Home Theater Dude @ Nov 28th 2005 4:15PM

HD required for HT? Absolutely not.

However, for me, I and think anyone else who's experienced the immersion of a front projection home theater, the video is just as important as the audio.

Let me preface what I'm saying by admitting I've got a *lot* more money in my audio than my video. But the video is what gets me excited.

When I'm sitting and watching my 8 foot screen, in a mostly darkened room, with my surround sound pumping, I am lost in the experience.

At about 12 feet from the screen, my field of vision is filled with the video. The edges of the screen are just about in my periphery.

At times, I find myself looking around the screen to follow the video. On a traditionally smaller set, I have to constantly focus on the set's display area.

An 8' screen coupled with a properly set up 5.1 system, I just get totally lost in it. I have actually had people leave during suspense films due to being too drawn in. (Only once, but it did happen. Maybe I just had the volume too high? heh)

When I flip on the 32" CRT, with the same sound system, it just doesn't come close. Not even. But that's me, and after 2 years with front projection, I'm sure I'm spoiled.

All that said, for a proper HT experience, I would agree with the comments above, that you definitely would want a widescreen - as big as you can have. Then surround sound and good bass. (not booming, but accurate)

As for HD, if you mainly watch DVDs and or SD/ED cable tv/satellite, an HDTV is a waste of tech.

You need good source material for HD to be worth the money. OTA local, cable or satellite HD broadcasts, upconverting DVD players, and HT gaming can make the expense worth it.

If I were on a $3k budget, I'd spend 1-1.5 on a front projector (won't be hd in this range, not just yet) and the rest on audio.