Outside of the government and the military, the computer world uses the most acronyms. This is especially true for the names of audio compression formats. There are dozens of formats, each with its own reason for being and with its own strengths and weaknesses.
But what do all of those names mean?
And how do you deal with an audio file that you're not familiar with?
We will now look at some popular audio compression formats and some of their characteristics, shall we?
You definitely need to know at least the basics of some of the most common audio formats that you will come across in your everyday life. And they are:
1. Mpeg-1 Audio Layer 3 - MP3
2. Org Vorbis - OGG
3. Free Lossless Audio Coding - FLAC
4. Windows Media Audio - WMA
5. Digital Rights Management - DRM (recently added to WMA format)
6. Advanced Audio Coding - AAC
More on the above listed Audio Formats after the turn...
Popular Audio Compression Formats
MP3
I can't think of anyone who hasn't heard of MP3. Even my parents, who are definitely not the most tech savvy people around, are familiar with it. MP3 is short for MPEG-1 (Moving Picture Experts Group), Audio Layer 3, after the working group tasked with developing digital audio and video encoding standards.
MP3 has become the most popular, and dominant, audio format. It's used everywhere -- from songs ripped from CDs to audio podcasts. Few, if any, portable audio players or software media players don't play MP3 files. And it is extremely hard to find one that doesn't play MP3.
An MP3 file can be quite small. That's because the software used to create an MP3 file, called an encoder, uses what is called lossy compression. The encoder shrinks the file by tossing out bits of audio that, in theory, most people can't hear. When the MP3 file is created with a reasonable bit rate (the number of bits of data converted each second, which helps determine the sound quality), you get near CD-quality sound. However, the more you compress the file, the worse the audio quality becomes. And when you convert an MP3 file to another format, the audio quality noticeably degrades.
One major issue with the MP3 format is that a company named Thomson Consumer Electronics holds the patents for the MP3 format, and charges royalties for its use. Because of this, a number of Open Source software developers decided to create...
Ogg Vorbis
Ogg Vorbis which has the extension .ogg, was developed as a patent-free alternative to MP3. In doing so, the developers managed to "out-MP3" the MP3 format.
Like MP3, Ogg Vorbis uses lossy compression. However, the compression scheme that Ogg Vorbis uses is superior to that used by MP3. You get an equal or greater reduction in file size, but with sound quality better than MP3 when a file is created with the same bit rate.
Ogg Vorbis is widely supported in desktop audio players, including WinAmp, XMMS, RhythmBox, and Quintessential. You can also get a plug-in for the Windows Media Player that gives it solid support for Ogg Vorbis. However, few portable audio players can play back Ogg Vorbis files. Some older players from iRiver, Samsung, and Neuros did support the format, but that support seems to have vanished from newer models.
FLAC
FLAC is short for Free Lossless Audio Coding. Unlike MP3 and Ogg Vorbis, FLAC uses lossless compression to reduce the size of files. This means that no audio is removed when the file is created, resulting in better quality sound. In fact, the sound from a FLAC file is indistinguishable from that of a professionally produced CD. Not only that, but you can convert a FLAC file to any other audio format without the quality of the sound degrading.
While FLAC files are compressed, they're larger than other compressed audio files. A standard audio CD will be compressed to about 300 MB using FLAC. That's really only slightly more than a 50% compression rate. It's good, but not great. The trade off is audio quality. A number of desktop media players and portable audio players support FLAC. A growing number of artists are making their music available as FLAC files.
Lossy compression was important in the days of slow, dial-up Internet access and limited bandwidth. As broadband access becomes ubiquitous, however, lossless encoding is becoming more popular.
WMA
As you might imagine, Microsoft has its own audio format. That format is Windows Media Audio, or WMA for short. It's designed especially for use with the Windows Media Player that's built into the Windows operating system. You can play WMA files in other media players, even ones on other operating systems. Of course, most portable audio players support WMA. One exception, and this shouldn't be a surprise, uh.. huh, it is the Apple iPod.
As far as quality goes, at lower bit rates WMA files are virtually indistinguishable from MP3 or Ogg Vorbis files. At higher bit rates, though, WMA suffers in comparison -- the difference in quality is very noticeable.
