It's looking like Lurch & I aren't gonna be able to make it to the open house.

OK, I have been keeping my nose to the grindstone and that has cut back on updates.

The Crestron system is getting programmed now. I anticipate a lot of functionality to be online be this evening. I will post some photos soon.

Deeann, too bad you and Lurch won't be able to make it. Then again, that's just more beer for everybody else. ;)

It's looking like Lurch & I aren't gonna be able to make it to the open house.

Deeann, Say it ain't so !!!!!!!!!!!! :( Mike and his theater were secondary .

Art

Secondary! Psshhhhhhaw....:p Trust me, (edit/update) *I'm* actually pretty boring in person (Lurch says he's not :D) and yep, chances are pretty darn good we'd go through Mike's beer quick-like ;).

It's my bad. I got the days mixed up. We're going to be in San Jose on Saturday.

would you mind giving what brand of carpet you used its very nice

The brand I got was Bedford Mills, but it has several brand names all made by Stanton.

Be forewarned, Stanton carpet is tough to work with and brutal on your installer if you have any odd shapes like my curved steps ended up being.

MIke,
I need your address and phone. I'm getting on the plane tomorrow afternoon ! :eek:

Art

OK, I have uploaded a map and directions to my house for the open house. I will keep them up through the event and then pull them down.

www.cinemawizards.com/photos/Map.jpg

If anybody has problems finding the place, you can call my cell at 559-287-1555 and if you don't remember to bring the phone number either, I am in the phone book and there are not many Poindexters around Clovis. I am also listed under Cinema Wizards.

Wheres the Live updates? You mean theres no Web Cast of this event??

Come on Mike, get with the program, inquiring minds want to know.

Wheres the Live updates? You mean theres no Web Cast of this event??

Come on Mike, get with the program, inquiring minds want to know.

That would of been incredible! I figured if anyone, Mike would of done that.

Ruben

No photos yet? Damn.

*refresh* *refresh* *refresh*

He's such a tease, I am waiting on a confirmation of how many orgasms have occured on the D-Boxes as well.

All these tech gurus at the Grand opening and no one brought a camera and laptop to feed the fans that couldnt make it a bone or two. I am guessing Mike has wireless if a hick in the sticks like me does.

That would of been incredible! I figured if anyone, Mike would of done that.

Ruben

Yeah, well I think I had some more pressing issues to deal with.

Last guests just left, so I will go in the theater, clean up and take some photos.

Where are the meet updates? Are you posting them here or in the meets section?

Ruben

He split the meet into 2 days so I am sure hes busy again today, I was going to try and blast down today but it was 24 hours of driving and I am just to burned out from 2 nights of partys testing out the guest house

Yes, if any indication though yesyerday's conversation with them, there should be a second day of open house.

The theater as you know is still work-in-progress. Mike is still busy working out the small bugs. The overall build finish is what you'd expect from the King of Overkill. There were guests throughout the day but taking pictures was difficult. I brought my camera but felt kind of weird taking pictures while movies and clips was playing throughout the afternoon- makes photo-taking rather disruptive.

Mike also disproved my notion and reservations about the D-Box experience. His demo of the various seating configurations and individual seat types capabilities with Finding Nemo, Master & Commander, Matrix Reloaded made this the "Gotta Have" product for me. Perhaps 1080p projector can wait. Its that good.

I'm curious, just how cheap could a D-Box system get? Let's say I wanted to do a couch or a chair or two, and use a PC to control it...How much money would we be talking?

I'm curious, just how cheap could a D-Box system get? Let's say I wanted to do a couch or a chair or two, and use a PC to control it...How much money would we be talking?

Mike should be able to answer this. He mentioned to me the PC setup is considerably less expensive. Just PM him on this, he'll be glad to help you.

Yes, if any indication though yesyerday's conversation with them, there should be a second day of open house.

The theater as you know is still work-in-progress. Mike is still busy working out the small bugs. The overall build finish is what you'd expect from the King of Overkill. There were guests throughout the day but taking pictures was difficult. I brought my camera but felt kind of weird taking pictures while movies and clips was playing throughout the afternoon- makes photo-taking rather disruptive.

Mike also disproved my notion and reservations about the D-Box experience. His demo of the various seating configurations and individual seat types capabilities with Finding Nemo, Master & Commander, Matrix Reloaded made this the "Gotta Have" product for me. Perhaps 1080p projector can wait. Its that good.

Yes, I did have some additional guests today - one in the morning and two in the afternoon.

It is a work in progress, but it probably will remain a work in progress as I will always be working to update it and make it better when time and technology permit. Progress will slow considerably at this point but I do have a pretty good laundry list of things to fix in the room - some small, some large but to me all are important.

I agree it is difficult to take photos without disrupting people, but I took a few this afternoon. I will get a couple more taken in the coming days as I get the rest of the room cleaned up. I will put them in the next post...

Hmm, pictures...

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/ShowroomFL1.jpg

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/ShowroomFR1.jpg

One of the things I noticed in these photos is how much I need to wrap those cables going to the crestron panel in a black sheath. And of course it is obvious that I need to finish the speaker grills and get the GOM up in the equipment room and should have that done this week. I also have some troubleshooting and debugging to do with the Crestron control system.

Very nice. Interesting how much darker the real walls appear than the renders. The carpet looks much "blacker" as well. Are you still planning to put a CRT projector in the table? It almost looks too small for that.

You gotta be shiiting me, looks Fantastic! We need more Darn you.
How the meet go? Everything smooth or is it got a couple hick-ups considering all the work you had to do just lately

I'm curious, just how cheap could a D-Box system get? Let's say I wanted to do a couch or a chair or two, and use a PC to control it...How much money would we be talking?

I'm curious how much these cost. Is Mike a distributor? Could you please PM me with details if it's possible to get these in Australia? Doubt it though :(

How did it Look and sound, any tweaking needed or did it come out as imagined?

More pictures coming this evening if I get time. I spent a lot of time on the phone, so I am a little behind schedule. ;)

MarkP, there will always be tweaking to do, but suffice it to say that while I didn't hear any complaints about the system I am not satisfied with it yet. I tweaked the sound a little bit last night between showings and then slightly more this morning. I think it will be fine after one last adjustment.

On the video, I want to try a couple things first before I call it done. I am going to try and get the absolute black level lower and once I do that, I will get the rest of the system dialed in to where I want it.

More pictures coming this evening if I get time. I spent a lot of time on the phone, so I am a little behind schedule. ;) Oops, sorry. I wouldnt tell them who the phone culprit is, the people who want updates might send the lynch mob.

Oh heres that link I promised http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=618498&page=4&pp=30&highlight=makeit57 its sort of in the middle but thats where I popped in off an old link for some reason :confused: Its amazing you both had the same ordeal and make sure you check the whole thread for coffered ceiling. I think his dilemas that turned out to his favor with the sled is on page 6. Hes a nice guy, i talked to him several months ago, Im sure he would forward the plans or answer questions if you go that route. Talk to ya later.

Very nice. Interesting how much darker the real walls appear than the renders. The carpet looks much "blacker" as well. Are you still planning to put a CRT projector in the table? It almost looks too small for that.

Reaper, the walls are much darker than the renders - probably since they absorb so much light. They look even darker in person. The carpet looks considerably blacker in person than the photos. There is a sheen to it in the photos that comes from the way it lays. You don't see that in the room and it looks much more "even" in color. The room is excellent in not reflecting light and unless I keep the lights on full or use studio lights, the autofocus on my Canon SLR won't work due to a lack of light bouncing off.

The table in the photo isn't the final one - it is a cheap Target end table I had. I want to use the room a little before I come up with the final design for the table as I want to make sure it has all the useful features I want. I am now thinking of using the mechanism from a lifting coffee table like this one to get the top to lift up and back for me to use in the back row without bending over to reach the panel.
http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/irawoodinc_1912_256423229

I will work on a preliminary design next week once I get a better feel for exactly what I want and how much space I have to get it.

What ever happened to the rest of the pictures? I want to see the screen.

Ruben

Mr. P.

I know you're busy trying to finish up this project, take care of your family and earn a living. I'm sure everyone was excited when they saw this new gem of a theater. Once you have caught your breath how about a full construction photo album, start to finish.

You should be very proud, your theater is to die for. I hope you can enjoy it for many years to come. Thanks for sharing.

Scott

Scott & Ruben,

I have been doing some additional work on the theater with some touch up stuff and also working on the Crestron system before I head out to Florida to finish up that one as well (JohnTech's theater) and will do a full spread of photos when I return.

I purchased a 10mm lens for my camera just for the task, so I hope to have some righteous photos.

I think they ( we all) want pictures of everything through the whole process ( front screen being installed for those that are contemplating a SR screen with masking system ) sometimes those make the best pictures so people can see how its done. Maybe its the " under construction" part that gets them curious.

You said a mouthful about the importance of a camera

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n303/chris_js/0b43fbe4.jpg

Myself, I will take any pictures you have, complete or not. I love the shots without the grille covers showing how you did the surrounds. I was hoping to see your front speaker setup without the screen. Hopefully you snapped some progress pics with a theater of this caliber

I did get some shots of the front wall with the speakers in but the screen not up yet. I will dig through my photos and get together a nice album set up when I get a chance.

I think they ( we all) want pictures of everything through the whole process ( front screen being installed for those that are contemplating a SR screen with masking system ) sometimes those make the best pictures so people can see how its done. Maybe its the " under construction" part that gets them curious.

