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Mark Headrick's DVD/Home Theater Page

System at Parents' | Previous Equipment | PC-DVD Encore | DVD Links
My Blu-ray Movies | My DVD Movies

Page last modified:
Sunday, February 06, 2011 08:04:26 AM EST

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. :) Gallery Photo - Front, Gallery Photo - Rear.
Blu-ray/DVD Player Samsung /
Samsung BD-C6500 		December 25, 2010: My sister and brother in-law got me this for Christmas. It's currently sitting on top of my Denon DVD player while I run it through its paces.Top-front Gallery Photo, Rear view Gallery photo.
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. Gallery Photo.
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! Photo.
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. The manual has a copyright of 1981 to give you some idea. September 5,2010: Not sure why I never changed this before now but this is actually connected to my Denon receiver as it does have a phono input. It still plays records fine and sounds great!
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.
System at Parents
Component Manufacturer/Model Comments
Receiver Marantz /
Marantz MR-220		 From what I can tell this was made back in the 80s. It still works and plays fine. Actually, it sounds pretty damn good. Here's a scanned in image of a manual insert.

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 Blu-ray Movies

  1. NewThe Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, 1/3/2011
  2. NewInception, 1/3/2011
  3. NewTop Gun, 1/4/2011

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), possibly a trailer, 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. Angels & Demons, 1/1/2010
  11. Apollo 13
  12. Armageddon
  13. Aspen Extreme
  14. NewAvatar, 1/8/2011
  15. The Avengers, 3/20/2004
  16. Bad Wives
  17. Battlestar Galactica - The Miniseries, 12/31/2004
  18. A Beautiful Mind
  19. The Best of Benny Hill, 12/24/2004
  20. Beowulf: The Director's Cut, 3/26/2008
  21. Black Hawk Down
  22. Blade
  23. Blade II
  24. Blade Trinity, 5/26/2005
  25. The Bourne Identity
  26. The Bourne Supremacy, 12/31/2004
  27. The Bourne Ultimatum, 1/27/2008
  28. Braveheart
  29. Casino Royale, 3/30/2007
  30. Cars, 12/30/2006
  31. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, 4/29/2006
  32. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, 1/17/2009
  33. Cloverfield, 6/23/2008
  34. Collateral, 1/27/2005
  35. Conan the Barbarian
  36. Contact
  37. The Dark Knight, 1/16/2009
  38. The Da Vinci Code, 12/30/2006
  39. The Day After Tomorrow, 10/20/2004
  40. Daylight, 12/28/2004
  41. Days of Thunder
  42. Delta Farce, 6/23/2008
  43. Die Another Day, 3/20/2004
  44. Die Hard
  45. Die Hard 2: Die Harder
  46. Die Hard With a Vengeance
  47. DragonHeart
  48. Driven
  49. Dune
  50. Dungeons & Dragons
  51. Excalibur
  52. Fantastic Four, 12/31/2005
  53. Flags of Our Fathers, 6/23/2008
  54. The Fifth Element
  55. Finding Nemo, 3/20/2004
  56. First Knight
  57. A Fistful of Dollars
  58. Fortess
  59. Friday Night Lights, 1/27/2005
  60. Ghostbusters
  61. Ghostbusters 2
  62. Ghost Rider, 7/14/2007
  63. Gladiator
  64. The Golden Compass, 7/10/2008
  65. Gone In 60 Seconds
  66. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
  67. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly - Special Edition, 10/15/2004
  68. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, 1/13/2008
  69. Hannibal
  70. Highlander
  71. Ice Age: The Meltdown, 12/30/2006
  72. The Incredible Hulk, 1/18/2009
  73. The Incredibles, 4/18/2005
  74. Independence Day, 7/4/2009
  75. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, 3/20/2004
  76. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, 3/20/2004
  77. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, 3/20/2004
