I'm Posting This to Be the 3,000th Reply :D

Ruben
We'll just call you Mr. 3000
http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/movie/mr_3000/poster_sm.jpg

I'm posting this to be the 3,000th reply :D

Ruben

Wow, you finally got one of the milestone posts. CONGRATS!!

You were watching weren't you!! ;)

Let's see,

I had post #1000, you got #3000. Who got #2000?

Joe

I'm posting this to be the 3,000th reply :D

Ruben

See, even my belated question helped to pump up your thread count.

I enjoyed every post. More pics.

Alan

Ruben,

This may be a repeated question, When you made curved screen where there any focus issue on the sides ? because you have mentioned the curve is around 9 inch from the straight line.

lx

Ruben,

This may be a repeated question, When you made curved screen where there any focus issue on the sides ? because you have mentioned the curve is around 9 inch from the straight line.

lx

If there was, I wouldn't be having a curved screen in my theater ;)

Ruben

We'll just call you Mr. 3000
http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/movie/mr_3000/poster_sm.jpg


Damn, why didn't I think of that? Nice Job :D

Wow, you finally got one of the milestone posts. CONGRATS!!

You were watching weren't you!! ;)

Let's see,

I had post #1000, you got #3000. Who got #2000?

Joe


Tim, screen name "miltimj" got #2000, back on page 67 (if you are using the forum default of # of posts per page).

Man, am I pissed. I spent the last 2 days rewiring my system since I was now satisfied with all the components in my rack. So I organized and tied all my wires down really nice and clean. I triple checked every plug to make sure nothing went undone.

Well tonight I finished wiring and went to watch a movie and the projector is not syncing up wit my Htpc video nor my hd sat. box now. As the pc starts, I see the dos screen and then the windows start up screen but once it gets to the windows desktop the projector says "no signal". The sat box shows the on screen resolution when I switch to it, but I am also getting a blank screen with a "no signal" display. This is all happening through DVI, component seems to work fine. I spoke to Alan earlier and he told me that alot of people have been having Handshake issues with DVI.

Does anyone have any suggestions? My pj is an Optoma H-79, I tried hooking both devices up directly to the pj through dvi and the same issue occurs. I usually use a Lumgen HDQ for scaling and video switching.

Thanks
Ruben

Hmmm, so you pulled the Lumgen out and now there is a syncing issue? Have you tried putting it back in again just to try to narrow down the issue?

Ruben,

BTW. I finally got my SmX screen installed!!!! Take a look at my construction thread!! (Page 3 is where the screen installation starts.)

Joe

Man, am I pissed. I spent the last 2 days rewiring my system since I was now satisfied with all the components in my rack. So I organized and tied all my wires down really nice and clean. I triple checked every plug to make sure nothing went undone.

Well tonight I finished wiring and went to watch a movie and the projector is not syncing up wit my Htpc video nor my hd sat. box now. As the pc starts, I see the dos screen and then the windows start up screen but once it gets to the windows desktop the projector says "no signal". The sat box shows the on screen resolution when I switch to it, but I am also getting a blank screen with a "no signal" display. This is all happening through DVI, component seems to work fine. I spoke to Alan earlier and he told me that alot of people have been having Handshake issues with DVI.

Does anyone have any suggestions? My pj is an Optoma H-79, I tried hooking both devices up directly to the pj through dvi and the same issue occurs. I usually use a Lumgen HDQ for scaling and video switching.

Thanks
RubenTry leaving the PJ on and rebooting the HTPC as well as all your equiptment and see what happens.

Damit is all I have to say. I've been reading the thread for a few weeks during downtime at work and I've reached the end! I didn't want it to end... I suppose that's what makes the thread so great eh?

Origonally I was just looking for the finished design and then I figured it was somewhere earlier in the thread and started reading from page 1 and it got damn interesting damn quickly. I still look at your pictures and go "this...is....a....garage?!?!"

I'm only 23 years old but I've already budgeted 20k for a house in Ottawa, Ontario for the spring with my girlfriend and one of the major buying factors will be a basement with room enough for a home theater. This has given me excellent insparation! I'm by NO MEANS a handyman (no exp really) but I'm very much a read-learn-do type person which is how you are from the sounds of it. That gives me a lot of hope :)

My problem is learning everything at this point - it took me months of casual, spare-time research to buy my Paradigm 60 stereo system for the apartment. I'm going to just die trying to lock in components for a theater but I hope I have as much fun doing it as you have!

EXCELLENT THREAD! Thank you for the detail and explanations along the way!

Damit is all I have to say. I've been reading the thread for a few weeks during downtime at work and I've reached the end! I didn't want it to end... I suppose that's what makes the thread so great eh?

Origonally I was just looking for the finished design and then I figured it was somewhere earlier in the thread and started reading from page 1 and it got damn interesting damn quickly. I still look at your pictures and go "this...is....a....garage?!?!"

I'm only 23 years old but I've already budgeted 20k for a house in Ottawa, Ontario for the spring with my girlfriend and one of the major buying factors will be a basement with room enough for a home theater. This has given me excellent insparation! I'm by NO MEANS a handyman (no exp really) but I'm very much a read-learn-do type person which is how you are from the sounds of it. That gives me a lot of hope :)

My problem is learning everything at this point - it took me months of casual, spare-time research to buy my Paradigm 60 stereo system for the apartment. I'm going to just die trying to lock in components for a theater but I hope I have as much fun doing it as you have!

EXCELLENT THREAD! Thank you for the detail and explanations along the way!

I spent 18 months reviewing and learning here at AVSForum before I even attempted starting my theater. :)

Joe

I spent 18 months reviewing and learning here at AVSForum before I even attempted starting my theater. :)

Joe


Hey Joe, Check your PM real quick.

Thanks
Ruben

Tim, screen name "miltimj" got #2000, back on page 67 (if you are using the forum default of # of posts per page).
Hmm, I hadn't even noticed.. :cool:

Ruben, what's your HTPC resolution?

Man, am I pissed. I spent the last 2 days rewiring my system since I was now satisfied with all the components in my rack. So I organized and tied all my wires down really nice and clean. I triple checked every plug to make sure nothing went undone.

Well tonight I finished wiring and went to watch a movie and the projector is not syncing up wit my Htpc video nor my hd sat. box now. As the pc starts, I see the dos screen and then the windows start up screen but once it gets to the windows desktop the projector says "no signal". The sat box shows the on screen resolution when I switch to it, but I am also getting a blank screen with a "no signal" display. This is all happening through DVI, component seems to work fine. I spoke to Alan earlier and he told me that alot of people have been having Handshake issues with DVI.

Does anyone have any suggestions? My pj is an Optoma H-79, I tried hooking both devices up directly to the pj through dvi and the same issue occurs. I usually use a Lumgen HDQ for scaling and video switching.

Thanks
Ruben

Just an update on my problem. I found out this afternoon that my Sat box and HTPC switched to some funky resolution that the projector couldn't understand. This must of happened when I unplugged everything. It was really wierd that it happened to both the HTPC and the Sat Box at the same time. Well its all fixed now. I set my HTPC back to 1280 x 720 and my Sat box was on 480i so I switched it to 720p and problems solved.

Ruben

Just an update on my problem. I found out this afternoon that my Sat box and HTPC switched to some funky resolution that the projector couldn't understand. This must of happened when I unplugged everything. It was really wierd that it happened to both the HTPC and the Sat Box at the same time. Well its all fixed now. I set my HTPC back to 1280 x 720 and my Sat box was on 480i so I switched it to 720p and problems solved.

RubenThats why I said leave PJ on and reboot, remember, youre running Media Center Edition XP with a projector

...remember, youre running Media Center Edition XP with a projector

Ouch, I'll hold down Gates so you can pie him!

Thats why I said leave PJ on and reboot

I originally tried that but that didn't work. Thanks for the tip though.
I see you turned into a Gears of War junkie now. 8 hour sessions?

Ruben

Ruben: Glad to hear you got it sorted out so quickly. That's the frustrating kind of thing that's always a pain to deal with.

Ouch, I'll hold down Gates so I can pie him!It's not just Gates/Windoze. My Linux MythTV system with an nVidia card plays similar games whenever I turn off the projector but not the HTPC. Fortunately, my projector remote (InFocus ScreenPlay 5000) has a button/function to re-scan the inputs. That's one button press that's definitely going to be in my "Projector On" macro. ;)

I want to comment on the new microsoft movie downloads. I paid $5.50 to spend 11 hours downloading a HD movie that ended up being a 4.51 gig file that I could only watch for up to 12 hours. Since when is a 1.45 hour HD movie 4.5 gigs? Standard definition dvd main movies are about the same size. They are obviously compressing the crap out of these HD movies so what is the point?

If you can't keep it on your drive, you mind as well rent it from Blockbuster so you can watch an uncompressed HD-DVD. I think Mark P told me it took him 18 hours to download an HD movie from microsoft that he played by mistake and lost it.

New movie rental releases are something most people want to rent and watch the day it comes out not tie up your bandwidth for 18 hours to download it so you can watch it the next day. They are going to need to make these movies streamable or on demand.

Ruben

They are going to need to make these movies streamable or on demand.

Ruben

Look how long it took Hollywood to okay VHS rentals. They kept crying piracy. All you have to do is wander the streets of China to pick a blockbuster before it hits the theaters- they'll even include an FBI warning.

Time for NetFlix and setting your prefs for BluRay or HD-DVD. Done.

Lost track of this thread...can someone tell me the page where the (finished?) pics are.

Thanks!

Lost track of this thread...can someone tell me the page where the (finished?) pics are.

Thanks!


HERE (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8343261&&#post8343261)

I originally tried that but that didn't work. Thanks for the tip though.
I see you turned into a Gears of War junkie now. 8 hour sessions?

RubenRemember I have a son and he has friends, my longest bout was 5 hours straight when it first came out, my daughters boyfriend seems to show interesr in it as well. Ive been sort of busy with other things I should be posting pictures of

Remember I have a son and he has friends, my longest bout was 5 hours straight when it first came out, my daughters boyfriend seems to show interesr in it as well. Ive been sort of busy with other things I should be posting pictures of

Yes, you should. You have been accomplishing a LOT and your thread has seen no activity for about a month now!! ;)

Joe

Yes, you should. You have been accomplishing a LOT and your thread has seen no activity for about a month now!! ;)

JoeLOL, I would but its buried so deep, I could never find it in the bottomless pits of the archives.

LOL, I would but its buried so deep, I could never find it in the bottomless pits of the archives.

Here you go. Always glad to help a friend out!! :)

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=566082&goto=newpost

Joe

Where did you get the light boxes and cable from. I am going to start this process in my media room, and any help will be appreciated.

Chris

Where did you get the light boxes and cable from. I am going to start this process in my media room, and any help will be appreciated.

Chris

I got everything from http://www.fiberopticproducts.com/

Ruben

Very nice, cheesy website but looks like they know thier stuff.

Man, I gotta tell ya. This starred ceiling is sure a LOT of work. Geez. I sure hope it is worth it in the end!! :)

Joe

Man, I gotta tell ya. This starred ceiling is sure a LOT of work. Geez. I sure hope it is worth it in the end!! :)

Joe

Joe, quit ya complainin and get back to work!

It WILL be worth it. Don't worry about it! :)

Joe, quit ya complainin and get back to work!