You said a mouthful about the importance of a camera

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n303/chris_js/0b43fbe4.jpg

Myself, I will take any pictures you have, complete or not. I love the shots without the grille covers showing how you did the surrounds. I was hoping to see your front speaker setup without the screen. Hopefully you snapped some progress pics with a theater of this caliber

What the hell is that big grey poorly painted/scratched box on the ceiling? Don't tell me you built this incredible theater and put that big grey box thing on the ceiling?
Those must be the carpenters you fired.

Ruben

Oh, Sorry, I just realized that wasn't your theater.

Ruben

That's Art's theater. That big ugly box hides a much larger and uglier set of 6 9" cathode ray tubes. There is no such thing as a small inobtrusive box that can hide a dual stack of CRTs - especially with 9" guns.

I believe it looks grey because of the flash - getting that close to the camera in a dark room will always make blacks look much lighter than they are.

My projector is outside of my room and shoots in through a window.

Hey Ruben. How does that foot taste? hehe...

Big ugly box from the business end.

Big ugly box from the business end.

Dennis, I was already getting the pic you linked to show the projectors running. Not too many people on here will look at that image and say bad things, unless it's envy talking.

Big ugly box from the business end.Hence, importance of camera ( not so much as), lens, lighting, exposure.

In Mikes case, Ill take regular ole flashed pics from any camera to show the meat and potatos. The professional picture stuff isnt so necessary because hopefully I will see the real deal in........November ( is that the next meet?)

Dennis, I was already getting the pic you linked to show the projectors running. Not too many people on here will look at that image and say bad things, unless it's envy talking. I think Ruben was refering to what appears to be some sort of material ( maybe FSK or ASJ duct board) held up by glue on or stick pins then snipped with pin cutters, covered with ASJ ( paintable) 3" wide tape then painted over. I am probably wrong but from that photo thats what I see. Regardless, I doubt theres an envy thing going on if you have seen the attention to detail Ruben put into his theater, the columns alone are as much a piece of art as his 12' curved screen, amazing ceiling atleast from what I have seen of it using a regular old camera and lens I am guessing. Lat time I checked he had well over a quarter million hits on his thread and the words " I am copying you"
or "I am stealing your ideas" run rampant. I will say I envy his screen, and columns for some time to come.

Hey Ruben. How does that foot taste? hehe...

I wouldn't know.

I guess it's a bad picture. I love Art's theater, I modeled my theater off of his (smaller scale). I just never seen the hush box from that perspective.

Sorry guys, I didn't mean to hurt anyones feelings here, I just couldn't understand what that big grey box was doing there.

Ruben

For the record, I never said it was ugly, you guys did. I just said it was poorly painted/scratched (or looks that way from the flash). If it was me, I would of wrapped it with some Black Fidelio Velvet and it probably would of disappeared.

Ruben

I don't think you hurt anyone's feelings. I am just giving you a hard time.

For the record, I never said it was ugly, you guys did. I just said it was poorly painted/scratched (or looks that way from the flash). If it was me, I would of wrapped it with some Black Fidelio Velvet and it probably would of disappeared.

Ruben

Making something darker than the rest of the ceiling around it actually calls attention to it. Without the flash, it does as good a job at looking inconspicuous as one can expect.

EDIT: Actually with Fidelio I doubt it would make it more conspicuous. By the way, what is the fire retardency of Fidelio?

I don't know for sure, but that may be a vent grille on Art's hush box.

I don't know for sure, but that may be a vent grille on Art's hush box. That makes sense, whouda thunk you need air flow?

I would have thought that he would have a duct of some sort through the ceiling for airflow, if there were a vent, you could probably still hear those 2 beasts.... not really a hush box then :)

What the hell is that big grey poorly painted/scratched box on the ceiling? Don't tell me you built this incredible theater and put that big grey box thing on the ceiling?
Those must be the carpenters you fired.

Ruben
I see that ,of late, the sentiment toward me and my theater is getting increasingly hostile.

That hush box is painted the same color as the ceiling. A Ben Moore color called Twilight Zone or the blackest flat black I could find and awesome stuff ! :) It has an access panel to the controls with three screws that is 3.5' long and 3" wide which show finger prints in pictures that have the flash right on it. In the room without a flash light you can't even see the panel let alone the finger prints.

http://www.artsonneborn.com/assets/images/db_images/db_Wide_HT_01w1.jpg

By the way, I'd stack( no pun intended) Dave Norris ,the man who built that ,up against any finish and trim carpenter in the world.

Art

MIke ,
To get your theater to look like the renderings (and as it looks in person)you will need a rather short focal length lens and a tripod to capture the throw lighting. You may or may not need some color correction. I'm still very very upset that my flight arrangements crapped out. You are a hell of a guy and I certainly wish you years of enjoyment in that incredible room.


Art

I see that ,of late, the sentiment toward me and my theater is getting increasingly hostile.

----Snip----

Art

Art, anyone who is hostile towards your amazing HT is clearly trying to compensate for their own inadequacies. :eek:

PS. I don't post a lot on AVS (I mostly read) but I must say that you fine gentlemen here in the dedicated HT section have all done amazing job, regardless of your financial resources. :cool:

I took some test shots and they look good. I cannot upload them right now, but will when I get a chance.

Hey Mike,

I use a Canon Rebel XT and a cheap 0.5x wide angle macro lens adapter on a 18 - 55mm Canon lens. I set my room lighting so it is medium (not full power) and use a tripod. I take the picture with no flash and the camera on a timer so it isn't shaking while the shutter is open. On my camera, the shutter stays open for 10 seconds to take the picture.

Here are the camera settings I used.

Tv (Shutter Speed) 10 Seconds
Av (Aperture Value) F3.5
Metering Mode - Evaluative metering
Exposure Compensation - 0
ISO Speed 400
White Balance - Auto
AF mode - AI focus AF
Focal Length - 18.0mm
Image Size - 1728 x 1152
Image Quality - Fine
Contrast - 1
Sharpness - 1
Color Saturation - 1
Color Space - sRGB

I just snapped a picture in my room with the settings above and this is what I got

http://www.smxscreen.com/images/IMG_5261.jpg


Ruben

Art,

I've long been a huge fan of your cinema and it seriously ranks among the best I have seen. I'd kill to have a cinema half the size and as impressive as yours!!

As for your hush box, mounted on the ceilling... I'd still rather have that than projectors showing.

Chris

Since I instigated this unitentionally I should resolve it before it ruins Mikes thread ( all we need is pictures Mike, stay up an extra 15 minutes tonight instead)

Background of the Ruben thing: Mike and Ruben had a little tiff all in fun in a looong drawn out screen thread through the spring where Ruben was razzing Mike about his carpenters, I was guilty as well but we were trying to point some stuff out to Mike and I think he fired some contractors. Rubens comment when he thought that was Mikes theater eluded to that period of time. No big deal really, just razzing.

When I posted the Pic of Arts theater I actually posted the wrong one but figured since Mikes been in Arts theater would understand my comment about the importance of a camera ( not camera but lens, exposure). Im not a fan of wide angle lenses making columns all bent and such anyway, a good photo stitcher looks better in my opinion because it keeps the photo realistic instead of making a theater look 50' wide at the back and 20' wide in the front which does look cool as heck but I will take any photo when it comes to seeing progress. My camera is slightly wide angle and drives me crazy because when I look at columns or beams or something it always appears like theres bows to things. I guess I was ribbing Mike about being worried that the pictures have to be all professional and such. Just SNAP some darn pics already!! just kidding, but some shots of the front would be nice.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y280/GoBigRed/db_Wide_HT_01w1.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y280/GoBigRed/asht2006theater003.jpg

Ruben, where did you get that vertically curved wood to build those columns, I bet the grilles were fun. j/k nice pics

I agree about the stichers but my experience is limited with them to say the least. Yes the room looks longer and distorted with the fish eye shot but the thing that bothered me is when you stand at the back of my theater you can see all of the columns and seats at the same time but not with a camera.

The post by Ruben was after taking it pretty bad from several forum members about my theater lately. I mean, literally, everything that isn't what they would have done gets criticized and not just for technical reasons but with the tone Ruben used there. What is strange is that my theater is over two and a half years old now and this just started about six to eight months ago.

Sorry for my rant but I've become more defensive.. well... to defend myself. :o

For all of you who have given kind words ,honesty, I really do appreciate it ! :)

Now back on track !! :) :)

Art

A theater is a tough one anyway since when it looks its best it takes exposure times ( flashes just ruin a picture like those two shots of Mikes theater, I am guessing the lighting in there isnt that bright) and your right about stitchers because take your room for instance, it would take 2 possibly 3 shots to get the effect the fisheye got, if using 3 shots the middle picture will be dark and the left side would be brighter than the right which would take a lot of photoshopping and by that time the picture isnt even real anymore. Being someone that is always worried about plumb and level, fisheyes just drive me crazy for some reason but the Infamous Sonneborn Photos are shot as good as you can get.

I am really suprised with all the technology they have not designed a decent panoramic lens that can shoot the way we see without distorting objects.

People been ripping on you theater huh, I must have missed that and I thought I read everything on this forum to try and keep up. F - um, who cares as long as it keeps you and you guests happy. I take it one of them might be that Cineramax guy, maybe I do remember a little something, then again, maybe not.

Gotta get ready for my beloved Huskers, nothing else matters on Saturdays!

Im not a fan of wide angle lenses making columns all bent and such anyway, a good photo stitcher looks better in my opinion because it keeps the photo realistic instead of making a theater look 50' wide at the back and 20' wide in the front which does look cool as heck but I will take any photo when it comes to seeing progress. My camera is slightly wide angle and drives me crazy because when I look at columns or beams or something it always appears like theres bows to things.

