Do I Even Need A TV Room?
As I mentioned in previous blog posts, my basement flooded on the May long weekend, necessitating the complete demolition and renovation of the rooms downstairs.
The restorations and renovations are almost complete.
Which leaves me at a crossroads.
When I installed what I loftily called a MEDIA ROOM the kids were still babies; their entertainment preferences were not a factor.
Also, iPads didn’t exist.
How that room was conceived and executed was based on how my wife and I used to watch TV and movies, and play video games.
But a lot has changed.
My kids’ preference for media is almost exclusively their iPads.
The AV press talks about “second screens.” Well, in our house iPads are the primary screens, and the big flat panel on the wall downstairs is the secondary, maybe even the tertiary screen.
The now aging Nintendo Wii does get played, but sparingly, and less than it used to be.
In fact, my kids’ interest in consoles is almost nonexistent.
My wife picked up a used XBOX360 from one of her friends (her husband was upgrading to the XBOX ONE) and my kids were blasé about it.
I ended up re-selling it, 3rd hand now, on Kijiji less than a month later.
So now, as I face rebuilding and rewiring the system, and laying out how the controller has to be programmed I face the dynamic tension between two poles:
What I want the system to do, versus what it will actually be used for, not just now, but in the future.
On the one hand, I still have some desire for movie watching on a big screen.
On the other, that so seldom actually happens.
Further, I still feel that impulse for gaming, and I covet the possibility of both a Steam Box at the high tech end of the spectrum, and the newly announced mini NES throwback at the low-tech end.
Honestly, I’m more geeked about this than I am about a Steam Box.
Then again, both my laptop and iPad are full of games that I’ve paid for and downloaded and still haven’t played.
I feel guilty that I bought the pre-order for Battlefleet Gothic: Armada and haven’t even fired it up yet. Heresy!
There are already not enough hours in the day for everything I need to do. When prioritizing my days, gaming always takes a back seat.
And while my kids have zero interest in console gaming today, that may change. Maybe I should be prepared for that.
If other AV and tech pros have found themselves in a similar mental bind I’d be keen to hear your thoughts.
