Home Theater Hacks

Contributors

Lots of people still make my head spin when it comes to talking about home theater. I take great pride that almost all of them took time out of their ridiculously busy schedules to work on this book. Some contributed a single hack, and others went to town and practically wrote entire chapters. It turned this book into a monster, and I'm proud to run down the lineup:

• Dustin Bartlett is a graduate of the University of Saskatchewan with a degree in computer science and biology (focused on genetics). He is currently working as a programmer/analyst with Point2 Technologies, Inc. He entered the world of home theater during his second year of university knowing next to nothing about the subject. Seven years and three major upgrades later his addiction to the hobby has only grown stronger. His personal home theater web site is http://dustin.bunnyhug.net (you have to be from Saskatchewan to get it ;).

• G. Alan Brown entered the custom home theater industry in 1997. He started CinemaQuest, Inc. (http://www.cinemaquestinc.com) in 1998, offering products and services perfecting home theater. CinemaQuest, Inc. designs and installs custom home theaters and integrated electronic residential systems, and also provides electronic display calibration and multichannel audio system calibration services. Alan also recognized a need for providing ideal viewing environment technologies and solutions for consumers and professionals (http://www.ideal-lume. com). CinemaQuest, Inc. is the world leader in electronic display viewing environment solutions.

• Michael Chen has been an enthusiast of home video ever since 1980, when his parents bought the family's first Betamax VCR. The hobby grew from there to constant upgrading of equipment and the addition of poor-man surround sound in those early days. A calibrationist for Lion A/V (http://www.lionav.com), he is unaligned with any company, so is free to criticize any type of display device on the market. As Michael says, "The man with the brutal truth—as I am not there to tell you how great your equipment purchases are. I only care about the image and I won't stop until the job is done to my satisfaction. (My Curse.)"

• Dr. Robert A. Fowkes has been a computer coordinator, a chemistry teacher, a staff member on National Science Foundation Summer Institutes, a consultant, and a moderator on the Home Theater Forum. He's been into computers since 1957 (when he built one from scratch!) and home theater since there was such a thing.

• David Gibbons is an engineering technician whose experience spans radio, telecommunications, early computer technology, high-end test and measurement, and (more recently) environmental simulation testing technology. (OK, he's a jack of all trades.) His web site (http://www. sonic.net/~dgibbons) has annoyed some "high-end" folks already, and probably will continue to do so.

• Joseph Jenkins is the site owner and operator of HDTVoice.com (http:// www.hdtvoice.com), a discussion forum dedicated to all things high-def! When not stuck to his PC, he is either attending a Philadelphia Eagles game (diehard fan), or spending time with his wife, Kim, and their cats, Indiana and Ripley.

• Robert Jones (http://www.imageperfection.com) is a professional ISF calibrator—the final and most visually crucial stage in the long process leading to the completion of the video phenomenon we have come to know as home theater. Already in the audio-video business for more than 20 years in the San Francisco Bay area, he left all that behind and went calibrator nearly exclusively. He has worked on and repaired countless units, from small Walkmans to high-precision, ceiling-hung video projectors. He also has calibrated many of the different types of venue currently available, which presently include CRT, DLP, LCD, plasma, LCOS, and DILA. He is fascinated by any calibration venue, even those that are not yet in existence, and works on most of the brands available.

• Gregg Loewen is the proprietor of Lion Audio/Video Consultants (http:// www.lionav.com). He is a long-time home theater enthusiast and has been a professional calibrator since the summer of 2001. His consulting work includes Atlantic Technology, Outlaw Audio, Optoma Projectors, 20th Century Fox, Widescreen Review, and Milori. He is also a Runco Certified Installer.

• Vince Maskeeper-Tennant (superhero alter ego of the mild-mannered Vince Tennant) is a graduate of Kent State University, currently working as an audio engineer for film and TV in Hollywood. A lifetime member of the A/V Club and self-proclaimed uber-nerd, Vince spends the majority of his time obsessing endlessly over the aural spectrum. When he finds spare time, he serves as a moderator and guru on the Home Theater Forum (http://www.hometheaterforum.com). You should stop by and say hello.

• Robert McElfresh knows how to deal with the simpler things in life. An administrator on the Home Theater Forum (http://www.hometheaterforum. com), Bob specializes in making complex problems easy (such as choosing from several-hundred-dollar sets of speaker cable).

• Kenneth L. Nist is the author of the HDTV Primer (http://www. hdtvprimer.com). He holds a BS and MS from Carnegie Mellon in electrical engineering, and is an avid FCC nut. Catch him at KQ6QV.

• Tim Procuniar always has been one to experiment with unusual audio setups. His last great two-channel stereo system included two EV-30w 30-inch subwoofers, University 12-inch woofers, EV horns for the midrange, and Heil ESS Air Motion Transformers for the highs. Because no crossovers were available for this unique setup, he had to made his own—hand-winding the coils. No stranger to home theater, he's even started and owned a speaker shop, complete with his own original prototype designs.

• Mark D. Rejhon of http://www.marky.com was the moderator of the first Home Theater Computers forum at http://www.avsforum.com from 1999 to 2001, and made major contributions to DScaler (http://www. dscaler.com) as well as several magazine articles. He now runs a contract software engineering business for the home theater industry, Rejhon Technologies Inc., online at http://www.rejtech.com.

You can't do any research with audio cables without eventually finding references to a gentleman named Chris VenHaus. Mr. VenHaus has become known as one of the pioneers of the high-end DIY (do-it-yourself) cable world. His highly regarded cable and interconnect designs have been made and used by thousands of audiophiles and videophiles worldwide. The company he founded (VH Audio, at http://vhaudio.com) offers finished cables/interconnects, DIY supplies, and "tweaks" for audio and home theater systems. You could spend hours visiting his audio and photography web sites, all accessible from http://www.venhaus1.com.

BetterCables.com (http://www.bettercables.com) is an eight-time inductee into AudioReview.com's cable Hall of Fame and winner of the prestigious ConsumerReview.com's 2000 CHOICE Award from AudioREVIEW.com.