Here are some pics of the construction of my home theater and games room. Construction Began Sep28 2006 and ended about January 20th 2007. I'd like to thank everyone on AVS who helped answering my questions and thanks to everyone who posted their pics. We primarily use the HT for movies and HDTV. We also play XBOX360 HDDVD movies and some games using it.

Highlights.

- Panasonic PT-AX100 mounted on custom steel C-beam mount suspended above drywall between joists.
- X-Box 360 with HD-DVD
- Bell Express VU 9200 satellite HD
- Pioneer VSX-1016TXV receiver
- Panonic Upconverting DVD
- Media Center HTPC
- Shinybow component/optical switch (I use it to share xbox 360, and 9200 satellite receiver between the 42"lcd in my office and projector) Works great!
- Klipsch Synergy 12 Sub (way better than the sad 12" sub that came with my polk speakers)
- Polk RM201 in front and center
- Polk satellites in rear

- Custom built arcade machine. I bought an old cabinet and customized it with x-arcade controls and a pc and screen. The cabinet was just a shell when I bought it. Games are awesome on it

Room Dimensions about 17'x14'. About 21' long including the stairway section. I just did standard drywall and insulated all the walls with ROXUL safe n' sound insulation. Of course bass goes through the house but the high freq sounds are hardly heard. For me it wasn't really a big deal to insulate the sound and I didn't go to any extreme measures.

Wiring:

Projector to component rack I ran 2 hdmi, 1 svideo, 3rg6 for component, 1 serial cable for projector control, 2 ethernet cables 1shielded cat5 for future use.

Speakers I ran a 7.1 setup. I haven't put in the extra 2 rear speakers yet but the wires are behind the wall. I ran rg6 to all 4 corners of the room for flexibility for sub placement.

Office to component rack. I ran 3 rg6 for component video and an optical audio cable. I can watch HD satellite and play xbox 360 in my office on the 42" 1080p Westinghouse lcd.

Power: I power the projector with a UPS. I wired an inlet plug near the ups that feeds an outlet near the projector. I think I have a couple of circuits going to power the equipment at the rack. I also ran an outlet to the motorized screen along with some ethernet cable in case I get another screen with some other remote options.

Extra: I ran a shielded and unshielded cat 5e and a svga cable from the component rack to the back corner of the room where the seating area is. I left it behind the wall for now. I was thinking I might have a touch screen monitor in the seating area that will control all of the components eventually.

I am extremely happy with everything now. The sub gives off bass that I am happy with and the sound blows people away. The picture on the AX100 is incredible and I couldn't be happier with the setup. I have about 400hours on the projector now. The room does need some accesorizing to make it look better. Not quite sure which direction to take it.

I'll add some comments to the pictures later when I have a chance.

Brendin

Framing the HVAC soffits

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I tried many different projector mounts before settling on the C- Beam isolation mount. I power the projector via UPS through an inlet.

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Here is a pic of the C-Beam mount I used

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o72/xnaron/100_1357.jpg

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Here is something I tried but didn't use

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I used two 10' c beams and joined overlapped them and joined them with about 20 bolts and locking nuts. The c-beam sits on the center beam of the house and on a concrete wall. This mount totally isolates vibration on the projector. I think I could have an elephant upstairs and I wouldn't notice.

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o72/xnaron/100_1360.jpg

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I insulated the walls and ceilings with ROXUL safe and sound insualtion. It does a really good job of keep the higher freqency sounds out.

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Here you can see how the C-Beam is a couple of inches above the drywall.

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Drywalling getting close to complete

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Here are some wires I left behind the wall for future expansion
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Me doing some last minute HVAC adjustments with my dad

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Some pictures of the stereo cabinet I bought to build into the wall... I paint it later on

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Pictures of the projector access to the wires above

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o72/xnaron/100_1593.jpg

Done Drywalling!

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Tape and mud begin

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After sanding here comes the primer coat.