It WILL be worth it. Don't worry about it! :)

LOL, Yeah, I know. My biggest problem now is that I have been watching movies!!

We got the SmX screen mounted and the projector installed before Xmas and all we want to do now is watch it!!

1080p on the SmX screen is absolutely breathtaking. We can't get enough!!

Well, probably this weekend I will tackle more of the ceiling. :)

Joe

LOL, Yeah, I know. My biggest problem now is that I have been watching movies!!

Joe

I ALWAYS tell people to remember that as soon as the theater is functional, most progress will come to either a screeching halt or at least a major slow-down.

In order to get stuff done, you have to wait to get the electronics all hooked up. I am sure many others will agree with me on this.

I know, I know. I was warned many times over and still did it. :)

Oh well, off to watch another movie :)

Joe

Yeah, real weird how at the beginning your down there on your own building the HT......getting grief for amount of time you spend down there.....my HT was nick named the 'Girl Friend'......believe me at times would have been easier to have had an affair :eek:

Then once the equipment is hooked up you can't spend a weekend or an evening alone with the 'Girl Friend'. If its not Movie night the kids want to play PS2 in there. And what makes things worse I can't make too much noise while they are playing. :confused:

Can't complain too much though......we now spend much more time together as a family. :D

Cheers,
Mark

Yeah same here I'm on my third theater, first one the wife didn't get, the second one she understood, now the third one she's driving me nuts get it done. But I'm doing all the work myself, I don't even try to ask for help. In the end she will watch more movies with her family, while I'm traveling for work.... :( still can't wait.

In the end she will watch more movies with her family, while I'm traveling for work.... :( still can't wait.

Oh, don't you HATE it when they call you at work and tell you how they showed it off to their friends who were in town and how impressed they were and you're thinking, "Damn it! That's the payoff I'm missing out on!" ^_^

I tell you one thing, I thought that after I was done building my theater I would end up using it only once a month if that. Well I was completely wrong, I use it almost every night, I am really loving it!!!

I love having a dedicated theater much much more than having a garage! :D

I am really enjoying Main Lobby as well!

Ruben

I am really enjoying Main Lobby as well!

Ruben

Say What!

I thought you had given up on that!

Tell me more.

Joe

I tell you one thing, I thought that after I was done building my theater I would end up using it only once a month if that. Well I was completely wrong, I use it almost every night, I am really loving it!!!

I love having a dedicated theater much much more than having a garage! :D

I am really enjoying Main Lobby as well!

RubenI just wish Hollywood could make the experience worthwhile, I have watched every movie released in the last couple months and I have to say yuck. I was going to go see many at the theater this summer and Im glad I passed, sure would have been nice to have these HT setups before CGI. The nineties, earlt 2000s were pretty decent.

Ruben - in case you haven't been to the cinemar forums, I did figure out how to get the set aspect ratio commands to work in ML...

I tell you one thing, I thought that after I was done building my theater I would end up using it only once a month if that. Well I was completely wrong, I use it almost every night, I am really loving it!!!

I love having a dedicated theater much much more than having a garage! :D

Ruben

Well, congrats then! That's great that after having it up and running that you don't seem to have any regrets about the loss of the garage!

Impressive project!

Ruben - in case you haven't been to the cinemar forums, I did figure out how to get the set aspect ratio commands to work in ML...


oh, this is great news. Can you shed some light on this for me?

Thanks
Ruben

Say What!

I thought you had given up on that!

Tell me more.

Joe

Everything is working great. I've set up a dedicated server to run Main Lobby Server. Main Lobby pretty much does everything I need it to do (it is a very powerful program). I got TheaterTek on different PCs in my house all comunicating with Main Lobby Server. They all access my 16 terrabyte raid system to play different movies in different rooms. Automation is working great, I still need to get around to getting HomeSeer installed for timer control and remote automation from the cell phone.

My only complaint is that my 7" touchscreen tablet remote is too small for the dvd lobby screen. A 10" touchscreen is the way to go. I'm waiting on those 10" Tabletkiosks to hit the streets.

Ruben

I just wish Hollywood could make the experience worthwhile, I have watched every movie released in the last couple months and I have to say yuck. I was going to go see many at the theater this summer and Im glad I passed, sure would have been nice to have these HT setups before CGI. The nineties, earlt 2000s were pretty decent.

Go get Jackass 2, it is very worthy. Haven't laughed so hard in years.

Ruben

Impressive project!

Thanks!

Ruben

with out being laughed at, how come u went with the curved screen over the flat ?

oh, this is great news. Can you shed some light on this for me?

Thanks
Ruben

Sorry - didn't mean to be cryptic there. I thought maybe you had already figured it out.

The SetAspectRatio command documented in the TT plugin works but you have to give it a relative offset as its argument, not the name of your aspect ratio. For instance, if you have 4 ARs defined in TT as follows:

16x9
4x3
16x9 Pan and Scan
2.35:1

That show in that order in the AR menu, then their relative offsets are 0, 1, 2 and 3 respectively. So, to set the AR in TT to 2.35:1 (your custom AR that does the vertical stretch) you need to send the command:

AV.[yourdevicename]|SetAspectRatio~3

Unfortunately, this means you can't just use the AR field in DVDLobby like you wanted, but you could use another field that you put the offsets in. I know with your library that would be a daunting task, but maybe, since its an Access DB there would be a way to do a quick program that would fill them in automatically. For now, I've just put a button on my DVDLobby interface for each AR (16x9 and 2.35:1) that the wife can hit to adjust it if something is off.

TheaterTek says that they have the functions to query the AR names within their API and I have requested that Cinemar modify the plugin to allow us to send the command with the name instead of offset.

BTW - I've found the TT auto aspect control to work very well. I don't have many movies in my DB yet (about 50) but it seems to recognize and switch properly between the menus and the features such that I get the proper AR for each.

Have been browsing and looking for Sandman's updated picture. You are probably no where close to finish yet. If you have time, can you post up some new pictures for us eager beavers.

TIA

Have been browsing and looking for Sandman's updated picture. You are probably no where close to finish yet. If you have time, can you post up some new pictures for us eager beavers.

TIA

Huh? :confused: I posted pictures about 20 pages back in this thread.

Ruben

Ruben - the following line inserted into a macro in your play command would do what you want with AR, I think:

MLConditional|IsEqual##{{media_os_{{clientname}}_formataspec tratio}}##2.35:1##AV.[aliasname]|SetAspectRatio~4

Replace [aliasname] with the alias for your TT device and the "4" with whatever offset relates to your 2.35 aspect in TT. You might need multiples of this command to check for things like 2.37:1 or 2.40:1.

Yes I have seen those back in early Nov/06. I thought that you may have done more. I am just excited to see more of your handy work, that's all.

Simply wow! Great home theater Sandman. I hope to someday have one as nice as you. When I do it will once and for all make "going to the movies" an obsolete affair for me. I'm sure you said it somewhere in this thread but what did this whole thing end up costing you equipment and building materials and speakers and all? What was the grand total? I'm very interested to know so that I can set aside a budget myself.

What was the grand total? I'm very interested to know so that I can set aside a budget myself.

Although it's great to figure out what the total for Sandman's theater was (back in the thread somewhere....), it should have next to zero bearing on what your budget will be. You should look at your current day-to-day budget and figure out the max you want to spend on a theater.

Also, Sandman did a good majority of the work himself as far as I can tell - contracting out some of this work could add up pretty easily I would imagine. Also, his equipment is more than likely going to be different in price, features and needs than the equipment another person will want/need.

Good point Logic_Bomb, I agree with your points.

Ruben did post costs somewhere in this massive thread and I am not about to try and find it, but it really has no bearing on anyone else's theater build. The biggest reason is because he did more work on his own than most people would ever consider. Not only that, he chose to do more than most would on every aspect of the theater as far as features and little touches. If somebody would get a contractor and tell him to make a theater like Ruben's the contractor would be seeing rolling dollar signs in his eyes as it is a LOT of work that they can charge a premium for.

For anyone to really get an idea of what it would cost for their own theater build, the general things that have to be considered are:
room size ($??)
existing room, new room inside of existing area, new addition ($??)
room style ($??)
acoustic treatments ($0-$15,000)
equipment ($1000-500,000)
furniture ($40-$40,000)
soundproofing? ($0-$10,000)
DIY or contractor ($time-$contractor time)

Each of these requirements have huge differences to each person as well as price tags and is totally dependent on if you install your own equipment, or actually build the theater on your own. I am sure I didn't even get everything there....

I haven't checked on this thread for a while--but I know it is impressive. I have spent about an hour now looking for final pictures and can't seem to find them. Can anyone point me in the right direction. Maybe the right month to look in or something. I mean--this thread is huge.
Thanks

Register here: http://www.smxscreen.com/forum/index.php

This is SandmanX's forum. There is a hidden section that appears when you register that has NOTHING but construction pictures (including the finished ones).

Something I *DO* wish I had were solid raw-material costs. I'm still looking for a house so I don't know what the room I have to work with will look like but I get very nervous with the thought that I might not have the $$ to do what I want for a very long time.

I'm hardly rich (23 year old sales guy...) but I hope that it isn't going to be a 10-year endovor to save up enough cash to turn a basement into a simple theater room with isolation in mind (greenglued drywall, linacoustics, bass traps - simple stuff).

The whole subject of "how much will it cost" is such a slippery sloap that I think my only option will be to look at the room I get to work with and make a lot of calls.

Thanks Logic-bomb. I don't know if I am just blind or what but I still can't find pictures of the completed theater in that forum.

SandManX you meantioned that you were able to source half rounds across the US, but they cost so much to ship it was not worth it. Could you post those links I have not been able to source anything locally, and so far have not found anything on the internet.

Thanks Logic-bomb. I don't know if I am just blind or what but I still can't find pictures of the completed theater in that forum.

I posted the link 2 pages back in this thread when someone else asked. Here it is again
CLICK HERE (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8343261&&#post8343261)

Ruben

Ruben - you might just want to put a link to final pictures in your signature. I have a feeling you are going to get that question a lot due to your thread popularity. ;)

Hey Ruben, great job, makes me want to turf all of the stuff out of my garage and get crackin'!

I was wondering for my SMX install, does this picture you posted show the angle that the screen material is rotated off square?

Al

Hey Ruben, great job, makes me want to turf all of the stuff out of my garage and get crackin'!

I was wondering for my SMX install, does this picture you posted show the angle that the screen material is rotated off square?

Al

I think the general consensus when Ruben had his SmX screen thread ended up being 15 degrees. But you should really test it out in your own environment with your projector.

If you want to get a good flavor for what the 15 degree angle looks like on a full screen take a look at my build thread. I layed out the complete screen and took a picture of it prior to cutting the material.

Joe

I believe rotating is only needed if moire is a problem with your projector. Not sure if the problem it corrects is the moire but I know rotating is not needed in all situations.

I think the general consensus when Ruben had his SmX screen thread ended up being 15 degrees. But you should really test it out in your own environment with your projector.

If you want to get a good flavor for what the 15 degree angle looks like on a full screen take a look at my build thread. I layed out the complete screen and took a picture of it prior to cutting the material.

