As we close out 2012, it’s time to make our wishes for the home theater plans, releases and developments that we hope to see in the coming year. I’ll leave this week’s topic fairly open-ended. Perhaps you look forward to a new Blu-ray release. Perhaps you’d like to upgrade some of your HT gear. Perhaps you’ve got your fingers crossed for the invention of a new product that will solve some need you have. Whatever you want 2013 to bring, tell us in today’s Roundtable.
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Daniel Hirshleifer<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n I’ve recently revamped much of my home theater, including a 3D TV, new Blu-ray player and new receiver. To go along with all of that, I’d love to upgrade my surround sound with cabinet speakers and a more beefed-up subwoofer. However, such items are pricey and might not be practical with my apartment lifestyle. I may have to be content with an already good set of compact speakers.<\/p>\n Adam Tyner (DVDTalk<\/a>)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n I love my TV more than I love most of my blood relatives. Even though that 60″ Pioneer Kuro Elite PRO-151FD is several years old now, there’s not a display on the market that can touch it. The frustrating thing for me is that I’m ready to step up to a 65″ or 70″, but I don’t want to sacrifice the quality of my 9G Kuro for a few more inches of screen size. My biggest home theater wish for 2013 is that other manufacturers will finish playing catch-up, so that I can finally scratch my itch to upgrade. That, or maybe I’ll wish for a house that better lends itself to a front projector!<\/p>\n Luke Hickman<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n I’m pretty content with both my home theater and my collection right now. My theater space is wide and skinny, so a massive television would be too big for the space, but I wouldn’t mind a little size and capability enhancement. I haven’t started doing any research yet, but I wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to upgrade to a 50″ 3D set. Other than in-store demos, I haven’t seen much in the way of active-shutter 3D. Passive 3D has looked fantastic thus far, but before making the investment for myself, I’ll have to spend more time getting to know the other type.<\/p>\n I could also give you a long list of titles that I’d like to see make the transition to Blu-ray (‘Vanilla Sky’ and ‘Garden State’ being at the top), but I don’t want to get carried away with dream talk.<\/p>\n M. Enois Duarte<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n My home theater wishes for next year are pretty much the same as my Christmas wish list. Other than finishing the surround system with a pair of B&W DS3s (the most likely to happen soon) or adding another Hsu sub (the least likely to happen), I keep contemplating changing the entire system to separates. Part of this temptation is the idea of going to an 11.2 system, and I’d want to ensure that I have enough juice going into each speaker. As a Marantz fan, I’m attracted to the AV8801 coupled with the MM8077, and a pair of small stereo amps for the rest. On the other hand, I can simplify things by just going with the Denon AVR-4520CI, which essentially does the same thing in one package. It’s something to think about, but I’m in no real rush at the moment. <\/p>\n Shannon Nutt<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n I’d love to see the legal issues get worked out and finally have a Blu-ray (or even a DVD) release of the 1960s ‘Batman’ TV series. However, there are so many entanglements that would need to be addressed, this is something that probably will never happen, let alone happen in 2013. Therefore, I’ll settle for the much-rumored Blu-ray upgrade and release of ‘The X-Files’. It’s one of the best science fiction shows ever made for TV, and certainly worthy of remastering in high-def. Will it happen? “I want to believe!”<\/p>\n Brian Hoss<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n I can’t wait for ‘Grand Theft Auto V’. With respect to 2012’s ‘Max Payne 3’ and 2011’s ‘L.A. Noire’, it has been too long since the stunning Western love letter that was ‘Red Dead Redemption’, and even more distant lies ‘Grand Theft Auto IV’. Nothing realizes a home theater like the best AAA videogame titles, and few compare with the ‘GTA’ series for detail, scope or grandiosity. By the summer, millions of players will become immersed in Rockstar’s latest, and hopefully, greatest.<\/p>\n Mike Attebery<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n I live in a narrow, townhome style condo. It’s in a building, but once you’re inside, it has the look and feel of a townhouse. The plus side of this is that while our home is small, it gives us two floors, so I can watch movies when my wife and daughter are asleep. Also, since the living room is only ten feet wide, I don’t need to have a huge TV to feel<\/em> like I have a good sized TV. <\/p>\n However, my TV is starting to irritate me when I watch movies. The screen has some issues, and while it works great with bright images and broadcast TV, I’m finding myself longing for a pull-down screen and a short-throw 1080p projector. Since my Blu-ray player has two HDMI outputs, I think a screen, $1,000 projector, and a nice long Amazon Basics HDMI cable would be just the ticket for movie time. Anyway, that’s my wish. (Feel free to buy some copies of ‘Bloody Pulp<\/a>‘ if you want to help that wish become a reality.)<\/p>\n Josh Zyber<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n As I’ve mentioned in other recent posts, I’m in the process of building a proper home theater from scratch in my new house. Right now, all of my budget is dedicated to getting the room itself into a usable condition. For a while, I’ll have to make do with simply bringing in all of my existing HT equipment. Unfortunately, I’m fairly certain that my speakers, and absolutely certain that my subwoofer, aren’t up for the task of filling the much larger space. Once I’ve recovered a little from the construction expenses, I’ll have to put some money toward hardware upgrades. A new receiver and\/or amp will probably be required as well.<\/p>\n Oh, and it’s time for a new smartphone while I’m at it. I’ve had my current model for at least three years, and it’s getting to be a little long in the tooth.<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n What are you looking forward to in 2013? Tell us in the Comments.<\/p>\n The blog will be closed on Monday and Tuesday for another long holiday weekend. We’ll see you back here on Wednesday. Have a happy New Year!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As we close out 2012, it’s time to make our wishes for the home theater plans, releases and developments that we hope to see in the coming year. I’ll leave this week’s topic fairly open-ended. Perhaps you look forward to a new Blu-ray release. Perhaps you’d like to upgrade some of your HT gear. 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