Lest we forget, a home theater system does not just consist of a very nice, very big tv. There’s speakers involved in the mix too. The best sellers at Best Buy for last week were the Sony book shelf speakers. They were selling like hotcakes!

I personally am a big fan of the Sony Dav outfit (please see above picture), but I guess it just depends on how you want to dress up your house. You should hear how my Justin Timberlake CD sounds on it. One time, after work at Best Buy, we put in my JT CD and had Club Best Buy for about an hour. It was really fun. I never knew my friend Baron who works in the computer section was such a good dancer. He’s definitely got the moves.

I don’t know what it is - but surveys are very weird sometimes. Their outcome often is a given (”95 percent of Americans dislike terror attacks”), useless (”78 percent of consumers think that frog legs can be recycled on the moon”) or manipulative - like this one.

According to a December 2006 survey by Best Buy Omnitel, “women are clearly paying attention to the details of technology today and are taking an active role in the selection and performance of their home theater system”. Wow! How modern these woman are! And full of surprises, because “74 percent of women list sound quality as a very important aspect to consider while only 54 percent of men feel the same.” And: “more women than men feel ease of use, price, and installation services are very important.”

What kind of retarded men were interviewed in this survey? Sound, ease of use, and price were not considered important? Hard to believe!

But both sexes feel that emotions are in the air when purchasing electronics. “Deciding on an HDTV is an emotional purchase – we’ve heard from many couples that it can be as complex a decision as deciding on a car or even a house,” said Mike Vitelli, senior vice president of consumer electronics at Best Buy. And apparently aesthetics matter as well. Both men and women flat-panel TV owners agree that they even like their flat-panel TVs when they’re turned off.

Now I understand. For me as a man quality doesn’t have to matter. It just has to look pretty. Well, this Samsung HT-P38 looks great! Or shall I ask my sister first for her expertise about the Theater Logic Home Cinema?

I guess am getting a little bit ahead of myself. But I was still curious how I would proceed IN CASE I would have found my dream home entertainment center. I found a great website called Soundmoneytips which offers some great advice how to set up a home theater system and save money:

1. Room Shape – No matter how advanced your system, the single most important element of successful sound is the dimensions of your room.
2. Equipment – At minimum, you need five speakers to fully experience surround sound: two large front speakers, a smaller central channel speaker and two small rear or side speakers.
3. Speaker Positioning – It is by virtue of speaker arrangement that the audience receives a combination of signals from different parts of the room.
4. Factors of Distortion – The reflection and absorption of sound waves take place not only according to room symmetry, but also according to items in the room – some of which absorb, and others of which reflect, sound waves.

These are useful tips! Now I feel much more confident to continue my search for a home theater stereo system.

Sunday night I had a weird dream. I dreamt that I my grandparents invited me for a vacation at their house in Missouri. In the first couple of days, everything was relaxing and beautiful. I enjoyed their beautiful garden, went for walks along the river and read all my favorite book under a old oak tree. Then one night my grandfather suggested to watch “I Love Lucy” on TV. I was stunned when I entered their ‘entertainment room’. I was a huge room with a fabulous home theater system with all the bells and whistles. One of my first thoughts was - it is a Sony Dream System? But then I checked again and I noticed that everything looked like the seventies. The colors of the walls, the chairs, the entire room - everything had this old-fashioned style - like on the picture above. My grandfather started to watch the show. After a while he got up in order to go to the bathroom, as he said. Then I heard how he locked the room from the outside. The lights when off, and suddenly the whole thing became very scary. The episode of “I Love Lucy” started all over again, and again, and again. I was stuck in this entertainment room of my grandparents, all my attempts to open the door and escape were in vain. In screamed - nothing. I knocked - nobody answered. The show became louder and louder, Lucy’s laughter became unbearable. A door was slammed somewhere, I screamed - and then I woke up.

Today I have my doubts if I really want to buy the best home theater system - or any home theater system at all.

I am kind of hooked to YouTube and its endless archive of videos. Everybody is there, it seems: regular Joe’s, artists, exhibitionists, nerds, weirdos - but also entertainment companies, record labels and all kind of consumer products manufacturers, trying to sell their latest gadgets.
Among other I discovered a interesting video from Philips promoting its latest innovations at the CES in Las Vegas. Its new technology promises to revolutionize how people experience their favorite movies, programs and video games by drawing them deeper into the action. Two attractive and young ‘reporters’ hired by the company introduced a brandnews Philips’ HD FlatTV, which comes - as I read in the video description - “in 42-inch and 52-inch models, not only boasts high-definition picture quality, but also features Philips’ proprietary Ambilight technology. Ambilight expands the viewing area and produces dramatic color and light effects to the sides. This also helps relax viewers’ eyes and provides a glow that reduces eye strain.” I also learn that “video game enthusiasts can take advantage of amBX, technology that immerses the user completely in the video gaming experience by using light, wind and vibrating effects. With amBX, players will be engulfed by the sights, sounds and sensations - so they live the game instead of playing the game.” Mmh…sounds cool. But if Santa Claus would show up today and give me a regular Philips Home Theater System - I already would be totally happy with it.

What’s the deal with these ‘format wars’? When the electronics and entertainment industry creates something new in different versions, there is always a war breaking out. We had it long time ago with the video cassettes. Remember? VHS versus Betamax. And now we have the war of the DVD formats. HD DVD vs. Blue-ray. And just when we thought that this format fight was about to be calmed by the likes of LG’s BH100 hybrid player, it turns out that LG may not be allowed to sell their player as-is because it doesn’t fully comply with the interactive features offered by HD DVD. What a drag.
By the way. If you think I know what I am talking about - I am NOT. I read this on the web.
I also just read that because of this war many people have postponed purchasing a next-generation DVD player because of confusion over incompatible rival formats - and won’t experience home theater bliss. Well, I won’t allow this ‘war’ to confuse me on my ’shopping spree’. I mean, I could just get over with and buy this affordable LG Home Theater System. But then, for the amount of money I am going to spend I rather want to be a savvy and precautious than a spontaneous shopper.

Today I was thinking: Geesh, do I really have the right approach to my planned home theater purchase? Do I consider everything in order to find the right product? I browsed through the web and found some useful recommendations, among others on the information site About.com. It summarized everthing - here are some great tips:

1. Budget wisely.
2. Do your own product research.
3. Read ad carefully.
4. Check out the return policies.
5. Consider extended service.
6. Buy everything you need the first time.
7. Buy from authorized dealers only.
8. Avoid gray market goods.
9. When buying online, make sure that give your credit card information through a secure web site.
10. When buying online, be aware of the shipping costs.

Looking at this list, I realize that I certainly have some additional homework to do until I can enjoy an equipment where the quality is great and the price is right. Maybe I will even be able a bargain on the best book shelf speaker.

Crikey! What a terrible night I had! My legs hurt like crazy, so I slept about for an hour all in all. That’s why I called my doctor this morning to get an appointment. Fortunately he showed some compassion and had me come in this afternoon. I was quite nervous - I never really liked doctors - but In the waiting room they played some of my favorite songs by “Coldplay”. The sound quality was amazing! I checked out the speakers and noticed that they are Klipsh Speakers, a brand of which I had never heard before. When I was finally able to see my doctor, I mentioned to him how the great music experience in his waiting-room helped me to relax. He was so pleased that he gave me his private number and told me: “Whenever you have problems with you legs again - call me and I will take care of it immediately.” After this experience I almost start to like doctors….