3D: Are you going out for that?

Now, admittedly, I don't go to the movies all that often. We have a very large theater screen in our shop, with comfortable seating and friendly company. But every so often there comes a movie that we just can't wait for. Oz, the Great and Powerful was one of such movies (yes, it was a few months ago, but bear with me). But this is not a review of the movie itself.  This is a review of the Real-D 3D showing of said picture.

Having installed several 3D setups, including projectors and flat panel TVs, I have seen every variation on a century-old concept: two pictures of the same image taken at offset angles and shown to each eye individually will produce a 3D-like effect. My personal choice is most variations of active-shutter glasses, which work together with the media source (TV or otherwise) to simultaneously change the picture on the screen and which eye is watching it at the same time. Sort of like putting a blinder over one eye 30+ times a second. Your brain doesn't notice, and fills in the missing parts of the picture as it goes. It actually works really well, and doesn't give you the headache or get blurry when you turn your head a little. These glasses work specifically with the screen you have, and can be a little expensive, but the cost is coming down, along with the weight and bulk that many people remember from just a few years ago. This year's active 3D glasses are almost as lightweight as the ones in the theaters.

Passive (or Polarized) 3D glasses essentially block certain wavelengths of the light to each eye, giving a 3D effect (read the wiki if you really want to know the mathematics involved). This is the kind of 3D you find in large movie theaters. The glasses are cheap and disposable because they have no working parts and no battery to recharge. Theaters have to use this kind of 3D technology because it is economically and technically not feasible to use active-shutter.

Getting back to why I started to write this post in the first place. The 3D in our projector room (active-shutter) is practically flawless, with crisp images and bright colors. The screen at this particular theater had a silver-mesh look on most of the screen, obscuring some of the image. It looked clean, but not TV-quality like I was expecting. Overall, it felt like, well, like I was in a movie theater.

Fast forward a couple of months, and we get the BluRay version of the movie to play on our shop theater.  What a difference! Not to mention that I could pause it whenever I wanted to and adjust the surround sound. I don't want to bash movie theaters in general; they provide a great place for teenagers to hang out and are a multi-billion dollar industry (I even went to see Captain Eo  in 3Dat Disney World in the 80's. Anyone else remember that?). And IMAX provides a picture that is almost as good as a decent active-shutter screen. The movie industry has been working very hard over the past few years to develop new technologies to improve the movie viewing experience, and they are getting close. But in my opinion, I'll take the home theater experience over the viewings for the masses.

A new year, a new blog!

Well, yet another year has gone by, and so much has happened at Crossover AVS! Our new showroom is up and running (Directions to our Showroom) and it is ready for you! We have a gigantic 120" screen with a 4K JVC projector, THX sound and seating for 8. Come by and watch a movie, play video games in 3D, or watch your favorite sports team.
We also have a demo room with sound systems from Klipsch, Martin Logan and KEF. We have Sonos running throughout the store, and experienced staff who can demonstrate the best ways that you can integrate these technologies in your home or business.
So keep checking back, as we will be making many more great postings with lots of handy information.

Customized Basement Theater Room in Fairfax

Crossover AVS just finished a really nice theater room in Fairfax near George Mason University. For this Project, we partnered with one of our preferred builders, Sorensen Construction Group, to design and build what turned out to be a perfect getaway for the homeowner. She is a die hard Redskins fan and has wanted a dedicated theater room for decades. Well, now that the grandchildren are coming over more and more, she decided to build out half of the basement into a home theater. Crossover AVS designed and installed a really nice system using Klipsch THX certified Speakers up front behind an acoustically transparent screen with the Klipsch in-Wall subwoofer, we used a JVC Reference Series Projector, and added a custom configured seating arrangement of motorized recliners. All of the electronics were installed in the closet to the left of the screen where the sump pump had to be. We are using an APC Power Conditioner, Denon Receiver, Klipsch subwoofer amp, Sony BluRay player, DirecTV DVR and Russound amplifiers for the 6 additional rooms of music. All of this is tied together with a Universal remote control custom programmed for the equipment and lighting controls. All of the lights in the basement are controlled from the remote so the real movie experience can be created. 

Welcome to our new blog!

Hello everyone!

Crossover AVS is expanding!

In this space we will cover topics such as the latest technologies, ways to improve your home theater experience, and online-only specials that are sure to peak you interest.  If you have any special topics you would like to see here, please feel free to comment.

Don't forget to visit our main website, http://www.crossoveravs.com , share this blog with your friends, and you can receive email updates with a push of the button below.

So welcome, and enjoy the many articles we will be sharing in the future.