January 2013. Panasonic had to send a disc in order for me to do the firmware update, and now the internet connection works. Well, it works over the wireless, but not the hard wire. But all is well. Netflix now looks and sounds awesome. Using the Wii, there was no 5.1 surround, and the video came through a component cable rather than HDMI.

December 2012. I finally added the last crucial component to the home theatre: a Panasonic DMP-BDT220 Blu-ray disc player. I have not been able to to get the firmware update that enables online viewing (Netflix). But we have watched 3 or 4 movies already and the picture looks simply stunning. Last night we watched The Avengers, and that is the first movie we’ve seen that has 7.1 sound, using the two rear channels. Very happy.

September 2012. I needed a replacement battery for the Harmony remote. I ordered an off-brand I thought would work. It didn’t. It wouldn’t hold a charge. I ordered the Logtiech brand and now all is well. When will I learn?

August 25, 2012. I lowered the center speaker brackets by about an inch and a half. From our viewing position, it encroached on the bottom of the screen. I also needed to level the projector, as it was pointing down. This is not proper installation. It should be level – perpendicular to the projection screen. Since it was not, I was getting a little key-stoning. Problem solved.

August 18, 2012. I replaced the factory-installed lamp that came when I purchased the Epson in December of 2010. This second lamp was included for free with the purchase. Stats:
20 months
1, 788 lamp hours
Average usage: 89.4 hours/month, 20.5/week, 2.9/day.

Yep, that’s a lot. But keep in mind that we watch mostly movies, and when we watch TV shows, it’s often 2 or 3 episodes at a time on DVD or streaming.This includes considerable stretches with greatly reduced viewing (such as May-July 2012 when we suspended Netflix), and some marathons. It also includes Wii usage.