Should Home Theater Embrace Gaming to Save the Industry?

[panteragstk]

Yeah, loved the original PS3 60g. Still have a sick one in a box somewhere. Used it for almost everything. Loved the separately purchased remote control. It would have been the perfect machine with some audio and 3D playback tweaks. If the government would have allowed the OTA kit, I'd have ditched the TiVo and used the PS3 for recordings as well. Great, now I'm getting another itch. If a PS5 slim comes out and bitstreams everything and has an OTA kit, I'm all over it.

You'd be surprised how much your original PS3 might go for. A truly universal player for it's day.

 

[BMXTRIX]

You'd be surprised how much your original PS3 might go for. A truly universal player for it's day.

I haven't even thought about this. I never had any issues with my 60GB fat boy I got on day one release. I haven't been paying enough attention to know if it is even still in my equipment rack. My kids use the PS4, and only from time to time, now that they have gaming computers.

 

[Kvn_Walker]

BTW, recently I read that a lot of gaming stores are dying. That surprised me because it didn't sound like they just meant B&M.

As gaming moves more digital download and father away from physical discs, that's to be expected. I only P game anymore, but every game I've bought for several years has been on Steam.

 

[panteragstk]

I haven't even thought about this. I never had any issues with my 60GB fat boy I got on day one release. I haven't been paying enough attention to know if it is even still in my equipment rack. My kids use the PS4, and only from time to time, now that they have gaming computers.

Yeah, those guys are not easy to find in working condition. They could play anything (at the time) including PS2 games. That's not all that impressive now, but people still want them for that reason alone.

 

[Auditor55]

You sure about that? I'm a millennial. Look at my sig, does it look like I don't care about audio? When I sold A/V the main point I always made was that video was half the equation and audio was the other half. You're missing out if you spend on one and not the other.

Old folks really need to get the stereotypes out of their head.

I'm guessing that the people that visit and occupy this forum are the exceptions and not the rule.

 

[Pogre]

I'm guessing that the people that visit and occupy this forum are the exceptions and not the rule.

Exceptions to what rule?

 

[Auditor55]

Exceptions to what rule?

People like yourself. Hardcore, uncompromising A/V enthusiast, and gamer.

 

[Pogre]

People like yourself. Hardcore, uncompromising A/V enthusiast, and gamer.

That I don't know. Not without some actual data, but I would argue that gamers equally desire great pq. Possibly more than your average cinephile. If for any reason, you need to be able to see every detail on the screen at all times. Refresh rates are extremely important for good gaming experience as well.

 

[Trebdp83]

Everything is a compromise. Hardcore fans of any tech usually find themselves waiting for manufacturers to catch up to their own ideas of how things should be done and the manufacturers always come up short in one way or another as the tech isn't there yet or licensing and other deals are made and folks are forced to buy products that are crippled by design. They ALL come up short in one way or another and most of the issues going on today have everything to do with HDMI and HDCP. While achieving higher quality audio and video, HDMI with HDCP is really about copy protection and early model HDCP 1.4 devices are being left behind as newer versions are put into new devices and component connections are crippled. Yeah, 4K and atmos are fun, but the guy with a Kuro plasma, a PS3 and a 7.1 setup with surrounds high on the wall isn't missing much and is still happy as a clam. He was hardcore a decade ago, though.

 

[ryanosaur]

Hardcore fans of any tech usually find themselves waiting for manufacturers to catch up to their own ideas of how things should be done and the manufacturers always come up short in one way or another

Why is it so hard to have individual, user-switchable Amps in an AVR? This All-Or-Nothing BS SU pulled with Pre-Amp Mode is just a gimmick!

as the tech isn't there yet or licensing and other deals are made and folks are forced to buy products that are crippled by design

HDMI 2.1?

most of the issues going on today have everything to do with HDMI and HDCP

Yes!

but the guy with a Kuro plasma, a PS3 and a 7.1 setup with surrounds high on the wall isn't missing much and is still happy as a clam

Hey! Up front I was happy as a clam to be certain... but wait, I never owned a Plasma and I knew how to set up my 7.1 properly. So good, you aren't talking about me.

He was hardcore a decade ago, though

Still am, b!tch! (even though I wasn't that guy and I've completely moved on from that old setup. )

 

[WookieGR]

Grown adults that are gaming after 30 years are the ones saving the industry. Kids are still useless idiots regardless. With their online shooters and headphones they contribute nothing to the industry.

