[This is kind of a repost but with more updated information to seek help]

I have been reviewing all the plans and suggestions from various members in the forum to build my own dedicated home theater room in my basement. Up till now, I was able to pen down my needs into a design and completed the framing part. To be very frank, I am not a very handy-man and might seek a contractor or two for plumbing and electrical work. Again, these contractors are hourly based and they exactly do what I ask them to do. Thus, given the room layout, I really need a piece of advice and recommendations on things I can do and I can’t do.

Here is my current plan and please help me to move further in my building process.

http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp33/ramsi_2000/BsmntDesign.jpg

Needs: A decent home-theater to watch movies and listen to music. Of course, my boy is 6 yrs old and might soon start playing games on this.

So far, I plan to dedicate a 19 WX27 L X8’2” H space towards my HT and entertainment needs. OK, not really, the room is sub-divided into 2 areas – HT room and a kitchen/bar area separated by a knee wall of 7’. Please see the picture.

I would like to do a projector (may be Panny AE3000) somewhere 14-15’ from the screen. As far as the screen goes, I am thinking about 100" or 110" screen. My first row of seats are about 12’ away and my second row (well, truly a bar area with seats) is about 14’ away from the screen. At this time, I am planning to build a nice component rack under the stairs with ability to access cables from store room.

Equipment:
DLP Projector – may be Panny AE3000 (Need help)
Screen - 106” (about 100-110”)
Receiver – Need Help
DVD Player – Need Help
BluRay – PS3??? (need help)
Speakers – Need help
Center Channel and Surrounds – Need help

No idea – Need Help!!
[U]CablesU] – This is the first thing I need help on. I’m sure the electrical guy coming in this weekend should be able to recommend on regular receptacles and wiring (12/2 Vs 14/2). However, I need advice on HT wiring (Coax, HDMI, CAT6 etc.,) as I would like to use this guy to lay out these cables along the same time as my regular wiring. Thus, any advice that I can get from experts will be of great help. Or at the least, if you can share your list, I can customize it and place an order. I am hoping to place an order on monoprice in the next couple of days.

Along the same lines, I need some direction on automated control of lights. May be Lutron spacer system?

Next topics, insulation and sub-flooring. I would like to treat walls within the media room with acoustic treatment etc.

No helpers in this forum?

2" conduit to your projector that will house the HDMI/Cat6/ Composite (If needed)

1/2" Carlon pipe to all speaker locations and drill out normal 1 gang boxes and attach pipe (Run wires later).

3/4" Carlon pipe to the sub location and use a low voltage/electrical combo box that will provide power for sub, then allow room for coax or whatever to feed the sub.

For light control I went with Insteon with a Universal Devices ISY-99i pro and really like it and it was low cost, plus controls all of my outdoor lighting.

I went with 14-2 to all normal wall outlets and overhead can lights. 14-2 for dedicated 20 amp feeds to equipment rack.

Before drywall, use a vacuum and some pull string tied to a piece of plastic and suck it through all of the pipes. Also run all PJ wires before drywall to avoid a tight pull later. (I ran composite outside of the pipe as I doubt I would ever use it).

Feel free to read my thread to see how it is turning out (sig) or if you need any other ideas.

For your subcontractors, you may want to have them do the work on a fixed-price/lump sum basis. This way, you know what the job will cost you, and don't run the risk of being nickle-n-dimed. I manage subcontractors for my day job and it's a good way to keep your budget and schedule under control. The key is keeping their scopes well-defined.

For components, I'd suggest that you research, and pick them up when you're ready for them, unless you find a screaming deal. If you don't have to have the cutting edge products, you can find really good prices on 'previously loved' components. For instance, do you have to have an HDMI receiver for your audio? If not, you can pick up really nice a/v receivers for less than ones with HDMI.

ramsi_2000

Now a days a lot of folks will simply run an HDMI cable to the projector location as the majority of connections will go to the receiver and then you only need one video out to the projector. Then you would have your conduit tube as suggested above if you need to run additional connections.

What I did thought was that I ran several wires that I anticipated that I would need.

1 HDMI
1 Component
1 RGB/VGA
2 Cat 5 which can used in multiple ways of need be, most notably as an IR extender to the projector.

I have an svideo cable but I have not run it as I anticipate not really needing it unless I connect something out of the norm. In which case I can either run it as I have access via conduit, or plug one of the component cable into composite to deal with it.

