Hello Everyone,
First time poster but I have been reading the forums on here for about a month. Everyone seems to know there stuff here. I'm thinking about ordering the HC5500 within the next couple of days but wanted to be sure I'm going to be purchasing the correct equipment. Here is a brief description of where the HT will be; I have a dedicated basement room completely light controlled. The room is 15 Ft. deep (for throw distance) 14 Ft wide and 7'7'' from floor to drop ceiling. I plan on mounting the projector on a shelf behind the seating. I just ordered a sheet of WA DW in a 5 FT x 10 FT piece for the screen. The calculator says I will end up with a screen size 103'' wide with a diagonal of 118'' the hight of the screen will be 58'' with a throw distance of 13' 7'' which should leave enough space for the projector and cable connections I think? The carpet is a maroon color, and I also do not know what color to paint the walls yet? The drop ceiling is white and I may have to do something with that. Is it the concensus that this projector will work for this setup? I plan on using a PS3 for movies and a HD OTA reciever for sports. I still have to buy a surround sound setup also so I will be researching the forums here for that as I have no idea what to get. Do I have to have a switching unit also? Any suggestions on a surround sound unit?(price around $1000 or less)Thank you for any help as I really want to make sure I will be purchasing the correct equipment.

Hello Everyone,
First time poster but I have been reading the forums on here for about a month. Everyone seems to know there stuff here. I'm thinking about ordering the HC5500 within the next couple of days but wanted to be sure I'm going to be purchasing the correct equipment. Here is a brief description of where the HT will be; I have a dedicated basement room completely light controlled. The room is 15 Ft. deep (for throw distance) 14 Ft wide and 7'7'' from floor to drop ceiling. I plan on mounting the projector on a shelf behind the seating. I just ordered a sheet of WA DW in a 5 FT x 10 FT piece for the screen. The calculator says I will end up with a screen size 103'' wide with a diagonal of 118'' the hight of the screen will be 58'' with a throw distance of 13' 7'' which should leave enough space for the projector and cable connections I think? The carpet is a maroon color, and I also do not know what color to paint the walls yet? The drop ceiling is white and I may have to do something with that. Is it the concensus that this projector will work for this setup? I plan on using a PS3 for movies and a HD OTA reciever for sports. I still have to buy a surround sound setup also so I will be researching the forums here for that as I have no idea what to get. Do I have to have a switching unit also? Any suggestions on a surround sound unit?(price around $1000 or less)Thank you for any help as I really want to make sure I will be purchasing the correct equipment.

MSD, this forum is really for discussing the particulars of building an HT; not to be a wise-guy, but hence the title Dedicated Theater Design & Construction. While the guys in here can't help but occasionally talk about their gear, you'd be better served asking for opinions in the gear threads; here's one to the PJs under $3k http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=68, and here's one where you can research and solicit opinions about AVRs http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=90.

If you buy an AVR that has HDMI switching (and almost everything current does), you won't need a switcher for the PS3 and Cable Box. Depending on your budget, Onkyo and Denon are popular choices for beginners. If you need speakers, do some research, but that's really in the ear and budget of the beholder; pick 'em.

As for what colors to paint the walls...the only one that matters is the one the screen is on...and that should be BLACK (if the missus will allow) :D The rest is up to you. Look here for inspiration http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=978755. Hope that helps. Good luck and welcome to the Forum!

CD

Equipment is part of a theater room whether dedicated or not.

Shelf mount will work great - works great for us. You have a relatively small space so I personally wouldn't invest a ton of cash into a fancy surround system - we have a similar sized space and we use a simple Onkyo 5:1 with a decent sub and we paid under $500 for it and it give plenty of sound WOW.

Main thing about walls and ceiling is they need to be non-reflective which in our experience is more important than color though darker is better.

Just IMO - no surface needs to be black to have a successful projection experience but this is just an opinion thing. Our room happens to be brown paneled with a non-reflective off white drop ceiling and our screen on that brown non-reflective wall looks and works just fine.

We've personally never had a need for a AV/Video receiver. Our sound system has plenty of fiber and digital as well as composite inputs and we bought a simple 4X1 hdmi little switch box and it works just fine.

We are very simple folk in our house and in our opinion once the lights go dim enough and the big screen lights up Theater in the Home as occured. Once the the room is darkened all the other stuff (the eye wash/decorations) can't be seen and have nothing to do with the visual experience called Theater.

Main thing IMO is get the screen on the wall and the projector on the shelf and pop some popcorn and ya got a theater (doesn't require a free standing popcorn gadget on wheels either) - LOL, but it's true - get ready to enjoy the show!!!

Equipment is part of a theater room whether dedicated or not.



