And it’s a dark, twisted, violent story that is worth staying up late for.

Last year, FX and BBC released Taboo in unison, an 8-episode series created by Steven Knight with Tom Hardy and Chips Hardy. Yes – that Tom Hardy. Not only has he helped create this epic story, but he also stars in it, bringing his incredible dedication to his characters to the small screen. Having watched the season three times so far, I can’t imagine a better actor for the story and brutality that is brought from the very start. While only available for one season so far, it in its self is cohesive without reliance on the second season (ordered, air dates unannounced) for a story to be completed. In all honesty, it is almost as if the producers were not prepared for the success of the show which ultimately leads to Season 1’s success as a binge-worthy show.

Set in 1814, Taboo follows James Keziah Delaney (Tom Hardy), a man who has been to the ends of the earth and comes back irrevocably changed. Long believed dead in the wilds of Africa, he returns home to London to inherit his father’s crumbled shipping empire, attempting a rebuild of his life and the company. But with enemies lurking in every dark corner and a family legacy that tells more of a tale of betrayal than love, James must navigate the world the only way he knows. Filled with conspiracy, murder and, betrayal, a dark family mystery unfolds in a combustible tale of love and treachery.

Season 1 of Taboo is available for streaming on Hulu today: https://www.hulu.com/watch/1170756

The post Taboo Needs to Be Your Next Binge appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

With more of the population living in urban rented apartments, not too many of us have room for unsightly black fragile rectangles. My apartment in downtown Philadelphia doesn’t have space for a monster stationary entertainment system, which is fine by me since projectors are the way of the future.

My projection system required a slightly higher investment in both time and money, but allowed me to create an unbelievable entertainment experience without sacrificing any of my limited square footage. When my Elite Screens 84” drop down screen rolls up at the touch of a button, I have full access to my balcony. When it rolls down, I can sit back and enjoy a 1080p 84” image and full 5.1 surround sound.

Televisions are great if you’re looking for a quick set up and a potentially cheaper system. But if you’re already investing in high fidelity audio equipment, I strongly recommend looking into purchasing a projector. The technology has advanced to the point where a mid-range projector between $500 to $1000 can produce theater quality images and play 3D movies, all while fan noise is virtually non-existent.

I went with the BenQ HT2050, a 1080p DLP projector that MSRPs at $799. My previous projector was a noisy beast in its “economy” mode, but this projector is like its sleek unobtrusive older brother. This baby purrs like a kitten and produces crisp and clear images without even exerting itself.

If you’re thinking to yourself, “I don’t have space for a projector… I can barely fit my TV in my room!” I encourage you to look into an ultra-short throw projector like the BenQ HT2150ST. Not only can this produce a 100” diagonal HD image from five feet away, it also has an approximate 16ms input lag, for all the gamers looking to upgrade their experience. To give some perspective, 40ms input lag is acceptable for most gamers, so 16ms is an indistinguishable time delta between button mash and fatality.

Potential Downsides

I’m going to be honest, there are some projector downsides, like ambient light control and lamp replacement costs, but even the negatives are small compared to the epic size of your new-found home theater

Ambient light can cause your image to look dull or washed out, so look for a wall or room where outside light can be controlled with blinds, curtains, or shutters. However, from my personal experience with the BenQ HT2050, I can easily overpower the ambient light that comes in through my blinds on a bright day. At night, I set the brightness in the 30% range, while during the day I have it somewhere in the 60s.

Speaking of brightness, projector bulbs do run out eventually, and can cost upwards of $300 to replace. However, most projectors now last thousands of hours running in a normal viewing mode and thousands more running in a lower energy economy mode. The HT2050 has a lamp life of approximately 3500 hours, meaning I could watch/play three hours of TV, movies, and games every day for over three years before my bulb would burn out!

A word of advice…

Plan everything out in advance. This may sound trivial, but I have spent hours upon hours making sure the various systems all fit together properly — and I still managed to screw it up in a few places.