FYI most DLP projectors are less flexible, LCD or LCOS projectors have come a long way, and the Panny that you mention is actually LCD .

Many options with screens, are you looking to put speakers behind the screen? In which case you would need an acoustically transparent screen. Check out SMX for a fixed screen or Seymour AV for a drop down screen if that is the case. If AT is not needed do a google search for "fixed projection screen" of the size you want and options will be abundant for a low cost, if you dont want to DIY.

Receiver- Wait till your ready for better deals on better equipment, but for a lot of bang for your buck check out Onkyo.

DVD/Blu ray player- The PS3 can fill this need, it is a very good upconverting dvd player and it also is an excellent Blu Ray player. It offers everything top of the line BR players can offer. It will likely be continued to be upgraded. The only thing is that you would want to get one of the aftermarket products to be able to control it with a universal remote i.e. IR2BT, PS3toothfairy, there's a couple of others. I have the IR2BT and it works great.

As far as speakers we need to know more about your budget, are you planning on doing in walls or in ceiling? Do you want surface mounted speakers? In an open set up like yours you might consider in ceiling speakers, as sound isolation would probably not be a consideration in a big open space like that. Check out Bud's thread, he uses in celing's for surrounds
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=549924&highlight=blazing+ridge

Driving Hamster has an open space and uses traditional speakers surface mounted to his ceiling which is another option for you.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=954209&highlight=driving+hamster

Myself, I bought Klipsch speakers from Best Buy. I had a relatively small budget, but for the money I gotta say I'm not dissapointed by any means. They do a great job, perform extremely well, and haven't come up short with anything I've thrown at them (figuratively speaking of course ;) ).

Good luck and make sure the electritian keeps the low voltage stuff away from the high voltage stuff, though they should know that.

Staffy - Excellent!!! This is exactly what I was looking for. It gets me started with my purchases. Thanks a lot for getting me started on the electrical part. I might need more help/info on Insteon but for now I think I’m OK. Last couple of days have been hectic for me at work :(

Btw, I read every single thread on your 10 page HT. Very well planned and good looking project.

Thanks Javadoc. yes, it's a good advice. Both the contractors sounded like they are flexible on the job and the fact that they are very very cheap helps me to play around with few options. I had them on my job based on some references from my neighborhood. They did at least 4-5 known friends basements.

Also, on the components. I don't want to put a high-end gear but if it gives me a good feel for music and movies thats all I care. Any recommendation will be highly appreciated.

You've gotten some good advice above.

One correction though, you need 12-2, not 14-2, for dedicated 20A circuits.

Oman321,

Firstly, I apologize for not responding to your post immediately. Secondly, the post was very informative and gave me a very good insight on my next steps. Also, thanks for the information on wires that I need to get. Guess what, I ordered the cables and got them today. Here is the list of cables that I ordered and received:


Product Qty
HDMI 1.3a Category 2 Certified CL2 Rated (In-Wall Installation) Cable (22AWG) - 20ft (Gold Plated Connectors) #2
12AWG CL2 Rated 2-Conductor Loud Speaker Cable - 100ft (For In-Wall Installation) #1
PREMIUM 25FT 5-RCA Component Video/Audio Coaxial RG-6 18AWG 75Ohm CL2 Rated Cable #1
RG6 F Type Quad Shielded Coaxial 18AWG CL2 Rated 75Ohm Cable - 12ft #1
RG6 F Type Quad Shielded Coaxial 18AWG CL2 Rated 75Ohm Cable - 25ft #1
CAT 6 500MHz UTP 100FT Cable - Blue #1


Also, over the last week or so, I spent quite a bit of time in Bud’s thread. I am very impressed and thrilled to see so much of information on one thread and the way he organized the thread will be sure a resource of information for someone like me who need recommendations. I didn’t get a chance to look at Hamster thread yet.

[Bud, your thread is one of the best threads that I saw on AVS Forums. Very well organized]

OK, back to the reality, I reviewed your recommendations on Screen, Receiver and PS3. I think, I am going to wait until I get close to the finish line. Hopefully, I can find some good deals during Thanks Giving and Christmas sale. On speakers, I am still not sure what I want to do. I don’t have any experience with the setup nor experienced setups with different layout. Thus, would be mostly dependent on some pros recommendations or more research :( - I am more thinking about in-wall speakers in the front and rear and ceiling speakers on the surround. Again, I am limited on budget for speaker purchase but open for recommendations.