Recently, Microsoft added Digital Rights Management (also called DRM) to the WMA format. DRM restricts how and where you can use an audio file that was, say, downloaded from an online music service. For example, one use of DRM in audio files is to allow you to only play that file on a single computer or portable player. DRM has turned a number of users away from WMA and into the arms of MP3.
AAC
AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) is the default file format on the iPod and the iTunes software, and for downloads from the Apple iTunes store. And with good reason -- the compression scheme it uses is better than that of MP3, and AAC can better render the higher frequencies produced by certain musical instruments and by the human voice. With AAC, you get richer audio in a small package. Audio encoded with AAC is noticeably superior to MP3 and WMA. At comparable bit rates, an AAC file generally sounds better than Ogg Vorbis.
AAC is definitely growing in popularity. In addition to support in the iPod and the new Apple iPhone, mobile phone and audio players from other manufacturers are gradually gaining AAC capabilities. But like WMA, AAC also includes Digital Rights Management. This is most notable with tracks bought from the iTunes store. This has prompted an Open Source project called Free Advanced Audio Coding (FAAC) to start developing a DRM-free version of the format.
Dealing with Audio Files
How do you deal with an audio file that you're not familiar with? If none of your media players can play the file, you can try to convert it to a known format like MP3. You can do this with software (Hundreds of Audio Conversion Software available here) or by using an online service like Media-Convert.com and Zamzar. Keep in mind that, depending on the format of the original file, a conversion could result in the loss of some audio quality.
Conclusion
While the compression formats discussed in this post are the most popular ones out there right now, they aren't the only ones in town. A future story will look at some of the other well-known but less frequently used audio formats.
Ten great buying tips for those about to venture out into the world of speakers.
This is a continuation, a second part of the Do's and Don'ts of Speaker Shopping. For the beginning of this series, see Do's and Don'ts of Speaker Shopping: Part 1.
The General rules about buying a set of Home theater Speakers
(Rules 5 to 10):
PART 2
5) Power isn’t all-important
6) Sensitivity wins
7) Surround channels should be diffused
8) More is not necessarily better
9) Try them out
10) Buy what you like
Elaborations on above points after the turn...
Click here for Rules 1 to 4
5) Power isn’t all-important.
Sure, Mr. Audio friend brags about his 200-watt-per-channel blah de-de-blah blah blah. And his system can still sound lousy. Power isn’t important unless you have a really big room to fill. Save the 100-watt-per-channel systems for dedicated home theater rooms where you want to shake, rattle and roll. Sixty watts per channel should be plenty in a family room environment. Thirty-five watts per channel is more than enough for background music.
6) Sensitivity wins.
This is the age of Mr. Sensitive. Much more important than the power capacity of a speaker is its sensitivity, which is a measure of how a speaker plays at low power. This is expressed in decibels, from about 83 to 93, the higher the better. And here’s a little factoid for Mr. Audio: An increase in 3 decibels of sensitivity is equal to doubling the power. The higher-sensitivity system will likely sound better as well.
7) Surround channels should be diffused.
That means they are meant to create ambient effects that can’t quite be localized, such as the hum of a spaceship or crickets chirping in the night. You shouldn’t be hearing your surround speakers all of the time. And you shouldn’t be able to pinpoint where those ambient sounds are coming from. For that reason, surround speakers should be located on the sides of the seating area and at least a foot above the heads of the seated audience. Many surround speakers have dual sets of speaker drivers pointed to both the front and back of the room to help disperse that sound. These are called bipole speakers. A dipole speaker goes step further and produces a sound that’s slightly “out of phase,” which you can think of as a slight delay between the two sets of drivers, thereby making the sound even more ambient. Bipolar and dipolar speakers are used almost exclusively for side surround channels.
8) More is not necessarily better.
One speaker has three drivers: a woofer for bass, a tweeter for high sounds and a midrange driver for sounds in the middle. The other speaker has just a woofer and a tweeter. The two speakers are about the same price. Which is better? All other things being equal, the two-driver speaker will likely have the better drivers, and the three-driver speaker will have cheaper ones. Moral of the story: Don’t be swayed by the notion of getting more for same price or less.
9) Try them out.
Listen to several speaker systems before you buy. And don’t just listen to the music or soundtracks the store has. The best way to judge a speaker is to hear how it reproduces the human voice. Bring CDs and DVDs of your own and that you are very familiar with. It’s a good idea to select various tracks or DVD chapters that have loud and soft sounds. Bring vocal tracks and a DVD with some really soft or whispered dialogue. Can you hear that whispered dialogue clearly? Listen to the CDs and DVDs before you go to the store, even if you’re sick of them. This will enable you to judge the speakers’ sound and perhaps pick out sounds that you’ve never heard before.
