Home Theater

There are some things Americans simply do better than the British. Not just the Revolutionary War and dentistry, but cultural things. I'll take an American steak over English mutton any day of the week. And I would argue our version of "The Office," while not the original, is the superior of the two. I like jazz more than skiffle and Starbucks more than afternoon tea.

I grew up on Tim Allen. When I was a kid, I had a VHS of one of his comedy specials elictely taped from HBO beneath the unaware but watchful eyes of my parents. It was one of the valuable lessons I learned early on: be the only one who knows how to set the VCR and you can get away with a lot. Then there were the movies—"The Santa Clause," "Toy Story," "Galaxy Quest"—I loved some of those. And it's impossible to bring the man up without mentioning "Home Improvement." That was the show that cemented his place in the American pop culture canon. Tim Taylor, the man, the husband, the dad, the guy's guy with a good heart and skewed world view.

Ah, cord cutting. Take a deep breath—I’m not referring to a visit to “Dr. Snippet” because you can’t afford any more accidents, err, kids. I’m talking about the kind of cord cutting that delivers, freedom. From cable and—if you are anything like me—a $170 a month bill. Ditching cable is all the rage right now, and it’s expected to gain even more popularity in 2012. Why? Because it is 2011 and with so many online options, why not? However, before you kick your cable company to the curb, you’ll need to consider a few things:

You've bought all your kids' favorite movies on Blu-Ray, costing you a small fortune in the process. The constant watching, taking in and out of the case opens you up for scratching. You have to back up your collection. Lucky for you, there are a couple of ways to protect your videos, and I'd say it's a good idea to get your collection backed up as soon as you can. It's also nice to have a backup disc for watching movies when you travel, without worrying about losing or scratching your only copy.

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