 

[Trebdp83]

Yes, but aren't the kids of yesterday the ones that the HI-FI enthusiasts were saying ruined the industry? Had to be a few kids then playing Pong in two channel stereo. Kids today are too busy taking selfies, but only because they can't get any game time in, what with their dad hogging the console in multi-player mode. If a kid is a useless idiot because of overworked or lazy parents, perhaps some grandparents can get off of the golf course, off of the internet or out of the Indian Casino and take an interest in them.

 

[ryanosaur]

Yes, but aren't the kids of yesterday the ones that the HI-FI enthusiasts were saying ruined the industry? Had to be a few kids then playing Pong in two channel stereo. Kids today are too busy taking selfies, but only because they can't get any game time in, what with their dad hogging the console in multi-player mode. If a kid is a useless idiot because of overworked or lazy parents, perhaps some grandparents can get off of the golf course, off of the internet or out of the Indian Casino and take an interest in them.

 

[panteragstk]

Grown adults that are gaming after 30 years are the ones saving the industry. Kids are still useless idiots regardless. With their online shooters and headphones they contribute nothing to the industry.

So me playing doom and other first person shooters for the last 25 years isn't gaming? If I don't want to disturb my wife and kids while they're sleeping by using headphones, I'm not contributing to the industry?

Boy there sure are a bunch of gatekeeping weirdos on the internet.

 

[WookieGR]

So me playing doom and other first person shooters for the last 25 years isn't gaming? If I don't want to disturb my wife and kids while they're sleeping by using headphones, I'm not contributing to the industry?

Boy there sure are a bunch of gatekeeping weirdos on the internet.

Yeah... I think your reading comprehension needs some work there bub.

 

[WookieGR]

Are we talking about yesterday? I must have missed that part of the complex equation of this conversation. Since todays gaming adults are the ones actually buying all the gear and the physical media I don't see how kids that buy exclusively digital with no cares at all about multi channel systems, 4K TV or projectors and that are perfectly content sitting 2 feet from a 27" monitor to play Fortnight all day are doing a damn about anything.

 

[Trebdp83]

Calling out an entire generation is a bit much. Wouldn’t be very nice to call all of the baby boomers narrow minded and selfish a$$holes, even if it is true of far too many of them. Young people do appreciate the theater experience. They go to the movies! They are the ones buying movie tickets while their grandpas sit at home bitching and moaning about the cost of a movie ticket and the hassle of being around certain kinds of people in public. They stay home to watch movies after spending lots of time and money on a system nobody else is allowed to touch because they just got it dialed in.

Time marches on. Things change. The boomers aren’t watching black and white silent films on their systems even though their parents said they were the best and were ruined by talkies. Hollywood still can’t move on from 24fps and some people wanna’ bitch about state of the art gaming. If you have a young person in your life spending too much time in front of their phone or monitor, drag them outside. You could take them to the movies.

 

[ryanosaur]

@WookieGR
You seem to have a very narrow and negative view of gamers of any age. You and I aren't far apart in age, yet I know professionals earning 6 figures that game regularly. In fact, right out of college, I knew other 20-something year olds that were all gaming on nice TVs with nice audio gear. Some of those people I knew then are still gaming today as middle aged professionals in their fields... and I know people 10-15 yrs younger that are following in those footsteps.
Most don't give a rats @$$ about Fortnight or WOW... some do.
Come to think of it, I know a very successful VC that plays WOW all day.
I digress...
The world of gaming is very diverse and no two people are into the exact same things all the time.
I don't really dig on Shooters, myself, though I will play games with elements (sometimes very strongly) of FPSs. Others fixate on Madden or whatever the new version of sport-of-choice may be. One guy I used to be friends with is still an Avid RPG player.
None of them sit 2' from a 27" monitor. Most of them care about every aspect of their entertainment choices, from high end TVs and PJs to their multichannel systems with high end Amps and Speakers.
As for the differentiation between Kids and Adults... I do know college students, too, who are buying at least lower level AVRs and budget TVs, the best they can afford, to go with their brand new PSs and Xboxs.

 

[panteragstk]

Yeah... I think your reading comprehension needs some work there bub.

Nope, your message just doesn't make sense. If I do it, it's fine, but if "kids" do it then it isn't?

If that isn't the message then please clarify.

 

[snakeeyes]

I feel like a kid again since Tool released the Fear Inoculum album.