Most notably, I didn’t take into account that my projector includes an automatic upward angle of 30 degrees. So, after I drilled into the wall, attached a shelf, and threaded the wires, I was overjoyed to find that it illuminated the ceiling instead of the empty projection screen directly in front of it. My temporary solution is to rest it upside down on the same shelf, and prop it up with random folded papers until my ceiling mount arrives.

If you’re contemplating building your own theater system, or just want to compare projector stats, I recommend using the distance calculator by projector central as well as perusing the reviews and ratings they provide. These guys know their stuff, and their distance calculator can help you decide which projector will fit your room/apartment and screen size.

In case you’re interested, my current setup includes:

• BenQ HT2050 DLP Projector
• Elite Screens Saker 84” Electric Drop Down Screen
• Onkyo 5.1 Surround Sound with A/V Receiver
• 200ft of audio wire

The post Projectors vs. Televisions: The Future of the Modern Home appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

The heroes of this sometimes true, mostly fantastic hip-hop origin story are many, but ultimately, it’s the story of four neighborhood kids led by gifted wordsmith, Ezekiel “Zeke” “Books” Fiuero (Justice Smith), who pines for another neighborhood friend, Mylen Cruz (Herizen F. Guardiola) while ably aiding her quest for disco glory. When the four meet mysterious graffiti legend, part-time underworld boy-toy, and aspiring super DJ Curtis “Shaolin Fantastic” Caldwell (the incomparable Shameik Moore), Puma-kicking-Kangol-tipping-record-scratching fireworks erupt, and the Fantastic 4 Plus 1 are born. With a little help from Grand Master Flash, who’s revered as much like a Kung Fu Grand Master as a DJing one, the crew sets out to take over not just the Bronx, but the world, despite the forces of poverty, organized crime, and disco working against them.

Luhrmann co-created the show, along with Pulitzer Prize-winning dramatist Stephen Adly Guirgis. Luhrmann also directed the Shaolin-Fantastic first episode, in all its frenetic, majestic, fluorescent glory. It’s the same type of glory I saw when I first fell for Baz, with Romeo + Juliet – perhaps the only Shakespearean production I’ve ever really loved. And The Great Gatsby is my favorite book of all time, a sacred text, somehow made all the more magnificent and telling in the modern hands of such a master visionary. Both source materials are iconic pieces of art, treated with passionate understanding and vibrant expression, and made all the more vital by Baz. That he has given the origins of hip-hop such legendary light is a testament to those funky forces who lived it, those who soared above the graft and poverty all around, who rose from the ashes of a world on fire, and created something bold and new.

Though Luhrmann relinquishes the directorial reins after Episode 1, and there is a bit of a drop in subsequent shows, his stamp is all over The Get Down, as he remains the Executive Producer. Nas is an EP, as well, and also dubs the raps for the grownup wordsmith, Zeke during flash forward arena shows, which serve to make the Fantastic 4 Plus 1’s origin story all the more epic since you know at least one of them “made it.” The raps also serve as story bumps before and after episodes, like a dope Greek chorus that catches you up far more eloquently than your typical “scenes from last week” fare. Nas’s stature also obviously serves to bolster the creative team’s hip-hop credibility, along with consulting help from the genre’s originators, like Kool Herc, Grand Master Flash, and Afrika Bambaataa.

One thing the show certainly doesn’t lack is music cred, not just of the hip-hop variety, but everything else that was popping in 1977. Indeed, it’s the music that glues this whole she-Baz-shebang together. But it’s more than just a great soundtrack; it’s a celebration of creation, no doubt, and the magical, mythical, world-changing forces that can unleash. Netflix just released the final five episodes of season 1, so do yourself a favor and get down with The Get Down. Your street cred depends on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usv442G6H8A

The post The Get Down: The Most Dynamite Time You Can Have Watching TV appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.