The dumpster home theater in the basement is getting closer. The ancient, s
projector – some might be tempted to call it “holocene” but I, of course, shall refrain – will work fine as a ceiling mount, give or take, although it makes more noise than a vintage 1993 1gb hard drive.

Speakers are roughly placed and proved functional. I still need to dress the wiring and work out an actual mount methodology.

The el cheapo USB 7.1 dongle seems to be working, but the audio-source paths are so convoluted that it is difficult to determine what might be driving to apparent optical-in on the amp. I suppose a DVD might be the best option for testing.

So far the single most expensive out of pocket expense was $100 for a DaLite model B 96″ square (over a fancier 16:9 model on Craigslist for about the same). Reviewers online warned of a new-shower-curtain stench, and that is correct. Happily it seems less awful than I was afraid it might.

So tomorrow, I will concentrate on dressing the wiring and then troubleshoot the audio. I am actually somewhat concerned about the audio settings – if I have to jimmy the settings in three places dependent on a given media source, a distinctly possible outcome, the Mini is no longer a viable playback option and any middling DNLA + DVD device looks like a good idea instead.

Viv has already asked about moving the Wii to the basement. That could easily lead to a PS3 or Xbox upstairs, and moving the BD390 down too. Which would enable true, or nearly true, 1080p on the way-pre HD projector, which supports 1024×768 – so close, and yet so far.