Super Bowl XLIII Party - Throw a Memorable Bash

Anyone can throw a Superbowl party. I mean, just turn on the tube, grab some chips and roll - right? Well, yeah, that's pretty much how it looks in a nursing home, but if you want to have a really fun time - something that will go down in the annals of history as a memorable event that impacted lives (or more likely, pocketbooks, as our friends try to duplicate some of our systems in their own houses) you may need a bit more than the old 27-inch Toshiba and a bucket of wings.

You need to use technology to its fullest. You need HDTV... and you need your screen to be big. In our Superbowl party adventure we have 3 oversized front projector systems, 3 flat panels and multiple audio systems and zones to bring out the audio for each. The idea is simple - use the Superbowl party as an event that showcases some of the latest, greatest equipment available on today's market. After all, this is Audioholics. If we can't make use of some cool loaner gear to show off during the game what good are we?

Last Superbowl Before the Analogue Cut-off

Of note to AV enthusiasts, Super Bowl XLIII will be the last Super Bowl to be telecast in the United States in the analog NTSC television format before the nationwide digital television transition scheduled for later this year. This makes it one of the final analog US broadcasts of a major sporting event - barring congress actually passing the June 12 extension.

NBC will be broadcasting the game live - and this is the network's first Super Bowl broadcast since 1998. Let's hope they get it right, though NBC is certainly no stranger to the NFL or doing HD. Al Michaels and John Madden (who has now announced a Superbowl for every major network) will be giving the play-by-play from the booth and Andrea Kremer (token female) and Alex Flanagan will serve as the sideline reporters. This year's pre-game show is slated to be five hours long (the longest in history) and will be hosted by Bob Costas. I think next year they'll just start at The Today Show and keep going...

Let's Back Up a Little and Start With the Food

Each year we talk about the food associated with the game. This year is no different, except that I want to present the food options in a manner consistent with ease of delivery. You don't have to spend oodles of time in the kitchen to come up with meals, snakes and delectable niceties that will impress everyone. Here are a few of my favorite "quickies" that work well for any party:

The Chili Cheese Connection

This one is almost too easy as to be unfair. Want to impress at a party? Show up with an oversized bowl of chili cheese with a couple bags of Scoop size Fritos corn chips. To make this dish you simply buy two cans of chili (we prefer Stagg if you can get it - tons of meat and excellent flavor) and 16 oz of Velveeta "cheese food". Empty the chili into a large bowl. Cut the Velveeta in cubes and dump it in. Microwave for a few minutes. Stir, taste, nuke it some more if needed. Serve. That's it. It's incredibly unhealthy and tastes really really good (going down). Look, I said it was easy, not healthy.

PS. You can't mess this up. Seriously. Too much cheese or chili? Impossible. Add bacon. Drizzle lettuce. Top it with black olives. Dress it up and make it your own. And yes, I'm pretty sure this recipe is on the side of the Velveeta packaging.

The Cheese Plate

Look, you didn't hear it form me, but I'm a big fan of cheese and crackers - so why not bring along some port whine and cheddar cheese with crackers? The best crackers are ones that are flavorful and thin, yet robust enough that they don't shatter when you spread on the cheese. It also helps to leave the cheese out a bit so it gets soft and spreadable. If you're adventurous there are some excellent hard cheeses available in most deli areas of your local supermarket. These are often delicious, but expensive. Your budget, your call.

My Favorite Hors D'oeuvres

You cant go wrong with some of these staples. They may sound tired, but everyone is sure to put them on their plate and a good hors d'oeuvre is one that runs out by the end of the night. Check out some of my favorites:

• Shrimp – You can get these frozen and already peeled, or you can buy a platter that even comes with cocktail sauce. Either way, shrimp is an easy choice and will run out before many other selections.

• Meatballs – I have several friends that make this delectable dish - each completely unique, from Swedish style to honey glazed. They all rock. If you are coming to my house you should bring these in a crock pot. Lots of them.

