players which produce beautiful 1080p images come with these cables INCLUDED IN THE BOX! This astounds me to no end. That cable can’t even carry the high definition signal which Blu-rays are intended for.
If you don’t even know what any of these cables are, that’s okay. Again, you can give us a call, and we’ll be happy to take a look.
In the world of video cables, it gets better, so much better than composite or S-video… let us show you.
4) Turn everything in your A/V system off. Now, pick something to do, watch TV, watch a movie, listen to the radio, or whatever else you like to do.
Count how many remotes you use, and count how many buttons you have to push to make it all happen.
If it’s more than one remote, and more than one button… that’s too much, at least in my eyes. After all, how do you ever explain to a houseguest, or the babysitter, or your in-laws, how to use your system? Entertainment systems should entertain, not befuddle. Let us show you how we can make things easier.
5) Turn on your TV, and use it to check your e-mail, watch YouTube, or visit a website.
If you can't do that, or didn’t even know it was possible, we can show you how!
Well that’s all for now, folks. If you would like to know more about anything I’ve brought up in this article, please feel free to give me a call at 847.471.4420, or email me at keith@inspired-electronics.com. It is a sincere offer, and something we take pride in.
Oh, and please visit our website at http://www.inspired-electronics.com/. You can find out more about what we do, sign up for our newsletter, and more.
We’re here to help, to teach, and to make home entertainment, well, entertaining!
Take care everyone!
-Keith
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