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Mark Headrick's DVD/Home Theater Page

PC-DVD Encore | My DVD Movies | DVD Links

Page last modified:
Thursday, March 18, 2010 08:31:35 PM EDT

Home Theater

Newest Information (All Home Theater/DVD related items.)

Monday, June 9, 2008 7:27 PM: Samsung LN52A650 52" Widescreen 1080p LCD HDTV added to Home Theater

Samsung_LN52A650Well, after many years of wanting to get a widescreen TV, I finally bought myself one! It is a Samsung 52" 1080p LCD HDTV, model LN52A650. I've had it about a month and love it! As it turns out, according to the AVS Forum, it is one of the better models to get. Needless to say I've been watching a lot of movies on it lately. I am actually behind on adding movies that I've bought to my website. I'll get around to adding those later.

Star Wars III DVD ImageI currently have my Denon DVD-2200 DVD player and Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8240HDC DVR cable box connected to my Denon AVR-3806 A/V receiver, via component cables which are then connected to the TV via component cables. On the right is an image from my DVD player I took while watch Star Wars Episode III.

I have learned much concerning HDTV since purchasing this and following the AVS Forums and will most likely write another article concerning what I have learned about all this HDTV business. :)


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Home Theater
Component Manufacturer/Model Comments
HDTV Samsung /
52" LCD 1080p HDTV, model LN52A650 		May 14, 2008: I actually got this on the 8th. I finally got myself a Widescreen TV!
A/V Receiver Denon /
Denon AVR-3806 AV Receiver 		August 24, 2006: Bought this to replace my Yamaha that died a few days earlier. Because I really like their DVD player I have, I decided to try their A/V Receivers. Since the crickets were chirping too loud outside and would have most likely thrown the Auto Config/EQ abilities false information about the room acoustics, I set things up manually such as my speaker configuration (5.1), distances to speakers, cross-over frequency to 90Hz for the sub, and speaker levels using the test tones. After playing a few movies such as Star Wars Phantom Menace, Air Force One, and Riverdance for some musical content, the sound from this blows away what I was getting from the Yamaha. The entire soundscape is richer and fuller. I heard sounds and details I had never heard before. The surround environment was much better. Makes me wonder what it would sound like if I went through the Auto Config process. So far, very pleased. :)
DVD Player Denon /
Denon DVD-2200 		September 18, 2004: Of all the DVD players I've had, this one probably has the best video quality. I got it locally as an open box item at a discount. The store took an additional $40 off so I could get a replacement remote control. I was able to order a replacement remote from 1-800-REMOTES. Unlike my previous DVD players, this one will play MP3 CDs in shuffle mode; however, now that I have a Jukebox III MP3 player, I don't bother playing MP3 CDs anymore anyway. :) I play my music CDs on here as well. Thus, I do not have a separate CD player.
Cable/DVR Scientific Atlanta (now part of Cisco) /
Cisco (Scientific Atlanta) Explorer 8240HDC DVR 		Just happened to be the one I got when I signed up for Cox's DVR service. I tell you what, I love this thing. I have set it to record all the series that I watch: Dirty Jobs, Mythbusters, Deadliest Catch, all the CSIs, Numbers, Criminal Minds, Ghost Whisperer, as well as any special things I might want to see and the Nascar Races incase I sleep too late after staying up too late the night before. It's great not worrying about if I am going to miss something because I leave work late, go shopping, or whatever.
Satellite Radio Polk Audio /
Polk XRt12 XM Reference tuner 		I decided to go with XM Satellite Radio and I'm glad I decided to go with this XM Receiver. It's the only component style XM radio receiver (at the time) and what really sold me was the fact that it has a video-out that can be connected to a TV or Video-In of a A/V Receiver to see what's currently being played and to navigate the menus. You can actually see what you're doing while laying on the couch. I have it connected via the optical digital connector. Even though I live on the north side of my apartment complex on the first floor and no Southern windows, I still get a good signal. The antenna is sitting on the microwave. Nuking something in the microwave really interferes with it though LOL. It rocks!
VCR Philips/Magnavox /
HiFi VCR, VRZ264AT		 Just a HiFi VCR. No information available at website any longer for it. I no longer play/record any movies with it. Currently (8/24/2006) it is connected to my computer to transfer some music videos I recorded from MTV back in the late 80's/early 90's to DVD format.
MP3 Player Creative Labs /
Jukebox III 		It's really great to be able to put my entire music collection on here and take it with me on the road or to connect to my Home Theater and not have to fool with carrying around or dealing with CDs. Normally I would not have listed this as part of my Home Theater system; however, I do hook it up every now and then to use as background music while I'm cleaning the apartment or working on the computer. I do mainly use it in my truck though on longer trips. It has a 40 Gig capacity.
Turntable Fisher /
MT-640		 Amazing after all these years it still works fine. One of the benefits of a direct-drive turntable. It's not actually hooked into my receiver as it doesn't have a phono input. Luckily my old Marantz MR 220 receiver does have one if I want to use it. That receiver is at my folk's house, however.
Front Left/Right Speakers Cambridge Soundworks /
MovieWorks Satellite 		These were part of their Movie Works 5.1 speaker package. Got the package mainly because of my employee discount. No complaints here though. They all sound great! :)
Front Center Speaker Cambridge Soundworks /
Centerstage 		This was part of their Movie Works 5.1 speaker package.
Rear Left/Right Speakers Cambridge Soundworks /
Surround 5.1 		These were part of their Movie Works 5.1 speaker package.
Subwoofer Paradigm /
PW-2100 Subwoofer 		This thing will certainly shake the walls and rattle the doors/windows if I let it! It's overkill for my apartment, but yah know what? I don't care!! Muwhahaha!! :) A frequency cutoff of 90-100Hz seems to work the best to blend it in with the rest of my speakers.