10) Buy what you like.
Don’t be influenced by “this is the better system.” If one speaker sounds better to you, go with it. You’re the one who’s going to be hearing it day in and day out. But be sure to take other things into consideration, such as the room decor and layout, and consult your electronics dealer on which system would be best for a large space with hardwood floors, for example.
Click thumbnail for bigger imageThat's it, these are the points you need to keep in mind before spending your money on a set of quality Home Theater Speakers. As always, there are many more factors that effect the performance of a good Speaker system, but the points discussed here in Part 1 & Part 2 will suffice for most of us. Happy hunting!
Read the rest of the story >>
Ten great buying tips for those about to venture out into the world of speakers.
The good news: There are audio speakers available today for just about every need. There are big ones, small ones and in-between-sized ones. It used to be that only the bigger speakers could provide you with quality sound and power for a home theater system. And here’s the really good news: Innovations have made some of the smallest speakers sound great. There are still bad speakers out there, though, so you should shop around with discerning eyes and ears. But you can get satisfying sound from a variety of options that fit every taste and decor.
First, however, please heed our general rules about home theater speakers:
PART 1
1) Don’t scrimp
2) Leave Mr. Audio at home
3) Same speakers, all around
4) The center channel rules
PART 2
5) Power isn’t all-important
6) Sensitivity wins
7) Surround channels should be diffused
8) More is not necessarily better
9) Try them out
10) Buy what you like
Elaborations on above points after the turn...
Now, for a bit more detail...
1) Don’t scrimp.
Your home entertainment speaker system is not the place to get cheap. You’ve heard the phrase, “where the rubber meets the road” to denote something’s importance? Just as a good set of tires is essential to the performance of an automobile, a good set of speakers is crucial to the performance of a home entertainment system—whether there are 20 speakers or just two.
The speakers are the last stops for sound on the way to your ears. So you can have the world’s greatest DVD player and amplifiers, all creating this beautiful sound, but if you have a lousy set of speakers, it will still sound lousy. In other words, your system will only be as good as its speakers.
There’s no set figure on how much you should spend on audio versus video, but a good benchmark is to try to budget for them equally, and look for a set of speakers to fit the audio portion. Try to spend at least as much on your speakers as you spend on your other audio components.
2) Leave Mr. Audio at home.
Everyone seems to have a friend or relative who is a self-professed audio expert, and when he—and usually it is a he—gets wind that you’re buying a home theater, he’ll suddenly become your self-appointed shopping consultant/escort/new best pal. Leave this guy at home. Chances are he will try to talk you into buying a system that he likes, not the one that is best for you. And he may be grossly misinformed. Consult him over the phone if you must.
3) Same speakers, all around.The speakers should also have identical power ratings and frequency ranges. A 5.1 surround-sound system, for example, calls for five full-range speaker channels. Look for ranges starting at 60 to 100 hertz for the low sounds and up to 20 kilohertz for the high sounds, and leave the really low bass for a subwoofer to reproduce. Some center-channel and surround speakers may have narrower frequency ranges, as they don’t normally reproduce some lower sounds, for instance.
If you can’t get all the same models or a package for the speakers, try to get them from the same manufacturer’s line, or from the same manufacturer, as each speaker maker tends to have a signature sound. That way, the speakers will sound good together. If you have to use a mix of brands, be sure your electronics professional matches them for tonal quality. This process is called timbre (pronounced tamber) matching.
4) The center channel rules.It may be smaller than the other front speakers. It may lie on its side and look like it’s not doing much. But the center channel is the most important speaker in a surround-sound system. All of the on-screen dialogue comes through this speaker, and about 70 percent of all sounds in a movie soundtrack come through it. That’s a lot. Scrimp on it or buy an underpowered one, and you may be constantly turning up the volume to hear what’s being said. That doesn’t make for good a home entertainment experience. That’s why the center channel should have the same power ratings as your other speakers. Don’t settle for less.
Liked it so far? It gets better...
