Well, with home prices being what they are in Huntington Beach, I can't afford to buy anything on a teacher's salary and have one of these fancy rooms you'all have. Plus, I have never actually seen a basement in person.

Anyhow, my place is small and OLD, so I can hear my neighbors cooking dinner the walls are os thin, which REALLY sucks. Attached is a blurry picture of my living room. The room is 13' wide and 13' deep, but realistically with the wall heater at 11' deep, it is more like 10'. I don't want anything too close to this old thing with it's flame. I had to call somebody to help me figure out how to turn it on, I had never seen one. Also, I just moved in so is pretty barren. I need to buy a couch. I will be getting a 52" LCD when the Super Bowl sales come up.

I am thinking of wall mounting the LCD about where the CRT is now. I am not sure whether I should by one of the black glass shelves units to go underneath the TV or get a small glass rack instead and place on the side or something. Thoughts?

My equipment:
Pioneer VSX1018-AHK (Not hooked up, yet. I need to get new cables, banana plugs, etc.)
Energy Speakers (2) C-500, (2) C-100, (1) C-50
FiOS DVR (have TivoHD on Xmas list)
JVC DVD-A (have PS3 on Xmas list)
Waiting for Mac Mini update for HTPC
Plan to get either Samsung or Sony 52" LCD TV

I kind of need to decide on AV rack versus under TV unit in order to order cables. Longer HDMI needed if using AV rack instead of under TV unit.

Any ideas, suggestions, etc. on layout or what I should do in general with the space would be greatly appreciated.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v491/albinoazian/IMG_0725.jpg

First of all what is your budget for mounting your TV. a couple of hundred or several hundred. Depending on your budget there are a lot of options for mounting your TV. I have just gone with a wall mount and a Tria wall mount shelving system from OmniMount. I have yet to mount it (Christmas gift) but will soon be able to comment regarding my thoughts. Looking at your equipment list you would likely be served better by a wall mount and an under TV floor equipment stand or a all in one unit. There is just more space to put stuff. Don't get sucked into buying expensive wall mounts and cables go to Monoprice for that stuff.

http://www.monoprice.com/home/index.asp

Try this site for ideas on all in one solutions as well.

http://www.racksandstands.com/Plasma-LCD-TV-Stands-C17505.html

Hope this helps.

Regards,

RTROSE

Just a thought or two. Sorry to go off your topic. Is your Huntington Beach in California ? Home Depots in Cal carry for dirt cheap (less than $20) a 4' X 8" Do-Able Products board that by all reports make a great movie screen (see the lengthy thread in the DIY Screen section). Cut it down to size for 16:9 or 2.35:1 movie format & buy a low priced 720p projector (~$1000) & you are on your way. Just a thought or two...

Wish I lived west of the Rockies so I could buy one of those boards....

John :D

Yep I am in CA. That is a pretty cheap setup that I didn't' know about. I had never thought about the projector screen route, but maybe that is something for a permanent spot when I can do it right and make the room pitch black.

I do not have a 720 projector but if I did I would have the little brother to the one I do have the Panasonic PT-AX200U (http://www.projectorpeople.com/projectors/projdtls.asp?itemid=23153&itmname=Panasonic+PT%2DAX200U) It is almsot twice as bright as mine (not as cool, but still very cool!) It can be had for less than 1K and you do not have to have a totally dark room. I have a 100 inch 16:9 screen that I got professionally made by a guy off of ebay for like $200 some. It would be so much better than a stupid little LCD... Because the screen is never too big!

How are they for PS3 gaming and bluray?

Look at my thread for how to make the most out of a 13x12 room or the other thread regarding small builds

Victor

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v491/albinoazian/IMG_0725.jpg

What i do is to have mount the tv below the trim railing or kiddie corner it- i'd consider the right side. I would then repaint the wall above the trim white or light gray, depending on the projector you buy. Since you're a teacher, Id consider a dual use projector for both classroom and home use. Perhaps the Epson Powerlite 77c or if you can spring for it the Powerlite 78 which is a 16:10 projector. Very affordable lamps(under $200) and extremely bright so it'll be great for in-class use. Keep the rest of the system and for seating perhaps an oversize futon or a recliner sofa.

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/consumer/consDetail.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oid=63069381

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/consumer/consDetail.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oid=63077323

I actually got a new projector at school before CA ran out of money and we got a budget freeze. Can't even buy toilet paper. I guess it helps that I am the only computer (Adobe CS3) teacher, so I get tech goodies first.

I am not sure about painting the walls. I just moved in and with a $1,550 deposit, I don't know about painting painting. Besides the paint is brand new. It is already a grayish color.

Looks like if I want 1080p on a projector it is a lot of $$. My experience in the past has been that without a black curtain to darken the room, projectors look meh.

Is 10 feet back far enough for a big screen? How does PS3 gaming look on a projector? What is the best deal on a 1080p projector?

I stopped by BigLots and saw a halfway decent couch for $340 and a nice black glass media stand for $140.

You can get very good 720p pjs right now for around $600. But 1080p start at least $1500 so budget accrodingly. And since you live in an apartment, I'd un-recommend painting the wall- just get 3/16 hardboard at lowes/HD and paint it Behr ultra pure white. Use mirror hangers to mount on the wall.

I would suggest going with a TV stand as opposed to a wall mount. Wall mounts are great if you're going to be in your apartment for a while, but it sounds like you might be biding your time until you make another move...
As far buying a projector goes, I (as a fellow apartment dweller) would recommend against it. While I know for most HT people, projectors are the holy grail (can you tell I'm not one of those people?), I think that if you got a projector now, you might be forced to cut corners on features due to price/space/other reasons. That means that when you do get to your REAL place, you'll just wind up buying another projector (aka spending more cash).
A 52in LCD and a projector make a nice combo.
Having two projectors just means you're out of more cash and someone's going to get a good deal on ebay...

I think you are right. The full HT setup with projector may be better when I can do it right in a permanent place. If I get the TV and then get married or something with a permanent spot, I'll have a TV for regular viewing and real HT for proper movie viewing.

As for wall mount, they look pretty cheap on monoprice. How many bolts? Easy to spackle over?

I play PS3 all the time on my 1080i Panasonic PT-AE3000 projector take a look in my signature... I looks awsome! If I were you I would get the 720 Panasonic projector it is even brighter than mine. They did a whole story on gaming with it on projector central. http://www.projectorcentral.com/console_gaming.htm I just don't understand why someone would go out a pay even $600 for a TV that is like 40inches when you could have something way bigger, I mean WAY bigger for about $100. I do not have all of the lights dimmed in my room, we have had the Christmas lights on full time and we have light comming in the windows etc. Sure it looks better with the lights down but it is fine with them up too... Try it you will like that you did...