Previous Equipment

TV
  • RCA 32" Model F32672SB It's just a 32" TV, LOL. It's now at my folk's house in their bedroom. Their main TV is the same Samsung as mine. Makes it a lot easier on me to help them with it if they have a question.
A/V Receiver
  • Yamaha RX-V630 AV Receiver - On August 20, 2006 it died. Up to this point it sounded great and had been a rock-solid component. The only thing I wish it had was on-screen displays to the TV for it's settings and such... mainly cause I'm half blind and it would be easier to read on the TV than the front LCD display LOL.
  • JVC RX-884V Dolby Digital Receiver - It fried... it just wouldn't turn on one day. It either over-heated (it was in a glass enclosed stand) or lightening zapped it. Uhmmm.. I'm not buying JVC anything again.
DVD Player
  • Yamaha DVD-C920 - This unit failed after a year and five months. It stopped reading discs. A motor, gear, or rubber band failed as it stopped spinning discs. This and my previous Harmon Kardon were both 5-disc carousel player that stopped reading discs. I will probably not buy a 5-disc changer again. Too many other mechanical components to fail.
  • Harmon Kardon DVD-50 - Quit reading discs as well.

  • JVC DVD player which turned out to be a lemon.. it developed over heating problems which would cause movies to start breaking up and even lock after about playing for an hour.

Subwoofer

  • Cambridge Soundworks 12" Powered Sub - One day it fried. It started making a buzzing sound and quit working. I think lightening or some power surge got to it.

PC-DVD Encore Stuff

Well, I used to have the different versions of the Encore DVD Player software available from here; however, since Creative now has them all on their website, I removed them from here. Go here to download the latest or previous versions of the Encore DVD Player software.

3/20/2004 - Well, Creative no longer has them, so here's version 3.5 of the software. :)

PC-DVD Encore newsgroup on Creative's news server. (8/17/2006: Since the news server no longer exists, this is probably the closest forum for this).

My List of DVD Movies

Following is a list DVD Movies I own. Obviously, I think all of the following movies are good and worth having in your DVD collection. Kinda dumb for me to buy a movie I didn't like, yah know. Click on the movie to view a picture of its front cover (hey, it's an excuse to use my scanner) and any comments I have regarding the movie and the DVD itself:

