In 2008, I decided to build a PC designed specifically to play back both formats of Hi-definition discs available at the time. Net cost £800-. Playing back discs on this PC was a pain so I bought a dedicated Blu-ray player & HD satellite receiver, I rebuilt this PC for everyday use. See the My PC Build page for more details. 

After various computer rebuilds, a rearrangement of bedroom furniture (& 2 chests of drawers from Ikea) & a clear out of my old bits & pieces on ebay, the results are shown further down the page. In order to playback Hi-Definition sound I had to connect 6 leads to my AV receiver. The back of the rack was a sodding mess & I got fed up with it! You can see the mess I had to contend with below.

I decided to update my Home Cinema setup there & then, the Denon DVD player was sold, I gave my DVD recorder to my parents. I also had a fire sale on ebay & decided to add free view capability & recording to my everyday PC. My old everyday PC became my Gaming Rig.

I also chucked my old PC desk & made a new one with the bits left over & a bit of spare mahogany my dad had lying around. I also got fed up with the size of PC monitor, so I sold the old one & got a bigger 22” Samsung monitor.

The Pioneer AV receiver I used to own, no longer suited my requirements (despite the fact I still liked it) so I sold that & bought the Receiver I have now (a Denon AVR2808). I also decided to redecorate my room as well, the wallpaper was damaged too much in places. The results are below.

THE SCREEN PUT AWAY.   THE SCREEN INSTALLED. NOW YOU SEE IT... ..& NOW YOU DON’T. THE HARDWARE. THE SUBWOOFER. HOME CINEMA PLAQUES. TIDY CABLES!

The main differences between the existing Home Cinema & the one in 2006, is Hi-defintion surround sound, Blu-ray playback, freeview digital TV & freesat HD TV viewing(Hi-definition picture quality via dedicated pieces of hardware). The viewing area is either on the 27” Widescreen LCD TV or via the projector on the 92” screen. A much tidier setup as well.

Despite all the electrical equipment I have, I try to use as less power as I can, as I don’t like to leave anything on standby (after hearing about a telly catching fire while in standby in my old job). I’ve wired almost all the electrical equipment I have into 2 switchable surge protectors (I don’t trust the electrical supply at all) I switch these off when I’m asleep or at work. I have the desk lamp on & avoid having the main light on (I tried energy saving LED bulbs in it & found them to be unsuitable) the only things on in my room all the time are the SKY digibox (as its wired into all the other tellies in the house) & my clock radio.