Which is why AVS has 20+ forums to cover all aspects of audio/visual gear. Not having gear related thread in this particular forum helps keep things from getting cluttered.

Equipment is part of a theater room whether dedicated or not.

Which is why AVS has 20+ forums to cover all aspects of audio/visual gear. Not having gear related thread in this particular forum helps keep things from getting cluttered.

Yeah Imjay...which is why I didn't tell the guy to buzz off or anything. I offered some advice, provided 3 pertinent links, and welcomed him to the forum!

In this case, where do you think the OP is better served...in here, where members are busy talking Linacoustic and GOM, and a smattering of guys will say "buy this" or "buy that", or in the gear-specific threads, where there are...no exaggeration necessary...thousands of posts and opinions on a multitude of different brands, for every budget. A quick look in the AMPs, Receivers, and Processors thread reveals posts like "help picking a budget receiver", and "newbie needs help with amp". Don't you think these are the kinds of topics that could help the OP? Don't you think they're outside the bounds, and likely to be mostly ignored, by this one?

I helped the guy in the best way possible; you telling him don't get this and don't get that, because it happens to work for you (and oh have we heard it before :rolleyes:) doesn't do him much good.

CD

I am sorry to have interupted this threaded forum. I just bought a house that had a dedicated theater room in the basement and I was wanting to redo the room after reading these forums to ensure my family would enjoy the best experience possible for the money! I am new to these forums and I thought that I was building/remodling a new theater room. I thought that picking the paint and placement of speakers, along with the size of the screen and what type of screen was part of building, and I also I did not know whether to build a screen that was recessed to prevent light reflection. I thank you for your input and I'm sure that what ever I do will be sufficient! Thank you to everyone that helped. Marc

I am sorry to have interupted this threaded forum. I just bought a house that had a dedicated theater room in the basement and I was wanting to redo the room after reading these forums to ensure my family would enjoy the best experience possible for the money! I am new to these forums and I thought that I was building/remodling a new theater room. I thought that picking the paint and placement of speakers, along with the size of the screen and what type of screen was part of building, and I also I did not know whether to build a screen that was recessed to prevent light reflection. I thank you for your input and I'm sure that what ever I do will be sufficient! Thank you to everyone that helped. Marc

Marc, no offense...but you didn't mention hardly any of that in your OP (original post); you mostly talked about gear. You're getting the HC5500, you ordered WilsonArt for the screen, your carpet is Maroon...you have a PS3, do you need a switching unit, you need advice on surround sound for a $1,000 or less; you even end your post with "...I really want to make sure I will be purchasing the correct equipment".

As I said before, we don't really talk gear in this thread. Sure, builders list their gear, and you might get the occasional "how do you like your XYZ piece of gear", but you won't find advice on the best AVR for a certain budget, or debate about the differences between the Onkyo 806 and 876; there are forums exactly for that kind of thing.

Now, some of your follow-up questions...how to redo your current space, speaker placement, what screen size, whether or not to recess the screen... are perfectly appropriate for this forum...and we welcome you to post about them here.

I still stand by the advice to draw some inspiration by looking at various aspects of the finished builds going on here by checking out this thread http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=978755. The next best suggestion I can make is to try and post some pictures of your current room, so members can have a better idea of what you're working with, and how to help get you where you want to be.

Good luck,
CD

I kinda feel for this guy.. But what validate do I have with 6 or 7 posts in the forum. I sit and read these forums religiously and I just got into home audio and video this past year. I am starting to build a home theater and his question seems to me to have a valid point in THIS forum, I posted a question about studio monitors in this forum and got kinda the same response, but I don't want the response from the "speaker guy" I want the guy who is building it to tell me why he picked the setup HE did for HIS room. I can go to any manu website and read all the technical jargon till I am blue in the face but it doesn't represent the guys who go there and build there own rooms and choose equipment for there specifications. I am sure you could devils advocate it and say alot of the guys in those other forums build there theaters also, but WE don't know that. I love this forum and I understand forum rules but to me (cant speak for him) I relate to the guys that put there blood sweat and tears into there construction and design.