  1. The 13th Warrior
  2. 2010: The Year We Make Contact
  3. 300, 8/1/2007
  4. Alexander: Director's Cut, 7/10/2008
  5. Air Force One
  6. Alien
  7. Aliens
  8. Alien Resurrection
  9. Alien vs. Predator, 3/6/2005
  10. NewAngels & Demons, 1/1/2010
  11. Apollo 13
  12. Armageddon
  13. Aspen Extreme
  14. The Avengers, 3/20/2004
  15. Bad Wives
  16. Battlestar Galactica - The Miniseries, 12/31/2004
  17. A Beautiful Mind
  18. The Best of Benny Hill, 12/24/2004
  19. Beowulf: The Director's Cut, 3/26/2008
  20. Black Hawk Down
  21. Blade
  22. Blade II
  23. Blade Trinity, 5/26/2005
  24. The Bourne Identity
  25. The Bourne Supremacy, 12/31/2004
  26. The Bourne Ultimatum, 1/27/2008
  27. Braveheart
  28. Casino Royale, 3/30/2007
  29. Cars, 12/30/2006
  30. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, 4/29/2006
  31. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, 1/17/2009
  32. Cloverfield, 6/23/2008
  33. Collateral, 1/27/2005
  34. Conan the Barbarian
  35. Contact
  36. The Dark Knight, 1/16/2009
  37. The Da Vinci Code, 12/30/2006
  38. The Day After Tomorrow, 10/20/2004
  39. Daylight, 12/28/2004
  40. Days of Thunder
  41. Delta Farce, 6/23/2008
  42. Die Another Day, 3/20/2004
  43. Die Hard
  44. Die Hard 2: Die Harder
  45. Die Hard With a Vengeance
  46. DragonHeart
  47. Driven
  48. Dune
  49. Dungeons & Dragons
  50. Excalibur
  51. Fantastic Four, 12/31/2005
  52. Flags of Our Fathers, 6/23/2008
  53. The Fifth Element
  54. Finding Nemo, 3/20/2004
  55. First Knight
  56. A Fistful of Dollars
  57. Fortess
  58. Friday Night Lights, 1/27/2005
  59. Ghostbusters
  60. Ghostbusters 2
  61. Ghost Rider, 7/14/2007
  62. Gladiator
  63. The Golden Compass, 7/10/2008
  64. Gone In 60 Seconds
  65. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
  66. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly - Special Edition, 10/15/2004
  67. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, 1/13/2008
  68. Hannibal
  69. Highlander
  70. Ice Age: The Meltdown, 12/30/2006
  71. The Incredible Hulk, 1/18/2009
  72. The Incredibles, 4/18/2005
  73. Independence Day, 7/4/2009
  74. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, 3/20/2004
  75. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, 3/20/2004
  76. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, 3/20/2004
  77. In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, 5/3/2008
  78. I, Robot, 12/31/2004
  79. Iron Man, 12/15/2008
  80. A Knight's Tale
  81. Kill Bill: Volume 1, 4/21/2004
  82. Kill Bill: Volume 2, 9/2/2004
  83. King Arthur, 1/13/2005
  84. King Kong (2005), 4/4/2006
  85. Kingdom of Heaven, 10/23/2005
  86. Kull, the Conquerer
  87. Kung Fu Panda, 1/28/2009
  88. The Last Samurai, 5/19/2004
  89. Lethal Weapon 4
  90. The Lion King, 3/20/2004
  91. Lord of the Dance
  92. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
  93. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, 3/20/2004
  94. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 6/5/2004
  95. Lost In Space
  96. Madagascar, 1/3/2006
  97. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, 4/30/2004
  98. The Matrix
  99. Matrix Reloaded, 12/11/2003
  100. The Matrix Revolutions, 4/21/2004
  101. Men in Black
  102. Men in Black II
  103. Miracle, 5/24/2004
  104. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
  105. Mortal Kombat
  106. The Mummy
  107. The Mummy Returns
  108. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, 1/17/2009
  109. National Treasure, 5/26/2005
  110. National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets, 6/23/2008
  111. Ocean's Eleven
  112. Pathfinder: Unrated, 7/10/2008
  113. The Patriot
  114. Pearl Harbor
  115. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, 12/30/2006
  116. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, 1/6/2008
  117. Planet of the Apes
  118. Red Dragon, 3/20/2004
  119. Reign of Fire
  120. Riverdance
  121. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
  122. Rob Roy
  123. Saving Private Ryan
  124. The Scorpion King
  125. Shrek
  126. Shrek 2, 11/19/2004
  127. Signs
  128. Snakes on a Plane, 2/15/2007
  129. Spider-Man
  130. Spider-Man 2, 1/1/2005
  131. Starship Troopers
  132. NewStar Trek (2009), 12/30/2009
  133. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
  134. Star Trek: First Contact
  135. Star Trek: Generations
  136. Star Trek: Insurrection
  137. Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace
  138. Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones
  139. Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith, 11/4/2005
  140. Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Vol. 1 (animated), 4/19/2005 (this is kind of Star Wars 2.5.1)
  141. Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Vol. 2 (animated), 1/20/2006 (this is kind of Star Wars 2.5.2)
  142. Star Wars: The Clone Wars (movie), 12/15/2008
  143. Star Wars IV: A New Hope, 9/21/2004
  144. Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back, 9/21/2004
  145. Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi, 9/21/2004
  146. Superman Returns, 12/30/2006
  147. The Sum of All Fears
  148. Tears of the Sun, 3/20/2004
  149. Terminator II: Judgement Day
  150. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, 3/20/2004
  151. NewTerminator Salvation, 12/31/2009
  152. Titan A.E.
  153. Tomb Raider
  154. Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, 3/20/2004
  155. Tomorrow Never Dies
  156. Total Recall, 1/13/2005
  157. Transformers, 11/11/2007
  158. NewTransformers: Revenge of the Fallen, 1/1/2010
  159. Tron
  160. Troy, 1/13/2005
  161. Unbreakable
  162. Virus, 3/20/2004
  163. Wall-E, 6/7/2009
  164. Wanted, 1/17/2009
  165. War of the Worlds, 1/3/2006
  166. Warren Miller's Ski World
  167. We Were Soldiers
  168. The X-Files: Fight the Future
  169. X-Men
  170. X2: X-Men United, 3/20/2004
  171. X-Men: The Last Stand, 12/30/2006
  172. X-Men Origins: Wolverine, 9/20/2009
  173. XXX
  174. Zodiac, 7/10/2008

Home Theater Links

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