Ack! That's no "home theater"!

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Ok, when I moved in to my new apartment, the "welcome home" pamphlet said the clubhouse had a home theater. Today I decided I'd go check it out. Needless to say that I was not impressed at all.

• First, the room was square, and panted glossy white. If you know anything about home theater design, you'll know those are the biggest things to stay away from.
• Second the TV was a free standing 42-46 inch rear projection set. It was a generic brand too.
• Third, the "sound system" was an old Phillips/Magnavox mini system that only had 2 10W speakers...I know, I have a model that look almost exactly like it.
• Fourth, there were only two "sources" an Apex DVD player, and a pair of "rabbit ears" for picking up over-the-air broadcasts.
• Fifth, the seating was two ugly couches on either side of the walls, so you have to kink your neck to the side to watch the movie.
• And finally, sixth, the "home theater is right next to the indoor racquet ball court, so you can hear the popping of the ball as it hits the wall.

I have 4 books on home theaters, two of which are on their design, and from what I saw at the clubhouse, it doesn't even count as a media room.

I had nothing better to do, so I had a talk with the management about the disgrace of a home theater they had downstairs. They told me they had spent over $7000 to build that room. That's bullsh*t! They also told me that they don't have the extra money for a "real" dedicated home theater. I also think that's bullsh*y, because my brother-in-law co-own a 300 unit apartment complex near Houston, TX and the last time I asked him it was about 70% full and he and his business partner were still making a nice profit.

Not much more that I could do you would think. But then one of the management ladies told me that the actual owners of the apartments were coming for an inspection on October 1st, and that she would be "more than happy" to have both of them stop by my apartment to talk about my ideas to make a better home theater for the clubhouse. My hopes are actually quite high right now, because they also told me that all it took to get an in-the-ground jacuzzi next to the pool was a list of 50 people who agreed that they wanted it. And considering there are 288 units in the apartment complex, that list shouldn't be too hard to get filled out.

 

Wow, you get home theatres in your apartment complexes? And pools with jacuzzis? I think we have an old ping pong table from the 60's tucked away in the basement of one of the houses of my apartment organisation. Heck, and I even live in a rather nice "not renters but owners" apartment complex with rather expensive flats.

Are we talking real fancy schmancy apartment complexes now or average American?

 

@Joacqin, they aren't "luxury" apartments, but they are definatly NOT something you'd find in the slums...they are slightly above average, and are fairly new. I was going to take a couple pictures, but my camera's bateries are dead...so I'll link you to them as soon as I have enough juice to take some pictures.

@BTA: This is a quote I found on my apartment's brochure, "BRAND NEW BRIDGESIDE LANDING! Cross the bridge to a new world of incredible comfort and fantastic value! This modern community embraces all the comforts at rental rates you can afford. Gaze at spectacular mountain views, catch a movie in the clubhouse home theatre or stroll along the Jordan River Parkway."
So they are using the fact that they have a "home theater" to some extent.

 

Ah ha! But they didn't actually say "watch" a movie, they said "catch" a movie - take a DVD, and use it as a frisbee.

(Because I work for a property management company, I'm familiar with these little marketing gimmics.)