Here is the update so far..framing is completed, plumbing and electrical rough-in is completed. Here are the pictures. Feel free to chime in:

1. Media room from stairs
2. Media room from bar area
3. Bed room
4. Stairs and bathroom entrance from bar area

Apologize the pictures are not pretty. I can retake/repost if they are not clear.

Tomorrow is my inspection (framing, electrical and plumbing) - wish me luck.

Also, can someone advocate on how I can embed these pictures between the text rather than attachments?

ramsi_2000DVD/Blu ray player- The PS3 can fill this need, it is a very good upconverting dvd player and it also is an excellent Blu Ray player. It offers everything top of the line BR players can offer. It will likely be continued to be upgraded. The only thing is that you would want to get one of the aftermarket products to be able to control it with a universal remote i.e. IR2BT, PS3toothfairy, there's a couple of others. I have the IR2BT and it works great.

That's a little bit of a stretch. For the money it's still one of the best options out there, but falls very short in the case of lossess audio, and control. And I mean really...if you're watching Blurays. One of the best parts is the incredible audio some of them offer.

The control has become far greater thanks to a handful of very bright people creating work arounds for us. Again though, compared to top tier players that use RS-232 or even hardwired IR control the PS3 falls short.

If you're looking for the best way to save some $$$, IMHO the PS3 is the way to go, but I just wanted to clear the air about what it doesn't offer.

Also, can someone advocate on how I can embed these pictures between the text rather than attachments?

You need a third party site to host your pics like photobucket.com

Sign up for a free account. Once you've uploaded your pics the page will update. Under each pic there will 4 links you can use. Paste the IMG code into your post...and done.

Yesterday was yet another exciting day for me. The inspector came, inspected framing, plumbing and electrical rough-in and signed off on all the 3 inspections. I am good to go into Phase 2 - :cool:

Smokinghot, thanks for your advice. Here is my latest pics

Here is the location of my screen. Note the window right next to the screens - I hate the pipes in the right :(

http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp33/ramsi_2000/DSC02610-2.jpg

Bar area (2nd row seats) and the rear wall from the screen

http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp33/ramsi_2000/DSC02611-1.jpg

View of proposed components rack under the stairs (see area marked up with blue)

http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp33/ramsi_2000/DSC02612-1.jpg

View of screen wall from the components wall (see screen area marked up with blue)

http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp33/ramsi_2000/DSC02613-1-1.jpg

Bar area from Bedroom door

http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp33/ramsi_2000/DSC02614-1.jpg

View of Media room and standing bar from stairs

http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp33/ramsi_2000/DSC02616-1.jpg

Bedroom Next to the media room

http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp33/ramsi_2000/brrom-1.jpg

View of stairs and bathroom (next to stairs) from bar area

http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp33/ramsi_2000/stairs.jpg

Please post your feedback on these pictures

Before I embark on the next phase and put the drywall on, I need some help to begin my wiring on all of the audio/video in the basement:

In the bedroom, I am running a cat 6 to accommodate tel/data and a coax for a future TV. Do I need to consider any other before I drywall the bedroom
Next, need help on setting up my media room

Thus far, I have my speaker wire running from AV components rack to the screen where there will be Left, Right and Center speakers.
Speaker wire from AV rack to Left side, Right side, Left rear and Right rear speakers.
What other cables need to be run from AV Components to the projector
And from AV rack to the screen?
What else should I consider before I drywall the ceilings in the media/bar area?

After reading through some recommendations on this forum, I think I am now convinced on speaker placement in the walls. If I march down that path, do I need to make boxes for them now? Or can I cut the dry wall to speaker specifications at a later time?
Also, I would like to somehow insulate the walls and ceilings in the media room to experience a very quiet, isolated, theater experience that will not affect the rest of the household. How should I go about sealing up the walls and making the room acoustically pleasing?
Need thoughts on remote to control my HT components. What is this all about IR Vs RF (sorry, I’m a newbie here)? Do I need to do some kind of spl wiring for IR or RF? Which one would be economical and easier to setup and why?

Please chime in your thoughts and help me to continue with my next steps. Also, let me know if I need to consider any other things before my drywall goes up.