...

I am really suprised with all the technology they have not designed a decent panoramic lens that can shoot the way we see without distorting objects.

A good rectilinear (like Mike is getting) wide-angle takes care of that. The downside to those lenses is that they can get pretty big (really heavy in zooms) and pretty pricey. My widest lens is a 19mm (equivalent to about 11-12mm in most digital SLR)-- the front element is 62mm wide, and the lens weighs over a pound-- not as much as some of my long lenses, but still pretty heavy. But with a 94 degree angle of view, I can get all four walls in a room and all lines stay straight.

You have my curiosity peaked, have any examples of theater shots with this lens? All the lenses I saw that could shoot 4 walls bent the edges.

Where are the pictures?

Ruben

I am in Florida today finishing up JohnTech's theater. I should have some nice pictures of his theater this evening once we pack up all my crap. Crestron is my priority today, however.

You have my curiosity peaked, have any examples of theater shots with this lens? All the lenses I saw that could shoot 4 walls bent the edges.
Sure, here's one of the construction pics from my site. You can see at the left edge of the pic that things are pretty straight.
http://bar.marvindog.net/img/bsts05.jpg
And here's a shot with 3 walls from the sitting room in our master bedroom, although I'm not fully back in the corner, which is why I've only got 3 walls.
http://www.marvindog.com/img/br3.jpg

Congratulations on your theater, Mr P. Thanks for sharing so much information, and for the invitation. I'm sure it will give you many years of enjoyment, as it was designed from the outset for easy updates.

I will have to print this thread out, as it makes a good reference document.

any new pictures?

any new pictures?

:cool:

Hi all..

I just went thru and re-read pretty much this whole thread.. What an incredable theater... Very nice...

R~

Congrats on making the NY Times. It is always great to see "one of our own" make it to the national stage.

Mr P,

Awesome theater. I'm sure you're enjoying it.

Reading your thread I see you used FabriTrack to attach your wall treatments. Google doesn't turn up much about it, although I like how your's is done. How does one get their hands on some FabriTrack?

Thanks,

Ed

Boy, this thread really got abandoned... CLICK HERE FOR AUDIO (http://www.smxscreen.com/good-bad.mp3)

http://www.smxscreen.com/tumbleweed.jpg

Yes, I have been busy getting some other work done and not been diligent on updating the thread. To be honest, I have been taking a break from the construction side on my home system and just tried to enjoy the room for a while when I am home.

I will start putting some more time into finishing up the little things that need to be polished up in the room and get back on track. I will post new pictures soon.

Congrats on making the NY Times. It is always great to see "one of our own" make it to the national stage.

?? What??

Scott, I was in the New York Times a couple days ago on an article about media servers. They ran a pretty good sized photo with me in my theater.

One of the guys posted a link here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=729267

Dude, that's great! As you said, they didn't mention that you have your own business much less the name of your company or anything, which kinda sucks, but maybe people will see the article, call Kaleidescape and ask about the article and they can name you as an installer and dealer... Maybe?

Anyway, still very cool and so different from your IRS that you had in your old house! When are you going to have a second meet at your place? I still want to come down to check it out and our family party stopped me from coming down last time. It's only about 2 hours from my house. Keep me informed!

Mike,

I wanted to thank you again for your hospitality and welcoming my brother and sister-in-law and my wife and me into your home on such incredibly short notice to see your amazing theater.

For those of you who have seen Mike's theater you know that pictures don't do it justice. It is truly amazing and if you get the chance to see it don't pass it up. The D-Box is awesome also. After the crash scene from Castaway I don't think my wife will ever fly again and now I know what it's like to be a Pod Racer. If you are in the market for a D-Box system, Mike is your man.

Also, Mike, thank your wife for me for allowing us to take you away from your family for a couple of hours, I really appreciate it. I look forward to getting together when I am back in Clovis.

Troy

Troy, it was a pleasure to have you over. Next time you are coming to town, let me know.

Where are the updates
Look great so far

Mr. P or others, did you have any issues with the pattern in the GOM Streetwise fabric to where you had to run it all in one directon? To me it looks like there is a distinct directional pattern to the Streetwise as opposed to say the Anchorage.

Chris

Streetwise is a directional pattern and must be run in the same direction.

Thanks Dennis. That's what I was afraid of.

FYI - all GOM samples are marked as to whether or not they are directional patterns.

Mr. Poindexter,

Just saw your thread today, my questions:

1. Are you doing the whole planning of the Home Theater yourself or/with some one (But I am sure not Mrs. Poindexter, or?)?

2. Do you put together all the equipments by yourself?

3. Are you doing the construction by yourself with some helpers or some guy from CEDIA?

4. Is the project completed yet? Any celebrity attended the opening with red carpet and paparazzi?

Congratulation to your new Home Theater and . . . second honeymoon. :p


Iwan

FYI - all GOM samples are marked as to whether or not they are directional patterns.

I thought they would be too, but my samples were not marked. Regardless, as long as it is a directional thing from a cosmetic standpoint and not an acoustical standpoint then I'm ok.

Chris

Why (and how) did you put the amps up on top of the racks?

He put them at the top so their heat wouldn't rise and permeate through all of his other components. You just need to ensure you have a solid rack since it will be top-heavy.

As for how, I'm guessing "brute force".

As for how, I'm guessing "brute force".

I am sure he had help. Big guys!

I should save this whole thread to my computer to use as a reference resource. Any good way to do this?

Click the "thread tools" link next to the page numbers, and there's a "Download this thread" option.

WOW, loved your build and your humor :) "Yes, Bill Gates does have a home theater, but mine will be much nicer. Not because I have more money than him, but because I care more about home theater than he does and have just enough money to do it right." You could not have said that better.

When is the next meet?

Mike, you still alive? Any updates of final product?

When is the next meet?

Mike, you still alive? Any updates of final product?

I was going to ask the same thing! About you too!

Joe

I was going to ask the same thing! About you too!

JoeMe? Busy trying to make enough green to support my new reef habit. Saltwater variety reef which is much more entertaining than finishing hardly used theaters. I did have a blast going to the new theater in town and seeing Grindhouse, really took me back to my teens years and the crappy double and triple features. We went with a bunch and the theater was pretty into it with clapping and such so maybe this release will get me motivated to finish my cobweb covered project.

Wow, I have just read the entire thread start to finish and.........WOW.

Just in case you actually venture back here; thank you for posting this and the process.
I do have one complaint though, early on in the build I saw where you sold your Infinity IRS speakers to partially fund the theater. I was shattered. I have dreamed of those speakers since I first saw them.....years ago. It has taken me the last 18 or so pages but I think I forgive you:)

What ever happened to the OP? Hope he is ok...

Wow, I have just read the entire thread start to finish and.........WOW.

Just in case you actually venture back here; thank you for posting this and the process.
I do have one complaint though, early on in the build I saw where you sold your Infinity IRS speakers to partially fund the theater. I was shattered. I have dreamed of those speakers since I first saw them.....years ago. It has taken me the last 18 or so pages but I think I forgive you:)

Yes, I'd like to hear from Mike.

Same here. I just spent the last 2 days reading through all 20 pages and hoping for those "final shots" and then nothing. Bummer, kind of a let down. Hope he's just really busy with his theater business :D

If you swing back by we'd love to see the pics Mike!

Thanks,
Mike

You know, I sent Mike my old Bose Speakers so he could use them in an A/B comparison for his customers....maybe he liked them??? :)

Where are the final "professional" pictures that we were promised? This thread needs a stronger finish.

I checked ,Mike is still on the forum but rarely.

Art

Ah I see the $20k+ forum has been missing him, too.

so how does it end?

You know, I sent Mike my old Bose Speakers so he could use them in an A/B comparison for his customers....maybe he liked them??? :)

Maybe, he snookered me? I mean, really, Bose for ...fame?

Does anybody know if there are 100% complete pics of this theater anywhere? What an absolutely beautiful build, would like to see the completed project.

Last I heard, Mike was extremely busy working with his nuts. Walnuts that is (his primary business).

And he had another child. Congrats, Mike, if you're reading this.

It's too bad Mike isn't posting on this thread anymore. Last I talked with him (via PM's) he had pulled equipment out of his theater to put into client's theaters and was too busy to get his back up and running between the installation business and the nut business and other things going on in life.

Wow, I really hope he posts some final pics....this story is at a cliffhanger!

Well, the cliffhanger is about to get its continuation story going.

I got the theater running and aside from a couple of cosmetic issues it has been going fine. On the final touchups, I didn't like a couple of things with the way they were going and I didn't want to finish them as planned as I wasn't happy with the look, particularly for the entry and the equipment room.

That is going to change. I have gotten the entry hallway redesigned and will be doing construction on that in the coming weeks and have the look match the theater better. Windows in the entry hallway were a severe problem to incorporate into the feel I wanted to have and now I am able to deal with them the way I originally wanted after biding my time and then talking to my wife who doesn't object any longer to my desired plan.

Then once I get this theater totally finished up the way I want and the thread done, I can start the thread on my outdoor system. Hehe...

Well, the cliffhanger is about to get its continuation story going.

I got the theater running and aside from a couple of cosmetic issues it has been going fine. On the final touchups, I didn't like a couple of things with the way they were going and I didn't want to finish them as planned as I wasn't happy with the look, particularly for the entry and the equipment room.