• Taquitos - I can get a little tired of these, but they are a good appetizer food. As a result, I only eat them at the Superbowl party each year. Bring some hot sauce and/or salsa to go with them. You can typically find these sold in boxes of like 1000 at Costco, SAMs and BJs whole sale clubs.

Ordering Delivery

If you're in a pinch, one of the cool things you can do is order food for delivery or pickup on the way to the big game. This can take many shapes, but the most common items are:

• Pizza - Bring it, order it, make it. Either way, pizza is a great addition to any Superbowl party. Words you will never hear at a Superbowl party: "Oh, man... pizza again!"

• Hot wings - You can pick these up from the local hot wing place, Hooters, Wild Wings, or "fill in the blank here" restaurant. Even our local Publix Supermarket offers ready-made wings all heated up and seasoned to perfection. I love hot wings. My friends love hot wings. Your friends love hot wings. Of course, the best hot wings I've ever had were home-made. If you're "that guy" you outdid yourself and I applaud you. Next year you can come to my house. Don't wait for an invite, just hand me the wings and walk in. Oh, and DON'T forget to bring blue cheese dressing - chunky.
  
• Sub sandwiches - Go on, eat fresh. With $5 subs common and even greater discounts available for party-sized platters, sub sandwiches always make a great item for bringing along to a party.
  

There is plenty more that can fit in here, but let's move on to the AV equipment and the real reason we enjoy throwing a massive annual Superbowl party.

What not to bring:

• Vegetable plate - look unless you're trying to impress the ladies, bringing healthy food to a Superbowl party is like bringing a towel into a swimming pool. Tale a day off and have fun. You can jog it off later.
  
• Brownies... with blue cheese filling. It's a long story.
• That's all I got. Seriously, just bring some food.
  

NEXT: Audio-Video Systems and Party Zones

The truth is, I'd throw a Superbowl party with a 32-inch TV and some popcorn, but it's nice to have the ability to leverage current review products from Audioholics and thrown an all-out AV equipment smorgasbord for all in attendance. We typically break this up by Zones, to let readers know what's driving what in each area.

Zone 1: The Entrance

When you walk into the living room, you are immediately greeted with audio and video from the game thanks to a corner-positioned Mitsubishi LCD television. Audio is provided by its integrated sound bar, which actually steers audio into a virtual surround environment. It's not discrete surround, but it's not bad. This television gets its audio and video from a secondary HDMI feed off the main theater room (noted later in this article).

Gear List for Zone 1

• Mitsubishi LT-46149 46" LCD Display
• DVIGear Fiber Optic HDMI Cable info
• APC S15 power conditioner w/UPS
  

Zone 2: The Dining Room "Theater"

Continuing into the home we hit the first ostentatious display that marks an Audioholics party. In the dining room we have a full 80-inch projection screen capable of displaying the game in 1080p (upconverted from its native 1080i). On the opposite wall we have a 24-inch LCD screen displaying the same game. Again, if you have to turn your head more than 15 degrees in any direction to see the game I've failed you. Audio is supplied by an Emotiva UPA-2 amplifier and is delivered by a pair of RBH Sound 61-SE/R bookshelf speakers.

Gear List for Zone 2

• Epson Pro Cinema 1080UB Projector review
• Elite Screens F80NWH Portable Projector Screen review
  
• Emotiva UPA-2 two-channel amplifier info
  
• RBH Sound Signature 61-SE/R bookshelf speakers review
• Scientific Atlanta Explorer 3250HD Cable Box
• Dell UltraSharp 2405FPW 24" LCD Display
• DVIGear SHR HDMI/DVI-D Cables 
• Impact Acoustics analogue interconnects and speaker cables
  

Fortunately for us, the Mitsubishi in Zone 1 will take in HDMI audio and then output analogue audio. In this way, we can feed it to the UPA-2 amplifier which drives the RBH speakers in this room.