Story continued here in PART 2
Read the rest of the story >>
The hardest part of setting up your home for a complete digital entertainment experience is the wiring/cabling or whatever you call it. Figuring out the types of cables, wires provided, the myriad number of connections in your Digital entertainment components is enough to make you take that fateful decision to go and become a monk in the Himalayas. Come on, admit it, you are afraid as I am.
You fear that chaotic nest of wires behind your home entertainment system, you get nightmares of a slithering mass of wires and cables reaching out to you. Yes, I've been there. Not to worry, PopCola is here.
For both the newcomer and the old hand alike, connecting equipment in the most efficient and effective manner can be a painful chore. The following information will improve your background knowledge concerning potential A/V system connection schemes and where each is most appropriate. The next time you find yourself in a "connectivity quandary" perhaps the ideas shared here will help you to quickly solve the riddle of which wire goes where and why!
There's more after the turn...
Here's a rundown of all those wires, cables and connectors.
Audio Cables
Audio cables in home theaters take the form of either analog or digital interconnects.
- RCA Connectors
- BNC Bayonet-Style Connection
- XLR Audio Connection
Digital Audio:
- AES/EBU Digital Audio
- SPDIF Digital Connectors
- Toshiba Link, or TOSLINK
Video Cables
Video Cables are available as either analog or digital interconnects, with the majority of analog video interconnects being based on the same type of RCA or BNC connectors found in home theater sound systems.
Analog Video:
- Coaxial RF Cable
- Composite Video
- S-Video
- Component Video
- RGB Video and the SCART A/V Connector
Digital Video:
- i.LINK
- DVI
- HDMI
There are many more types of connectors for both audio and video, but the list featured above is more then enough for most people.
Practical Home Theater Guide has a more detailed guide for selecting AV cables and Connectors for setting up your Home Theater. Do Click here for the Guide.
With the vast selection of options available, choosing the right cables and connectors will be downright confusing for the beginner. Familiarity with the options available on contemporary components will allow you to make an informed decision and, when all is said and done, end up with a home theater or music system that provides the level of performance and convenience you envisioned.
Important: The Cables & Interconnects that are shipped with the components are not always the best choice. Sometimes replacing them with the optimum choice will result in substantial improvement in system performance.
Read the rest of the story >>
Software for Digital home Entertainment is one area where there has been frantic development in recent times. With the number of people who are into the "Home Entertainment Hub" this was expected. Though there were many products geared towards this aspect, it was Microsoft who jump-started the 'Home Entertainment' wagon with the development of the XBox and the humongously popular Windows Media Center Edition (MCE).
Though Windows MCE is an excellent product and is somewhat of a pioneering attempt in the development of HTPC (Home theater PC), it does have its limits. And the multitude of commercial solutions available on the shelves don't offer much either. This is where Open Source steps in.
MediaPortal by Erwin Beckers and team is the perfect solution for turning your PC into a complete Media Center. Well its not perfect, but the closest thing to it. Erwin was the founder of XBMC (Xbox Media Center) project who later went on to start MediaPortal as a free open source product.
There's more after the turn...
In their own words,MediaPortal is an Open Source application ideal for turning your PC / TV into a very advanced Media Center. MediaPortal allows you to listen to your favorite music & radio, watch and store your videos and DVDs, view, schedule and record live TV as a digital video recorder and much much more. You get MediaPortal as Open Source software. This means you can help in developing MediaPortal or tweak it for your own needs with lots of innovating plugins from our great community.
MediaPortal includes a host of excellent features.
To speak from a general overview, they are:
Create your own skins, or choose one of the available skins!
MediaPortal can easily be extended with extra plugins
You decide which keys you want to use for which actions
Internal support for several remote controls
Windowed and fullscreen support
And many more features like MyTV, MyVideo/DVD, MyRadio, MyPictures, MyMusic, MyWeather, Emulators, CD/DVD burning within MediaPortal, Email, PC monitoring, Scheduled Recording, alarms, games etc. MediaPortal is not a demo, shareware or anything like that. Rather it is a complete, free-to-use full version software that will turn your PC into a real 'Media Center' without changing much of your computer's hardware. Moreover, since it is open source, anyone can contribute to or customize the software according to their own requirements.
The hardware and software requirements to use this software is very much acceptable and will run as it is on almost every PC that is somewhat up to date. MediaPortal is developed on the Microsoft .Net framework using C#.
Download the full product here.