Joe

Thanks for the link Joe, I am looking at now, still haven't got the the screen part though! :D

I too am looking at the HD81 for my theater, the room is 16x25 feet with an 8 foot ceiling so I should be ok. I just wanted to be sure about the SMX screen material and it's orientation. It's one thing to drape it off a roll but another to try and skell the fabric to see IF it affects the image...

And from Logic_BomB, I know that it may not be required, but since my setup will be very close to Joe's any information is appreciated. I just saw the picture of the speakers behind the screen in Ruben's theater and was curious.

Al

It's one thing to drape it off a roll but another to try and skell the fabric to see IF it affects the image...

Al

Hey Al,

It is easier to tilt the projector!!! :D

Joe

Hey Al,

It is easier to tilt the projector!!! :D

Joe

Hey Joe,

Good news! Flash drive hard drives are around the corner. SanDisk Releases 32GB Flash Drive.

Samsung is releasing the Q1 called the Q1-SSD with the 32 gigabyte Flash Drive. This will eliminate the need for fans and heat and dramatically improve battery life (as you already know).

SanDisk has launched a 32GB solid-state drive using flash memory chips, intended as a replacement for conventional hard disk drives. (http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,128397-c,harddrives/article.html)

Ruben

Here is something else I found interesting, Seagate is working on a 300 terabyte 3.5" hard drive. It is slated to be out by 2010.

Ruben

Just a little update. I mounted lights behind my SmX AT screen to highlight the Klipsch Ultra 2 speakers behind the screen before the movie starts. So basically, as the theater lights dim, the speaker lights behind the SmX screen raise for a few seconds and then dim once the movie starts. It's pretty fricken cool if you ask me :D

Ruben

http://www.smxscreen.com/images/klipsch-smx/IMG_5377.jpg

Rueben,

Absolutely amazing!

I have been watching your build for a while and couldnt wait for the final pics. This is great. When I then heard of how you wanted to light up those speakers behind your screen, I couldnt wait for that either. But then when I saw this picture of those speakers lit....I couldnt help but hear the Song from 2001: A Space Odyssey. (song is called Also Sprach Zarathustra)

You need to add to the timing of your lights dimming to the parts of this famous tune and when the climax hits (in the song), you light those bad boys up behind your screen.

:D

Hey Joe,

Good news! Flash drive hard drives are around the corner. SanDisk Releases 32GB Flash Drive.

Samsung is releasing the Q1 called the Q1-SSD with the 32 gigabyte Flash Drive. This will eliminate the need for fans and heat and dramatically improve battery life (as you already know).

SanDisk has launched a 32GB solid-state drive using flash memory chips, intended as a replacement for conventional hard disk drives. (http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,128397-c,harddrives/article.html)

Ruben

There also releasing a Dock for the new units, thats what the samsung rep told me the other day. There is a 3rd party dock out right now overseas, a friend of mine is getting more info and possibly shipping me one very soon..

Hey Joe,

Good news! Flash drive hard drives are around the corner. SanDisk Releases 32GB Flash Drive.

Samsung is releasing the Q1 called the Q1-SSD with the 32 gigabyte Flash Drive. This will eliminate the need for fans and heat and dramatically improve battery life (as you already know).

SanDisk has launched a 32GB solid-state drive using flash memory chips, intended as a replacement for conventional hard disk drives. (http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,128397-c,harddrives/article.html)

Ruben

Thanks. I had not seen that. And it is something that will be here in 2007.

I had been giving this stuff some thought. For the purposes of a remote control we really only need someting like 8Gb of space. All we really need the space for is MainLobby and the grafic files and the operating system. So 8GB would be more than enough.

You can take any laptop drive and replace it with a flash and and adapter. I have seen them but I have not had the time to do thorough research on them yet.

Woot! today has an interesting device. If the price was a little more reasonable I would probably buy one to play with it.

Joe

Here is something else I found interesting, Seagate is working on a 300 terabyte 3.5" hard drive. It is slated to be out by 2010.

Ruben

That is absolutely amazing. I jsut saw for the first time over the holiday season that Maxtor offers a 1 Tb drive.

Joe

There also releasing a Dock for the new units, thats what the samsung rep told me the other day. There is a 3rd party dock out right now overseas, a friend of mine is getting more info and possibly shipping me one very soon..

What do you mean? A dock for the flash drive? I am confused. :p

Joe

Rueben,

Absolutely amazing!

I have been watching your build for a while and couldnt wait for the final pics. This is great. When I then heard of how you wanted to light up those speakers behind your screen, I couldnt wait for that either. But then when I saw this picture of those speakers lit....I couldnt help but hear the Song from 2001: A Space Odyssey. (song is called Also Sprach Zarathustra)

You need to add to the timing of your lights dimming to the parts of this famous tune and when the climax hits (in the song), you light those bad boys up behind your screen.

:D


Thanks! I temporarly disabled the lighting behind the screen after I rebuilt the curved screen wall. I have to pick up new fixtures and get the lighting back there again.

Ruben

Thanks Al!

Best bet is to temporarly set it up and see if rotation is necessary.
Everyones throw distance, screen size and projector may prove differently.

Ruben

Hey Ruben, great job, makes me want to turf all of the stuff out of my garage and get crackin'!

I was wondering for my SMX install, does this picture you posted show the angle that the screen material is rotated off square?

Al

SandManX you meantioned that you were able to source half rounds across the US, but they cost so much to ship it was not worth it. Could you post those links I have not been able to source anything locally, and so far have not found anything on the internet.

There is a spot in Washington, DC and Long Island NY that carries them. I will try to find them online again.

Ruben

Originally Posted by SandmanX
Just a little update. I mounted lights behind my SmX AT screen to highlight the Klipsch Ultra 2 speakers behind the screen before the movie starts. So basically, as the theater lights dim, the speaker lights behind the SmX screen raise for a few seconds and then dim once the movie starts. It's pretty fricken cool if you ask me


Sandman - Absolutely fricken cool !!!

I am just starting my theater and definately plan on using your SMX screen (now with backlighting). I love your theater an hope I can do half as well. Your pic raises some questions in my mind.

1) I am hoping to use the Klipsch Refrence series which have the copper cones. Is that going to be an issue with reflections behind the screen?
2) I was planning to use 1" 703 FG behind the screen with cut outs for the speakers to make the front wall acoustically dead. It does not look like you did this. Any issues with speakers "sofit mounted" in FG?
3) I have seen threads talking about curving the screen. Did you do this, is it nessasary, how do you do this?
4) Do I need all three speakers behind the SMX or can I put the mains off to the sides (behind GoM)?

Thanks again for sharing your great theater.

Gene

So your looking to do a baffle wall like this?

http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/3/308259.html

I now have enough space behind my screen wall so I will probably do that myself. I'm not sure what Klipsch series your refering to but I have the RF 7 and RC 7 fronts with the RS62 rears they sound really nice.

Gene,

3) Ruben describes the screen curvature in this thread as well as (more easily found) at smxscreen.com.

4) You can put your mains wherever you like, based on your preferences. IIRC, most sound engineers assume the L/R speakers are off the screen, and mix the channels accordingly. However, if they get separated too far, imaging/soundstage may suffer depending on the angle from listening position to the speakers and the speaker characteristics themselves.

sorry for the curve wall question, missed the thread in the excitement over Ruben's backlight pic.

I do see now that Ruben curved his screen both vertically and horizontal. This sounds difficult, so I am leaning towards only horizontal since that appears more common.

Yes, the RF7 and RC7 are part of the Klipsch reference series. I plan on using the newer versions of these fantastic speakers. My question on reflections is not accoustic but optical. The copper cones are kinda shinny and I am worried about the light leakage through the screen lighting them up. Any thoughts?

gene

Ahh that is an easy one then I do not see the cones through the screen at all.

I do see now that Ruben curved his screen both vertically and horizontal. This sounds difficult, so I am leaning towards only horizontal since that appears more common.
gene

Rubem was considering doing a Torus screen, but it was too much work to get it to work correctly, so instead ended up with just a curve in the one plane (I would call it a vertical curve, but that's just me!).

FYI, the Torus screen was talked about quite a bit, but making the screen also acoustically transparent wouldn't work as torus screens have a fan or vacuum to pull the screen tight to get the proper curve and any screen with all those holes to allow the sound to pass through would have been too much work to overcome the holes with any kind of fan or vacuum.

The horizontal axis is curved, Scott.. ;)

In addition to your valid points, the torus would also be one big air filter and perhaps not look the same after quite a bit of usage.

Originally Posted by SandmanX
Just a little update. I mounted lights behind my SmX AT screen to highlight the Klipsch Ultra 2 speakers behind the screen before the movie starts. So basically, as the theater lights dim, the speaker lights behind the SmX screen raise for a few seconds and then dim once the movie starts. It's pretty fricken cool if you ask me

Ruben

Great! :)

I once visited a IMAX Theatre in Europa (think it was Vienna).
They introduced the Soundsystem by highliting each Spekaer with a Spotlight while it was playing a short tune.

CU
Wolf

The curve is because it looks cool, has a benefit of helping with the Isco IIs pin cushion. The Torus was discussed by others I think but Im pretty sure Ruben always planned on Audio Transparent Screen about the second he discovered the Dalite moired a year ago. Once he found products close to Vutecs soundscreen, he knew what direction he was headed. The curve is purely coolness factor, Id be suprised to hear any different, I was excited as he started finding better and better materials because a curved screen became do-able almost instantly even though my curve is going to be ever so slight as compared to 9"-12" across 12' widths.

Curved screens just plain look great when nothings being projected. Another added bonus is having speakers equal distance from screen and closer to proper position without EQing, following HAAs advice that is.

That is absolutely amazing. I jsut saw for the first time over the holiday season that Maxtor offers a 1 Tb drive.

Joe

Hitachi will soon have these available:


"Hitachi Global Storage Technologies on Jan. 5 unveiled what it says is the industry's first 1TB hard drive.

The Deskstar 7K1000 offers users a high storage capacity that allows them to store their games, home movies, photos and music while also providing them with increased drive protection via a ramp load design that decreases the risk of shock damage, company officials said.

In the 51st year, Hitachi is leading a new era for hard drives—not only providing large amounts of affordable storage, but also customizing and optimizing hard drives to deliver products that are smarter, more durable and more useful to the consumer," Shinjiro Iwata, chief marketing officer of Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, said in a statement.

To go along with the Deskstar 7K1000, Hitachi will also launch a CinemaStar version 1TB hard drive, which will provide users with a way to store more data on their digital video recorders, company officials said. The CinemaStar 7K1000 will also be able to retrieve up to 250 hours of high-definition programming, according to the company.

The Deskstar 7K1000 will be available in the first quarter of 2007 at 750GB and 1TB capacities, with the 1TB drive priced at $399. The CinemaStar 1TB will be available in the second quarter of 2007; pricing information has not yet been released.

If anyone here does professional website design, please PM me.

Thanks
Ruben

SandmanX.

Do you still have the contact info for the person you got the metal grill material from? I looked through the thread and couldn't find it. Tried a search on ebay, found one guy selling chunks of it but he won't respond to my emails.

thanks
timbre

Originally Posted by SandmanX
Just a little update. I mounted lights behind my SmX AT screen to highlight the Klipsch Ultra 2 speakers behind the screen before the movie starts. So basically, as the theater lights dim, the speaker lights behind the SmX screen raise for a few seconds and then dim once the movie starts. It's pretty fricken cool if you ask me


Sandman - Absolutely fricken cool !!!