Zone 3: The Food Den

You have to have a TV in the kitchen. People live there during parties. It's unavoidable - so just cater to it. Embrace it. This year, like last, we'll continue to place the 20" Niko in the center seat so that we don't miss the game when we're skimming the feeding trough.

Gear List for Zone 3

• Niko OTP-2011R 20” LCD Television info

Zone 4: No Kids Zone

This Reference System is the featured room for our Super Bowl XLIII party. Seating is limited in this room, so we typically see timidity, followed by aggressive seat-saving, finished off with an all-out rumble for a shot at a leather recliner. Let's face it, reclining and watching the big game with a drink and lots of food that's not good for you is a great way to spend a Sunday evening with friends. I think this year will see people staking out their seats early and pouting when they have to leave their seats to gather more food or take a restroom break.

Gear List for Zone 4

• Marantz VP-15S1 DLP Projector review
• Carada Masquerade Screen Masking System review
  
• RBH Sound CinemaSITE Loudspeaker System review
• Denon AVR-5308 A/V Receiver review
• RPG Diffusers Absorption Panels info
• Impact Acoustics analogue interconnects and speaker cables 
• DVIGear SHR HDMI Cables 
• Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HD DVR
• Universal Remote Control MX-3000 & MSC-400
  

Not only is this room comfortable, but you get a truly big view of the game. Seeing an ~8 foot diagonal 1080p image (courtesy of Silicon Optix HQV-based video upconversion) from a mere 11 feet away is a sight to behold. For those who aren't accustomed to watching TV this large, the effect is intoxicating. To put it in perspective, there are lots of close-up angles and shots where the action on the screen is literally life-size. Try that on a 42-inch flat panel.

Audio in this room is well above-par. The RBH Sound CinemaSITE system is powered by the Denon AVR-5308CI AV receiver and a pair of 1010-SEP subwoofers rounds out the low-end crunches. Half time shows sound awesome as well and crowd noise gives a very realistic sound to this room - almost as if you were at the stadium. The whole system is controlled by an MX-3000 RF remote control and the Carada Masquerade masking screen, while unused in this event, makes quite an impression when we demo it to friends during commercial breaks.

Of course, we added a "hidden" zone this year in the bedroom. It was playing the game in high definition as well, but presented it via a 37-inch Panasonic TC-37LZ800 which allowed daring viewers to hang out on the Queen-sized bed and take in the game.

Zone 5: Backyard, Baby

We tried an outdoor zone last year and it went over very well. This year we ramped it up by adding more power to the outdoor audio system. A pair of PlanterSpeakers Terra Cotta 8.20 speakers mans the helm in this department. To make it even better, this year we'll be driving these speakers with our remaining two channels of amplification from the Denon AVR-5308CI AV receiver in our premier reference room. That will give us plenty of power to drive the outdoor audio to game-reference levels.

We also upped the lumen output of the projector to 3500 and opted for the brand new Panasonic PT-FW300U. We're one of the first people to use this new model which begins selling this month. This is a very capable projector and we'll be feeding it component video (via an HD15 input) from an HD source for the best possible picture quality. Normally, we worry about getting the perfect color balance, but for this evening we'll be focusing on pure light output and brightness - which this system has in abundance. Don't let the pic fool you, note that even with the flash illuminating the screen at night the picture is still quite visible. When the sun went down, this screen was incredibly bright.

Gear List for Zone 3

• Panasonic PT-FW300U more info
  
• PlanterSpeakers Terra Cotta 8.20 review
• Zone 2 Audio from Denon AVR-5308CI receiver review Denon AVR-5308CI AV Receiver Review

Conclusion

So that's our setup for this year. Lots of gear, lots of food and a whole lot of game-playing, eye-popping, ear-pleasing fun. It's likely that you won't be able to pull out this many stops when you plan your own party - but we'd certainly like to hear from our readers regardless. If you've got a Superbowl party story - let us know. We'd love to hear from you and see what our readers are doing and how (and if) they do anything different to prepare for the big game.

Remember to have fun, enjoy your friends and crank up that half-time show!