Theatre

The standard theater arrangement is of course a screen at one end of the room, with one central speaker, one speaker to each side of the screen, two speakers providing surround left and right, and sometimes a speaker providing surround rear. If you have your room arranged this way, chances are good that you call it your home theater, and speaker placement is fairly straightforward for you. The ideal placement has the front speakers at the same height from the ground, usually either slightly above or slightly below the display, and the surround speakers at least 60cm above the heads of the viewers.

The front center speaker should ideally be in the same position as the screen; the front left and right speakers should be placed approximately 25 degrees to the left and right of the direction the viewers face, and about the same distance from the viewers; the surround left and surround right speakers should be 90 degrees to the left and right of this direction, and, again, about the same distance from the viewers; and the surround rear, as its name suggests, should be directly behind the viewers. A subwoofer if used can theoretically be placed anywhere in the room.

For many people, and I include myself in this, the design of your home is such that it does not comfortably permit a room set up in this way. After all, unless you are very lucky, the chances are that the room that contains your home theater equipment doubles as your living room, and you will not want it to be dominated by a screen. You may not wish to call it your home theater as such. To solve this problem, you need to draw a scale diagram of your room. Add your intended screen placement to the drawing, along with the seating arrangements (your sofas and chairs), and identify where people will be sitting when they watch movies, and the direction in which they will be looking.

The next thing you need to do is to draw a line from each viewer directly to the screen, which shows the direction in which each viewer faces. Then draw a line angled 25 degrees to the left of the line you have just drawn from the viewer, for each viewer, until it meets the wall. If the speaker is placed anywhere along that line, then it will be at the correct angle for the appropriate viewer. You need to identify a point along the wall fairly close to the position at which these lines reach the wall. This will usually be somewhere near the middle of the collection of lines. You have then identified the optimum home theater placement for your front left speaker.

You now need to do the same thing, but angle the lines 25 degrees to the right of the direction in which the viewers face. With these lines you can identify the optimum home theater placement for the front right speaker.

Repeat for lines angled 90 degrees to the left, 90 degrees to the right, and 180 degrees (a continuation of the line from viewer to screen, but in reverse). With these lines, you can identify the optimum home theater placement for the surround left speaker, the surround right speaker, and the surround rear speaker.

Ideally, the front left and right speakers should be placed at the same distance from each viewer, as should the surround left and right speakers. This will normally not be possible to achieve, so it should be approximated. Far more important are the speaker placement angles for each viewer, which should ideally not be more than about 15 degrees away from the optimum position. Optimum home theater speaker placement depends on minimizing the angle error for each viewer.

Your subwoofer could be placed theoretically at any point in the room, because the ear cannot easily determine the direction of low-frequency sounds. However, you may find that positioning the subwoofer at different parts of the room change the sounds from the subwoofer; some frequencies may be amplified, while others may be reduced, especially if the subwoofer is placed near a wall or corner of the room. It is suggested that you experiment with the placement of your subwoofer until you find a position that you like.

Some other considerations may affect the position in which you place the speakers. You will not want your speakers in a position where they obstruct a path that is regularly walked through, e.g. too close to a doorway. Also, if you do not have magnetically-shielded front speakers, they should not be placed too close to a cathode ray tube (old-style) TV, because they will cause the color purity of the display to be affected. This does not apply to LCD or plasma televisions. Using this approach, you can successfully place your speakers in such a way that you can be proud of your home theater and of your living room at the same time!

Always remember that the idea behind home theater is to set your system up so that you can enjoy movies to the fullest. Some people lose sight of this goal. Whatever you do with your home theater design, don’t fall into the trap of over-analyzing your results. Start enjoying those movies!

David Thomas was a design engineer in an acoustic field for nine years, and currently runs many information websites. His sites cover many topics, and a directory is available at http://djt-engineer.co.uk. Why not visit one of his sites today that covers home theater design?

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First off, when the bus doesn’t hit you! Secondly, when it does collide with one Daniel Miller, a character in a spiritual movie that is not only motivational but very funny as well.

Albert Brooks plays Daniel Miller, the man hit by a bus. The fatal accident lands him in Judgement City. There he is put on trial to see if he is worthy to advance to the next level or if he must return to earth for another incarnation.

While there he meets and falls for the wonderful Julia (Meryl Streep) who is also on trial. Julia has lived an exemplary life and her good deeds are replayed showcasing her altruism. Brooks character, meanwhile, is subjected to watching his many shortcomings come to life on a big screen video as the lawyers for and against watch and comment.

Rip Torn does a great job as Brooks’ defense lawyer Bob Diamond and Lee Grant plays the prosecutor Lena Foster. But it is Brooks and Streep who carry this film. Brooks is at his best as his usual hyperchondriacish self. And, Streep is very sweet as his love-interest. Streep’s almost saint-like life is bolstered by her humble attitude and makes her all the more attractive. Brooks, on the other hand, in reviewing his less than stellar stint on planet earth is able to make it a memorable one by injecting it with big doses of self-deprecating humor. Witness the following exchange between Brooks and the lawyers:

Bob Diamond: Did we ever stop to think that this young boy had a bond with his father? I don’t think it had anything to do with the friend. I just think Daniel couldn’t lie to his dad. That’s all.

Lena Foster: You’re nodding, Mr. Miller. Does that mean you agree with Mr. Diamond?