I am just starting my theater and definately plan on using your SMX screen (now with backlighting). I love your theater an hope I can do half as well. Your pic raises some questions in my mind.

1) I am hoping to use the Klipsch Refrence series which have the copper cones. Is that going to be an issue with reflections behind the screen?
2) I was planning to use 1" 703 FG behind the screen with cut outs for the speakers to make the front wall acoustically dead. It does not look like you did this. Any issues with speakers "sofit mounted" in FG?
3) I have seen threads talking about curving the screen. Did you do this, is it nessasary, how do you do this?
4) Do I need all three speakers behind the SMX or can I put the mains off to the sides (behind GoM)?

Thanks again for sharing your great theater.

Gene

The Klipsch Ref series speakers will work behind an SMX screen...but you'll need to do a blackout cloth (speaker grille cloth) or leave the factory grilles on. I recently did a theater for a local client who has a Dazian Screen (yes...an SMX screen update is in his future) and we did a trio of RB-81's behind the screen in a small theater room (which ended up sounding really good). Without the grilles, the cones were obvious so we ended up using the factory grilles and lining the entire rear wall with Linacoustic. The THX Ultra 2 sats have flat black cones and are pretty non reflective so they work well behind an SMX screen without grilles as long as everything behind is black.

I 'm not sure I'd do a baffle wall with Reference speakers. The THX Ultra 2's I sold Rubin (SandmanX) are acoustically designed for this type of mounting and will work well. It extends their frequency response downwards (now you just KNOW Rubin is going to be running out to Home Depot tomorrow for some MDF :D ).
Ref series speakers, on the otherhand, may end up getting pretty thumpy if you baffle mount them. They are designed for free air mounting. You can give it a shot to see what the results will be. Either that or call me and get a system like Rubin has :D

How does a baffle wall work differently to having in-wall speakers behind the screen? How is it constructed?

TIA

Gary

Take a piece of plywood build supports so you can put a slight curve on it. Cut out openings about 1/2 larger than your speakers. Cover the front of the baffle wall with lin acoustic. Place speakers flush with the opening face.

Baffle walls get rid of cabinet effects.

The Klipsch Ref series speakers will work behind an SMX screen...but you'll need to do a blackout cloth (speaker grille cloth) or leave the factory grilles on. I recently did a theater for a local client who has a Dazian Screen (yes...an SMX screen update is in his future) and we did a trio of RB-81's behind the screen in a small theater room (which ended up sounding really good). Without the grilles, the cones were obvious so we ended up using the factory grilles and lining the entire rear wall with Linacoustic. The THX Ultra 2 sats have flat black cones and are pretty non reflective so they work well behind an SMX screen without grilles as long as everything behind is black.

I 'm not sure I'd do a baffle wall with Reference speakers. The THX Ultra 2's I sold Rubin (SandmanX) are acoustically designed for this type of mounting and will work well. It extends their frequency response downwards (now you just KNOW Rubin is going to be running out to Home Depot tomorrow for some MDF :D ).
Ref series speakers, on the otherhand, may end up getting pretty thumpy if you baffle mount them. They are designed for free air mounting. You can give it a shot to see what the results will be. Either that or call me and get a system like Rubin has :D


Wow that is strange I have Klipsch RF-7's and RC-7 I can't see them throught the screen at all.

Take a piece of plywood build supports so you can put a slight curve on it. Cut out openings about 1/2 larger than your speakers. Cover the front of the baffle wall with lin acoustic. Place speakers flush with the opening face.

Baffle walls get rid of cabinet effects.

Thanks Don,

much appreciated. I assume the curve is to match the screen, and a flat screen would have a flat baffle wall.

Gary.

I have a flat screen I was directed to create a slightly curved wall behind it. It think helps with imaging. I do not believe the shape of the screen has anything to do with the shape of the baffle.

I have a flat screen I was directed to create a slightly curved wall behind it. Concave or convex? One large wall or mini-walls for each LCR?

I assume a single concave baffle wall - that way the LR speakers are being toed in towards the center viewing position in a domestic set up.

THX show one here for a commercial theater:

http://www.thx.com/cinema/builtTHX/baffle.html

Gary

Wow that is strange I have Klipsch RF-7's and RC-7 I can't see them throught the screen at all.

Probably depends on the setup. We had the speakers up a bit higher and we could see the copper cones thru the screen without the grilles. It is easy enough to pull the screen and pop the grilles back on if you see them.

Also, you will note the THX baffle wall picture shows part of the reason to use it is to damp reflections off the screen. A baffle wall with Linacoustic will help to absorb those reflections...but this isn't as much of a problem with a woven screen like an SMX, Dazian or Screen Research screen. The real reason I would do it is to extend the frequency response of the LFE speakers downward...but that may NOT be a good thing.

If you have a room that is peaky down lower and you've already had to do a lot of treatment and/or EQ to smooth the response...using a baffle wall may exacerbate the problems with more output and deeper response on your mains. You need to know the combined front channel/LFE response and your room before you add plywood. If you have a 10 DB peak at 40 hz you are already knocking down on the LFE channel and your mains are pretty rolled off by 50hz...extending them so they are flat to 40 may not be the best idea. I do a combined main/lfe response when I EQ the LFE to take their output into account. On the other hand...if you have a 10 DB dip at 40 you've been frustrated with...then grab yourself some materials!

Concave as stated the speakers point in a bit.

I assume a single concave baffle wall - that way the LR speakers are being toed in towards the center viewing position in a domestic set up.

THX show one here for a commercial theater:

http://www.thx.com/cinema/builtTHX/baffle.html

Gary

Interesting consideration, I will have to remember this when placing my speakers behind the screen...

Thanks for posting the link.

You're welcome Al,

My thanks to Don for bringing it and the link to the thread when he did - the Tom Holman movies are an excellent read and very interesting (well, to me anyway :) ).

I've not really thought about AT screens, but if my next theater has the room for one, I'll try to copy the THX layout. Anyone know what the material is that you place on the baffle wall (or is it in the thread and I've missed it)?

Gary

ALL I CAN SAY IS WOW

i am prolly one of the only people on AVS that has gone to rubens theater, the room
Is amazing, the sound is awesome, the experience of the sound, the screen and the
Craftmanship of everything is TOP TOP notch, I only wish my theater can turn out like this (hopefully it will with rubens help). I am glad that I picked up the same amps and speakers and subs as ruben, because his system is banging. It sounds like you’re in the movie. Even though he really only demo'd Aeon Flux for me, it still was amazing to hear the audio and the SMX screen looks awesome, cant wait for mine to come in

I don't recall where I read it, but an article recommended that speakers (behind the screen) perform better if they are at least 12" behind the screen.
So, I e-mailed Michael Colter at Klipsch for their recommendation on how far back from the screen to mount the speakers. To which he replied, "I would think a couple of inches... THX speakers move some serious air. Personally, I wouldn't use them behind the screen."
I thought, tell that to Ruben. ;)

As far as building a "baffle wall" for a small home theater... why???
I thought that was the idea of using linacoustic on the speaker wall. Plus, with all the air that a good speaker moves, doesn't it need all the air it can get?

Boca Pimp,
That's great to hear.


Winkelmann

P.S. I listened to the Klipsch THX Subs and was very pleased with the bass they produced. They were not only smooth, but I had to ask my friend if he had shakers in his riser; which is separated by a carpet over concrete floor.

Reuben:

Fantastic work, I'll be calling you for a screen when the time comes.

I don't think you answered how you did the curved top and sole plate framing for your screen a few pages back..... How did you bend those 2x4's into shape???

Reuben:

Fantastic work, I'll be calling you for a screen when the time comes.

I don't think you answered how you did the curved top and sole plate framing for your screen a few pages back..... How did you bend those 2x4's into shape???

Thanks! We just cut some curves out of 3/4" MDF and doubled them up to get 1.5"

Sorry I been busy building a mini anechoic chamber to do some preliminary testing of materials.

http://www.smxscreen.com/images/anechoic-chamber/IMG_6799.jpg

http://www.smxscreen.com/images/anechoic-chamber/IMG_6782.jpg

http://www.smxscreen.com/images/anechoic-chamber/IMG_6785.jpg

http://www.smxscreen.com/images/anechoic-chamber/IMG_6789.jpg

http://www.smxscreen.com/images/anechoic-chamber/IMG_6791.jpg

So hows it test? And are you testing what I think your testing?

Ruben,
Now you've got us drooling. :D

Is February still on for frames? I'm getting close to closing up the walls, then onto the screen wall.

Ruben,

This device might be our answer to the saga of finding an acceptable theater remote that will work with main Loby.

Athena (http://www.moblog.com.sg/blogger/blog.asp?uid=9EE074BC-52FE-4324-AA18-858EA08A6A06&bid=8B3822F0-1354-4C61-B98A-B41518E33364)

Joe

Ruben,

This device might be our answer to the saga of finding an acceptable theater remote that will work with main Loby.

Athena (http://www.moblog.com.sg/blogger/blog.asp?uid=9EE074BC-52FE-4324-AA18-858EA08A6A06&bid=8B3822F0-1354-4C61-B98A-B41518E33364)

Joe

Nice find, but the screen is way too small at 5". I am waiting for some 10" screens.

Hey Joe, I was looking back at the SmX shipping history and you are officially the first SmX Screen owner besides myself. :)

Ruben

Hey Joe, I was looking back at the SmX shipping history and you are officially the first SmX Screen owner besides myself. :)

Ruben

That's really cool!!! Do I get a gold plaque at your new SmX corporate headquarters? :) CUSTOMER #1!!!! WHOOHOO!!!!

Other than folks that were directcly connected with Optoma I was also the first one to get the new HD81 when it came on the market. :)

I gotta tell ya Ruben, I absolutely LOVE the screen. I am so grateful to you for doing that up front legwork and creating this stuff. Maybe when you get your new audio invisible screen I can be the first there too?

Joe

PS Thanks too for the stage design too ;)

Hey Ruben,

I did a couple searches of this thread and couldn't figure out what distance you ultimately decided to place your rear row of seats from the back wall.

What did the distance end up being and from your experience (or likely your friends, since I know you've said you love the front row) were you happy with the rear channels in combination with the 075 chair height/headrest?

If there is anyone in south Florida that does audio calibrating / room EQing, please PM me.

Thanks
Ruben

Ruben,

Did you install an Elk-M1? If so, what brand of wireless sensors did you use? I am having a little difficulty soring through the different possibilities.

Thanks

Joe

Ruben,

Did you install an Elk-M1? If so, what brand of wireless sensors did you use? I am having a little difficulty soring through the different possibilities.

Thanks

Joe

Give me a call. I'll PM my # to you again.