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Projector access and wire holes

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Used a laser level to project a line on the wall so I could use as I guide when I taped it to paint the dark stripe around the room

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o72/xnaron/100_1975.jpg

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Carpet installed

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Starting to come together


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Here are some pics of my adjacent office. I share the XBOX 360 and satellite receiver to the 42" lcd on the wall.

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o72/xnaron/100_1443.jpg

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Brendin,

Holy man! you've been busy :) Things are coming along nicely it looks great.
Good luck with the final touches.

Cheers
Calvin

Great work being done down there! Why did you decide against using "shock absorbing" screws. I was thinking of using something like that instead of a totally isolated unit as my ceiling is already up. What exact type of screws were they and did they not really work?

Great work being done down there! Why did you decide against using "shock absorbing" screws. I was thinking of using something like that instead of a totally isolated unit as my ceiling is already up. What exact type of screws were they and did they not really work?


Thanks for the comments. I used lag bolts, washers, springs and some rubber to try and build an isolation mount. It worked ok but the projector would still move with people walking around upstairs. One thing I did find was that after the drywall went up on the ceiling in the basement the floor above was way less "bouncy". I think the mount may have worked even better if I had tested it with a drywalled ceiling. But I wanted perfect isolation and went to some extreme measures probably more so than others would have. I hate seeing projector shake when watching and I also wanted to keep vibrations out of the unit to try and prolong builb life. If I did it again I think I'd still use the C-beam but like I said drywalling the ceiling made a huge difference to "bouncyness" on the floor above.

Brendin

Brendin,

Holy man! you've been busy :) Things are coming along nicely it looks great.
Good luck with the final touches.

Cheers
Calvin


Thanks! I'm actually finding the "final touches" stage a little tough. I'm not quite sure how to accesorize the room. The arcade machine was an after thought and doesn't quite go with the decor but it is tons of fun. I am open to any suggestions at this point. Kind have a brain freeze ... maybe I should turn my wife loose on it...but then I couldn't call it the man cave anymore :)

Brendin

Do you guys have any suggestions for what I can use to plug that window with the orange pillows in it? I'd like to make it light proof but easily removeable so I cna open the window to let air in when I want.

Brendin

What about getting some of the blackout tint film and put on the windows?

Brendin,

There are some decent light blocking blinds out there. I've got them in my upstairs bonus room if you check the thread I have photos or if you want send me a PM and you can arrange to swing by the house and check them out ( I have the contact name and number of a family friend I bought them from at a reasonable price considering their quality).

Cheers
Calvin

Here are some pictures of the built-in shelf I made to cover the window (gets rid of the yellow pillow...yuck)...a shot of my MAME machine and a picture of the new HT bathroom I just finished at the end of February.

oops...here is the HT bathroom pic...The toilet bolts are cut-off and capped now.

HT BATHROOM...
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o72/xnaron/100_3314.jpg
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o72/xnaron/100_3315.jpg
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o72/xnaron/100_3313.jpg


WINDOW PLUG SHELF....
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o72/xnaron/100_3317_small.jpg


MESSY SERVER ROOM....
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o72/xnaron/100_3322.jpg
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o72/xnaron/100_3323.jpg

That window shelf plug is a good idea :)

Looking good.

Cheers
Calvin

Here are some pics of the custom window plug shelf I built...

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o72/xnaron/100_4305.jpg
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http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o72/xnaron/100_4307.jpg

thats awesome. i love the colors. and the built in rack looks really nice.

great job!

thats awesome. i love the colors. and the built in rack looks really nice.

great job!


Thanks! I am really happy with it. I never go to the theater anymore. I don't miss the annoying people and poor picture quality. I'll be looking at getting a 1080p projector within 2 years. I'll probably buy a better quality screen. I can't complain about the cheap one I bought as it has worked very well.

Brendin

looks real good! Nice job

Very nice. I have a question about location. I am considering my built in rack under the stairwell to the basement - like yours - but the screen is on a different wall and the rack would be located to the left of the viewers seating. How will this effect something like wireless gaming controllers? Are they RF or IR? ANy other consideration you had when locating the rack out of the normal screen wall? (I use RF remote for a/v so no issue there)

Those colors look great. May I ask what they are called & who makes them?