I've always wanted a dedicated HT rather than just a "big TV and a surround sound", but the fact that my basement is the domain of my wife and kids kept it a dream...BUT...

...after a little prodding and re-organizing (and help from several AVS'ers) I was able to get it done, for not too much cheese and kept the wife happy too. Thought I'd share some pics and details with ya in case anyone else out there is in a similar pickle like I was.

Here's the story:

Space was not a problem, as the basement is sizeable, and finished, but a seperate room was not going to happen, or make much sense as my wife is a scrapbooking consultant and holds parties in our basement weekly for up to 20 women at a time. So I made her a deal...I could use about 40% of the basement for a HT so long as she could use some of this space during her parties.

Here's what I bought, how much it cost, and how I set it up:

I wasn't looking to blow tons of cash on this little project, but I wanted something decent too...

Epson Powerlite Home Cinema 1080ub - $2700
(Love this thing...mounted it with a CRT tv stand as I have a drop ceiling)
Elite Screens Portable 100" - $200
(Portable so that when my wife does her parties, I can simply close it up)
Onkyo Refurb TXSR505 Receiver - $150
(Can't beat Onkyo refurb receivers for the money)
Polk RM6750 Speakers - $200
(Great little satellites, wife did not want "big speakers" down there)
Showtime Theater Seating (4) - $1350
(Could not believe how great these are for such little money)
6 oz. Popcorn Machine - $550
(Really adds to the theater experience, keeps my 2 year old still for nearly a whole movie)
4 Movie Posters - $40
(It was tough narrowing it down to just 4!)
4 Frames - $160
Component Stand - $110
(Got a steal on this at Best Buy)
Speaker Wire - $30
30 Ft HDMI Cable - $35
(I could have paid $300 for this at Best Buy!!!)
Speaker Mounts - $80
Projector Mount - $30
(Used a crt tv wall mount as I will be taking this projector outside a couple times a year for outdoor movie parties and didn't want to have to undo 12 screws ;-))
Popcorn supplies - $50

$5685 total for the setup...not bad!

OK...plus about 2 days of moving ceiling tiles and inhaling the dust to run all the wires and such.

Got the theater seats and popcorn stuff through a couple of recent AVS powerbuys...great deals!

So checkout the pics below (sorry for the crappy iPhone quality) and let me know how y'all like it...Overall we're very pleased and couldn't have done it without all the help from you AVS'ers out there...so THANKS guys :D

Now, if they would just get on with releasing Star Wars on Blu ray already...geez

Rob

Nice job. Real nice setup for about the price of a 50" plasma back in 2003.
I have the same popcorn machine as you and love it.

Hey there!

Great job on the space and kudos to you for being able to make the wife happy (and get your theater) and maintain a "flexible" space. I especially like your use of a CRT mount for your projector very slick.

I have the 1080 UB on my short list of PJ's glad your happy with it.

Regards,

RTROSE

Hey thanks guys...it's amazing how much different watching movies at home is...I'm used to a 60" sony xbr, but it's really nothing compared to a 100" in a dedicated ht space.

Don't see a universal remote. How does your wife use it?

Does everyone have that same black tubular futon? I hate mine, but it has been in every house and apartment we've had for 12 years or more. Now it's the overflow seating in the back of our theater as well.

With the same cover. *ugh*

Oh yeah, that's the black tubular futon that makes your bones ache after about 30 minutes...

...no universal remote yet...I don't think I want my wife messing with it anyway...she's perfectly fine with waiting for me to set it up for her.

Nice job on a clean, simple yet functional room.

I'm assuming your using a hi-def source for movie playback right?

Nice job, I have already called basement in the new house she gets everything else :), one of my friends says the tublar futon is good if you can get a memory foam pad to put in with the regular pad. He got the pad for free otherwise I dont see what good putting money in the futon would be but it is really comfortable with extra padding.

very nice!

I'm another happy 1080UB owner too!! :)

When the wife is happy, EVERYONE is happy. :)