That is going to change. I have gotten the entry hallway redesigned and will be doing construction on that in the coming weeks and have the look match the theater better. Windows in the entry hallway were a severe problem to incorporate into the feel I wanted to have and now I am able to deal with them the way I originally wanted after biding my time and then talking to my wife who doesn't object any longer to my desired plan.

Then once I get this theater totally finished up the way I want and the thread done, I can start the thread on my outdoor system. Hehe...

Wow! You're back!
This is almost like waiting for the last season of the Sopranos...

So it sounds like a lot of changes then??

Pics?

-t

Four years in the making ! Looking foward to your final pictures Mike. Just keep in mind that some of us are getting up there in years so don't wait too long.

Art

Four years in the making ! Looking foward to your final pictures Mike. Just keep in mind that some of us are getting up there in years ,so don't wait too long.

Art

Come on Art, your not THAT old!

Come on, Art was old enough to not remember he just posted and is now starting to repeat himself.

Must be the mad cow.

Come on, Art was old enough to not remember he just posted and is now starting to repeat himself.

Must be the mad cow.

Mmm, steak...

I can't wait to see those Bose speakers in action :)

You cannot "see" bose speakers in action. You have to hear them to believe. That and some kool-aid.

That was a long wait. My finger hurts from hitting the refresh button for 3.5 years.

...and still no photos!

My remote switch for the Lutron GrafikEye finally came in. Just need my wood to come in and I can start on the hallway. Getting a bit excited now...

Just need my wood to come in......Getting a bit excited now...

This is a family forum. :D Oh, and you must be getting old. :D

....Just need my wood to come in and I can start on the hallway. Getting a bit excited now...

That's what she said.

They didn't engrave my buttons for the switch. Anybody know if those get sent seperately when you order a SeeTouch switch?

That's what she said.

We went out to a Japanese restaurant for my birthday. My wife put a big piece of sushi in her mouth and the size of the sushi was larger than most restaurants. She said the "meat was so big she had trouble getting it all in her mouth". My twelve year old chimed in....:D:eek:

Art

She said the "meat was so big she had trouble getting it all in her mouth".
Art

If I had a nickel for everytime I heard that, I could build a really nice home theater.

Oh, wait...

Incredible read and build, thank you for sharing it. I can't wait to see the final room photos.

They didn't engrave my buttons for the switch. Anybody know if those get sent seperately when you order a SeeTouch switch?

I don't know about SeeTouch specifically, but for Crestron buttons you can do it either way. You can have them engraved at the factory or send the blank ones back to have them engraved at a later date. There are also companies that specialize in keypad engraving that tend to do a little better job than the manufacturers (allow different fonts, graphics, glow-in-the dark text, etc.) I prefer to install mine blank, put on temporary labels, use them for a while and make sure that I don't want to change the text, and then send them back for engraving.

CJ

The SeeTouch doesn't come engraved unless you order it that way. The buttons can be engraved later (actually, you order engraved buttons and replace the original buttons with the new. The last SeeTouch's we received had a yellow bar coded engraving certificate in the box. The presence of the engraving certificate indicated you'd pre-paid for the engraving.

That's an amazing setup with some nice equipment. I hope someday to be able to upgrade from my current setup to something more like yours. Congrats!

Aaron

Well, reconstruction has started in the entry hallway. I never finished it because I didn't like the way it was going to turn out. The technology I wanted to put in just wasn't available at the time.

Now that the technology is there, I can build it the way I want, but unlike Georgeo Lucas, I think the finished version will be better than it would have been before. No CGI Jaba the Hut on the walls.

I ordered my movie poster light boxes. Here is one of them with Gladiator in it.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/Gladiator.jpg

Unfortunately, although the manufacturer states that they are "perfect for movie posters" they are in fact 1" too tall. I have light leaking out the bottom so I am going to have to modify them slightly to make them work. When I called them and informed the company that they were not the right size for movie posters, they seemed to not care abotu maybe making their products the right size by saying that there are some posters that are 41" tall. Yeah, ones from 1983 and before, none of which are double sided...

So, I tore out all the treatments in the entry hall and started cutting into the sheetrock so I could run power to each of the 7 locations for movie posters in the hallway. Notice the 2 windows on the left - those are going to be a real pain as the power receptacle has to be in that area and it isn't deep enough. I cannot remove the windows so I get to do some fun engineering on that.

The wood frames you see will be the backing to raise the trim 1/2" so that it isn't recessed below the GOM. I will be running 59-60" wide blue GOM panels with a smaller black GOM inset that has an alder astragal trim between, similar to the style in my theater.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/EntryHall1.jpg

The power has to be recessed and also have enough room for the transformer as the LED lights are low voltage. The power supply is like a large laptop power supply. I got these boxes from Carlon, which have a double gang recptacle for low voltage - also recessed.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/PosterPowerEmpty.jpg

And you can see that the power pack and plug fit nicely but with not a lot of room to spare.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/PosterPowerFull.jpg

The windows on the left wall were a bit tricky. I was able to make a power connection point for the posters that was about 1" deep by putting in a low profile wiring box and then running a 3-pring extension cord to the location I would plug into. Fortunately I could find a cord that was as narrow as the plug itself. I will fill in the remaining space with fiberglass for extra sound dampening and insulation. The wood backing where the trim will go is black so that if the wall is visible through the small seam between the trim and the fabricmate track, it won't show up nice and white.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/PosterPowerWindow.jpg

And I also unpacked the remaining poster frames and put posters in them. I am very pleased so far except for the Dances with Wolves poster which seems a bit bland. That will be the first one replaced. I still need to fix the white space at the bottom but I wanted to test these out.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/Posters1.jpg
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/Posters3.jpg

My party is in 8 days and this is just one of the things I need to get finished for it. I am sweating bullets.

I love the lighted poster frames. Can you share the source?

I got them from displays2go.com. There are perhaps 4-5 web sites that sell the ones I got that are all just alternate domain names for the same company.

I bought 8 of them but I need 2 more for my equipment room. I really do like them although I wish they were 27x40 instead of 27x41.

This is for the same one in silver:
http://www.displays2go.com/product.led.asp?ID=7029

They are out of inventory on the black one so it isn't available but when it was, the link was:
http://www.displays2go.com/product.led.asp?ID=7030

I have not weighed them, but I think they probably weigh perhaps 40lbs each. They certainly are not flimsy and feel like they are built very well.

The power transformer isn't exactly smallish, so to be able to mount this to a wall and keep the power cord hidden, you would need a recessed power plug with enough room to stick the power supply back there as well. I used these from Carlon which worked just perfectly:
http://www.galesburgelectric.com/Carlon-SC300PRB-Recessed-Dual-Voltage-3-Gang-Old-Work-Plate.html

Thanks! I have just the spot for one of these. Appreciate the tip on the recessed box. I have the wall open now, so that's a trivial addition.

If you are going to order a black one, let me know. I wouldn't mind picking up a couple more and shipping can be pricey. If we get together on a larger order, we can get a better rate for both shipping and just the sales price per unit.

I do not know how long until they get more black ones in stock, however. Hopefully they will take my suggestion and shorten them 1".

Yes, I hope so too! It'll be probably a month before I will be ready to order anyway. Not sure how that fits your timeline.

They say it is a 6-8 week lead time on orders and I cleaned them out so I suspect we are looking at a month and a half, give or take, for them to get some more units in.

Just to confirm what I'm reading on their site: these boxes require translucent posters. Correct?

That will be the first one replaced. I still need to fix the white space at the bottom but I wanted to test these out.


The easiest solution to fix the light leakage at the bottom is to use a 3M block-out film which is available in black or white. Black is better IMO and more suited to your application. The model numbers are -> "3635-20B" & [B]"3635-22B" [White]. The light will be totally blocked.

It is actually used for this purpose amongst others in advertising. I suggest you contact a 3M dealer/distributor and get a sample to try it out on the "Dances with Wolves" poster frame which you are planning to remove in any case.

The solution is not a quick fix per se as it is commonly used in the BTL advertising industry.

As for the light boxes, I think the company you purchased from is taking the easy way out as it is not too difficult to make a custom size light box unless they are outsourcing the manufacturing in bulk from the real source which is most probably the case here. Find the source .... it will make life easier for you in future.

Just to confirm what I'm reading on their site: these boxes require translucent posters. Correct?

Yes, the posters will not be the normal paper posters because they will be back lit and therefore they require light to pass through them to illuminate them. The effect is far more gorgeous than a normal poster with or without an LED light border.

I don't know whether the posters have glossy lamination on front but if they do, then the look is even more enhanced.

The posters look very similar to normal posters except they are printed in mirror reverse on the back side so you have light shine through 2 layers of ink. They are not otherwise translucent and are on what appears to be normal movie poster paper or at least something quite similar. One can see the white paper underneath if they get creased.

The plexiglass/lexan cover provides a nice gloss look although that will also reflect the light from other posters as well. This will be a very difficult photo to take and show the effect of the hallway due to the shape of the room and the limitations on the angle width of a camera lens.

I didn't get much time to work on the hall last night but thanks to having all the wood trim ready to mount and some luck, it went fast. I was all ready with the finishing nails and thought it would go so much faster with a brad gun. I picked up my staple gun and wondered if it could be converted to use brad nails but it couldn't. I went to put it away but I grabbed a case that looked the same but was heavy. Opened it up and lo and behold, a brand new brad gun. I got it years ago when I bought the staple gun and totally forgot about it. Even had the nails I needed in the case.

I got done early enough that I had time to watch Boondock Saints afterwards.

