GJ: I understand your POV... But, I learned a long time ago that some (a majority?) of the folks here are more interested in collecting stacks of DVDs as opposed to home theater gear. Doesn't make much sense to me either (software should never be more important than hardware) but it is what it is... I had my main (theater room) gear in my sig at one point in time (nothing super duper, mainly JBLs, Panny widescreen, couple of Panny players, etc) but didn't really see the point... So, when reading person XYZ's technical reviews, I usually take it with a grain of salt and ask the question... "What kind of gear are you using?" That's about all ya can do.

Thanks Johnny. I'm starting to agree with you. I guess I knew that all along. I was just hoping it wasn't true.

You guys do realize that between the extremes of the HT gear obsessed and those who just like to collect stacks of DVD's, that there is a majority of people who are in this hobby because they simply love film now do you?

Yes, and I consider myself one of those people. It is my love for film that makes me desire to see it with the best presentation possible.

Wait a minute, you can play DVDs? I just get them for the cover art and the way they shine alluringly when they're all lined up on my shelf just right. Damn this information superhighway!

If you wanna put the info in your sig, by all means do it. As mentioned already, this site is about DVD's, not hardware, so it's more movie oriented then system oriented.

I'm the opposite... the actual DVD and movie mean a lot more to me then the hardware playing them. Not everyone can afford 10 grand for a home theater... but most people can afford to spend 20 dollars on a movie they enjoy + a few special features to learn even more about the movie they enjoy. That to me, is the most important part. Being able to enjoy those movies moreso through a better presentation is just icing on the cake.

Well I was waiting for that argument and while it does have merit I would argue that for the HT gear obsessed (see HTF forums), this obsession with technical perfection often gets in the way of their appreciation of film, i.e. they are more interested in HT gear than in the movie itself. They will go bonkers after noticing the slightest imperfection, which oddly enough is exactly the same disease that affects those who whine about cover art or the lack of insert.

That's the thing. I'd rather spend that time having discussions about the movie itself or even better watch an actual film. As long as a movie has decent sound/video I coudn't care less about the absence of a DTS track or the presentation bit rate. And my HT system would be considered high-end on this forum.

Absolutely... I'm a film lover first and foremost, but I agree with GJ... The best possible equipment (that one can afford) yields the best possible presentation of the films that one loves. Seems pretty simple to me... And I'm by no means HT gear obsessed (although I DO have two HT setups in different rooms), most of my gear is "average" mid-level type stuff that you can buy at Best Buy or Circuit City.

Yeah, but multiply that $20 X 500 DVDs and you've got $10,000. Me, I'd rather spend $5000 of that on the HT and the other $5000 on 250 DVDs. There's not enough time in this life to re-watch and re-watch stacks upon stacks of movies... The HT is always there though, if you do find the time.

Look, I don't disagree. Before I bought my HT gear, I set a (rather high) budget and spent months researching possibilities before I purchased. Now I did not do that because I'm fascinated by HT gear and technical aspects, I did it because that's what a smart consumer should do. I'm happy with my HT setup. I'm done.Now time to watch loads of movies. As I said above, decent audio/video is fine with me and I have absolutely no interest in (what is in my mind) wasting time on reading/discussing technical stuff when I can use that time to watch movies.

eXcentris - Well, you and I agree completely... And I see your POV as well... Watching the movie is priority #1 to me, as long as it sounds decent and looks good. Hell, I have quite a few B&W / mono films in my collection, never stopped me from enjoying em' and keeping em' around for the film quality... My collection is linked in my sig, I've got some nice bells and whistles DVDs and a lot of just so-so DVDs as well. That said, I do agree with GJ as well, there is a difference on some of these "reference" quality DVDs when you're watching it on a 10 year old 27" vs a new 16X9 display. Same with the audio. There have been times where I've read technical reviews on this site and wondered WTF? That disc looks pretty bad on my HT or lacks in the audio department... Then I wonder what kind of gear they were using.