  78. In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, 5/3/2008
  79. I, Robot, 12/31/2004
  80. Iron Man, 12/15/2008
  81. NewIron Man 2, 1/3/2011
  82. A Knight's Tale
  83. Kill Bill: Volume 1, 4/21/2004
  84. Kill Bill: Volume 2, 9/2/2004
  85. King Arthur, 1/13/2005
  86. King Kong (2005), 4/4/2006
  87. Kingdom of Heaven, 10/23/2005
  88. Kull, the Conquerer
  89. Kung Fu Panda, 1/28/2009
  90. The Last Samurai, 5/19/2004
  91. Lethal Weapon 4
  92. The Lion King, 3/20/2004
  93. Lord of the Dance
  94. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
  95. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, 3/20/2004
  96. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 6/5/2004
  97. Lost In Space
  98. Madagascar, 1/3/2006
  99. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, 4/30/2004
  100. The Matrix
  101. Matrix Reloaded, 12/11/2003
  102. The Matrix Revolutions, 4/21/2004
  103. Men in Black
  104. Men in Black II
  105. Miracle, 5/24/2004
  106. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
  107. Mortal Kombat
  108. The Mummy
  109. The Mummy Returns
  110. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, 1/17/2009
  111. National Treasure, 5/26/2005
  112. National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets, 6/23/2008
  113. Ocean's Eleven
  114. NewOpen Range, 1/9/2011
  115. Pathfinder: Unrated, 7/10/2008
  116. The Patriot
  117. Pearl Harbor
  118. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, 12/30/2006
  119. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, 1/6/2008
  120. Planet of the Apes
  121. NewThe Quick and the Dead, 1/9/2011
  122. Red Dragon, 3/20/2004
  123. Reign of Fire
  124. Riverdance
  125. NewRobin Hood (2010), 1/2/2011
  126. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
  127. Rob Roy
  128. Saving Private Ryan
  129. The Scorpion King
  130. Shrek
  131. Shrek 2, 11/19/2004
  132. Signs
  133. Snakes on a Plane, 2/15/2007
  134. Spider-Man
  135. Spider-Man 2, 1/1/2005
  136. Starship Troopers
  137. Star Trek (2009), 12/30/2009
  138. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
  139. Star Trek: First Contact
  140. Star Trek: Generations
  141. Star Trek: Insurrection
  142. Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace
  143. Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones
  144. Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith, 11/4/2005
  145. Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Vol. 1 (animated), 4/19/2005 (this is kind of Star Wars 2.5.1)
  146. Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Vol. 2 (animated), 1/20/2006 (this is kind of Star Wars 2.5.2)
  147. Star Wars: The Clone Wars (movie), 12/15/2008
  148. Star Wars IV: A New Hope, 9/21/2004
  149. Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back, 9/21/2004
  150. Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi, 9/21/2004
  151. Superman Returns, 12/30/2006
  152. The Sum of All Fears
  153. Tears of the Sun, 3/20/2004
  154. Terminator II: Judgement Day
  155. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, 3/20/2004
  156. Terminator Salvation, 12/31/2009
  157. Titan A.E.
  158. Tomb Raider
  159. Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, 3/20/2004
  160. Tomorrow Never Dies
  161. Total Recall, 1/13/2005
  162. Transformers, 11/11/2007
  163. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, 1/1/2010
  164. Tron
  165. Troy, 1/13/2005
  166. Unbreakable
  167. Virus, 3/20/2004
  168. Wall-E, 6/7/2009
  169. Wanted, 1/17/2009
  170. War of the Worlds, 1/3/2006
  171. Warren Miller's Ski World
  172. We Were Soldiers
  173. The X-Files: Fight the Future
  174. X-Men
  175. X2: X-Men United, 3/20/2004
  176. X-Men: The Last Stand, 12/30/2006
  177. X-Men Origins: Wolverine, 9/20/2009
  178. XXX
  179. Zodiac, 7/10/2008

Home Theater Links

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