It is hard to get good photos that show the whole frame since the hallway is only 42" wide but here you can see the lower corner of the frame. Matched up nicely with the black paint to hide any of the wall or base trim should a slight bit be visible when everything is done. I highly recommend doing that when putting up track. The white might not be visible under normal circumstances, but it will likely show up when you take a photo and that flash hits it.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/HallTrim2.jpg

Here you can get a good idea for how close they will be together and a better shot at the relative glossiness of the trim.
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/HallTrim4.jpg

Finally, a long shot down the hallway. The door at the end is the entry door to the hall. For those who didn't read the whole thread, the door is made to look like a bookcase alcove recessed into the wall and not like a door.
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/HallTrim3.jpg

That's going to be dramatic as hell with all those posters lit up!

Well, reconstruction has started in the entry hallway. I never finished it because I didn't like the way it was going to turn out. The technology I wanted to put in just wasn't available at the time.

Now that the technology is there, I can build it the way I want, but unlike Georgeo Lucas, I think the finished version will be better than it would have been before.

You have my interest peaked... What's this lastest gen tech you've been waiting on...?

The tech was LED sidelit lightboxes for movie posters. That took the depth from 4" for a backlit movie poster case to less than 1". As one of the walls was an exterior wall with windows that I couldn't remove and I had wiring panels behind one of the other locations on the interior wall, I couldn't recess mount the poster frames into the walls.

Now I can put backlit movie poster frames on the walls in the hallway.

Hard to see as it is black, but I have the track up on both sides of the wood trim now. The poster is flat against the wall, but it will sit 1/2" further from the wall when I am finished but that should still be scarely further into the room than the wood trim. Overall, I should have 39.25" of clearance in the hallway compared to 42" when I started.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/PosterTrackDetail.jpg

Here is a shot of the poster from directly across. They are not crooked, like Lucille Ball when she covered that room with the striped wallpaper. I just couldn't see through the lens. I put the camera flat against the opposite wall and was using a 10mm focal length wide angle lens on my camera.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/PosterTrackDetail2.jpg

I didn't measure it exactly for the quick mockup, but the poster should have the same distance to the border on the left, right and top.

Tonight I plan on putting up the final amount of track, one bit of wood to screw my poster mounts into and then the acoustic treatments so that Thursday and Friday I can work on the fabric.

Well, I finished all the track in the hall last night. I barely had enough track. The longest leftover piece I had was about 6" long and I only had a few of those. No photo updates today, but I will have some pictures tomorrow hopefully.

It looks like I will be finished with the hallway this weekend, which makes me happy. Still need 200' of track for my equipment room and a couple small areas I want to do in my theater. Won't get the extra track until next week however.

Mike
I've had that link bookmarked for months. I wondered how these look as far as uniformity and light output compared to others you may have seen ?

Art

They are pretty good with a couple exceptions:

1. They are not the right size. No way to put a poster in them and cover all the visible area. I am going to have to find a 1" strip of aluminum that I can paint and slip in there to cover the gap. I want the strip to be completely opaque and have a perfectly straight edge but also be quite thin and long enough to cover the entire width without a seam.

I called them and emailed them and they seem to have no desire to fix this issue because they sell well enough at 41" tall to keep them happy. I suppose if they didn't sell, they would choose not to invest in another slow mover. Catch-22 there, IMO. They would be willing to make a special run for me if I bought 50 of them. No way I can display 50 backlit movie posters in my house.

2. The edges are a bit too bright. This shows up more in the photos than in real life as the cameras are a bit more sensitive to light than my eyes. You can see what
I am talking about on the Gladiator poster above but it really is visible on the photo of Dances With Wolves poster below:
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/Posters3.jpg

You can even see it a bit on the right edge of Open Range - like the first 1/4" or so is a bit brighter than the rest. Aside from that, the color uniformity is VERY nice - no hot spots that I can notice with the naked eye.

3. They are not dimmable. This isn't so much an "issue" as much as a simple statement. I didn't put them on my lutron graphic eye because of this. I have a seperate switch for the posters.

4. Low voltage units so they require a power transformer like a laptop but this one is quite large. Luckily I found the Carlon recessed boxes to hide the power transformer in and keep them flush mounted.

Now for the pro's:
1. Well built, sturdy.
2. Lots of light output but not too bright. At night, if only the poster is on, I can look directly at it without hurting my eyes (with a poster in it, that is). I don't have a mostly white poster to try this out with, like Forrest Gump for example.
3. Totally silent. No hum at all like flourescents.
4. Way thin - less than 1" on these.

I am pretty excited about getting this done. I also am going to see about getting in another unit very similar to these that is supposed to be the exact size I need. I will report on that next week. The other one I found is 1" thick but they have a 27x40 in black. No idea on the other aspects of it but will get one and see.

OK guys, I am so incredibly sore and tired. Like wow, 1/2" fabricmate track is a lot tougher to work with than the 1" stuff, or at least harder than I recall the 1" stuff being. Maybe I am just too soft now.

The hallway is completely finished as far as I am concerned. All the needs to be done now is vacuum and dust, which is going to be my wife's contribution to the project. I need to touch up just a couple spots on the ceiling where the paint was scuffed as well, but that can come later, when I am able to raise my hands above my head again.

The lighting is controlled via a switch for the posters and by the SeeTouch remote for my Lutron GrafikEye for the hall's ceiling lights and theater. As the posters were not dimmable, I just put them on their own switch (plus they represented a 7th zone).

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/SeeTouch.jpg

It is very hard to get the entire hall into one photo due to the narrow and long shape. These two shots, one from each end, should give a good representation of the hall...

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/PosterHall1.jpg
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/PosterHall2.jpg

Finally, here is a shot of the hall from the theater when the door is open:

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/PostersTheater.jpg

More updates when I am not in so much pain...

That looks fanTAStic!

The first pic is a little dark. Is the device below the SeeTouch just a Decora-type switch for the posters? I like the rounded trim if so. Looks good against the fabric.

Thanks Mike. It is a decora style switch. I found a plate that snaps in place so there are no screws and it has a nice rounded look to it.

The first pic was a bit dark because I didn't use a flash but had the light coming from one of the posters off to the side. My wide angle lens is so large that it blocks the light coming from the flash on my camera. I need to buy a large flash for it but I have been spending my money on movie poster frames and other such things as of late.

I had to swap out all the plugs and switches in the theater and hallway and went with decora style because I think they look so much better. My kid's were watching TV when I was doing the electrical plugs and it turns out they were on the same circuit. I figured it was easier to wire a hot plug than to deal with a six year old and a three year old bothering me.

I do still need to find something to block the light on the bottom of the poster frames. I might have new poster frames coming in today but I doubt I will have time to check them out. Party is tomorrow night and I still have a ton of stuff to do.

Very well done indeed. When you're out from under, if you can share any info about those Decora trims, I'd appreciate it. I'll definitely want to use something like that in my room.

(I think that pic came out just great, by the way -- I just couldn't see the details in the switch.)

I will get it for you. Turns out I will need another one for the equipment room/snack area. I picked it up at either home depot or Lowes but pretty sure it was Lowes.

I came to the realization that half the amount of work I put in on the entry hall is about how much I will have to put in on the equipment room (25 linear feet to do in equipment room/snack area vs 44 linear feet in the entry hall). I am dreading that now...

I am supposed to get in my new lightboxes today. I ordered these from Arter NeonSigns:
http://www.arterneon.com/product.asp?cid=47&sid=47&pid=8307

They are the correct size and hopefully will work better than those supplied by Displays2go.

My party is tonight and I am booked solid through Saturday so I might not have a good report on them until this weekend.

good grief... That's ridiculous!

I don't even know what to say...

good grief... That's ridiculous!

I don't even know what to say...

I think you meant ridiculously awesome!

:D

Thanks Halo0. Sometimes I look at this project and ask myself if this is crazy. Then I sit down to watch a movie and am like "yes, it is good to be the king" and figure this is the reward I get for my efforts.

A new weekend is here and it is time to start work on the equipment room. I will need to order some additional fabric to finish the rest of my system, so I plan on getting all the last bits in place.

I purchased 3 more movie poster frames from a different supplier. These should be correctly sized and I will be using them in the equipment room/snack area. This room needs more light than I get from the overhead fixture so I will be putting in movie posters with lots of light output: Forrest Gump, Rocky Balboa and I have not yet decided on the third although I would like to get the poster for Tombstone.

My construction is going to have to take a hiatus for a couple weeks but I have a week to get some things done before then. Also, I have 3 areas in the main theater I want to touch up and then I will take new photos of the main room and post them. I am adding a chair rail to the columns in the rear corners. It is stained and lacquered so I hope to finish that today...

Mr.Poindexter, Very, very nice job with the backlit posters. It looks fantastic!

The only comment you made that has me concerned is the effort in installing the 1/2" fabricmate track -- I'm just about to install 1400' in my theater :eek:
In on of the pictures I see a long linear diffuser vent in the ceiling. Do you recall where you obtained this vent from?

Cheers.

the movie posters are nasty! nice work

I have to pull down about 4' of the track and retack it as it wasn't put up correctly the first time. I forgot since it was so long ago, I had a helper who doesn't follow instructions very well and he didn't tack them up as often as I told him to. Lots of places I just added more staples as I was going but then I noticed he put the track right up against the ceiling, which made it such a rediculously tight fit. It would have been so much easier if he left a 1/16" gap at the ceiling as you are supposed to do.

You are using 1/2" track and not the 1" track? I used 1" in my theater for all the walls. I used 1/2" in the hallway as it was mostly for looks and just there was a 20' long hallway for sound to have to travel down so 1/2" would absorb plenty of sound to keep the house quiet when the theater door gets opened.