Daniel Miller: Oh, yes. I had a bond with my father. I pretty much never lied to him.

Lena Foster: You never lied to your father? Would you like me to show you at least 500 examples?

Daniel Miller: I said “pretty much” never lied. I didn’t say I never, ever lied. You have to lie sometimes… in an emergency. But, ah, it doesn’t mean the bond is affected. If you’ve got the bond the bond is always there, and if you have to lie occasionally you’re not going to interfere with the bond. You know, the bond can wait for a little lie and… in the end it’s there for you. You know, sometimes in the middle of a lie I found that the bond would kick in… maybe squeeze a little truth out.

Bob Diamond: Psst, wrap it up.

Daniel Miller: I’m through.

Through, indeed…

As this motivational movie progresses and the relationship develops between Streeps and Brooks, the question becomes - will they be through? Will they get to stay together or will they be sent to different places following their life reviews and possibly never be together again.

It is interesting to see what criteria Brooks is ultimately judged on in his quest for salvation. For a spiritual journey with a lot of laughs and to find the answer to his salvation watch Defending Your Life.

What is spiritual about this movie? I like the notion that redemption is just around the corner if you are only willing to take a chance at it - in the case of this movie that payoff comes at the very end - a lesson well-learned by Brooks’ character. There is also the uncommon spiritual notion that life doesn’t have to be some solemn austere enterprise but should be for the living. To that end, Brooks is given kudos for upgrading his ticket on a long flight to first class - pampering himself in essense at the expense of expense!

Essentially, life is for the living, so live it - cause, hey, like Daniel Miller, you could get hit by a bus tomorrow. Along the way though you may want to help some folks, do some charity work, and love others cause if you end up landing in Judgement City watching a movie review of your life you’ll want to be able to enjoy it…

Defending Your Life makes getting hit by a bus a pleasurable
experience - provided you’re not the one taking the hit.

Free ebook reviews and lists top motivational movies. This spiritual movies site reviews the best spiritual movies and the Spiritual Cinema Circle.

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What Two Secrets Can You Apply to Turn Every Movie You Watch into a Spiritual Experience?

There are two things you can do to transform Every movie you watch into an opportunity for spiritual growth and learning. What are they?

Before revealing the secrets of turning simple cinema into spiritual cinema you might want to examine your movie watching tendencies. What are your favorite movies? Do you prefer romance, comedy, sci-fi, adventure, westerns, etc.?

While these movie watching secrets can be applied to any movie, it is important to remember that what you put into your mind helps to shape your reality and view of the world. With that in mind, why not choose movies that will motivate and inspire you?

Though a steady diet of horror or crime films might excite you, they might also leave you with a view of the world that is less than stellar. A negative outlook on life will not help you in your interactions with others or in your quest for achieving what you truly desire in life.

On the other hand, watching motivational and inspirational movies can help spur you to improve your own life and the lives of others. So, the next time you go to watch a movie, why not make it a film that will uplift or inspire you - or at the least bring you some joy?

Your choice of movie will make applying the following secrets easier to implement. (Remember, though they can work with any movie).

THE FIRST SECRET

What is the first secret to turning any movie you watch into a spiritual experience?

It is simple but powerful. Before the movie begins close your eyes and ask your mind or subconscious to pick out and remember any aspects of the film that you can use and apply in your own life to make your life better. It is that simple.

While you’re watching the movie, remember anything that impresses you deeply. Then, immediately after the movie is over, write down the scenes, situations, or lessons that come to you as being important in your life. Don’t judge them initially just jot them down then go over them later.

THE SECOND SECRET

Next, review the movie highlights that you have jotted down. The second secret is to actively apply the lessons in your own life. In other words, take something from the movie and use it to improve your life - or the lives of others.

As an example, I recently watched the movie What the Bleep Do We Know? A motivational movie about the power you have to create your own reality. There was one part of the movie, though, that really demonstrated the power of intention.

Japanese scientist Masaru Emoto did a very interesting experiment on the power of intention and the written word to affect the molecular structure of water. Photographs of the structure of the water were examined before and after certain events. The molecules was brighter, whiter, healthier, purer looking after a blessing by a monk, and also after words were taped to bottles of distilled water - words like “love” and “thank you.” (It should be noted that when the words were negative in nature the molecules turned a dingy yellow.)

In some of the experiments the words were accompanied by the mental projection of that particular word to transform the water. The scientist also noted that these intentions seemed to affect the structure of the molecules. (Hint: Intend to watch a movie with the purpose of learning something that will improve your life).

So, the lesson of the water was a testament to the power of thoughts and words to shape physical reality. But, how to translate and apply that lesson? That particular lesson could be applied in a number of ways, notably, recognizing that the thoughts and words you use on a daily basis help create your reality. So why not continually think and use positive words and phrases?

Of course, the most obvious application of the lesson is to actually write down words of power on jugs of water that you drink. (Actually, the simplicity of it eluded me until a friend of mine told me he was doing this.)

So, now I’m drinking jugs of water “blessed” with power words. My first batch features the words, “love energy.” Is it working? I think so - it inspired me to skip some reality tv and write this…

Get your free spiritual ebook - 50 Spiritual Movies. It lists and reviews motivational movies. And why not join a free abundance club where others beam you wealth visualizations and prosperity affirmations.

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