![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.pindelski.org\/Blog2\/Kaizen.jpg\")
\nKaizen, though I am both ‘top management’
\nand ‘rank and file’.<\/i><\/center><\/p>\n
Whether with the opposite sex (costly) or with machines (less so) there are few things in life which cannot be improved upon. With my Home Theater, which runs a movie every evening, the focus of kaizen<\/i> has been on less obvious areas.<\/p>\n
You can read about the construction process as follows:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Ultra short throw projectors and giant screens<\/a>\n
- An old Mac Mini as controller<\/a>\n
- The sound system<\/a>\n<\/ul>\n
Hardware has been the least of the issues. The LG CineBeam HU715QW<\/a> has been a winner. While the extremely acute angle at which it projects the image means that alignment of projector and screen is ultra critical, once done with the help of the software tools in the projector, some garage language and an invocation of grievous bodily harm to anyone moving the assembly thereafter, it has been perfection. We are talking Lexus LS400 quality here (the vehicle which defines kaizen<\/i>) and with a projector-to-seat distance of some 12 feet, the bulb fan is inaudible. <\/p>\n
One of the less remarked aspects of this exceptional piece of hardware has been its seamless and unobtrusive upsampling of regular definition content on DVD so that the quality is very close to that of a BluRay disk with its eight times larger file size – 32gB against 4gB. All those old pre-BluRay DVDs on the file server now look better than ever.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.pindelski.org\/Blog2\/LG-HU715QW-03.jpg\")
\nThe LG HU715QW UST projector.<\/i><\/center><\/p>\nEqually, the Sonos sound system has been trouble free and if the maker is applying over-the-air updates while I am in the land of nod, I have not noticed and it continues to work seamlessly. I mention this as these updates has been have been the cause of some controversy, but I remain a happy camper.<\/p>\n
And as regards data sources, the old Mac Mini with attached HDD boxes works well using a Bluetooth mouse and the Apple TV 4K puck for streamed content is an absolute knockout with its much improved controller. It also uses Bluetooth, meaning no line-of-sight nonsense with remote controls, with all hardware hidden away in the credenza on which the projector sits.<\/p>\n
So the hardware side is robust, high quality and troublefree.<\/p>\n
But the same cannot be said for the room. While the size is perfect at 20\u20199″ long, 13\u201911\u201d wide and 9\u20192″ high and the reclining seating is a delight for the bottom and back if not for the pocketbook, getting rid of light leaks has been a truly kaizen<\/i> project. With the theater first installed in the depth of winter, outside light was not an issue. It was pitch dark by the movie hour. But as Daylight Savings Time kicked in (what jerk thought of that concept?) light leaks became abundant. So first it was drapes for the rear facing triple windows:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.pindelski.org\/Blog2\/HT_seats.jpg\")
\nDrapes installed. A gorgeous Goldberg
\n1930s era 35mm film reel hangs from the
\nceiling next to an antique English GE
\n‘candlestick’ telephone. The rear surround
\nsound Sonos speakers are just visible.<\/i><\/center><\/p>\nNext, the slatted blinds for the west facing side windows proved totally inadequate. I replaced them with silvered\/black blackout blinds which proceeded to leak light at the edges, so L-shaped plastic channels were fitted:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.pindelski.org\/Blog2\/HT_windows.jpg\")
\nLots of careful work saw to it that the blinds
\nremain fully functional. I made the rocking dinosaur
\nfor my boy when he was in his first years and
\nit makes for a lovely display piece.<\/i><\/center><\/p>\nThen, as the sun got brighter and shone more on the north-east side behind the screen, light shafts proceeded to show through<\/i> the screen. Nowhere did the Elite Screens specs mention that their screens are partially translucent so the monster 123″ display had to come off the wall, with much help from my son, and black-out material was fitted over those three windows to seal them off for once and for all. A high risk project:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.pindelski.org\/Blog2\/HT_screen.jpg\")
\nWindows behind the screen blacked out
\nwith hardboard panels and blackout material.
\nA small uninterruptible power supply is
\nbehind the left Sonos sub-woofer.<\/i><\/center><\/p>\nNow things were getting properly dark, a hand extended no longer visible with the lights out. And speaking of lights, all the bland ceiling floods were replaced with spotlights to add drama to the illumination of the old movie posters:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.pindelski.org\/Blog2\/HT_decor.jpg\")
\nA magnificent Bolex H-16 16mm movie camera
\nat left, a Cecil B. DeMille-era Weston Master
\nselenium cell exposure meter and an old Bell & Howell
\n16mm movie projector add a period touch.The
\nsilent refrigerator at right stores the
\nessentials – ice cream and soda!<\/i><\/center><\/p>\nSo yes, kaizen<\/i> absolutely works, but don’t let anyone tell you it’s easy. It’s the same reason that Toyota makes the best cars in the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Some kaizen called for. Like Toyota I am a huge believer in kaizen: Kaizen, though I am both ‘top management’ and ‘rank and file’. Whether with the opposite sex (costly) or with machines (less so) there are few things in life which cannot be improved upon. With my Home Theater, which runs a movie every … Continue reading The Home Theater six months later<\/span>
- An old Mac Mini as controller<\/a>\n