Now someone said that the name is self explanatory in reply to the OP's comment, well guess what you are right it was self explanatory:D He didn't think he needed to tell you he was building because he posted in the building forum. Again I am sure this will get spun to come back and bite me in the rear, but sometimes we want the help from the people that we read there comments and we get a sense that YEAH this guy knows what he is talking about and even though I don't know him I kinda hopes he is the one who answers my thread in hopes to find out his (or hers) opinion. Some people here reading these forums respect and look up to these people. I know I do.. BigMouth, xSandman, ebr, bpape,BritinVA, Cathan, Chinadog, and can forget Logan HOLY Shnikies I could name over 2 dozen of you guys. lol omg there are sooo many guys in this forum alone that I would love to have right next to me as I build my HT and maybe thats why we (newer people) sometimes post comments under the wrong topics (not defending the guys who don't want to search!). Sometimes we just feel like if these set of guys were doing it or agreed with it than I know its at least a sound decision. At the end of it all isn't that what all of us are here for?? To share our knowledge and experience with each other?
I hope I don't break my ankle falling off this soap box, but damn sometimes we just want YOUR opinion.. Not theirs.. I hope you don't take this as disrespect. Oh and by the way I like the Claret Accent GOM too!!:D:D

Hello Everyone,
I still have to buy a surround sound setup also so I will be researching the forums here for that as I have no idea what to get. Any suggestions on a surround sound unit?(price around $1000 or less)Thank you for any help as I really want to make sure I will be purchasing the correct equipment.

You looking to get a Pre/Pro (preamp processor) or HTIB (Home theater in a Box) Or a powered AVR? balanced outputs, or etc.. If its a pre pro you are looking for I saw some nice outlaw stuff on ebay and also their website. the 990 is like 700 but I don't recall if it decodes lossless audio ( i don't think it did but unsure, but unsure if that matters to you) There new unit doesn't come out till later this year but maybe a lil high on your budget at 1200 or 1300 but its lossless audio I know for sure and it looks to be a very nice unit. I think there site is outlawaudio. Talk to Emotiva they have a new unit coming out sub 1000 that is supposed to be the shiz also, I know alot of the guys on the AVR forums rave about it. Another maybe the Onkyo 706, 806 gives you pre outs as well and is a decent unit. I've been talking to Emotiva for a little bit and I think thats my pick. But then again sound is subjective and what sounds good to you or me my not sound good to others. Hit me up if you have any questions I am a newb also to these forums but I have a little knowledge of some of this if you don't get better answers.

J

J -

While it's flattering to think that somehow the "builder" forum regulars know something more about speakers and other AV equipment, trust me when I say it's not the case. If you want to know how I came to select my equipment, it's simple. I spent time in each of the appropriate forums, read lots of threads, previewed some stuff and made a decision that was right for me. I know nothing about what other options may be available, what the latest gear and tech are. But you know who does? The guys who hang out in those forums are care about that stuff.

So if you want to know why I picked my stuff, feel free to ask, but that's not the intention of 99% of the new posters who ask their question here and not in the topic specific forum.

JD, of course we understand your point...and I, for one, love to give my opinion about gear. In fact, I suck at construction, but I consider my POV about gear to be pretty relevant. Still, there's a couple of reasons I think it's in bad form. One, just because you want my opinion, and I want to give it to you, doesn't mean that the others (nor the Mods for that matter) want to read about it here; they're expecting a certain kind of post in this area, and if they wanted to read about you and I debating the merits of Paradigm vs. Klipsch, they know where to find that kind of thing (again, in the appropriate forum).

Two, I for one, always hesitate to answer "what should I buy" questions, because any gear-head worth his weight, should answer "what sounds best to you" or "what meets you needs best". I understand that sometimes newbies feel lost, and they want someone who seems to know what they're talking about to just tell them what to do. Hell, I take that very approach when it comes to some of the carpentry aspects of the room. But gear, and sound, and PQ aren't the same as a coat of paint, or some fabric on the wall; the merits of gear are in the ear and eye of the beholder, so you've got to be the one, ultimately, to decide what's best for you. Now, that being said, sometimes you need to know where to even start, and I and other members might make suggestions to help you get going, but newbies need to try and meet us half-way too. "Which brands should I be looking at?" varies depending on whether you want a $500 AVR, or a $5,000 Pre/Pro.

It's not that members in here aren't willing to help, but you can help yourself get familiar with brands by looking in those forums. Then, if you want some feedback, by all means PM (me...lol) a member or two. "Hi there...I'm looking for an AVR in the $1k range...I've been looking in the forums and I see a lot of talk about Pioneer Elite, Onkyo, and Denon. I love your room, and you seem to know what you're talking about...what do you like?" Trust me, you'll get a friendly and helpful response.

See, I told you I loved to share my opinion. :D

.02
CD

Point taken.. I see your point. I guess I was just being naive. I apologize and after looking at it your way I guess you are right.. Thanks!

J

Point taken.. I see your point. I guess I was just being naive. I apologize and after looking at it your way I guess you are right.. Thanks!

J

No need to apologize. Good luck, and check back when you're ready.

CD

MSD

Now that we got all that out of the way why don't you post us some pics of your space so we can get a better idea of what you are working with.

Most of us here are a little Obsessed with our theater builds :eek: its almost like a drug vary addicting :p