That's really cool!!! Do I get a gold plaque at your new SmX corporate headquarters? :) CUSTOMER #1!!!! WHOOHOO!!!! ;)

I already have your picture on the wall next to our first dollar bill :D

Ruben

Hey Ruben, have been sitting for days reading this thread from front to back (well, I may have skipped a few pages)...cannot find details on doing your starfield ceiling. Everyone refers to your instructions as the best on AVS and yet I can't find them. Saw the finished product (AWESOME) and would love to see how you orchestrated it. Can you or someone direct me to the page?
Thanks!
Liza

Hey Ruben, have been sitting for days reading this thread from front to back (well, I may have skipped a few pages)...cannot find details on doing your starfield ceiling. Everyone refers to your instructions as the best on AVS and yet I can't find them. Saw the finished product (AWESOME) and would love to see how you orchestrated it. Can you or someone direct me to the page?
Thanks!
Liza

I have organized step by step details on the SmX forum. Just go to www.smxscreen.com and register and you will see my organized construction thread.

Ruben

Went over to SmX and did several searches, came up empty handed with the search for starfield instructions...what am I missing?!

Went over to SmX and did several searches, came up empty handed with the search for starfield instructions...what am I missing?!
Make sure you are logged into his site and go here. (http://www.smxscreen.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26)

Went over to SmX and did several searches, came up empty handed with the search for starfield instructions...what am I missing?!

Here is a direct link to the thread...
http://www.smxscreen.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26

Make sure you are logged into his site and go here. (http://www.smxscreen.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26)

You beat me to the punch :)

Hey Ruben..

While we're speaking about the star ceiling -- I did have a question. I know you made some of the star panels out of OC703 vs. the masonite (in order to handle your 1st ceiling sound reflections). Did you build a frame and put the insulation inside that? If so, was there a small lip on the side to hold the edges of the insulation or did the black GOM have enough strength to hold the piece of insulation without a pucker?

My concern is if I do have a lip, there will be a 1/4" gap between the GOM and the insulation. I was worried this might produce a brighter light since the strand will have to travel an extra 1/4" behind the GOM before it pokes out the other side of the GOM. This may not matter but wanted to ask.

Hope that makes sense.

Thanks Steve & Ruben...finally! I've been impatiently trying to find it for a few days!

If you don't mind me asking you Ruben, how much did it cost (approximately), including boards, GOM, light kit, fibers, shooting stars etc.?

I've found someone who is fairly reasonable to make/ship from FL (since Numinous out of CA who is RIDICULOUSLY expensive), was wondering how DIY chaulked up price wise?

How long would you say it took you from start to finish? We were thinking it would be a weekend job if my hubby and I did it ourselves? Realistic expectations or dreaming?

Thanks :)

Hi Ruben,

As has been said many times in this thread, your theater is absolutely stunning. I have a few very quick questions on your light trays / veneering for you if you don't mind:

1. Did you round off the bottom of your light tray with a router before wrapping your veneer? If so what kind of radius did you use?
2. Any reason why you didn't apply the veneer to the light tray first then put it up?
3. How far does your light tray "lip" stick out from the side of your soffit?
4. Do you recall the name of the glue you used to "blend" the veneer joints?

As you may have guessed I'm doing something similar. Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery ;)

EDIT: Forgot to add that my screen is an SMX. Can't wait to put that baby into action :)

Thanks!
Craig.

Hey Ruben..

While we're speaking about the star ceiling -- I did have a question. I know you made some of the star panels out of OC703 vs. the masonite (in order to handle your 1st ceiling sound reflections). Did you build a frame and put the insulation inside that? If so, was there a small lip on the side to hold the edges of the insulation or did the black GOM have enough strength to hold the piece of insulation without a pucker?

My concern is if I do have a lip, there will be a 1/4" gap between the GOM and the insulation. I was worried this might produce a brighter light since the strand will have to travel an extra 1/4" behind the GOM before it pokes out the other side of the GOM. This may not matter but wanted to ask.

Hope that makes sense.

Just paint the 1/4" of the fibre. :)

Hi Ruben,

As has been said many times in this thread, your theater is absolutely stunning. I have a few very quick questions on your light trays / veneering for you if you don't mind:

1. Did you round off the bottom of your light tray with a router before wrapping your veneer? If so what kind of radius did you use?
2. Any reason why you didn't apply the veneer to the light tray first then put it up?
3. How far does your light tray "lip" stick out from the side of your soffit?
4. Do you recall the name of the glue you used to "blend" the veneer joints?

As you may have guessed I'm doing something similar. Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery ;)

EDIT: Forgot to add that my screen is an SMX. Can't wait to put that baby into action :)

Thanks!
Craig.

Thanks! Here are the answers..

1. Did you round off the bottom of your light tray with a router before wrapping your veneer? If so what kind of radius did you use?

Yes, it was a small radius maybe 1/8" - 1/4" round cant remember.

2. Any reason why you didn't apply the veneer to the light tray first then put it up?

Seams. It is easier to line up the seams of the veneer on something in place opposed to trying to lining up seams on big heavy light trays already veneered. Plus there is no easy way to hide the screws after its veneered.

3. How far does your light tray "lip" stick out from the side of your soffit?

8 inches

4. Do you recall the name of the glue you used to "blend" the veneer joints?

IIRC, I posted a picture of it in this thread somewhere I believe. You can call Constantine wood in Pompono Beach, FL and ask them who makes the Veneer seam filling glue.

Ruben

Hey Ruben..

While we're speaking about the star ceiling -- I did have a question. I know you made some of the star panels out of OC703 vs. the masonite (in order to handle your 1st ceiling sound reflections). Did you build a frame and put the insulation inside that? If so, was there a small lip on the side to hold the edges of the insulation or did the black GOM have enough strength to hold the piece of insulation without a pucker?

My concern is if I do have a lip, there will be a 1/4" gap between the GOM and the insulation. I was worried this might produce a brighter light since the strand will have to travel an extra 1/4" behind the GOM before it pokes out the other side of the GOM. This may not matter but wanted to ask.

Hope that makes sense.

We framed it out and then put the 703 in place with a wood backing on the 703 as a spacer to be flush with the frame. There was a very small gap between the GoM and the 703 but not enough to cause any problems. The fibers I used were end glow only so you don't really see any light from the sides especially inside the GoM.

Ruben

Seams. It is easier to line up the seams of the veneer on something in place opposed to trying to lining up seams on big heavy light trays already veneered. Plus there is no easy way to hide the screws after its veneered.Thanks Ruben, that's helpful. Any tricks/tips you can share on veneering the trays? I'm doing this myself so I'm a little nervous about trying to handle an 8' long piece of veneer and getting everything line up just right. The other thing I'm trying to figure out is how to do the corners with a nice seam....

Craig

Thanks Ruben, that's helpful. Any tricks/tips you can share on veneering the trays? I'm doing this myself so I'm a little nervous about trying to handle an 8' long piece of veneer and getting everything line up just right. The other thing I'm trying to figure out is how to do the corners with a nice seam....

Craig

Did you read my Veneer thread at the SmX forums?

Ruben

Did you read my Veneer thread at the SmX forums?

RubenI did, yes. The part I was wondering about though is how you managed to get the veneer placement right when doing it alone? Did you clamp it onto the tray with paper between the contact cement first? A small piece i think would be reasonably straightforward - its just dealing with an 8' long chunk that I"m a bit concerned about. I'm reasonably confident with most DIY things but this will be my first veneer job so I'm a little paranoid about making a mistake. Most mistakes are fixable but veneer is a different story (as I'm sure you well know). And I hate the thoughts of having to tear down that light tray...

I did, yes. The part I was wondering about though is how you managed to get the veneer placement right when doing it alone? Did you clamp it onto the tray with paper between the contact cement first? A small piece i think would be reasonably straightforward - its just dealing with an 8' long chunk that I"m a bit concerned about. I'm reasonably confident with most DIY things but this will be my first veneer job so I'm a little paranoid about making a mistake. Most mistakes are fixable but veneer is a different story (as I'm sure you well know). And I hate the thoughts of having to tear down that light tray...
You might also check with ronnie_jackson (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7746261&&#post7746261). He veneered his light trays after they were installed in the room. I remember him saying it was a PITA but was very happy with the results.

Although I used hardwood instead of veneering I am glad that I put the trays together prior to mounting them. Take a look at my thread (in my sig) to see how we mounted them. I think you can use the same method for the veneered ones. That way you can veneer them on the floor and mount them when complete.

Joe

Although I used hardwood instead of veneering I am glad that I put the trays together prior to mounting them. Take a look at my thread (in my sig) to see how we mounted them. I think you can use the same method for the veneered ones. That way you can veneer them on the floor and mount them when complete.

Joe

Hey Joe,

I noticed you used a touchscreen for your rack. I am looking for one too like maybe a 12" or 15" I can mount on my wall. Any reccomendations? I see some on eBay and didn't know if they were any good.

Thanks
Ruben

I have a 15" ELO touchscreen that I use in the entry/lobby of my theater that I use. I am VERY happy with it. It's the intellitouch version, that works with a finger vs. fingernail or stylus, which I think is key. I'll see if I can post a few pics. It was very reasonable price-wise as well.

I just ordered a Lilliput 10.4" off of eBay to replace my progear (too slow running DVDLobby). I'll let you know how it turns out. I hope to receive it today or tomorrow.

I have a 15" ELO touchscreen that I use in the entry/lobby of my theater that I use. I am VERY happy with it. It's the intellitouch version, that works with a finger vs. fingernail or stylus, which I think is key. I'll see if I can post a few pics. It was very reasonable price-wise as well.


I am using the same thing in my theater. Works well for xlobby. I also made a run for one next to my seat.

You might also check with ronnie_jackson (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7746261&&#post7746261). He veneered his light trays after they were installed in the room. I remember him saying it was a PITA but was very happy with the results.Thanks Steve! And thank you Ronnie! This is EXACTLY what I was after.

Although I used hardwood instead of veneering I am glad that I put the trays together prior to mounting them. Take a look at my thread (in my sig) to see how we mounted them. I think you can use the same method for the veneered ones. That way you can veneer them on the floor and mount them when complete.

JoeThanks Joe - but too late, they're already up ;)

A few touchscreen pics

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/180/389377618_9fba031134_b_d.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/159/389375296_8152631122_b_d.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/164/389377622_f058e5f137_b_d.jpg

I have a 15" ELO touchscreen that I use in the entry/lobby of my theater that I use. I am VERY happy with it. It's the intellitouch version, that works with a finger vs. fingernail or stylus, which I think is key. I'll see if I can post a few pics. It was very reasonable price-wise as well.

When you Said ELO 15" Touchscreen, I did a search and came up with some huge CRT monitors :D

Please post the model # if you could, I like those.

Thanks
Ruben

ELO TouchScreens (http://www.elotouch.com/Products/default.asp)

http://www.ratemytheater.com/pics/zxlr8ANE7F.jpg

Pics of mine.

Barhoram, are you running Girder with mainlobby or xlobby? I am thinking about integrating girder into my setup...

THanks Guys, great pictures!

I want to get the ELO, where do I get them at a good price?

Thanks
Ruben

I have bought them for my company directly from ELO in the past, but I don't know if they still do that. ....

Nope.

Call Elo at 1-800-557-1458 (choose option 2) for product assistance and to be connected with your local value-added reseller.


The last two I got from eBay were crap !!

I actually bought mine refurb'd from surpluscomputers.com. They are out of stock right now though. I paid $159 shipped.

Ruben,

Do an ebay search for "elo touch". A 1525L is similar to the model I got. If you are going to wall mount it, then it will be pretty much the same (as mine has a short base that I thought looked closer to a Crestron type touchscreen...1529L). I see a New in box 18" Intellitouch for 18" for $359. You can remove the stands on just about all of the LCD's for wall mounting.

