Hello All.

I am presenting this to you all for just general tips and advice on HOW to shop for the items I'll need for the Home Theatre I plan to build.

I am starting from scratch. My home is pre-wired (standard wire but to code) and I want to have an In-wall speaker setup for the ceiling connectors (8 total: A pair in the family/great, living, master bedroom and outside above patio...).

How does one really compare Amps and recievers or test acoustics for your home? I am more of a computer guy than an audiophile but my plan is to have a 7.1 setup in the main family room area (two tower speakers, a sub, 2 in-wall ceiling and 2 wall cubies (if they matter)

I plan to get a 60" flat on the wall (I have space) but how do you all suggest to handle wiring (may not have the installer put them in/through the wall)????

I have been to several speaker sites and seen a plethora of speakers but I haven't seen the specific speakers that I would be interested in at the local Fry's/Circut City/Ulitmate Electronics plus I am not sure I understand the true meaning of the all the specs.

Please direct me oh wise ones.

Thanks in advance.

Hope my thought not considered Off Topic.

Since you want to move to Home Theater please consider that there are a LOT of different and subjective opinions about how to define Home Theater.

In our house and among our friends we define Home Theater as creation in one's home as near as possible the experience of viewing at a Commercial Theater - hence the name - Home Theater.

We have a near 60inch flat screen HD 1080p TV. I can tall you that it is NOT Home Theater - just too small an image - in our experience - NO consumer tv available today is big enough to meet the definition of true Home Theater. Retailers will say otherwise but that's cause they are selling TVs and won't dedicate enough showroom space to demo projection - if people could compare little televisions side-by-side with a 10 to 12 ft. or larger image diagonal screen they would all buy projectors!!

So we suggest that since you are at the beginning of the project that you consider options for placement of a decent front projector and separate screen. Perhaps a motorized lowering screen over that fireplace instead of that little television??

You will know the first time just as we learned when you turn off that small noisy box/flat display tv and dim the lights and the movie jumps out at you from that BIG projection screen that you have achieved true Home Theater.
goodluck

imjay is spot on. IMHO, front projection is the way to go if you are willing. I have a 50inch rptv for the news and cueing up the fireballs and for displaying what music is playing, but for movies, I lower the 150 inch screen. There is NO comparison. You can have the nicest seating and best popcorn maker, combined with some neat movie posters and a concession stand, but unless you are getting the 31-36 degree field of view ( that only projection can give you if you have several rows of seats ) it is just watching on a big TV. Not that there is anything wrong with that, it just doesn't seem like a "theater" to me.

Hmmm....

This is why you post on these forums. You all make an EXCELLENT point and I see what you are saying...

I was not even trying to get into that discussion. I will have to reword the title then since I see what you all mean by the true definition of "home theatre"

I was more interested in the audio component of the equation. My wife and I watch movies periodically but I really was not fully committed or interested in a projector. I had a friend that installed one in his home and it was nice BUT we have WAY too much light coming through our family/great room to even justify watching it during the day and to have a projector just for movies is really not cost effective for our household since we really are passive movie watchers.

Again I wanted some coaching on buy the audio components. I will repost in that section and see what I get.

Thanks for the replies...