OTHER TECH

We chronicled John Chance's adventures building his family-room addition and installing a home theater there in our July/August and November 2003 issues. But his story didn't end there. With the theater completed and his family enjoying the rewards of his hard work, John hankered for another project. That's how The Home Theater Connection - the Staten Island, New York-based company he founded in 2005 - was born.

"For the last 15 years or so I've really been into electronics and A/V gear, but Sound & Vision was the stepping-stone," he recalls. "When that first article came out, so many people I didn't even know in the technology business called me up."

With the phone ringing regularly now, John has gotten so busy that he recently recruited his wife, Grace, to handle scheduling and the mounting paperwork. With just 4.5 years to go before he retires from the New York City Fire Department, he's found a profession that not only pays the bills but is just as exciting as fighting fires.

"I started out dabbling in small systems, but to be where I want to be, I've got to be 100% professional," John says. Since founding The Home Theater Connection, he's made it a top priority to constantly update his skills. He's attended CEDIA boot camps and is now Installer One certified. He's also certified for home theater design, installation, seating, and distributed audio by the Electronic House Expo (EHX) and for video calibration by the Imaging Science Foundation (ISF). And he's factory-trained in all of the products he sells and installs.

"People want to put a Mack truck in a Volkswagen garage," says John. "We all want that jumbo screen, but you've got to work with the room size, throw distance, and all the other stuff. That's what's great about this job - helping folks work it all out so they can have what they want."