Well, I had planned on building a dedicated HT room in the 15x30 section of the basement, but the need for a multi-purpose rec room won the day. Which leaves me with an 11x9 space to work with.

While the HT rooms I see look cool, I am actually thinking about doing something different: Bistro/Cafe patio look.

These are my ideas so far:
1. Screen wall to be painted black
2. Ceiling will be tongue and groove planks and stained (flat) a dark, dark walnut
3. Side walls and rear walls to have brick style wallpaper, like this:
http://www.sears.ca/gp/product/B000FO903E/sr=1-5/qid=1228596772/ref=sr_1_5/182-1866563-3633630?ie=UTF8&searsBrand=core&mqnodeid=398195011
4. The window would have a small awning and functioning shutters - modified to look like normal shutters but have foam strips and backing that would keep out all light.

That pretty much sums up what I have decided - although it is not set in stone.

Now for the fun part.

The acoustics of wallpaper. I'm thinking that I might be able to use styrofoam mounted behind the wallpaper, and that might work. As I'm not a sound engineer I have no idea if that would even work.

The seating distance might be as little as 8 feet so what to do with the screen size? I could make something, but I don't think that would work out so well. I'd rather buy something (lazy factor), but from what I can tell a 92" would be the best value.

Did I mention I need to keep this as inexpensive as possible? I want to keep the budget between $2-3k, and I need to buy the screen, frame a wall, move some plumbing (which I can do myself), decorate 0 oh, and buy a projector. It's going to be tough.

Obviously I'm looking at 720p machines, and as Panasonic prices in Canada suck I'm looking at the HC1600 and W500. If the W5000 or HC5500 are at $1500 when the time for this work comes, I may adjust the budget to make room for the 1080p. Question is, with a 92" screen and an 8' viewing distance should 1080p be mandatory? I don't have Blu-Ray yet, but I do have HD-DVD (I know, I know). I also will be playing 360 and Wii. Most of my movies are DVD format.

Those are my biggest questions. The audio is set (Pioneer A/V unit w/Paradigm speaker all around). The room size won't be changing.

So what do you guys think?

Question is, with a 92" screen and an 8' viewing distance should 1080p be mandatory?

Its not mandatory, but if its within your budget go for it. The better the source, the better the presentation.

As to the stryrofoam wallpaper idea, I think you'll just be spinning your wheels on that one ie not work as you intended. The room is really small so if I had a room like that (and mine really isn't much bigger than yours) I would just have good quality thick-padded carpeting, thick fabric drapes, and fabric-based upholstery to minimize reflections. Its really all about space planning, as you have so little to spare compared to many other hts on this forum.

And what is this hd-dvd you speak of? :D:D

Victor

Thanks for the input...

Yah, 1080p is going to be something that will be a wait and see. I'm kinda glad that the project won't be started for a few months - it'll give time for the prices to come down!

I see what you're saying about the walls - I just am trying to figure out a way to have my cake and eat it too. I really like the idea of the brick look but I'm not sure home to make it sound friendly.

I guess I can always start off which just the floor carpeted and soft furnishings and go from there...

I installed a system in a small room, 11'-5 1/2" wide and 13'-4" deep. I wanted to have good sound so I planned on using sound treatment. I also wanted a little bit of distance between myself and the speakers so this meant using either in-wall or on-wall speakers. I found a good deal on some RBH WM30 on wall speakers. I installed sound panels across the whole front wall and bass traps in the four corners. I made some brackets so that I could mount the speakers right in front of the sound panels. I also installed panels on the side walls.

I was really surprised at just how good the 5.1 system sounded in this room. Dialogue is intelligible at low volume and sounds are located where they are supposed to come from.

You will need a quiet projector that doesn't put out much heat. The Sanyo 1080HD perhaps? It claims 19 db. The MIts 5500 is pretty quiet as well. I think for a room that small, audible projector noise will be a bigger factor than 720P vs. 1080P given the picture quality of projectors available today.

By the way, my theater is 12x13 and I have a Panasonic AX200. It's a nice projector but in a room that small, I wish it were quieter.

You will need a quiet projector that doesn't put out much heat. The Sanyo 1080HD perhaps? It claims 19 db. The MIts 5500 is pretty quiet as well. I think for a room that small, audible projector noise will be a bigger factor than 720P vs. 1080P given the picture quality of projectors available today.

By the way, my theater is 12x13 and I have a Panasonic AX200. It's a nice projector but in a room that small, I wish it were quieter.

I haven't even considered the Sanyo - I remember trying to buy a Z4 when it was getting replaced and finding that Sanyo is a really hard to find item around here (Ottawa, Canada).

I should also mention that I do have the room to build a ceiling height "nook" for the PJ in order to set it further back from the screen. I'll probably do this no matter what as I am worried about the sound as well.

