Surrounded By the Sound

Last night Jill & I watched the 2004 DVD release of "Star Wars: A New Hope." This might seem like a small thing, and rather ordinary. But what you may not know is that we experienced the beloved sci-fi classic with the best possible sound and picture available to the consumer at the present time. How was that accomplished, you might wonder? (Of course you wonder.) Well, I spent a large chunk of the day installing our rear surround sound satellite speakers on the walls in our living room. I took care to hide and route the cables underground, under carpet, behind obstacles and mouldings, and generally make the hideous white (and of sufficient thickness to supply a superior signal) cables invisible to the public eye. By public eye I mean the eye of Jill. The Great Eye of Jill stands, ever vigilant, lidless, wreathed in flame, scanning the landscape for unnecessary clutter. But my wiring job passed the test. The two (rather heavy) black satellite speakers will remain on the two walls, as uneven as they are, producing surround sounds for all who choose to watch a DVD at our house.

Allow me to describe the visual component of this prosumer-level Star Wars viewing experience. First off, the TV. We have a 34 inch Sony 1080i-capable CRT HD TV, which may weigh 200 lbs, but the picture... boy howdy. The blacks, so dark black. The whites, so white (yet not so white that the many subtle levels of whiteness are blown out). Our new DVD player, capable of upscaling standard DVDs into 1080p resolution, performs miracles with this digitally enhanced and restored version of "A New Hope." I've never seen Jawas or Sand People with greater clarity. The HDMI and optical audio outputs of the DVD player, combined with the newly mounted surround sound satellites, made my whole night. Such nerdery.