You can learn more about this amazing FREE, open source product by visiting their website, and also by having a look into this extensive documentation.
I know it is the age of the remote, but anyone will agree that it has reached ridiculous levels. Hah! I have to keep a separate side table for all my remotes. In this day and age, every electronic device and almost every appliance comes shipped with a small box (remote) that fits in your hand. Its almost as if there is a secret war going on vying for the real estate that is your palm. On an average, every household has a bare minimum of 4 remotes. Most times I find myself using the wrong remote for the wrong device. Even fans come with remotes ,sheesh!
The Universal remote was touted to be the solution for this quaint problem of plenty, but we all know how that turned out to be in practice. The Universal Remotes that are sold in most stores are next to useless, it is cheap, but what is cost when one cannot use the remote effectively. Yes, there are some sophisticated Universal Remotes that addresses this problem of plenty quite effectively, and some can even be programmed to accept and control new devices as and when you buy them, they can be programmed for every device that would possibly need a remote. But they are bulky, complex to use, and they are not exactly cheap either. That puts them out of us commoners' hands.
Till the day comes when the prices of these 'Universal Remotes' come down to acceptable levels, all we can do is keep juggling the remotes in our hand to find the right one to switch on that damn TV.
-end of post-
Recently we have been talking about full blown home theaters, with grand designs and even grander budgets. But most of us cannot afford that expense. A good majority of people, yours truly included, can at the most, integrate a home theater into our living room. And it is more than enough for the most part. No! it is not enough. But I can dream, can't I ?
Coming to the matter at hand, do excuse me for I have a tendency to drift way off-course once I start rambling. Shit! there I go again. Okay, now I'll really come to the point.
The Day before yesterday, I purchased a new surround sound speaker set for my home theater (I am updating my ancient home theater, one piece at a time). Once I bought the set, I realized I needed stands for my rear and side speakers, since wall mounting the speakers is not a feasible option in this instance. Much to my frustration, I found out that good quality speaker stands would make me spend way more than my budget (they are really expensive, you know). Now, I am not a cheapskate, all the same I am not exactly loaded. Naturally, the best option was to build my own speaker stands.
As I researched, I came across this post on How to: Dirt cheap Speaker Stands by Chris Meltcafe. A most excellent article, I must say - fast and easy to make, and really really sturdy. It can be made from easy to find materials, looks excellent and more importantly, since I have a tendency to be a bit of a klutz, the stands are very sturdy and can withstand much abuse. Do check it out, you'll love it.
A moot point : You do not have to do exactly as specified. You can use the guide as a starting point and branch off into your own idea.
Cost factor apart, I love the feeling I get when I build or assemble something with my hands. I love what I did with the stands - they look real good, blending into my decor. They are easily serviceable, replaceable and more importantly, cost around 10% of the price of a store bought speaker stand.
-end of post-
"Designing a Home Theater ? Why would someone design a home theater ?", one may think. Some people may feel that no designing needs to be done while setting up a Home Theater, you just shove the right equipment in the right places. While this may be true for most "Home Theaters" that are set up in living rooms or the "I too have a Media Room", we are not talking about those kind of setups.
If not them, then who are we talking about ?
-read more-
Well, we are talking about the serious Home Theater Enthusiast. The kind of person who would invest his time and money in building a great Home Theater setup or at the least one who would make some rather dramatic changes in the existing room setup to accommodate a kick-ass Home Theater. To make life easier for these kind of people, a number of software tools for planning,diagramming and making schematics for your Home Theater have been developed. They make it possible to design a complete and complex Home Theater setup, with all the different components, lighting, wiring, room setup etc, before starting the actual work of building it. Using these tools, you can have the actual plan in your hands and then go about on the business of building your dream Home Theater.
If you are planning your Home Theater from scratch, these tools will be of immense help. As with all software, there are both 'FREE' and 'PRO' type software packages available.
The 'PRO' tools include a host of excellent features to aid in schematics and design. Most notable among them is d-tool's System Integrator 5. It is one of the best in the business and its abilities go far and beyond designing a Home Theater. You don't have to spend big bucks to get some of the same features, a good many of the schematics can be made with Microsoft Visio. However its the custom templates and pro features that set quality designs apart from amateur doodles.
