Big Screen Tvs Transforming Family Lifestyles

[DudeAsInCool]

Let;s All Gather Round the Screen

February 5, 2004

By KATIE HAFNER

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE, Calif.

BUD AND LYNDA SLOTKY live a quiet life in a hillside

development of 65 houses not far from Hollywood. Each day,

Mr. Slotky, a mutual fund administrator, looks forward to

his leisure hours. He and Ms. Slotky love nothing more than

dinner and a movie with friends.

But such evenings do not involve restaurant reservations or

theater lines. Instead, chez Slotky, hosts and guests

journey all of 20 feet from the dining table to the living

room couch.

Wielding his remote control, Mr. Slotky orders an 82-inch

reflective screen to drop from the ceiling, activates a

digital projector overhead, adjusts the volume on five

surround-sound speakers and commands a DVD to play.

Within seconds, the screen is awash in action, the room is

rumbling with sound effects and the audience is completely

immersed. "Ice Age" is a favorite. So is "Chicago," which

the Slotkys have seen half a dozen times.

The VCR and the DVD player have changed where and how

Americans watch movies, and now home theaters are further

transforming the experience. As setups like the Slotkys'

become commonplace, TV watching is becoming more of a

communal ritual, shared with family and friends.

"People really congregate around it. It's what people do

now," said Mike Orio, who designs and installs home theater

systems in the New York area and is the host of frequent

movie gatherings at his Brooklyn home. "It's an American

temple and the screen is the altar."

Some home-theater owners find that their living room has

become a gathering place for neighbors to watch big games

and other special events. Others prefer more intimate movie

viewings with a few friends.

"Everybody's doing it, said David Bruce Mann, an architect

in Manhattan. "Every apartment I'm doing right now, whether

it's high end or just regular people with regular budgets,

involves surround sound."

For the complete story, click here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/05/technolo...e3c15cd74a39568