Thanks in advance

Wow!! really? No feedback or inputs? I either did an awesome job or the worst job ever in HT history :confused:

--You might want to consider running audio or video from the HT room as you could set up a separate zone in the bedroom

--Whatever you do you need to run conduit to the project to future-proof yourself. You should run HDMI to the PJ and consider component, though there are probably some who'd say you don't need it. You might want to run CAT5 which is handy for stuff like IR receivers. Don't forget to put power where the PJ will be mounted.

--If the Sub is behind/near the screen it will need a signal wire and power.

--If you want sound isolation, putting the speakers in the walls will be counter productive, as sound will transmit more easily.

--You need to do some reading on sound isolation on AVS and here: http://www.soundproofingcompany.com/index.php?/library/articles.
This is a very complex topic and there is not one set answer. If there was one set answer, it would be install 2 layers of 5/8" drywall + Green glue, but there is a lot more to it than that. Do this before you install the drywall else you likely not get the result you want and be sorry you did not take the time. It's a lot easier and cheaper do to things now than after drywall is in.

--Don't confuse sound isolation with acoustic design. They are totally separate subjects. IMHO, acoustic design should be left to an expert to get the best result, though I'm sure some will disagree. I personally am using Terry Montlick on my project and he is great. A couple additional very smart people here are as Dennis Erskine and Bryan Pape. John Hile and Ted White at SoundProofing company offer great sales, support, and advice for sound isolation related products. Any of the people listed here can also offer sound isolation advice, though you will be best served by doing some research first.

--IR (infrared) requires line of site from the remote to a component or IR receiver to work. RF (radio frequency) does not. Most decent universal remotes have both, even the entry level ones. I personally like Universal Remote Co.'s products, but there are many good ones out there. If you do not have line of site view to your components you will need a RF remote and/or a IR repeater. IMHO the easiest option if you don't have line of site is to get a IR/RF remote and repeater. The repeater can be placed at the component rack and pick up the RF signal an convert it to IR that your components will recognize. There are may set up options, you should do some research on this before making a decision. This is not the cheapest solution, but so much of this depends on the specifics of your situation.

-The best advice I can give you is to take some time and read though at least 2-3 complete build threads and research major topics of concern. Many people here have already faced and solved the same problems as you. You can then post back specific questions for your situation. Questions like "what should I do for sound isolation?" have been answered here ad nauseum, so please forgive some us who don't want to repost this information.

Thanks jlachanc for the detailed response. Yes, I did read through some of the member threads end-to-end in detail. I started researching the information since Jan/Feb and initiated my bment work in Oct. These forums has enormous information and it is very easy to get side tracked. It is difficult for me to focus and get information on what I need.

On the redundant information, not sure if other feels the same, but I hear your concerns. But, aren't these forums are meant to share each other experiences and help others to learn? Again, apologize if I'm asking too much here but I am a novice and have an appetite to learn from others. Any information (even links to an existing threads) to help me is GREATLY appreciated.

I understand this site and subject are initially overwhelming; we were all new to this at one point. There are many generous people here who are happy to answer questions and help. I am just trying to help you to understand the best way, in my opinion, to get answers to your questions. Asking questions like "how do I sound isolate my room and manage acoustics" are very broad topics that fill many hundreds of pages on this forum. In general, there is a strong correlation between sound isolation performance and cost/time/complexity of the project. If you can be more specific with your questions, we can be more helpful. For example, we don't know how much you want to spend or what performance level you want.

The first thing to consider is what kind of sound isolation design/performance do you want and can afford. There are a number of techniques that impact performance, cost, room space, and design. Some of them are: wall-within-wall construction, isolation-clips, staggered stud, multiple layers of drywall, green glue to name a few. There are other considerations that impact sound isolation such as HVAC, lighting, outlets, and doors. If any of these items are not considered in the design, performance will be decreased and money spent on other isolation efforts may not be worth it. There is not any set rule for any given room and individual. Usually the existing room design and budget constraints will dictate your options.

If you just want a simple generic answer for sound isolation and don't want to do the research, then I will recommend that you install 2 layers of 5/8" drywall with green glue in between. This is a popular solution that is cost effective. The next step up in performance and cost is adding isolation clips. In lieu of clips you can do staggered studs, which should cost less when starting from scratch. You should put insulation behind the drywall and seal all gaps/holes with acoustic caulk. The popular analogy is to think of the room as a fish tank, any holes and the water (sound) leaks out.