Among the 'Free' packages for designing a Home Theater or just making line schematics are AVsnap and Rack Tools. Of these, AVsnap from Altinex is actually very useful and more based on "wiring" in the two packages. You can create your own custom equipment types and then line draw all of the connections ahead of time, or use their pre-made library and modify the results to your system and needs.
Racktools from Middle Atlantic is geared more toward equipment layout. Even if you don’t end up purchasing one of their fine equipment racks, the space and dimension options of rack tools can be very useful for space planning.
If you’re planning a home theater system with a DVD player, A/V receiver, and a cable box, these tools might not really shed any more light on system design than a piece of paper could. But as more and more home theater systems approach the complex to ridiculous in intricacy, so does the need to fully plan them out ahead of time.
The Plot
This is a spin-off of the Hit legal drama series, the Practice. But boston legal has its focus more on civilian law and less on criminal law.
Ethically-challenged attorney Alan Shore, settles in at a wealthy and powerful firm focusing on civil cases. With some help from his friend and mentor, veteran attorney Denny Crane, Shore quickly makes his mark winning cases no one would take, often using less than honest methods. In doing so, he develops a rival in his colleague Brad Chase, who has been assigned to the office partly to keep an eye on the increasingly eccentric (and possibly senile) Denny Crane. Though his questionable conduct might make him a few enemies along the way, Alan's not one to be underestimated, nor will he let trivial things like honesty or integrity get in the way of winning a case.
Read the full review after the jump...
The Good
BOSTON LEGAL is one of the very few smart shows on TV that conveys a lot of important factual information through wonderfully told stories and does it with brilliant humor - all at the same time. David Kelley is a TV genius - no surprise to read he went to Princeton and Boston U Law School and that he was an attorney - in Boston. No wonder the whole thing seems so authentic. The guy who created the show actually knows what he's writing about.
There's a lot of garbage on television these days, such as the supposed reality shows. I admit, some of them are pretty good, but the majority of those shows are just a waste of our time. We don't even have to mention the soap operas. In all this grunge there is a bright spot, Boston legal, which is in my opinion, one of the best shows on T.V. The show expertly blends the intelligent wit of Alan Shore(James Spader) and the comical antics of Denny Crane(William Shatner). A lot of what you see on T.V. is just dumb humor, and I'm not opposed to that, but it's nice to have a smart show like this. Because this program is so good I rarely miss an episode, and if I do I feel empty unfulfilled for the entire week.
So what's the deal here? The DEAL, friend reader, is James Spader and William Shatner, their chemistry, their superb acting skills, the way they plug into and feed off of each other with increasingly effortless skill and almost revolutionary invention. There's ALWAYS something new to see, ALWAYS. And when you drop them into the slot with the lesser cast members, they get them going, too, pushing them into areas they might never have gone into otherwise.
I have never laughed so much and it is thanks to the actors and writers who pull off the material. Who ever came up with having a double act of William Shatner (Denny Crane) and James Spader (Alan Shore) hit gold and one of the main reasons I love the show so much is the interaction between them especially at the end of the episode when they are on the balcony, smoking cigars and drinking. The relationship at times can be very touching and I like the fact that these two heterosexual men love one another as it hasn't been shown on any other series. They are complete opposites in their views and yet they get on so well.
What I also like particularly about William Shatner's character is that he is not like the perfect lawyers you see on TV who says and does all the right things and is a goody-two shoes character. Crane is flawed because he doesn't always say the right things, he can sometimes look like he doesn't know what he is doing and his views can sometimes be racist, sexist or controversial to other people but he isn't an evil person, he just doesn't think before he speaks. He just believes in saying what's on his mind and not being bogged down with political correctness like most people.
The other characters help the show to be one of the best on Television. The cast includes Mark Valley (Brad Chase), Julie Bowen (Denise Bauer), Candice Bergen (Shirley Schmidt) and Rene Auberjonois (Paul Lewiston). Click here for the entire cast.
The writers are just brilliant, they come up with so many good one liners and they can go from humour to drama very easily but they are sensitive with the way they portray the subject matter.
The Bad
It starts out with, unquestionably, the cheesiest television score I've heard, it is just clowny and really really annoying. The whole quasi-documentary approach with hand-held cameras wracking focus out of nowhere, is beyond passé. When you believe the audience needs jerky camera movements to provide impetus in a series, that's a worrisome vote of no-contest from the executive office. Some of the cast, as well, is just bland window dressing. I speak primarily of Mark Valley, who lately, has made a much needed burlesque out of his woodenness, but before that was as much a doorstop as anything else. Nor do I like the women on the show. They're heavy-handed and unconvincing; for the most part, 60's soap opera actors. Candice Bergen doesn't seem to know what she's there for. They hand her character new situations, even a lurid past, and she marches through her scenes like a Victorian schoolmarm.