On the vents, I do not recall now where I got them. I would have to dig through a lot of paperwork to try and find it but if I do, I will post it. I do recall that such vents were not as easy to find as I had hoped.

You are using 1/2" track and not the 1" track? I used 1" in my theater for all the walls. I used 1/2" in the hallway as it was mostly for looks and just there was a 20' long hallway for sound to have to travel down so 1/2" would absorb plenty of sound to keep the house quiet when the theater door gets opened.

On the vents, I do not recall now where I got them. I would have to dig through a lot of paperwork to try and find it but if I do, I will post it. I do recall that such vents were not as easy to find as I had hoped.

I'm covering a 2" space for acoustic treatment (2" of QRD diffusors) so I could have used 1/2" or 1". I just chose 1/2" randomly since I have to shim out the track anyway.

You are right about the vents being hard to source so if find the paperwork I'd appreciate it otherwise don't sweat it.

Thanks.

This might be a really dumb question, but where can you find the special double-sided posters to put in your light boxes? I've never come across any in real life.

http://ca.movieposter.com/ Look here they have lot of good posters.

You can also find a lot on ebay, although you would want to seach for:
movie poster (DS,double) and that should give you almost all double sided posters. There are usually about 1,000 listings up at a time.

WOW....Subbed...Have to seen the final...

OK, here is the big dilemna of the day. Which of these two poster frames do I want to go with.

In one corner, I have the 27x41 LED lightbox from Displays2Go.com. It is brighter and seems a bit better built but it isn't the perfect size - 1" too tall.

In the other corner, I have the 27x40 LED lightbox from ArterNeon.com. It is the perfect size, but it is a little darker in light output.

I will put up detailed photos of the mounting systems and power supplies for each, but for starters, here are screen shots taken with a Canon EOS 30D digital SLR with no lights in the room aside from the light from the two boxes. No flash was used.

The difference is striking when compared side by side with a camera, as the lens had to adjust for the brighter unit, making the dim one look quite dim. When photgraphed seperately, the arterneon box looks much better than it does when next to the displays2go box, which can be seen in the single poster photos at the bottom.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/PosterSideBySide1.jpg

You can see the light coming out of the poster on the left. That is because the frame is 1" too tall. I need to find a way to cover that light output without ruining the frame or poster yet effectively block all the light and do it very thinly.

I covered it up with a robe on the floor just to give a quick comparison as though it was fixed via some field jurryrig:

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/PosterSideBySide.jpg

You can see the left frame, the one from displays2go, is much brighter than the one from arterneon.

Each frame has a noticeable brightness at the outtermost edge of the poster on all sides although it is quite small and then they look VERY consistant across the remaining surface.

The white seems to have more pop with the displays2go frame, but that should go hand in hand with the higher light output.

displays2go.com light box
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/Displays2GoFrame.jpg

arterneon.com light box
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/ArterNeonFrame.jpg

I will put up some additional information on each frame tomorrow. Time to watch something with the wife...

Is it my imagination, or is the newer one a bit blueish compared to the 41"?

The extra brightness of the 41" unit washes out the color a bit more OR the 40" one just doesn't have enough brightness to make it look like a lighter grey.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get a double sided movie poster of the SMPTE color bars to find out which one is correct...

And I had to stop by a theater tonight just to get multiple identical movie posters so I could do an accurate comparison. Sadly, I had to go to more than one theater before I could accomplish the task. If I didn't have a business card withCinema in the company name, I might not have succeeded at all. The poster isn't exactly my choice for films I would display in my theater entry...

Yeah, I was just asking because it seemed like the newer one is a bit blueish -- hard to tell from photos, but I'd just want to be sure that the poster colors looked okay. I guess it really depends upon how bright the posters need to be -- if the less-bright one is bright enough and the right size, well, that's a good thing.

Mike,
Could you get a matte cut to fit inside from a framing shop to mask the edge issues ?

art

The 41 looks a lot better IMHO. Maybe you can mask a half inch on top and the bottom to keep the look consistent (not to double your work).

I could get a matte from a print shop but the mattes are thick. Even a thin one isn't paper thin and it would be placed on top of the poster and then have the plexi over it and then have the grip part of the frame over that. Not really an ideal situation. I don't want to have a gap running along the left and right edges when it goes from pushing against the poster to pushing against the matte.

I have some ideas on how to fix the issue but none of them is as ideal as I would like.

what about black electrical tape?

That was my first thought but I don't want it to do it unless I am sure I am keeping these frames as it might leave a sticky residue.

If I decide to keep them, that would be the most likely solution and I already have a roll of fresh tape waiting to be used.

That was my first thought but I don't want it to do it unless I am sure I am keeping these frames as it might leave a sticky residue.

If I decide to keep them, that would be the most likely solution and I already have a roll of fresh tape waiting to be used.

If it's glass, not plastic, even if a little is left, a wipe or 2 with glule be gone will remove it very easily when you want to change out a poster.

The backing part that I need to cover is plastic, I believe. I will have to double check that but I am pretty sure it is plastic and not a clear sheet of lexan on the back side.

this theater has the most views of any theater on this forum... wow

Not quite, Mfusick..

Mark, my vote (if you haven't already decided) is the seemingly brighter one, with the electrical tape (can test it by putting the non-sticky side against the glass).

Your hallway is ridiculously cool, btw.. almost need to make them dimmer it lights up the hallway so much!

Mfusick, the thread on my construction has nowhere near the top in views or comments.

My gallery has the top in views and in comments, but I don't even have my current theater up on it. That will change shortly. I will be taking some new photos of my room but I need a new flash for my camera to help out on the pics. I should have them sometime next week with any luck.

The hallway turned out really well. I am totally happy with it and now will be working on getting my snack bar/equipment room remodeled to match the same look and feel as the hallway. Unfortunately, I don't get enough time to really take on projects like I used to. Should have that done some time in April, however. The hallway isn't too bright when you walk down it and I will cut down a good chunk of the light when I cover up the exposed areas on the poster frames.

I checked the poster frames and the brighter ones are more color accurate. I picked up the poster for Forrest Gump and will be putting that one in a frame and see how white the colors come out. As long as it looks right, I will use them for the equipment room, which shall be getting 3 of the poster frames in there.

Mfusick, the thread on my construction has nowhere near the top in views or comments.

My gallery has the top in views and in comments, but I don't even have my current theater up on it.

yup.. that was it. gallery has most views.. that is what I saw..

I'd really like to use a couple of these light boxes in my hall. The fact that they are so flat is a real plus since my stairwell is pretty tight as it is. Is the uniformity of the light pretty good ?

Art

Uniformity of the light is excellent except for a brightness at the extreme edge. I will see if I can get a good picture that shows what I am talking about.

I have 2 different frames and I like the construction quality of the displays2go frame better, think they have by far the best in light output and uniformity and color fidelity. I just have a major issue that they would make a 41" frame, say it is perfect for movie posters and then tell me they have no desire to make a 40" frame because the 41" ones sell so well, yet I don't think they sold as many in the last 6 months as I bought for my personal use, or at least that is the impression I get from looking at their online inventory numbers.

I suspect I am going to have to just put electrical tape on the inside of the frame area to cover that last bit of exposed area. While I am fairly confidant that will work, it strikes me as jurryrigging and I prefer things to just be done right.

All in all though, I have told many people what I planned to do for my hallway. Not a single one of them, myself included, expected it to turn out looking as good as it did. Even people who have seen my theater countless times were really floored at how nice the hall turned out. I am now going to be putting some frames in the equipment room - I just got Forrest Gump, Tombstone and Rudy for the last 3 poster spots I was going to have open. I might even get a Demolition Man poster and put it in the bathroom next to the toilet and over a shelf with 3 seashells on it, just to see who gets the reference.

I might even get a Demolition Man poster and put it in the bathroom next to the toilet and over a shelf with 3 seashells on it, just to see who gets the reference.

That is brilliant, you MUST do this. :D

Time for an update. I was out of town for a couple weeks and that put me back a little in my progress.

I am reworking the snack bar and equipment room now. Last night I finished with the electrical rewiring. I have recessed power plugs in 3 locations for illuminated posters. Two are on this wall, one is on the opposite wall.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/SnackBarPoster1.jpg

On the far left of the above photo, you can see the snack bar which is going to get a brand new granite top and 4" splash. I will be installing that later this week.

I also rewired the switch so that I could have overhead lights and posters on seperate switches. The switch is black and hard to photograph well, but there are two rockers that switch from side to side - the top for the overhead light, the bottom for the posters. I picked it up at Lowes. I also had to move the switch closer to the door so that it would be between the door jamb and the wood trim that seperates the inner and outer sections of my wall panels. I have a little spackling to do still.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/SnackBarSwitch1.jpg

Wow, things are really happening today. I just got in all the Middle Atlantic rack gear I ordered for rewiring and updating my racks. If this keeps up, I might finish on time.

I got my granite countertop installed over the candy counter yesterday. Sorry for the horrible photo, but I forgot my camera at work and had to use my phone's camera. The granite was $350 and I had a lot of left over scrap that I had no use for. I could have gotten a much longer one for the same price if I had a larger counter.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/GraniteCounter1.jpg

The back wall is a bit crooked so I am going to have to shim up the splash. Already picked up the shims, want to put them in tonight so I can take my screwdrivers out as they clash with the rest of the room.

The item on the counter is the LED light to go under the counter for the candy area. I picked it up at Home Depot for about $50 for a 13" one. The 18" light was just a little too long to fit. One more night of working on electrical running power for the candy light and the popcorn machine and then I can finish the acoustic material and fabric.