If you want higher performance and value time more than cash, I recommend you contact one of the people I mentioned before for some consulting. I believe most of these folks are willing to consult by the hour, so you don't have to pay for more advice than you actually need.

Here's some links I have found helpful on the topics you have mentioned:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=855958
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1052307
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=974472
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=991097
http://www.greengluecompany.com/a-SoundproofingTopic.php
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=452667&page=2
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=831429
http://www.remotecentral.com/
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=255432
[shameless plug for my build thread]: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1043952

Here is what I have so far on AV connections:

Speaker wire to my 7 speakers + to sub
HDMI (2), Cat 5, AV Cable (5-RCA Component Video/Audio Coaxial RG-6 18AWG) to PJ and
HDMI, Cat 5 and Coaxial (RG6 F-type) to the screen location.

http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp33/ramsi_2000/AVWiring.jpg

Of course, I am running a 2" conduit to all my locations for future wiring. Let me know if I need any other cables.

Here is what I have so far on AV connections:

Speaker wire to my 7 speakers + to sub
HDMI (2), Cat 5, AV Cable (5-RCA Component Video/Audio Coaxial RG-6 18AWG) to PJ and
HDMI, Cat 5 and Coaxial (RG6 F-type) to the screen location.

http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp33/ramsi_2000/AVWiring.jpg

Of course, I am running a 2" conduit to all my locations for future wiring. Let me know if I need any other cables.
You mention speaker wire to the sub. Do you mean an RG6 cable or are you using a passive sub with an amp at the equipment rack?

Also, make sure you run all of your lines outside the conduit now and leave the conduit for future use only.

I think you can get away with 1" conduit (aka smurf tube/conduit) to the satellite speaker locations. It is a lot cheaper and easier to work with. Some would say no need for conduit for speaker wire, but I put it in.

Not sure why you'd want to have HDMI at the screen location unless you want to put in a flat screen there at some point.

I understand why people recommend running the wires in-wall and adding empty conduit for future use, but this is not the way I did my room. I think if you have short wire runs this is less of a big deal than if you have longer ones. In my case I did not want the wires getting in the way of the drywall installers, so I put in the conduit and will run wire though it later. If I ever need to change the wire, I can just pull it back through (or so I believe...).

so your thinking of running audio component cables to the projector ? :) we crazy DIY HT builders tend to over think things

Well, actually I had my wiring done and, per some of the advices on the thread, I started putting in the conduit next to my wires. So the conduits are more for future use. So is the HDMI to screen.

jlachanc, I think you have a point there. Having the cables in conduit now would make it easier to replace them in the future. I didn't think about it.

w00lly, I don't know for sure why I want to run since I have HDMI but I have a 5 RCA AV cable so running it to PJ - do I really need it?

I am relatively low on my budget for speakers ($600 - $750). Not sure if it is a decent budget or not. If not, I might have to seek additional funds from home department (Mrs Ramsi :))

Does any one has a recommendation for me in this price range? How about Kevlar 2-Way In-Ceiling Speakers? Does anyone has experience with 6-1/2 Inches Kevlar 2-Way In-Ceiling Speakers (Pair) - 60W Nominal, 120W Max. from Monoprice?

No specific recommendations at this price point, but you can try looking here for info:

audioholics-1 (http://www.audioholics.com/buying-guides/system-buying-guides/the-1000-bare-bones-system/equipment-product-recommendations)
audioholics-2 (http://www.audioholics.com/buying-guides/system-buying-guides/the-3500-balanced-av-system/equipment-product-recommendations)
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=89
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1084182
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1083467
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/speaker-product-reviews/all-speakers/

Also might want to consider getting 2nd hand speakers to get more for the money. You can check on AVS (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=127) for used speakers and audiogon (http://www.audiogon.com/)

I realize that you've already purchased the cable so it doesn't really matter, but CAT6 is generally overkill for most stuff. you can run Gigabit ethernet on cat5. CAT6 is just more twists per foot and harder to work with and more expensive.

IMHO, save the money and buy spools of CAT5, and then use the savings to go with RG6 quad shield to protect signal integrity on your line-level audio / component video lines.