Thursday, November 15, 2001

I feel so ridiculously, completely inadequate. See Saalon’s diary entry for today, and Brennen’s big November 13 entry. How can I possibly measure up to that? I’m just recording a few of the events of my life here, in paltry plain English.

So. What mundane events can I report?

After laying out another USD $80 at Radio Shack last night for various cabling, I managed to get the the giant TV working, though only through the DVD player. We can’t get the cable signal working, because we can’t get the RF Modulator to switch on. Yes, it’s called an RF Modulator. I’m psychologically forced to imitate Marvin the Martian every time I use that name.

Anyvay. The RF Modulator seems to be busted, so I’m going to try to get it replaced tonight. But we did manage to get a signal working.

Wow.

It’s easy to try to compare these things to movie theaters, but it’s really nothing like a movie theater. Movie theaters are massive, and the screen is just way bigger than anything you’re ever going to get through your front door. Besides, the whole experience of sitting through a movie next to several hundred other people, laughing and gasping like one big hive mind, simply cannot be mimicked at home.

But this is a heck of a lot better than a regular TV. There’s all sorts of detail now, and there’s that sense of space, of sweep that you just don’t get from a smaller TV screen. Jurassic Park can regain some of the grandeur it loses when burned onto a DVD or looped onto a VHS tape.

[Shayla-Shayla from El Hazard]
Shayla-Shayla from El Hazard

And when attached to a good sound system…well, I can’t really describe the sensation of hearing the full 5.1 Dolby theme song to El Hazard weaving an Arabian magic spell through those speakers, twining its way around me from all sides. It produces shivers.

And, that’s about it for today.

Leave a Reply

I work for Amazon. The content on this site is my own and doesn’t necessarily represent Amazon’s position.