Barhoram, are you running Girder with mainlobby or xlobby? I am thinking about integrating girder into my setup...

I do use Girder for all of the control, with Netremote as the front end. Girder sits on a laptop pc in the equipment room and controlls all of the components via serial (except the HD-Tivo which is IR) and lighting. Netremote talks to girder from the PC in my den, touchscreen in the lobby, and from my pocketpc (the seats). I did try Mainlobby, but I like Netremote because it comes with the ability to control Media Center PC's over TCPIP built in, and works well with a pocketpc.

Xlobby is working well for me in controlling via the pocketpc from anywhere in the house. I am considering adding girder to make it a lot more wife-friendly than the Harmony 880. How much did your implementaion software cost? I am seriously considering your way if you really like it and it works well. Xlobby integrates with girder just fine, but it's control and display of outside components may need more customization fthan what I have time for.

Now when you say it is controlling everything except for your HDtivo, how is that possible? Wouldn;t you just run an infrared to all?

Don't want to take Sandman's thread too far off topic, so I'll be quick.

I believe Girder is $49.99.

As for the control of the other HT components, I'm using serial (hard wired) control instead of IR. My projector, preamp, dvd player, amp for bass shakers, and lighting system can all be controlled via a computer's rs-232 port with girder. Unfortunately the HD-Tivo does not have an rs-232 port on it for control, so IR must be used. However, the IR commands were learned into and are contrlled from girder as well.

What do you need to wire the touch screen up? a cat5e wire and an outlet?

Does anyone have a link for the pics and construction of Sandman's curved DIY screen?

Does anyone have a link for the pics and construction of Sandman's curved DIY screen?

Go to www.smxscreen.com

Joe

Just FYI - I got my Lilliput screen installed. Its not the absolute best quality screen I've seen but it works well as my main DVDLobby machine. Only 800x600 where the progear is 1024x768 but that doesn't make much difference for this application (big touch buttons). Its much faster than the progear and the touch screen reacts better without a stylus too. I'm happy for the price I paid (<$300).

I'm sure the ELO screens are a little better but 15" is too big for what I want and 8" is too small. This 10.4 was the perfect size.

Just FYI - I got my Lilliput screen installed. Its not the absolute best quality screen I've seen but it works well as my main DVDLobby machine. Only 800x600 where the progear is 1024x768 but that doesn't make much difference for this application (big touch buttons). Its much faster than the progear and the touch screen reacts better without a stylus too. I'm happy for the price I paid (<$300).

I'm sure the ELO screens are a little better but 15" is too big for what I want and 8" is too small. This 10.4 was the perfect size.

Any pics of the installation?

Joe

Just FYI - I got my Lilliput screen installed. Its not the absolute best quality screen I've seen but it works well as my main DVDLobby machine. Only 800x600 where the progear is 1024x768 but that doesn't make much difference for this application (big touch buttons). Its much faster than the progear and the touch screen reacts better without a stylus too. I'm happy for the price I paid (<$300).

I'm sure the ELO screens are a little better but 15" is too big for what I want and 8" is too small. This 10.4 was the perfect size.

Elo makes a real nice 12" low profile screen I am considering getting a few of. Are you just using your lili for dvd lobby only?

Ruben

Yes, DVDLobby only at this point. It is installed in my rack just for the purpose of selecting a movie (oops, those wires and things are not visible in real life - hate the flash...).

http://www.reedsplace.com/Theater/lilliput.jpg

And here is a better look at my DVDLobby interface:

http://www.reedsplace.com/Theater/newtouchdesign.jpg

Nice Job ebr, I'm hoping Mario updates DVD Lobby so we can have more editing options like more movie covers displayed and default last movies added to library. I would love a set up like Kaliedescapes movie covers layout and how you select a movie and it brings up other movies you may like based on what you selected.

I got a new 15" inwall touchscreen on ebay for $195.00 made by IIYAMA. It retails for around $900.00

Ruben

I very much agree, Ruben. DVDL really needs more filtering/sorting options that work in a thumbnail view. The ability to customize how the thumbs show would be great too. It is a cool tool for the money, however.

You can see I covered up all the buttons that allow you to change out of the thumbnail view because I think that is the best way to interact with it - we just need to be able to filter and sort in that view. For the time being, all I really miss is the ability to see the overview but I didn't like the thumbs switching in and out for that so I changed the behaviour of my setup such that touching the big cover art brings up an overview scene instead of playing the movie (which I don't think is very intuitive). Here's my overview scene that comes up when you touch the big cover:

http://www.reedsplace.com/Theater/newoverview.jpg

Wow, that's a great price on a touchscreen. Be sure and let us know how you like it.

Looks good ebr, I'm going to go start a new thread in cinemar with a dvd lobby wants list, hopefully you will come over and chime in.

Ruben

Those look amazing. How do they work?? Media PC with dvds ripped?? I think i may have to add one to my system..hahah

Ryan

Those look amazing. How do they work?? Media PC with dvds ripped?? I think i may have to add one to my system..hahah

Ryan
Yeah. I would like some info on how to set one of these up! Good job!

Yeah. I would like some info on how to set one of these up! Good job!

www.cinemaronline.com

Thanks.

ebr,

Awesome! Would you be willing to share your .MLS file?

Thanks

Joe

I can't take much credit for the design as I'm just putting together elements that Mario and his guys have created. They produce some top-notch graphics with which to work.

Joe - I'll share. There's really not much to it. PM me someplace to send it.

Sandman,

I'm trying to sign up to view your SMX forums but on the registration page the Image Verification image is not showing up. Am I doing something wrong.

Thanks

I absolutely learned a lot from your work, all of your posts were excellent, thanks for taking the time and doing the write ups with all of the information. Your theater is amazing, :)

- julian

Sandman,

I'm trying to sign up to view your SMX forums but on the registration page the Image Verification image is not showing up. Am I doing something wrong.

Thanks

Sorry about that, try now.

Ruben

I absolutely learned a lot from your work, all of your posts were excellent, thanks for taking the time and doing the write ups with all of the information. Your theater is amazing, :)

- julian

Thank you. I have to thank everyone on AVS that guided and inspired me through my build.

Ruben

ebr,

Awesome! Would you be willing to share your .MLS file?

Thanks

Joe


It looks like AnyDVD now Rips HD DVD's has anyone tried this?

Ruben

ebr,

Awesome! Would you be willing to share your .MLS file?

Thanks

Joe


It looks like AnyDVD now Rips HD DVD's and soon Blu-Ray has anyone tried this?

"Slysoft recently released a Beta (version 6.1.2.0) of its AnyDVD application, which will remove copy protection and regional codes (what they call “on the fly remastering”) for HD-DVD and AACS. In our full review of Anydvd we already touted its discretion and simplicity, and enjoyed how you can “watch the DVD at the same time” as it is being ripped by the program. No doubt this Beta will attract the interest of avid DVD users, however they’ll have to make sure they’re machines are up to the task. On the Slysoft forum there’s a thread on what hardware is recommended to play back your ripped HD DVDs.

Even though the announcement was widely relayed over the Internet it hasn’t spawned much controversy. Toshiba has kept quiet over the release of the AnyDVD Beta, which will rip its very own HD DVDs. It is widely expected that once AnyDVD comes out of Beta it will also be able to rip Blu Ray DVDs too. We’ll see then if the news sparks more controversy in the DVD world."

Ruben

Talk about needing a lot of storage... 25-30gb per movie. Wow.

For that reason I'm not as concerned about ripping but I do wish TT would at least pretend they are going to add support for HD-DVD playback. From what I've read of PowerDVD - it is not ready for prime time.

It looks like AnyDVD now Rips HD DVD's has anyone tried this?

Ruben

Yup, been there. Done that. Old stuff now ;)

Seriously, it works great!!! And the HD-DVD drive only costs $199 and you get King Kong 1080p with it.

PM me or call me if you want details.

Joe

Yup, been there. Done that. Old stuff now ;)

Seriously, it works great!!! And the HD-DVD drive only costs $199 and you get King Kong 1080p with it.

PM me or call me if you want details.

Joe

How big of a file does it really output? A full 20 - 30 Gigs? I have an X-Box 360 HD-DVD player already. I guess it's USB but it can't be as simple as hooking it up to your HTPC via USB and ripping, or can it?

Ruben

What do you play it back with, Joe? And, can it scale...?

How big of a file does it really output? A full 20 - 30 Gigs? I have an X-Box 360 HD-DVD player already. I guess it's USB but it can't be as simple as hooking it up to your HTPC via USB and ripping, or can it?

Ruben

Oh yes it can baby!!! :)

King Kong took 27.5GB

Joe

What do you play it back with, Joe? And, can it scale...?

I am using PowerDVD to play it back.

I don't understand the scaling question.

Joe

I am using PowerDVD to play it back.

I don't understand the scaling question.

Joe

I need the software to do a vertical stretch of the 2.35 image so my lens can then stretch it horizontally to fill my screen.

I need the software to do a vertical stretch of the 2.35 image so my lens can then stretch it horizontally to fill my screen.

I see. Sorry. I don't know if it will do that.

Joe

Great DIY thread! I just spent 4 hours reading through it.

Sandman.... your HT is worth more than my entire house. =)

Great DIY thread! I just spent 4 hours reading through it.

Sandman.... your HT is worth more than my entire house. =)

If you read this whole thing in just 4 hours you must have jjust been looking at pictures ;)

Joe

If you read this whole thing in just 4 hours you must have jjust been looking at pictures ;)

Joe
from pages 67 to 103

Welcome to the forum, Ruzzty! I've never met an Evelyn Wood graduate :p

Just kidding. We're a sarcastic bunch at times but it's in good fun :)

from pages 67 to 103

Hey Ruben,

I think someone found Mark in a dingly old attic and they must have dusted him off.

Welcome back buddy!!!

Joe

If you read this whole thing in just 4 hours you must have jjust been looking at pictures ;)

Joe

You guys are too smart! ok, I read the first 20 pages, THEN I skipped over a few to pictures. But its just amazing that he spent over a year building this HT. This is one hobby I could enjoy once I buy my first house. One day soon!

You guys are too smart! ok, I ready the first 20 pages, THEN I skipped over a few to pictures. But its just amazing that he spent over a year building this HT. This is one hobby I could enjoy once I buy my first house. One day soon!

Thanks for the kind commets. It took a while building my own theater because I worked on it whenever I had free time.

Right now we a building a theater for Boca Pimp here on AVS and it took about 3 weeks (including demolition) from start to finish for his which is very similar to mine. We should be done with his this Thursday-Friday.

Ruben

Ruben,

If I remember correctly you used the fiberboard panels for the front of your ceiling. How about covering those with the velvet? Would that be really difficult? I was thinking of doing the starred ceiling with all velvet covered fiberboard. Thoughts?

Joe

Ruben,

If I remember correctly you used the fiberboard panels for the front of your ceiling. How about covering those with the velvet? Would that be really difficult? I was thinking of doing the starred ceiling with all velvet covered fiberboard. Thoughts?

Joe

If you use that OC 703 on your whole ceiling it is going to deaden your whole ceiling which may not sound too good. Plus it is a huge PITA to feed the fibers through it.