This will look a lot different by the weekend when I get the walls finished and posters up and get my popcorn machine running.

I am having an open house party on May 8th so my friends can check out the remodel. I was hoping to have a party for some AVS people as well, but I don't know if I will have the little details polished up as much as I would need for a more discerning group of experts.

Cool candy counter. I agree that the screw drivers do clash a little;). Looking good.

I was putting a screw into the wall last night and went right through some romex in the wall. One second, everything is fine. The next, I am holding a drill in the dark in a room with perfect light control. Good thing I had my flashlight ap and my iPhone handy.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/GraniteCounter2.jpg

I got the back shimmed up plus shims for the fabricmate track that will be right above the splash so it won't show how curved the wall is. The electrical has been run for the popcorn maker and the lights under the counter for the candy rack are done now but were done after this photo. Once I had the electrical fiasco, I didn't come back in and take more pictures. All the trim backing pieces are up now, so I get to paint them tonight and put up the trim and track on Friday. With some luck, on Sunday the room will look complete to people not privvy to my incredibly long list of little details I need to fix.

I got tired of working with little light in the back room, so I upgraded my light fixture. The old one had 2 x 60W incandescent bulbs. The new one has 6 x 28W daylight flourescent bulbs. I now get the equivalent of 600 watts of daylight in the equipment room and a fixture which matches the look in the theater.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/SnackLight1.jpg

It is a Metropolitan Salamanca Semi Flush light by Minka. It was a chore to put up due to its size. They expect it to be fully assembled then wired and mounted. Uh, yeah right, but putting it together once mounted isn't exactly easy either.

With the extra lighting, I was able to get my wood trim put up in the equipment room, as well as all the fabricmate track. I just need to get my insulshield up and then the fabric.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/SnackWallFront1.jpghttp://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/SnackWallBack1.jpg

And finally, I started on the rewiring of my equipment racks. My old BluRay and HD-DVD are out, the new Oppo are in and I finally got a shelf made for the AT&T uVerse box. Also, I picked up one of the Middle Atlantic iPod docking shelves as well. The D-Theater will be the next component to go, I think, should I need to create some more room in the rack.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/LeftRack1.jpg

This week, I will get the insulshield and fabric up and put up my posters. That will give me all next weekend to rewire my racks and touch up some stuff behind them to clean it up a bit. I need to reshim them to make them a little more straight. The left rack is off 1/8" at the top from side to side and the right rack leans back about 3/8". I picked up a flange and gasket kit for them so I need them to be perfectly straight to make them look just right.

My last 2 movie posters came in this weekend - Tombstone and Rudy. All I need now is the new exhaust fan for my rack and some glass shelves for the candy display.

Everything's looking great! Can't wait to see a shot of the Tombstone poster. I'm guessing it's the scene of the 4 on their way to the ok corral. I love that shot!

I bought the white background Tombstone poster.
http://i.ebayimg.com/18/!BpkK+iQ!mk~$(KGrHqEOKkMEuZNDw-FnBLr7HT0SV!~~_12.JPG

Progress keeps happening, making me a happy camper!

All the Insulshield is up in the equipment room now. Lots of light absorption. I have 6 daylight CFLs in my overhead light putting out the equivalent of 600W of illumination plus 2 spotlights as well for the photos and am using a flash for these photos. I will need to break out my tripod for my next shots, probably.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/SnackWallBack3.jpg
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/SnackCounter1.jpg

Fabric will go up tonight and tomorrow. Hopefully I can be finished by Thursday so I can focus on rewiring my rack to update the components this coming weekend. Speaking of which...

Rewiring my rack is going to be a major effort. Aside from just dealing with component changes, new shelves and such, I will have to reprogram the Crestron system. I really need to sit down and learn to program that myself.

I got a new track stand from Middle Atlantic for my AXS racks. Their new stand is so much nicer. The old stand would flop over if not connected to the rails. The new stand can balance without the rails. It takes more room to store, but I am cool with that.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/TrackStandNew.jpg

I am almost certainly going to be doing a major upgrade to my equipment. Looking at a new projector to be up and running 3D in time for ESPN 3D. Unfortunately, there is a lot of uncertainty at this moment for me on which equipment to use for that so I don't want to write anything in stone at the moment. The scaler/video processor might end up having to do all the translating between the myriad of 3D encoding options and what the projector expects to see. If I get a translator, I need to make sure it speaks Bocce.

New projector coming. No ship date yet, but I have a DPI Titan 1080p Reference 3D ordered. So, my theater will upgrade to 1080p and to 3D on the same day. w00t!!

I need to go home and double check my throw distance for my lens. Sometimes I just cannot memorize enough numbers, or at least keep them memorized long enough.

Beautiful Build you have here!

I bought the white background Tombstone poster.
http://i.ebayimg.com/18/!BpkK+iQ!mk~$(KGrHqEOKkMEuZNDw-FnBLr7HT0SV!~~_12.JPG


This is definately one of my favorite movie posters. I love the "Justice Is Coming". My sister had it in black when we were growing up. It was the only thing I ever envied her for, secretly of course.

I like the black Tombstone poster but that one was made for the video release. I don't think it was made in a double sided format.

http://notquiteamerican.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/tombstone-poster-c10134915.jpg

I did want some white background posters for my equipment room due to the lack of light I had in there but the new light fixture changed all that. I only have 2 white background posters currently, the other being Forrest Gump.

Oh, I am getting new LED lamps for the 3 lightboxes I have from a second manufacturer to brighten up their output and hopefully correct the light color. I won't get them until late May, unfortunately. Between that, the new ceiling fixture and an 8,000 lumen DLP and it is a major lighting upgrade all around.

It is also interesting to note that for the film release, Val Kilmer was in the back as he was the only one of the 4 that wasn't an Earp brother. When they released it on video, he was moved to the front of the movie poster as his performance was so strong.

It is also interesting to note that for the film release, Val Kilmer was in the back as he was the only one of the 4 that wasn't an Earp brother. When they released it on video, he was moved to the front of the movie poster as his performance was so strong.

I never caught that before, great point. I love that movie!

I hadn't noticed the small change in character placement either. It's nice that the version you purchased doesn't have "one of the years 10 best" on it either.
I actually like the white better, now that I see them side-by-side. It offers a nice contrast between the characters and background. (picture quality might play into this a bit too)

The black poster looks like a bad photo. Taking a picture of a poster is not so simple that it cannot be screwed up.

I wanted to finish the fabric in the equipment room but I had an unexpected visitor last night so I only got the back 3 panels surrounding the candy counter done.

I put the popcorn machine in - still need to put in the shelves for the candy counter, which I will probably do shortly after I make them. For now, I have some tools there.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/CandyCounter3.jpg

I feel like there is just too much of a big blue space there on the back wall. I might need to put something on the back wall but right now I don't know what that would be. Not going to do yet another backlit movie poster - I think I will have plenty of those.

What do you think I should put there - framed lobby cards? Movie paraphernalia? Magazine/newspaper articles? (I had a writeup about 3 years ago in the New York Times but that is the only one to date) Something else?

I'd put movie paraphernalia and the article(s).. (with the articles in an ideal spot for reading, like the right side and lower)

Mr Poindexter,
I have viewed this thread back to the beginning of construction of your fine room. I would like to say it is pure class. As was your comments to rlindo in Feb. 2006. I was especially impressed with your desire and ability to shoot out the kids windows. Who could not be impressed with the quality of the equipment and the workmanship that has gone into it. Because I am still a little green I have stood back in amazement and just read and learned. My past has been in "Home Improvement" so I recognize quality when I see it. I agree with miltimj, on the back wall of the refreshment room, movie paraphernalia and the article, (the article at a eye level). Thank you for years of sharing your project. I can't help but have a touch of envy. Who couldn't? :)

I am tired, but the construction phase of the remodel is DONE!!

I still need to clean up some in there for photos and do a couple small things - mount my light for the candy shelf and install shelves there, plus change out one plug to a black decora plug instead of those cheap crappy round white ones. Then I have a lot of cleaning to do. I would have done that this weekend but had guests over for movies a couple times plus got to build a swingset for the kids.

Please excuse the quality of the photos - I snapped these just before I came into work. No tripod and need to clean and vacuum still.

Now, when one enters the equipment room and snack bar, this is what they see. (The rack rails will disappear as soon as I get my new gear from Kaleidescape installed).

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/SnackPosters2.jpg

Once inside, you can look back at the equipment rack...
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/SnackPosters3.jpg

The other wall, which is not as long due to the entry door, only has one poster on it. Two part rocker switch handles the overhead light on the top, the posters on the bottom.
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/SnackPosters1.jpg

One photo without the flash so you can see a nice contrast of the lit poster and a little of the overhead light.
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/SnackPostersDim.jpg

I picked up my framed newspaper article to put up in the equipment room. I will get that one done put up and photographed when I get the candy shelf finished later this week.

I see you did get the Tombstone with the white back ground. "Justice is Coming" is better than "One of the Year's 10 Best!" As I said before, Sweet set up.

Thanks, Bobbi Jean. I just finalized my open house flyer and schedule.

Saturday, May 8th, 2010
Clovis, CA

Ratatouille - 12:00pm
The Usual Suspects - 2pm
Tombstone - 4pm
Terminator 2 - 6:30pm
The Dark Knight - 9:15pm

All in HD, 4 of the 5 with D-BOX motion (not Tombstone).