Additionally, there's the writing, which, if not continually top notch, is at least trippy and fascinating. But "Boston Legal" needs to be less of a sequel (to "The Practice", if you weren't aware) and more of a daring original. It needs some tightening, because once you remove the cheese factor (and sadly, it's probably too late for that, now), you've got something really brilliant and it needs to be better than the sum of it's parts.
The Point is : ( Rating | 8/10 )
A show about the law and lawyers is generally centered around words. This show is no exception, but what it does with words is the icing on and in the cake. It weaves a special kind of magic with its words, whether in the courtroom, the meeting room, the personal office, or any of the many unexpected locations the show may take the viewer. It also doesn't matter if the show is being funny or dramatic, whether it's a matter of law that's being discussed or an inter-firm affair. The writing of the show is excellent, spoken and demonstrated by relentless, exceptional, subtly (though not always) self-aware actors. The show's magic is to keep the viewer suspended in an area where people are both truly good and bad, where feelings are strong but can be turned upside down by a turning phrase, and where political incorrectness and even borderline misogynist (as one of many strange, perhaps "racy" issues) attitudes can win the day (even in a sexual harassment case). I for one look forward to the unexpected places this show can take us, the words that will be spoken, and the characters that will be speaking. Congrats to Spader, Shatner, the writers, and everyone else involved with the show.
For me, the height of the show are the conversations over whiskey and cigars between Denny Crane (Shatner) and Alan Shore (James Spader) where the pair trade philosophical observations over what has just happened, and are uncommonly revealing about their own quirky inner thoughts.
I don't always agree with the conclusions made by the show (it can be a little preachy at times), but this is one of the best written shows on TV. It has very smart dialog, usually has a dramatic theme, but is still willing to have fun and make fun of itself from time-to-time. It definitely makes me think and even better it makes me laugh!
Normally when we talk about home theaters, we imagine the setting would be like this - A 42 inch plasma television, or a really big HDTV, sometimes even a home movie projector, the latest surround sound audio setup, and the requisite comfy seating. This is what most people who love movies do.
But Steve Jenkins is not most people. He describes himself as your average movie buff, but what he has done does not fall in the realm of 'average'. He has converted his basement into a Home theater - in a literal sense. He has built it into an actual movie theater. Complete with all the BIG screen and a thumping audio system that draws you in, the setting, the decor, the really comfortable seating, and even a snack bar for god's sake.
Even Audio Video Interiors, the industry's leading electronic home entertainment magazine has featured his dream project in their magazine. Get the Article!
Steve quotes "I envisioned a Golden Era movie palace in the "Grand European meets Las Vegas" style, with red velvet curtains, massive marble columns, gold moldings and trim, a domed-sky ceiling with stars twinkling, multi-level seating, and of course, a snack bar. Some people prefer simple, tasteful, and functional rooms with little to distract visitors. And while I can certainly respect that, it's not what I wanted for this room. Simple, tasteful, and functional is perfect for the parts of a house where you eat, sleep, work, talk with your family, etc. For a room where the sole purpose is entertainment, however, I wanted the entertainment to start before the lights dim. I wanted a room where I could escape - where I'd almost forget I was in my house."
You can tell for sure that the months of time, energy and hard work, not to mention, the money invested has really paid off. Steve Jenkins is the proud owner of a Home Theater that is like no other on this planet.
View the gallery of the whole project, from beginning to completion.
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This is an article by Home Theater Enthusiast Steve Jenkins.
When I first starting enjoying the home theater experience, I noticed that my family and I frequented public movie theaters less and less. Now, we almost never go to public theaters - and when we do, I really miss being at home.
So I thought it would be fun to create a list of Reasons Why I No Longer Go To Public Movie Theaters to help those of you who are interested in building your own home theater (usually guys) convince anyone standing in your way why a home theater is a good thing.