Ruben

Ruben,
I keep checking the SMX site for the big February announcement, any news?

Winkelmann

No Reply? March it is then! :rolleyes:

Sorry Ruben,

I cannot locate the info on the carpet.

Joe

No Reply? March it is then! :rolleyes:

Sorry for the delay in responding to this thread.
I been posting constant daily updates on the SmX forums. Please PM me if you are particularly looking for something.

Ruben

Well Last Night I let the PC Idle all night with no Air Conditioning on in our house to see if anything Wierd would happened and the Tempature remained stable. It is running at 29 Celcius / 89 Degrees which is below what normal is. The Normal idle Tempature for an AMD chip is 45 - 50 Celcius. So I think we got ourself a winner.

BigMouthInDC wanted a Breakdown of where I bought everything and What it cost so here it is...

This is a List of what I ordered...

I got the Following stuff from www.eWiz.com

Video Card
EVGA nVidia GeForce 7800GTX 256MB 2DVI/HDTV PCI-Express Video Card
Part # EV-7800GTX
Price: $467.50

CPU
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor 4400+* (2.2GHz) Retail
Part # A64-44CDBX
Price: $498.52

Hard Drive
Seagate ST3400832AS 400GB Serial ATA 7200rpm NCQ Hard Drive
Part # HD-ST400BS
Price: $219.39

Hard Drive
Seagate ST380817AS 80GB Serial ATA 7200rpm NCQ Hard Drive
Part # HD-ST80SB7
Price: $59.48

Memory/Ram
2 DDR400 1GB Kingston Original Memory
Part # DDR4001GKI
Price: $87.03 Price Each

Mother Board
Abit KN8 SLI Socket 939/NF4 SLI/1394/ATX Motherboard
Part # MB-KN8-SLI
Price: $117.95

Total For eWiz $1,536.90

The Following Stuff was ordered from www.pcalchemy.com

Case
OrigenAE X15e HTPC Case w/TFT Touchscreen and IR Module, Black
PSU: Seasonic S12-500, 500W Silent PS
Card Reader: Black Internal 17-in-1 USB 2.0
Part # X15E-B
Price: $726.90

TV Tuner Card
Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-500MCE
Part # 1081
Price: $139.95

CPU Cooler
Zalman CNPS7000B-Cu Copper CPU Fan Intel 478, AMD 754/939/940
Part # CNPS7000B-Cu
Price: $36.95

Total for www.PcAlchemy.com: $903.80

Total Cost for Building this PC: $2,440.70 plus shipping of Parts

Sandman,

I am a computer novice, but am interested in trying to build something similar to what you have. Did you make any changes to the parts listed above when you finished your HTPC? Also, how did you create storage for this system (i.e. for burining DVD's etc. and how does that interface with the PC -- as just another drive?). Please excuse my lack of knowledge regarding these systems... Any help you can give me would be appreciated. I really want to do a HTPC over something like the Escient products because I like the idea of stripping all the BS from the DVDs such as trailers etc.

Could you tell me where in your thread I could find information relating to hard drives you used? Many thanks.

Sandman,

I am a computer novice, but am interested in trying to build something similar to what you have. Did you make any changes to the parts listed above when you finished your HTPC? Also, how did you create storage for this system (i.e. for burining DVD's etc. and how does that interface with the PC -- as just another drive?). Please excuse my lack of knowledge regarding these systems... Any help you can give me would be appreciated. I really want to do a HTPC over something like the Escient products because I like the idea of stripping all the BS from the DVDs such as trailers etc.

Could you tell me where in your thread I could find information relating to hard drives you used? Many thanks.

You can find all his HTPC info in this thread (http://www.smxscreen.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43) (you'll need to register at his site).

Being it has been quite a long time since he built his HTPC, I would imagine that he has upgrade or will be upgrading parts. The components he uses in his computer have definitely dropped in price. If you are going to do 1080P, plan to have a more powerful CPU and graphics card.

I'm in the process of building up a system, so I've done a fair amount of research lately.

Andy

You can find all his HTPC info in this thread (http://www.smxscreen.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43) (you'll need to register at his site).

Being it has been quite a long time since he built his HTPC, I would imagine that he has upgrade or will be upgrading parts. The components he uses in his computer have definitely dropped in price. If you are going to do 1080P, plan to have a more powerful CPU and graphics card.

I'm in the process of building up a system, so I've done a fair amount of research lately.

Andy

Do you happen to have a list of components you used? Would it make sense for me to do a 1080p system even though I only will be using the system to watch DVDs? There are a few companies out there like Cellar Cinima etc. that are charging a fortune to build these systems and I wanted to try and save a little money. thanks a lot.

Sandman,

I am a computer novice, but am interested in trying to build something similar to what you have. Did you make any changes to the parts listed above when you finished your HTPC? Also, how did you create storage for this system (i.e. for burining DVD's etc. and how does that interface with the PC -- as just another drive?). Please excuse my lack of knowledge regarding these systems... Any help you can give me would be appreciated. I really want to do a HTPC over something like the Escient products because I like the idea of stripping all the BS from the DVDs such as trailers etc.

Could you tell me where in your thread I could find information relating to hard drives you used? Many thanks.

I was actually going to sell the HTPC I built. I ended up not ever using it due to using another server I had. If anyone is interested in it, send me a PM.

I use a 16 terabyte raid to store my media. The raid is connected to a whole home server. The HTPC I built has an 80 gig HD and a 300 Gig HD IIRC.

Ruben

Do you happen to have a list of components you used? Would it make sense for me to do a 1080p system even though I only will be using the system to watch DVDs? There are a few companies out there like Cellar Cinima etc. that are charging a fortune to build these systems and I wanted to try and save a little money. thanks a lot.

The HTPC I built does 1080 no problem. In fact when I first built it, I was playing 4 1080 movies on it at the same time. I posted screen shots of the system usage during the playback somewhere here in this thread I beleive. The system actually runs better than my Quad Xeon Mac.

Ruben

I was actually going to sell the HTPC I built. I ended up not ever using it due to using another server I had. If anyone is interested in it, send me a PM.

I use a 16 terabyte raid to store my media. The raid is connected to a whole home server. The HTPC I built has an 80 gig HD and a 300 Gig HD IIRC.

Ruben


Sandman, I sent you a PM.

The HTPC I built does 1080 no problem. In fact when I first built it, I was playing 4 1080 movies on it at the same time. I posted screen shots of the system usage during the playback somewhere here in this thread I beleive. The system actually runs better than my Quad Xeon Mac.

Ruben


Would something like this work with your HTPC?

http://cgi.*********/Dual-Core-3u-NAS-HTPC-Storage-Server-6-4-TB-16-SATA_W0QQitemZ280088587154QQihZ018QQcategoryZ1484QQrdZ1QQcmd ZViewItem

Wheres the link/pics of how you achieved the THX on your screen? Thx :-)

Wheres the link/pics of how you achieved the THX on your screen? Thx :-)
Where is it stated that the SMX is THX certified? :confused:

Where is it stated that the SMX is THX certified? :confused:


I think he meant that the SPLASH startup of a movie on the SMX is showing THX, not necessarily THX certified...Basically as screen shot of THX..

OOpps..IM WRONG!!.hahahah..anyways not THX

I think he meant that the SPLASH startup of a movie on the SMX is showing THX, not necessarily THX certified...Basically as screen shot of THX..

I never saw that.

I never saw that.

I know that one of your screen images had SmX on it. Maybe he looked at it real quiclky and thought it said THX?

Joe

I know that one of your screen images had SmX on it. Maybe he looked at it real quiclky and thought it said THX?

Joe

I think we have a winner.

no joe & ruben, i think hes talking about this..

http://www.thefluegels.com/uploaded_images/DSC_0767-723806.JPG

Ha Ha..

Wow,

That is the exact room that I wanted to build underground before I started my current theater. Although my design had a slanted floor. But it was going to cost me over $100k just to do the digging and create the room exterior. And I would have had to dig up my basketball court.

Is this your room Derek?

Joe

Yes, the one with SMX...looks like its silk screened on...photoshop? or image showing through the screen?

Wow,

That is the exact room that I wanted to build underground before I started my current theater. Although my design had a slanted floor. But it was going to cost me over $100k just to do the digging and create the room exterior. And I would have had to dig up my basketball court.

Is this your room Derek?

Joe

No that is TrikinCurt's theater. I call it the bomb shelter theater.

Anyone considering getting the same amps I got (Crown XTi Series) should probably reconsider.

I am having major issues with my 5 amps. The volume controls do not work anymore on some of the amps. I turn the volumes all the way down to 0 on all the amps and I still here the audio as if I never touched them.

I looked into the Crown forums and allot of people are having issues with the volume control as well. They are great sounding amps, but they were not made to well.

Ruben

Ruben,
I've had so many problems with pro audio gear. The pots usually suck, I always have to blast them clean with compressed air. My plan is to stick a few McIntosh's in my theater rack.

Winkelmann

Anyone considering getting the same amps I got (Crown XTi Series) should probably reconsider.

I am having major issues with my 5 amps. The volume controls do not work anymore on some of the amps. I turn the volumes all the way down to 0 on all the amps and I still here the audio as if I never touched them.

I looked into the Crown forums and allot of people are having issues with the volume control as well. They are great sounding amps, but they were not made to well.

Ruben

Wow, thanks!! I was just looking at amps and thinking of the Crowns. I had seen a pretty good price on some but had not started any real research yet.

Once again!! Super Ruben to the rescue!! :)

BTW, did you get my PM?

Joe

Ruben,
I've had so many problems with pro audio gear. The pots usually suck, I always have to blast them clean with compressed air. My plan is to stick a few McIntosh's in my theater rack.

Winkelmann

The funny thing is I never touched the volumes. Once I installed the amps, I put all the volumes to 100% and left them that way until the other day when I was trying to figure out why my center chanenel stopped working. Three channels on the amps no longer work at all as well (I forgot to mention that above). I use to have 10 working channels and now I got 7.

I may have to return all 5 amps for repair which I really did not want to do.

Ruben

BTW, did you get my PM?

Joe

No, I never did.

Ruben

I also forgot to mention that my Theater is going to be featured in one of the upcoming issues of Home Theater Magazine. So if anyone see's it, let me know the issue.

Ruben

The funny thing is I never touched the volumes.
Ruben

Were they ever exposed to dust or excessive humidity?

I also forgot to mention that my Theater is going to be featured in one of the upcoming issues of Home Theater Magazine. So if anyone see's it, let me know the issue.

Rubenthey didn't tell ya which issue? :eek: :eek:

Were they ever exposed to dust or excessive humidity?

You'd think that dust or humidity shouldn't be an issue unless they actually gotten wet.
I mean some of these amps are used in gigs at some really crappy places. You knw the ones with cyclone fencing covering the stage. :D

Maybe try out the Mackie amps.

I've had zero problems with my QSCs so far [knock] [knock]...

I also forgot to mention that my Theater is going to be featured in one of the upcoming issues of Home Theater Magazine. So if anyone see's it, let me know the issue.

Ruben

How could you forget such a thing !!! Congrats in advance ! :) Your theater will certainly get some sales for them I think.

Art

Congrats Sandman

Congratulations on the magazine article. You really deserve it!

If you ditch the Crowns, you may want to look into the Cinepro amps. I bet you would really like them!