If anybody from AVS wants to come, they are welcome to PM me. I will have another event for AVS members and HT enthusiasts only but I want to get a few more things refined and wait for a couple of impending gear upgrades first.

I will convert my flyer to a .pdf and post it once it passes the Senate (my wife).

I redacted my address from the flyer but otherwise it is exactly how I printed them.

Tell me what you think. I don't mind making changes but I am pretty happy for something I just threw together.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/Flyer5-8-10b.jpg

Wish I lived in your area I would love to see T2 at your place!

I redacted my address from the flyer but otherwise it is exactly how I printed them.

Tell me what you think. I don't mind making changes but I am pretty happy for something I just threw together.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/Flyer5-8-10b.jpg

Excellent lay out and says it all. Not too busy. Wish I was West coast.

Gorgeous... Absolutely great job...

Wow!

Great lookin' theater! Congrats!

Old

The shelves for my candy counter came in yesterday, but I got a call at 4:30 pm that I could pick them up and they close at 5pm and are a 30 minute drive away. Thanks for the lead time.

I will be getting those today and install them this weekend. I picked up about $75 worth of theater candy to stock it for the party and am sure I will have plenty left over. Walgreen's has a nice selection of theater candy at 3 for $3, but I found a nice deal at Target, $1.02 for an XL pack of Red Vines. I got my Red Vines there, other stuff at Walgreen's: Starburst, plain and peanut M&Ms, DOTS, Charleston Chew minis, Raisinettes, Milk Duds and 3 different flavors of Mike & Ikes.

My new Kaleidescape server comes in on Monday, but I don't think I will have my new scaler before the party.

Quite simply DOTS make a movie!!!! :D

OK, snack bar is DONE!! Shelves mounted, candy stocked, ready to rock and roll.

Here is a tall shot of the snack room that gives a better view of the approach. I think the wood curving back towards the doorway and gives a less boring and harsh transition than if I went with it straight across.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/SnackBarDone1.jpg

There is a bit of a void on the right side of the counter so I put up a framed newspaper article that featured my theater in it. I plan on hanging it up on the wall tomorrow about 8" higher than where it is now.

I have about $75 worth of candy in there and it isn't even full. I could probably put another $30 of it in there. I got tempered glass shelves for $29 locally, which was much better than $99 shipped via the internet and $78 from another company that was local. While the bottom didn't need a shelf, I put a glass shelf on the bottom to make it easier to clean plus I will have a spare ready to go if a shelf should ever break.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/SnackBarDone2.jpg

Looks fantastic Mike! It's a dentist's dream.

Thanks. My dentist says thanks, too.

I got the Kaleidescape servers pulled out of the rack this weekend. My new server comes in today and then the transfer begins - should take about 2 days to get all my movies switched over.

I noticed when I was hanging my newspaper article that the framers covered over the part of the article at the top that said "The New York Times" even though I specifically told them I wanted that visible. I will have to have that fixed after my party. Aaron Brothers took about 2 months to frame it - really annoyed at that one.

I also got a ring at the doorbell Saturday about 11:45am from a couple friends who said they were just a little early for the movie party. I told them "Yeah, about 7 days early" but brought them in and showed them a few clips but didn't really have time for a full movie and had work to do.

I really like your theater. Very impressive. I read the whole thing for the past 2 and a half hours. I like the look, as compared to some others. Those racks are awfully nice. I like that your theater cost more than either of my houses! What do you do with your old gear?

Thanks. I think my theater almost cost as much as the house it is attached to. Old gear generally gets passed down to other rooms but what I have pulled from my theater is:

HD-DVD Player - is a doorstop now.
Samsung BluRay - moved to living room and replaced with Oppo BD-83
Kaleidescape Servers (5U) - one sold, one traded in on a 3U server
Kaleidescape Player - sold and replaced with a BluRay units (on order)
Slingbox - retired
Crowson Amp - upgraded to A300, old one needs a new home...
Lumagen VisionPro HDP - traded in on a Radiance XE

That is all the equipment I have had to pull out in 3+ years. I expect to be changing my projector at some time in the near future.

Absolutely beautiful theater in both concept and workmanship.
I was going to suggest a solution to the lightbox border light leakage issue. I used a collection of the colored plastic film from a sign maker to make a pseudo stain glass window for our church. It is on a large sheet of lexan and the film applies easily and does not shrink or leave a gummy residue. They carry this film in a hundred colors with multiple tones including black and both opaque and translucent.

Also given to beautiful woodwork, seating and carpeting, I strongly suggest you NEVER screen The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

I redacted my address from the flyer but otherwise it is exactly how I printed them.

Tell me what you think. I don't mind making changes but I am pretty happy for something I just threw together.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/Flyer5-8-10b.jpg

How did Movie DAY go?

Movie day went well but it was too much. Next time, it will just be a double feature. I had some friends that could only make it before 2pm and others that couldn't make it until 9pm so I tried to accommodate them all. I fell asleep during The Dark Knight but didn't even notice - I was dozing and then one of the guys said it was great and I didn't even feel like I was sleeping but I missed the last half hour.

The most we got up to was 8 in the theater. People are horrible with RSVPs. They won't RSVP or they will say "yeah, I will be there" but no time or number of people.

I will be doing another one in about a month or two.

I enjoy looking at these theaters but I find it takes too much time trying to find the finished projects' pictures. Maybe it's just me. I got lucky on the nautilus as there was a post that had a link to a page with all the pictures on it. The snackbar here looks nice.

I have a suggestion for behind your candy counter. How about a reader board of movies now playing or the current candy/drink selection? Ya know kind of like behind the big theaters candy counter?

OK, I am done, or at least as done as I am going to get in the next 6 months aside from gear upgrades. Time to take another breather and keep enjoying the fruits of my labor.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, I present...

AVALON

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/FinalCRClosed.jpg

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/FinalCROpen.jpg

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/FinalCF.jpg

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/FinalLF.jpg

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/FinalRF.jpg

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/FinalLROpen.jpg

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/FinalRROpen.jpg

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/FinalRRClosed.jpg

I will probably go back and touchup these photos in a couple weeks but I will be occupied for a little while and want to get this posted.

Very very nice Mike ! I noticed with my HT meets that I had to badger people to get confirmations and basically intimate that if they didn't confirm they weren't welcome.:D

Art

Beautiful room, love the look, very classy.

Brad

Beautiful indeed! Very well thought out color scheme and wonderful woodwork.

Looks awesome man!

Beautiful room, love the look, very classy.

Brad

+1 Very classy!

Room looks great. The curved riser steps are a nice touch. Enjoy it.

Wow looks great!

Your HT looks awesome!
Sorry for probably repeating question but
what kind of projector did you chose for your HT
and what kind of cable (from pre/pro to projector) - HDMI or component?

Thanks.

The projector at the moment is still a Digital Projection Mercury 5000 HD. It is connected via DVI.

Last time I got the theater running, I dropped off the forums for a long time. I hope to not disappear this time. ;)

Beautiful theater.

Fan-frickin'-tastic! Well done, Mike. Enjoy, indeed. Which is your primary seat, by the way? I'm guessing the one right of center in the front row?

Great looking room!

I usually sit back row center.

Very nice! Beautiful, I am envious!!

Now I have a couple of questions. Do you find that, now that the word is out, friends, relatives and neighbors are calling, emailing, txting and/or coming by more often or unannounced? ;)

I noticed in a picture that there is some reflection off the back of the seats. Is that something that's noticable while viewing or is that just the picture and the settings at the time?

Beautiful!

Wonderful, and congrats on being "done". :)

Wow:eek:!

Very nice! Beautiful, I am envious!!

Now I have a couple of questions. Do you find that, now that the word is out, friends, relatives and neighbors are calling, emailing, txting and/or coming by more often or unannounced? ;)

I noticed in a picture that there is some reflection off the back of the seats. Is that something that's noticable while viewing or is that just the picture and the settings at the time?

My friends are always welcome to come over and watch movies - that's why I put in more than 1 seat. They do not show up unannounced, however.

The reflection off the back of the seats is there because I used a tremendous amount of light coming in from the back of the room to light it up enough for photos. I have a very wide angle lens (10mm on my DSLR, equivalent to approx 16mm on a 35mm full frame) and I didn't want my supplemental lighting to be visible in the photos. I will see if I can hide some behind the columns for round 2 of my photo shoot. I suspect I will need some 4' long daylight flourescents that can hide back in a corner out of direct camera view.

The room looks great!

The next time I am in Coarsegold I would love to see in person, if invited ofcourse.

Just let me know when you are going to be in town...

Whoa!

Impressive.....love the color scheme.

Teeg

Awesome, Awesome, Awesome! I can not give you enough praise for such a great job on your home theater.

Jon

I usually sit back row center.

Oh, interesting. I'm calculating my own screen sizing right now, and with my room I think it works out best if I sit up front. Do you know what your horizontal viewing angle is for 2.35 content from your prime seat?

I will have to check the sight line plans when I get home next week. I don't have a trig calculator handy. The back row is about 19 or 20 feet back and the screen is 150" wide on scope.

Congratulations - stunning work!

P.S. superb carpet

I will have to check the sight line plans when I get home next week. I don't have a trig calculator handy. The back row is about 19 or 20 feet back and the screen is 150" wide on scope.

Thanks! If it's 19 feet, that's 36.2 degrees. 20 would be 34.7. I'm planning about 36 for my primary seating as well, so it's nice to hear that we have similar angles. (I know that some people prefer a bigger image size as "more immersive", but this is the angle that I've found works best for me after many hours of experimentation.)