So here it is, here are the reasons I no longer go to public movie theaters:
1. You show up 45 minutes early to find the perfect seat in the center of the theater, and someone taller than you shows up 5 minutes before the opening credits and sits right in front of you. If you're really unlucky, he's wearing a huge hat or he/she has a hairdo that blocks half of your line of sight to the screen.
2. The guy who shows up late looking for a seat in the dark and then asks you to move over one seat so he and his girlfriend can sit in your row - knocking you one seat away from the surround sound sweet spot.
3. The noisy girl right behind you who keeps asking her boyfriend "What's gonna happen next?". Sometimes, noisy girl keeps talking about things as important as 'What her friend said about her seating arrangements when SHE came with HER boyfriend'.
4. The noisy guy right behind you who keeps announcing what's going to happen next - even if he's not asked by his noisy girlfriend. Or the noisy guy who finds the movie theater, of all places to be romantic. Or maybe he is just in the mood for some groping.
5. The kid sitting one row in front of you who orders a sugar-high glazed donut with chocolate, lots of it, and it starts "kicking in" about half an hour into the movie.
6. The guy near the front of the theater who uses a camcorder to make a bootleg/pirated tape and keeps the bright back-lit viewscreen wide open.
7. Noisy teenagers who laugh, talk, whistle or make other noises at inappropriate points of the movie.
8. Grown men who assault the aforementioned teenagers instead of talking to the manager and/or asking for his money back.
9. Kids who sit behind you and kick the back of your seat.
10. Parents who let their kids kick the seat in front of them, and then who give you that "how dare you talk to my kid ?" look when you ask their kid to stop.
11. People who remain standing during the previews.
12. People who talk during the establishing shot (first few moments) of the movie.
13. People who ignore the "please turn off your cell phone" message during the previews and who think that bending over while taking a call will somehow magically render their conversation imperceptible to everyone else in the theater. This is even more annoying if they've added blinking lights to their phone's battery, case, keypad, etc.
14. What used to be enjoyable previews are now replaced by 30 minutes of commercials - which you can get at home.
15. The movie soundtrack sounds vastly inferior to a good home theater audio setup.
16. You can't adjust the volume in a public theater.
17. If you have to go to the bathroom at a public theater, they won't press PAUSE and wait until you return.
18. The guy who comes back from the bathroom and then wants to know (in graphic detail) what he missed, and then gets mad at his girlfriend for not being able to remember.
19. Unregulated 'I came first' gouging at the food counters.
20. The other line at the food counter always moves faster.
21. That awful sound your shoes make as you walk across a sticky floor.
22. The people in front of you who barely see 5 minutes of the movie because their faces are stuck together the entire time.
23. Public movie theater seats are nowhere near as comfortable as home theater seats - especially if you have leather recliners.
24. The awkward battle over who gets to use the shared arm rest.
25. While vacuuming under the chairs in your private theater, you'll often find spare change generously left by your guests!
26. For the price of going to a movie theater, you can buy one DVD or rent at least two.
27. Finding parking is much easier at home, and you don't have to navigate your family through the variety of "hazards" that frequently hang out in movie theater parking lots.
28. In your own home theater, you can tell people to quiet down without fear of it escalating into a fight.
29. In your own home theater, you can take your shoes off without having to worry that someone else will do the same.
30. You can't rewind in a movie theater if you missed something, didn't understand the dialogue, or simply want to see something again.
31. You can't turn on sub-titles to pick up unintelligible dialogue.
32. Parents who bring their 2 year-old baby to a scary movie and who don't leave when it starts crying during loud and/or scary scenes.
33. The inability to adjust the heat or air conditioning in a public theater.
34. The lack of somewhere convenient to put your coat in a public theater - if you drape it on the seat it's bound to fall on the sticky floor.
35. You don't have to take your wallet or keys to a home theater, so you can't lose them on the floor.
36. The mysterious bubble-gum based substances on the bottom of public theater seats that find their way onto your pant leg.
37. You can't guarantee that your favorite movie-time beverage will be available in a public theater.
38. Someone who sounds like they have Tuberculosis usually sits right behind you, and they never cover their mouth.
39. Public theaters don't calibrate their projectors with ColorFacts.
40. Having to save seats for people who are arriving later, and then constantly fighting off others to try to steal them.
41. One word (usually yelled loudly and then ignored by the kid in the projection booth for at least 5 minutes): FOCUS!
If you have an additional reason why you no longer go to public movie theaters, send it to me and I'll add it!