Wow congrats on the press, that has to feel really good...

no joe & ruben, i think hes talking about this..

http://www.thefluegels.com/uploaded_images/DSC_0767-723806.JPG

Ha Ha..


Whos theater is this, I have some questions for them...

Whos theater is this, I have some questions for them...

Trikin Curt - here you go:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=754073

http://www.thefluegels.com/uploaded_images/DSC_0767-723806.JPG



For me ,there is just something special about that solid concrete "bunker" design ! :)

Art

Gotta love that retro Cold War motiff

Woohoo ! :D after 3 and a half days of reading this thread from start to finish and 108 pages and 3230 post later :eek: I finally made it to the end.

Ruben !

I got to first say that your HT is stunning and incredible.
I give you the highest congrats on your HT and the fact of it being published in a magazine is simpley AWSOME.

There is nothing more gratifying than doing a project on your own with your own designs "Even if you barrowed a few ideas" and to see the finished results is so self gratifying.

I'm in the planning process of my HT construction and I buy what ever I can afford and I'm always looking for great deals and discounts and cheaper ways to build things.
I buy a lot of my equipment on "Lay Away" payments, I'm a Cash only type of guy so I don't go in to dept.

I started out with a Mitsubishi HD1000U DLP projector "First time ever owning a projector" and a DIY 106" 16:9 screen.

My audio so far is a Yamaha RX-V2600 which I plan only using for a preamp/processor and use outboard amps.
But I have yet to choose a brand of amp yet.
I was looking in to the same Crown amps your are using untell I read your post about the problems you are having with them.
I was also looking at the Monster MPA 3250 SS 3-channels amp and the Monster MPA 2250 SS 2-channel amps but I'm not sure on those either.

Although I do plan on buying the Klipsch THX Ultra2 7.1 system, I was hooked and blown away after hearing them at my local store here in Portland Oregon.

I'm not sure if my Mitsubishi HD1000U DLP will work good for 235:1 format with a Anamorphic lens but I was planning on buying one of your SmX AT screens after reading all the info you have about them, I will be sending you a email some time soon on that. ;)

I think I might have to upgrade my projector in the near future. :D

Thank you for the intensive thread full of great information, links, and detailed descriptions on how to build, columns and such, I will be using them for my prodject.

Thanks Again

Travis

http://www.thefluegels.com/uploaded_images/DSC_0767-723806.JPG



For me ,there is just something special about that solid concrete "bunker" design ! :)

Art

Damn, he even made a concrete riser. He has me beat there.... And I thought my HT had allot of concrete!

Anyone considering getting the same amps I got (Crown XTi Series) should probably reconsider.

I am having major issues with my 5 amps. The volume controls do not work anymore on some of the amps. I turn the volumes all the way down to 0 on all the amps and I still here the audio as if I never touched them.

I looked into the Crown forums and allot of people are having issues with the volume control as well. They are great sounding amps, but they were not made to well.

Ruben

I understand there were some problems with the internal ribbon cable data and signal connectors on the early XTi amps. You may want to open them up and check them to see if they are seated. The good thing is that Crown is one of THE most responsive companies out there and if there is an issue, they will take care of you. I've not had any issues with any of the XTi's out in the field I sold but I do know there were some problems with the early ones they are now finding out about. Thing is, those amps are stupid good for the $$ and the current production units have been pretty well sorted out so I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.

Oh, and congrats on the HT Magazine article!

I understand there were some problems with the internal ribbon cable data and signal connectors on the early XTi amps. You may want to open them up and check them to see if they are seated. The good thing is that Crown is one of THE most responsive companies out there and if there is an issue, they will take care of you. I've not had any issues with any of the XTi's out in the field I sold but I do know there were some problems with the early ones they are now finding out about. Thing is, those amps are stupid good for the $$ and the current production units have been pretty well sorted out so I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.

Oh, and congrats on the HT Magazine article!

I wish they would have the option for a black face so they would match the rest of my equipment. :(

Soundood !

I see you are about 5 hours from me.
I live at the bottom of the state by the Columbia River Gorge about 30 minutes from Portland, Oregon

I have looked at the other Crown amps "With Black Face Plates"
Are the Crown amps like Ruben's the only model you would recommend for use in a HT or with Klipsch Ultra2's ?

If Crown has corrected the problems in the later production runs, then I might consider them.

Travis

Ruben,

We are getting some humidity up here in cold minnesota. There are spots in my ceiling that are sagging a little. What did you use to adhere the fabric to the masonite? I used 3M 77 permanent spray adhesive but obviously I did n't get it saturated enough everywhere.

Joe

.....Next, We pre-cut 12 50" x 50" pieces of Black GoM Fabric to have ready to Wrap the panels. We then Sprayed a light coat of 3M #80 Spray Adhesive to the First Panel and then Stretched the GoM Fabric over the Top of it and smoothed it out by hand. We then pulled the fabric tighly and began stapling with 1/2" staples. Each panel used about 4 refills of staples.


Post is here : http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=574704&page=8&pp=30

Post is here : http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=574704&page=8&pp=30

Actually, I think I used #90 3M spray glue. That works best. It's like contact cement, you spray a little on the fabric and on the masonite and let it sit a minute before applying. The use it for headliners in cars.

Ruben

The funny thing is I never touched the volumes. Once I installed the amps, I put all the volumes to 100% and left them that way until the other day when I was trying to figure out why my center chanenel stopped working. Three channels on the amps no longer work at all as well (I forgot to mention that above). I use to have 10 working channels and now I got 7.

I may have to return all 5 amps for repair which I really did not want to do.

Ruben

I also forgot to mention that my Theater is going to be featured in one of the upcoming issues of Home Theater Magazine. So if anyone see's it, let me know the issue.

Ruben


Ruben...do you have any updates regarding your amps and upcoming review in Home Theater Magazine?

BTW... I just love your theater.

Ruben,

Congratz on the magazine spread your HT certainly deserves the press :D
One issue I'll be looking for once its out.

Cheers
Calvin

Thanks guys,

I got word it is suppose to be in Best Magazine (http://www.bestmag.com/) too. I never heard of that magazine but I am looking out for both issues.

Ruben

Ruben...do you have any updates regarding your amps and upcoming review in Home Theater Magazine?

BTW... I just love your theater.

Thanks.

No the amps are still in the racks. I haven't really had much time to get in the theater since the launching of SmX. I also have ground noise coming from my Outlaw 990 whenever I turn on a device such as Xbox, HTPC or any other digital audio feed.

I noticed that when the amps and Outlaw 990 preamp are on by themselves there is no ground noise. But once I turn on a source and select the proper channel on the Outlaw the hum begins. So I have some wierd ground loop issue somewhere in the mix. I'm using Monster Power conditioners and all my wiring is on point.

Ruben

I also want to pull down my star ceiling and do it again.

I found some better methods that work better after we did BocaPimps theater. The modified light boxes keep going bad after a couple months so I want to relocate them outside the theater and purchase two new ones.

Ruben

I also want to pull down my star ceiling and do it again.

I found some better methods that work better after we did BocaPimps theater. The modified light boxes keep going bad after a couple months so I want to relocate them outside the theater and purchase two new ones.

Ruben
Ruben,

A new LED based light box will be out in a few months from the same place you bought the fiber. It produces no heat (and has no fan) so you could keep them in your columns. It will have different speed and sparkle pattern options that "you" can select with the push of a button. I plan to get one for my room as soon as they come out. It will be similar to THIS (http://www.fiberopticproducts.com/danise/cart.pl?db=stuff.dat&category=Multiled) one but larger and much more flexibility. Price will be around $100.

Ruben,

A new LED based light box will be out in a few months from the same place you bought the fiber. It produces no heat (and has no fan) so you could keep them in your columns. It will have different speed and sparkle pattern options that "you" can select with the push of a button. I plan to get one for my room as soon as they come out. It will be similar to THIS (http://www.fiberopticproducts.com/danise/cart.pl?db=stuff.dat&category=Multiled) one but larger and much more flexibility. Price will be around $100.

LED is cool but it isn't bright enough for a room with ambient lighting on. The stars dissapear with very little light in a room.

Ruben

Thanks.

No the amps are still in the racks. I haven't really had much time to get in the theater since the launching of SmX. I also have ground noise coming from my Outlaw 990 whenever I turn on a device such as Xbox, HTPC or any other digital audio feed.

I noticed that when the amps and Outlaw 990 preamp are on by themselves there is no ground noise. But once I turn on a source and select the proper channel on the Outlaw the hum begins. So I have some wierd ground loop issue somewhere in the mix. I'm using Monster Power conditioners and all my wiring is on point.

Ruben

If its a ground loop, its there all the time - whether the equipment is on or not. The reason you don't hear it unless you turn on a source is because your 990 is muting the outputs when there is no source.

So, its not necessarily one of the peices of equipment you turn on that is the cause. Do you have a cable box hooked up? The cable giving a path to ground is one of the main causes of ground loops. But, I've also found that these pro amps tend to cause them as well. I had to run a 12ga wire from the grounding terminals on my QSCs to the antenna ground on my AVR (used as pre-pro) to tame my hum.

I also want to pull down my star ceiling and do it again.

I found some better methods that work better after we did BocaPimps theater. The modified light boxes keep going bad after a couple months so I want to relocate them outside the theater and purchase two new ones.

Ruben

Ruben,

Would you mind sharing the better methods? My ceiling is sagging now that there is hunidity in the air. I am going to have to redo it. :(

Joe

Are these all on the same circuit? I saw some strange ground skew problems like this not too long ago. They went away after I moved things to the same circuit.


Thanks.

No the amps are still in the racks. I haven't really had much time to get in the theater since the launching of SmX. I also have ground noise coming from my Outlaw 990 whenever I turn on a device such as Xbox, HTPC or any other digital audio feed.

LED is cool but it isn't bright enough for a room with ambient lighting on. The stars dissapear with very little light in a room.

Ruben


Maybe it depends on the LED's they are using? They do make some 3 watt LED's now that are either blinding or close to it if you look right into them.

Thanks.

No the amps are still in the racks. I haven't really had much time to get in the theater since the launching of SmX. I also have ground noise coming from my Outlaw 990 whenever I turn on a device such as Xbox, HTPC or any other digital audio feed.

I noticed that when the amps and Outlaw 990 preamp are on by themselves there is no ground noise. But once I turn on a source and select the proper channel on the Outlaw the hum begins. So I have some wierd ground loop issue somewhere in the mix. I'm using Monster Power conditioners and all my wiring is on point.

Ruben

Other 990 owners have had success taming hum by using balanced connections vs. the RCA's. As was said previously, cable boxes are big sources of ground loop hum. Turn on your HTPC or Xbox and start unplugging other sources like the cable connectors. Hum takes time to tame!

Other 990 owners have had success taming hum by using balanced connections vs. the RCA's. As was said previously, cable boxes are big sources of ground loop hum. Turn on your HTPC or Xbox and start unplugging other sources like the cable connectors. Hum takes time to tame!

I'm only using balanced connections from the Outlaw to the amps. The balanced cables are 15' Mogami Golds.

The sources are connected to the Outlaw via digital coax or fiber.

I have an HD Zenith Sat Box, I will disconnect it to see if the hum goes away.

Thanks
Ruben