I had no idea that the Sanyo was that quiet! My current PJ (old Tosh unit) is rated at 33dB in quiet mode so a drop like that would be pretty sweet!

Our projector viewing/throw distance is realtively small - 11 1/2 ft lens to screen throw and eyeball to screen of 12 ft.

Our PJ sits on a shelf 60 in off the floor and our seating goes along that wall directly under the PJ - Panasonic 720p model and always in econo mode and in that mode it is whisper quiet - not even a tiny distraction it is so quiet.

I tried sitting 8 ft from our screen and I have to share that is awfully close.

With a almost 120 inch diagonal image I would not want seating that close but maybe it will work out for your personal preferences and comfort.
goodluck!!

Our projector viewing/throw distance is realtively small - 11 1/2 ft lens to screen throw and eyeball to screen of 12 ft.

Our PJ sits on a shelf 60 in off the floor and our seating goes along that wall directly under the PJ - Panasonic 720p model and always in econo mode and in that mode it is whisper quiet - not even a tiny distraction it is so quiet.

I tried sitting 8 ft from our screen and I have to share that is awfully close.

With a almost 120 inch diagonal image I would not want seating that close but maybe it will work out for your personal preferences and comfort.
goodluck!!

120"!!! Wow, that is big. From my pile of reading done - many hours worth over the last few days, much to my wife's dismay - I've decided that 720p is the way to go.

What model panny do you have? At 8' with 120" did you notice any SDE?

If you are thinking about a 92" screen (+/-) and an eight foot viewing distance, I would definately go with a 1080P unit. Here is a great article that is on point with your question:

http://www.carltonbale.com/2006/11/1080p-does-matter/http://www.carltonbale.com/2006/11/1080p-does-matter/

FYI, a 92" screen is oversized for an 8' viewing distance. I personally like an oversized screen, but not to the extent you are considering. The THX recommended viewing angle (i.e., 36 degrees) for an 8' viewing distance would give you a 72" screen. Here is a link to a web site with a good screen size calculator. http://myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.htmlhttp://myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.html

I'd probably stay down in the 80" range. If you do decide to "go big" it might be worth the extra time to view a few films by projecting the 92" image onto a white sheetrock wall to see if you are comfortable with the size. One concern would be protential eye strain. This could occur if your screen is so large that you have to excessively shift your focus from left to right in order to capture the entire picture.

The other option to buying a screen is to paint some "screen goo" on the sheetrock wall and install a black velvet frame around your desired deminsions.

You hit the nail on the head when it comes to the awkward sitting distance.

1.5 screen width is normally ideal for 720p - but a 92" screen (80" wide) would give me a ratio of 1.2.

Personally I like the oversized screen. My old SVGA is shooting onto a 4:3 100" screen, but I have the PJ in widescreen mode so it just projects with black bars - okay, dark gray bars! (the contrast isn't super). My viewing distance is only 10' - so exactly 1.5 screen widths. My thinking is that if i don't notice resolution issues at that distance with that PJ, a 720p PJ at 1.2 will look fine.

Maybe I should do some more shopping around. The only problem is that the only store I know of with dedicated HT rooms only have 1080p on display.

I know that an entry level 1080p will look nicer than an entry level 720p. I just can't seem to get a clear answer on entry level 1080p vs. higher end 720p.

Off to read that article... Thanks for the link!

Well, I read it - and maybe 1/10th of the comments. Sounds like I should plan on painting the wall first and go from there. I'm not sure I will be able to afford a 1080p I'll be comfortable with so I'll have to stay flexible...

Well, I thought I'd "close" this thread - in case anyone ever reads - with what I decided to do!

The size of the room involved too many compromises. With that in mind, the building of the HT room has been put on hold until it can be done as part of a multipurpose room.

That said, I have the audio gear, and the need for a Theatre setup. The short term $150 solution is to use draperies the ones no longer in use from my old house) and blackout cloth to create a room within the unfinished basement. Not ideal, but it will solve the light dilemma and the sound gear is more than adequate for the task.

The "room" will be around 10x13, and in the end I got a smokin' deal -$1327.11 - for an Optoma HD80. Brand new - not a B stock, not a refurb, and not stolen :rolleyes:

So in the end I went for 1080p - but the price was right!

Thanks for the input guys!

and not stolen :rolleyes:



That depends on whether you are speaking on behalf of the buyer or the seller :eek::p

That depends on whether you are speaking on behalf of the buyer or the seller :eek::p

Yah - I thought about it after I ordered. I actually called the store to make sure it wasn't a mistake, but nope - apparently the word came down from Optoma to drop the price - so drop they did.

Normal retail for the HD80 in Canada is $3200+, so at first I thought they got the 1 and the 3 reversed and that the actual amount was $3127! However, i was assured that the $1327 was correct!

I don't think anyone made money off that deal!