Doesn't stop me from buying the film though, if I love the film. Unless, of course, it's widescreen and NOT anamorphic...

That parenthetical is the idealogical stumbling block here. To my mind, that statement is so far wrong as to be farcical. Pursued to its logical end, everyone should put every allotted penny into hardware, achieving the ultimate system (and I'll leave it to the gear-heads to figure that one out) before spending any money on software... Nonsense.
I watched The Godfather, Citizen Kane, Brazil, Ran, etc on a 19" screen with my dvd player running directly into the back. Would my life be richer if I had held off until I had the home theatre of my dreams? Hardly.

Willie - Of course not. Hell, back in the day, I saw The Exorcist - Star Wars - and so on at a drive-in with one of those 6" tin speakers. Didn't stop my loving the films... I suppose you could say that as I've grown older, I've grown more spoiled. Point taken.

AVSForum has a spot in the user profile page to enter lists of equipment. That seems to me a better solution than putting it in the sig on every single post.

The problem I have with your idea is that if I run a search looking for a review of a particular piece of HT gear, it will bring up every post that has that piece of equipment listed in the sig.

No thanks.

That isn't true at all. Hooked up through a TV's built-in speakers, you'll be hearing a downmixed audio track that may or may not have been downmixed well by your particular DVD player, masking the quality of the source. And you wouldn't be able to hear a DTS track at all, unless you happen to have one of the relatively few DVD players that has a built-in DTS decoder.

I get them for the inserts. I pin them all on my wall and add them to the mural.

If you are going to list your gear, you should also list the settings as two people can have the same gear but different settings which makes for different video/audio.

That's not going to happen because it's stupid, so there.

We would need three-dimensional, walk-through room layouts as well, just so that people were accurate in comparing their placement. Oh, and swatches or samples of all materials used for furniture, wall-covering, floor-covering, etc.

This, in it's simplicity, is my point entirely.

I can't believe the amount of people responding to this who still don't get my point.

- I am NOT home theater obsessed.
- This has nothing to do with discussing equipment.
- This has everything to do with discussing DVDs on an intelligent level.

For the third time now. Forget the signature thing. Forget I ever asked.

By the way, the signature is gone now. The forum is saved. You can go back to your daily lives now.

Nice. Who's the bigger geek here? The guy who wants to get the most out of his DVD collection and film watching experience, or you, the guy who claims to spend more time collecting DVDs than watching them:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=382208

If you're done with this thread..why don't you just delete it? I think the majority of people don't really want to compare who has a better system (especially in this forum or movie talk forum or reviews and recommendations because THESE forums are to discuss the medium and not the medium gear...seems like you are trying to start the age old war of who's c*** is bigger and maybe want to show bragging rights. Why not ask everyone to post their SAT scores? That would be just as relevant as reciever specs in the 'DVD Exchange' forum.

Stick to the HT forum, seems much much more appropriate. Whether you have a $99 Walmart or $999 Greatmart you can still tell when a DVD has specs and grain and looks crappy. Maybe without that good of speaker and DTS capability you can't attest to sound, but I am sure peeps can attest a little. Believe you me I care about a and v and will get the best quality DVD out there whether it is a double dip or what have you, but that is for me and me to watch and enjoy. I don't need to know what you watch it on because I simply do not care.

If you want to know equipment ask in a specific thread instead of asking everyone to change their signatures for this and every other forum. Why the hell would someone care what DVD player you have when discussing the theatrical release of "Collateral" in the 'Movie Talk' forum??

My signature is just supposed to be fun. A little invitation of who we are in this forum. A little hello or whatever you want to say there, to say this is who I am or at least a smidgeon of who I am or what I like. I am not merely defined by a piece of inanimate machinery (especially one that will be obsolete in a year or two).

Thanks and have a good day!

Maybe we should all get hearing tests and post the results when we comment about audio quality j/k

But seriously, I wish I could afford nicer equipment. I'm just a regular guy that tries to do the best with what he can get.